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Steve Lein

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Everything posted by Steve Lein

  1. Steve Lein
    Romero very well could start in AAA too, I say AA simply because of the depth around.
  2. Steve Lein
    I think Romero starts in AA, mid-season promotion to AAA, and if the numbers are there he's pitching in the MLB bullpen around August/September as he approaches an inning limit. I don't necessarily think he makes an MLB start this year unless he's otherworldly given the names and depth in front of him in the pecking order. But a continued strong spring might shuffle that list a bit.
  3. Steve Lein
    This is why I included the note about "set up to be fine without him." Sure, you lose 30+ homers and a decent OBP from the 2B position, but you just added more thump and OBP at DH (Morrison), Sano is going to hit plenty of HR's, Rosario turned into a slugger, Kepler can improve his power, Buxton can improve his power. I love Brent Rooker in the system for power output... Honestly to me, all the Twins would be losing is power from a position that doesn't need it, that is going to be made up by others who aren't hitting leadoff (i.e.: They'll have more RBI opportunity). This wouldn't be that bad to me - even if Gordon's OPS doesn't break .700.
  4. Steve Lein
    If Dozier's out (I don't think the FA market will be very big for him), you slide Polanco to 2B and Gordon takes over SS. I'd prefer Dozier stay 'cause he's awesome, but Twins are set up to be fine without him if it happens.
  5. Steve Lein
    I'd rather still have any of Burdi, Chargois, Bard, and possibly Rosario over Tyler Kinley at this point, so I think they miscalculated on that move in particular.
  6. Steve Lein
    No mention of Astudillo's ridiculous strikeout numbers?! That's what makes him interesting! Haha (If you hadn't read about him before, he's as close to "literally never strikes out" as you can get. Only 67 times in 2154 career MiLB Plate Appearances. A rate of 3.1%)
  7. Steve Lein
    Gotta keep starting him. I envision his first month or two being spent in AA. Provided no performance issues, the next few in AAA. If still performing bring him up in the bullpen toward end of year to keep his innings under whatever limit there may be. I don't think it's a foregone conclusion he makes a start for the Twins this year.
  8. Steve Lein
    Exactly
  9. Steve Lein
    "For me, I'm still a bigger believer of Kepler's long term future than I am of Eddie Rosario." Me too. I don't want Kepler to be traded and would go Rosario well before him. I'm also of the belief that Archer is not ace material. Very good (I'd label him a #2) and would be best in Twins rotation for sure. But something just doesn't sit right with me about him. For one, he has the weirdest demeanor on the mound I've ever seen. I don't think I'd pay the price required for him in Falvine's shoes.
  10. Steve Lein
    Saw a photo of him throwing a bullpen yesterday. I'm not counting on him for anything, though.
  11. Steve Lein
    Rooker also posted an OBP of .364, vs. .307 for Walker. Palka played A-ball in the CAL league, which is a notorious hitters league. FSL is a notorious pitchers league. Rooker still posted a better OPS. My fun fact last year when Rooker was in the FSL, is his HR-rate was basically identical to Sano's there. Don't get me wrong, this is a fine idea to pour some water on hype, but those two were never the level of prospect Rooker is either, and for good reason. I think he's going to hit and will still post strong OBP numbers even if K's are there. He's a different animal in his approach and I love that about him.
  12. Steve Lein
    I'm curious where Morris' performance would rank all time? Fun list!
  13. Steve Lein
    There's very few that come up as what I'd call "standouts" of these guys in my comparison: Ronald Acuna, Nick Senzel, Rudy Flores, Colin Walsh, Dalton Kelly, Kevin Madrano, Andy Wilkins. Only Acuna and Senzel are worth talking about, and I don't think anyone would argue Gordon above them in a prospect comparison. I know what you're looking for, but that argument isn't there.
  14. Steve Lein
    I get this from a team perspective, and it's fair. In the league sense though I don't buy it, and is why I included those rankings. He was a leadoff man so of course he's getting more plate appearances than most. I'll single out the Total Bases. Of the top 40 in the southern league last year, only 4 players played fewer than 100 games. In the top 16 nobody had fewer than 119. Of the guys that "played [the] full season at one level" he is a standout in a lot of categories. It doesn't matter that they are the "counting stats" in this view (at least to me )
  15. Steve Lein
    Furthermore, I don't think Gordon's second half makes him a suspect. Chattanooga had a stacked lineup this year if you ask me, his ranks: Doubles: 2nd (6th in southern league) Triples: 1st (1st in southern league) HRs: 4th RBI: 3rd (8th in southern league) Total Bases: 2nd (4th in southern league) Walks: 3rd (13th in southern league) SB's: 1st Think of it this way: If he had compiled those numbers without the drastic 1st and 2nd half splits, would you still contemplate calling him "suspect"?
  16. Steve Lein
    For what it's worth, my immediate takeaway from Royce Lewis being pegged as the "best defensive infielder" gives me major pause. I hope he proves me wrong, but I don't think he makes it to the majors as an infielder and I don't know how anyone could slot him in that position at this point. You think there's questions about Gordon's defense? Those questions should be far bigger on Lewis right now.
  17. Steve Lein
    Other than Lewis ending up a competent enough shortstop to play there in the majors (he has plenty of time to change that outlook for me), I like the look of this for the most part. I still believe in Gordon at shortstop, not sure why so many don't. I think he'll be a better defender there than Polanco has been, so I'd like the step forward. While that may be "average" instead of "below average," it's still an improvement.
  18. Steve Lein
    I want Darvish, and it's not just because he's the best pitcher available. All you're giving up is money, which I think the Twins have available to do and quite frankly if they're ever going to do it, now is the time because of their current situation. If they have to fall back on Lance Lynn and Alex Cobb, they're going to spend less money but they're also going to lose a draft pick and the $1MIL or so of bonus pool money to add more future talent. Doing this hurts a team like the Twins more, as they have to rely on their farm system to keep churning out talent. It's a perfect storm to go after Darvish if you ask me.
  19. Steve Lein
    Spycake echoes my thoughts. This post is great information, but those are still the results you're hoping for, not what can be expected in the point of his career where Duke is. I don't have much of a problem with it outside of what I've already said. There's not a years or big $ commitment. You don't lose anything if it doesn't work out, and it might work out as you outline. I hope it does. Not a bad gamble. But it's just a gamble on a middle reliever instead of aiming higher like I think they should, which is an elite setup man that could bump everyone else down a notch to improve across the board.
  20. Steve Lein
    I get all of this. But all of this is based on hope, too. That's why the price is what it is. I don't want a playoff team trying to improve themselves based on this hope. I want the (theoretical) surer (or higher upside) thing. Addison Reed, Brandon Morrow, Mike Minor, Juan Nicasio, Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw, Jake McGee as you mentioned, Steve Cishek, Greg Holland, Brandon Kintzler, Tommy Hunter, Pat Neshek... There's that list off the top of my head going into free agency and probably just as many others I would have put higher up my list than a guy like Duke. Money is the last thing they should be worrying about right now. Now, if they do manage to lure Darvish, this signing won't even register for me. That's why it's "meh." it only has the hope that it works as the best possible case you've outlined. My best-case scenario is he replaces Matt Belisle's role before Kintzler was traded, and I've been saying Belisle isn't worth bringing back because they can do better. So...the Twins should do better.
  21. Steve Lein
    I think I'm with most people here when I say, don't worry about beating the beat writers on a "game story." I don't think that's what you're necessarily delivering, and what you do is different than what they will find from those beat writers. That's why it was successful and works in this environment. Don't imitate, innovate like you already have!
  22. Steve Lein
    Could be savvy. Could be Breslow-like. What I don't like is the targeting of a guy where there's a reason he's cheap. Maybe that's all they can do at this point, but I vote "meh" on the process to arrive at him given what else is available.
  23. Steve Lein
    I think this is what is confusing some. He could only be added to Pittsburgh's 40-man if they traded him before the Rule 5 roster cutoff date (November 20th). After that, I'm pretty sure you can only add players not currently in an organization (e.g.: Free Agents) and under other rostering rules to the 40-man. Burdi was still a Twins player under contract until selected in Rule 5 draft, and he was not protected, thus a team trading for him after November 20th could not put him on the 40-man. I think you would see a lot more trades for guys left unprotected if you could do this - there really wouldn't be a point to having a Rule 5 draft. I could be wrong on parts of this, but I'm farily certain on the after the cutoff stuff.
  24. Steve Lein
    The thing on those trades is the 40-man status of players changing sides doesn't change to my knowledge (after the cutoff date for Rule 5). Free agents are added to 40-man because they sign MLB contracts.
  25. Steve Lein
    I'm talking about if they traded him before the Rule 5 draft. 40-man rosters are locked weeks before in relation to that. That's why a trade happened now. Any type of trade discussion like that would have had to be happening in early November.
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