mikelink45

I give the Twins a C+. I know it is not a popular thing, but we do tend to over grade on familiarity. The White Sox are A-, Cleveland is a C and the Tigers and KC are where they should be. Do not spend on BP until the team is ready to win. So Tigers D and KC C-. Thanks for the summary. My issue is that in a league that now uses the BP as much or more than SP three arms are not enough to judge.

Larnach is 24, Rooker is 26 - it is time to play them or trade them. Let's start moving our excess into the trade market and fill other positions. My bias would be to trade Max, but I know he has many fans here. I expect Cruz to be done after this year, but who knows - if he goes one of the these two players can step in. But when are Sabato and Wallner going to be ready with the same skill sets?

At his age and last years success AAA would be a real set back and we know that unhappy players do not perform (think Lynn). I would like him on the bench and I am happy to see Cave move on. He performed his role, but there is no upside will other teams could see him as a real asset - maybe the A's replace Grossman with him. If Buxton goes down I want Celestino in CF - not sure why all the love for Broxton. Let's look at Arraez as the left side rotation asset - he plays 2B, SS, 3B, LF. Rooker becomes the right side asset - DH, 1B, RF. This sets up two rest and refresh approaches and keeps everyone producing. Of course the third rotation is already set - Jeffers and Garver.

I have to admit that I see Smeltzer, Thorpe and Dobnak as fill ins and I am anxious for the Duran/Balazovic duo in 2022.

Another fun essay that allows us all to have our own takes and your grades are really good talking points. Here are some random thoughts that I have: I think Triston MacKenzie is going to be a star. I think last year let him get established. I look at that rotation and think about Bauer, Clevinger, Carrasco, Kluber and think where that rotation would rank and they could have had Hand and Miller in the BP. Is Cleveland lucky or dumb? I don't know. BKenta Maeda had a great season, but a short one. I worry that so much expectation has him an Ace and another Cy Young pitcher. I hope so, but we need the full season to see where he really ranks and Berrios needs to be consistent through out the full year. BThe big three at Chicago have a very poor 4/5 followup and those old arms could break down. I am not convinced that they are the best, but at this point Giolito is pushing Bieber. BKC has two interesting young guys and they are getting aggressive which is fun to see. C-Detroit will have their third prospect in the rotation by June and they will really be starting their road back. At that point I give them a C and potential.

MLB has a lot of dumb rules and agreements and Boras is smart enough to see the loopholes and weaknesses and exploit them for his players. He has done an amazing job. I get angry at some of the tactics, but I get angry at some of the FO people too. The Seattle situation really opened up a window on many FO personnel.

Over the last few years I have come to think of AAA as the emergency call up level - not the prospect. I will be disappointed if Kiriloff is there and Larnach is a perfect choice to fit into that slot so the faithful have one bonified prospect to watch. The rest - the minor league pickups, their ages and their stories make them viable for short term fill ins, but not long term. And I think that is what is happening all over MLB. The true potential stars are moved up from AA unless they are just put their for the phony three weeks to avoid the contract issues later on. A player like Lewis would have really juiced this lineup.

Very nice - I really appreciated this essay

I always have a different set of grades - but not this time. I think you hit it right. If I had any nitpicking it would be to swap grades between Chicago and Detroit.

I liked this - next step - tell us who goes down or gets DFA'd to make room for these roster additions. I do agree no more Kepler/Cave in center. Balazovic is a favorite, but looks more like 2022. Duran starting in the pen is a good idea as long as he does not get stuck in the BP. Nick Gordon seems like he needs a different team.

KC - A- Det - C- Cleve - F Chi - D MN C This is a really weak group and grades should reflect that.

Nice article, but after Lewis got his write up and then went down I am worried that there is something else going on. Let's hope TD does not take over the old Sports Illustrated jinx.

After Royce gets the #2 slot in the prospects and is featured on TD he goes down for the season - lets hope there is no jinx out there for #1. Go Alex. Alcala is a perfect candidate for this list, Duran and Balazovic are my dreams for the rotation in 2022 unless there is injuries. I would think Stashak is going to rise this year and Colina has no place to go but up after his 2020 debut.

Fun article. Filling the position is becoming the talking point of ST so far and the fact that we are talking quality and not just fillers really makes it a great topic to speculate on. Now Alex needs to make our dreams come true (I had to match your slang with old lyrics), https://youtu.be/5sLnQ9R9j5A

No one in this group is an A. Until Byron can demonstrate that he can stay in the lineup he is a B. Roberts looked like the best but then reality hit and he dropped quickly from amazing to average and probably still ranks a B. Cleveland gets a D. Their outfield has been so bad that Eddie Rosario shines like a superstar. The other two really haven't done anything and need to prove themselves. I give KC and Detroit a D. This is the top ten list from MLB.com Mike Trout, LAA (Last year: 1) Cody Bellinger, LAD (2) George Springer, TOR (3) Alex Verdugo, BOS (not ranked) Brandon Nimmo, NYM (9) Kyle Lewis, SEA (NR) Ramón Laureano, OAK (4) Trent Grisham, SD (NR) Starling Marte, MIA (6) Byron Buxton, MIN (NR) So Byron is still ranked the top ten and thus the best in the division, but do you really want to bet he stays ahead of Roberts?

This comes back to the question - is Arraez more valuable in LF than Rosario was? What are we gaining. If not, put Kiriloff, Rooker, Larnach, whoever can match Eddie and use Arraez for the infield. I hate to have him on the bench instead of starting, but is LF really the place for him?

Yes, move this along, get rid of arbitrary restraints. If arbitration isn't working fix that too. Who raised the salary bar? The players could not pay themselves. Look at Trout, Tatis, and the others who have been given exhorbitant contracts even when the teams are bidding against themselves. The poor owners are asking for help to control their own idiocy.

Is this the Buxton virus attacking another victim? Like most posts, I was really looking forward to seeing him this year. What a terrible set back. He is young enough, but joints all heal differently and like Buxton his speed is one of his top assets.

You know that the agents know any stat that can be used to LEVERAGE more money - not surprised that they know this stat, it is the relief pitchers best friend at contract time.

This is a fun exercise, but no one knows how to really stay on top forever - except the Yankees who were there all of the 50's and then spent some of Steinbrenner's cash. But overall throwing money around does not guarantee anything either - what has Harper meant to the Phillies? Mike Trout is the best in baseball according to the experts - but he can't even get to the playoffs with Pujols and Rendon as teammates. Darvish signed with the Cubs and then failed, will he fail or win with the Padres? Pitchers arms fail, concussions ruin careers, players like Herb Score seem destined for the HOF until their is a line drive. Plan well, but baseball is a game of failures as the cliche goes about success being able to get three hits out of ten and become a star - a 70% failure rate. I went to the Twins yearly record. Going backward the Twins have been 1st/second 5 of the last 6 years. The exception was 5th (last place). 2011 - 2014 we were 4th or fifth - this ten year period from 2011 to 2020 we were top two 5 times, bottom two 5 times. Fits the projections. 2006 - 2010 we were 1st three times, 2cd once, and 3rd once. 2001 - 2005 1st three times, 2cd once, 3rd once. That ten year period defies the odds and perhaps should allow more credit to an earlier regime. 6 first, 2 seconds, 2 thirds! 1996 - 2000 we were in the doldrums 2 fifth and 3 4th 1991 - 1996 we were last twice and 4th once the last three years of this stretch - adding to the next five years with 4 times in last and 4 times in 4th which must balance out with the exceptional years of 2001 - 2010. The beginning of this period saw us win the world series and come in second. So to recap these thirty years - one world series - nine times 1st, six times 2cd, twice 3rd, 5 times 4th, and 8 times 5th. Nice symmetry in those numbers. Then it gets more confusing because there are more teams in a division and fewer teams in the playoffs, but three decades is an interesting view. I will add that we only finished 1st in the years from 1961 - 1990 four times. Too bad there were no extra divisions in a few of those years.

Nice - I was taking a lot of heat in another discussion thread for my belief that Kiriloff should start the season, then Bonnes said it on Off Season Live, and now you put some stats to the debate. I appreciate it and I further want to emphasize that the latest foot in the mouth output in Seattle makes it even more likely that teams will want to avoid the stigma of this delayed promotion. Baseball has a lot of things to work out - this is an obvious one. Unless Kiriloff trips over first base and can't start the season I want him in the lineup from day one.

I hope you laughed at TD for not having Arraez in their top ten the years before he came up.

I swear TD has been writing about him for 20 years - how can he be only 21. I am excited for his next steps and would love to see him make the team this summer. He seems to have all the attributes and I like your suggestion that he gets time at other positions.

I have not read that Kiriloff is good in the field. I have to see that. Here is what baseball Savant has as his scouting grades - Kirilloff has the skills to be an average corner outfielder, with enough range and a solid arm to fit nicely in right field. He played a good amount of first base in 2019, something that will continue as the Twins want to increase his versatility, and he could be a better than average defender there. 2020 Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 55 | Run: 50 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 55 I do not want to knock Kiriloff, I have high hopes that he will not only surpass Eddie, but also Kepler and Buxton in everything but fielding. And he should at least match Eddie this year, but as a rookie I do not see him unlocking his potential, just giving us an excellent player. I said B because I also see him being kept out of the lineup for contract considerations in the first month. So solid B and hoping for more. I gave you the reasons for my grading of the others. I also saw it as a team grade not an individual which is why I gave Cleveland such a good grade. Here are the starting OFs for Cleveland last year - Luplow - LF - 192/304/359, DeShields - CF - 252/310/318, Naquin - RF - 218/248/383. That is a horrible OF and it was terrible in 2019 too. So Eddie raises the bar significantly which is why the team gets an A for LF from me. I know grading is hard (I have been a college instructor for decades) and in this case it is all subjective. So nothing personal, I just gave you my take. I really enjoy these exercises - thank you.

The only thing I can say is depressing. Otherwise I would just have to say you are really accurate.