Hawkeye Bean Counter

Isola is the backup catcher in AA. Camargo is the primary catcher in AAA. Williams is backup catcher in AAA. Banuelos is the primary catcher in AA. Winkel is a backup in AA. Cardenas is the primary catcher in A+ ball then the backup is Cossetti. Nate Baez in A Ball is another to keep your eye on. I think if MLB goes to the electronic strike zone you will see more bat first catchers - or at least catchers with a strong arm to stop stealing as pitch framing is no longer necessary. We have ample players who can be back up catchers in the league. When you look at the stats we may have the most stacked offensive catching staff of any other organization. These teams are often being led by the catchers, and we have spent minimal resources. I don't know what they are doing but they are doing well with these players.

Walker, Keaschall, Winokur and Harry all having a pretty strong start to their professional careers. How about the entire starting staff at A+ ball absolutely on fire. Just need better relief. Ohl is also doing very well in AA Martin or Stevenson could provide a spark at Center for the Twins. Would be giving up some defense for offense. As to the pitching in AAA, not sure anyone is really there to provide a boost for the end of the season run other than Funderburk. The minors have been fun to follow this year. We seem to find the bats from all over the draft and the bat first catchers seem to be really hitting, even if they don't seem to stay at the catcher position.

Ranking the farm system is so difficult. This ranking says 19, Law says 11 - and I wouldn't be surprised at all if the players end up being in the 5-8 range. The A and A+ ball club seem to do a really good job at developing players and in the fact the organization seems to be doing a really good job drafting. In the most recent draft all 4 bats are either performing or over performing expectations. The Twins are slow playing the pitchers as usual but I am really looking forward to next year to see how high of a ceiling some of the pitchers have. I am really high on the 2022 and 2023 draft classes. I actually like the core of batters Detroit is putting together, the pitching side, will take a bit of a hit losing Rodriguez. The White Sox got some good players in trades but their entire org seems like a big mess. Cleveland is the only organization that looks like they will be able to compete for the next 5 years. However, it seems we are getting closer and closer to a realignment and the continued underperformance of the Central is one of the key reasons why.

After 3 starts the Keuchel experiment is working out great - Allowing Ryan to get healthy and rejuvenated. Well worth it. Keuchel will likely get crushed again in the future with a tighter strike zone, but for the day and 3 starts going 2-1, that is everything we could have expected along with getting into the 7th inning.

Its a little more difficult than just that, I think it is much more difficult to manage a 6 man pitching staff especially with paying for Ohtani. You will be effectively paying for 2 elite players in 1 (50 mil -100 mil a year) - Then have 6 pitchers - and trying to keep them healthy. If Ohtani is your ace, you need to then be paying for another ace and regular 5 man pitching staff, and then have depth on top. Instead of like the Twins needing 7-8 SP for depth for injuries ect, you are looking at 9 or more. Even in that scenario you are likely throwing out more subpar players into the rotation - then taxing the bullpen. I believe Ohtani as much as lacking finding hitters, has been the primary issue for the angels not making the post season. You have the money issue, but then you throw in trying to build a pitching staff. It looks better on paper than actual results. Now as stated, I do think a smaller market team could more easily fit Ohtani into the budget, avoid the luxury tax ect. The issue likely is he wants to stay on the west coast.

Ohtani isn't worth it, unless you just want to make him a hitter only or a pitcher only, which he won't do. The issue is the tax on the pitching staff with a 6 day pitching staff it is much more difficult to build a pitching staff that has enough quality to avoid taxing the bullpen. With spending bucco money on 1 player, you will have less resources to spend on other quality pitchers. This will result often in 3-4 below average pitchers likely at the end of the rotation, killing your bullpen. Our starters have held up their end of the bargin this year. I can recognize Ohtani's greatness, but he currently causes more issues roster management wise than he is worth - which is odd as you get a hitter and pitcher in 1 player.

I am all about investigating to find out the truth then going from there. However, based on looking at things - this is leaning more towards a significant issue. It obviously appears to be a minor if the task force is picking it up. So at this time the age does not appear to be in dispute, and possibly a second girl. I do think he doesn't get the death penalty if he was entrapped and told she was older, however, there is a large spectrum on that and at this point it and there isn't enough information to even speculate on that. I am leaning much more to we just saw his last game played.

You leave Kenta Maeda where he is. He is currently one of our top 3 pitchers. You add in the fact, the odds he gets a qualifying offer, and rejects an offer are increasing with each quality start and its not something that is just wishful thinking. On many Lists he is in the top 30 currently. He is 25 on the current list I saw, and the pitchers ahead of him are Paxton, Giolito, Montgomery, Flaherty, Rodriguez, Stroman then Gray. 23. Kenta Maeda, RHP, Twins Age: 35 HT: 6-1 WT: 185 2023 WAR: 0.7 Career WAR: 8.2 Contract status: $3.125 million in 2023 Maeda is healthy and holding his own, posting a 4.22 ERA in 12 starts, with 72 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings. He missed about two months earlier this year with a triceps strain. The veteran righty has yielded two runs or fewer in each of his past four starts. If he keeps it up, he too could get a qualifying offer in November.

I am not so sure a Jenkins, Lee, Rodriguez, Soto, Raya, Preilipp, Winokur, Martin, Festa is that far off. The depth is where this current iteration shines they are not well known yet but Morris, Matthews, Lewis Culpepper from 2022 and Hall, Questad, Stoffal, Dougherty, Dun, Langenberg, Paqualotto, Lee, Hamilton, Bragg, Silvas, Bengard from 2023 - I think you have the potentially 1 of those pitchers end up as a #2 pitcher or higher and possibly 2 others as mid level pitchers or higher. A through AA is going to be absolutely stacked on the pitching side next year and will be an absolute grinder and competition to get promoted.

If he got traded for a potential #1 that signed an extension with us, it was worth it. Arraez is a wonderful player. He is not perfect and if he could figure out a way to maintain his performance throughout the year without wearing down, he is a downright beast. I still stand by mid summer let him take 4-6 weeks off to re-fresh and re-start his workout routine then come back for the home stretch.

Eh, I would disagree and particularly on the pitching side. You have 4 pitchers from last years draft in A+ ball dealing. Culpepper, Morris, Lewis and Matthews. Add in all the 2023 pitchers, There is about 12 solid prospects that are not on the top 20 at all. Also outside the top 20 are Williams, Prato, Funderburk, Stevenson. No they are not elite prospects, but they look like potential MLB players with the outside chance of succeeding similar to a Dozier, or even Arraez who was typical in the teens or twenties on the prospect lists. Right now the depth goes about 40-45 deep in players that I am interested in. 12 of them are from the 2023 draft. As a note in 2019 Julien was ranked as a top 30th prospect and Varland wasn't even in the top 40. You won't have as many hits deeper in the rankings list, however, I think the depth is much stronger right now than what people realize. Granted we have had 2 more games not counted, but there should be a fire for Winokur, if you are calling Jenkins the real deal, right now he looks just as legit. Both have good speed, compact strokes, with plenty of power. Yes they need to continue to improve their contact rates, but both of them are raking for their first taste of pro ball. Winokur still playing at Center and SS is also very interesting, may have bit more defensive versatility in the future, but ultimately likely a corner outfielder. I think what you are seeing is the international prospects for whichever reason, the Twins have not done well with at all at the end of the top 20. They have tended to struggle individually and in the team settings. There are a couple with some power potential but for me they are meh and for the majority way to high on the rankings.

Yep that is the issue and there are lots of things floating out there that we just don't know the truth. There are claims she is 19 and the relationship was when she was 18. She then blackmailed to get 200k and a Mercedes otherwise she would ruin his career. He did not pay up. In either case its prudent for MLB to investigate and find the truth and circumstances of the case at hand. .

I don't think its that simple. The I don't know excuse has plausibility if they have documentation to support it and they have other players corroborating claims. If so he may still get suspended but no where near what Bauer got. Like I said we will have to wait and see. Rushing to judgement like in the Sano case didn't end in the way social media or some on forums expected either. Let the investigators investigate, and see what they discover and ultimately decide. I question the validity of her age, I am not saying it isn't true, however, it would be incredibly rare and would have had severe medical implications for an 11-12 year old bring a baby to term.

MLB and DR will have to evaluate the facts, and the age of 18 isn't necessarily the tipping point on the scale in this case. I think they will be evaluating several things: 1. What is her true age 2. What did she tell Franco her age was. Did she portray herself as older, having a child - allegedly drinking vodka and driving vehicles. 3. Did she have other relations or attempted relations with other ball players and what did she state her age is 4. What was the blackmail scheme, and is there documentation that shows whether Franco knew he was committing a crime, was unaware or ect. That documentation is going to be key. If it occurred on email or text messages or a DM software, it will show a lot of the intent. Obviously they will likely try to interview Franco and the accuser. Get factual information, but I think this hinges on the communication back and forth in the blackmail scheme and what other players tell mlb in the investigation and whether this was a scheme that targeted Franco and ensnared him.

We also don't know the circumstances- it appears the individual in question who claims she is 14, also has a 2 year old child. It creates question and I don't want to understate or overstate that. It also appears she may have had friendships, with other Dominican ball players. I am just saying let the investigation go on. For US rules it is fairly tough on the Accused if the individual was under age unless they were completely duped. Being in another country, immigration rules, the fact she was blackmailing him, has me make pause on this case. In the Sano case I said to let things play out, if he is a scumbag throw the book at him. If he was misled or otherwise, there may be some leeway in the case or they may do nothing if there is a lack of evidence to support the claims.

Doubtful, had it occurred in the US its a different story. MLB will likely put him on the Exempt list pending an investigation similar to Trevor Bauer. Again in that case there was no criminal case which would be similar to this yet he was still suspended for a very long time. However, the question ultimately comes down to did he know or should he have known she was 14. You can't have a blanket no penalties if it occurs in another country, but I do think it does create more cover for Franco and likely less, or much less penalties. The other question is was it factual or not, and is there enough evidence to support the accusations. In Sano's case, there was not enough evidence to support the claims, and it became a he said/she said. In any case it is not a good look, and there is the potential he is a scum bag and this is his last game. At present the likelihood he is suspended for a lengthy time but being that it is in another country, MLB will likely not be as forceful and someone will give him another shot depending on the substantiation of the claims.

Miranda is nice Kiriloff insurance. His value is already depressed. Kiriloff has struggled to remain healthy for a full year. He would just be filling the Gallo position. If 1 or both get injured, can have Williams Prato or another prospect come up.

Gallo is obviously being buoyed by a 4 hit game in august - however, that 1 game I am willing to give him another week or two. The statistical anomaly of him getting 4 hits is extremely high unless he fundamentally did something different and/or the pitching was poor, but he has faced poor pitching recently and did nothing with it. The homerun to the opposite field was impressive to me, he starts spraying a few more balls to left field he will find more hits. He needs more contact period, but if he is a .200 hitter with a .350 or better OBP that is a valuable player. He tends to be streaky, so if we hit for a month or two of him getting hot I will take it. It is small sample size but for August he has a 38% strike out rate. If he can keep it below 40% I think that is the key for him. Split G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB ROE BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+ April/March 19 17 65 55 12 13 3 1 7 14 0 0 9 22 .236 .354 .709 1.063 39 0 1 0 0 0 1 .231 169 185 May 26 22 96 79 9 13 2 0 4 9 0 0 16 37 .165 .313 .342 .654 27 1 1 0 0 1 0 .237 76 81 June 16 14 53 49 5 9 3 0 3 4 0 0 4 26 .184 .245 .429 .674 21 1 0 0 0 0 0 .300 73 81 July 21 13 53 47 6 6 1 0 3 5 0 0 6 29 .128 .226 .340 .567 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 47 52 August 12 8 31 24 3 6 0 0 3 6 0 0 7 12 .250 .419 .625 1.044 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 172 180

He came over in 2021, they messed with his swing in 2021 and 2022, towards the end of 2022 he seemed to start reverting back to more of the contact hitter.

Personally I would have Martin above Varland and SWR. I think it is fair to remove Martin's early season stats due to recovering from injury. Had he not I think he would have put up very good stats this year. Between an amazing fall ball, an excellent spring training before the injury and now a strong August I think Martin is beginning to show the high average, high OBP player that we had expected when the trade was made. I have stated for quite a while I though the low numbers were an aberration due to the Twins system trying to make him into a hitter he was not. I still believe his baseline is a .280-.300 BA and .375 -.400 OBP type player with plenty of steals. That ceiling is much higher than Varland or SWR. Miranda and Martin are a toss up, both ceilings are higher than Varland and SWR - and Varland and Miranda have both struggled at the MLB level.

The extension is a big part of this deal. Arraez representation told the front office they were not interested in an extension. Whether Pablo let it known before the trade he would consider an extension or not, I don't know. However he signed an extension very early in the season telling me a lot of leg work had gone into it. I love Arreaz, but part of our previous history of fading at the end of the year had to do with Arraez. Here is Arraez splits. Arraez OPS + is 76 for August. His Batting average is .260 and that is in 50 plate appearances. As long as Lopez stays healthy the Twins win the trade due to the extension. Split G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB ROE BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+ April/March 25 23 102 89 12 39 5 1 1 11 1 1 11 5 .438 .500 .551 1.051 49 2 1 0 1 3 0 .452 140 192 May 26 25 108 100 7 33 6 0 0 9 0 1 7 5 .330 .380 .390 .770 39 8 1 0 0 2 1 .347 76 113 June 26 26 116 106 17 43 5 0 2 19 0 0 7 7 .406 .448 .509 .958 54 2 2 0 1 3 1 .418 118 165 July 24 23 104 96 7 34 8 1 0 12 0 0 6 7 .354 .388 .458 .847 44 1 0 1 1 0 0 .378 93 130 August 12 11 50 50 6 13 2 1 1 6 0 0 0 4 .260 .260 .400 .660 20 2 0 0 0 0 0 .267 49 76

1. Who is the batting coach in AAA - right now he seems to be drastically outperforming. Prato, Williams and now Martin going off in AAA - others as well. I haven't checked so see if there is just a massive void of pitching talent in AAA or massive overperformance by the bats. Martin has flashed but he needs a strong finish to the year and to remain healthy. He is still on the same track for potential mlb utility player at some point next year, but the glove continues to need to improve. 2. Winokur - think I am more impressed he was able to hit an inside the parker home run - than over the fence home run. Jenkins with 2 stolen bases. My guess is the speed will wane with both players but that is dang impressive.

He should pitch to contact, he isn't striking out people anyways. He will need the extra pitches to get out of innings, but he absolutely cannot walk anyone. He is a filler, nothing more nothing less. Give us a chance to win and see what happens. Its why the Twins needed an overpay (drastically) if they were going to trade Gray or Maeda. We need our 5 pitchers for the rest of the season (but we need them healthy and fresh).

and neither have shown success in the playoffs during that time frame, which the masses including yourself seem to be clamoring for. - Look not a negative comment just trying to show how difficult it is for an organization to be deemed successful. I am done for the day. Like your takes Chpettit. Saw 1 more thing - since 1987 we have won the same amount of WS - beyond that yes we have paled as an organization compared to the Cardinals.

pretty sure the argument is since 2017 unless we are moving the goalposts.