mikelink45

Yeah, I'd even go as far to put Maeda in the winner column. Sure, his spring stats weren't great, but he's coming back from a major injury and just to have him out there throwing multiple innings again is encouraging to me. 

Rocco has been a loser this Spring. He still does not have his batters move runners over. Several times this Spring the Twins had more hits than the other team, but fewer runs. Spring training would have been a good time to practice moving runners over, but it just did not happen. The Twins are not going to be a good hitting team so they need to move runners over to score runs or they will be a losing team just like last year. Teams like the Twins that hit into so many double plays usually finish with losing records.

In this era where BP is almost more important than rotation I think Duran is a permanent key to the pen and the rotation is not only filled with vets but  has a number of young arms waiting in the wings.  

Did anyone notice that the Guardians beat the Yankees today and won a playoff game with bloop singles.  Oh, wait, you have to have exit velocity to win - right?  I love the way the Guardians play.  Rocco - please look up from your computer and watch Francona manage.

I just watched MLB.com talk about Bruce Sutter who averaged almost 2 innings per relief appearance at his peak - a number of years.  Starters pitching more innings, relievers pitching more innings.  What a difference and not a good one.  We need some new paradigms.  
 

Did anyone notice that the Guardians beat the Yankees today and won a playoff game with bloop singles.  Oh, wait, you have to have exit velocity to win - right?  I love the way the Guardians play.  Rocco - please look up from your computer and watch Francona manage.

Did anyone notice that the Guardians beat the Yankees today and won a playoff game with bloop singles.  Oh, wait, you have to have exit velocity to win - right?  I love the way the Guardians play.  Rocco - please look up from your computer and watch Francona manage.

I think people just overvalue a lot of Twins players.
Guys like Kepler and Polanco aren’t going back to 2019.
Nick Gordon and Trevor Larnach just aren’t that good.
Buxton will never play a full season.
Kirillof’s career may be derailed at this point.
Royce Lewis may never stay healthy. If he does, we don’t know he’s a good major leaguer yet based on a small sample.
The list goes on.  
 

Prielipp too hign, Varland and Wallner too low.  The last ten are just names to me.  And the second 10 are really a lot of disappointments and question marks. Truly a list that lacks what we are used to, but hopefully they will light things up and suddenly grab attention.  Balazovic is the biggest disappointment on the list along with Sabato ranking so low on a list that has so many unknowns.

Enlow hasn't pitched in a few years due to injury and COVID.  I suspect moving him to the pen is more about him finishing the season as he is likely on an innings limit.  
Its good to see we still have a stable of prospects after all the promotions, injuries, ineffectiveness, and trades.  We are definitely not as deep as in years past, but I think we can make that up over the next 2 years with good drafts.  

Just a suggestion. Show their their position and height/weight and age next to their names? 

I am not for Sanchez.  I want something from Winder/Ober/Varland.  We trusted a young Ryan, let's trust another young arm.  Sanchez has a -0.8 WAR.  That tells me how good he has been.   I went to BR and his statistics do nothing for me.  Yes we can trade him for Archer if we want the same results. 

I am not for Sanchez.  I want something from Winder/Ober/Varland.  We trusted a young Ryan, let's trust another young arm.  Sanchez has a -0.8 WAR.  That tells me how good he has been.   I went to BR and his statistics do nothing for me.  Yes we can trade him for Archer if we want the same results. 

I am not for Sanchez.  I want something from Winder/Ober/Varland.  We trusted a young Ryan, let's trust another young arm.  Sanchez has a -0.8 WAR.  That tells me how good he has been.   I went to BR and his statistics do nothing for me.  Yes we can trade him for Archer if we want the same results. 

I am not for Sanchez.  I want something from Winder/Ober/Varland.  We trusted a young Ryan, let's trust another young arm.  Sanchez has a -0.8 WAR.  That tells me how good he has been.   I went to BR and his statistics do nothing for me.  Yes we can trade him for Archer if we want the same results. 

I agree that its time to make a change with Archer. Pen looks like a good place for him to finish the year. Maybe a piggyback for Bundy?

86-76. Finish 2 ahead of Cleveland and 3 ahead of the Sox.
Win at least one playoff game.
 

My only request is that we finish competitively.  Give us some excitement.  I see us so outclassed in the playoffs that that is not exciting, but the race to get in is.  Play hard, pitch well, and show emotions.  

My only request is that we finish competitively.  Give us some excitement.  I see us so outclassed in the playoffs that that is not exciting, but the race to get in is.  Play hard, pitch well, and show emotions.  

My only request is that we finish competitively.  Give us some excitement.  I see us so outclassed in the playoffs that that is not exciting, but the race to get in is.  Play hard, pitch well, and show emotions.  

Gaetti and Hrbek were brought up way at the end of the season in '81 just so the Twins could get a look at them. That was typical in those days. The fact they started as full time players in '82 (their rookie season) is a testament to Manager Billy Gardner as well as to their talent. Gardner didn't give out "rest" days or constantly screw around with the lineup. If you made the team you played, usually one position and often the same spot in the lineup. I doubt either Hrbek or Gaetti would have gotten in over 140 games if Rocco had been their manager. More playing time means more player development when you're a rookie. Not playing regularly, in my opinion, is hampering the development of Kirilloff, Miranda and Larnach. All three should be around 70 games by the All-Star break, Larnach excepted of course, but I don't see that happening. So a smaller sample size to work from.
Anyway, the point I was trying to make is the 2022 rookies aren't doing half bad at the plate despite limited playing time and often playing out of position. 

Little article from 10 years ago for people who've forgotten about the Miguel Sano age controversy. What if Sano really was 3 years older and now he's 32 instead of 29? In any case, the Twins were comfortable with signing him regardless of what they felt like his real age was.

I'm also on the fence of whether I think the Twins are likely to pick up Kepler's option considering how Kepler is playing now. Kepler is an adequate starting outfielder in terms of value, a 2 WAR kinda guy. That's not a guy you need to replace, but not a guy you build a team around, either. With a swing that looks very pretty but spends too little time in the meat of the contact zone and an extreme pull tendency, he just doesn't forecast as a guy who'll ever make the most of his plate discipline. It's the same gripe many people have had with Kepler over the years. It just FEELS like he could hit .300 with 25 HR instead of .225 with 30 HR if he wanted to. I don't think this front office makes any decisions based on popularity, but even if they did, Kepler doesn't feel like a fan favorite.

Polanco... In a position where the Twins have far too much depth already, I thought Polanco's position was set in stone at the end of last year. Arraez slumped badly down the stretch last year causing his stock to fall quite a bit and he was banged up quite a bit last year as well. This year, he's on pace for 139 games and I could see him playing in even more than that... and he's taken a big step forward at the plate. He's even showing signs of developing more pop lately. I still feel strongly that one of Polanco or Arraez NEEDS to be traded. The Twins are wasting value putting a middle infielder at DH or 1B. Even now, Polanco arguably has more value, but he's also more expensive.

I really liked this article and your analysis.  I have long thought Enlow was not qualified for our top prospect ratings and you seem to confirm that for me.  I also hated the Sabato pick.  Do we need a new Sano? 
Jeffers can still come around, Larnach keeps working and can be an acceptable part of the line-up. Leach is a complete miss. 
Wallner feels like he could surprise and do what Sabato was expected to do.
This is not a very impressive showing for the FO, but I think it is accurate.  
I am really sorry we traded Petty, but if Gray can stay healthy it is an okay trade. 

If Petty stays healthy, he may become the most valuable of all of these players who have been drafted by Falvey. He was very impressive when I was at Spring Training this year. He was the pitcher, who, when warming up, the other players and coaches would watch. His sizzling pitches were darting in and out of the strike zone. He is a special talent who will be successful in the majors for many years. Therefore, Falvey gets an A+ in drafting Petty. However, in my report card, Falvey gets an F for trading him away, even though I love Gray. I would have made Petty untouchable in a trade. I understand the injury risk with an 18 year old fire-balling pitcher, but I tell you, Petty is special and is worth the risk. In three years the Reds will have Hunter Greene and Chase Petty as two young exciting and personable "Aces". 

I really liked this article and your analysis.  I have long thought Enlow was not qualified for our top prospect ratings and you seem to confirm that for me.  I also hated the Sabato pick.  Do we need a new Sano? 
Jeffers can still come around, Larnach keeps working and can be an acceptable part of the line-up. Leach is a complete miss. 
Wallner feels like he could surprise and do what Sabato was expected to do.
This is not a very impressive showing for the FO, but I think it is accurate.  
I am really sorry we traded Petty, but if Gray can stay healthy it is an okay trade.