WarPath1211

I don't think Diaw is being developed with the intent he's an everyday player either in the OF or at C. Diaw's path to the big leagues in my mind is as a very rare type of utility player, a guy who can serve as a backup catcher but also as a backup outfielder, unlocking other possibilities for the rest of the roster. For him to develop in this way, he really just needs reps both at the plate and on defense, and to do that he needs to be healthy, which was an issue in 2025. So far this season he has 10 starts at catcher, 10 in the outfield, and 5 at DH. His development timeline may be pretty unusual because he is a very unusual prospect. He needs to be 40-manned in December 2027 to avoid the Rule 5 draft, so he has 2 years to try to reach AAA (or find enough success at AA) to have a real shot with the Twins.

Part of this is just the pitches Martin is seeing right now. Only 45.0% of pitches Martin has seen this season have been in the ABS zone, which is tied for 191st out of 234 hitters with at least 80 PAs this season. He is simply not getting that much to hit, and his plate discipline has served him well in laying off bad pitches. But I expect, given Martin's lack of power, that he will start to see more pitches in the zone. The walk rate will definitely drop, and he probably won't walk more than he strikes out over a full season, but he should get more opportunities for balls to drive, and it'll be up to him to adjust. So the walk rate will inevitably go down, I agree with you there, but consequently the xBA and xSLG may very well go up as pitchers are forced to come in the zone more. Martin has also mostly faced lefties so far, but with Wallner's (and to a lesser extent Outman's) struggles, he will get more opportunities against righties. He has been great against righties so far this year, but was merely okay against them last year in his hot finish, we we'll see how he adjusts in that respect as well.

Truth be told, Brooks Lee in my mind really only has one path left to being an above-average MLB hitter, and he's currently following it, at least right now. Brooks really doesn't hit the ball hard. He's decent at making contact and avoiding strikeouts, but he chases too much which suppresses his walk rate, and he's too slow to get much out of a slash-and-dash profile with groundballs and liners in the gaps. So how does a guy who doesn't have raw power or speed, and with decent contact skills but middling plate discipline, produce offensively? Well, Brooks has been doing the one thing that can make this work: he's pulling the ball in the air down the line at a high rate. You don't need as much power to slug as the fences are closer down the lines, and you don't need as much speed either to get extra bases. This is pretty much how Isaac Paredes has succeeded for years despite below-average at best raw power, raw speed, and athleticism, by poking balls in the air dead-pull. However, Paredes probably also has better plate discipline than Brooks has displayed, and Paredes also has been passable in the field, while Brooks has been below adequate thus far. I think it's reasonable to think Brooks can improve in these areas to fit this profile long-term; he certainly has a better chance of that in my mind than suddenly gaining a ton of raw bat speed or being able to run faster. There is a path, but I think it's become clear that it's narrow given Brooks' lack of athleticism.

Really gutted for Mick here, it looked like he was starting to put it together. Even if he doesn't need elbow surgery, inflammation this early in the season is not a good sign. Hoping for the best that he can be back out there in a few weeks and that this stint is a distant memory later in the season. Looks like Prielipp will get the starting nod on Wednesday but I wouldn't be surprised if Rojas is maybe tabbed to piggyback off of him.

I think the good production can continue against lefties, although the shape of it may look a bit different, for the simple reason that Keaschall and Buxton haven't really heated up until recently (although Keaschall has been okay against lefties but not standout). Buxton is hitting very poorly against lefties now but that shouldn't last as he has absolutely destroyed lefties the last couple of years. If these two can heat up as Jeffers and Martin (who have crushed lefties thus far) cool off a bit, and you scrape up enough offense from the rest of the lineup, they can keep the line moving.

Agreed on Clemens, he is a nice bench utility guy for a contending team but he is an awkward fit on the Twins right now. I think the Roden/Martin platoon will get a look, just not until Larnach is gone. When I said optimal, I meant in terms of performance right now, not player development, but I agree with you that cutting the Clemens playing time makes sense in terms of developing players.

So far, it seems Josh Bell is the everyday DH. Clemens is in a 1B platoon with Caratini starting against lefties, and Larnach is in a LF platoon with Martin starting against lefties. Larnach, Clemens, and Martin are also picking up scattered PH opportunities against relievers when they don't start. In theory this is probably the optimal arrangement with who is on the team right now, but I agree with you in that it's not really an inspiring situation. I'd place a bet on a Larnach trade at some point later in the season opening up more PAs for the young guys. I'm fine with playing him until then to try to get some value out of him. I get there is a desire to see the young guys, but the team should really be in talent acquisition mode right now, and that probably involves letting Larnach showcase he can hit righties.

Larnach's "dropoff" last year was almost entirely due to being given tons of opportunities against lefties as compared to 2024. The underlying numbers against each type of pitcher didn't change too much, just the share of PAs facing lefties. 2024: 23 PA vs. lefties (.579 OPS / 63 wRC+), 377 PA vs. righties (.784 OPS/ 123 wRC+) Overall .771 OPS / 119 wRC+ 5.75% of PAs against lefties 2025: 118 PA vs. lefties (.608 OPS / 71 wRC+), 449 PA vs. righties (.759 OPS/ 110 wRC+) Overall .727 OPS / 102 wRC+ 20.81% of PAs against lefties Given the numbers and the fact that Larnach isn't a good defender or baserunner, and thus doesn't offer much if he's not hitting, it's pretty clear that the optimal way for him to be used is to face lefties as little as possible. He deserves to be in the lineup against every righty starter, but the aggressive platoon really does seem like the smart way to go.

I'm still onboard with the Caratini signing. Right now, he is a more than capable backup C, and an acceptable option to scoop up some spare ABs at 1B. If there was no Caratini, that probably means either Bell gets more time in the field at 1B (not a fan of that), or there is one less bench spot because the Twins are carrying both Alex Jackson and Eric Wagaman (or someone else). So Caratini is valuable as a jack-of-all-trades but master-of-none switch-hitting piece. I also think there's a pretty good probability that Caratini is the primary catcher next year assuming Jeffers is traded or leaves in FA. I wouldn't be thrilled by that but it's a better plan than rolling with Alex Jackson or an unproven minor league catcher. Alex Jackson had an outlier hitting year last year but has a career 40% major league K rate - even as a good defender, this is not a guy you want as your primary catcher. Caratini has been a far better major league player overall and it's not close.

I'm guessing this was partially motivated by Kent and Laweryson looking, uh, less than reliable in their first action on Wednesday. I'm perfectly fine with the extra competition for the backend of the bullpen. Logan Whitaker had nice surface-level stats, but was a late pick and doesn't appear on any prospect lists, so I'm assuming the upside is limited there. This makes Acton and Marco Raya the only pure bullpen guys in AAA who are on the 40-man roster, so you'd have to assume they have the inside edge to get the first callup in case of injury or a demotion. John Klein probably has a chance if they want a reliever who can give them some length.

Rare Joe Ryan dud. Kent and Laweryson didn’t do anything to indicate they should move up in the bullpen pecking order. It was nice to see some better plate appearances from guys at the end even if they were against some low-leverage relievers. So far, either the bats have showed up, or the pitching has showed up, but not both so far. Even in the win, the team scored 4 runs on 4 hits, so the offense really didn't show up. I am still far more concerned about the bats than the pitching, as this was trending to be the 4th game in 5 tries with 5 or fewer total hits before the offense picked up against some weaker relievers.

I was at this game today! Drove down from Philly for the day to catch it in-person! Taj really labored at times, but got the strikeouts when he needed them. It was a little odd because he was effectively wild striking out the side in the 1st inning but leaving the bases loaded, and then Taj started to get hit pretty hard in the 2nd and survived giving up only one, and then he settled in without issue the rest of the way. Obviously would love to see the efficiency go up as the season goes on, and there were ups and downs today, but it was good enough. The much-maligned bullpen also earned their flowers today, particularly Orze, Topa, and Sands. They collectively allowed 1 baserunner in the last 3 innings, and took the crowd completely out of the game. The stands were pretty empty as Sands was finishing off the game, and the energy was gone. 16 strikeouts for the pitching staff today was great to see as a Twins fan, but honestly made viewing in-person a little odd at times because it seemed there were barely any balls in play and the rest of the diamond wasn’t needed!

With Tait, it's the power that stands out, not the contact ability/hit tool. Tait was putting up above average major league level exit velocities in A ball last year as an 18-year-old, but his hit tool and plate discipline will be highly scrutinized as he rises through the minors.

With Kreidler being optioned, that means either Gray or Arcia will be the backup infielder. I'm mildly surprised by this, as none of the 3 really hit this spring, so I thought they'd go Kreidler for defense by default. I'd give Gray the edge over Arcia simply because Gray is already on the 40-man roster, and somebody needs to be DFA'd to make room for Arcia. None of these 3 options inspired much confidence at the beginning of camp, and that hasn't changed now, so I'm a little ambivalent to who ultimately wins the job to be honest. It's an indictment on the infield depth of the organization that there are no more compelling options for a backup SS/3B (Clemens can play an acceptable 2B). Wagaman being optioned is not at all surprising. He always faced an uphill battle of making the opening day roster given the amount of 1B/DH/suspect corner outfielder types around. And with Josh Bell and Victor Caratini both being switch hitters who hit lefties okay, there wasn't much of a niche for Wagaman to fill.

I agree. For all his flaws on defense and his ground ball offensive profile limiting power, Mendez has shown he can hit well in the upper minors even at a young age. Guys like Winokur and Young haven’t even demonstrated they can hit all that much in the lower minors. Khadim Diaw is my pick to be a riser this year. Really excited to see if he can stay healthy, get reps, and improve behind the plate this season.