Hawkeye Bean Counter

Ok first off we have find the hardest thing in baseball to find - an Ace and we have that in Pablo. 2ndly, we have Joe Ryan how is he that much different that a Kelly or Pfaadt? FYI Pfaadt had a negative war last year. Ober had a 3 War just a step below Kelly. Honestly Lopez, Ryan and Ober actually match up with Merrill Kelly and Pfaadt. Ive said it in other thread though, Paddack has the highest upside. Paddack has the potential to be your #2 pitcher in the playoffs. The stuff he showed in the playoffs was off the charts. Now does he have the same effectiveness in a starters role. I am very much beginning to rethink Desclafani. I thought he was cleared to pitch, but he may not even be cleared to pitch and if not, that is not a good sign. They are stating they want him to be in the rotation, but will have to wait and see. He was a negative asset in the trade and effectively treated as such. Likely got more prospect return for taking on the remainder of his 4 million salary. It really comes down to can he pitch or is the elbow shot. If healthy, I actually think he can be a decent #3 or #4 this year, maybe higher if we can unlock something with him. So a slight shot at a #2 pitcher like he was with the Giants in 2021. If Minnesota doesn't view him as healthy, then we have another move coming. Beyond that we have the prospect capital to find a #2 at the trade deadline as the minors are actually starting to get a tad clogged.

If you want a big deal Twins - Luzardo, Arraez Marlins - Julien, Ryan, Gonzalez Maybe need a throw in on top. Marlins gain and extra year of control on Ryan, 4 on Julien, and get a solid prospect. Twins get another ace or high end #2. Arraez pairs up much better with Lee. Can keep Lee down this year. Have as utility to get feet wet, then take over second base.

Maybe a little bit, but you have 6 arms for 5 spots, plus prospects below. Its clear we don't have the money to address any problems this year so you have to take a chance. Desclafani is the ? mark. However I thought he was cleared to play at the end of the season. Is he still not cleared to pitch as the article states?

LOL, yeah I took a 6 year stretch since the management change, I am really cherry picking data. Besides if you are going to take the outliers out, wouldn't you take the best and worst records out, not cherry pick out the best year? Then you have to look at what has the team had, in my opinion they have continually tried to cobble a decent team together. I could argue last years and this years teams, may actually be better team constructions than the 2019 team. You had a lot of players catch lightning in a bottle that year. We have almost completely traded away the 2021 draft to supplement the big league team. For me that is ok, I understand the reasoning, however even with doing that they have continued to improve the product and the high end talent on the farm. We have the top end players but then lets look at our number 20 to 30 prospects. 20. Austin Martin - has shown flashes likely mlb outfielder question how good 23. Noah Miller - best defensive shortstop in the minors, started showing flashes with the bat if that improves becomes a prime candidate for the big league team. 24. Zebby Matthews - some thought was one of the best pitchers out of the 2022 draft 27. Darren Bowen - high velocity, 2 effective pitches 28. Yunior Severino - mashed at AAA 29. Noah Cardenas - .780 OPS in high A as a C 30 Andrew Morris - sub 3 era across A and A+ ball In the past those were our prospects in the bottom 10 or in the teens. We are easily going 40 prospects deep anymore that have a legitimate shot at the big leagues, and some pretty high ceilings. We also haven't really seen any of the prospects from last years draft. I am willing to bet at least 4 pitchers draft after the 4th round end up in our top 30 prospects next year. There was just too much quality prospects picked to not have some excel especially with our coaches in A ball.

First off, Paddack has the highest upside of the starters outside of Lopez. The velocity and stuff he showed in the playoffs was great. He has also had 2-3 years to buy into the Twins philosophy. How many innings he can go who knows, but I don't see a big reason to hold him back if he starts hitting 150 innings unless he begins to tire. Desclafani, when healthy has decent stuff. Last year at the beginning of the season he was throwing 93-94 and topping out at 95. The stuff started to slide as the season wore on and fell off a cliff. There is a pretty good red flag on the elbow with the prp injections, which is part of the reason we got him so cheap. However it appears he healed and has been doing his offseason program. I do think the Twins can help him become a more effective pitcher. Also at the start of the season and 2021, he has been very effective when healthy. The "when healthy" is a misnomer. His injury history looks similar to Buxton's. Originally I thought he was a high probability to be an effective 2 or 3 starter if the elbow is healthy. Right now I am hoping he can pitch 2/3rds to 3/4ers of the season. maybe #3 to #4 type stuff, which is pretty effective for what is a $4 million dollar pitcher that appeared to be a throw in to get him off the books. Right now we have 6 pitchers to get through the season with, with 2 health question marks in Desclafani and Paddack. Now one thing to mention. His ankle was an issue that has caused him issues. However he has since had surgery, but on this I think we have to take it in stride and not be a continual issue. For most of his life, it turns out, Anthony DeSclafani was pitching without a groove for the peroneal tendon in his right ankle, his body somehow compensating for that genetic anomaly until late in the 2021 season.

Just curious have they or have they not put a competitive team on the field basically every year since 2017, record of 538-494. I would guess the front office hates the budget constraints as much as anyone. We will see, in a year with long term signed tv/streaming deal, what we look like on the budget side moving forward. However, saying the Twins haven't been competitive, or doing a very good side on the farm side, is extremely short sighted on your front.

Well, its a low wattage move. Good defensive first baseman that is the righty platoon split with Kiriloff. Will bring knowledge and leadership, and defensive value. Can fill in at first base with good defense. I am not expecting his numbers to jump. If we can get 1 to 2 war it will be worth it. It looks like a better signing than Gallo. It tells me we literally have no money to spend other than the $1 million ish filler signings. You use the money from the trade to sign Santana. If we want any more improvement for this team it will have to come from the trade side.

Jensen will most likely make it through. Rosters are filling up. He has been passed up by the bottom teams multiple times.

LOL according the article the Ryan Jensen we DFA's is a 48 year old pitcher who last pitched in 2005. Damn we really are scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Are we really complaining about the Twins trying to sneak interesting arms onto the AAA roster. In most cases won't mean anything. However, if we hit on 1 or 2 of them, no one will be complaining during the season.

I get bally's midwest.

The whole thing was is blackouts were going away, especially for the 7 state area. There is no way I should be considered in market when I live 6 hours away.

So am I able to get MLB subscription and watch or am I still blacked out in Iowa? What is considered "in market?"

Where we had E-Rod, Martin and other medium level prospects. Now have Jenkins, Winokur, Gonzalez, E-Rod, Martin and other prospects. Looks much much stronger in less than a years time.

Here is my wish list and not likely to occur until further down the list. 1. Montgomery - would fill into your #2 slot - too much competition and not enough money 2. Bellinger - Left handed but backs up 1st base and CF, the 2 biggest question marks - money and length of deal is likely a no go 3. JD Martinez - best quality bat left, in the version of Cruz, may be willing to go that route with a healthier Buxton. Likely not due to positional flexibility. 4. Ryu - Could easily be a #3, see this as an option. 5. Duvall, solid overall Several other but start to get more questionmark.

With Winokour, Jenkins, and after the trade Gonzalez, outfield prospects went from a big question mark to dare I say it a strength in the minors if those 3 perform this year.

He came in and looked pretty solid for what was supposed to be an athletic high school project. If he crushes A ball this year we can start to get giddy. Jenkins looks like has the possibility of being a draft pick you hit on once or twice a decade. To have another very very good high school outfielder drafted in the same class, would be sensational. You have heard me say it before this class has the potential to be the game changer for this organization. You have these 2 headlining the hitters along with Keaschall- Then we took a boatload of high upside pitchers that have more talent and experience than we tend to be able to draft due to the depth of last years class.

Yes that does appear so. I thought it would be a curve or changeup.

Its either the 2 pitch reliever route, or likely add a sweeper and keep as a starter.

The Mariners Locked on Podcast were actually pretty high on Bowen, had him as Mariners top 17 prospect, Gonzalez #7 (significantly lower than the top #100 ranking). They say the ball really pops out of his hand, they are a little concerned about durability with a thin frame, and that he is most likely a 2 pitch pitcher. He is more than just a flier. Best comment was, there is much much more chance higher than non zero that Bowen is the best player in this trade.

As to who you put on the trade block I understand. I like Julien better than Lee but thats a personal opinion. As to Desclafani, he had a better 2 month stretch last year than anything Shoemaker did in the 2 years prior.

You can honestly tell in that video he feels a ton better. A singular statement can mean squat. If you can't see in that video the improvement, but also the detail he goes into the procedure, it sure looks like he has a chance to come back healthy. I am more willing to be optimistic.

It is always at what cost Doctor Gast. We have checked in on all the major pitchers, and all the teams are asking way too much. Are you comfortable going a Lee and Lewis for Luzardo, Cease, or Burnes. We are currently in a Mahle situation. Honestly the idea of the trade was great, the cost was sky high. We should have only had to give up one of the bats. You can't control health, but you can control what you give up. Giving those assets away in trade precludes you from using them as a player or in another trade so I don't prefer to overpay. As to second baseman you have a damn fine SS, 2nd baseman in the minors named Lee that could either be traded or fill in for Julien if thats your cup of tea. I think most fans will be pleasantly surprised with Desclafani. I think I will performer closer to his 2021 numbers than 2023.

Wife says no go on spending money :).

This is a caretaker article I would love to have been able to read the full article.