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UK Twin

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Everything posted by UK Twin

  1. UK Twin
    The good news is if you look at the standings from last season the only team you would feel confident in improving their record is the Twins. Well, I suppose the White Sox as well, improving from absolutely pathetic to just plain bad. Take KC - ok, Witt is a superstar and will likely produce MVP candidate stats again. But a chunk of their roster is aging. Perez is 34, turns 35 in May. Lugo, their ace from last year is 35 - it's a lot to ask for a 35 year old SP to replicate his 3.00 ERA from last season. Wacha is 33, he's had 3 strong seasons but he could start to regress. Ragans is very good and I like their bullpen. But plenty of questions remain about their rotation and offense behind Witt. Tigers - Excellent 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation. Skubal is elite and Flaherty good. But question marks about the rest of their rotation and their bullpen isn't particularly special. Their offence is ok, nothing more. Out of KC, Tigers and Cleveland, I think Cleveland have easily the best shot at equalling or bettering their record from last season. Twins are going to be relying on two things - health (as per usual) and the development of our younger hitters such as Lee, Wallner, Lewis and Julien. The rotation is strong, 4 very reliable and durable pitchers, bullpen needs a lefty but otherwise looks strong and if Lewis shakes off his slump from last season we've got a strong heart of the batting line up. AL Central could be a fun division to watch again. The inter-division games will be so important. We sucked against Cleveland last season, OK against KC and Detroit and beat up the White Sox if my memory is correct. Must improve against Cleveland.
  2. UK Twin
    Well his mindset is in the right place - he's said he's aiming to play MLB this year. I think as a top prospect you have to have that self-confidence. Will be very keen to see how he gets on in Spring Training and then AAA. I'm fairly certain he won't spend much time at AA at all.
  3. UK Twin
    It really is hardly surprising that baseball players get injured so regularly compared to other sports. They have to play 5 games a week on average for 6 months. Obviously SP's only play 1 every 5 or 6 days and RP's are managed but I still think any baseball player's workload is more than any other sport. NFL - play once a week and have huge rosters so players can rotate. NBA - more off days in a week and players can sub in and out during a game. Admittedly baseball isn't as physically demanding as those sports but the sheer volume of game time takes its toll, particularly for positions like SS and CF. Players get minor injuries but feel they can play through it and it blows up into something more serious and then they miss weeks rather than days or even months rather than weeks. Hopefully Rocco will be proactive in blowout games (both for wins and losses) and take Correa and Buck out of the game when the result is almost certainly a foregone conclusion.
  4. UK Twin
    Hardly. That leaves Jenkins, Rodriguez, Keaschall, as top 100 prospects and then there's younger prospects like Culpepper and Soto who are highly rated.
  5. UK Twin
    I would certainly be OK with including Matthews in a deal for Cease. With Festa and SWR in the fold, we can afford to deal Matthews. Even if it's only for a year, a rotation of Lopez, Cease, Ryan, Ober and Festa/SWR would be one of the strongest rotations in MLB.
  6. UK Twin
    I would be open to Vazquez plus Matthews for Cease. I would not include Festa (who I assume SD would be asking for). But if we could get Cease for a reasonable price we should go for it. A rotation of Lopez, Cease, Ryan, Ober and SWR/Festa would be right up there with the best rotations in the AL, it not MLB.
  7. UK Twin
    I do like where the Twins rotation is right now. After suffering through the 2010's with the likes of Pelfrey and Correia as our BETTER options it's great to have a 1-2-3 of Lopez, Ryan and Ober. I'm still not 100% sold on SWR - I think Festa will overtake him to become the 4th spot in the rotation - his stuff is better and am quite excited to how he will develop. I fully expect Paddack to be traded as we will have Matthews and Varland as depth options. I think the Twins have the deepest rotation along with KC even if Detroit has the best SP in the AL Central.
  8. UK Twin
    As disappointing as this offseason has been, the news about the sale of the Twins progressing is very good news indeed. If, as has been reported, a sale is completed by opening day there is absolutely no way the Twins should consider trading Correa or Lopez or any other key name. And the longer Alonso goes without signing.....
  9. UK Twin
    I wouldn't be that surprised if Jenkins had had his first taste of MLB by then. If he continues on his trajectory, I think at the very least he's a September call up candidate in the 2025 season. He'll most likely still qualify as a prospect unless he does something truly special and skips AAA completely like Soto did. Very unlikely though - but I think he's capable of it. Don't see the Twins being that aggressive with him though.
  10. UK Twin
    Very early days, but this would be a complete gamechanger for the Twins franchise. They pretty much check every box for ideal owners - deep pockets and ambitions to match. Too early to get too excited about this, but promising signs.
  11. UK Twin
    Twins can be active in the trade market without trading one of their star players. I wouldn't mind us going to the Mariners and dangling Brooks Lee to them for Bryce Miller. Maybe include Paddack if they are worried about losing rotation depth.
  12. UK Twin
    It would more likely need to be Wallner instead of Larnach to tempt the Marlins. More team control and more upside. TBH I would still do that - Wallner for Luzardo. With Rodriguez coming in 2025 and Jenkins not long after I do think Wallner could be a trade chip.
  13. UK Twin
    If Rodriguez has a monster Spring Training, Twins should just ride with it and include him on the roster from opening day. There's a clear opening on the roster for him with Kepler departing if he can show he's ready.
  14. UK Twin
    I think Jenkins could be a superstar one day. His potential is enornmous. But no need to rush his development. He should end next year in AAA if it all goes to plan. Like others have said, I think Rodriguez is the one who will be next up. His bat is pretty much ready for MLB now.
  15. UK Twin
    Well that plain sucks. Injuries have ruined a hugely talented baseball player. I really hope he finds something, whether related to baseball or not, that makes him happy. All the best AK!
  16. UK Twin
    I definitely think fans should be cautiously optimistic about this news. We don't even know if there are any interested parties at this stage. But the Pohlad's have clearly been thinking of selling for a while now and you'd like to think by making the news public they probably have receieved some interest. I'm trying to determine how appealing the Twins would be to buy - one one hand the Twins are a small to mid-market franchise. However, Minnesota teams are on the rise - Wolves and Vikings doing so well and both having superstars on their rosters so increasing the Twins profile may appeal to a billionaire's vanity. Also, the Twins roster is built for success now and for the future. Twins farm system is as good as its been for a long time. I think if the Pohlad's are serious about selling, they will find a buyer. I'm just hoping they will choose a buyer who has a positive long term vision for the Twins.
  17. UK Twin
    The first question Twins need to ask before being open to a trade is how often we sign a player of this caliber in free agency? The answer - virtually never. The injuries he's had while with the Twins are nothing to do with why the Giants and Mets pulled out of their deals - Twins always seem to have such bad luck with injuries. We don't need to do that much to the roster over the offseason IMO - Lopez, Ryan, Ober and SWR are locks for the rotation. Trade Paddack possibly, add another veteran arm. Bullpen needs a bit of work. Need to either re-sign Santana or replace him. Kepler's defense will be missed, not so much his bat. We've still got a play off caliber roster IMO. A dreadful September doesn't change that. Which is why keeping Correa is a no brainer. Yes, his AAV is high, but he's only got 5 guaranteed years left. We have to find a way of keeping him on the field. Buxton - we got a discount on his contract because of his injury history so you accept he has to be managed. Correa needs to be playing 80%+ of the games. But he clearly makes a huge difference when he plays.
  18. UK Twin
    If that is indeed the case then Popkins and Maki have to go. Someone needs to be held accountable for this utter farce. Can't blame the Pohlad's for this collapse (well, not entirely). The coaching and managing has been abysmal. The buck should stop with Baldelli. It's his team, he should be the one to be fired. But there are valid arguments for the dismissal of Popkins and Maki (Popkins in particular) instead. The hitting has been largely abysmal with RISP. While the pitching has also gone backwards, Maki may get a pass due to the sheer number of injuries there. Our season was on the line and we lost a home series to Miami. Are you kidding me? That is embarrassing.
  19. UK Twin
    It's not just physical burn out. It's mental burn out too. Besides, it's mainly since Ryan went down where the problems have really started - I'd be interested to know the Twins bullpen usage since then compared to the rest of the league. And you're seriously going to compare Cleveland's bullpen to ours? Theirs is the best in baseball so it makes sense to use it as much as they have. Over the last month, the Twins bullpen has been massively overworked - the offense can be partly blamed for that as they've been constantly trying to protect 1 and 2 run leads. But Rocco's not helping either by pulling SWR out early like he did yesterday.
  20. UK Twin
    The bullpen is completely overworked so Rocco pulls SWR after 70 odd pitches and less than 5 innings pitched. Absolute masterclass that. Our lack of depth is not his fault but he cannot keep pulling SP's out just to get a matchup he likes (and it didn't even work - Manzardo got a hit!) SWR was pitching well enough to stay in the game. Our bullpen, apart from Jax and Duran, is a mish mash of unproven arms or washed up veterans (sorry Caleb, but you're finished). It's a good job Sands has stepped up this year or it would be in even worse shape. I've come to the conclusion that if we fail to make the play offs, Rocco has to go, simple as that. We had enough of a lead where. despite the injuries, we should have been more than comfortable in the WC positions. He just keeps making the same mistakes and the bullpen is now burnt out because of his ridiculous decisions to keep pulling the three rookie SP's early. Sometimes it's been unavoidable due to high pitch counts or they're getting hit around but he seems to be doing it every time they pitch. It's hardly a surprise the bullpen keep blowing leads. The payroll cutting cannot be solely blamed either. Cleveland have a low payroll and they have one of the best records in baseball this year. That has come down to good in game management and excellent coaching.
  21. UK Twin
    Well, Cleveland will be looking nervously over their shoulders now. 3.5 games is nothing, and that's without the 4 game set coming up at Target Field. Great job by Festa, need him to step up now that we didn't acquire a SP via trade. Regarding Larnach, all it takes is a 3-4 second mental lapse for what happened to happen. He'll be angry with himself but no point dwelling on it. It didn't cost the team, learn from it, move on.
  22. UK Twin
    Heck of a win, heck of a series win. We still need a SP but the fact that SWR held the Phillies scoreless through 6 innings in game 2 and Festa pitched well with good stuff in game 3 bodes well for the future. I really didn't see us coming back at 4-1 and switched off. I was very pleasantly surprised when I next checked the score and it was 4-4! Stewart was a little rusty but that was to be expected. Big boost to the bullpen to have him back. Lewis and Miranda will hopefully be in Detroit as well - we'll need both to face Skubal. Now can the Guardians and Royals have some injuries please? I think Kwan was injured for a while but really, neither side have had to deal with anywhere near the amount of key players out as the Twins. Royals are toast if anything happens to Witt, Guardians are very top heavy with their batting line up as well. Twins still have a good shot at winning the AL Central, just need a SP (Flaherty would be good) and maybe a LH RP as well.
  23. UK Twin
    I think that Correa being the only Twins all star is telling for a number of reasons. Firstly, it shows that the line up isn't top heavy or being held together by one or two hitters. Everyone is contributing which means the stats like RBI's are being shared out pretty equally. It's not great for all star recognition but it's very good for the team. Secondly, the Twins are going under the radar a bit, particularly with how good Cleveland have been. Fine with me. The gap is only 6 games. Let Cleveland have all the attention.
  24. UK Twin
    That's a great series win. Astros came in really hot and to take the series after losing the first game (again!) is excellent. Brooks Lee looks so at home at MLB level. Our infield looks awesome for years to come. Farmer needs to be DFA'd now. He's not needed against LHP and Julien would provide a better bat against RHP.
  25. UK Twin
    The difference between Lewis and Trout is that Trout plays a much more physically demanding position. Like Buxton, Trout will have to be managed carefully. Lewis not so much. Lewis will require the odd off day and days DHing but all of his value is in his bat so that doesn't matter. I think the reward outweighs the risk when it comes to an extension for Lewis.
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