Dman

He's a fun guy to root for. You look at that body and say no way could that guy be a good baseball player. He didn't get perfect gene's but he does everything he possibly can with what he has. I love underdogs and Astudillo has that in spades. I hear you though. Defensively the only decent spot for him is catcher and the Twins at this point seem to like Garver and Castro better. He can play third but Sano's power bat plays better there at least in theory. He can play second but Schoop is much better there defensively and should give us decent offense as well. He can play first but Cron is better in that spot as well. At DH we have Cruz. So yeah I see your point. His best chance to make a difference defensively is at catcher. At this point I would rather see Garver go down than Astudillo just because he such a good PH threat. He puts the ball in play better than anyone in baseball. That skill has to be worth something, most likely a better BA with a greater percentage of BABIP luck. I hear you but I like this guy and hope they are writing his name in pen soon.

While I understood the Pineda move I didn't understand the Pineda move. He was absolutely just cruising through 4 innings on a low pitch count and they pulled him, I don't get that. At least let him pitch the 5th and have a chance for the win. If Pineda was struggling or the pitch count was high I could easily rationalize what the Twins did but I have to agree with Tom that it seemed like this game was more about getting both guys equal work than worrying about winning the game. I am not a big Perez fan but I like what the Twins have done with him so far. His velocity is outstanding but his control doesn't look MLB ready to me. Watching the game he was all over the place. Granted some of that is by design but it looked to me like he didn't really have a money pitch today. Every inning felt like a disaster waiting to happen to me. If you have good stuff you don't have to throw 80 pitches in a little over three innings of work. So my question right now would be is he really a good pitcher? I get it, he is a work in progress and likely to warm up with the weather but I just didn't care for the way the Twins went about getting him into this game. Yeah they had a huge 5 run inning and in the end it didn't matter as they got to have their cake and eat it too, but a couple of bad bounces and they could have lost that game. Ok enough complaining. I was very happy with how well they hit the ball today. This really could be a tough lineup for pitchers to face with lots of bench options that aren't that far off in quality at bats. Not sure how long that bench stays that way but I think it gives them a leg up over other teams right now. I kind of like how they got all three catchers involved early. Catcher is a physically demanding position so if they can keep those guys fresh maybe we can get a bit better production out of that position by platooning them a bit. Very happy with the win and getting the series win at home. If our pitching holds this team might do better than I thought they would.

When Marwin came up to bat I was saying to myself automatic out here, rally over. He hits a pitch out of the strike zone all the way to the wall. I guess you have to leave spring training behind at some point. I was happy to be wrong and that was a huge, huge hit under pressure. Berrios was on fire and K machine today. I hope this team continues to perform like this. Very fun to watch. That was a good game for both teams just glad we came out on top especially on the opener

I really thought Austin was gone so a bit surprised he made it. Hopefully by keeping him a little longer they get something better back in trade. I just don't see him as long term fit on this team. Harper was a surprise as well. I fully expected that even though he earned the spot the Twins wouldn't want to put him on the 40 man and make him prove it for at least a month in AAA. Good for him and good for the Twins. I have no idea if he will be good in MLB or not but he was the best guys we had out there this spring IMO. I like the roster decisions they made knowing they are a short term solution as guys get healthy and I hope things work out well for everyone. I am still concerned about the pitching on this club no one has seemed lights out this spring other than Harper. I hope that changes with the start of season.

Had no idea who Harper was until this spring. I love the movement on his pitches and his K rate is nice as well. He has been good at getting out of jams with guys on base, too. It would be nice if he got the call but I can also understand if the Twins send him down and keep Moran or Guilmet to start the season. Harper hasn't had any MLB success yet and it might be nice to see he keeps throwing this well for another month before adding him to the 40 man and if he doesn't pitch well after being added risk losing him. He has proven he has the stuff to get guys out. Here's hoping this is the year he breaks through.

Hard to say what those 30 players would be making. That number 30 spot could be an 8M DH\Pinch hitter or a 4M platoon partner.

Fantastic article. Thanks for this. I have been wondering about all of those players and how they ended up playing for the Twins this spring. Their performances have been eye opening for me. I know it spring training and a SSS but I really like what several of the relief pitchers they brought in have done so far.

Yeah Magill has not looked good so far this spring. His WHIP is high and batters appear to be hitting him pretty hard so far this spring. He has a couple of weeks to turn it around but there is a lot of competition for those last spots in the Bullpen so he needs to bring it or he may be the odd man out.

Been extremely impressed with Harper so far. Lot's of movement on his pitches. Would like to see him make the 25 man but since we have him in the minors already he is likely going to have to wait for an injury to get his shot. I have been super surprised at his K rate and WHIP. He is dominating and daring guys to hit his stuff. I know small size so don't get too excited but if he keeps this up the Twins won't be able to keep him down much longer. I always thought Eades would be better in the pen than as a starter and it looks like that is going to be true. He has always had good stuff just seemed to have a hard time controlling it. Consistency start to start and inning to inning were his greatest issues. Looks like he might have put that behind him. He has been impressive for a while now. Hope they give him a long look would like to see if he can keep this up. I don't feel like the hitters have a chance this year. The 25 man is already tight so not likely to take a flyer on a AAAA guy unless we have injuries.

A little surprised that Wade got sent back down. Although I figured Cave would likely prevail I think Wade looked like the better player this spring. I know small sample size etc but I think Wade is a MLB caliber player. Everyone else who got sent down made sense.

Probably not 40 and you need to live with that 30 to 35% K rate. I think Rooker can do that if they need him too and if not at least he has options. Not sure I see room for Austin unless they go with fewer pitchers.

Yeah I was wondering if dealing with the Rangers was more of a way to make sure Granite didn't get claimed by anyone in the division. I think both Detroit and Chicago could use outfield help and Cleveland could use a good 4th outfielder. Best to get a deal outside the division. Granite doesn't have power but great speed can compensate for that as walks and singles can become doubles. I still think he is going to be a good player. Maybe not great but solid. However, I do like Cave and Wade better at this time so really no room for him here.

I kind of like the idea of payroll based divisions. It wouldn't be perfect but at least the monetary cap would create a level playing field for the division. It might shake up current team rivalries so might be a hard sell for some fans but it is one way to create fair competition at one level of competition. I don't see complete revenue sharing or a set cap ever happening in baseball. Too much at risk for the wealthy teams to revenue share and too much to lose for players with a specific cap that all teams could reach.

I think the solution is players are going to need to get to FA sooner to be paid what they are truly worth sooner. If more players hit FA in their 25, 26, 27 years then they can market their prime years and talent to the highest bidders sooner. The problem with that approach will be that small markets will have more trouble keeping the best talent on their teams as teams with greater monetary resources will have the advantage to buy the best performing players during their prime years. Everyone knows it doesn't make sense to pay for unproductive years anymore. Players only have so many years to maximize their earning in this sport. So something has to change if the players want salaries to stay high. It is going to be tough to make this work for both sides, but I would start by reducing the service time it takes fro players to reach FA.

Thanks! Yeah I get that. I guess I just misinterpreted what was being said. I guess I don't really care where Austidillo starts whether in AAA or MLB. Someone will get hurt eventually and he or one of the other guys can get called up. Will be interesting to see who they try and sneak through.

Right good point. Someone has to go and my argument was I don't think it should be Austudillo. I guess that still stands. Not sure what Die Hard means then thinking we can keep them all.

Maybe I misunderstood the question but just before Seths quote the thread was referencing who gets bumped off the 40 man. I thought Adrianza was out of options. Perhaps if he had referenced something it would have been more clear but I thought he was essentially saying cut loose Astudillo. Just optioning him to the 40 man doesn't solve the problem unless of course Adrianza does have options then I guess I am just wrong all the way around.

Yeah but Austudillo is the only player that has an elite skill, he doesn't strike out much. He puts the ball in play better than almost anyone in baseball. Also he has decent power (800 OPS) and his BA was pretty darn good last year. Granted all in a small sample size but he played well this winter too. I don't think it is popularity that keeps him around but his skill set. So I'd argue the opposite of what you are. As a baseball decision he seems to be the best option out of all those guys to me. I do agree first and third are really the only two positions he can play reasonably well defensively. Maybe catcher but the Twins don't seem to trust him much there. He is limited defensively but his offense has been really good so far. Find him a spot he can play and I think his ceiling is higher than any of the guys you listed.

I hate to say it but I am a little ho hum about this signing. Don't get me wrong Marwin is a solid and versatile player but he was not the droid I was looking for. Really wanted to see the team solidify the pitching staff but I guess they are happy with what they have. Does this mean that Sano is no longer the starting third baseman? That seems to be the only way this makes sense to me. Things suddenly feel a little crowded in the infield. Polanco, Schoop, Le Tortuga, Marwin are all good with the bat and can play their positions but currently someone needs to move. I guess we are waiting for injuries to thin the crowd. I should be excited heck I wanted the Twins to get this guy after we lost Escobar but after the Schoop signing and Polanco extension, Sano back in better shape, Wanting to see Le Tortuga play I am struggling be as happy as should be about this. This is a good signing. His verstality covers a lot of area's for us. Here's hoping this works out well for the team.

I was one of the doubters. I really thought the Twins had reached with that pick. Happy to be wrong. I hope he ends up proving everyone wrong.

Missed the extra year. That makes more sense.

I don't know. If I am the Twins I might want to see that sub 3 ERA before giving out the money Nola and Severino got. Granted he is a good pitcher as it is and will likely get better, He keeps himself in great shape. Still there is risk that this is who he is and while that 40M extension won't hurt the Twins much I just think they would be looking at a slightly lower number given the info they have. That being said I guess whats a few Million to just get the deal done. We could use his arm for as long as we can keep him. Hard to say who will be successful in the minor's. Here's hoping they can find some common ground.

My Bad on Larnach. I thought he was under 800 for OPS. I must have read that wrong. I don't know why but he hasn't gotten much love in the top 100 or top 150 lists. Must not be as well rounded as some but given his numbers so far the bat looks legit.

Nice to see Bowden give Thorpe some love. Thorpe's K9 has been real good and his WHIP OK. Seems like he should be up there. I am not surprised that he didn't include Larnach as he hasn't been around long and didn't completely dominate while at A ball. Javier didn't play last year so not surprised he isn't on the list. Rooker still has contact issue's and his only real skill is his power. So kind of one dimensional and with his age and the K rate not really someone who would be on my list. The only glaring omission from TD that I see is Balazovic. I think the group underestimated how good of a year the young man had in A ball. He was quite young for the level and seemed to kind of dominate most of the time.

Prospect ranking are subjective so not too surprised there would be variance. I would guess we would only have 3 to 4 players tops in the top 100. They would be Lewis, Kiriloff and Graterol, Possibly Larnach but with such limited at bats it is hard to say how he is viewed. I think about a dozen of our guys that could be in the top 200 need to have seasons where they prove their skills are translating. Some of those dozen players will fail to drastically improve, some will be injured and some will move up. Just have to wait and see what happens but I predict more Twins players in the top 200 next year.