Steve Lein

Well, something like this would have framed it a lot better at the start: https://www.fanragsports.com/heyman-mientkiewicz-plans-to-learn-from-sudden-twins-firing/

I've been all over the AFL back since back well before TD, I'm well aware of the other reasons But this list doesn't match up much like that to me. I find most fit into one of 3 categories. Last year for instance, had Gonsalves, Gordon, and Garver fitting the "top prospects" category. Then Randy Rosario and John Curtiss fitting what I call the "see what they got for next year in MLB" guys. Finally, Tanner English "needed at-bats" and Melotakis "needed innings." I saw all the reasons there. For 2017, Jay needs innings (Category 3), it's a good point for Wade to polish off some development (category 2), then I don't read many reasons on the others that I consider all that valid. I know Paul didn't play the whole season but he's also 25 in a month and in A-ball. Hackimer is another A-ball guy. Eades hasn't lived up to anything to this point, Sean Miller is...an infielder, and Vasquez is still more than a year away. I think there were several others guys who could have got a lot more out of it. That's really all I'm saying. Whether or not any are healthy or whatever else, I don't know so I don't consider that in this evaluation.

Berardino gave a pretty good idea of how here. But also to quote myself from the AFL thread: "Haven't seen this announced or confirmed, but Ryan Eades, Sean Miller, and Andrew Vasquez are currently showing on the Saguaros roster page, so I think the Twins representatives are set. Honest opinion is I am a little disappointed with overall names. There's been some big time guys for the Twins there in recent years, and not really any this year unless you include Tyler Jay. Last year had Gonsalves, Gordon, and Garver for instance. 2015's squad had 3 guys currently on the Twins roster. Brent Rooker was my first choice, but can understand if he's played enough already this year. Thought Kohl Stewart would have been a great choice, might have been good for Gordon to go again, Luke Bard would be intriguing - will be fun to follow again though!"

Haven't seen this announced or confirmed, but Ryan Eades, Sean Miller, and Andrew Vasquez are currently showing on the Saguaros roster page, so I think the Twins representatives are set. Honest opinion is I am a little disappointed with overall names. There's been some big time guys for the Twins there in recent years, and not really any this year unless you include Tyler Jay. Last year had Gonsalves, Gordon, and Garver for instance. 2015's squad had 3 guys currently on the Twins roster. Brent Rooker was my first choice, but can understand if he's played enough already this year. Thought Kohl Stewart would have been a great choice, might have been good for Gordon to go again, Luke Bard would be intriguing - will be fun to follow again though!

Thank you very much for the kind words from all! I love doing them, and always tried to point out something you may not have noticed just scouring stat lines. I have to correct Seth though, I started assisting in 2014 so this was my 4th year, not 2nd I'm also looking forward to bringing you the weekly AFL recaps when the season kicks off on October 10th! Twins prospects are playing on the Surprise Saguaros roster this year along with prospects from the Royals, Cardinals, Rays, and Rangers. Your Twins include, pitchers: Tyler Jay (FM/CHA) - definitely needs the innings Tom Hackimer (CR/FM) - sidewinder with good numbers Andrew Vasquez (CR/FM) - big K numbers, very intriguing pen arm Ryan Eades (CHA/ROC) - will his numbers ever catch up with his 'stuff'?, then: Infielder Sean Miller (FM), First baseman Chris Paul (FM) - good numbers when he was on the field this year and outfielder LaMonte Wade (CHA) - perhaps his final test before entering OF conversation? FYI - I haven't seen Eades, Miller, and Vasquez announced or confirmed anywhere, but they do show on the Saguaros roster page.

1. I don't think we're "sleeping" on him. Certainly had a great year and even improved on his numbers in AA than he had at any other stop, but I don't think he'd crack a Top 20 list. 2. Right now, I'm more interested in if they're going to send him to the Arizona Fall League. If they do and he does well, I'd say the likelihood of Chattanooga is pretty high. If they don't, there's still a chance but I'd think he's in Fort Myers with potential for a move after a month or two. Depending on his performance, of course. (FYI - I really want him in the AFL ) Edit: Though now that I look, the Surprise roster has 7 Twins on it already, so not likely. Hadn't heard the last 3 announced: Ryan Eades, Andrew Vasquez, Sean Miller. Overall opinion of Falvine's first AFL roster: They could have done better. Couple interesting pitchers though.

Also not a prospect ranking for me.

In my opinion, as far as an "old guard" with the Twins goes when it comes to MiLB and development personnel, Doug wasn't a part of that. That was more front office people, scouts - not the on-field guys. He was new blood on the managerial side, with a different way of operating, which was a change from the perception of those before him. In this line of thinking shouldn't Jake Mauer be fired as well? Tommy Watkins? Jeff Smith? Ray Smith? How bad are casual fans going to flip when they fire Molitor after he maybe wins the Coach of the Year award?

Yes, because often times in that situation, what that personality is looking for is a concrete, meaningful response as to why they aren't a fit - the constructive criticism I talked about. About the worst thing you can do to those types of personalities is leave it to interpretation, because you'll get exactly what is going on here now. Often times that is the problem with authority that they have. What his response to that would have been, I don't know, but the context could be completely changed from Doug being mistreated to perhaps him looking like the bad guy (I know some of you already think this, and have legitimate opinions as to why), or shocking, it being amicable. Never know, the reason could have been something he wasn't willing to change, and he goes "okay thanks for being honest."

I know Doug can have a challenging personality, especially when it comes to authority. In the call with Brad Steil that was described, what gets me thinking about why he deserved a better explanation on the why (not necessarily the "who" that made the decision - that should probably be obvious), is for some of the exact reasons he said, and apparently the comments from Steil, like this one: "Mientkiewicz congratulated Steil on his pending promotion within the organization, “and he said, ‘I couldn’t have done it without you,’ " You literally just told the guy he had a direct effect on your own success, but he can't go into details at that moment why that doesn't matter? Give me a break. I would think I'd have legal means for challenging my dismissal at a job if that's what I was told. I know that's not how it works here, but that's pretty crappy way to go about it if you're not going to give at least some constructive criticism. Doug also, right or wrong, did go back with the organization a while. I know it's the new guys team, and I know we all balk at mention of the country club like atmosphere, but loyalty does mean something. Doug came back to the Twins because that's where he wanted to come. He didn't have to, but held them in high enough regard to do so. Then he had a ton of success. Read all the quotes from people who played for him. Like this sequence: I don't think he was part of the development problem perceived. Most people will forget about this by next April, but I won't. If I make it down to Spring Training next year I'm going to miss his personality on the fields, and watching him teach his players and spend the extra time with them. He definitely connected with his guys and got them to play hard for him.

Like I said --> "YOU DON'T HAVE TO AGREE WITH ME ON [MY OPINION]"

That's not strictly what Doug was asking, IMO. You don't have to agree with me on that though, that's just how I read into it.

I don't have a big problem with Falvine not making that call. Terry Ryan would have, but Steil is Mientkiewicz's direct boss. What I have a problem with is they didn't even give him a reason. Not even a token "we're going in a different direction." Overall bad form from the organization, though. Said right when I heard it that I disliked it a lot. It's only gotten worse since and even if the Twins come out with their side and it's a legitimate reason they're still going to look bad.

This is an interesting stat to me, and I think it might show something different than the idea he is prone to pop-ups. I would tend to believe this also means he's fouling off a ton of pitches, thus working pitchers which leads to all those walks. When you foul a pitch off, people often say you "just missed," when in actuality an infield pop-up a lot of the time is closer to "just missing" than fouling one straight back. Can be seen as indicator of better bat control than a lot of guys to me.

I actually did for mainly that reason (he was #8 on my list) and the fact he has already spent multiple years in AA - but that's still a great season. And if you're curious his highest OPS in AA before this year was .769. He improved a great deal.

He was new to the organization this year and had only played 44 games in AAA with the Cardinals. They put him in the right spot. Good argument could be made he should have been promoted to AAA, but the Red Wings had a lot of guys playing 1B already.

I think he profiles as a good leadoff hitter, or excellent guy at #2 in the lineup - if you have a position for him to play (not much room in the Twins OF). Not much power, but he's increased his XBH total every year. Extremely professional approach as he's actually drawn a lot more walks than Joe Mauer ever did in the minors (in fewer games played). I think this idea is a bit of a misnomer. You think pitchers are afraid of Robbie Grossman? I don't. Wade also backs it up with a high average. And Wade isn't old by any means - he was still technically below league average age and 69% (nice) of his plate appearances were against older pitchers.

When your organization has as much success as the Minnesota Twins affiliates had during the 2017 season, there’s a good chance there were a lot of strong offensive performers at every level. That was certainly the case when going through the candidates for this award, as several names who had big seasons couldn’t crack the list. Especially amazing when researching this, was the lineup of the 2017 Southern League Co-Champion Chattanooga Lookouts. Names from their roster litter the Southern League leader board for just about every offensive category. But when it came down to it, there was one guy who stood out on almost everyone’s ballot, and he’s no stranger to this award having won it once already in his MiLB career. When your organization has as much success as the Minnesota Twins affiliates had during the 2017 season, there’s a good chance there were a lot of strong offensive performers at every level. That was certainly the case when going through the candidates for this award, as several names who had big seasons couldn’t crack the list. Especially amazing when researching this, was the lineup of the 2017 Southern League Co-Champion Chattanooga Lookouts. Names from their roster litter the Southern League leader board for just about every offensive category. But when it came down to it, there was one guy who stood out on almost everyone’s ballot, and he’s no stranger to this award having won it once already in his MiLB career. Seven Twins Daily Minor League writers were asked to vote for the various awards. For the hitter of the year, we each voted for eight players. The player who was voted as #1 received eight points, #2 received seven points and so on with the #8 vote receiving one point. Results were tabulated and can be found below. Short profiles of our top nine are to follow, but first, some players worthy of honorable mention. These players also received votes. Honorable Mention Wander Javier – Elizabethton Twins – 41 games, 47-157 – .299/.383/.471 (.855) – 13 2B’s, 3B, 4 HRs, 34 R’s, 22 RBI, 4 SB. Was #4 in our Short Season Hitter of the Year rankings and displayed the plethora of tools that made him an attractive big money international signing in his first year in the states. Max Murphy – Fort Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts – 130 games, 144-506 – .285/.361/.401, (.762) – 29 2B’s, 6 3B’s, 6 HRs, 80 R’s, 62 RBI, 9 SB. Played 78 games with the Miracle to start his season, slashing .307/.390/.430 before being promoted to Chattanooga for his final 52 games. Daniel Palka – Rochester Red Wings – 84 games, 96-350 – .274/.329/.431 (.759) – 13 2B’s, 3 3B’s, 11 HR, 47 R’s, 42 RBI. Also played in six games with the GCL Twins while rehabbing, and had another home run in those 20 plate appearances. Missed time with an injury, otherwise he might have earned a spot on the Twins September roster. Nick Gordon – Chattanooga Lookouts – 122 games, 140-519 – .270/.341/.408 (.749) – 29 2B’s, 8 3B’s, 9 HRs, 80 R’s, 66 RBI, 13 SB. Was a tale of two seasons for Gordon, as he was scorching hot in the first half of the season (.880 OPS), but wasn’t able to keep that up in the second half (.609 OPS). Despite all that, he ranked third in the Southern League in hits and runs scored, fourth in total bases, and led the circuit in triples. Chris Paul – Fort Myers Miracle – 61 games, 80-238 – .328/.380/.471 (.851) – 18 2B’s, 2 3B’s, 4 HR, 35 R’s, 32 RBI. Missed the months of June and July and the first week of August with a broken hamate bone. In the month of May before that injury, he slashed an impressive .383/.459/.585 (1.044) in 26 games. Minor League Hitter of the Year Here are the top nine vote getters for Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year. 9. Travis Blankenhorn – Cedar Rapids Kernels – 118 games, 110-438 – .251/.343/.441 (.784) – 22 2B’s, 11 3B’s, 13 HRs, 68 R’s, 69 RBI, 13 SBs. Blankenhorn spent the entirety of the 2017 season in Cedar Rapids after amassing a .774 OPS in 25 games with the team in 2016 as a 19 year old. He largely repeated that performance with a .784 mark this season, but got there a different way. His average fell by .035 points, but he increased his slugging percentage by .023 because he racked up 46 extra-base hits to lead the Kernels (tied with Lewin Diaz). That total included double digits in every category (22 2Bs, 11 3Bs, 13 HRs) which is very hard to do. He also led the team with 69 RBI. If you’re into advanced hitting statistics, his weighted runs created (wRC) mark of 72 ranked eighth in the Midwest League on the season and he created 21% more runs than the league average hitter (wRC+, per Fangraphs). Just shy of 15% of his plate appearances in 2017 came against pitchers who were younger than he is and he was selected as a Midwest League All-Star. 8. Lewin Diaz – Cedar Rapids Kernels – 122 games, 136-466 – .292/.329/.444 (.773) – 33 2B’s, 1 3B, 12 HRs, 47 R’s, 68 RBI. Diaz was 20 years old for the entirety of the 2017 season with the Kernels, and 90% of his plate appearances were against pitchers older than he is. What did he do against that competition? He led the Midwest League in doubles with 33. In 2016 he hit .310 with Elizabethton, and didn’t slow down much in Cedar Rapids with a mark of .292, placing him sixth in the circuit. He also led the Kernels with 207 total bases. While the batting average was great for Diaz and he struck out just 80 times in 122 games, he will continue to need to work on his patience as he drew just 25 walks as primarily the #3 hitter in the lineup. Diaz also represented Cedar Rapids in the Midwest League All-Star Game. 7. T.J. White – Chattanooga Lookouts – 96 games, 101-366 – .276/.358/.484 (.842) – 26 2B’s, 4 3B’s, 14 HR’s, 44 R’s, 65 RBI. After missing the opening month of the season with an injury, White proved to be a steady presence in the Lookouts lineup from May 15th onward. His OPS was .912 in the month of June, and 1.010 in August. When patrolling Fangraphs, you’ll find that his wRC+ mark of 144 ranked fifth in the Southern League and trailed only another hitter on this list for the Lookouts team lead. If you’re looking for a “clutch” hitter, White also came through big in that category this year, as his .325/.429/.571 mark with two outs and runners in scoring position was stellar. 6. Brent Rooker – Elizabethton Twins/Fort Myers Miracle – 62 games, 64-228 – .281/.364/.566 (.930) – 11 2B’s, 18 HR’s, 42 R’s, 52 RBI. On the surface Rooker’s numbers are especially eye-popping considering he was just drafted at #35 overall in the 2017 MLB draft on June 12th. In an organizational sense, his 18 HRs on the season ranked second in all of the minors for the Twins despite him playing in only half the games. When you have some #FunWithNumbers after he was promoted to Fort Myers, his 11 home runs in 40 games rivals the pace that Miguel Sano put up with the Miracle in 2013 before he was promoted to Chattanooga. There was some strikeout to his game in his first taste of the pros (26.5% of his plate appearances), but it wasn’t an egregious rate and he also showed an ability to draw a walk (11.3% mark). After being a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award as best college player and his initial success as a pro, Rooker is an intriguing name for me to be added to the Twins stable of players being sent to the Arizona Fall League. The only question might be whether the Twins think he’s all ready played enough baseball this year. 5. Jermaine Palacios – Cedar Rapids Kernels/Fort Myers Miracle – 124 games, 149-504 – .296/.333/.454 (.788) – 21 2B’s, 10 3B’s, 13 HRs, 82 R’s, 67 RBI, 20 SBs. Palacios spent all of his 2016 season with Cedar Rapids, and wasn’t able to match the immense potential he showed in his first season in the States, when he hit .370 in the rookie leagues. He made up for that in 2017 with the Kernels by batting .320/.362/.544 before being promoted to Fort Myers. Like Blankenhorn, he also racked up double-digits in all extra-base hit categories on the season. He wasn’t as successful in the Florida State League (.662 OPS vs .907 OPS), but it’s hard to ignore season-long totals like his as a middle-infield prospect. For his output in the MWL before being promoted, he too, was selected as an All-Star for the Kernels. 4. LaMonte Wade – Chattanooga Lookouts – 117 games, 124-424 – .292/.397/.408 (.805) – 22 2B’s, 3 3B’s, 7 HRs, 74 R’s, 67 RBI, 9 SBs. All Wade has done since becoming a professional is get on base. In fact, he’s walked more than he has struck out in his career (177 vs. 151) and in each of his first three seasons. 2017 was no different, as his .397 on-base percentage and 76 walks ranked third in the Southern League. He also ranked seventh in RBI with 67 on the year alongside a host of other Lookouts players. He also set a career high in extra-base hits with 32 on the season. Wade spent a majority of the season batting #3 in the lineup of the best offense in the Southern League and was especially deadly with runners in scoring position (.955 OPS) and late in close games (1.092 OPS). For his efforts in 2017, Wade was selected as a Southern League All-Star at the midseason break. 3. Zack Granite – Rochester Red Wings – 76 games, 103-303 – .340/.394/.479 (.872) – 17 2B’s, 5 3B’s, 5 HR’s, 48 R’s, 30 RBI, 18 SB’s. Granite followed a breakout 2016 season in which he hit .295/.347/.382 for Chattanooga with an even better 2017 that led to his promotion to the Twins in early July. After having his average fall to .237 on May 31st, Granite went on one of the hottest streaks you will ever see in the month of June. He slashed an otherworldly .470/.527/.667 and raised his average on the season to a high of .371 on June 27th before his promotion. Another impressive stat is he struck out just 36 times in 76 games, a rate of only 11.8% of his plate appearances. His 144 wRC+ ranked sixth in the International League (44% more runs created than average hitter) and he found himself on the ballots of both the midseason and postseason All-Star teams. In his time with the Twins, he’s also shown fans what he is capable of as an outfielder, displaying range more than adequate to back up Byron Buxton in center field. 2. Jonathan Rodriguez – Chattanooga Lookouts – 124 games, 137-452 – .303/.408/.518 (.926) – 31 2B’s, 22 HR’s, 89 R’s, 78 RBI. The 28-year-old first baseman came to the Twins organization in 2017 after spending the first eight years of his career in the St. Louis Cardinals system. He was quite the addition to an already potent Chattanooga Lookouts lineup. He took home the Lookouts Triple Crown as well as leading them in doubles, average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. In the Southern League, he tied for the league lead in average (.309), led in on-base percentage (.414), slugging (.525), and OPS (.939). His 21 home runs ranked second and his 31 doubles ranked third. You really don’t have to go far down the list in many categories to find his name. Although he did not play in the Southern League All-Star Game at midseason after getting off to a slow start in April, he was named as the postseason All-Star at DH. Rodriguez always seemed to come up in the minor league reports as the season wore on, and it was because he kept delivering big time hits. In the second half of the Southern League season he crushed to the tune of a .346/.449/.632 slash line, good for a 1.081 OPS. He was the most valuable hitter in the International League by the measures of wRC, wRC+, weighted runs above average (wRAA), and weighted on-base average (wOBA) per Fangraphs. His wRC+ mark of 173 meant he created an astonishing 73% more runs than the average hitter on the season. In many years it would be hard for anyone to best what Rodriguez accomplished this year, but that just makes this awards winner even more impressive. Hitter of the Year Mitch Garver – Rochester Red Wings – 88 games, 93-320 – .291/.387/.541 (.928) – 29 2B’s, 17 HRs, 56 R’s, 45 RBI. The 2017 award marks the second time Garver has taken home Twins Daily’s metaphorical hardware, as he also won the voting in 2014 while playing for Cedar Rapids. Drafted in the ninth round of the 2013 draft as a fourth-year senior, Garver’s age (26) may be a barrier for some in considering him as a prospect, but it’s hard to argue with the development path he undertook in making his MLB debut on August 19th. He was on the raw side of the catcher position when he was drafted, but has developed those skills along with his bat as he’s moved up the ladder. He spent all of his time in the minors this year with the Rochester Red Wings, playing primarily catcher but also got time in left field (14 games) and at first base (five games) as the organization made it a priority to add versatility to his game. The reason being, they’re going to have to find a place for his bat. In that sense, Garver was as consistent as you could possibly be, amassing a .928 OPS in the first half of the International League season, then a .927 mark afterward before his call-up to the Twins. For his exploits on the season, Garver was named the IL’s postseason All-Star at catcher. His on-base percentage (.387) and slugging percentage (.541) marks ranked second in the league, while he also shows up on the leader board for doubles and home runs despite having about 100+ fewer at-bats than those around him. His .291 batting average also ranked in the top five among his peers. Also impressive for Garver when you dig into his numbers, were his lack of platoon splits as he hit .304/.427/.557 against lefties and .286/.373/.535 against right-handers. With two outs his OPS was over 1.000. When you venture over to Fangraphs his 166 wRC+ ranked third in the International League, behind only the league MVP Rhys Hoskins (who if you haven’t noticed, has 17 HRs in just 33 MLB games thus far to start his career) and Yandy Diaz, who both also made their MLB debuts this season. It’s quite easy to see how exceptional Garver was during the 2017 season at the highest rung of the minor league ladder, and it made him an almost unanimous selection in the award’s voting. But perhaps the greatest reward of all for him after his stellar season is that now all he has left to look forward to is making his impact in the major leagues instead of the minors. Congratulations Mitch! The Ballots In an attempt to be transparent, here are the votes from our Twins Daily minor league writers: Seth Stohs – 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Jonathan Rodriguez, 3) Zack Granite, 4) LaMonte Wade, 5) Jermaine Palacios, 6) T.J. White, 7) Travis Blankenhorn, 8) Lewin Diaz Jeremy Nygaard – 1) Mitch Garver, 2) LaMonte Wade, 3) Jonathan Rodriguez, 4) Brent Rooker, 5) Jermaine Palacios, 6) Zack Granite, 7) Travis Blankenhorn, 8) Lewin Diaz Cody Christie – 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Jonathan Rodriguez, 3) Zack Granite, 4) Brent Rooker, 5) Jermaine Palacios, 6) Chris Paul, 7) T.J. White, 8) Max Murphy Tom Froemming – 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Brent Rooker, 3) Zack Granite, 4) Jonathan Rodriguez, 5) LaMonte Wade, 6) T.J. White, 7) Jermaine Palacios, 8) Travis Blankenhorn Steve Lein – 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Zack Granite, 3) Jermaine Palacios, 4) LaMonte Wade, 5) T.J. White, 6) Nick Gordon, 7) Brent Rooker, 8) Jonathan Rodriguez Eric Pleiss – 1) Jonathan Rodriguez, 2) Mitch Garver, 3) T.J. White, 4) Lewin Diaz, 5) Jermaine Palacios, 6) LaMonte Wade, 7) Zack Granite, 8) Wander Javier Ted Schwerzler – 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Zack Granite, 3) Jonathan Rodriguez, 4) Travis Blankenhorn, 5) Lewin Diaz, 6) LaMonte Wade, 7) Daniel Palka, 8) Jermaine Palacios Feel free to discuss. What do you think? Do you agree with our rankings? How would your ballot look? View full article

Part of my reasoning for him at #1, is he was Maddux-like. In the one particular stretch of 8 starts that was cited often in the MiLB reports (30+ straight scoreless innings as part of it), he was 5-1, and allowed only 4 earned runs in 53.1 IP (0.68 ERA), with a 32/6 K/BB ratio (5.33:1). But don't get me wrong, this was a hard exercise to finalize. I had Slegers, Beeker, and Gonsalves at #1 at some point through the process. 24 years old in Midwest League as a 33rd round college draft choice last year is not a large concern for me when it comes to formulating this award. Was hard to leave a lot of guys off. Thorpe was good, Rodriguez was good, Tyler Wells was good. I just couldn't get them in when I looked at the full portfolio. I think I gave Nik Turley the MiLB pitcher of the day award at least 3 times, and some of those games were in the teens for K's. He left a big impression, had to get him in there (Jeremy liked him a lot!).

I made it a point to mention him in the explanation of my vote that I provided, but sorry, 14.2 innings in the system isn't enough to get my vote. This is a Twins organizational award, not a Diamondbacks one. Bard didn't make my list because K's aren't everything. His total was awesome, but his ERA and WHIP say he wasn't better at keeping runners off the bases or from scoring than anybody else in the Top 5. He wasn't particularly close in the scope of relievers if you ask me, either. He did have a very stellar season though, I'm not taking that away from him - he was in consideration. I wouldn't put it past him to prove you right on the BABIP and peripherals things in the future either, but this vote wasn't about that for me. It was about who got the job done the best.

I don't think Baddoo's in the top 100 conversation, usually rookie level numbers have little effect on that. Perform in Cedar Rapids though, and he'll start earning more time/looks from evaluators and you never know. Lots of Rooker votes in the poll, and I agree that he's deserving (I think he's going to be recognized more than expected next week in our Award series), but this is Baddoo's award. I think the .504 OBP ends that conversation on its own. That's incredible!

Santana or Berrios would be my choices. But they have to get there first, so I don't necessarily think you swap the rotation at this point to put one of them in line for it. That's what you do when you know you'll be there. (and since I now see the full article, I realize you've made that point as well).

I had this type of opinion on Oswaldo Arcia when he was OPS-ing around 1.000 in AAA and when he was clubbing HR's early in his career for the Twins. People called me crazy. My reason was Eddie Rosario would prove to be the better player as a corner OF in the future when the Twins were good. Rosario's not trade bait. He's working into the core.

The Salary thing is easy: You don't "re-sign" him. I'm certain that rule only applies to contracts replacing a currently valid one, i.e.: an extension (if that is even is a rule? I don't see that anywhere). If he goes to FA his minimum salary is not going to be $18.4MIL that a team could offer him - the market dictates everything there.