Cody Christie

Class of 2019 Roy Halladay: Tragically, Halladay won’t be in Cooperstown to give an acceptance speech. He crashed his plane into the Gulf of Mexico in November 2017. Halladay might be the last pitcher of a former era. He compiled 67 complete games in his career and he needed fewer than 100 pitches in 14 of those complete games. Halladay won two Cy Young awards (2003, 2010) and he finished in the top-five another five times. There may not be another pitcher like Halladay. Edgar Martinez: With the recent election of Baines, it makes no sense to keep Martinez out of the hall. He is one of the best designated hitters of all-time and he is in his final year on the ballot. Paul Molitor spend 44% of his career playing DH and Frank Thomas spend 57% of his career at DH. Both have been elected to the Hall. He received over 70% of the vote in 2018 so he should easily break the 75% threshold in the current election cycle. Mariano Rivera: Rivera utilized one of the best pitches, a cut fastball, in baseball history to become one of the best pitchers in baseball history. He set the all-time record for saves (652) but he might be most remembered for his dominance during postseason play. He was part of five World Series winners and he collected the final outs in four of those championship seasons. Rivera was also a great influence off the field and he could end up with one of the highest voting percentages in Hall of Fame history. Future Inductions Mike Mussina: Mussina’s long career stacks up well, especially when compared to the era that he pitched in. Other pitchers from the era have garnered more recognition but Mussina was strong throughout his career. In one 10-year stretch, he received Cy Young votes in eight different seasons. After finishing at 63.5% in 2018, he’s going to be borderline this year to get in. I think he has to wait one more year and he will be part of the Class of 2020. Omar Vizquel: Vizquel follows the mold of Ozzie Smith in the fact that nearly all of his value came on the defensive side of the ball. Think of him as the anti-Edgar Martinez, whose value came completely on the offensive side. His 11 Gold Gloves at shortstop are second most all-time behind Smith. Smith was a first ballot Hall of Famer. Every shortstop ahead of him on the all-time hits lists is enshrined in Cooperstown or on their way. He should get in, but he will need to gain more support in the years to come. May Never Get In (But Still On My Ballot) Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Larry Walker, Andrew Jones, Todd Helton Bonds and Clemens are two of the greatest players of all time but their connection to the steroid era has kept them out of Cooperstown. Walker continues to gain ground, but recent crowded ballots have kept him from getting elected. He is in his ninth year of eligibility, which means 2020 will be his last opportunity on the writer’s ballot. Jones is a long way from being elected in his second year on the ballot. He is one of the best defensive players of all-time and I think he will can some traction in the years ahead. Helton gets little support due to playing his entire career in Colorado. Still his offensive accolades put him on the borderline for enshrinement. To be transparent, some things have changed on my ballot from last year to this year. I correctly predicted the four players who would be elected last year (Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, Chipper Jones, and Jim Thome). I have replaced those four players on this year’s ballot with two first time candidates (Halladay, Rivera), while adding three new candidates (Walker, Jones, and Helton). Johan Santana fell off the ballot in his first year of eligibility, but I tried to make his case in a series of posts last year. If you missed any of the series on Johan Santana’s Cooperstown Case, there were three parts to the series. The first post looked at the Kirby Puckett Clause and how it can be applied to Santana. The second article touched on the similarities in careers between Santana and the great Sandy Koufax. The third and final piece touched on his missing third Cy Young. Here is the official list of players available to be voted for by the BBWAA. Who makes your list? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

If you would like to see other toolsy prospects (along with articles from each Twins affiliate, full articles on the Twins Daily Minor League Award winners, over 160 Twins minor league player profiles, prospect rankings and much more), you have a couple of purchase options. If you want the paperbook copy of the book, it is $17.99. The electronic, PDF version is available for immediate download for $12.99. (Be sure to go to Lulu.com to see if there are any promo codes to provide a better price.) Best Hit Tool: Alex Kirilloff Alex Kirilloff might have the best hit tool of any prospect in the minor leagues not named Vladimir Guerrero Jr. As a 20-year old, Kirilloff was almost two and a half years younger than the competition in the Florida State League. He led the minor leagues with 71 extra-base hits and had a .970 OPS. MiLB named Kirilloff the Breakout Prospect of the Year because of his offensive explosion. The only question remaining might be if Kirilloff can turn his hit tool into making his big-league debut in 2019. Honorable Mention: Luis Arraez, Royce Lewis Best Power Tool: Brent Rooker Rooker burst onto the scene after being drafted by the Twins in 2017. In 62 games between E-Town and Fort Myers, he cracked 18 home runs and posted a .930 OPS. Rooker spent all of 2018 at Double-A, where he combined for 22 home runs and 32 doubles. His powerful swing resulted in some swing and miss tendencies as he compiled 150 strikeouts in 130 games played. Minnesota needs a new first baseman, but the team has already added CJ Cron and Nelson Cruz so far this off-season. This likely means Rooker starts the year in the minors but his powerful bat should get him to Minnesota. Honorable Mention: Trevor Larnach, Luke Raley, Jaylin Davis, Travis Blankenhorn, Alex Kirilloff, Jose Miranda, Trey Cabbage Best Run Tool: Royce Lewis Lewis is widely considered the best prospect in the Twins system and his five-tool skills make him standout above the crowd. His 28 steals were the most in the organization last season and he was only thrown out eight times. As a 19-year old, Lewis was almost three and a half years younger than the competition in the FSL. He and Kirilloff helped the Miracle to the FSL Championship. At this time next year, Lewis could be considered baseball’s top prospect. It’s scary to think how much better he could get over the next year. Honorable Mention: Akil Baddoo, Aaron Whitefield, Zack Granite, Tanner English Best Arm Tool: Andrew Bechtold Bechtold was taken out of college in the fifth round of the 2017 draft. He spent all of 2018 in Cedar Rapids while making most of his defensive starts at third base (670.1 innings). Bechtold did play roughly 200 innings at second base but his strong arm is probably wasted at the position. If he wants to make it to the big leagues as a third baseman, Bechtold is going to need get closer to his offensive numbers from his professional debut. His OPS dropped from .829 in 2017 to .593 in 2018. He will move up to the FSL this year, where he will try and make some offensive adjustments. Honorable Mention: Tanner English, Brian Navarreto, Ben Rortvedt Best Field Tool: Tanner English English has spent the last five seasons in the Twins system and played all last year in Chattanooga. In his age-25 season, he was over a year older than the competition in the Southern League. During his time in the organization, he has accumulated 26 outfield assists and a .992 fielding percentage. His career .239/.335/.387 batting line probably won’t make him a starter at the big-league level. However, his defensive skills could make him a useful fourth outfielder. His speed has also been evident on the base paths as he has accumulated 35 steals or more in any season he’s played over 100 games. Honorable Mention: Brian Navarreto, Zack Granite, Aaron Whitefield, David Banuelos, Royce Lewis Best Athlete: Royce Lewis Lewis is extremely athletic on both sides of the ball. On the offensive side, he can power the ball to all fields and he’s shown patience to draw walks. As mentioned above, any time he can get on base is a good thing because he has the best run tool of any player in the organization. Defensively, he will be given every opportunity to stick at shortstop. His athleticism helps him to have strong range and good hands. Right now, all Twins fans are familiar with Lewis, but the 2019 season could be his coming out party at the national level. Honorable Mention: Akil Baddoo, Travis Blankenhorn, Wander Javier, Tanner English, Gilberto Celestino, DaShawn Keirsey How does the list look? Who would you rank at the top of each tool? To read more about the tools of over 160 prospects and much more about the Twins minor leagues, grab your copy (or copies) of the 2019 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. Paperback version PDF version

Current Players After last season, it might be hard to put any player on a path to having his number retired. Jose Berrios had a strong season. In his age-24 season, he was named an All-Star and was tied for the league lead in complete games (2) and shutouts (1). Berrios also pitched over 190 big league innings for the first time in his career. He has a shot at greatness if he can continue to make subtle improvements while becoming the front of the rotation starter the Twins desperately need. Other players like Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton seemed to be on a path to having their numbers retired. Sano was an All-Star in 2017 as he went on to crack 28 home runs and post a .859 OPS. Buxton was also strong in 2017. He was awarded the American League Platinum Glove for his stellar defense and there were flashes of him putting it together at the plate. Sano and Buxton stumbled through last season, which makes it tough to imagine their numbers being retired. Sano wound up being demoted to the minor leagues and Buxton fought through multiple injuries. The speedy centerfielder also wasn’t brought up in September and he recently told reports that he was “pissed” with the club about this decision. Could 17 be added to the Target Field wall? What about 22 or 25? Top Prospects Royce Lewis is widely considered the top prospect in the Twins farm system. In the 2019 Twins Prospect Handbook, I wrote an article comparing Lewis’ and Mauer’s careers through their first pair of professional seasons. Both were former number one overall picks and both players started their professional careers on a strong note. https://twitter.com/MillerStrib/status/1075164091914825728 Other top prospects like Alex Kirilloff and Brusdar Graterol are coming off strong minor league campaigns. Kirilloff was named MiLB.com’s Breakout Prospect of the Year after destroying the MWL and the FSL. Graterol might be the Twins best pitching prospect since Francisco Liriano and that takes nothing away from how good Berrios could wind up being in the years ahead. MiLB.com thinks Lewis and Kirilloff might be the most dynamic duo in the minor leagues. They moved through the minor leagues together last year and helped the Miracle win the FSL playoffs. It’s not hard to imagine a scenario where one of these two players has his number retired at some point in the next couple of decades. The next retired number might not be on the roster but there are some bright spots coming in the farm system. If you would like to read more about the prospects mentioned in this post (along with articles from each Twins affiliate, full articles on the Twins Daily Minor League Award winners, over 160 Twins minor league player profiles, prospect rankings and much more), you have a couple of purchase options. If you want the paperbook copy of the book, it is $17.99. The electronic, PDF version is available for immediate download for $12.99. (Be sure to go to Lulu.com to see if there are any promo codes to provide a better price.)

Seth’s 2018 Breakout Prospects Tyler Jay, LH Relief Pitcher 2018 Stats: 4-5, 4.22 ERA, 38/2 G/GS, 1.58 WHIP, 49/20 K/BB, 59.2 IP Jay, a former first round pick, is still trying to live up to the potential the former Twins front office saw in him. He spent all of 2018 at Double-A and there were certainly some mixed results. At season’s end, he was left off the 40-man roster and was exposed to the Rule 5 Draft. He went unclaimed and will stay in the organization. Last year Kohl Stewart went through the same process and he ended the year in the big-league rotation. Can Jay follow a similar path to make his big league debut? Lewis Thorpe, LH Starting Pitcher 2018 Stats: 8-7, 3.54 ERA, 26/25 G/GS, 1.24 WHIP, 157/36 K/BB, 129.2 IP Thorpe pitched for Chattanooga and Rochester in 2018. He was named the 2018 Jim Rantz Award winner as the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Thorpe had the opportunity to represent the Twins organization in the MLB Future’s Game during the MLB All-Star break. The 22-year old missed the 2015 and 2016 seasons as he recovered from Tommy John surgery and an illness, but he seems to have things back on track. Cody’s 2018 Breakout Prospects Felix Jorge, RH Starting Pitcher 2018 Stats: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2/1 G/GS, 0.67 WHIP, 2/0 K/BB, 3.0 IP By looking at previous prospect rankings found in the Twins Prospect Handbook, it’s easy to see that I have been driving the Felix Jorge bandwagon for multiple seasons. Naming him a breakout prospect for 2018 was a last-ditch effort to keep that bandwagon on the road. He missed almost all of 2018 as he dealt with a triceps injury and he was removed from the team’s 40-man roster. Jacob Pearson, Outfield 2018 Stats: .237/.312/.376, 12 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 36 RBI, 22.1 K%, 9.3 BB%, 6/11 SB Pearson spent his first season in the organization roaming the outfield in Cedar Rapids. As a 20-year old, he was almost a year and a half younger than the competition in the Midwest League. Through the end of June (32 games), he was hitting .294/.359/.429 with 10 extra-base hits. His number dropped from there as he might have tired from the rigors of a full-season campaign. Pearson won’t make it into any 2019 Top-10 lists but that has more to do with the prospects being added to the system. He still has a chance to be a breakout prospect in the years to come. Tom’s 2018 Breakout Prospects Jose Miranda, Infielder 2018 Stats: .264/.319/.417, 27 2B, 1 3B, 16 HR, 82 RBI, 11.2 K%, 5.6 BB%, 0/3 SB Miranda’s season started in the MWL, where he was almost a year and a half younger than the competition. In over 100 games, .277/.326/.434 with 13 home runs and 22 doubles. His transition to the FSL wasn’t exactly smooth has his average dipped to .216. That being said, Miranda was a key cog in the Miracle’s playoff run. He hit .400 with two home runs and three doubles in six playoff games. He’s not quite a Top-10 prospect but he is trending in the right direction. Jermaine Palacios, Shortstop 2018 Stats: .217/.269/.306, 20 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 53 RBI, 19.4 K%, 6.5 BB%, 8/16 SB Palacios was traded from the Twins organization for Jake Odorizzi on February 17, 2018. He split time during the 2018 campaign between Tampa’s High-A and Double-A teams. When he got to Double-A, he was almost three years younger than the competition. His .575 OPS was the second lowest total of his career. Minnesota’s organizational depth, especially at shortstop, allowed for Palacios to be expendable last off-season. To read more about this year’s breakout prospects and much more about the Twins minor leagues, grab your copy (or copies) of the 2019 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. Paperback version PDF version

https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/1065028331698040832 Goldschmidt has been one of the most consistent players in the National League over the better part of the last decade. He’s been an All-Star for six straight seasons and added three Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers. During that same stretch, he’s finished in the top-3 for MVP voting three times. Entering his age-31 season, Goldschmidt hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. Last year, he hit .290/.389/.533 with 33 home runs and 35 doubles. Since 2013, he has the third highest fWAR in all of baseball. Only Mike Trout and Josh Donaldson are higher than him on that list. Goldschmidt has one more year remaining on his contract and he is due to make $14.5 million next season. Minnesota would likely need to surrender multiple top prospects in a Goldschmidt deal. It’s also tough to paint the team in “win-now mode.” There’s no guarantee Goldschmidt re-signs with the team trading for him and he will likely want to test the free agent waters. Goldschmidt might be keeping an eye on some of the big free agents this off-season to see what kind of market develops. Last year, there were multiple instances of players having to settle for contracts that might have been deemed below average. Goldschmidt might want the security of a long-term deal before hitting free agency, especially since he will be in his early 30s. If Minnesota trades for him now, they would still be able to offer him a qualifying offer. He’d turn it down and then the club could get compensatory draft pick if he decided to sign elsewhere. If they waited to acquire him in the season, Goldschmidt wouldn’t be eligible for a qualifying offer. Lots of teams might be interested in trading for Goldschmidt, but the Twins interest might not be all that serious. https://twitter.com/DanHayesMLB/status/1065060404617990144 There’s no denying that Goldschmidt is a great player but only one year of team control is definitely a deterrent. What do you think it would take to get Goldschmidt? Do the Twins need him for next season? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

The American League Finalists for MVP Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox Betts was a key cog in Boston’s dominant regular season run in the American League. He led the American League in batting average with an outstanding .346 mark. He wasn’t just about the average though as he led the big leagues in slugging percentage (.640) and runs scored (129). He was a record-setter this year as well. He became the first batting champion to have 30 or more steals and home runs. Betts is also one of the best defenders in the league and this helped him to have the top WAR total according to both versions of WAR (FanGraphs and Baseball Reference) Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians Ramirez joined an elite club during the 2018 campaign. He became just the fifth third baseman to join the 30-30 club. He also compiled a lot of other statistics the voters like to see, with 100 runs scored and 100 RBIs. Only 25 players have been members of the 30-30 club while scoring over 100 runs and driving in over 100 runs. Ramirez and the Indians beat up on the AL Central and he played a large role in the club winning their third straight division title. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels Trout has been the game’s best player for most of the last decade. That being said, he has only been awarded two AL MVP awards during that time (2014, 2016). The Angels have struggled during his career and this has likely cost him the opportunity to win other MVP awards. Even with the Angels posting an under .500 record, Trout notched career highs in OPS (1.088) and on-base percentage (.460). It seems like the award will be handed to Betts and Trout will be the runner-up for the fourth time in the last seven seasons. Cody’s American League MVP Ballot 10. Whit Merrifield, Royals 9. Gerrit Cole, Astros 8. J.D. Martinez, Red Sox 7. Justin Verlander, Astros 6. Matt Chapman, Athletics 5. Francisco Lindor, Indians 4. Alex Bregman, Astros 3. Jose Ramirez, Indians 2. Mike Trout, Angels 1. Mookie Betts, Red Sox The National League Finalist for MVP Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies Arenado has been a rock for the Rockies over the course of his career and he is headed for his highest MVP finish. He’s arguably the best defensive third baseman in the National League. However, defense isn’t the only story with Arenado. He led the league in home runs and he had an OPS over .900. Colorado was a surprise team this season and Arenado is the face of the franchise. It seems likely that he will win an MVP at some point in his career, but this doesn’t seem like the year. Javier Baez, Chicago Cubs Baez logged over 20 games at three different defensive positions this season as Joe Maddon took advantage of his versatility. He seemed to fill up almost every part of the stat sheet. His 111 RBIs lead the National League and he finished second in extra-base hits. Overall, he finished with 40 doubles, over 30 home runs, and over 20 steals. He was a fantasy owner’s dream with all of those stats. Chicago ultimate fell short of their goal, but Baez helped them to stay neck and neck with Milwaukee. Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers Much like Betts in the American League, Yelich led the National League in both versions of WAR. Also, he won the batting title (.326) and finished first in OPS (1.000) and total bases (343). During the middle of the season, there was some talk about Jacob deGrom being the front-runner for this award. Yelich put most of those whispers to rest as he dominated in September and pushed the Brewers to the NL Central title. During that final month, he posted a 1.312 OPS, so he can probably start preparing his acceptance speech. Cody’s National League MVP Ballot 10. Trevor Story, Rockies 9. Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks 8. Lorenzo Cain, Brewers 7. Max Scherzer, Nationals 6. Freddie Freeman, Braves 5. Anthony Rendon, Nationals 4. Jacob deGrom, Mets 3. Javier Baez, Cubs 2. Nolan Arenado, Rockies 1. Christian Yelich, Brewers Who would be on your ballot? Should deGrom have been a finalist for the MVP? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

Brad Mills Current Role: Indians bench coach Qualifications: Mills spent eleven seasons managing in the minor league system of the Cubs, Rockies and Dodgers. He has deep ties to Terry Francona as he was his first base coach in Philadelphia and his bench coach with the Boston Red Sox. Mills was manager of the Astros from 2010-2012, which included two straight 100 loss seasons as the club looked to rebuild. Sandy Alomar Jr Current Role: Indians first-base coach Qualifications: His coaching career started as the catching instructor for the New York Mets organization. He has been on the Indians staff since the 2010 season and served as the interim manager at the end of the 2012 campaign. He had been rumored to be in the running for previous managerial jobs in Toronto, Chicago, and Boston. Joe Espada Current Role: Astros bench coach Qualifications: Espada spent eight seasons managing and coaching in the Marlins organization. From there, he took a special assistant job with Brian Cashman, the Yankees GM. For two seasons, he was the Yankees infield coach and third base coach. In the last two World Baseball Classics, he has coached for the Puerto Rican team and he manages in the Puerto Rican winter league. Brandon Hyde Current Role: Cubs bench coach Qualifications: Hyde coached and managed in the Marlins organization for the better part of a decade. This included stints as the acting manager and the team’s MLB bench coach. He’s served as bench coach and first base coach under the last two Cubs managers, Rick Reneria and Joe Maddon. Last off-season, he was offered a job with the Mets but decided to stay with the Cubs. Mark DeRosa Current Role: MLB Network studio analyst Qualifications: Derosa retired from baseball in 2013 and accepted a studio analyst position with MLB Network. He has no professional coaching experience. The Star Tribune wrote of the club’s interest in him last weekend. David Ross Current Role: ESPN baseball color analyst Qualifications: He famously retired after the Cubs run to the 2016 World Series title. Since his retirement, he has appeared on shows like Dancing with the Stars and Saturday Night Live. He has also written a book and worked closely with charities in the Chicago area. He has no professional coaching experience. The Star Tribune wrote of the club’s interest in him last weekend. Which external candidate seems like the best fit for the Twins? Or will the club go with another internal candidate? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

Derek Shelton Current Role: Twins Bench Coach Qualifications: He spent seven seasons as hitting coach under Joe Maddon in Tampa Bay. Also, he spent five seasons as hitting coach in Cleveland. He managed in the Yankees minor league system for multiple years. The 2018 season was his 14th season as a coach at the big-league level. Jeff Pickler Current Role: Twins Major League coach Qualifications: This past season was his second season as a professional coach. His roles this season included instructing the outfielders, advising coaches and players on game preparation, and communicating with the player development side of the baseball operations department. He served as a scout with the Diamonbacks and Padres organization. He also served in a front office role with the Dodgers. James Rowson Current Role: Twins hitting coach Qualifications: He has coached professionally for 17 seasons. Had multiple tenures with the Yankees organization as their minor league hitting coordinator. He spent a couple seasons in the Cubs organization as their minor league hitting coordinator and big-league hitting coach. Minnesota has already interviewed him for the job. Joel Skinner Current Role: Twins Triple-A manager Qualifications: He spent six seasons managing in the Indians minor league system. He moved up to Cleveland’s big-league staff in 2000 and even served as the interim manager in 2002. At the time, he was the youngest manager in baseball. He remained on the coaching staff until 2009 and then moved on to become Oakland’s bench coach. This past season was his first in the Twins system. How do you view the internal candidates? Do any of them have a leg-up on the job? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

More details continue to emerge but here is what is known at this time: Sano and his wife were leaving a nightclub at 3 am on Sunday morning. Officer Argenis Emilio Gillandeux questioned Sano because his pickup truck didn’t have a license plate and Sano didn’t have his driver’s license on him. Sano and his wife returned to his truck but they were unaware Gillandeux had not moved his motorcycle from behind his truck. Sano was detained by police for several hours on Sunday. Eventually, he was allowed to return home under the condition that he return to traffic court on Monday. Sano drove the injured officer to the hospital himself. They have known each other and attended school together. Sano won’t be charged with a crime because he did not abandon the scene of the accident. On Sunday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins responded to the situation with the following statement: https://twitter.com/DWolfsonKSTP/status/1049050899895738374 While the information above paints one picture of the situation, other information from other observers paints a very different tone to the incident. Originally, it was thought that Sano fled the scene. Or in some cases, there were accusations of gun shots from Sano’s vehicle. https://twitter.com/MarianaGuzzy/status/1049037993539985409 More information could continue to come out in the days ahead but it’s definitely not the start Minnesota wanted for Sano’s offseason. He struggled through different parts of the 2018 campaign and he has a new focus heading into 2019. This was after he weighed as much as 290 pounds this past season. “For next year, I’ll be OK. I’ll lose weight and get in better shape. I know who I am and what I can do.” Let’s hope he stays out of the news and focuses on returning to his 2017 All-Star form.

Garver won the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2017 and the Twins organization also honored him with the same award. He has been a hitter throughout his time in the minor leagues and his game calling ability has continued to improve. Jason Castro’s injury allowed him to take on a more regular role as the team’s backstop. “It was a different role than I thought it was going to be, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Garver said. “Big growing experience, learning experience. From where I was last year to where I am now is a world of difference as far as confidence, understand(ing) the game and the speed of this level and that feeling of belonging.” In April, Garver got the season started off on the right foot. He batted .281/.324/.531 with four extra-base hits through his first 12 games. May was his worst month as he struggled to a .544 OPS with more strikeouts (15) than hits (12). From there, something clicked and Garver became on the team’s most consistent hitters. After hitting .249/.332/.367 in the first half, Garver improved in every category in the second half. He hit .295/.343/.481 with 32 RBI and 16 extra-base hits in the second half. Among Twins players, only Jorge Polanco had more RBI in the second half. Garver was also able to put up these numbers while catching the most games on the team. Garver’s second half wasn’t just one of the best on the Twins. It was very comparable to other MLB catchers. His RBI total ranks his third in baseball behind Salvador Perez and Yadier Molina. His slugging percentage also ranks him third behind Perez and Yasmani Grandal. His weighted runs created (wRC+) was also third among catchers as he trailed Grandal and Omar Narvaez. One of the biggest changes for Garver was the mentalityy that he belongs at the big-league level. “It’s not really physical, it’s just knowing you can play at this level. That’s the biggest thing,” he said. “From where I was last year -which I knew I could play at this level but I had to see myself do it - that’s the biggest difference.” Even as a right-handed batter, he did most of his damage against right-handed pitching. His OPS was 183 points higher against righties and he got on base over 35% of the time. His strikeout to walk ratio looked better against lefties since he faced them in fewer at-bats. In 107 plate appearances, he posted an 18 to 10 strikeout to walk ratio versus southpaws. When former Twins manager Paul Molitor was asked to evaluate Garver’s rookie season, he said he saw plenty of positive signs this year but there are also areas where Garver continues to improve. “It’s a positive, and really a pretty easy positive,” Molitor said. “We monitor the catching progress day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month, and we’ve seen areas that numbers are showing up in a better way. I think that he knows that he has to get better in some capacities involving everything from pitching calling to framing and all those things.” “Offensively, I thought he was he was a little tentative early in the year,” Molitor added. “As his aggressiveness came, situational, finding out there’s a lot of hits over there in right field with his swing. Production, he was sitting in the low-teens in RBIs for a long time as I can recall. He’s had a nice spurt here where he started finding a way to not only get hits, but meaningful hits. I think that’s helped him and where his future might go and the role he’ll play moving forward. With Jason coming back, we’re going to have to evaluate where we’re at and see how that combination potentially works together.” Congrats to the Twins Daily Rookie of the Year, Mitch “Garv Sauce” Garver! Candidates Jake Cave only played in 90 games for the Twins and still finished eighth on the team in bWAR. He was outstanding in the month of July as he hit .314/.338/.500 with nine extra-base hits in 70 at-bats. Over the season’s final two months, he had 19 extra-base hits including nine home runs. He’s done all of this while getting on base almost 32% of the time. Fernando Romero made his much anticipated debut in 2018 and there were flashes of the kind of pitcher the organization hopes he can be. He made 11 starts for the club from May-July but he would reach his innings limit with the Red Wings and wasn’t called up for September. In his second start, he shut out the Cardinals over six innings and added nine strikeouts. His longest start came in Seattle when he pitched seven innings. He allowed two runs on five hits and struck out seven. The Ballots Here’s a look at the ballots from our seven voters. Nick Nelson: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Jake Cave, 3) Fernando Romero Seth Stohs: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Jake Cave, 3) Fernando Romero John Bonnes: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Jake Cave, 3) Fernando Romero Tom Froemming: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Jake Cave, 3) Fernando Romero Cody Christie: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Jake Cave, 3) Fernando Romero Steve Lein: 1) Jake Cave, 2) Mitch Garver, 3) Fernando Romero Ted Schwerzler: 1) Jake Cave, 2) Mitch Garver, 3) Fernando Romero Points Mitch Garver: 19 Jake Cave: 16 Fernando Romero: 7 How would your ballot look? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Previous Twins Daily Rookie Winners 2015: Miguel Sano 2016: Max Kepler 2017: Trevor Hildenberger

I’ve had some frustrating conversations with friends and colleagues over the last few weeks as it became ever more apparent that Mauer’s career was coming to an end. In fact, Sports Illustrated looked into the reasons some Twins fans dislike Mauer. Let’s dispel some of those myths. The Money Myth Baseball’s pay structure is set-up so young players are relatively cheap for owners. At the beginning of a player’s career, they are forced to build up service time and go through the arbitration process. Typically, players enter the prime of their careers near the time they are entering free agency. This forces teams to overpay for a player’s prime and be saddled with a declining player at the end of the contract. Joe Mauer was overpaid at the end of his career, but he was vastly underpaid at the beginning of his career. From 2004-2009, the Twins paid Mauer $21,525,000. According to FanGraphs valuation system, he was worth $151,700,000 during those same seasons. Minnesota signed him to an 8-year, $184 million contract following the 2009 season. Over those eight seasons, Mauer was worth $126,000,000 in total value. For his career, the Twins paid him $218,025,000 and he repaid the organization with $307,700,000 in value. The Anti-Clutch Myth Mauer will forever be associated with Twins teams that struggled in postseason play. Teams he was on seemed to always run into the Damn Yankees before failing to advance. He famously had a double negated at Yankee Stadium in what became a turning point in the series. However, there are only certain things Mauer can control when it comes to pressure situations. This season Mauer led all of baseball in batting average with runners in scoring position. He hit .407 in those situations. That’s not a typo and it wasn’t a one season anomaly. Mauer's career .334 batting average with RISP is second among all active hitters with at least 750 plate appearances, behind only Joey Votto at .336. Mauer was great with players in scoring position and that might be one of the most clutch things a player can do. The No Power Myth Mauer was never going to live up to his 28-home run outpouring from his MVP season in 2009. That season was a season for the ages where Mauer cemented his place as one of the all-time best hitting catchers. Even though the home runs might not have continued at a record pace, there was still power on Mauer’s resume. Minnesota’s team history stretches back to the early 1960’s. There have been multiple Hall of Fame players (Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Kirby Puckett) who spent large chunks of their careers with the Twins. None of them have hit more doubles than Mauer. Among all-time catchers, he has the third highest OPS. https://twitter.com/AaronGleeman/status/1046544680865779712 The power was there but it just didn’t always come in the form of home runs. I don’t know if I ever fully appreciated Mauer during his playing career. I understood how good he was but it’s easy to see how he could have been misunderstood after looking back on his career. Casual fans don’t understand the type of value and production he was able to produce over his 15-year career. He was the hero Minnesota didn’t deserve.

John Bonnes Can I be so vague as to say "a middle-of-the-order bat?" The lineup's strength this year was supposed to be its depth, and that still might be the case with anticipated growth from Jorge Polanco, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Miguel Sano. But when the middle-of-the-order bats fail to live up to their expectations, the team is left with an average offense. And a few injuries and it quickly becomes below average. This offseason shouldn't be about filling in pieces. It should be about finding some foundational cornerstones upon whom the Twins can rely for the next four seasons at least. Tom Froemming How many times have I got to say this? Willians Astudillo lifetime contract. That's item No. 1. Once that's worked out, the Twins are going to need to focus on quality. They already have quantity, but not a ton of players you can truly count on. I'd say the biggest need would be to find a threat to put into the middle of the lineup. I'm not confident Miguel Sano ever gets back to what he was, and as much as I love Eddie Rosario, if he's the best slugger in your 2019 lineup, you've got issues. The pitching staff has its share of needs to address as well, but it's really difficult to win without a lineup that's able to produce on a consistent basis. Ted Schwerzler To a certain extent, the answer probably always needs to be pitching. It's great that the Twins have given Gonsalves, De Jong, Littell, and Stewart some run here down the stretch. It has been equally beneficial to see Andrew Vasquez coming out of the pen. The reality however, is that none of them look like anything close to a certainty opening the 2019 season. Minnesota should have Kyle Gibson, Jake Odorizzi, and Jose Berrios penned into the rotation, but things are less certain behind them. Fernando Romero is likely a near lock to start in the big leagues, but another mid-to-upper level arm would be a big plus. The bullpen will need some retooling as well with the departures 2018 has seen take place. Although you can make arguments for bats around the diamond, lots depends on how the Twins want to configure their in-house options. Cody Christie To me, one of the biggest issues with 2018 was the underperformance of key pieces in the line-up. That being said, players like Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Max Kepler, and Jose Berrios need to take the next step. If the Twins are going to contend, their young players need to turn into the team’s most valuable pieces. Sano has already been discussing his weight and he hopes to come into next season after a strong off-season spent between Fort Myers and the Dominican Republic. Buxton needs to prove he can stay healthy and handle the rigors of a full big-league season. Berrios was an All-Star but there is certainly some room for improvement after some up and down moments this year. Kepler might never be a middle of the order bat, but he could certainly become more consistent. There are obviously plenty of holes to fill in the roster but the Twins need their young core to take the next step. Steve Lein With the Twins underachieving this year they sent off several veteran contributors and newcomers at the trade deadline, opening plenty of holes or questions for the 2019 season. Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar, Ryan Pressly, Lance Lynn, Fernando Rodney, and Zach Duke all found themselves in new places. That was nearly a quarter of their opening day roster. You had an All Star second baseman, an extra-base-hitting-machine, shutdown set-up man, mid-rotation starter, and a closer in that group. You might lose Joe Mauer to retirement as well. Point is there are a lot of needs for this team. When you ask me for the biggest need I’ll always point to starting pitching, however. Jose Berrios has had a great season and made the first of hopefully many All-Star teams, but he still has some development to turn into that “ace” we all covet. Thankfully the Twins lost out on Yu Darvish last year, but every team must spend money on pitchers at some point if they want to contend. With the payroll space they will have this offseason, they should shoot as high as they can to help their rotation. If you missed any of the most recent roundtable discussions, here are the links: Shifting Service Time The Looming Mauer Decision Grading the Front Office Grading Molitor Closing Time

John Bonnes I like linking free agency to service time as a professional player instead of service time as a major league player. I'm cautious because it could conceivably be a radical change, encouraging teams to move players through the minors at a rushed pace, but that might be a positive development. Both sides could embrace that change because it will result in players making it to the majors more quickly (and thus getting paid more) but teams could get more years of control at the major league level. I would think there would be three areas to negotiate: Different tenures of service time based on how a player signs, so 16-year-old international prospects have a higher threshold than amateur draftees, which are higher than college draftees. Something like 12 years/10 years/8 years. This is important for teams. An escalating level of compensation once a player is in the majors that leaves them close to their actual free agent value by the end of their service time, similar to arbitration, but with required changes. This is important for players. Perhaps modifying the service time based on the quality of the player? So exceptional players can make it to free agency a year earlier? I'm not as sure about this aspect, but I expect this would be important for agents. Tom Froemming Yes, the player's union needs to find a way to counteract the adjustment modern front offices have made. Teams know that even the very best players are rarely wise investments once they've surpassed 30. Accordingly, they've stopped throwing out big, long-term contracts to most free agents. At the same time, the system has been set up to suppress the earning potential of younger players and front offices are getting, let's say more creative, in the ways they're finding to delay a player reaching arbitration/free agency. Basically, the owners are winning on both ends of a player's career. Maybe the solution is something as simple as dramatically increasing the league minimum, which was $545,000 this season, or maybe they can find a way for players to reach arbitration/free agency earlier by updating the service time rules. The big issue in the short term seems to be that the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which just went into effect last season, is in effect through 2021. With that being the case, it's difficult to see the owners to have any urgency to concede anything, unless there's (gulp) a strike. Jeremy Nygaard Absolutely it's time for the rules to be revisited. The problem is that there isn't a great solution. Do you change it from six years of service time to something like six seasons of control after a player's debut? Or five seasons? Can it be only based on a player's age? Or some other counting stat? It's going to be difficult to find a way that a club can't continue to manipulate... but it definitely has to happen. Cody Christie Service time rules will change as part of the next Collective Bargaining Agreement. There was one simple solution I saw during the entire Buxton-saga. After a team drafts a player, they get: High school player= 10 years of team control, 6 years of arbitration College player= 8 years of team control, 6 years of arbitration Even if a player hasn’t made the MLB level, he would still qualify for arbitration. Some hiccups in this rule would come from international signees. Would teams get 12 years of team control with the final six years being part of the arbitration process? Injuries also present an interesting predicament. If a player misses an entire year because of Tommy John surgery, what would be the options for a team? Could teams get something like a “red-shirt” year where they get an extra year of control because of a season-long injury? Changes are coming but the owners aren’t going to give up too much team control. Steve Lein I definitely think it will be a big part of the discussion on the next CBA. There are always going to be problems (including plenty that could be pointed out with my thoughts below), but there are a couple things I dislike about what is done now: 1. Time on the disabled list counts toward service time. 2. A year of service equates to a full-calendar MLB season. There aren’t many players who play all 162 games in a season, but to get a full year a player is required to be active the entire time. I would look to have only active MLB roster days count, and a full year of service be a number like 120 days. A pitcher needing Tommy John surgery may have only pitched 2 games but earns a full year of service, while another guy who plays 130 games in the field doesn’t. The math is off to me. I don’t like to penalize injuries to a player, but that’s another wrinkle for the player’s union to tackle. This way, teams have a much harder decision to make about keeping players in the minors to “gain” an extra year. Instead of a couple weeks and still getting a guy like Kris Bryant into 151 games during the season (how was that NOT a “full season”?!), it’s a couple of months and maybe 100 games. Something that can really affect a team’s aspirations for the season if that player could be a big part of it. Most of all, I will never understand a rule that keeps potential superstar players, and other deserving ones, off an opening day roster. That is what is beyond stupid to me with the current rules. Ted Schwerzler When looking at the current CBA, how it’s interpreted, and how it’s exploited, I think it’s absolutely fair to question the validity of the current situation. In the case of Byron Buxton, Minnesota is well within their means, but it’s a situation that looks unethical and reflects poorly on the team. When comparing millionaire players and billionaire owners, fans should always side with the product on the field. At the end of the day, there needs to be a better representation when it comes to the Player’s Association and the ideals that are fought over. Common ground can be found here, but there’s opportunity for it to land in more of a middle ground than it currently does. Seth Stohs Does it need to be changed? Probably. Am I smart enough to know what the best system would be? Nope. Will teams try to find the loopholes and ways around whatever a new system might be? Absolutely. SD Buhr I have to imagine that service time is a part of virtually every CBA negotiation and I’m sure that will be the case on the next one, too. I don’t think anyone should expect major adjustments to the current system, though. There almost has to be a line drawn somewhere and wherever it’s drawn, owners are going to do what they can to preserve as much control over a talented player’s salary as possible. Any change that works more to the union/player advantage will come with a cost, of course. The players’ side will need to give up something and I’m not sure this issue has affected enough players to a significant degree that the other 98% of the union membership will be willing to give much to get better terms. I do think the next CBA negotiation is going to be far more challenging than the past couple have been. Draft slotting, international pay limits and almost every issue affecting payroll have all been tilted heavily toward ownership lately and I sense that players are going to negotiate much harder on any number of issues. I could see the owners giving a bit on service time in order to avoid get what they want in other areas of greater priority. If you missed any of the most recent roundtable discussions, here are the links: The Looming Mauer Decision Grading the Front Office Grading Molitor Closing Time Prospect Promotions