Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

mluebker

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    385

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Tracker: Picks & Bonuses

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by mluebker

  1. mluebker
    I hope he gets the surgery, comes back from it a little less fragile, and settles into one of the corner outfield slots. Maybe that can extend his career for a few more years and keep his bat in the lineup.
  2. mluebker
    Sounds more like a man-crush than an analysis of Jenkins’ first weekend in the line-up, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
  3. mluebker
    You’re right, as I note in a previous post, somewhere above. But those guys from the last few years are farther back in the pipeline, and a lot of the ones on the roster now, bouncing back and forth between Minneapolis and St. Paul, don’t really have defensive homes, and can have a real cost when they put on a glove. So I’m speaking from frustration, while yes, they are drafting smarter now. I just wish more of the well-rounded players were ready to go now.
  4. mluebker
    To be fair, Mike Sixel is right, they’ve been doing a better job drafting more complete players over the past few years. The problem is that the guys clogging up the Twins current roster were drafted in that bats-first era. And that mindset still was around this past spring when they signed Josh Bell, ostensibly to play first base. As a DH, he’s been a real asset. As a first baseman, it becomes a math problem, trying to to figure out whether his bat gets the team more runs than his defense is costing them. Same thing for Luke Keaschall. No one disputes that he can hit, get on base, and steal bases. But when he’s in CF or at 2B, are those contributions on offense outweighed by his mental mistakes and his hands of stone? The guys that like to look at the statistics can tell us. I’m just one of those dinosaurs who still thinks you both need to hit and play solid defense to be on a major league roster.
  5. mluebker
    "Larnach was drafted as a bat-first slugger with defensive limitations." Maybe they should stop wasting picks on guys who can't both hit and field.
  6. mluebker
    Yes, yes, and yes.
  7. mluebker
    I’m with you. Pick a plan and stick to it until they have measurable results.
  8. mluebker
    He’s athletic, he’s smart. Put him in the same spot _somewhere_ every day, and have him work on that diligently over the winter, through spring training, and from opening day forward (assuming there’s not a lockout). He’s young. He still can learn. But stop bouncing him around from place to place and let him earn and own a position. Don’t just settle for the iron glove and mental mistakes, that seem to be much more noticeable when they come with uncertainty.
  9. mluebker
    Clemens knew what the glove was for, which gave him a leg up on about half the roster. And Lewis’s high ceiling turned out to be not a heckuva lot higher than Clemens’s low one for a lot of the season. One of them had to go back to AAA to get his head back on straight this year, and it wasn’t Kody.
  10. mluebker
    Totally agree on the psych factor, but still want to see Jenkins in the lineup sooner, rather than later.
  11. mluebker
    A right fielder who can hit and maybe spend less time on the IL because he’d have less territory to cover sounds pretty good to me. A guy named Tony Oliva comes to mind.
  12. mluebker
    Winter ball, where his errors don’t mean anything. Build up some confidence at second—the Twins already have plenty of outfielders.
  13. mluebker
    Exactly. He made an unpopular decision for reasons we can surmise, and now he’s groping for an explanation he thinks he can sell. Buxton in right where he’s got less territory to cover and is less likely to aggravate his hip, Jenkins in center, and whoever has the hot bat in left.
  14. mluebker
    I think we were oversold on Lewis and undersold on Clemens. At this point, I’m happy to see both of them out there doing what they’ve been doing.
  15. mluebker
    Once it was obvious Lewis was having trouble making throws to first, it quickly became apparent he needed to be on the other end of those plays. And I gotta think that a guy who came up as a shortstop is going to be pretty comfortable digging the ball out of the dirt. Be good if he also learns to keep his foot on the bag, but one thing at a time. He looks good over there.
  16. mluebker
    So, I can check the box for consistency…
  17. mluebker
    You never can have too many left-handed-hitting outfielders, but maybe the Twins could spread the wealth around just a little.
  18. mluebker
    I’d be thrilled if he never wears that designation again.
  19. mluebker
    I’d love to see that happen, but he’ll have to trade in that iron glove he’s been hauling around.
  20. mluebker
    To me, Jenkins looks more like the guy who’s going to be able to make a difference now and in the future. While Rodriguez is intriguing, he’s also a bit of a china doll, hurt too often. I want to see the best team the Twins can put on the field now, and hope we can see them battle their way into the playoffs with some consistent, exciting baseball. With 2027 potentially a lost season as they wrangle over the CBA, we may not get that chance again until 2028.
  21. mluebker
    The Twins had a $23 million catcher before, back when $23 million was real money. But as things stand, Jeffers is a reliable right-handed bat who also is a plus behind the plate. If you’re afraid he’ll leave, pretend he’s a rental to see how deep the Twins might go int the playoffs. They’re unlikely to find a better one who’d be as good a fit. And if you’re afraid he’ll stay, well, I can think of worse things than a solid, right-handed-hitting catcher who sure looks like a team leader to me.
  22. mluebker
    A leader for sure. Not so sure about THE leader.
  23. mluebker
    Too bad there’s no one in St. Paul with some experience in center and a little pop in his bat.
  24. mluebker
    Sounds good to me.
  25. mluebker
    If they didn’t already have him on the roster, they’d be thrilled to trade for him as a short-term rental right-handed-hitting middle-of-the-order bat for a playoff run. So maybe just keep him and pretend that’s what he is.
×
×
  • Create New...