Dman

Really interesting article Jish. Well reasoned thought process. I too would not want the Twins to draft anyone other than one of the consensus top 5 draft prospects.  But I submit that Crews and Langford and Skenes offer the most immediate help, out of the top 5. From what I have read ("All I know is what I read in the newspapers" Will Rogers) I believe that Skenes is the draft prospect who will be a true ace in the major leagues. I am a firm believer in emphasizing pitching. This year for the Twins has proven that defense and hitting have important places in the formular for winning.  Having said all this, I hope the Twins draft Paul Skenes. I'll take that risk, but then, my job does not depend on it. 

I like OBP best as the name of the game on offense is not making outs. If you are not making an out you are contributing to the offense. You are putting pressure on the pitcher and give the next man up a chance to do the same.  Doesn't matter if it is a walk, single or HR the bottom line is that it isn't an out. 
As this article points out slugging is important as well because doubles, triples and HR's either put runners in scoring position or score runs if anyone else is on base.  OPS really is kind of king right now and as the OP pointed out it doesn't really matter how you get there OPS tells a more complete story where offensive contribution is concerned.
Personally I like both the Arraez and Gallo approaches as teams have been built with high average and power strokes for ages.  There is a reason why your teams HR king bats 4th.  Both types of hitters are important IMO but I do feel the OP is correct that batting average doesn't give you a very complete picture of the true value a player has as it eliminates slugging completely.  OPS is the only way to combine the three aspects to gain a more complete picture.  Still not perfect but far, far better than batting average.

The percentage of OBP that is hits versus walks varies from player to player. Last year, Juan Soto had 135 walks. His batting average was .242, and his OBP was .401. Do the math, walks were a lot more than 20 percent of his OBP. Same with Aaron Judge and some other players. 

That's fine if they're guys like Arraez at the plate (and can stay healthy, and play decent defense, etc); that's not fine when they're more like Astudillo.
Willans Astudillo had a career Batting Average of .267. That's higher than 9 guys currently on the 16 man roster, and 14 of the 18 hitters that have taken ABs for the Twins this season, for this season. You will lose a LOT more games with a lineup of Astudillos over the current group.
But the ball will be in play!

In what inning? What's the game situation? Are you down by 2 in the bottom of the 9th? Who's the hitter on deck? There's way too much context in a baseball game for that to mean anything. Tie game, bottom 9? Absolutely. Down 4 in the 6th? I'm not sure playing for 1 run is the way to go. Way too much context missing.

The problem for baseball is that the high average guys are more entertaining, but they don't score as many runs. Power is the best way to score, and win games. There are 9 teams with 200+ runs scored so far this season. Including the top 8 teams in slugging. "Only" 6 of them are in the top 10 in BA. 80% vs 60% is rather significant.
The Dodgers are 25th in BA, 2nd in HR, 3rd in slug, and 3rd in runs. The Twins are 26th in BA, 6th in HR, 15th in slug, and 10th in runs. The Nationals are 9th in BA, 29th in HR, 28th in slug, and 25th in runs. Philly is 8th in BA, 20th in HR, 11th in slug, 20th in runs. Hitting homeruns and slugging make up for a significant amount of batting average when it comes to scoring runs, because it's really hard to string multiple singles together to score chunks of runs.
Last year there were 14 teams to score 700+ runs. 7 of them were in the top 10 in BA. 9 in the top 10 of HR. 10 in the top 10 in slug. The title is a little aggressive calling BA the worst offensive stat, but it's correct in that BA is a severely lacking stat, and power is how teams win. Luis Arraez is far more entertaining to watch than a low BA power bat, but his lack of power makes him need to be all-time great to be an impact back. He's got 101 more points of BA than Taylor Walls, but his being 112 points worse in slugging means he's 15 points of wRC+ worse. He's a 15% worse hitter despite being 100 points better with BA because singles simply aren't as valuable as extra base hits.

They would not be talking about him like he was a Hall of Famer today. Kingman wasn't that good of an offensive player. He hit HRs, but that was it; Kingman only hit 20+ doubles 3 times in 16 seasons. He didn't walk much; only cleared 50 BBs 3 times as well. He's a more neutral version of Adam Dunn (Dunn was significantly better on offense and one of the worst defensive players in MLB, impressively worse than Kingman) and no one is considering Dunn for the Hall. Kingman wasn't exactly a great teammate either, but that's less relevant. Dunn was a 2 time all-star, Kingman got 3...both of them probably deserved maybe ONE.
Joey Gallo is closing in on Kingman in terms of bWAR already and he hasn't even finished his 9th season yet. No one is talking about Gallo has a Hall of Fame-type player either, although Gallo was more deserving in both of his all-star campaigns than Dunn or Kingman in any of theirs.
Carew absolutely would not have been in the Hall if he hit .209. I I guess I don't understand the point? It's like saying Wade Boggs wouldn't have been in the Hall if he hit .209. Or Reggie Jackson wouldn't be in the hall if he'd only hit 400 HRs. Getting a lot of hits was key to Carew's success, but he's not in the hall just because he got a ton of singles: Carew drew 50+ BBs 10 times. 20+ 2Bs 13 times. 10+ 3Bs 5 times. OBP over .400 8 times. SLG% over .425 9 times. (for comparison, Arraez hasn't finished with an OBP over .400 yet in his career, though he's on track right now. SLG of .425 once, but again on track this year.)
Bating average isn't meaningless, but it is limited. It describes only a small portion of a player's offensive contributions. It still seems to be focused on by a lot of people because does illustrate players that play an aesthetically pleasing style of baseball, even if it's not necessarily always a winning one. 

It's pretty simple really.  BA only tells a relatively small portion of a hitter's impact on producing runs.  Obviously, a player with a 280 BA can have an OBP of 300 or 350.  They are not the same.  Where the huge difference comes in is slugging percentage.  If Judge and Arraez both bat 320, batting average is not even remotely going to reflect their individual offensive impact.  IDK if BA is the worst stat but it is certainly a very incomplete measure of hitting.

Wouldn't the best example be Judge vs Arraez last year.  They had nearly identical BAs.  However, Judge had a wRC+ that was 76 points higher.  Would anyone argue Arraez had anywhere near the impact of Judge?

I like OBP best as the name of the game on offense is not making outs. If you are not making an out you are contributing to the offense. You are putting pressure on the pitcher and give the next man up a chance to do the same.  Doesn't matter if it is a walk, single or HR the bottom line is that it isn't an out. 
As this article points out slugging is important as well because doubles, triples and HR's either put runners in scoring position or score runs if anyone else is on base.  OPS really is kind of king right now and as the OP pointed out it doesn't really matter how you get there OPS tells a more complete story where offensive contribution is concerned.
Personally I like both the Arraez and Gallo approaches as teams have been built with high average and power strokes for ages.  There is a reason why your teams HR king bats 4th.  Both types of hitters are important IMO but I do feel the OP is correct that batting average doesn't give you a very complete picture of the true value a player has as it eliminates slugging completely.  OPS is the only way to combine the three aspects to gain a more complete picture.  Still not perfect but far, far better than batting average.

Baseball is a game replete with statistics. I would note we are now more than 1/4 through the season, so the statistics are starting to gain more traction. 
Yesterday, Joey Gallo went 1 for 5, but the one hit was a two-run home run. So he generated his own run and drove in two runs. His batting average went down. Yesterday, Luis Arraez went 2 for 4; he didn't score or drive in any runs. His batting average went up. This is an example of why batting average is a poor primary indicator of offensive performance.

I like OBP best as the name of the game on offense is not making outs. If you are not making an out you are contributing to the offense. You are putting pressure on the pitcher and give the next man up a chance to do the same.  Doesn't matter if it is a walk, single or HR the bottom line is that it isn't an out. 
As this article points out slugging is important as well because doubles, triples and HR's either put runners in scoring position or score runs if anyone else is on base.  OPS really is kind of king right now and as the OP pointed out it doesn't really matter how you get there OPS tells a more complete story where offensive contribution is concerned.
Personally I like both the Arraez and Gallo approaches as teams have been built with high average and power strokes for ages.  There is a reason why your teams HR king bats 4th.  Both types of hitters are important IMO but I do feel the OP is correct that batting average doesn't give you a very complete picture of the true value a player has as it eliminates slugging completely.  OPS is the only way to combine the three aspects to gain a more complete picture.  Still not perfect but far, far better than batting average.

Looks like the key was Cubs pitching.

The Key - no!
Timely Contributor - yes!
Farmer has been 7 for 18 in his first 5 games back, displacing Miranda at 3B. He’s got a hustle double & a HR, while the Team has gone 4-1………Gallo has had back to back solid games…….Larnach reverted back to April 1st production………..CC has 4 doubles & a HR in last 5 games & is 7 for last 21……..Nick Gordon putting a charge into the ball every handful of AB’s.

A key? Yes. 
The key? No. 

Kirilloff up from St. Paul and back in the lineup and Farmer in at 3B seems to have charged the offense. Some of the outburst is probably coincidence as guys were due to breakout at some point here, but so far I'm liking the allignment. Now, is Buxton ever going to play CF?

Really nice summary!  Not much to add except I feel the pen is not as strong as hoped.  Maybe Stewart is someone who can help a little there?  Need the arms to stay healthy and this team looks pretty good.

When we look at how bad Correa has been at bat we should certainly count April as a good month. I think Rocco has to move him down in the batting order to take off some pressure. In several games Correa has left 4 or more runners on base. It only makes sense he will start hitting better based on his past record or the Twins are in trouble with his $200 million contract. I am concerned with so many injuries after one month of play. I do not follow other teams so do not know if we have more than other teams, but it sure seems like we have a lot of injuries This is baseball not football..

Alcala, if healthy, will be back to help Pen. Headrick & Winder will combine for long relief help in Pen. Moran needs to throw strikes or be demoted - can’t start outings with a walk and put yourself in a hole every 3 of 4 appearances. Stewart looks like a better 8th guy than Pagan! Maeda will/should go to the Pen in a month when he feels ready to throw.
Pagan is our harmless innings 8th guy but I still wish he were gone, no upside.
I think Solano, due to a lack of defensive effectiveness, will be DFA’d if/when we run out of roster space.
Started season with 1B & 2B on continued spring re-hab……Polanco has provided nice shot in the arm over the last week & it was needed. Kiriloff will help at some point in May. Farmer will bring back the stable depth he provided the first 3 weeks of the season. Balazovic as another arm in Pen by June could be helpful.
Steady start for May this week in Division & we’ll know more about the roster in 3-4 weeks.
Farmer will get a couple starts at 3B & SS as soon as he’s ready - both CC & Miranda could use an off day or two. We’ll be better in May with CC starting to thaw out at the plate!
27 games in May ……can we go 15-12 for the month? Nice goal that is attainable. Play some good clubs throughout the month!
PEN by May 20:
Duran - Stewart - Jax - Winder - Headrick - Thielbar - López - Maeda……… guys in wings ….Moran, Alcala, or Balazovic

He's looked great so far. I always felt he'd bounce back, even if he wasn't as purely dominant like he was the first half of 2022. His family situation isn't so drastic now, one supposes, and he's settled in as a Twin after being traded while his family situation was taking place. Further, he's now got a full year under his belt in his bullpen conversion. 
The stuff is great. The potential is there to be great. There's been a couple appearances where he hasn't faced the heart of the order, that being trusted to Duran or Jax, but he's not only done the job, but working on confidence a bit isn't a bad thing either.
I love the first 6 of the pen, fully believing Moran is going to be just fine. I understand and appreciate the last spot being a rotation one in which we will see a number of guys, including Sands. I'm still looking for someone to eventually step forward and replace Duran.

His stuff has always been great. After being a starter for so long, his stuff really played up out of the bullpen last year. He just really seemed to tire in August. I think the same can be said of Griffin Jax. He had some struggles late in July and adding Lopez and Fulmer allowed him to get more time between appearances and he returned. 
Those two both are now in their second seasons as full-time relievers, so I think both will be (or at least can be) really good. 

So far he looks like the guy we traded for.  I've said that I consider him the key to our BP.  If he's even 80-90% of what he was for Baltimore last year he and Duran would make up one of the best duo's in baseball.  Add to that how Alcala has looked so far and the dependability of Jax and Theilbar and that's a really good BP.  The only disappointment so far is Moran but I'm not worried about him.  I think he'll settle down and contribute.  

Cory, I assume from this and previous Blogs that you are following a list from Fangraphs. And that's fine. It makes sense. After all, we're talking about non 40 man players, which make 2B look pretty damn good for now, and the future. But I do believe their list is a bit out of order, as well as missing a few options here.
Right now, of course, beyond the 40 man, Perez is a "break glass" because everything went to hell player. He's only there to give the Saints a solid fill in player. And that's fine.
It's beyond that where I have arguements with the list. BEYOND the 40 man, which is super deep at the moment, the list should be:
1A] Anthony Prato. 7th round pick in 2019. Plays 2B/3B/LF and some SS. Does everything well with the bat. Thought he might be at St Paul to begin the year.
1B] Severino. He plays 2B and 3B and has nice set of tools. He was one of those prospects that were declared FA after it was discovered Atlanta violated signing rules. His 2022 was his best season, and he has a chance to make a real move coming off his best season in 2022.
3] Schobel, Shuffield, Ross, Ortega, and and Perez. Honestly, make your own choice.
Ross has helium due to talent, production, and independent leagues.
Schobel was a 2nd round pick with a few AB that showed little in those. Do we care at this point?
Suffield is older and re9ached AAA simply because they neeed someone to play and didn't think he'd be overwhelmed. To his credit, he did OK.
Ortega is a big bat Dozier kind of player getting ready for 2023.
Perez is a great athlete from a great family. He's shown signs of ability. Can he harness that ability?
These are ALL draft picks the last couple of seasons. A couple might actually stick at SS. Any 2B prospect other than these are just too far away to project to anything.
 
 

Nice article!  Can't say I disagree with much.  I do think Kenta deserves some time to get his groove back and cold weather can be tough on arms as it can be harder to grip the ball so it might be bit before the Twins know where he is at.  Coming back from TJ is never easy and it often times seems it takes a full year of pitching to "really" be back. We'll see how he Maeda does but he is a competitor and I wouldn't bet against him.

Nice article!  Can't say I disagree with much.  I do think Kenta deserves some time to get his groove back and cold weather can be tough on arms as it can be harder to grip the ball so it might be bit before the Twins know where he is at.  Coming back from TJ is never easy and it often times seems it takes a full year of pitching to "really" be back. We'll see how he Maeda does but he is a competitor and I wouldn't bet against him.