Dman

Might not happen until the season is over but I think the Twins might need to trade him. The Twins are likely going to need to find room for Josh Windor, Cole Sands, Blaine Enlow, Chris Vallimont, and maybe Luis Rijo to save them from the rule V draft. They also might want to add Canterino early depending on how he does this year as well. The 40 man is about to get very tight and as you mentioned I think Smeltzer would be the odd man out. I think Devin can be a solid back end starter at the MLB level but he is about to be buried on the Twins roster so IMO a move would give him more opportunities. A chance to shine elsewhere. While they could use him out of the pen it seems like they will have better options to use there as well. I don't see him on the team past this year whether by DFA or trade depending on how he performs. I have 4 players that I think will be gone next year they are Gordon because they need to add Lewis, Cave because they need to add Larnach, Thielbar because they need to add several young pitchers and Smeltzer for the same reason. He can still be valuable for the team this year depending on injuries but I am pretty certain this is his last year here.

I don't have much to say about Maeda can't really think of anything to criticize him about. He has looked good all Spring. So the only outing I saw Waddell was when he got lit up so thanks for tonight's video Tom! I wanted to see what I was missing as he had 5 K's in two innings of work. HIs slider really seems tough for hitters to lay off of. He was dominant tonight. After watching his debut this spring I was pretty much ready to write him off as needing more AAA work. I was thinking at the time his stat line was similar to Smeltzer but watching him pitch Waddell looks like he has more deception. I guess I don't know how hard he throws but if he keeps pitching like this The Twins might have stolen a very good pitcher and a lefty to boot. Speaking of strike outs what is up with Luke Ferrell. He is one of my sire of Fort Meyers guys and I haven't seen him in a while now. Is he injured? The race for Sire is tightening there are still several candidates that could pull it off. Not much time left I wonder who it is going to be? Man Rooker and Garlick are in a major battle to one up each other. They are both having really nice springs. It really hurts that they are not going to have AAA start right away as it could kill some of the momentum the guys that are not going to make the 26 man might have. Here's hoping everyone stays healthy and is ready for the regular season..

I am totally with you on this one. As a fan Spring is an incredibly frustrating time. The players are just slowly ramping up and working on things they wouldn't be during the season. The managers main goal is to keep players healthy. Still when other teams players perform better and guys you would think should perform better don't, it makes the mind wonder and worry. While there is no correlation between spring and the regular season guys on the fringe can win jobs based on their performance in spring so performance is still important but yes in general the stats etc mean very little since for the players this is tune up time. For die hard fans like me who look for meaning in every pitch and every at bat Spring generally make me worry. I am hungry for real baseball and have my emotional roller coaster mind ready to go. Just a few more weeks and the real complaining can begin.

Totally agree if the top end breaks it is too much to overcome. Call me a worry wart but I still don't trust Rogers and while I know Colome has the numbers seeing him get hit hard makes me wonder. Robles whatever he had it appears to be lost. Duffy hasn't been good this spring yet granted it sounds like he hasn't ramped up yet but still I can see issues at the top. I know it just spring and these guys aren't even that worried about their stuff yet but it still makes me worry.

Yep totally agree no shortage of DH candidates. If Cruz stays good there is no better DH out there so hopefully he has another good year in him.

Relievers are a volatile commodity so it is hard to ever feel comfortable with that group. The FO certainly deservers the benefit of the doubt given how the pen has performed the past couple of years but they did lose a lot of talent this past year. Trevor May was excellent out of the pen the last three years and how quickly he was signed and the money he got proves other teams liked what they saw. Maybe Alcala can take over his role of hard throwing dominant righty but it is a high bar. Romo was essentially replaced by Colome and given Romo's failures last year it could be a slight upgrade. Clippard pitched well last year. Far from dominant K wise but he was a solid option. Robles has been all over the place and looks like a down grade at this point granted it is just spring but he has looked very hittable to this point. No one is going to beat Wislers numbers from last year not even Wisler but again that is high bar for someone to step in and come close to. So yeah I am not feeling as bullish on the pen this year. Colina seemed a mess last year and despite that great slider got hit hard. Chalmers has trouble throwing strikes and we haven't even seen him or Ober this spring. So have to believe the FO doesn't trust those 40 man space eaters with MLB innings. Shaun Anderson has been a disaster so far this spring no way they trust him and Smeltzer gives up hits and walks like he wants to be friends with the opposing team. Those two are also sucking up 40 man spots and seem unlikely to help anytime soon if ever. So yeah I agree I don't see them being in the best shape without Thorpe and Dobnak coming out of the pen. The two guys that have been most impressive to me this spring haven't been really tested and are not on the 40 man. Derek Law and Luke Ferrell both have pitches that move and both have 6 K's in about 4 innings of work. Small sample size I know but they have been the most consistent and best of the bunch so far. The Twins need to put them up against better competition to see what they have. There's not really room on the 40 man so I guess it would take an injury or poor performances by Smeltzer or Robles to find room as almost everyone else seems too important to risk losing. So hard to say if Law or Ferrell can find a way on no matter how well they perform but they appear to the best two guys left. Hamilton and Waddell have had good moments as well but not sure they would be trusted or not at this point either. Hopefully there is vast improvement ahead for Anderson, Colina and Chalmers or some tough decision might need to made if guys don't perform.

He is kind of a forgotten man IMO. The K rate in 2019 was good the WHIP and ERA just a tad high. I am intrigued to see how he does this year. He could be a valuable lefty. Will be nice to get to know him.

Yep totally get that but then they went and added Garlic. So in my mind if they felt they could only have so many outfielder's on the 40 man as a reason not to add Baddoo, they could have swapped Wade for Baddoo and not added Garlick. They had been carrying seven for quite some time all they had to do was trade Wade to save them from carrying eight.. They did eventually do that but after the rule V draft and then added another outfielder after trading Wade. So my statement still Stands since they are still carrying 7 they could have had Baddoo instead of Garlick However if you don't like that answer I would say they could have also tried to trade Cave. His OPS is OK but not great. Baddoo's defense is just as good if not better and Baddoo can take walks something Cave isn't as good at. Baddoo's power is just as good if not better as well. Cave's batting average isn't that great either so even if Baddoo wasn't that great he wouldn't have been a huge step down and likely could have replaced Cave's production but hard to say for sure until he plays in MLB. With Wade gone as well that move is a bit risky because at that time you don't know exactly what you are getting in Baddoo and Cave is a vet and you know exactly what you are getting. Still with Kirilloff ready, Arraez as an option there along with Rooker and likely Celestino if absolutely needed I think they could have saved Baddoo from rule V without clogging the 40 man outfield options. I also predict Cave will be gone after this year anyway. It would have just come a year early is all.

Thanks for that! I think they will keep him on their 40 man. I don't think he makes it back to the Twins as he is looking too close to ready. Twins gambled and lost IMO.

Yeah I like Morneau in the booth mainly because I like his analysis. I like that he gives a good hitters perspective. I get what others are saying that he can be a little dry but personally I don't mind that. To me he is there to give me unique insight and I think he does that quite well. I also enjoyed Bert I know some didn't care for the tangents he went on but there a nice comradery there IMO. He gave good pitchers perspective and was easy to listen to IMO. I had no issues with Bert. All the guys they have tried in the booth have there strengths and weaknesses and in general I like all of them.

I know it Spring training and if you are going to give up a couple of painful homeruns that is the time to do it but it deflates your confidence in a newly acquired pitcher very quickly. I know guys are working on stuff and mainly trying to stay healthy but again the uneven performances of the pen makes me worry. They need to give Law some reps with better batters at the plate. He has done very well after the lineup changes but lets see if he can attack the big boys please. What I got of Derek on MLB TV looked good. He moved the ball around had nice movement and had batters fooled most of the time. Lets see if it translates to the better hitters. The bats have been pretty quiet except for the replacement players. I hope guys are going to get serious and be ready pretty soon or this could be tough start to the year.

You make a good point. 40 Man construction has to take many variables into consideration. For me I would have tried to trade Wade and kept Baddoo. I know that Means they wouldn't have Garlic but Garlic is 28 and will never be an elite defender anywhere on the field. With his decent eye at the plate Baddoo would have been Wade with power and an above average defender in left depending on how you see his arm. Baddoo would have been a younger player with improved potential over Wade. Garlic is nice but we have plenty of slow plodding hitters and he and Rooker are essentially the same limited player. At least Baddoo can play defense maybe steal a base and take walks at a decent clip. That is something we don't have much of in the system. Maybe you are right and maybe the Twins don't see all that much value in Baddoo and they know him best. He is having a nice spring which doesn't mean a whole lot but it does show the potential many of us felt he had. I think it will be proven they made a mistake but that is just my opinion. As for Wells I hated to lose him but you just can't keep every marginal pitcher in the system. Those guys float around and you have to accept some losses on late bloomers or pitchers on the edges of the 40 man. I just don't feel the same way about Baddoo. Should know more as the season progresses. Maybe a trade can be worked out so they can move him up and down will have to wait and see I guess.

I hate to say this but I prefer Buxtons bat to Keplers right now. He hasn't hit well in so long he is pretty much an automatic out. His Spring has been pathetic. He has hit a few balls hard but always, always pull side right where they are playing him. If he continues to be this bad I would try to find a way to platoon him to take some of the pain out his hit tool.

It is unfortunate they didn't get anything for Baddoo. Frist let me say I don't think he was vital cog in their plans. His arm is not the strongest so he is likely stuck in left and we have a lot of left fielders. He can be used in center but it seems doubtful he would ever be elite there and certainly not long term. Still I don't think the Twins wanted to lose him. I think they looked at the fact that he had not played above High A ball and was a position player a player who at High A had a hole in his swing. The odds of a team carrying such a player all year seemed pretty slim. However, it appears they miscalculated. I think several of us on the board thought they would protect him for the following reasons. He has really good speed and would be a plus defender in left and an option in center though likely not above average there. He has always had a good eye at the plate and to me this is the reason they should have protected him. By having a good eye even if he is having trouble hitting he can still get on base and not be an automatic out. So it can buy time to get used to MLB pitching. He has a power swing that is likely geared to Home Runs. If the hit tool comes around he would have easily been a top 5 prospect in the Twins system we just never got the chance to see where he was at because he was injured and Covid and I guess the Twins were hoping other teams would feel the same way. I know it is just spring training but this could be a big time miss by the Twins. Even if he didn't fit into their plans if his hit tool has improved he would have been a very valuable trade chip. Instead they lost him for nothing. IMO they got too cocky and blew it on this one. Personally, I think they are going to be eating that decision for a good long time as Baddoo looks like the real deal and should help our direct competition become much better. Hopefully Detroit sent them a bottle of something to ease the pain.

I stand corrected. Thanks for the info very valuable.

I am a huge Turtle fan but I feel like the last couple of springs he has fooled me. In spring the pitchers are more likely to throw first pitch strikes and at times batters face non-MLB pitching competition. This benefits Austudillo because at the MLB level pitchers generally throw pitchers pitches early in the count and while he might hit the ball it tends to be weak contact. He generally doesn't wait for something better or work counts at all. So the book on him is easy. Throw your best breaking balls and let him get himself out more often than not. Work the edges and bottom of the zone he'll swing don't worry it doesn't even have to be a strike just close. Don't get me wrong he has done well this Spring. He is always dialed in and never takes a play off and that is what we love about the guy. I still think he makes the 26 man and is good player but I also think that once teams start playing "real" baseball he won't be this good.

I said this in another thread but my main issue with Dobnak was his inability to strike guys out and get in long battles with batters fouling off pitches. He generates plenty of weak contact and if can strike more guys out along with that he seems destined to be an elite pitcher. I don't know if the new pitch will hold or work the needed magic but if it does I think it will be hard to keep Randy out of the starting rotation. If he does prove he has it then maybe they should consider a six man rotation especially since Maeda has been prone to getting soft later in the year and even Berrios has struggled later in the year they need to protect Shoemaker so maybe a 6 man quality rotation is the best way to keep guys healthy and productive over the long season. He has to prove this is for real first IMO but if he continues to pitch that well I think they should consider it.

I agree with old nurse that the Twins view the fireman role as most likely more important than the closer role. If you are asking which arm do they trust the most going into the season then I would say it is a tossup between Rogers and Colome. It might come down to lefty righty splits or who is most effective but right now I would say it is between those two. It will likely change as the season moves on as well. Alcala has looked pretty good in limited time and could get better. While Duffy has been brutal this spring he could turn it on for the start of the season. Spring doesn't bring a ton of clarity. The only guy I haven't liked and it is partially because I don't know that much about him and partially because his pitches are too straight is Robles. I am not sure he belongs on this list but we will see.

You know I probably don't give Dobnak the respect he deserves. He really pitched well on Saturday. My knock on him is that when he gets ahead in the count he can't put hitters away and sometimes ends up in these long battles that move his pitch count up and tires him out. If he can find an out pitch I think he is as good as any of the other pitchers the Twins have. Batters really have a tough time getting good contact on his stuff but sometimes they foul balls away like crazy. A put away pitch could make him elite IMO. I think they said he was working on a new grip and he K'd 6 of 9 batters so that is encouraging. We'll see how he does as we get closer to the regular season but if Saturday is the new norm the Twins are going to have a hard time keeping him out of the rotation.

It's really a nice group this year. I have been hoping Broxton could show he can command the strike zone and it looks good so far but the true test would be having him start against the other teams starter as he hasn't always gone up against the toughest pitchers. Also he almost has to be addition by subtraction and with Garlic playing well there could be some tough decisions ahead for outfield 40 man spots. I know Lin has the better line but I generally like Maggi for some reason. Maybe it is his confidence I don't know but I am pulling for him. Same with Refsnyder guy looks good at the plate but you can see why maybe he is not quite good enough to be a starter. I haven't seen Linn much but the batting line is very good. Law looked really good today. He had the ball diving under bats and moved it all over the zone. I don't think he has faced the elite competition yet so hard to say just how well his stuff might play but he looks good right now. I have had my eye on Waddell and got to watch him today. He looks tough on lefties but he has given up hard contact at least earlier this spring. Today he struck out the side. He has a ways to go to be the SOFM but nice to see him improving. I really have enjoyed watching Ferrell pitch. The stuff looks soft but nothing seems very straight. I don't know if he can keep up that K rate but if he does the Twins might have something there. Hamilton has been rock solid but would like to see him face some tougher hitters. He seems to always show up after the lineup changes. We are close to half way through and I am really enjoying the effort these guys are putting out there. Someone will rise to the top. Right now I have no idea who that will be as I seem to like all of them. If forced I am still high on Broxton because if his offense is improved his defense is above average everywhere in the outfield. That makes him a great backup upgrade especially in center. For pitcher I am sticking with Hamilton who was my initial pick but hot on his heals for me is the deep underdog Ferrell. Underdog because I don't believe he is a hard thrower like Hamilton. The pitchers seem the most unpredictable to me at this point as there are things to like about all of them and with such a small sample size things can change with a bad game or two.

If this articles proposed trade idea worked or something close to it, It would definitely be worth it IMO but I don't think it would be enough. I like the idea of using the draft pick to lesson the blow of losing prospects but to make this del work I think the Reds would want a comp similar to what the Rays got for Chris Archer. So probably Kiriilloff (Meadows) Balazovic or Duran whoever Pittsburgh likes better (Glassnow) and then maybe that draft pick or a younger pitcher like Enlow (Baz). Maybe a throw in as well just to make it look even better. Castillo is a very good pitcher and I don't think we match up well with Polanco or even Kirilloff. If they are giving up their best pitcher they will want a guy with potential to be as good and able to replace him fairly soon. Getting a controllable fairly elite shortstop would likely also be necessary but Maybe Kirilloff would suffice. Since you can't bank on prospects a third solid guy would need to be thrown in also likely a pitcher because they are already giving up pitching so would likely want pitching in return and if the return isn't extra pitching why make the trade in the first place? Again if they were willing to bite on the draft pick that would help but it is hard to say if that is something they would want to do rather than take a guy further along. They don't need to trade their best pitcher the only way they would is if the offer was just too good to refuse.

I know it is spring training and all but Blankehorn has looked a bit lost at the plate at times. He started out well being patient and drawing walks but now he just seems geared up to swing at anything. If he isn't looking for where the ball is going and just guessing I don't see that working out. I also have seen a lot more swing and miss to his game than I would have hoped. He is a big guy though and with a bit more seasoning he could be a really good player. I just haven't seen it yet in the games I have watched him. Not sure what to think of Soularie. Lot's of scouts don't like the swing but the numbers kind of speak to his success so not certain what the disconnect there is. He also supposedly has a good eye at the plate which generally bodes well for being a good hitter. I doubted the Twins on Jeffers so am going to trust them on Soularie for now.

Shoemaker has been impressive so far. If he didn't have such a horrible health history I bet he could have made more money this year. I think he picked a good team that will look out for his health and if he does well should get payed what he deserves next year. Gotta say kind of disappointed in Smeltzer. He kind of reminds me of Kevin Slowey. A guy that always looked on the cusp of being good but gave up the long ball at inopportune times. Today he walked the number 8 and 9 batter back to back. He had to know that would be trouble and of course it was. He's a good story but when he's out there I always feel he is one pitch away from disaster. Robles got the three K's which was good to see but it was against the B squad guys so not that impressive IMO. A good start but I need to see more. Hamilton looked a little shaky to me but no runs allowed again and no walks so hard to complain. Balazovic looked good out there. Again it was against the B squad guys but he didn't over throw it, trusted his stuff and was done in 10 pitches No walks, No K's No runs what's not to like. Glad they got him out there and hopefully they give him another chance. Kirilloff looked much better at the plate today and his competition in Rooker, and Broxton are coming down to earth some. Rooker looked a bit lost at the plate today. It looked more like he was guessing than trying to recognize where the ball was going and he got fooled plenty for a two K game. Garver wasn't any better with 2 K's as well and Broxton looks like he might be back to his strike out ways as he has 5 Strike out in 15 at bats. I was hoping for the new and improved Broxton but he needs to keep those K's down. He does have 5 hits and 3 walks already so he is doing fine for now but I don't think that BABIP of 667 will hold. It was a pretty good game except for Seltzer's one inning. Nice getting to see some of the young pitching prospects get to play.

I think Colome has been reading my critiques and wanted to shut me up, lol. Let me say I was impressed with his inning of work today and he can feel free to make me look bad anytime. The pitching looked good today not much more to say than that. I was happy to see Colome look like the dominant pitcher I thought we were getting. Maeda does what Maeda does and makes it look easy. Farrell and Wadell got some work and were all K's today. Farrell is still right there for the Sire of Fort Meyers. He has 5 K's in 2.1 innings of work for a 70% K rate while keeping his WHIP at .43. I know that is a small sample size but dang that is some good pitching right from the start. That is a good way to get noticed. Speaking of Sire of Fort Meyers candidates Broxton actually took a walk today. He also struck out once bringing that nasty K rate into the 30% range but if he continues to make good contact and have a decent eye at the plate he could really help this team. Looks like guys are settling in and pitching is going to be tougher from here on out the regular season can't get here fast enough.

I have nothing to but Wow! Very well written story and it is amazing the hard work these guys put in to reach their dream. I'll be keeping an eye on Louie this year.