Steve Lein

^ And I agree with all of that too.

This I know. But I'm not talking college and high school radar guns. I'm talking scout guns. I'd fully expect any guy who is starting a game to not utilize quite a few ticks on his fastball that he'll throw as a reliever. Perkins and Duensing are perfect examples of that on the Twins. But, to me, if you've got a guy like Melotakis who is throwing with plus-plus velocity as a reliever, and as a starter he can only throw above average, I think you're vastly wasting his best abilities - even if you subscribe to the "he'd be worth more as a starter" mantra. My answer to that is maybe - if he ever makes it as one.

Yup, you're right, he's another one. Like I said, off the top of my head... q;)

Off the top of my head the only High-School drafted pitcher I know of who has made it to the majors in 2 seasons or less since I've been following prospects, is Clayton Kershaw. So if you put Bert in this era, no I don't think he gets to majors in 2 seasons.

There isn't a current collection of pitchers in the majors or ready for the majors in the organization that would equal a ".500 pitching staff," not in reality or on paper. No #1's, No #2's, Nobody who's reached their #3 potential; it's all back-end starters and AAAA/MLB swing men.

Sad to hear the Twins have beat the plus-plus fastball velocity out of Melotakis. But I guess that's what the Twins do to 95+ MPH college closers turning into starters.

This is one thing about team-control years I extremely dislike. If it takes you 6 years to figure out if a player fits in the teams future plans, he probably doesn't. To quasi-quote another poster: "He is the type of player that [hopefully will perform and] be locked up early and render service time moot." Frankly, with how the Twins are constructed right now, money isn't even a conversation worth having in regard to Sano. You can't project anything 6 years from now in that regard, and the payroll is going to continue shrinking - they'll have the needed money to spend.

How does Baxendale give up 3 HR's and only 1 earned run! That's cooking the books when they didn't come after an error on the potential 3rd out!!! q; ) Sano now slugging over .800 in August. Wonder if TR will reward him in September ala Benson/Parmelee of 2011. Sano certainly has better numbers than they did in AA before the cup of coffee.

Rick Anderson wouldn't last an inning, Gardy might. Terry Ryan would melt like the wicked witch of the west. q;) But yeah, I know that statement really is something everyone around here already knows, but to me, it's almost like there's a set rule where something like a walk rate above 4/9IP automatically excludes anyone from a promotion. In relation to this, one question I have is why is Zach Jones still in Fort Myers? It has to be the walk rate (5.2/9IP), but he's not being hurt by it (only 24 hits allowed and a 1.85 ERA in 43.2 IP). If you are ever going to get the guy to alter anything and improve this, I think you have to challenge him to the point where it does. That's obviously not happening in High-A ball right now. And there's also no reason to hold back a stud RP prospect, or put him in the rookie leagues after drafting him. J.T. Chargois is a prime example. He was one of the prospects 'experts' were saying could be quickest to the Majors drafted last year. Many also were saying he should get sent straight to Double-A in the hopes of getting some useful innings out of his arm for the MLB team before it exploded. Well so far he's only played in the Appy League, and the Twins probably should have listened because he's been hurt all year with an elbow problem that looks like it's destined for TJ surgery (last mention of him I've seen anywhere was LENIII saying he's on a throwing program back in June). I've been posting this quote a few other places in relation to Adam Walker, but it applies here as well and is referring to the Twins philosophy of player development in general. From a Keith Law chat a few weeks ago: [h=6]Klaw (1:59 PM) [/h] Seriously, don't draft a good college player in the first few rounds and send him to low-A in his first full year. You're wasting everyone's time.

Yep, 20 triples. Might get that many in the Minors this year. And he has more triples than doubles playing in the bigger FSL stadiums so far.

I wouldn't be so assured that gets it done. Arcia is nice start, but he'd have to be the 2nd part of that deal, not the first. Same with Rosario. And adding them together still does not equal what the first part would need to be. Morales isn't much of a prospect anymore. He had a good start in A+ this year, but has been dreadful in AA, and will turn 24 in November. He's already been in the organization 7 seasons. Jorge is a wildcard, not even the Twins know what they have with him yet. Look to Adrian Salcedo for a similar reality check on him though. If you want a trade comparison, look at what the Tigers gave up to get Miguel Cabrera back in 2007. Cameron Maybin was BA's #6 overall prospect that season, and Andrew Miller was #10. Plus, there were 4 other players in that deal. Rosario wasn't even on top 100 lists this year, and Arcia was #41 on BA. It wouldn't take Buxton AND Sano to get Stanton, but it would take a helluva lot more than what you're proposing, and almost assuredly one of them. If you're trading an established superstar, you need to make sure you're getting someone back who has the potential to be just as good, and none of the guys you're suggesting are that type. What the Rangers got from the Braves for Mark Teixeira is a good example to me of what it would take as far as level of prospects are concerned. If you don't know who the Rangers got, it included Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, all of whom were on BA's Top 100 that year or the next. And Trevor May needs to be switched to the bullpen, think they've waited too long already. He'll be a wipeout reliever, but don't know if he'll ever make it as a starter, especially in the Twins organization who's heads explode if you can't stay in the strike zone.

I don't think he'll quite have Mike Trout power (30 HR's consistently), but could have a few seasons there. His Slugging Percentage will be a number driven more by his speed (doubles, triples) not his raw power (HR's). I'd like to see him join the 20/20/20 club (doubles, triples, HR's), which I think he could do. Or even the 20/20/20/20 club, adding in stolen bases. 20?20?20 club - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Pretty good company in that club.

You can certainly make an "argument" for anyone who is getting ranked as high as he is on all the lists out there. I would guess it comes down to what you like about players in general, or how highly you regard one particular tool or set of tools. In the case of the Twins 2 guys high on those lists, Buxton obviously has the better overall toolbox as a speedy CF, but Sano has the most sexy tool of them all (power). It's a good problem to have!

I've posted this elsewhere about Walker, but I agree with those who say he shouldn't be in Low-A. From a Keith Law chat a few weeks ago: Jesse (Minny) Any opions on Adam Bret Walker in Cedar Rapids? He's over 20 HRs with a good AVG. Solid regular 1st baseman? Klaw (1:59 PM) He's also 21 and a college product in low-A, with a poor walk rate and a K rate too high for a player of his age/experience. He's not a zero, but again, the stat line here is pretty misleading - and he should be in high-A. Klaw (1:59 PM) Seriously, don't draft a good college player in the first few rounds and send him to low-A in his first full year. You're wasting everyone's time.

This is where you have to look deeper than the "total" pitch count. 110 pitches in 5 or 6 innings is a lot worse than 110 pitches in 9. It's when you're throwing 20+ pitches in an inning or multiple innings where the stress is built up. Albers threw 11, 10, 11, 10, 9, 16, 17, 14, and 11 pitches by inning. None of those pitch counts are overly stressful. He was in and out of the Twins dugout pretty quick all night, and never really labored until the very end. There are reasons pitchers like Verlander, Kershaw, Darvish, etc... are routinely throwing in excess of 100 pitches, often 120+. If guys like that are pitching like they usually do, 120 pitches in 8 innings averages out to 15/inning. That's not a stressful workload. For reference, Verlander has thrown 100+ pitches for 15 consecutive starts. By the logic many seem to follow about pitch counts/injury risk, that should never happen. But the reality is he's able to go that long so consistently because he rarely gets hit with a big 25+ pitch inning where he tires. Personally, I would have let Albers go until he gave up a run. Who knows, he could have gotten the DP grounder a single pitch later too. I also wouldn't have used Fien in relief, though not sure what the options were with Jamey Carrol having to pitch the night before.

The title of this blog entry was a phrase expressed in talking with a coworker this morning about his recent knee surgery, and what his doctor had told him in regards to the expectations for recovery that he had expressed. The timetable just wasn't nearly as fast as he had thought it would be. He went on to explain that he probably applies this "unrealistic optimism" to several other elements or moments in his life. For whatever reason, I immediately correlated this thought/phrase to the Minnesota Twins of 2013, another disappointed season no matter what metric you choose to look at. In the offseason and during Spring Training, all you heard from the front office of the Twins and all the local beat writers columnists, was that they "expected to be better," "there would be improvement," "so and so is healthy," "can't be worse," etc... This led to many fans into believing that this year would be better. Well I say shame on those fans, and even more shame on those scribes and executives for fueling the ignorant fan fire, because they should have known better. The Twins finished the 2011 season with It got me thinking that this was a very applicable statement to the Twins 2013 season as well. Talking Points: -players on roster due for regression (Diamond, Willingham) -Worst staff last year and replaced them with nobody who was an actual improvement -baseball smarts of minnesota

The title of this blog entry was a phrase expressed in talking with a coworker this morning about his recent knee surgery, and what his doctor had told him in regards to the expectations for recovery that he had expressed. The timetable just wasn't nearly as fast as he had thought it would be. He went on to explain that he probably applies this "unrealistic optimism" to several other elements or moments in his life. For whatever reason, I immediately correlated this thought/phrase to the Minnesota Twins of 2013, another disappointed season no matter what metric you choose to look at. In the offseason and during Spring Training, all you heard from the front office of the Twins and all the local beat writers columnists, was that they "expected to be better," "there would be improvement," "so and so is healthy," "can't be worse," etc... This led to many fans into believing that this year would be better. Well I say shame on those fans, and even more shame on those scribes and executives for fueling the ignorant fan fire, because they should have known better. The Twins finished the 2011 season with It got me thinking that this was a very applicable statement to the Twins 2013 season as well. Talking Points: -players on roster due for regression (Diamond, Willingham) -Worst staff last year and replaced them with nobody who was an actual improvement -baseball smarts of minnesota

Great work Nick. This article echoes my sentiments on the whole situation and the Twins overall attitude as a team recently.

It took Sano 5+ seconds of admiring the blast before he took off jogging to first, that's a bit excessive. So I'm okay with sitting him as a lesson, but don't want the Twins to take away that edge of confidence/attitude he has.

From chat with Keith Law today: [h=6]Jesse (Minny)[/h] Any opions on Adam Bret Walker in Cedar Rapids? He's over 20 HRs with a good AVG. Solid regular 1st baseman? [h=6]Klaw (1:59 PM) [/h] He's also 21 and a college product in low-A, with a poor walk rate and a K rate too high for a player of his age/experience. He's not a zero, but again, the stat line here is pretty misleading - and he should be in high-A. [h=6]Klaw (1:59 PM) [/h] Seriously, don't draft a good college player in the first few rounds and send him to low-A in his first full year. You're wasting everyone's time. So, there's that... I tend to agree that the Twins waste time with a lot of the college position player's they draft. Nate Roberts is another one, though his inability to stay healthy hasn't helped him either.

If this stuff annoys you guys that bad, use Firefox with the NoScript add-on, and only allow the TwinsDaily content to run. It will increase you're browsing speed tenfold as well.

^ Yup. Always has been. Can be a good piece of a rotation, but not at the top or middle.

As a guy who has always been a Hicks backer, and watched him play quite a few games before he ever reached the majors, I can tell you it's not a situation where he "doesn't care about outcomes." As you observe, it's his game. What someone might take for "lackadaisical" play, is his form of confidence. He wants to be smooth with all of his movements on the baseball field and it is his natural form of athleticism. This is why you'll see him catch fly balls on sort of a jog, instead of racing to get to the spot and camp under it. It's also why you've seen people comment on him "slowing up" or "not getting a good jump" on some fly balls. Personally, when I played in the OF, I hated racing to the ball to get under it and camp unless I had to for setting up a throw, because that meant I was either going to take my eyes off the ball (and risk losing it), or the physical movement of sprinting would make my depth perception/ball-judgment harder to mesh correctly. It felt awkward, plus doing this cost me an ACL (though I did make the catch). It was better for me to keep my running pace and eyes focused on meeting the ball at the endpoint - in other words, much easier/natural to keep it as "smooth" as possible. Some can do the sprinting thing very well (and Hicks does when it's required), but it's not what everyone is going to do on every ball hit toward them. Now, this doesn't necessarily comment on him for his pace toward home on this particular play which some people here have an issue with (kind of seemed like he tripped or something on his way home a little to me as well), but I would argue that he didn't have a chance from the get-go. Which is also why I would guess he didn't take off from second at the pace some of you seem to have expected (though I don't see what you're getting at here either). I'd call it a situation of bad judgement on the hit from Vavra - Which John is writing about. "A clean single to left" is not going to score a guy from 2B every time, even if the runner is Billy Hamilton. I'd guess most of the time a line-drive "clean single" to LF isn't going to get the runner home - especially one where it was hit rather well (not a "soft liner") and the LF-er picks it up on only one hop, like this one. Aaaaand I've rambled.

Where is this behind the paywall expanded list on Baseball America you speak of? I don't see one. -Edit: Ahh, I'm guessing you meant the list of 10 Breakthrough prospects.

Ramos was named Defensive Catcher of the Year in both the Florida State and Eastern Leagues (might have been others), and I know at least his arm was highly regarded, so I think he was much better in a defensive sense than Pinto. But the ages probably have a lot to do with it as well.