Dman

Yeah it seems Balazovich may have caught Goreitis. Can't seem to throw strikes anymore. Not sure what the deal is but hopefully he can fix it. At least Canterino still looks dominant.

Pretty much agree with all of this but will comment on Palacios. Palacios started the year out with a 900 OPS at one point and has since cooled down to an 830 OPS but he does have 18 HR's which is nothing to sneeze at. He is not going to be a plus defender at short but could be adequate. He is the only guy in the system even close to being able to play short in the near term and like you stated it doesn't appear the Twins think he is close to ready or he would be at AAA by now. Also as you stated he is a top 3 shortstop in his league who can hit for power so if they decide not to add him for whatever reason I have to believe another team will. To me it comes to Palacios or Gordon. Gordon can hit but it is small ball at least until recently but Palacios can play and does play short at AA. The Twins have time to decide as personally for me both players have value but IMO I would keep the one guy that can play shortstop. Even though Palacios can play short he hasn't been tested at MLB so the Twins would still have to get a vet to play there no matter what. I agree that unless Royce has a Miranda type season next year he is at least two years away and there is no guarantee that he can stick at short. It is a vet or bust for the Twins next year IMO.

Yeah he just hit HR's in his last couple of games so it looks like he knows he has to get to his power to have a chance to make it. He could make things very interesting for the Twins if he continues to hit for power at AAA. He has good bat to ball skills and pretty much always has but there are two guys at 2nd base ahead of him in Arraez and Polanco. Still if the Twins think he can OPS 800 in MLB ball he has value. He isn't going to be a Shortstop though so to the point of this article he is not the solution going forward no matter how well his bat does or does not turn out.

He wanted to go to San Diego but Cincinatti took him any way and got him to sign on the dotted line. So the Twins could have done the same but he was not going to offer a discount and they were coming off of a high school pitcher pick that didn't turn out in Stewart. I can see why they were reluctant and went the safe route with a bat instead. They could have gone with several other pitchers but it is telling that they went with a 5 tool talent instead. They knew no other pitcher they picked could have the ceiling of Greene but had to hope Enlow would still end up a mid rotation piece and must have felt at the time Leech could be another Balazovich as well. With Royce wisely willing to take a discount as he could have fallen to number 5 they must have felt more bites at the apple were better than putting all the apples in on Greene. Still time to see how things work out but Leech looks like a reliever if he can even make it. Rooker looks incredibly flawed and teetering on the brink of not making it. Enlow is having TJ and we have no idea how he will be once he returns and Lewis has had trouble staying healthy and his bat is suspect until he proves otherwise. So things don't look good right now. Greene looks like the dominant pitcher he was always supposed to be but he isn't in the majors yet and he could still have arm problems in the future. I don't see either side with an advantage yet but would have to give the edge to Cincinnati as of right now today.

Of course it doesn't guarantee you don't get Covid wearing a mask doesn't either but how many people have died that got the vaccine? How many have died because they didn't? How many people might have life long health issues because they took the vaccine? How many with life long health issues that didn't take it? The numbers are startling if you look at them. The only side effects of the vaccine are maybe a headache and sore arm that isn't much of a side effect compared to death IMO. I don't think what Simmons said was helpful in any way at its least without further context misleading at its worst very harmful if someone gets hurt or dies because of it.

And yet millions and or billions get vaccinated with no known side affects yeah it sucks to be the 1% that might be affected by them and I do say might because I haven't seen any definitive proof but they do far more help than harm. I don't know a single person in my lifetime that is known to have had issues with vaccinations. All of my kids have them. All of my family and all of my friends to the best of my knowledge. None of my family or extended family were affected and none of my friends no one that I am aware of. Someone who wants to tell people to not be protected seems negligent IMO. If he doesn't want to get the shot fine but don't try to mislead people that vaccinations are bad or not worthwhile. We have factual proof of the opposite Polio being a prime example. As I said they litterly work for everyone I have ever known. Thousands of people have died of the coronavirus because they decided not to get vaccinated and in the end likely millions. His statements are not helping people or the situation and there is factual evidence to prove that is not just opinion. He was shouted down on Twitter and should be shouted down so that other people have a chance to live. Lives are literally at stake and he doesn't seem to care or understand the gravity of the situation.

Don't forget Jullien and Severino are on their way as well. If Soularie is truly is moving to second they are stacked at the position for a good long time. Pretty much all those guys looks like they will hit for power as well although Steer is the only one of them to hit 20 HR's this year. The other guys should have time to get there though.

I agree with your take it looked like he might be something for a while and maybe he still can be but I don't think he fits this Twins team very well. A big part of what made him valuable was he had options and could be sent up and down as needed and he could play center in a pinch. I think the Twins will likely be better served trying out Contreras or Cabbage in Caves role. I believe Mark can play all three outfield positions and would have options to move up and down. He has power and he can't be much worse at the plate than Cave has been. Cabbage is limited defensively but looks like he has a dangerous power stroke as well. I think either player could be a good replacement. Cave might get better. He could make a jump in production but he is getting more expensive with less versatility and the Twins have options to use cheaper players to do the same job so odds are he is gone IMO.

I think I would but then I am not really advocating for Simmons to be fired. I still would disagree with his opinion and yeah I would lose a lot of respect for Cruz if it were him. I would never be able to view him the same way if that was his stance. We have a responsibility to one another to keep those around us safe and the vaccine does that. If Cruz were against that I wouldn't be able to look up to him anymore as a role model. Again I don't think he would need to be fired but no matter how well he did from that point on my admiration would never be the same.

Agree on Cavaco as there was a point in the season where he looked like he might be the best hitter on the Fort Myers team but he has really struggled recently. The whole lineup has and they are dropping games like crazy. Like the article said he is only 20 and this is his first taste of high quality pro ball so there are reasons to cut him some slack. If he does get the bat working he still has 5 tool potential so I get the higher rating but if the bat never makes it he likely won't make it at all.

Generally his pieces are just satire so take whatever you want from them. You could conclude that from what he is saying but I believe he is just taking an over the top position to get a reaction not that he believes in what he is writing. These pieces are generally interesting thought provoking articles looking at the sports mind from varied over exaggerated viewpoints. For me personally not trusting actual scientists and doctors when it comes to taking care of your body and trusting someone you don't know on U-tube or social media instead seems like a bad idea but hey natural selection usually takes care of things.

Petty was a pretty exciting pick. I just always get concerned about hard throwers because a lot of them end up needing TJ surgery. I hope his stuff is good enough to be a fast mover and I liked that the Twins went pitcher with high upside with their first pick. I can't wait to see how he does. I am very interested to see what Joe Ryan can do. He doesn't seem to have a traditional 3 pitch mix and throws his fastball a lot which seems like a bad idea at the MLB level these days but he has been very successful to this point so hopefully that continues as he moves up. I still think Miranda could\should be higher than 6. I get that he just put it all together but he has sustained it at two levels for almost an entire season so what he has seems pretty real at this point. I would have him at number 3 behind Lewis only because Lewis has 5 tools and plays up the middle and probably tied or above Martin IMO. I could go either way. Martin is more patient and has just as good of contact skills as Miranda with more speed than Miranda but MIranda's Slugging is much higher and he has a good contact rate but is likely stuck at only 2nd, 3rd or 1st so limited defensively whereas Martin could play center and all other infield positions in a pinch. I just think that if those guys are rated there Miranda should be as well. I get that Duran, SWR and Balazovich are all pretty special pitchers as well but I still think Miranda should be with the other two hitters at the top.

To me Jax and Ober are like found money you didn't think you had. The Odds of either of them making a difference at the MLB level was very low. So even as 4th or 5th starters they have ton of value considering we had been buying guys for those spots recently. Also if something clicks you never know they might just be a mid number 3 starter. At any rate if they can maintain their current production they are very valuable for the next 4 years. Hopefully the other 8 guys can fill in a couple more spots and then maybe we only need one free agent pitcher or trade for a pitcher away from having a dominant staff.

Man this system is going to have a ton of guys that hit 20 homers or more this year. Usually there are just a couple of guys that manage to do that but there might be 6 to 9 guys that do it this year. Gross has pitched really well this year. I never expected he could have K9 that good in pro ball. The WHIP is just little high but take off a few walks and it is in line. He is old for the level but he has to be happy with how well he has done this year. Wichita has a really good team and possibly the toughest lineup in AA. One very important addition to that club was BJ Boyd. He might be old for the level but he really solidified that lineup and has come up with clutch hits all year. I know he was a late free agent signing but he has had a major impact on this team. At 28 you probably can't call him a prospect anymore but he has made his presence felt for Wichita this year.

That is a heck of a nice list. The Twins really liked Miller and hopefully he reaches his potential. Seems to have Rock solid tools just need to see if some of those will be plus or not. I like the write up on Strotman and I know very little about him since the Twins just got him but so far I haven't been overly impressed by his outings. Feels like he needs more time. Not saying he isn't good I just don't feel like he has been overly dominant and it takes that to make the jump to the big leagues. It is late in the season and no one pitched normally last year so I am sure fatigue is part of it but just sayin he has looked OK not great to me. Celestino has looked horrible at the plate in MLB but pretty darn good at AAA. He and Rortvedt are tearing up AAA ball. Once he can hit at the MLB level he looks like a lock in center. He is no Buxton but still a solid defensive player. I have been hard on Wallner in the past mainly because of the K rate being high and walk rate being fairly low. Yet he does seem to barrel the ball well and has a 383 BABIP to show for it. Still seems like there is likely regression but I have been saying that all year and he is still at a nice 886 OPS. I can see now what the Twins saw and it is tantalizing but I think there is a fair bit of work to be done for that power to show up at the MLB level or else they will have Rooker II on their hands. I don't have much to say about Winder other than he has dominated since A ball. I do think he could start for the Twins right now. Probably be an adjustment period but I think will be a good pitcher for them in the future. Honestly I think he could be higher than this but I do like Duran, Balazovich, Canterino, and Ryan a lot as well and I assume those names will soon appear.

I think he had a second round grade so he was picked ahead of where most analysts had him but those ranking are so subjective they generally mean very little. Most everyone seemed to agree he would have a MLB ready bat he just got dinged because his bat might be the only value he brings. It looks like he will be able to play 1st base but I don't know much about his defense there. I don't think anyone saw so much swing and miss and I mean miss the ball entirely to his game. He was supposedly a guy that could barrel the baseball more often than not but in his first season we are seeing the opposite. Almost like he needs glasses or something. Guys younger than him are doing better than he is. Guys picked much later are doing better than he is. I don't know if he was just primarily a fastball hitter in college and that is how he got noticed kind of like Rooker or he lost something along the way but contact has not been a strength but literally a weakness for him so far in A ball. His eye is the only thing that kept him from catastrophic disaster as he has walked at a better than average clip which generally bodes well for a hitter because it usually forces a pitcher to throw better strikes, strikes that are usually easier to barrel up. So far that hasn't been the case as he seems to be making weak contact or none at all with rare exceptions a HR or extra base hit. All is not lost as he still has time to find himself but I can't remember a college bat first round pick by the Twins that played more poorly than Sabato has in his first season. With his two HR game he finally cracked the 700 OPS mark which is a low bar for A ball. Fine for a teenager getting his first cracks in but most guys that hit like are soon gone from the system because odds are they don't have what it takes to be successful at the higher levels. It is his first year at pro ball hopefully he finishes the season strong and can move to high A to start next year and get better results but he off to a rocky start IMO.

Yeah you could be right about Sands. He might lack the durability factor a starter needs. I still think his stuff could play as a starter but I agree with you that Enlow is the better bet to make it as a starter. We will see what Twins think soon enough as he needs to be added to the 40 man or exposed to rule V. If the Twins continue to have trouble with pen arms he would be a good candidate to promote IMO.

And that analysis fits with what he did at AAA as well. When the BABIP luck went his way he looked efficient and got good outcomes when it didn't he got hit hard with bad outcomes. We'll see if the new pitches change things but that hard hit rate is downright scary for a MLB pitcher. I desperately want to believe he can sustain this and as the sample size gets larger it will be easier to see what he really is. For now he is nice story in a season full of disillusion.

What future do you see for Sean Mooney? Is a reliever only or is he starter material.

Sure they might bring him back on a discount deal but with a 560 OPS it would take a pretty steep discount. I can't think of any players off the top of my head that would survive that level of offensive futility in MLB. I think you would have to start looking at pitchers to find someone close to that number. That is not a bat you want to pencil into the lineup on a daily basis.

Yeah I had him pegged for the pen as well mainly because of the lack or K's but if he can continue to get them then he should be able to make it as starter too. We will need more data as sample size is way too small and teams will look closer at what he is doing and try to adjust. Will have to see if he can handle those adjustments or not before knowing whether he can make it or not. Once teams adjusted to Duffey and Dobnak they ended up in the pen.

You look at his numbers in the Minors and you love the ERA and WHIP but when you look at the K rate you wonder how he is going to survive in MLB. This year his numbers at AAA are closer to a K per inning but when he had no K's in that Houston game I was saying to myself he is fools gold. Contact will eventually beat you and he gave up plenty in that game. It felt more lucky than good to me. Then he gets 10 K's in his next game with the White Sox and it makes me rethink everything I thought before. If he has the potential to have a solid K rate and is hard to get hits off of that becomes a pretty lethal combination. Can he continue down that path as teams gather more data on him hard to say but I will say he has me dreaming right now that he could be a number 3 starter or better if this is the new normal for him. Of course he could come tumbling down as well but right now I just want to believe we have a solid pitcher for the future.

Really like what Steer has done this year. Adding pretty consistent power to his game is big and his eye at the plate has been better than I thought it would be as well. Looks like he might be having trouble with the breaking ball and offspeed stuff at the higher levels as his numbers have dropped off some. Hopefully he adjusts and can be an option for the Twins as early as mid next year. I was a Sands doubter as a draft pick as his numbers did not scream MLB pitcher but he quickly changed my mind with a dominant first year. He looks to be doing just as well this year but with some injury\soreness so didn't pitch as much early in the year. Still he looks good as a starter. I know Fangraphs thinks he might end up in the pen but he sure seems to have the pitches to start. I know. I know he is young for the level but still have been a little disappointed in Urbina's numbers. I thought he might have better contact skills and strike out less but A ball as a teenager is no easy task. I guess I got hyped up about how well he seemed to be doing at the alt site in 2020. I think he and Cavaceo will be better next year. I still think Enlow is going to be good to great but will need to wait at least two years to find out since he has TJ surgery. He won't back until mid year at best and then will have to build up innings the next year. So he looks a ways a way right now. It stinks because he looked so dominant to start the year. Surprised Rooker is still on here but I will say he has looked better at the plate his second time around. I know he hasn't been hitting much recently but he hasn't been striking out as much either so that is good. He still seems to have trouble recognizing pitches and getting good swings on the breaking stuff but he still has a chance to be a good DH. He has a big bat but it looks like it is going to take time for his approach to mature enough to be valuable.

OK so I just said the last time he pitched that since he didn't get any K's he likely wasn't a legit MLB starter so now he goes out and K's 10 guys and looks like Jose Berrios out there. He hit a HR blip in the third but ended with a quality start going six innings with 3 runs or fewer given up. Honestly I didn't think he had this kind of performance in him. His whole MO in AAA was pitch to contact with dominant outings and not so good outings. He could have been Rule V'd by any team and had no takers now he looks really good at the MLB level. Hopefully this isn't a Dobnak\Duffy like run where he has a good three month stretch and then loses it. I just can't believe how good he has been especially against two of the best offenses in baseball right now. Congrats to Jax on a well pitched game.

I see the Twins being willing to lose Minaya and needing guys up to pitch. If he pitches well then great maybe they have something but given Minaya's track record it seems pretty unlikely. In 2019 and 2021 his WHIP isn't great his K rate has gotten better but he doesn't look dominant to me and he is 30 years old now. If they lose him no big deal there are tons of guys out there like him. They have collected 3 guys already that might be better than he is right now. Cano has potential no doubt but the walks and HR's are killing him right now. He doesn't have to be added to the 40 man and I wouldn't add him to the 40 man given the way he is currently pitching. There is potential there and we saw a dominant stretch in AA I just wouldn't add him until they are more certain he isn't clogging the 40 man.