TNTwinsFan

Sign DJ Lemahieu. Sign Donaldson on a 1-3 year deal (maybe mutual options in years 2 and 3?) Infield would be just fine. Lots of pop. Gold Glove defense at 2B and 3B. Infield looks like this: 1B- Sano 2B- Lemahieu 3B- Donaldson SS- Polanco That's got great offensive potential. Add to that an OF of: LF- Rosario CF- Buxton RF- Kepler Then have a kid like Austin rotate between 1B and DH with Sano and Donaldson. Lineup looks nice: Lemahieu-2B Polanco-SS Rosario-LF Donaldson-3B Sano-1B Garver-C Kepler-RF Austin-DH Buxton-CF Signing both Lemahieu and Donaldson is probably a pipe dream due to the fact that a lot of clubs could use those guys on their rosters. One of the advantages the Twins have might be their supposed plethora of cash they have to spend this off season. Will more dollars and/or more years entice either or both of those guys to enjoy baseball in the snow in April? I dunno...I'm just some dude on a couch.

I approve of this move as long as the prospect cost isn't too high (duh). The Twins' farm is a deep one but lacks a little at the upper end. So, I'd think a good trade for the Twins needs to exlude any of their Top 10 prospects (to include Thorpe). Outside of that, I'd say 2 prospects in the 10-20 range and another 1 or 2 from the 20-30 range and all that salary relief would be my goal as I sit in my GM chair at Hooters.

Judging by the K/9 rate Thorpe put up in his minor league career...they only have him as a 3/4 upside?!?! That's on par with Kohl Stewart and Gonsalves...I'd say he's probably somewhere in between Romero and Stewart in the 2ish range. But, then again, I'm a nobody. Just wish he would get more love as I think he's a dark horse to hit the Twins' rotation this year.

Why not Cabrera or Harrison? I haven't looked up their defensive metrics, but, I think either guy would provide better offense than Forsythe or Gordon. Obviously, Marwin Gonzalez is the better fit for the Twins, but, I see a lot of teams trying to sign him. On the pitching side, it seems like there are quite a few decent SPs and RPs the Twins would have a shot at...and with some money to spend this off season, I could see them making a play to drastically improve their pitching staff. Probably won't happen until they figure out who they want coaching said staff though.

My 2019 Hot Take: Lewis Thorpe will surprise next year. He'll be up around mid-season and stick.

I ended up 1 for 3 on my predictions of my prospects. I did a POOR job of updating everyone on their progress throughout the season, but if everyone was paying attention to the Minor League Updates each week, they knew how the prospects were doing. Really happy for Andrew's promotion to the Twins! Let's see how he does over the next month; hopefully he can establish himself as someone that can help out in the Pen next season as the Twins push for the playoffs. Perhaps a bit of Trevor Hildenberger in terms of impact in his first full season? I mean, what big league team doesn't need a shut-down lefty out of the pen?! Soft tosser or not! Good luck Andrew!!!

Can I just say I really like Tyler Austin?! I think he's going to be a surprise next year when he's getting most of the starts at 1B. Paired up with Rooker and Sano; it's going to be fun to watch those dudes bang baseballs into the upper decks for years to come! Not to mention Kepler, Kiriloff, and (dare I say) Jake Cave! Wow! I think k it's going to be exciting!

So far tonight he's 3 for 5 with a HR and 4 RBI....He keeps hitting like that for a few weeks and he'll be called up to finish the season with the Twins.

I would like to see the following promoted in addition to Thorpe: Royce Lewis Alex Kiriloff Brusdar Graterol Trevor Larnach Brent Rooker Ryan Jeffers Luis Arraez Ernie de la Trinidad All of these guys' last 28 days have been great! REALLY like seeing what the first 6 guys on my list and Thorpe have been doing with the bat and on the bump, respectively. I also like what Luke Raley is doing and hope he can keep it up. I hear what some have said about the FTM guys and them probably staying through their playoff push, but, the selfish fan in me wants to see those guys in Chattanooga like yesterday (but I also live just 2 hrs from The Noog so I may be a little biased.) Really excited to see the depth and breadth of the system right now. Fun times!

Ugh ..I need to research if the A's contract is up with Nashville after 2020...#bringtheTwinstoNashville

I'd like to see Polanco have a good two month finish to the year and establish himself as a good SS. I don't think Gordon will be up next year and will again, fade in the 2nd half. Lewis could be a surprise if he's able to finish this year at FTM strong and have a dominant 1st half in The Noog. The Twins need some stability up the middle with Dozier gone (and not coming back) and no real replacement in sight. A Lewis/Polanco middle infield probably wouldn't be too bad actually. Would LOVE to see Rooker get some solid MLB time in September. The problem is that he has demonstrated that it takes about a month or two before he's acclimated to a new level. So,a September call up may not actually work in his favor. It would help Twins fans forget about the loss of Joe Mauer a little when he retires this off season. Would like to see Gonsalves up as well. The kid has earned it. Also, I was fortunate to meet the young man and wish him all the luck in the world. I also told him I hope you see him in the bigs this year, so, if that hope came true, that would be pretty cool. I'd also like to see Garver's progression trajectory continue on it's way up both offensively and defensively. If he continues to play well over the last couple months of the season, I think it would go a long way to solidifying that C spot the Twins so desperately need him to. Finally, I want to see the key top prospects continue to progress and provide hope for the 2020 season and beyond. Guys like Kiriloff, Graterol, Larnach, and Thorpe will be that next good wave in a year or two. Excited to see what they bring to the table!

Precisely my thoughts after he finished off the 8th with that K of "Just Dingers". If we could package he and Dozier to BOS...I wonder if we could get a nice return? I know nothing of their farm system so, I have zero clue if it's even remotely something to look into. But, dreamers are gonna dream.

Something else I noticed is that Berrios worked quickly. He never seemed like he labored and just went about his business as if he knew exactly what he was doing. I hope that kid continues progress. He was pretty fithly last night and it would be wonderful for him to take yet another step forward by season's end! He and Gibson make a really good 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation next year. Berrios Gibson Pineda Romero Gonsalves Mejia Littell Thorpe Slegers Graterol Stewart Ober May need to add another solid FA SP to that group for next year in order to contend though. Anyone know who might be available?

Rooker has been held hitless in just 2 games since June 1st; in one of those games he went 0 for 1 with 4BB...4! As a side note, he did the the day or two after I posted a comment about him needing to bump his BB% up to around 10%...maybe he read my post? Ha! Hope he has continued success and we see him in a Twins uniform in September!

Anyone think Graterol makes his debut next year? Seems like if the kid gets the promotion to FTM after the AS break he's lined up to hit AA next year. Wow...Romero, Berrios, Graterol...that has the makings of an incredible top of the rotation.

Rooker has figured something out in the last month. He's slashing .295/.350/.566/.916 since 06 May. He is still striking out 25.2% and walking only 7.7% of the time so there is still some work to do there. Maybe he gets that up to 10% and earns a promotion? I'm really rooting for this guy to be a force in the Twins lineup soon!

Rooker has figured something out in the last month. He's slashing .295/.350/.566/.916 since 06 May. He is still striking out 25.2% and walking only 7.7% of the time so there is still some work to do there. Maybe he gets that up to 10% and earns a promotion? I'm really rooting for this guy to be a force in the Twins lineup soon!

Twins OF depth (Not in any particular order) Rosario Kepler Buxton Kiriloff Wade Rooker Larnach Baddoo Cave?? I think a case could be made that Wade, Kiriloff, and Rooker are in MLB within 2 years...might even be able to add Larnach to that list now (2-3 years). That's some serious OF depth in the Twins system right now.

2nd coming of Jim Thome? And think of having him hit in front of Rooker in a couple years...Yikes!

In 28 innings so far this season he has a 29/6 K/BB ratio with batters hitting .284 against him. That's his best K/BB ratio since his Rookie League Season (GCL and E-Town combined) and his worst BAA in his Minor League career. With such a SSS, it may be too early to draw any definitive conclusions about him, but, it looks like he's made some adjustments. Perhaps he, too, is a late bloomer and will need this season in AA and next in AAA to really refine his craft? That would make him what? 25 or 26? If he turns into a guy that can give you 180 IP, a 4.50 ERA, and 150 Ks every year... that's not a bust.

I actually kind of appreciate the intensity there. Would LOVE to know the full story behind it though! Can you imagine him against the White Sox or the Yankees after one of our batters (say Kepler) gets plunked?! Anderson comes on with that INSANE accuracy and plunks Didi in the ribs then follows it up with a bunch of jaw jacking and bench clearing!!! Ejections everywhere! He's the kind of guy that let's teams like the Yankees know we don't take no sh** from you or anyone! Boom! Franchise changer! Let's get some freaking attitude out there! I wanna see the brawl between Sano and ANYONE on the Yankees roster when something like this happens! Man! I love hockey!

Even if there is some regression, which there probably will be, Kyle seems to have figured some things out and that is HUGE for this staff. If Kyle ends up being a 4.00 ERA/FIP, 8.5 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 kind of guy this season, that is a QUALITY starter in this rotation. I hope he has continued success!

Bring a team to Nashville!!

I was in attendance for the Lookouts game tonight. A few observations: 1. Lewis Thorpe: looked really good at times. KILLER breaking ball! Has a ways to go before he's ready to compete at MLB level. I could see him getting a call up to the bigs late 2019 and burning an option that year. 2. Brent Rooker: that 3B in the 1st Inning would have been a HR in almost every MLB park save Houston (whatever that place is called). There is a 20' wall in CF which is placed 400' from home plate....Brent hit a line drive about 5' from the top of it. In his last AB in the 9th Inning he JUST missed hitting one to RF and was caught about 2' from the wall on the warning track. I know he got off to a slow start to the season, bit, I think he's about to go on a bit of a tear here. Look. Out. (See what I did there?) 3. Nick Gordon: For a kid that looks like he could get blown away with a strong enough gust of wind, he can put a charge in the ball and looks damn athletic on the field! Made an error tonight that will be corrected with a little more focus. The talent is evident. 4. Lamonte Wade: A professional hitter! There's a reason the guy hits leadoff. He takes quality ABs and sees a ton of pitches. 5. Andrew Vasquez: He's actually one of my Adopt A Prospects this year. He struck out the first two batters he faced with some nasty offspeed stuff. I don't recall seeing the radar register above 84 on a single pitch of his during his outting. He then gave up two 2-out singles before getting his final batter out. I know there are a couple of guys in the majors with similarly "fast" stuff, but, I don't know for how long guys with that pitch profile last, nor how many find success at that level. Good to see him with a decent outting. 6. I got to meet and shake the hand of young Stephen Gonsalves! What struck me most about him is how professional and respectful he was. We didn't have a conversation, I just shook his hand and told him best of luck and that I hope to see him with the Twins soon. What a fun night despite the loss!