mnfanforlife

Jackson would be a fan favorite in Minnesota

Roberts, Hicks, Arcia, Buxton, Kepler, Bigley, Walker. Two of these guys might play in Minnesota next year. There is still a ton of OF depth in this organization.

I think Ryan knows he has a bunch of guys that can be good top-of-the-order hitters in Nate Roberts, Hicks, Buxton, Kepler etc. and he got some great returns for Span and Revere. All of the OF's left in MIN's organization should be capable to fill the roles left open by Revere and Span, some sooner than others.

Yeah, insane athleticism in Iowa this summer. I am hoping to drive down to see the Georgia Peach. Maybe I will see the German Peach too? All three guys have a shot to play in Minnesota by 2015, IMO.

2015 Pitching rotation: 1. Alex Meyer 2. Trevor May 3. Kyle Gibson 4. JO Berrios 5. Hudson Boyd

How bout this line-up for 2015: 1. Buxton - 7 2. Hicks - 8 3. Mauer - 2 4. Sano - DH 5. Arcia - 9 6. Harrison - 5 7. Parmelee - 3 8. Dozier - 6 9. Rosario - 4

TR is probably asking for a HUGE haul for either Willingham or Morneau, like was said earlier in this thread. These last two trades are great for the organization. Plenty of OF's for the Twins to call-up. Would be fun to see what TR could get for W or M, but I would be happy if they stayed pat from here out. Revere and Span had to go to clear the way for HIcks and ultimately, Buxton

Honestly, I'd want more than what they have. Willingham gives the team a real masher. Without him, the offense will really struggle next year. They can't trade him for some B-/C+ arms (which is what the Reds have). I think Tony Cingrani will have moved his ranking up considerably from the preseason, likely at least an A- now? You would have to consider a deal with him a part of it. Goes with exactly the strategy they are currently pursuing. Is there a MI to pluck out of the Reds org., too? Billy Hamilton has played some SS

Meyer is going to be an ace. True #1...So the Span return could be better than the Revere return...in time.

Who does the organization have that is better? Nobody that is near MLB ready..thats for sure

I completely agree...until the Twins sign someone "better" Hendriks and Gibson are the #2 and 3 best pitchers we have right now

Hey this is great info! Being in the situation we are in, I would gladly take Francisco back no matter what risk there may be. Is a three-year-deal enough to get Liriano? How many mil are we talkin here?

He will probably get a better shot than De Vries and Walters, sinc ethe Twins already know what those two can bring to the table. But, I think Deduno has the best chance to stick out of spring training, along with Hendriks. The other two will be ready when and if anyone fails or get injured.

that would be outstanding!

I sure hope Hendriks survives in the Twins rotation. And I do agree he should pretty much be a lock for a look at the MLB level

True that Berrios could never become a #1 or #2 guy. Hey, he might even flop completely. Lets just hope that he reproduces his rookie numbers over the next few levels so we can get him up to Minnesota at 21-22 for good. If he is a good #3 then he will probably be our ace. Maybe he isnt a top 100 guy right now, but could certainly be with dominant numbers in low-A next year. That is, if he gets significant innings at low-A And time will tell if the Twins are too conservative with Berros. I am merely suggesting he be fast tracked if his numbers call for it.

Pop quiz! What do you do when you've run out of fuel, in a tour-bus, in rural Siberia, with your in-laws?? This is the metaphor for how I see the current situation with the Twins starting pitching rotation. Our characters are all familiar: the fuel = Pohlads' payroll; the bus = shiny new Target Field; Siberia = Minnesota; the in-laws = our gallery of failed starting pitchers. So...what DO you do? [ATTACH=CONFIG]2756[/ATTACH] In this case we defer to the NBA. No, we're not trading in our love of baseball to go "sell out" and become faithful followers of the Timberwolves' Love, Kirilenko, Pekovic, and Rubio (although its getting more tempting with Rubio getting healthier) NO! We need to focus on baseball, and in the Twins' case, NBA = Next Best Action. With the Cubs over-paying for Baker and Feldman, the flame of the Twins' hope at signing a guy with any proven, successful experience gets dimmer and dimmer (like the sun on a cold, Siberian evening). Without any news on the trade front, we'll have to hunker down for a long night (off-season). We should all be assuming things will heat up in the Winter GM Meetings, but what if other GM's are unwilling to part with their pitching? What exactly is the next, best step that the Twins could possibly take? Desperate situations like this one should be viewed as opportunity for certain men. Men with fortitude, and determination to survive. Sure the Pohlads are sitting on a huge oil field, but its crude stuff and won't help us survive the night, or the next day for that matter. We need to make a big fire. Then, we need to throw some of these guys in it. Surely some of them will burn and pass away, but others could be refined by the flames and provide warmth (production) to a frigid fan populace. In order with NBA, we must determine which men to risk first with a toss into the inferno. Who are the (my) top candidates to play the role of heroes in the unforseen wilderness of the AL Central? [ATTACH=CONFIG]2757[/ATTACH] 1. Kyle Gibson - what a prospect he was after being drafted in 2009!? As a minor league rookie, he flew right up to AAA as a 22-year-old. Now that is a fast-track, even for a college guy. Yes, he had TJ surgery on old trusty. But, he looked like good fuel for our fire during his six fall-league starts. And with his former "top-propsect" status, we will all be looking for Kyle to fight off the frost-bite of this, so far, bitter off-season. I say we build our bon fire around Gibson, and see what colors he produces. 2. Liam Hendriks - Oh dear. What do we have in Hendriks? When he signed as a 17-year-old outta the Outback, the organization took the standard approach and slowly developed him into a guy that dominated AAA as a 23-year-old. Thats great! But we have real issues here, and we need to find out right now if Liam can provide some warmth to our extremities. Minor League numbers are fun, but they don't keep you warm in Siberia. Even with his MLB struggles, I vote to see if he burns in the Twins' 2013 rotation. [ATTACH=CONFIG]2758[/ATTACH] 3. Samuel Deduno - As a 20-year-old minor league rookie, the Colorado Rockies had good reason to believe in what Deduno could become. Sammy made the Pioneer League All-Star team with 118 K's in 76.1 innings (13.9 per 9). Since then, not so much. He walked too many guys in A, A+, AA, and AAA. So, the Rockies let him sign with San Diego where he walked a bunch of guys again. Now, the Domincan Deduno does not seem like the type to help us survive in the upper Mid-west (Siberia). But, he does have a career 3.43 ERA in AAA, despite all those free passes. Last year, he showed us all in Minnesota how he is able to have success while walking everyone (and their in-laws). He's got really great "stuff" (the walks even make him more flammable), which is perfect for the fire we're building. 4. Esmerling Vasquez - I know what you're thinking: "This guy stinks!" Wrong! Well maybe he does smell a little bit. But this guy did great in AAA last year (and had terrrible control in Minnesota). He had an opposite season with Arizona's organization in 2011, as he walked too many in AAA while pitching just fine with the D-Backs. Hey, its getting colder by the minute here and there isn't much else for us to burn. Time to throw him in and see where it gets us. Hopefully, Esmerling prolongs the heat that keeps us hoping to be far away from our current sufferings. [ATTACH=CONFIG]2759[/ATTACH] Is there anyone you'd like to throw into the fire? What is the Twins' NBA in your opinion?

I am fine with him starting in ext sprng trning....but he needs to be able to move up quickly once he does get to CR...jtrinaldi said he will be in A ball by May...thats fine, I just want to see him get the opp to move multiple levels if he dominates next year and the following year. Other than the disastrous trades recently, the front office has other faults in the way they develop their top prospects. The recent evidence: none are ready quickly (Hicks, Arcia, Benson, Parmelee, Salcedo, Soliman, Slama, Gibson, Wimmers, Guerra, etc.), and none have realized their potential (Slowey, Hendriks, Hoey, Dozier, Nishioka, etc., etc.) yet. Obviously more prospects will flop than flourish, but the Twins have been awful recently on both the trade, and prospect development fronts.

true story

In reply to kab21........ If Berrios is up at 21, I will be shocked. I don't think the Twins want anyone up that young, as they see it as a poor business decision for the organization. Imagine that..poor business decisions being made by the Twins front office. Hey with all the crap personnel moves Smith and Ryan have made over the last 3 years, there is no way they push any of their top prospects too quickly. There would be too many questions to answer. It looks like we are going back to the 1990's with our ultra-conservative approach to re-building a roster with a $23 mil catcher.

In reply to ThePuck......... Right, well there really isn't an easy answer to your question...why take that long with Berrios? I gave you my opinion on where he should realistically start and finish the next two summers. Again, in my opinion, Berrios, Buxton, and all the other top "pigs" in the pageant should be pushed along FAST and made to STRUGGLE in the minor leagues. They should learn to overcome adversity in the minors, and will be better at dealing with the imminent adversity they will face in the Major Leagues. Just my opinion, but other organizations seem to operate this way.

Do you think any other organization would consider taking Deolis Guerra in the Rule 5?

Realistically: he should start 2013 in low-A, finish 2013 in A+, then start 2014 in A+ with a shot to finish in AA or higher.

Are you suggesting that he is not ready to be promoted past rookie ball? What level do you think Berrios is "ready" for? What constitutes being "ready" in your opinion? If you use statistics to measure "readiness", than where would Berrios' stats place him next year, in your opinion?