mikelink45

Wonderful This is what I have been hoping for. If Polanco or Arraez go down they have to call up Royce - if it is an extended absence.

I have been a fan of Rosario since he first came up. I do not deny his bat and his flare, but I think it ultimately will come down to his price tag and with so many waiting in line I cannot see the twins being willing to pay the price to keep him after this year no

Happy for him as the Buxton soap opera enters a new phase. Won't it be nice when we just expect and see him in the lineup everyday.

Yes - like so many I am emotionally connected with Dobnak and really have no connection to Chacin. Perhaps the real disappointment is that this was supposed to be a four person contest and Thorpe for reasons we might learn along the away did himself and his pocketbook a real disservice by leaving the team for two weeks. I hope whatever happened is resolved and Smeltzer just does not look like an MLB starter. He had a good story too, but I do not see him making this improved roster. Right now Dobnak is the guy and Chacin will probably be released to seek another opportunity.

This is a real change from the ST stories we have been reading and it fun as a change of pace, but of course it is way too early. They could all be injured and not make it out of ST. As the season moves on the real question for each is who replaces them? If the Twins think that Balazovic or Thorpe can take Odorizzi's place they are less likely to pursue him, although I think Bailey would be the next one removed from the rotation. I hope Odo really shows improvement and fines a way to get to inning seven. Ehire has a waiting list behind him - Lewis, Gordon, and Blankenhorn will push him or Gonzalez off the roster. May has had a nice couple years - will he have another. I have such a hard time judging RP and we do seem to have Duran ready to push him and excess like Smeltzer who I think will be gone in a year, Stashak, Ober, Poppen, Sands, and Jax and Dobnak. If May shines and accepts the Twins offer we will be fine, if he hesitates or we get a good offer he is gone and so are some of the other alternatives that I listed..

To me the quick response to bullets down the 3B line is one of the most difficult and challenging fielding reflexes in the game.

The comment is from the article - not mine, but the fact is that Kiriloff has never impressed with his fielding in the OF (look at past TD prospect notes) and 1B seems like the bottom of the lineup locations for players (other than DH). I do see Larnach and Kiriloff in a competition - if Sano does well and I expect him to then 1B is no longer open. Cruz probably has only one more year at DH, but seldom does that go to a young player and if it does Rooker comes back to the discussion. Kepler stays in right, someone takes CF and that means that when Rosario becomes to costly LF will be available. I have no idea who gets it.

Are we at a point where HRs are the only measure of a players value? I have no idea if the famous sophomore slump will hit Luis, or if he will simply regress, but I am also a big fan of his and would like to give him some more playing time before we start reaching for comps and attacking what I think is a really great skill set for this lineup. Go Arraez.

We did not rush Buxton. He just fell apart when he got here.

My guess is that you have not stood at 3B when a wicked pulled ball comes soaring down the line - scares me.

Yes - of course we are holding them back. That is not bad when the player that is blocking their way is an outstanding MLB player and that seems to be the case in all our positions except CF where Buxton remains a conundrum and we have no second choice - sorry no real prospects are ready here, although I would go to a lower ranked prospect which I know frustrates some of you. Rooker has looked good this spring, but where do you put him? In fact Kiriloff, Larnach, Lewis and especially Gordon have to wait for injuries or retirement. Will Cruz go another year? That will open one slot. If Buxton is not ready do we put Kepler out of position again and give a rookie a shot - Larnach? I would. A great team continues to find a way to slip an influx of youth into its lineup like we did with Arraez last year. The old Yankee dynasty was notorious for finding a way to slip new players in and that helped them maintain a decade of dominance. What I really want to see is the development of our young pitchers. Hopefully Balazovic and Duran will me more than fifth spot competitors next year.

The baseball HOF has 17 3B elected - the least of any position except DH which says a lot about how difficult that position is. Is recent years we have started to add more 3B than in any other two decades of the hall with Molitor listed at 3B, Brett, Schmidt, Boggs, Jones, Santo and Deacon White (who?) "White is the oldest player elected to the Hall of Fame – having a birthday (Dec. 2, 1847) that predates any other player enshrined in Cooperstown." And he actually was better known as a catcher. So the fact we do not have a line of prospects ready to challenge for playing time is no surprise. Right now with Rendon, Arenado, Bryant we have an unusual high standard for the base and we probably could not afford anyone else. We were lucky and I am glad. Keep him healthy and the team will be healthy.

I just read the ESPN prospect ratings by Kiley McDaniels and is was an interesting look from a new perspective. Riley came over from FanGraphs and he has a different style than Law and others I have read. What interests me is the Twins prospects ratings, of course, and he challenged some ideas. https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/28820713/kiley-mcdaniel-top-100-prospects-2020 First of all he has Royce Lewis rated the highest at number 15 - a surprisingly high rating in my mind, but he also lists him as a CF. "His hitting mechanics still need a little work in terms of timing and quieting his hand movement, but scouts rave about his makeup, and the raw power and speed are still elite. I'm betting on Lewis figuring things out and becoming an above-average everyday player with some chance to become a star, possibly in the infield" Jhoan Duran was #54 - "The maturity and command look to be in place for a ground-ball-focused rotation workhorse with swing-and-miss stuff." This is really nice to see, I expected Balazovic to be above him. #58 Trevor Larnach, "He's a slightly better bet in my book than Alex Kirilloff to be an above-average everyday player, but they're in roughly the same area." So the argument about who is number one - Kiriloff or Lewis has a new twist. #63 is Alex Kiriloff, "Kirilloff's pitch selection leaves a bit to be desired, while he's moving down the defensive spectrum to first base and his wrist has been giving him trouble." #93 Jordan Balazovic, "He also doesn't have a bunch of plus pitches that he's learning to harness, rather a number of above-average offerings that he already has a good feel for mixing." It appears on all the lists that the top five prospects is the same (Graterol by the way is #92 "his command might be enough to start, but it's legit closer stuff"). Of course the question remains - who is the not on any list prospect who will be the next Arraez and throw the rankings out of the window. The second question - is it better to suddenly appear on the list and shoot to the top or to start your career with high expectations and high rating and then slowly slide down the list?

Thanks - I missed his return. I do hope he has a clear mind, good conditioning and gets into the competition - I would love to have Thorpe and Dobnak be the final two.

Thorpe still absent, Chacin looked terrible, Smeltzer okay, Dobnak looked great. Way to grab the prize. Still time, but right now he is the man.

I have high hopes! I know there are one year mirages, but he sure sold me on his approach last year.

One concern I have is the fact that Thorpe is still missing. This was his biggest opportunity and he is gone. I do not know the personal reasons, but both he and the team are losing out. I am also concerned about Romero missing out on a key opportunity for the BP. ST will continue to be interesting and SP will continue to be the big story.

I am guilty. I do not mind youth, but I do dislike bad defense.

Well thank you for my new title as the "old elitist" - if you think defense is just elitist thinking I am not sure where to start. I believe players are designated for positions for a reason. In the history of baseball there have been some world series teams that have won championships on the merits of their defense - 1959 White Sox, the Whitey Herzog years in St. Louis, and then there are the Earl Weaver Orioles who believed in pitching, defense and the three run HR. True defense has changed and shift have blurred some lines, but CF is still the big space where a lot can happen and I will take the glove. Based on the Stats Buxton has put up, do you think the articles would have seen him as our potential MVP it is was bat only and not defense?