mikelink45

Here is my confusion. Right after the WS and long before Rule V cuts we could have made trade offers with those we decided to not protect as the backend players in any deals. Since many of them have some interesting back stories, they would not have been wasted in such talks. Right now if it is a pitcher Slegers and Enns are both ready to move and clear 40 man space at the same time. ​The glut at SS is not a glut until we have them ready for MLB and no place to play them. Give up Slegers, Kiriloff, Kepler and Gordon and see what that brings in - in my less informed mind that sounds like a nice package for a good pitcher like Cole that is coming off a poor year.

I am just thankful that we have so many interesting storylines to follow - it makes the hot stove a lot more fun. I decided a long time ago to stop reading, writing, thinking about players salaries. Since i will not make as much in my life as the average 5 year major leaguer makes in one the money means nothing. I cannot relate. I just see money coming in and either going to the rich owner or making a player rich. I will take the player. Now to get back to baseball. The youth movement of the Twins is the most exciting thing I have seen in decades and I love it. The last time we had talent like this they were named Oliva, Killebrew, Allison, Versailles, Hall, Battey, Pascual, Kaat, and Perry. I love the excitement and the stories this generates.

Nice response. I am quite biased because Warren Spahn was my hero and I got to watch him pitch = in person - four years in a row in the 1050s. When his turn came we expected to win. No relief pitcher was going to blow it.

The issue is with the coaching staff. Lets hope they can bring him to the next level.

Garver must be tired of being on your list by now. Every year the potential puts him in the rankings, but every year there is a new obstacle. I hope this is the year where he does not see any more minor league time. He is not going to be a star but he is good enough to be in the majors. I hope Lewis can match his potential, at this time his injuries have been his big story and I have not seen enough to say that he should rank this high. ​Wade and Diaz are a real pair - potential for power, a steady performance by Wade and anticipation in Diaz, but at this point I do not see their future with the Twins. If Littell is as good as his record (I do count wins) then we really pulled on over on the Yankees. I hope this is true.

There was news about another highly drafted Texas hurler this week - Marc Appel drafted number one was dropped by the Phillies. Sometimes the talent just does not translate to the big leagues. Stewart is so far down the pecking list he would not stand a chance here and we still rate low with starters. For the Bullpen they want Ks and he does not get them. ​If he hangs on I see him as a Jaimie Garcia type who is always available and always expendable.

I hope you are right, but I think Tyler Jay is going to be in the minors and build up his arm and resume. I am most hopeful that the young arms we got up here last year are going to grow from their time in the majors and Curtiss and Busenitz will blossom as really dependable - maybe even excellent - bullpen arms. And if Hildenberg builds on his first year he will be a star. I cannot see a Rule V - basically the FO just flooded the Rule V market with the type of players we might have picked up in the past. I suspect they are looking at a Free Agent and trade, but I really cannot get a read on them yet.

Thome and Jones are the two sure bets in my assessment which is seldom dependable. Santana - no. We have had a number of great pitchers for five year stretches that never made it. Koufax is the exception for a number of reasons - he played in Los Angeles, not MN, (true Santana was in NY, but his career there was really short of accomplishments due to injuries), Koufax went out on top - he retired at the top of his game garnering great attention and disappointment while Santana struggled to get back leaving us with an image of a damaged athlete, not a great one. I would be fine if Hoffman and Vlad took a step back.

I cannot see Slegers and Boshers when we could lose some of these players. I guess the new stats must be like reading tea leaves and they see something that I do not. I do like Gonsalves, Thorpe and Littell, but some of these other players looked too good to dangle in rule V for me.

It is a good point to consider. Our son had a rod put in his leg after a femur break in Alaska. Years later it still gives him pain and they had to go in a year ago and remove it. I have two artificial hips and an artificial knee. All of these are great for living life better, but are not perfect for athletes who demand more out of their body. I spend the summer guiding hiking trips and need these to work for me, but I know that you must be realistic and your column leads to important concern. This is a serious issue.

https://www.si.com/more-sports/2011/07/01/kaplan-spahnmarichalToday I was motivated by reading an article on ESPN by Bradford Doolittle - hitting the reset on pitcher wins http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/21439977/hitting-reset-button-starting-pitcher-wins-baseball As a baseball fan who started out rooting for Warren Spahn, Lew Burdette, Hank Aaron, and Eddie Mathews of the Milwaukee Braves and then moving over to the new Twins as an usher for their first season my views are tainted by history and, while I like many new stats, I am bothered by the tendency to throw out the old stats with the recycling. Over and over I hear that wins don't count, then we drool over our greater win totals. True it is a team game and the wins by an individual pitcher have to be looked at under a new lens since the idea of a complete game where the pitcher really does control the outcome has changed and now we have shifted to the bullpen as masters of the mound, but the true aces rise above this. Sale and Kluber, Kershaw and Scherzer are not just great starters, they actually win games, even though they do not pitch very many complete games. To understand my love of the complete game and the true aces you should read about the Spahn/Marichal game in 1963 - https://www.si.com/more-sports/2011/07/01/kaplan-spahnmarichal How nostalgic this game is for me. Now admittedly in this era it is a thrill to see two starters go 7 innings against each other, but that does not diminish the win and loss records. It is true that the scorer never invokes his right to award the win to the most deserving so a relief pitcher can come in throw one ball and then get the win, but that is not all that common. The starter gets his record because he pitches long enough, often enough to get to the position to win. ​And I understand fielding and hitting are essential I remember when Ryan won the ERA title in 1987 came with an 8 - 16 record, hardly a great pct. Yet he overcame the poor teams he pitched for to surpass 300 wins just as Blyleven won 287 games pitching with some mediocre teams. I give him credit for this win total in addition to the new stats that pushed him in the Hall of Fame. I do not want to negate the new approach. In fact the bullpen era will create some interesting statistical aberrations that challenge our ability to compare pitchers from one era to another, but take nothing away from those winners of yesteryear. It is common place to always state today's athletes are the best ever. Kershaw is being anointed by ESPN weekly and he deserves his recognition, but necessarily his ranking. Give the same diet, training and opportunities, the greats of the past would be the greats of today and the greats of today put in another era would still rise to stardom. So how do we judge players? Old stats, new stats, the eye test? Maybe all of them. If real baseball was just a statistical exercise we could dispense with the field and just play strato-matic, but the human element is what gives it greatness and is the reason we still talk about players like Cy Young and Honus Wagner even though they are simply grainy photographs and statistical lines in our life times.

I have neither hopes nor expectations. This front office has not shown me anything that really excites me, like the team on the field did. I hope their methodical actions last season set us up for some real progress, but baseball is a funny sport and hard to see the final results. If we had signed David Price instead of the Red Sox we would have been elated, but David Price is not the pitcher we remember and his season was a real puzzle and free agency is a crap shoot - remember the big signing of Pujols and now what. ​New names that have been hired for positions we do not know how to judge are interesting and hopefully they will all succeed, but of course they will not. No matter what the Twins Hot Stove League will be fun. Remember how TR used to do all his signings in Dec and then we waited, there will longer term speculation through this winter.

It is good that they move on early for the benefit of the players released. None of these players looked to be key pieces moving on, even if they do find some success. I went down the list anticipating Kennys Vargas, but luckily he is still there (I like him) and if he is going to move it if more likely that it is a trade (my preference). I was surprised by Bosher remaining and I am curious how much of a chance Slegers has. Thanks for the report - the way you presenting the list was brilliant (as the English group I am currently guiding would say).

Each year the ranking get to a section where I just don't have a lot of expectations and this is a group, other than Curtiss, that just does not excite me.

I have wanted them to put Vargas in the lineup and leave him - at least 50 - 60 games and see what we have. Up and down, majors/minors, starting/bench is not the way to develop talent and I think we have mishandled him. If we are not going to test his ability cut him loose.

How great - here I thought the fact that I was an usher at the first Twins game would give me the prize, but you beat me! In the 1950's I would travel with my parents and grandparents to watch the Milwaukee Braves - Aaron, Spahn, Mathews, Burdette, Schoendeinst, Logan, Crandall, Bruton, Covington, Buhl... Loved them and they moved to some strange city where I lost contact and was happy to shift to the Twins!

I am pleased for him, he really seems like a nice guy just like Gardenhire who finally got the award and was soon given another award by the team - unemployment. A manager has to enjoy the moment.

Rortvedt has yet to impress me. I think he is developing slower than I had expected and I am disappointed. Top 40 yes, but not top 25 yet for me. Jay is interesting because in the past as we read about him as a starter he was much more intriguing, but knowing that failed starters can be outstanding relievers I hope that he shines soon. ​Granite is interesting because this past year I would have thought he would be higher than this considering his year and his promotion to MLB. Are the top 20 that good or is he overrated as a major leaguer? Kohl Stewart keeps getting the same review - lots of stuff, does not strike anyone out. For some reason his rankings and the words that are written about him to not correspond. ​The top 20 should be quite interesting.

Interesting names, but nothing here that excites. Age is one thing none of us can ignore - it is the finall equalizer and I feel like Bautista and Frazier are fighting that right now. Santana at 32 has only a few years before he spirals downhill but would be the only one I would expect to get a good return on if the contract does not exceed 3 years.

You write a good post and have great stats. Its hard to explain why I would still take Morris, but that is the truth.

You have a point, but for me AAAA is not major league ready, just better than many younger players. I want to rank players who will be major leaguers, not fringe players while a depth chart might list the 4As since they are fillers for injury and other depth issues. I like potential, but I want to see some of that potential played out - in our top 50 there are many who are not going to make it or will be destined to the 4A rank. The top prospect, to me, is the guy who is ready to step in and be a starter and contributor.

I am not a big Mussina fan. He pitched for really good teams and was never the real leader. I know he has many pushing for him, but I am fine if he is out. I am also fine if Morris is out, but the old ERA standard is about to go away if we are going to put any modern era pitchers in. In the era of the HR the ERA for the entire league is going up and the innings are going down. In a big game I would take Morris over Mussina any day. Since 1993 league ERA has gone from 3.94. to 4.77 and the complete games pitched has dropped from 371 to 59. How can you compare numbers? https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/pitch.shtml

I know I see these lists different than most of you, but for me this group slides to the back of the list. I want to see some prove of ability and not just wishes. These are all interesting stories and I hope that they prove to be as good as hoped for, but right now nothing about these five has me anticipating their arrival in MN and I am more interested in progress than promise.

I am fine if Jack gets in. Morris is not a bad candidate he is a victim of current thinking which will change over time like all theories. I am fine with Trammel or any of the other players. I am not fine with Miller, I was not fine with Selig or Kuhn or any of the other GMs, executives, owners. I want players in the HOF, even if I argue about who is the right one and anquish over "bad" choices. But there are no WAR totals, no stats to cover the non-players. They are not why we go to baseball games nor are they a reason for us to visit the Hall. If they want something like we have for writers and broadcasters I am fine, but take them out of the mix

I am like a lot of people and look at rankings in a different way, thinking close to the MLB team, versus potential. I just cannot assess potential - with all the previous years ink I kept thinking Burdi and Reed would blow people away in the major league BP, but here we are still ranking them in the potential arena. Frankly, I would not be surprised if all of these players made the bigs, but also I would not be surprised if that ranged from the cup of coffee to a small role. Star status does not seem likely. Moya is intriguing, but that might just be that we are always curious about the new acquisitions and tend to hope for more than those we know well.