mikelink45

The only prospect rankings I follow are yours Seth because I have developed a level of trust for all the observation and research you do. Not the same as a distant analytic writer.

As someone who has had two back surgeries - 12 ruptured disks and annual injections I can tell you that back pain sneaks up on you. Good one day and then you wake up and hurt. I suspect his conditioning will allow him to play more than sit, but it is a real issue and the bend to catch a ground ball is the worst of all postures. Is it time to revisit Eeles as a possible IF player and maybe a prospect or two above Gaspar for DH?

Am I the only one that is just bored with all these analytics. The eye test, the view of scouts, the production at his age says to me we have a star in the making. If Fangraphs wants to create controversy so we pay attention to it, fine, but count me as not caring what they think.

Well I am still a believer that a starter can go 7. If you don't like that I cannot argue the point - it is just an opinion

I cannot discount them. With Lewis down our production has taken a big potential hit and we can project the former prospects to be stars - the fans on every team does this. But I think Cleveland has once again figured out pitching - BP instead of SP and year Bibee has the look of a number one and Means and Bieber have shown that they can be really good. Gimenez is not as big a loss as everyone states. I know people think 1B is the least important position but I would argue 2B has become that. With more fly balls and Ks the keystone is not what it used to be and his bat will not be hard to replace. I do not project Cleveland to win it all, but I can't choose any of the four primary teams to win I just think it will be a rubix cube or possibilities

I just do not buy into projections on BPs. There is nothing more volatile than the arms in the pen and I do not mean just the Twins. Duran continues a downward trend, Jax gets injured and ??? We know that we cannot count on health, we cannot count on consistency from year to year. The way the BP can stay the best is if the SP go deeper and out dependency on the BP is not stressed by needing them to step up every day.

It is always fascinating to read about a team which has only two players I am really familiar with. It looks terrible, but the question is - will the prospects all appear in June and will they have the energy to make this into an interesting team. I do not count on the Twins running all over them. In the past we often sunk to the level of our competition. That said I am confident that the White Sox are the one team that we can guarantee will be lower in the standings than we are.

I don't know. Last year I expected so much from the Twins and they disappointed yet we act like we are the class of the division. KC has good starters and some good bats. I do not know if it is enough, but I also don't know if France can be as good as his ST stats seem to indicate - or will he be as bad as the last two years. Vinnie wins this comparison. Out 2B is a mess and KC now looks to India who has a better track record than our hopefuls. I will take Perez over our catchers. I will take Witt over Correa. Our OF looks better than theirs by quite a bit, but is Larnach's ability really on the rise and Bader is like Isbel - all glove/no bat. Right now 3B is a questionable position for both teams. Our BP looks to rate the best, but they said that last year too. Let's see, but never-the-less it is better than KC's after the top three, but not better than KCs top three. And I know it is common to project regression, but why? Is it because we want to have someone progress. Right now Ragans and Lugo are the top 1-2 pitchers and the Wacha/Lorenzen spots match well with our Paddack/Richardson so Ober is the one who pushed us to the top, but not by much. As always injuries will determine a lot - as will midseason moves. I can see both KC and MN battling it out.

I can just wait and see. Over the years I have watched injured players with rosy expectations take much longer to heal. The information given out is never complete. But more than anything some bodies just break down more than others.

Good analysis - I wonder if Zebby passed Festa in the pecking order? I have mentioned elsewhere that I hope Paddack looks good and we trade him before he breaks down again. This team has so many players position and pitching who seem fragile and it might be good to move some when they are healthy and performing. Paddack is first in mind from the pitching staff. We have already seen Topa, Tonkin, and Stewart tweaked this spring and if Topa comes back he would be the next pitcher I would trade. I like the volume of arms and look forward to more youth in the rotation.

Not sure I agree, but enjoyed the article. I would prefer 5 OF and either Julien or Gaspar in St Paul. I see Miranda, Correa, Lee, France as the starting IF and with Castro that is enough. I would like to see Keirsey kept as a 5th OF option. And I still have hopes that Paddack might be showing enough to get traded before he breaks down again.

Interesting comments and we all feel frustration and let down. Lewis looked so good when he came up, but we have been a team torn between Buxton on the field off the field, Correa injured or playing injured and we need the stars on the field. I had to jump over Julien, but I think I would go for Keaschall and some hope for the future. Brock Stewart is another star crossed star - so sorry and Canterino looks like he is on the Kiriloff track. So much potential lost to injuries. This is one of the reasons I would trade Paddack while he looks good. Such a sad report.

Canterino seems like the next one to take the Kirilloff retirement plan

I liked Julien a lot two years ago, but he really lost it last year and that was bad timing with Lee and Keaschall coming quickly. Had he kept up his rookie production 2B would be his. Now he is AAA or bench and I would be looking to package him with Paddack and see what we could get. Lee has too much potential, has had a good track record and projects much better than the other options. So the question is not this year - it is next years competition with Keaschall.

Don't underestimate the potential for a recession and the impact of tariffs and ICE for a league that is looking to expand internationally and depends on lots of international stars. Even billionaires look at economic forecasts and it might be that the value of the team is dropping. How do the Pohlads respond to all this news? And how does MLB in its quest for a salary cap? Stay tuned there is a lot more than the Twins team sale coming during the season.

I know you want to really drive home your point, but I did not compare Wallner to Clemente - I said a strong throwing arm is the best weapon for RF as proven by Clemente. I can take disagreement and we obviously have it, but be accurate. I still like Wallner and I think his arm is a real weapon.

Let's get a full season from him before we start dreaming of Cy Youngs. I will be content if he is a stud in the rotation.

I am a believer. I like his strong arm in RF which since Clemente has been recognized as a key to good fielding in that position.

I will be delighted if Buxton stays healthy and stays in the field, but reading the essay I find it a little less optimistic than I would like if this is the best position we have - you note that Buxton's range and defense seem on decline and he might be DH a lot - that is not good news. Then we have Bader fielding the position, but his bat is in decline. And behind him I have no faith in Martin, Castro is a good utility player but not a full time CF option. Keirsey is the only one listed that seems to project both Bat and glove - I would take him over Bader but I know the team will not. So let's just hope the metrics are off and our eyes tell us a better story with Buxton in CF for more than 100 games.

These are interesting but everyone - including TD periodically reminds us the ST number don't mean anything. I do not know how the evaluations are done, but this is an interesting collection of statistics.

No surprises - some disappointment with Canterino. Not that I expected much from him, but he has had a horrible medical career in MLB

I am fine with most decisions but from the players listed Gaspar and Martin are the two I am least pleased with. And I would love to see Keirsey. I am also torn on Paddack, but have no real reason if he is doing well. I just like the younger players.

I really like the top three - and I am delighted to see the number of pitchers ranked this high - hopefully because they are that good and not because we ran out of position players to rank. Of course that is not true - I have been touting DeShawn Keirsey for the last two years and hope the Twins actually let him be in MLB with us or with another team - Wade, Rooker, Gil, Wells, and Cano would welcome another Twin prospect to the big leagues. Sometimes it just takes another opportunity. And that brings up my most underrated - Eeles. I would have him competing for 2B this year - I love the Altuve/Pedroia vibe he brings to the game.

I had another of those sleepless nights where my mind travels into distant lands and I can only follow. This time I was thinking about the Central division and if I had to pick my all-star best at each position. And then where do the Twins land on this list because the projections I have been seeing have the Royals and Tigers ahead of them and maybe the Guardians. Why? Start with Pitching: The best rotation (not just the best pitcher) - Detroit because Skubal, Flaherty and Jackson are really studs (I know Jackson is a rookie) and Mize and Manning or Reese fills out the rotation. Second - KC has Ragans, Bubic, Lorenzen, Wacha and Lugo - and I would have them tied with the Twins Lopez, Ryan, Ober, SWR and I guess Paddock Relief pitching: The Guardians led by Clase are the best. The Twins need Duran to be what he was in the past and the others to live up to our twincentric projections, but KC and Detroit also have the potential to be as good or better than us. Catching KC's Salvador Perez is the man. Jeffer's is second best individual and then we wonder what Vasquez will do Teel for the Sox has potential and the Guardians Naylor and Hedges could be the second best combo. 1B This one is tough, but I cannot put France this high Is the Guardians Santana (our old friend) the best? I don't think so. I will take Pasquantino for KC. Santana second, Vaughn of the Sox third. Detroit's 1B combo is as mixed up as ours. 2B KC got India and they got the best of the division Gleyber Torres and Keith give the Tigers a good combo and Torres has proven he can produce. We are third - but Lee and Julien have the potential to rise or fall. The Guardians and the Sox are out of the discussion SS KC wins here - as much as I like Correa - Bobby Witt is the best After these two I can only laugh when I think of Baez 3B There is no contest - the Guardians Ramirez is one of the two best position players in the division (Witt is the other) After that there is no discussion - no one else stands out LF Detroit wins - Riley Green is a star Steven Kwan of the Guardians would be second And we can hope that Larnach will come in third CF Buxton wins this one for us if he is on the field Luis Roberts of the Sox is next in line Then it is a coin flip RF I really like Wallner but Kerry Carpenter of Detroit has already risen as a star Those are my top two DH I do not know - there is no outstanding DH - position players rotate through for all of these clubs. Manager Hinch is my choice But Vogt did great last year for Cleveland Quatraro and Rocco follow and Venable is an unknown So where does the leave me? I don't know. I think I lean towards KC and Detroit but not by much. In other words - the division is up for grabs.

The intangible I see as the extra significance in Correa is that he will play between two of our highest rated assets - Lewis and Lee and he can mentor and work with them. Imagine if all three played at the top of their potential.