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JD-TWINS

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Everything posted by JD-TWINS

  1. I don’t think suggesting a Larnach trade is suggesting they “bench him”? Trading one of their Top 3 hitters to make room for anybody “they hope pans out” is insane!!
  2. They need to enlist somebody’s services! I watched the L.A. game Tuesday night …… Keaschall fails to knock down ball up the middle, Dodgers score. He picks up a soft roller on the grass & as he comes in Lewis covers first ….. Keaschall flips the ball past the pitchers ear & not to 1B, awareness??? Later in game, ball up the middle (tough play) and he backhands it - off his glove and ends up in his throwing hand (running full speed toward left field) and he throws to Lewis with a throw that should NEVER be made - 2 -3 seconds, minimum, late and 15 feet left and short of 1B….. again, awareness?? His enthusiasm is appreciated & noted. I’m usually a supporter of offense and “accepting” on some occasional defensive issues. Luke is terrible - no arm - no clues - no improvement! Need to play Arcia and let Luke go work with “whoever TWINS have” in St Paul for a few weeks. Luis Arraez is playing Gold Glove defense at 2B this year (per MLB Network pundits)……. Luke can be fixed (technique), but about 60% of his problems are between his ears! He may need a mild sedative before games?
  3. Here’s a headline: ”Bell & Caratini on fire for the TWINS!” Both near .200BA & .580 OPS 3-4 weeks ago ………. .703 & .700 OPS now …….. both at .241 + BA ……… Bell leading the Team in RBI & Caratini earning walks and hitting balls into the gaps ……… couple of Big FA signings😉. 2 switch hitters that can really tilt the scales for the Twin’s offense when just playing to their capabilities. Keaschall, when he doesn’t come up to the plate like he’s on amphetamines, has shown he can take pitches and “walk” once in a while. His average is up 30 points over last 5 weeks and his OBP is up to .340 - that’s a big step forward!!
  4. Rojas was in Arizona last night …….. didn’t make the flight to watch the guys get a bunch of runs Saturday night. Tom Pohlad buys Lawrence a one way plane ticket to anywhere and Rojas is activated……… gotta be at least 50;1 that this will occur or already has! Assuming it’s Paredes as long as he holds it together this afternoon with Rojas right behind him………. hopefully they can get through a respectable 6 innings between them. I echo another’s sentiments here, hope they don’t score just one run today!
  5. Hindsight ……. was supposed to start Sunday and after a 20 pitch bullpen session Friday - soreness in arm Saturday …….. to be evaluated with MRI upon return to MN. A real bummer when trying to build momentum. Ober & Rojas not far away per Saturday’s broadcast.
  6. Louie had a 4.94 ERA for the Jays last year in 23 appearances……at age 27. I’m glad he’s having success! ……(in his age 28 season) Kendry Rojas is 23 ….. Louie had 1 pitch at age 23……fastball or bust, in the Minor Leagues. I realize Louie is a Minnesota kid but Rojas has the opportunity to do a lot of good over the next 5 years after 2026……..at which time he’ll be 28. The Twins did just fine in the Varland trade. Not popular - I didn’t get it last July! After seeing Rojas pitch and the potential for Roden to be playable as a throw in piece - low % potential but possible……the Twins certainly got equal value & Rojas brings big upside potential.
  7. MLB average slash line for TEAMS: .243/.314/.390 TWINS Slash Line: 243/.320/.408 Abel - Rojas - Ober back & this Team can win some games!
  8. I understand your sentiment but I gotta say, he’s a 25 year old making $750K as a MLB pitcher……. when you continually get behind hitters and then throw center cut pitches in hitter’s counts, you’ll get criticized, no matter who you are. ……The issue last night was the Defense gave D-Backs extra outs at least 2 probably 3 times…… can’t beat anyone doing that!! …..makes it harder, particularly for a young pitcher.
  9. These two seem like comments from a month ago. 1) Larnach & Wallner battling for the DH spot seems to have been settled for the foreseeable future……Bell at DH & Larnach in LF v. RH pitching & Wallner in AAA. 2) Martin was hitting .388 4-5 weeks ago - now he’s around .240 …,…. not exactly flourishing with more opportunities.
  10. Arcia has been re-signed and is in St. Paul …..just a talk with Gray & a call to Arcia, problem solved. After the break, you choose between Arcia & Kreidler and bring up Culpepper. I do expect to be wowed by Arcia’s defense but he has to be more smooth than Gray! Gray gets to a lot of balls but cannot then make the play……gotta make a move. IF he was hitting I’d hesitate but he’s flailing at whatever is thrown to him, wherever it is, on the first pitch. Ugly! Constantly in pitcher’s counts.
  11. Keaschall - Culpepper by August - Marek Houston at some point in ‘27 - Jenkins in ‘27 - Gonzales in ‘27 ……. there are plenty of prospects in play in the organization in the near term. Martin - Larnach - Buxton - Jenkins - Gonzales in OF …….. with Larnach used at DH in 70% of his starts ……… room for another young guy (Fedko or Rodriguez) Same 2 Catchers, assuming Jeffers is gone. Lewis - Keaschall - Culpepper - Lee - Clemens That’s a solid 13 for ‘27 with a half dozen prospects. Larnach taking Bell’s spot at DH, v. nearly 100% RH pitching….. Gonzales from the right side. Abel - Bradley - Lopez - Ryan - Prielipp/Matthews …….. Team may have a real basis for a 6 man rotation for chunks of the year …… this assumes Ober isn’t back & he may be.
  12. The author here states they have Team Control through 2031! He throws hard, 96-97 with a lot of movement on his slider……..those two pitches can get him through many, many 1 inning outings. His only real issue is his command. When he gets ahead he’s nearly impossible to hit. Problem is he gets to too many 3 ball counts. He’s been surprisingly effective. No reason to be serious about trading him!
  13. With Abel & Ober both back after the All-Star break, Prielipp or Matthews goes to the PEN. Parades will be a PEN arm once they get to 5 starters. Rojas should be back in the PEN after a couple more outings to sharpen up, at AAA. Prielipp - Parades - Rojas …….. potentially Sands in another 4 weeks? Banda - Morris - Orze - Gomez - Rogers…… these guys along with 3 of the 4 mentioned above them, it’s a reasonable PEN. Lawyerson - Adams - Lawrence are all problems…… & will be gone in the not too distant future.
  14. The reality for TWINS & most Teams is they don’t go 8 deep in the PEN. ……. I wish they DFA’d Lawrence this afternoon but it’s not happening, yet. Him or anyone getting 2 quick outs and then giving up a couple solo shots & even two more hits ….. that’s what the low leverage guy does sometimes with a huge lead. They ALL have had issues for stretches……. morris is hardly bulletproof. Orze looks sharp 2 of 3 outings, generally speaking……..not a lot different than a middling starter might do.
  15. As Coach Mora said, “Playoffs? ….. PLAYOFFS?” If the Team’s pitching isn’t healed……. Abel - Ober - Ryan - Bradley - Matthews/Prielipp Rojas - Sands - Matthews/Prielipp they can’t sustain any serious competitive level. Jeffers healthy is almost a certain trade piece, so that stings. Lewis - Keaschall - Bell - Caratini need to hold it together at the plate like the last couple weeks. Byron is almost certainly, with health, going to hit 35 with a real shot at 40HR. If his OPS is .850 & he hits 40HR, with his defense………. I’m saying there’s a chance……..gotta make the PLAYOFFS or no chance! I know others here will hate this, but Arraez at the deadline OR sooner gives this offense a big shot in the arm and with his ‘26 defense, stabilizes 2B & occasionally 1B. He’s not a lead-off guy but he sure could be nice slotted behind Buxton!
  16. Opponents have a lot to do with how the TWINS or any Club looks……that’s at least part of the equation for the terrible team/great team effect.
  17. 4-5 years ago Larnach, as a prospect, used to be viewed as somewhere between where E-Rod and Jenkins are ranked now. None of the left handed hitting guys above have performed well enough to be called up. Unless something changed, E-Rod is out until August after his intelligent head-first slide into 1B & subsequent thumb surgery. What does the Team get back for Larnach that’s going to outweigh his contributions? Relative to other productive guys that are 29, he’s almost free at $4.5M. To me, if one of the young guys flourishes, which has yet to happen, Larnach should be the left handed DH in ‘28….,,occasional LF as needed. As I said, Larnach was a highly touted bat coming out of college - he got healthy and had a good year in ‘24 and dropped off last year as they let him face LH pitching for 118 AB’s…..on pace to have his best year at the plate in ‘26 and he’s at least average according to metrics in LF. Trading guys, when they get to finally show signs of being a professional hitter, doesn’t make much sense to me. I don’t care if E-Rod or Roden ever play a game at Target Field if Larnach is performing in front of them. RF is currently wide open IMO …… Clemens is staking a claim…… one of the young guys might force Clemens back into the Infield?
  18. Preach!! 100% correct. Anybody here remember a TWIN that made the All-Star game at 3 different positions over the years? Harmon something…… I left Minnesota in ‘91 for Cincinnati. They had a guy named Rose here that eventually was an All-Star at 5 spots over the years. (2B, RF, LF, 3B, 1B) He was a hitter first.
  19. Blyleven won a Series with the Pirates in ‘79. Blyleven was in his 19th Season when he won Series in ‘87. After leading baseball with 17 losses in 1988 with the Twins……he signed with the Angels. In year 20 he went 17-5 for the Angels with a 2.73 ERA. He posted a lofty 6.0 WAR …..at age 38, he threw 8 complete games, including League leading 5 shutouts ……. remarkable!
  20. Buxton is supremely talented and he’s really matured at the plate over the last couple years with his reasonably sound health. Frankly, his play over the last 60 days has been spectacular!…….that includes a couple handfuls of missed games with mild injuries. That said, bringing in Oliva when he became available - signing Killebrew (most HR’s in A.L. history from the right side of the plate …… trailed only Ruth in the A.L.) - Blyleven starting in the Show at 19 & then being an absolute work horse over his first 6 seasons before ownership gagged on paying him. Many other great Twins!! …….. Mauer - Puckett - Hunter etc. I do hope Buxton is able to stick around and win with the Twins.
  21. Jenkins: “When he returns & if he plays good enough” Availability & performance kind of drive every roster spot……….the players “extended performance” is what will get them to the SHOW, not a longing or curiosity from the fans.
  22. I concur with all of your comments other than the thought that, “…… he needs to be in MLB ASAP once he completes his rehab assignment.” If your feeling is he’s a AAAA guy, why would you think he “needs” to be brought on to the Big Club? I want guys that help the Team win ……. if that’s Kody Clemens at age 30 and Trevor Larnach at age 29 that’s fine with me. Guys need to force their way in to the roster with performance, not draft position, or expectations of how talent will carry them. Fedko may not stick but he forced his way on to the roster. Promoting guys because of where they’ve been ranked by national pundits or because fans are curious isn’t sound organizational management. I’d love to see Rodriguez have success but he needs to tare it up at AAA for more than 10 days at a time! As you pointed out, he’s a rock head for sliding head first into 1B ……. then he tares up his thumb & misses more development time. He can arrive at Target at age 25 if that’s what it takes for him to be deserving.
  23. Gray is the left handed bat they want to hang on to as an alternative at SS……. no other good reason.
  24. Because I specifically said he was getting better OFFENSIVELY……. don’t think he’ll ever be much, if any better than Julien, defensively. He gets to more balls than Eddie but he doesn’t make better plays.
  25. Bell can switch hit…….. Wallner can’t hit lefties at all and doesn’t hit RH pitching any better (not as well in the SHOW) than Bell. Bell went 3-9 in this Cardinal series & had an RBI in all 3 games. Wallner may have never had an RBI in 3 consecutive games - doubtful. As needed, Bell CAN play 1B, and I think the organization has seen Wallner play RF, in any meaningful games, for the last time. Really hope Fedko keeps rolling and helps the club with this opportunity!
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