goulik

I don't want this post to be about blaming or defending Jorge but about what could be solutions to a problem. I did a little looking and found a few tid bits about supplements that give me a little more sympathy for Jorge. First is this article. Sounds like we all need to pay more careful attention to what's going into our bodies. https://www.labrada.com/blog/labrada-news/are-there-steroids-in-your-supplements/ I also found a comment that I cannot verify the validity on which stated that players have a list of companies they are encouraged to buy supplements from. That's a good idea... Here's my thoughts based on this little information I've found. First: Minor league players are not paid much so they are going to look for ways to acquire things cheap. I'm confident things are cheaper in the DR than here and guys living there in the off season are going to be more likely to go local. These poorer minor leaguers are probably establishing bad habits in this area that may bite them in the behind when they're MLB players making enough money to avoid that. Second: Wouldn't MLB teams be wiser to offer the supplements directly year round just to protect their players at all levels? Choose a company, tell the players to order through the team, and we will ship it to you no charge because we want healthy, strong, clean athletes? I know I'm spending someone else's money on this one but that may be an important investment...

Now if only they were connected to Bert Blyleven....

Thanks for the intro to Breek, you've peeked my interest!

Granite is a fourth outfielder, defensive replacement, pinch runner, base stealer. Wade is a potential everyday outfielder that needs to develop some pop. Cave is a potential every day outfielder with some pop. I see what this move does and it's a good one for relatively nothing.

Negotiating ploy with Dozier or are they really cutting Dozier loose after the season? Dozier seems like such a cog in this offense and the veteran leader for all these young guys. They keep talking about veterans in the clubhouse... this usage of Gordon gives me angst. Doesn’t this also diminish his trade value if he’s a 2B instead of SS?

Romero was optioned to AA not AAA. Let the Angst begin. Possible reasons he is not in Rochester: 1) He preferred or the brass preferred that he continue to work with same pitching coach. 2) Pitchers are blocking him at AAA. 3) He needs more time to come back from injury and will be on another (bigger) innings limit so is not going to be considered an MLB option this year. 4) You can always be recalled from AA to the majors so Falvine didn't really care too much where they sent him so they just sent him based on numbers without much discussion or consideration. 5) This still might change before opening day. 6) Combination of more than one of the above... I don't really have an opinion on the above. If he does his work and destroys AA, he will move up. He has the highest upside and I really believe he is going to destroy the batters early in the season and force a move either to AAA or even possibly up to the MLB squad. No matter what happens though, I don't think he will be in a playoff rotation either way as I believe they are going to have a much higher innings limit on him than last year but I don't see him having innings left on his arm for the post season. He was shut down at 125 innings last year.

New article and discussion on Romero http://twinsdaily.com/topic/28902-article-wherefore-art-thou-romero/

An MiLB fan favorite because of that long name and it has the word "fan" in the middle of it.

Done!!

Fernando Romero and Bizzle for Curtiss, PTBNL, and Next years first round pick

Kevin Lawless here, This Just In, Goulik has a trade offer in with Ashburyjohn Proposed trade: Austin Bizzle for John Curtiss, and a PTBNL or cash considerations contingent on Ashburyjohn drafting John Curtiss.

With the 6th pick... (how did we get to 6 so fast? I think there was some draft tampering going on) With the 6th pick of the 2nd round Goulik chooses to draft Austin Bizzle.

Mitchell Lynn Garver Age: 27 (January 15, 1991) Birthplace: Albuquerque, NM Bats/Throws: R/R Ht: 6' 1" Wt: 220 Draft: Round 9 (2013, MIN) MLB Debut: 08/19/2017 College: New Mexico This excerpt was stolen straight out of Vanimal's AAP last year... 2016 was Garver's breakout year you could say. He breezed through AA where he hit .257 with 11 HR 66 RBI .334/.419/.753 OPS in 95 games. He was promoted to AAA on August 10, 2016 and played 22 more games. He had a hot bat to finish the year in AAA, with a .329 .381/.434/.815 OPS slash line. Garver was added to the 40 man roster over the off-season, and, if all goes right, could get a cup of coffee in September with the big league club. Vanimals prediction of a cup of coffee was correct. And that cup of coffee is leading to a whole pot of coffee this Spring. As of today, Garver is slated to be the opening day back up catcher for our favorite club which will mean this could be the fastest AAP graduation ever! See an analysis of the Catching position here. http://twinsdaily.com/topic/28797-article-twins-2018-position-analysis-catcher/?hl=%2Bmitch+%2Bgarver (Thank you everyone who passed on him in the draft and allowed me to be part of this record setting season) I'm not sure how many days of service time he has left before using up his prospect status but I have always taken advantage of opportunities to be the vulture and swoop in for the easy meat. Having said that, I do recognize Vanimal as the AAP parent that saw him get the call so I don't get that credit unless he is sent down for a day or two somewhere along the way before using up his prospect status... This was all made possible by Garvers continued progression with the bat and behind the dish. His progress last year was tracked well here on TD so here is a series of links: Seth wrote this "4 bagger" which includes a Garver section http://twinsdaily.com/topic/26569-article-four-bagger-jorge-gordon-garver-and-bullpen-arms/ and this "3 Bagger" which included an even bigger Garver section http://twinsdaily.com/articles.html/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/three-bagger-red-wings-edition-r5952 all leading up to TD Minor League Hitter of the year as reported by Steve Lein http://twinsdaily.com/topic/27517-article-twins-2017-minor-league-hitter-of-the-year/ All this to say, Garver has put in the work to earn this opportunity and I believe he has the drive to make the most of it.

Only two left in this round... 18-21 John Curtiss NR-NR Aaron Whitefield

Awesome and yes he was still available so enjoy the Ride!!!

Kohl Stewart...

We all expect Garver to graduate but since he hasn't officially yet, I will put a page up for him. That will leave: 15-25 Jacob Pearson 18-21 John Curtiss NR-NR Aaron Whitefield NR-NR Charlie Barnes

Me too. He doesn't have the same ceiling as other recent prospects but his floor is very high also. He is just an intelligent player that does things right. He's one that can produce solid numbers and do the little things that will help a manager trust and rely on him. In my mind I like to picture him against Arcia and Rosario. He doesn't have that same explosive potential, but he will play really well and he won't make you cringe at a boneheaded play in the field or on the base paths either. IF he could start hitting more home runs...

Luis Sangel Arraez Born San Felipe, Venezuela 4/9/97 (20) Signed Nov. 5th 2013 2nd Basemen Bat: L Throw: R Ht: 5' 10" Wt: 155 2014-DSL 348/433/400 in 115 at bats. He only hit 6 extra base hits, all doubles. He stole 10 of 15 bases attempted. He had 16 walks and 9 strike outs. 2015-GCL 309/377/391 in 207 at bats. Again no home runs but 15 doubles and a triple. He stole 8 of 16 attempted. He had 19 walks and 10 strike outs. 2016-A- 347/386/444 in 475 at bats. He finally starte hitting home runs (3) adding 31 doubles and 3 triples. He only attempted 6 stolen bases and was caught 3 times. 2017-A+ Arraez tore his ACL after his 13th at bat trying to leg out a single April 9th. He was put on the DL on the 10th and on the 20th it was announced that he was done for the season. Arraez can hit and put together REALLY good at bats but he has not displayed power. As a second baseman, traditionally that is enough but with the league as it is today, that might not be enough. Arraez is expected to go back to Fort Myers and hopefully have a healthy comeback year.

LaMonte Wade Born Jan. 1st, 1994 in Baltimore, Maryland Raised in Owings Mills, MD Graduated H.S. From St. Paul's in Broklandville, MD. University of Maryland .394 on-base percentage in three seasons Drafted: Minnesota Twins 9th round, 260th overall selection in 2015 He made his professional debut with the Elizabethton Twins where he hit .312/.428/.506 (.934) with eight doubles, five triples and nine home runs. He took 46 walks with just 34 strikeouts. He was also 12/13 in stolen base attempts. He was promoted to the CedaR Rapids Kernels for the final week of their season and their playoff run. Wade began the 2016 season with Cedar Rapids. He hit .280/.410/.396 in 207 at bats. Again he walked more than striking out with 44 BBs to 27 Ks. After starting in the MidWest League all star game, Wade was moved up to the Fort Myers Miracle for the remainder of the season. In high A he hit .318/.386/.518. On the season he hit a combined 14 doubles, 4 triples and 8 Long balls. Wade spent all of 2017 with Chattanooga. He hit .292/.397/.408 for an .807 OPS in 424 at bats. He continued to show a good eye at the plate with 76 walks and 71 strike outs. Wade had his lowest professional HR total with only 7 but he had 22 two baggers doubling his professional total. Wade was sent to the AFL and recorded 63 at bats. He hit .238/.351/.413 including 3 doubles, 1 Triple, 2 HR's, 9 walks and 10 strike outs. He also had a nice outfield collision... Twins 2017 AFL Week Five_ LaMonte Wade suffers concussion in on-field collision - Twinkie Town.html Which was followed by this nice pic. This Spring, he was given a non roster invite and is expected to spend the season in AAA. He is healthy but given the current roster construction, it will be tough for him to break through to the majors without injuries or trades in front of him. Follow on Twitter @WadesWorld6 Apparently he is buddies with a guy named Stefon Diggs... https://www.twincities.com/2018/03/01/lamonte-wade-jr-and-his-connection-to-stefon-diggs-minnesota-miracle/ Fanrag scouting report from Oct. https://www.fanragsports.com/twins/pleskoff-scouting-report-lamonte-wade/

Im looking forward to seeing who sizzles and who fizzles to be honest.... There are so many prospects with high upside and yet a low floor that you have no idea if they will make a big splash this year or just plainly disappear. This years list of prospects is exciting and intriguing to me for those reasons...

Patience young Padawan...

Different people find different aspects more interesting. Whatever gets you going is what you can make of this thing.(that is appropriate, sheds a positive light on your prospect, and is respectful) It is what you make of it so jump in and enjoy!! Different players offer different options of how to follow and update them. Some adoptive prospect parents enjoy taking a starting pitcher. You can get yourself on a routine of checking his progress every 5 days or so depending on when he is slated to pitch and give a game by game wrap. Others prefer relievers and hitters. With them, you may want to just give a week by week summary. Whatever your flavor is, there are different ways to go about it. I really enjoy taking guys I see as possibly making the MLB squad at some point, getting a mid season promotion within the minors or who I believe will be making noise during the season. I like to find sleepers that people don't know much about and I get to reveal to the baseball world more about them than if they had not been adopted. Finding ways to make it more interesting and getting more people to click on your post may be your thing. You can watch the TD tracker and see how many people are reading about your prospect and see if you can't get the most clicks. Make it what you want. Have fun and promote a guy that is busting his hump for a small reward (at least for now. Most of these guys don't make much, that's for sure.)

15-25 Jacob Pearson 16-19 Mitch Garver 18-21 John Curtiss NR-14 Travis Blankenhorn NR-20 Andrew Bechtold NR-NR Aaron Whitefield NR-NR Charlie Barnes

Fernando Romero 6-0, 233 lbs Right handed Starter Dominican Republic Born Dec. 24 1994, 23 yrs old Signed 11/4/2011 for $260,000 2012- DSL 1-4, 4.65 ERA, 28 Ks, 14 W's, 31 IP 2013- GCL 2-0 1.60 ERA, 47 K's, 13 W's, 45 IP 2014- A- 3 starts before Tommy John 2015- Rehab 2016- A- 4-1, 1.93 ERA, 25 K's, 5 W's, 28 IP A+ 5-2, 1.88 ERA, 65 K's, 10 W's, 62.1 IP 2017- AA 11-9, 3.53 ERA, 120 K's, 45 W's, 125 IP Fernando Romero was on an innings limit holding him to 5 innings per game and late in the season he was shut down at 125IP. Even so, he was able to log 30 more innings than in any previous season and maintain more than a K per inning. Romero has touched 100 MPH but usually sits in the upper 90's. He has a potential plus plus Slider that is effective at getting the K but is somewhat inconsistent. He is also working on a cutter and change up. If he can get a third pitch down, he has ace potential. His floor is a shut down closer. 2 years removed from TJ, Romero is expected to be up with the big club by the end of the year but the dream is that he forces his way up much sooner than that. He is already on the 40 man roster eating up options. Romero is slated to begin the year in AA Chattanooga or AAA Rochester. I could not find his official Twitter account but there has been a lot of great articles lately. Here are a couple from TD. I will add the Twitter after I find it if possible. Tom Froeming wrote this article about the TD #2 prospect http://twinsdaily.com/topic/28667-article-twins-daily-2018-top-prospects-2-fernando-romero/ There is this article by Ted Schwerzler http://twinsdaily.com/blog/517/entry-9337-romero-ready-and-waiting-for-twins/