Wookiee of the Year

I wonder if the Nationals would have any interest in Arcia as a left-handed 4th/5th outfielder? Seems like they could use a power bat off the bench/back-up option. I guess that would make Bryce their back-up CF, but that seems like a possible move for them.

I look forward to this announcement every year! Not just because the Handbook is well worth the money, but because it's one of the few opportunities available annually to pay you guys for the great work you do here at Twins Daily. November 2 can't come soon enough!

I didn't like the 2nd WC when it was announced, but the first season I saw it in action, I immediately changed my mind and saw it as an improvement. I, too, was turned off by the idea of a one-game play-off in baseball, but then I realized it actually serves a purpose. I will say I prefer the imbalanced schedule and the rivalries it creates, but I think if you do that, you need at least one Wild Card team. And the current Wild Card format is the best I've seen so far. 1) It adds September excitement. This is obviously true for the extra teams battling for a Wild Card spot, like the Twins this year. But just as importantly, it adds excitement in division races, because it makes winning your division extremely important. In divisions like the AL East historically (Yankees-Red Sox) and the NL Central (Cardinals-Cubs) this year, that's not present because both are assured equal play-off berths. Now, if you lose the division, you don't get an equal starting point compared to the other teams--you have to win a coin flip game. 2) It properly penalizes Wild Card teams. As I said earlier, with an imbalanced schedule (which I prefer for the divisional rivalries it fosters), it's important to have offsetting Wild Card teams to level the playing field. In the old format, there was no penalty for being a Wild Card team. Now, there clearly is: Your World Series Champion chances are cut in half by the one-game play-off, and you're likely to burn your best pitcher just to get through that coin flip. That strikes me as an appropriate calibration of Wild Card penalization. 3) It adds a shot of excitement from the start. There's immediately an "advance or go home" game that gets people's attention and says, "Postseason Baseball has begun!" I have to think this is good for the sport, both for Joe Casual Fan who might not have tuned in to the play-offs until later, and for Joe Super Fan, who gets an exciting game to kick things off. That's my case, anyway.

I find this less reassuring, given that if the Twins do squeak into the Wild Card game, the Yankees are their likely opponent.

Actually, though, that's one of the positives about our likely 2016 outfield--we probably don't need a 4th outfielder who can man CF, because all three starting outfielders will be capable (Buxton, Rosario, Hicks). In that case, I'd actually prefer a bat-first corner guy as our fourth outfielder. Of course, at this point, I don't think we can call Hunter a bat-first guy. I don't know that he offers enough value to even fill that backup role, unless the front office and coaching staff is convinced his drop-off in production is related to overuse, and that he'd look siginficantly better in a reduced role. The safest decision is to look elsewhere.

Common misconception about options is that individual moves use them up. Not so--a player has a limited number of option years, and once an option year is used, can be moved between the majors and minors as many times as desired in that year. Still, I agree with those saying to give him more time to prove he's found his stroke at AAA. When the time comes, though, DFA Robinson. With Hicks and Rosario on the roster (and maybe Buxton at some point?), you've got enough CF-capable players.

That might sum up how I feel... Both appear to be "wins" in the Rule 5 draft. I was disappointed when the Twins didn't protect Gilmartin (I protected him in my GM Offseason Plan), and today's evidence shows he was worth holding on to. But even though the Twins could really use an inexpensive, effective LHRP right now, I like Graham and think he has more upside. I would probably take Graham over Gilmartin... but for those of us who like thinking about roster depth and 25th men, I do think it's close enough to be worth thinking about.

Certainly, 40 Man roster spots are fungible and there's nothing that forced the Twins to choose between Graham and Gilmartin. However, it doesn't seem like that much of a stretch to say if Gilmartin was the "next-ranked" prospect on most lists to consider protecting (Twinkie Town suggested it at the time, for instance), and the Twins opted to leave a spot open to make a Rule 5 selection, that there was something of a "Gilmartin vs. a Rule 5 selection" calculation going on. So while Gilmartin over Duensing is a clear no-brainer today--and was a logical choice at the time, too--I am curious how much regret there is over losing Gilmartin, vs. the gain of Graham.

MLBTradeRumors had an article yesterday providing an update on 2014 Rule 5 Draft picks across MLB. The two to highlight: J.R. Graham is a RHP working in the Twins' bullpen. In 2015, he's given the Twins: 36 IP, 27 K, 11 BB, 3.00 ERA, 4.30 xFIP. Sean Gilmartin is a LHP taken from the Twins by the Mets. They converted him from a starter to a bullpen arm, and this year, he's given the Mets: 25 IP, 20 K, 10 BB, 1.80 ERA, 4.14 xFIP. I remember being surprised the Twins didn't add Gilmartin to the 40 Man Roster last winter. So now I'm curious: Given the choice, would you prefer the Twins had put Gilmartin on the 40 Man in the spot that eventually went to Graham? Or do you prefer Graham to Gilmartin?

This says it for me. As long as he doesn't have any injuries that actually lower his ceiling (ala Kubel's knee injury), I just have to believe this will work itself out as Buxton matures.

Not sure if it was a recording issue or an editing issue, but the podcast ends partway into the two of you talking about Pablo Sandoval. Any chance that audio exists and can be reattached?

R.A. Dickey. I love his story as an unconventional knuckleball pitcher who found success so late in life, and his autobiography, Wherever I Wind Up, is a great, personal read.

It was a great time! I enjoyed chatting with you, John, about Buxton. (I have a hunch that doesn't narrow it down any as to who I am among the Twins Daily attendees...) The performers were very good singers and I'm glad to finally be able to say I've seen Damn Yankees.

...To underscore the difference from a development perspective: Over 8 seasons, Aaron Hicks logged 594 games in the minors, resulting in 2,577 plate appearances. Over 7 seasons, Trevor May logged 775 innings pitched in 147 minor league games, resulting in 22 plate appearances. Over 9 seasons, Pedro Florimon has logged 849 games in the minors, resulting in 3,356 plate appearances. Over 6 seasons, Nationals pitching prospect A.J. Cole has logged 534 innings pitched in 106 games in the minors, resulting in 28 plate appearances. These developmental tracks are just completely different. And even if you eliminated the DH at every level of the minors, pitchers would still only bat at best every fifth day, meaning they'll just never get the developmental time as hitters that every single position player prospect gets.

I know you're being hyperbolic, but this just isn't the same thing. All through their development, position players bat day-in, day-out, and get exposed to pitching at every level of the minors. On the other hand, pitchers in the majors and minors get at-bats at best once every five days. But it's worse than that--pitching prospects don't bat at all in Rookie Ball, A-, or A+, and only bat in AA and AAA if both teams are affiliates of NL teams. Pitchers just don't get the kind of everyday reps that are essential to knowing what you're doing at the plate in major leagues. And that's not true at all for position players, so your argument is absolutely apples and oranges rather than evidence of a slippery slope.

I agree in theory, but you just can't do it that way with an odd number of teams in each league (15 each, ever since the Astros moved over). The alternative would be one team in each league taking each weekend off, and that's an even worse option. Bold Prediction: With the current CBA expiring at the end of 2016, the new CBA will institute a DH in both leagues.

I agree that this piece is probably the right way to view things, but I could've told you from 3 seconds after Hunter threw his shirt that Souhan was going to write a piece downplaying the incident or defending him. It's probably silly of me to roll my eyes about a column when I agree with the underlying sentiment, but it's just so predictable.

This was a great read--thank you so much for taking the time to share your inside perspective with the Twins Daily community!

Can't wait! I'll be there with Mrs. Wookiee!

I wonder if any of this could be related to shifts? There was a lot of talk about shifting on Mauer last year, but I don't think I've heard any more comments about it this year, and don't know how common it's been. Nevertheless, shifts are much more common with the bases empty than with runners on that the defense needs to hold. Makes me wonder if there's a connection.

Ha--love it, Hosken!