Jump to content
Joe Ryan versus the Rangers, join the conversation! ×
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

mikelink45

Old-Timey Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    10,233

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    27

 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 Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. mikelink45
    Cruz is becoming a luxury instead of a necessity. I look forward to seeing him in the lineup again. I missed the Littell call up. I hope he can continue to be good in the pen. I am afraid the BP move for Romero was disastrous.
  2. mikelink45
    I am not dreaming of Scherzer or Snydergaard or any other stud. When I look at the team acquisitions they choose lower ranked, upside arm - Odorizzi, Perez, Parker. But my real thought process is the analysis of what we will have next year. I am not willing to have a one year run and collapse again, so the questions about Cron, Gibson, Schoop...are essential to this equation. Are we willing to go from bombers to good batters? Will Kiriloff at 1B, Arraez at 2B be okay after Cron and Schoop have lit things up? In the rotation I have already got Pineda gone (and even replaced in the rotation this year) but Odorizzi has been our clear number 2. Gibson has stepped back and could be gone. Perez, we hope, has found magic that will keep him going. But that is three SP for next year and who replaces them? In our minor only Graterol looks like he has a chance so if we do not acquire another starter the rotation for 2020 looks weak. The BP has some very replaceable arms and none in the minors. So who do I trade? If I am going for front line talent I trade Lewis or Arreaz. If it is just prospects then everyone but Lewis, Kiriloff, Graterol, and the pitcher we have the most confidence in with the lower minors. I a
  3. mikelink45
    Adams does not have it. We are going for the pennant, time to have only the best in the pen and he is not among them. I hope that we will soon replace him and Morin with better quality. Not sure how, but we have to incrementally improve the pen until we have what we need. We have moved through Hildenberger, Mejia, Moya, Reed, Vasquez, DeJong, Romero, and now Adams. Romero might be the one that returns, but otherwise we need better than all of those and we have to think championship. AAA bullpen does not look good, how is AA?
  4. mikelink45
    In today's game the players are coming up in their teens and early twenties. Talent not age seems to be making the decision for a lot of teams.
  5. mikelink45
    I saw Morin get a perfect - fielders gone crazy inning that had nothing to do with good pitching, tonight Adams demonstrated his value and his double digit era is the proof. Pineda should be in the pen and a better pitcher should be in the rotation. Those are my downers on this magnificent season. It is the stretch run we need to think about - can Harper and the other AAAA arms do the job? AAA does not have the talent. But Graterol in the rotation and Pineda in the pen seem like good options to upgrade everything.
  6. mikelink45
    I find myself jumping to the prospect list when I read these reviews and I have to say this has not been a year where the prospects have risen to give me anything that i really find hopeful. It would be good if you could give a periodic update on the list, not just the day. For example I checked a few: Royce Lewis .238 .310 .345 .655 Alex Kiriloff .214 .313 .286 .598 Brusdar Graterol 5 0 1.89 Trevor Larnach 287 .358 .420 .778 Wander Javier - no stats, no games Brent Rooker .222 .278 .478 .756 Jhoan Duran 0 4 4.60 Lewis Thorpe 3 2 6.70 Blayne Enlow 4 3 4.95 Akil Baddoo .214 .290 .393 .683 That is our top ten - I like Graterol and Larnach is okay. Overall our top ten is not performing like a top ten in my expectations.
  7. mikelink45
    Among the items that really stood out for me - Mike Morin was not a relief pitcher last night, he was throwing fielding practice and luckily the fielders took the challenge. How do stats cover this inning with no runs allowed? I certainly would not want him out there with less than a five run lead. Pineda has to really improve of we have to move on. Yes he fills in as a number five, but his rate of runs allowed in the early innings has me puzzled and is not what you want in crunch time. Arraez is terrific and in answer to an early question - yes we can use a Tony Gwynn in our lineup. Some wonderful lineup challenges ahead. Finally if we package Gordon, Adrianza, Kohl Stewart and Jake Cave can we get a couple decent RP? We do need them. As the season changes and the heat rises we have to be prepared for different scenarios and the BP still does not look like it needs to be in Sep/Oct.
  8. mikelink45
    Arraez, Adranza combo is great for setting up a trade - so far this FO has shown remarkable ability to get something for the players they drop and Adrianza has a good track record. I think that a nice package could get whatever we are looking for as we move to the trade deadline.
  9. mikelink45
    May is so inconsistent that as an opener he might throw away the whole game. I do not have faith in him, he is too inconsistent.
  10. mikelink45
    Our prospect list looks more like the IL list. And those who are active are showing minimum life. Good thing that we are looking good in MLB - Graterol is the only one I would have expectations for if he was called up. Who else? Wade keeps going, but I do not think the Twins have a high rating for him and Arraez was not on the list.
  11. mikelink45
    Love the article and I enjoy the enthusiasm, but as a really old guy on these posts I am closer to the dad who says we have to wait. I am thoroughly enjoying the team, but until the All Star game I am not thinking WS, nor am I convinced that the Astros, Yankees, and Red Sox are liable to fall to our juggernaut. In fact, if I let myself into that post season thought pattern the team that scares me is the Yankees. They are playing with their AAA lineup and staff. They are dominating the league and waiting for their regular lineup to come back. It is fun to watch the story lines develop and to have a team that deserves attention.
  12. mikelink45
    He is the kind of hitter that could catch fire! I hope so. I love it when we have a too many good hitters dilemma.
  13. mikelink45
    Surprised that Arraez was the chosen one. I would have thought an outfielder - Wade, but good for Luis. He has hit everywhere he has gone.
  14. mikelink45
    Austin Adams (32 years old) is a really boring choice - his MiLB stats for the year according to baseball reference give him a 4.50 era and a career 6.29 MLB era. The three in the bullpen game made their audition and proved they do not belong. Addison Reed now has an era of 14.40. Don't we have someone with a live arm in the minors? Mason? How about putting Pineda in the BP and Graterol in the rotation? Rooker continues to disappoint. Two more k's. He has 86 AB and 40 K now batting 221 which means when he makes contact he is hitting 413 - it would seem obvious that making contact would enrich his potential. Is he working on this or just hoping for long ones?
  15. mikelink45
    Nice to see the Twins win in a variety of ways. That ability to keep moving ahead despite a break down or two is what leads to championships.
  16. mikelink45
    I agree now, but I still believe Romero can do something special. I see his move to the BP as the equivalent of Sano to RF. When someone is good at something, emphasize the skill, not everyone is a Gonzalez or Astudillo.
  17. mikelink45
    Between Gordon and Garver - it is a morning of medical research - https://www.wosm.com/wosm-resources/orthopaedic-conditions/adductor-muscle-strain/ Gordon is down for at least two weeks I would imagine - tough for him to progress, having just come off the IL. I would imagine Gordon is also worried about Luis Arraez passing him by. Luis is hitting everywhere he goes - (Astudillo like?). Littell seems to have plateaued and then stepped back. I was looking for more from him this year. I thought he got rid of the first time in MLB blues and would move up. Now, if I was given the choice - the next pitcher up would be Graterol. What he throws is MLB ready and he has passed Stewart, Littell, Gonsalves on the conveyer belt as far as I can judge. And he would have been my pitcher of the day. Personally, I would like to see Wade come back up instead of Cave. I like his bat control and we have enough power in the lineup.
  18. mikelink45
    I found this site to be a good description of the high ankle sprain and treatment - https://physioworks.com.au/injuries-conditions-1/high-ankle-sprain He is going to be on IL, probably return to DH, but not soon. Really a shame. I feel bad for him.
  19. mikelink45
    Adrianza could have bunted. I question using Schoop as a PR. He has more value with his bat. I do like bunts and this was definitely a place where the bunt would have had great value.
  20. mikelink45
    How about congratulations Gardy. I always enjoyed him in the Twins dugout and it is fun to see him and his team having fun. They are playing far above their talent level right now and I think it shows that Gardy does know how to handle a team. He had to go from here, but its nice to see him succeed and from what I could tell in MI, they are enjoying him too. He is the right guy to handle this transition period for the Tigers. Team Home Runs - we are 3 they are 29. Batting average - Twins 2, Detroit 25. ERA - Twins 7, Detroit 21, WAR - Twins 3, Detroit 25. No contest, except that the human factor still eludes the sabrmatricians. And that is what makes baseball fun. Now Twins - get back to winning.
  21. mikelink45
    Two disagreements - the first is quality starts - this is not your issue. I just think the QS is a ridiculously low bar and I have hated it since it first came into use. Pineda is getting credit for not falling off the mound. A quality start against this Detroit lineup is not significant and Pineda has a long ways to go yet. (I hope he gets there.) So nothing personal, just a little rant. Adrianza is a luxury, but I do not see him as a necessity. I will be interested in the way the decision is made if we are fortunate to have so many good players we have to lose one.
  22. mikelink45
    Cron' fielding has been great so we have no loss there, but in the hitting department I think we see why Mauer was not made for 1B, Cron is the classic 1B hitter and it makes a difference.
  23. mikelink45
    Rooker is 24 - look at the rookies that have made a splash in MLB the last two years. They are 20/21. If Rooker takes two more years he will be 26 - 27. That is okay if he is productive, but that is not aggressive movement. Hopefully someone starts working with him and he becomes more selective and productive soon.
  24. mikelink45
    Rooker is an older player, a college draft meant to move quickly, but I do not see the progression.
  25. mikelink45
    I think that Rooker has dropped drastically in my list of prospects. If we put Sano and Rooker in the same lineup we can start to rewrite the K records (already being done around the league) with our club and opposing pitchers. I like what we have now and I also see others in the Minors who I would prefer over Rooker. When we got him I was excited, but each whiff fans away a little more of the promise for me.
×
×
  • Create New...