Dman

I like what both prospects have been doing but the player the Twins left unprotected Baddoo is doing better than both of them right now. Imagine if they would have protected him and with what Miranda is doing they could have been in even better shape.

After grabbing the hardest thrower in the draft they went with 4 other pitchers who don't throw all that hard but appear to have good secondary pitches. I take it they feel they can get those guys to throw the fastball harder and use the system to develop them. They haven't taken this many pitchers this high since their first year so will be interesting to watch these guys progress through the system. They took a lumbering 3rd baseman who might have to move to first or catcher (surprise) in the 4th with an unconventional swing who has had a lot of success hitting the ball to this point, but who might struggle with higher velocity and breaking pitches. I guess again they hope to develop him by getting him shorter to the ball, but that is a hell of a lot of development needed for a 4th round pick. I guess the Twins see him differently than others. Another 3rd baseman in the 7th with a flaw the Twins don't tolerate in that he has low exit velocities and has weak contact issues so an odd pick for them unless of course they see something they think they can correct. A primarily defensive catcher in the 8th and a more offensive prone catcher in the 9th that might not be able to hit breaking balls. They both look like value picks according to the MLB site rankings, but both need a fair bit of polish. In the tenth they took a shortstop no one seems to know anything about or at least has no writeup. It is impossible to know if any of these guys will be any good but I sure hope there are some pitchers who are fast movers in this group. They took pitcher's higher in the draft like I asked them too now those picks just need to work out. Personally I like Cleveland's draft for pitching better than the Twins as 10 out of their 11 picks were spent on Pitching much of which could move quickly to the big leagues. Detroit spent 8 out of 11 picks on Pitchers 2 in the first round. Chicago didn't use their first two picks on pitching but still spent 8 out of 10 picks on pitching and finally Kansas who was more balanced but also used their 1st two picks on pitchers spent 6 of 11 picks on pitching. In the MLB central arms race the Twins only spent 5 of their 11 picks on pitching. 2 or 3 of which look to have potential to be fast movers the rest are wild cards IMO. I think you can see why Cleveland does so well with pitching depth they spend a lot of capital on it. It looks like they, Chicago and Detroit want much more pitching depth that can quickly move to the MLB level ASAP thus the reason so many of their early picks on pitching especially college arms. Hopefully the Twins can keep up. They have a tendency to pick mostly pitchers in rounds 11 through 20 so I am sure they will get more bites at the apple but I think they might have been better served by taking Cleveland's approach and taken as much potential fast moving quality pitching as possible. After all it is the thing they need the most.

Well at least they took the power hitter in the 4th round this year. Looks like he will need to work on his eye at the plate as and possibly redo his stroke but he has hit pretty well in the past. They must like the value he provides in the 4th round.

I was underwhelmed so thanks for posting that. Nice to see them going for some lefties. I hope they can develop him like a Winder type but most all of the big ten pitchers we have taken have been bad picks so not overly confident this one is any better especially with the low velocity. Kind of Reminds me of an Ober type I guess we will see. At least FanGraphs likes the pick.

And there goes Kath to the White Sox as well dang again.

Dang was hoping Ky Bush might fall to us. Man rankings mean nothing when it comes to baseball.

Yeah I was hoping he falls but I doubt it. I thought they were going to grab him with the Comp pick but they liked the High schooler better. We'll see what is left when they pick.

Yeah Kirilloff has had the upper hand recently. Not sure if they found a good weakness to exploit with Larnach but he has not looked good recently. Still like both of them and they both are doing well and seem likely to maintain their current numbers. Hoping they both dual each other and push each other into the 900 OPS range that would be cool. ?

Well below is what Johnson had to say as reported in the Athletic and below that Law gives him a 50/50 chance to stay at short not exactly a ringing endorsement. He isn't slow he runs average but shortstops usually are above average runners just like center fielders. My view is pessimistic because you don't see many 50\Average running shortstops. His actions look good apparently which gives him a chance but, just looking at past profiles the odds are against him. "We think he’ll have power from both sides (of the plate),” Johnson said. “He’s extremely instinctive as a defender. He’s not the fastest shortstop in the world, but we think he has a chance to stay there for a long time. Great hands. Great feet. Great (internal) clock. Does all the things you want to see. He’s just super advanced. More advanced than a lot of college guys you go see.” Law agrees with much of that assessment, reporting that Miller has “excellent instincts and at least an even chance to stay at shortstop.”

It is really just in the scouting grades but when they give shortstops 50 run grades as high schoolers very few stay at short. They get bigger and slightly slower and usually end up at 2nd. Go to MLB.com and look at Spencer Steers bio. They have him as a 50 runner and at 2nd base not short. I would say the odds of Miller staying at short are very, very slim IMO.

Seems like a reach pick but they didn't want to take the chance he wouldn't be there in the second round. I wish he ran a little bit faster other than that I don't mind the pick. I doubt he stays at Short at the MLB level but we'll see. Bat seems promising and hopefully his eye is good. Nice to have a switch hitter that hits well from both sides and have to believe that is why they took him a little early.

Like most I am concerned about Petty's 100 MPH arm holding up. Green and Kopek both ended up having TJ surgery so no question this is a risky pick but if he does turn out he has a very high ceiling. Sounds like he has worked hard on his mechanics already so command and control is what he will be refining as he already has velocity under his belt. Happy to see them grab a high end pitcher with where they picked. Detroit, KC and Cleveland all took 1st round pitchers as well. I hope this gamble pays off and if I were the Twins I would grab more pitching on day 2.

I was was hoping for a fast moving College pitcher but, getting Petty at 26 who Compares to Green who was taken at the very top of the draft seems like a good get. I do have my concerns about arm issues with hard throwing High Schoolers but, I am glad they went with a high upside pitcher instead of a bat as KC, Clevelend and Detroit all went with high upside arms as well. It looks like the AL central is in an arms race this year. Hopefully Petty stays healthy. He has the fastball to make it so just needs to work on the secondary's and control. Maybe he will be a faster mover than I think he will be. As usual I didn't care for the perceived reach on the supplemental pick. After Jeffers and Steer I do trust this FO with bat evals for these reach picks but I wish they could find guys they like that can run better. Average runner as Shortstop screams 3rd or second base in the majors. The hit tool is the most important thing and he appears to have a good one I just wish he had better up the middle projection. He kind of seems Dozier like to me. He can play short but not likely at good enough level to not be a liability there as he grows. We'll see how things turn out but I am pleased that no Left field\1st Basemen were taken early. Still hoping for College arms in the second round.

Cleveland got the guy I was hoping would fall to Twins. Most of the high end pitching was picked over. Was not looking for a high school pitcher who may end up a reliever per some reports but this is better than a bat IMO.

Yankees got Sweeney the only hitter I really liked for the Twins at 26. Kind of hoping they go pitcher but likely a pipe dream on my part.

Most analysts don't seem to see Gordon as a SS. Not sure why exactly. I know he had alot of error when he played Short. I think what I had read said he just doesn't natural body control to catch and make a good strong throw to first. Maybe it is his slight frame, maybe it is flexibility I have no idea but this what Keith Law had to say about Gordon. "Law sees Gordon as a second baseman —and has for a while— and notes that Gordon will have to hit very well (read: around his 2018 Double-A numbers) to regain prospect status." Not sure why they couldn't play Gordon there in a pinch unless they just really don't trust him to make those throws without the errors.

That was a great write up! Thanks for that. I totally agree with you on Funderburk. In the future I see him more as reliever but who knows maybe he can surprise all of us. I didn't think he would do as well as he has as a starter so we will see. Without some overpowering stuff it seems unlikely though. Also liked what you had to say about Severino and agree. He has been hitting really well after having a pretty slow start. I wonder if they move him up after the draft to make room for some other players but will have to wait and see. Yep Varland could have been moved up a month ago but they have had a lot pitchers injured at that level so probably needed him where he was. Again I think after the draft when they bring in more guys they will move him up. Just crazy how decimated the pitching staff has been this season. Very few guys that haven't been injured at this point. They are bringing in all kinds of guys I have never heard of. This draft can't come fast enough to get more guys moving.

I haven't done research on drafting position players versus pitcher's early either but it seems with a cursory glance that hitters have a better chance of making it and even if a pitcher does make it they often don't play as long as hitters, due to injury. I don't know if you read the link in the post above but Johnson was implying bats were in short supply this year so simple supply and demand would state go for the scarce resource first and the more plentiful later. Which in a vacuum makes sense. The Twins, however, currently have a MLB team with good hitters and some pretty good hitters in the MiLB pipeline. They have good pitching in the MiLB pipeline but little to none on the MLB team. They have approximately a 5 to 6 year window of fairly elite talent that they have assembled and are just missing good pitching to put them over the top. We have seen 1st round college level pitchers move pretty fast through various teams systems so wouldn't it make sense to grab some early elite pitching and then even grab pitching late like they have been? Buffering the quality arms in the system in case of injury or ineffectiveness with guys that could help in 2 to 3 years time while the window is still open. It just seems like if there is a year to break out of the simple supply and demand of the draft and go after a position of team need this is the year. I mean Oranges might be scarce but if I already have plenty of them why not just buy more apples if that is what I really need? I know that they want to balance their picks but they are deadline sellers and should be able to get hitting prospects easier than pitching prospects. They could trade for hitters and take more pitching in a draft that apparently has more pitching than hitting in it. I mean if every team followed the Twins philosophy there would be no pitchers taken in the first round of the draft. I don't think it is a philosophy that has to be followed but I can see where Johnson is coming from. Personally I just think it is short sighted given where this team is at.

Yeah they are going to stick to their current strategy and go with bats first it looks like. I would love to see college arms that can move quickly personally but they seem to feel good about their current strategy so unlikely to change IMO. I am hoping they split with a bat first and arm in the supplemental round but given the referenced article that seems unlikely now. If they do go hitter I hope they go for guys with good eye and low K rates. Those are players that have seemed to work out the best for us. When they go strictly for power they seem to flame out. I am sure whoever they take I will hate the pick but that is just me.

Nice to see Miranda having another good night. Doesn't look like AAA pitching is slowing him down. While I don't know much about his defense at third they do have this highlight on his MiLB page which makes me think he will be OK there. Good to see Javier have another walk off hit he had been slumping pretty badly so hopefully this gets him back on track. Barnes has been as consistent as I have ever seen him this year. Guessing that if the Twins can get rid of Happ Charlie gets the call. They need to know if he can make it or not and this is the best year to do it.

When they first got him I didn't think it was the greatest move. He was getting older but our DH spot the year before was so terrible I could see he would be an upgrade, but I never thought he would be better than advertised. The guy is just amazing at the plate and such a good presence on the team. A class act you name it. Honestly if teams stop throwing balls at him I think he might hit into his late 40's. He will be missed but he will get a chance at playoff baseball. I wish him the best and will always have fond memories of what he did for the Twins.

To me it is kind of Minnesota Meh. When the Twins had good players to trade it seems like they got decent returns. Most lottery tickets are not going to work out so no real surprises there. Trades are tricky things to evaluate though. One team is usually trading for a short term burst in talent while the other is willing to wait long term for young unproven talent to work out. The team trading for short term always leaves themselves open to losing big time in a trade. As they are likely only getting a proven player for a short period of time and the other team is getting prospects that if they make it can accumulate 6 years of WAR. I guess my point is the team trading for short term talent the year they really need it is willing to lose the future value of the trade because they need help now. They don't care if it looks like they got fleeced in the future because they were playing to win now. With that in mind you can evaluate how trades worked out for both teams but you have to keep in mind the team trading for MLB talent was always willing to lose the trade. They had to give up enough future value to make it worthwhile for the other team to trade. The Twins still have a fair bit of future value left on the table and Duran alone could tip the scales or he could be injured and never make it such is the nature of risk in baseball. Still he is rated the Twins 3rd best prospect so hard to fault the FO for making a bad trade even if he never makes it, he had front of the rotation potential but risk is risk. Sometimes things work out sometimes they don't. While I wouldn't say this FO has fleeced anyone I don't think they have been fleeced either.

So I have Rhodery Diaz on my watch list after the 2019 season he had. He was a DSL All-Star with very good OBP and OPS of 860. So he appeared to have a good eye at the plate and decent slugging potential. Did he suddenly lose all that potential or did he just give up and move onto something else? Just seems odd that a player that was an All-Star would get released. Man I hope Winder is OK. The neck area for pitchers is used more than you might think to throw the ball. Even a bruise could take a while to overcome. I guess this is just gonna be one of those years. Hopefully all the bad luck is gone for a while after this year.

I know he is a high school pitcher but if Painter fell to the Twins he looks like a good all around pitcher to me. Would love to have him if is there and would sign.

As the deadline draws near I am becoming less bullish on what the Twins can get in return for their rentals. Cruz is the only player worth a decent prospect or two. Maybe if Pineda can pitch well the next couple of times out he can increase his value but who wants a guy that gives up 12 hits in 5 innings. If a team is willing to roll the dice they won't be giving up much. Simmons is marginal as is Robles. The Twins just are not going to get much back for guys that are not performing all that well. Will they get a return they like for Berrios or Rodgers or maybe Kepler? Maybe but as Tom pointed out in another article teams might want to hold onto their young near major league talent until a CBA is negotiated. Hard to say if that will be the case or not but it could be a fairly quiet deadline with mostly just relievers moving. You never know what will happen some team might decide this is the year to take that leap and they go the massive overpay route and maybe that will be for a Twins player but it feels like the odds are lower than I thought they would be.