Dman

I will say the Buxton deal has been a roller coaster ride for me. I was one of many who cheered that deal as fair for both sides and admired Byron for being willing to make such a deal. Then he was injured so much right after that I felt that I may have been wrong. That he could never be fixed and the money was wasted. Right now here today I hope he never leaves. He is the one indispensable player on this team. His kind of team loyalty just doesn't happen much anymore. I have great admiration for the man who loves my team as much as I do. My only wish is that the team that looked like it might be coming together after his deal could have realized its potential instead of falling apart. If he stays healthy it would be nice to see him make more money as well. I wish nothing but good things for the player I love to watch at the plate and in the field. I hope he stays a Twin for the rest of his career.

Since none of the affiliates are really in it for the first half I had Rosario and Amick moving from AA to AAA. I had Houston, Diaw, Thomason and maybe shakily Winokur from High A to AA. I had Jimenez, Fragoza and Sprock moving from A to high A. And finally from the FCL I had Carabello, Reyes and Almanzer moving to A ball. A bit surprised it was Pena instead of Carabello that got moved. Seemed to me most of those players deserved a chance to move up based on performance with capable replacements as others moved up. We'll see what happens the next few weeks. Happy to see Diaw get to AA. I thought they might have started him there this year, but getting just a few months later isn't that big of a deal either. Jimenez moving up is good to see as well. He seems to be a capable defender and has hit the ball well too. Happy to see him moving along.

Yeah I think there is prospect fatigue for all the reasons listed. Plus age has an impact when ranked in the upper 50. He is only 23 now but with most of this year wasted and being 24 next year he is getting up there in age. Another great point mentioned by @bean5302is his in Zone swing and miss is pretty high and the main thing offsetting it is walks which he won't get as much at the MLB level. There's some Wallner sized warts here, but he has strong exit velocities and a good eye so there is a chance he can overcome some of those weaknesses. This is two years in a row where he likely would have been called up, but can't because he is injured. Now being out of options he might be in sink or swim mode which is less than ideal for his development. Does anyone know if he would qualify for one more option year due to the amount of time missed to injury? So yeah he has been at a high level and a top prospect for a while, but hasn't moved much in the last three years and has warts in the profile. I'd say there is fatigue and I'd likely drop him down some as well. It doesn't mean much though as they did the same thing to Lewis and he performed well once he moved up. It is just out of site out of mind and a feeling that the player is less likely to reach their potential at the MLB level. Whether that will be true or not depends on Rodriguez.

Very happy for Kyler and well deserved IMO. It's really hard to break in to MLB so not expecting too much. Still it will be nice to get a look at him as he has really good power and decent speed and he's a right handed power bat which we are short on in the outfiled. He worked his butt off to get there against very long odds. Glad the Twins are giving hm a chance.

My question is if Lackey and Chowlowski are gone in the first two picks is it a given that the Twins take Emerson? There's a lot of Buzz that the Twins like Burress and his exit velocities. His defense is really good as well with 10 outfield assists. While being 5'9" is not ideal in the outfield the Twins drafted Ben Revere who was 5'9" so they have done it before. Revere never had the power that Burress has or the arm so Burress should be a much better version. You look at the tools in total and there's not much difference between him and Emerson. I still think Emerson has the potential higher ceiling, but will he reach it? The Twins need a plan beyond Buxton and Burress might be it. If the Twins want to get a bit more high risk high reward they could go do with a Bobby Witt type player in Lombard. The power grades as elite and could you imagine a world where Lombard and Young are at short and third? That would be quite the power combo. I've heard the hit tool is vastly improved this year, but like Lewis back in the day there are some questions about it. Still if he does reach his ceiling he's an All Star caliber player which are hard to find. If he was willing to deal I could see the Twins grabbing him at 3. And finally if they felt strongly about Flora and saved 1.5M or 2M on grabbing him at three. That might be tempting as well. I still think they go bat as there are so many good one's to choose from and if Cholowsky or Lackey are there at three I think they go with one of them as they have plus tools pretty much across the board. If it's Emerson though I'm not so sure.

I blamed the first month of wildness on the cold Cedar Rapids weather and we saw some improvements in May. Still he seems to be struggling at this level giving up 34 hits in 33 innings is a WHIP of 1.00 right there, add in the walks and it is nearly a WHIP of 2.00. So he's giving up hits\contact and walks which is not a good recipe for success. This kind of feels like Marco Raya part II. He starts out behind in the count has to put the ball down the middle and doesn't always get a good result. The other third of the time he just walks the guy and then onto the good part He also has a 32% K rate so he strikes a lot of guys out. Put it all together and you have a WHIP of 1.94 and ERA of 6.82. Not good and to top it off his walk rate is worse this year than last year too. So his command control is not improving at least not statistically. I don't know what the Twins work on with him in bullpens or what the plan is in games, but you'd like to think they could help him a little bit with tips to hit the edges of the plate or do a better of job of getting ahead in the count. I get he has long arms and a slim body that makes the release point just that much harder to repeat effectively, but as others have said if can't do it then he looks like a longer term project and likely reliever. Agree with others that he is only 20 years old. There is a lot of season left. I am still a believer in his high upside talent as he throws hard and gets his K's. Still given the actual regression in walk rate has me doubting him some right now. Nothing a few good games couldn't fix, but if it were me I'd have him focus on strike throwing and see what happens. Maybe he gets hit hard, but at least he is making them earn it. He needs to trust his stuff in the zone especially early in counts as that is what it is going to take to be successful. Easier said than done I know, but I think this kid can do it.

I just think the Twins have better options there in Roden, Rodriguez and ultimately Jenkins.

For the right deal I'd think about moving Clemens, Larnach and Gomez. Still, they all could easily be retained for next year as well. I don't know that I'd have Larnach in Left, but he could take on the Bell role if there were no palatable deals offered. The Twins have too many outfielders and Wallner and Larnach don't play good defense out there either. Time to look at Roden, Rodriguez and maybe Jenkins if he can ever stay healthy long enough. Clemens if he brings a return better than Castro did last year I could see moving him. He'll need to keep hitting into July to bring back something worthwhile though. If he drops to his typical low 700 OPS not sure the return would be worth moving him unless they don't plan on playing him much next year. I'd be hesitant to trade Gomez given the state of the pen, but if someone if going to offer an Abel, Rojas or Bradley type arm then I'm fine moving on from him. There's a lot of years of control and the Twins have a weak pen so it would take something significant to move him IMO. If a team has world series aspiration's I don't know why they would be adding Rogers. I'd think they would be aiming higher than that, but if they could get something for him then sure go ahead.

Duarte was not a name I was familiar with. I'll be adding him to my list with that 2 homer day. Small size and DSL numbers don't mean much but just having power that early is impressive.

He's a High School pick not college so 2027 until they have to add him.

It probably wouldn't be realistic, but I'd want more than what they got for one half year of Castro. Likely not a top 100 prospect, but maybe a guy somewhere just outside that with some other pieces. If he keeps hitting like this until the deadline with his position flexibility and years of control it would need to be significant to move him IMO. If that OPS drops into the low .700 range then you likely aren't going to get much. You could then decide to move him for a lessor return, but you could just as well keep him too. He needs to make another believe in him to get the value I'd like to see.

If the price is right I am on the trade bandwagon. Definitely not giving a versatile player with cheap years of control away for a marginal return even if he is 30. When looking at the 26 man it sure looks like there is room for Kody next year. Jeffers will be gone along with Bell, Gray and likely Arcia. I know they love Kriedler, but if he is back to not being able to get any hits he could be gone. So even if you add Culpepper, maybe Ben Ross and maybe Mendez if he keeps on hitting there is room for Clemens, Still for the right overpay in an effort to help this team get younger I'd be OK trading him. To everyone else's point about keeping him it is a good one. You look at qualified hitters with his OPS and he is in the top 60. You are one of the better hitters in baseball if you can OPS 800 or above. Clemens has been pretty streaky though and his high point in OPS was around mid June last year as well and he fell off considerably. We'll see how he looks as a trade candidate come the deadline.

I have my concerns as well and him doing "well" is a very small sample and I have fallen into that trap before. FWIW he only struck out 20% of the time in May it was the 40% in April that had me almost giving up on him. I'm not worried about the power as he has plenty. Contact is the problem and as noted by your ISO number quality contact even harder to come by. I'm still optimistic as he is still just 21 and if he moves up to AA mid season or end of season he is ahead of the average college bat and he has all tools if can get the bat to work for him. Right now it's just one hot month I'd need to see more to be more bullish.

Yeah I've been thinking about this as well. I'd think they likely compare to Michael Helman or Spencer Steer. Helman had a .745 OPS last year playing in Center field for Texas. Steer was a little under that in 24 and 25. Both those players showed power late and had good approaches so I think Fedko and Saboto could do something similar. Thing is every now and then you get a Merrifield or Rooker who exceed those expectations. Hard to say what they can be until given a shot. They aren't getting any younger. Maybe take a shot and see what you have and be willing to let them go if it doesn't work out. Can't keep them down there until their almost 30 and expect to get much value from them. I don't expect to see them until after the trade deadline so we'll see how they look until then, but I agree there isn't much more they can do to prove they deserve a shot. This team is getting younger and I'd kind of like to see them stay that way and try to develop the younger players, as it feels like they could have a strong core for a while if several of them work out. I also think the guys coming up will provide better defensive value than some of the older players they have. We'll see what they decide to do, but it might be hard to work in Sabato and Fedko.

Jamie you always know your board so I trust you. Still I think I'd prefer Spangler to Horn, but maybe you see what I don't which is that Spangler doesn't make it that far. I'm fine with any of the top three hitters and if it goes as planned right now I think we do get Lackey. Don't love the shorter pitchers, but if it's a needed save money move I'm down with that. I like Rabe at 79. That sounds right up the Twins ally. I think hitter, hitter makes a lot of sense especially if going high school hitter. Still I think I'd like to save pick 43 for an over slot high school pitcher. Preferably a good lefty. Maybe the best ones will all get eaten up in the comp rounds before us, but I'd like to get a potential elite arm to go with the elite bat picked at number 3. Logan Schmidt, Hirschkorn or Borthwick would be names I'd consider there if still on the board. maybe Contreras as well? I'd like the Twins to make this more of a pitcher draft early and late. I feel like they did well with Quick Ellwenger, Reitz and Barr along with their notable late round arms. I'd like to see them focus there as it feels like they have more success there. Also it's early but it seems like they have a good crop of FCL hitters that will likely hang out at A ball next year so might not need as many drafted bats and I'd guess that Beltre and Young will be repeating that level as is. I'd also think that if they are seller's at the deadline they could get some FCL or A ball throw in's if needed to fill out the roster. I just think high quality arms are so important and with so many of our young arms up in the big leagues I'd like to see them replenish the farm with more of them. Also so many arms get hurt you almost need double the amount you think to make it through a season. Every level seems short on arms right now. That might change with some guys coming back from injury but my reasoning still stands. They appear to be good at Identifying good arms early and late in the draft. They should embrace where they find value and find hitters in the margins. It seems like the track record is if they don't find their hitter in the first round they generally don't make it. Very few second round picks have made it as hitters and pretty much nothing after that. Arms they have hit on from almost everywhere in the draft. I'd focus on arms if I were them.

Yeah he can handle all six spots and I haven't looked, but I believe he is a plus defender at short. Haven't checked EV's or anything, but if you were going to add a guy he'd be the one with the most versatility so you could fit him in the lineup easier.

I agree with the OP, but it feels like they won't add him until after deadline to me. The reason I think that is they will want him to play regularly and if he is in Outman's role he likely won't. Once the Twins give up on the season I think they'll add him. Fedko could handle all three spots and unlike Martin he can hit for power which makes him an appealing add IMO. The other thing is there are a lot outfielders on the 40 man right now. They kind of need to get to rid one of Outman and one of Wallner or Larnach before adding another one IMO. We'll see what happens. He just needs to keep doing what he is doing and things will work out for him.

I agree. If I am Jeffers a Twins QO would be a god send. He could bank on a yearly basis more than he would get on average in any contract and it would give him another year to build value after the hamate bone injury. Unless Boras has some team ready to offer crazy money or term he'd take the QO.

Yeah no way this team QO's him. This is a value type team and the QO for Jeffers is not a value play. They'll stick with Jackson and hope he comes close to Jeffers offensive production. That was plan before Caratini and I assume it will be the plan once Jeffers leaves. I don't know if the Twins ever approached Jeffers with an extension offer, but they should have done that about three years ago IMO. Maybe Jeffers always just wanted to get to free agency. Who knows. At any rate given the situation either they will have to outbid others teams to retain him in the offseason or trade him and move on. Or just lose him for nothing like SWR. We'll see what happens at the deadline,

Wow I really overvalued SWR. I just thought they could get some value and I guess I was wrong about that. All that wishing. hoping and waiting for him to make it from the minors to amjors and now he is just gone. I thought given the track record of 24 and 25 he would at least fetch a prospect of some kind, but cash? That is the ultimate insult IMO. Look I get that this year he has ERA of almost 8. A poor K rate and super high WHIP. A typical journey man reliever or starter with those stats as we all know is generally only worth cash. Still a guy that just last year was a serviceable 5th starter with nearly a 9 K/9 seems like someone that could be fixed. Again I get the upside is likely minimal beyond 5th starter and he was the weakest link in the starting 5, but I just thought he might be worth something. I guess it goes to show I can get too caught up in my favorite players and think are worth more than they really are. Any bottom 10 team could have had him for a minimal prospect or cash and they passed. So his value is much lower than I anticipated. Do I think the Twins will have better future options in the 5th spot? I do. It's just hard to see him go for nothing.

I give up on Lewis. If he is going to hit a homerun every game might as well bring him back. AAA is not challenging enough it seems. Nice to see Reitz with a dominant outing. Really like that the Twins went pitching early and often in last years draft. Even the guys in the lower rounds are pitching well. If they are this good at finding arms they should focus on it more in the early rounds.

Lewis with another Homer today. I give up. If he is going to hit a home run every game now what point is there in keeping him down there? I'd see what they can do to find some room. The pitching at this level just isn't challenging enough.

I am with you on that walk rate. It's a killer and I thought it would be better this year not worse. I'll blame some of it on that cold Cedar Rapids April spring where he couldn't find the plate at all, but even with giving him that the numbers are still concerning. Still he is only 20 and still growing into his body. He has three potential plus pitches and BA just gave him spot 98 in their top 100 so I probably need to chill on my angst. I think some of it is psychological. Once teams start getting hits he seems to have a harder time finding the plate. Also getting behind in the count is a killer as just like Raya he has to come over the middle or walk the guy. There is work to be done but the stuff is there.

I tend to agree with all of that, but the questions many have if that is the case is did they reach out to see if anyone was willing to trade for him? Given teams like Colorado, the Angels, the Giants etc could use starters and are essentially out of contention, why not buy low on an arm that just last year pitched to an ERA better than most teams 5th starter? I mean even if SWR is bad all this year they'd have 4 years to fix him or wait for him to rebound. Maybe no team wanted to take that chance and felt like they could maybe just get a waiver claim if he made it to them? Still with so many teams needing arms I'd think some team would be willing to give up something half way decent to jump the queue. I get he's no ace and never will be given his arsenal, but he looked close to being a mid rotation arm if he could improve a little. Obviously he regressed and maybe those are the best numbers he will ever put up. Hard to say. I'd just think one of these rebuilding teams would be interested so the DFA is surprising.

Not gonna argue I know more than the coaches or front office, but it seems really odd that a guy that just last year pitched better at least by ERA and FIP than Ober, Matthews and Festa is no longer good enough to be on the team. Arms go through all kinds of things in a season. To give up on him this early after producing 1.8 WAR in 2024 and 1.2 in 2025 per Fangraphs seems at least questionable IMO. Sure if they think they need to win now like they are playoff bound I can maybe see it, but it seems shortsighted to me given his past history. It will be interesting to see what other teams think. Will there be a bit of a bidding war for him given his past success and years of cheap control or will teams just pass on him like the Twins are. I think that will tell me how he is viewed league wide.