Dman

I always was a big believer in Littels stuff. I am surprised that with the success he has had that all he has is average stuff? The few times I watched him it looked like all his pitches had good movement. Granted he got hit hard when he was up with the Twins but I am surprised that with a good K9 his stuff is just average. I have always liked Wade and though I know he doesn't have great power I still think he is under-rated as his OBP is really good and a good eye at the plate translates well to MLB success. I get he might be seen as just a fourth outfielder but I think he will better than that in the end. Don't know much about Alcala or Cellestino but love their upside. I am concerned about Alcala's arm holding up and wondering if he can really harness his control. Always liked Miranda and I think he will have enough power to play third.

Ouch on the Gordon Comments. I mean Nick had a very good OPS in AA gotta believe he is better than what we saw in a SSS in AAA. Doesn't sound like Law is a believer though. Not surprised about Rooker and Kiriloff, but surprised that he see's Romero as a solid starter. I thought a fair number of scouts saw Romero as reliever a long time ago. Will be interesting to see if his concerns about Brusdar come to fruition. I like how he looks at things just hoping for more from the Twins Prospects. Always fun to see what he has to say.

I don't know. He seems to be right more often than wrong. No one is perfect when rating prospects. Even though I don't always agree with his opinions I do respect them because when I look back most of what he said was gonna happen did happen. One example I remember was Kennys Vargas. A lot of us on this board were very high on him but not Law. Vargas never did quite make it so I think he won that one. There are many other examples but that is just one that sticks out to me. Regrading Berrios if I remember correctly he didn't like that his fastball was so flat and Berrios did have some trouble adjusting to MLB. He did start to come around on Berrios in the end though as well. Player development can change opinions. I think Law gets a bad rep here because he isn't as optimistic as we are in assessing our prospects. He is more balanced in his approach. He also comes off a bit cocky or non caring so his personality can rub people wrong but I still think his player analysis is pretty good.

Not sure if Vasquez is going to be in the top 20 as he never has gotten any prospect love but he was the relief pitcher of the year and his K9 is insane so I would think worthy of honorable mention. How about the newly acquired Brian Schales? He is young for the level and had a nice OPS last year in AA. Poppen pitched pretty well last year as well. He doesn't appear to have tons of velocity but his K 9 has been solid and his WHIP is good. He could be a four or a five if things go his way. I know it was short season but I think Helman deserves some love as well. I know he is older for his level but the guy looks like he can hit. I could find more and I like our super underdogs De La Trinidad and Costello as well. Should be a fun year watching the MiLB guys this year.

I am really in a back and forth battle with myself over the teams strategy. Do they believe so strongly in the young guys coming up that they only want 1 year deals? Why can't they pay a little more and grab some guys with potential greater upside, does everything have to be from the bargain bin? Why can't they just invest in slightly more expensive talent bringing them up to league average payroll is that, should that, really be an issue at this point? Why can't we at least try to go long term with at least one player this year? If they spent to their max even if some of that talent doesn't pan out at least they tried and if it does pan out then maybe we have a team that can compete this year. Just when I think their strategy is to find out about the young players we have on the farm they go and grab marginal players that will likely block them from pitching in until the second half of the season. Honestly I don't know what they are trying to do in 2019 anymore. If we are punting on 2019 then at least lets find out what we have on the farm as best we can so we know what holes need filling next year. If we aren't punting this is a bit of a strange strategy (grabing all marginal bounce back players) to me. I mean I guess they've got me no matter what. I am going to watch and or follow them whether they are a train wreck or average or successful. I just have too much invested in this team not to watch, but right now I am feeling a bit disappointed in where things are at. There is always 2020 and I am excited about the young guys we have in MILB and they way the draft is shaping up but I was hoping they were going to do a little more in 2019 for MLB club.

I wasn't a fan of the Anibel Sanchez signing last year and he did well with the Braves. I ranted and raved about how horrible that move was. Hopefully they identified something here as well. Can't say I excited but hope this works out for my favorite team.

I agree with you they can spend to the limit now. Never hurts to add talent and if you get them on short term deals it won't hurt the long term plan. All I was trying to point out is they have a strategy that is in line with what made other teams successful and those teams didn't really spend to the upper limit until they had a solid core. I don't see that the Twins have that just yet so I can see why they might not want to spend to the upper limit just yet.

Yep I get that and it makes me sad thinking about it. The thing is if we don't have a group of consistent performers we essentially haven't completed the rebuild. If we never complete this rebuild then we might have to do it over again. It doesn't mean the Twins can't spend 130M per year I can just see why they might not want to just yet.

Agreed and I am not saying the Twins shouldn't spend up to 130M this year just that I am OK if they don't. A Machado or Harper Deal Should be good for the team long term as they are young proven star players. At some point the Twins are going to need to go long term with their best players. The Question I have for this team is exactly who is that right now? I agree the builds went much better for Houston and the Cubs the Indians seemed to have some stops and starts with theirs as well. The Twins have room for a big contract but I can see why they might want to wait as well. If their core doesn't perform I don't think they can buy their way out of that mess. They will have to wait for the next wave and that is three to four years away IMO.

I don't know I go back and forth on this issue all the time. If they spend the right way I would like them to be in the 130M range. But if you look at the way teams are going about rebuilds no one seems to start running up against the upper end of their budgets until the team has a core in place and is winning or in the playoff hunt. Houston didn't spend to the max during their rebuild, Cleveland didn't, the Cubs didn't, the White Sox haven't been. They all waited till they had a core in place and then spent money to extend players that were really good and fill in weak areas with free agents or through trades. Who is a part of the Twins core right now? Buxton? Sano? Kepler? Meija? Rosario? The Twins core is totally in flux we really have no consistent performers from last year other than maybe Gibson and Berrios and if you want to squint Rosario and Polanco. Is that a core you invest in early? If it were me I wouldn't but then I am not a huge gambler. That being said would I like to see the team spend as much money as possible or at least to MLB average? Sure I would. As we all say you can never have too much talent and if you do find a trading partner. I would love it if the team I love had a 200M budget to work with year in and year out, but they don't so I can see why they have to be a bit more careful than most clubs. Ultimately I am currently fine with the FO's approach to payroll. Once we have the talent in place though my expectations will change as Houston, Cleveland and the Cubs are all spending more than the league average since their teams have been competing for and in the playoffs. I would expect our ownership to do the same once we get there.

Yeah but in 2017 his WHIP was under 1 so he can manage that if he isn't giving up hits. Control last year was certainly a problem and he seems to implode when he gets to MLB. I just think the Angels got a deal here. I think given a chance to settle in he will be OK. I realize someone had to go I just didn't think it would be Curtis. It isn't the end of the world as they are likely moving Romero to the pen and I wonder if Alcala ends up there as well. That would give them two more hard throwers. Jovani Moran has looked good and shouldn't be too far away either so we have guys coming up. I just thought after Curtis's 2017 season he was virtually a lock to make it. Time will tell who came out better I guess.

I like Curtis' numbers better but you are correct he is a slightly lessor version of Curtis. Which begs the question if the FO didn't care for Curtis they don't likely care for Ames. Probably filler as they have already gotten rid of Busenitz, Anderson and now Curtis. Not many relievers left in AAA at this point.

I don't know if you want to put Chargios on that list. Or if you do then you need to recognize the FO chose poorly as I believe he had a better season than Moya, Duffey, Busenitz, Magill, Reed and HIldenburger did last year. To me it would be nice to have the guy that performed better than the guys they kept. Personally, I think that says something about the FO as well.

Yeah maybe they should try and work a trade for Chargios and his decent MLB K9 numbers along with his OK ERA and five years of control instead of cutting him for a rule V pick that they got rid of in two months. I guess this FO believes that if you are going to make a mistake do it with relievers because it won't hurt quite so much? I mean I hope they are right about Curtis and he can't make it but personally I think he is gonna be OK. He's on a team that will use him now so he should be just fine. I wish him well with his new team.

Fangraphs had this to say about him in January of 2018. "Daniel Ozoria, INF – Ozoria is a speedy little 17-year-old Dominican shortstop who has promising bat control and makeup. He’s listed at 5-foot-9, 135 and desperately needs to add strength to be a viable prospect, but his build is such that I’m optimistic. He projects as a utility man." Glad they got something. Being young they don't have to worry about losing him in rule V for a while. I was hoping for a good young pitching prospect though. Sort of pitcher close to ready for pitcher far from ready scenario. I am guessing this is the best deal they could get though. Hope he takes off for us but he seems like quite the lotto ticket from what I can find out about him.

I agree K-9 is not a predictor in itself but it does show that he can compete at that level (AAA) and with a few tweaks has a chance to make it. It is harder than I realized to break into the Majors. AAAA can end up being reality if you don't have some pretty special stuff. To me he has the velocity and an out pitch and I think a decent chance to make it, but yeah he could be AAAA as well. Like I quoted in my other post other scouts at MLB and Fangraphs had him in our 20 best prospects so I don't see him as a throw away either.

So MLB Trade Rumors states Curtis' velocity backed up last year and his ground ball rate was low. Maybe the FO thinks they can pass him through or work a trade. Have to wait and see I guess.

Well that caught me off guard. There must be something they don't like about Curtis or don't see him making it. His K9 is good, some control issues as his 1.30 WHIP was far from elite but MLB site has him ranked as our #26 prospect as of last summer and they said this about him "Curtis' brief time in Minnesota no doubt whetted his appetite and sets the stage for him to spend more time in the big league bullpen in 2018. It wouldn't shock anyone if he one day closed games at the highest level, though a career as a valuable setup man isn't out of the question, either." That doesn't sound like a guy you get rid of to me. I haven't really seen him pitch so I realize I don't know as much as the FO but come on they have like 5 center fielders on the roster and they can't play them all. To top it off they have yet another outfielder in Kiriloff that could be ready by year end or next year as well. Color me puzzled. Not that relievers can't be fairly easily replaced but they had him controlled for the next 6 years and if he was mildly successful they could have at least turned him into more prospects. Hard to give these guys the benefit of the doubt after the rule V fiasco last year which most everyone thought was a terrible idea except the FO. I don't know, I question this move.

If the White Sox get him I am going to be jealous. He should jump start their rebuild. They Still have Abreau and Jimenez is likely up next year. They have young pitching that if not ready this year should be ready next year. They have good young talent not too far away. Having Manny in the lineup should really help and they get him in his prime years as well. It is a steep price but I think they would be paying it at the right time as they have cheap young talent coming up so they will have room for that salary for at least the next four to five years without sweating it too much.

I see, I misunderstood your post. So you are saying if he does finally prove himself the Twins could give him an extension that would make up for the lost year of service time. That is something I hadn't considered and would work well. Play well then get rewarded properly. Yep that makes sense too. If he performs everything could take care of itself if both sides can agree.

Sure I get what you are saying. If he plays well or well enough to be a star payer his arb awards will be large enough to make up some of the money he would have gained being a FA a year earlier but I doubt his arb awards and arb awards in general work out better money wise than being on the market as a free agent and that is what he lost by not being able to play at the end of season. Was his play great to start the season I would say no. Did he deserve another shot after being healthy and playing better at AAA I think so. Does he need to be accountable for what happened absolutely and I haven't heard him say anything to make me think he hasn't accepted responsibility for the way his season went. The only question he had was why after he was healthy he wasn't called up and the FO seemed pretty quiet on that front. It is impossible to know how he will do in the future but if you believe he finally hits just a little and he is already "the" or at least "a" premier defensive center fielder in all of baseball then the odds of him generating a large deal seem pretty good to me. If that were to happen I don't think his arb awards will get him close to what he makes by getting to free agency a year earlier. If he never is any good then none of this probably really matters. If anything the Twins would have been more generous to him than he probably deserves.

That may be true but all I was saying is I wouldn't be surprised if the Pirates found a way to make him a number five starter and get more value out of him than the Twins did\will.

Not Frankie but Worely. Frankie did do better with them than he had with the Twins barring his first year with the Twins.

I am a little bummed but good for Aaron. He should get fair shot in Pittsburgh. They always seem to do well with our cast off pitchers anyway.

Glad they went a little higher with Kyle since they took him to arbitration last year. Was kind of hoping they could work out an extension but I would guess Kyle wants to bet on himself and see what happens. Looks like most of the numbers worked out about how everyone expected them to,.