the_youngster

I appreciate that you took the time to look into Cleveland during this same time. I wanted to do this as well. However, as I started off saying in my post "out of curiosity, I looked into" it without having much time really to do so. It wasn't meant to be an analysis or even that much of a lament really. Off the couch "looking into" style research cannot reveal that much practical information. The part that really struck me as interesting was the amount of pitchers who never even managed to get the major leagues (or, like BJ Hermsen, never even managed to get to AAA). Finding valuable pitchers who can contribute at the major league level is one thing, but to have so few pitchers manage to rise through the system is what I find peculiar. Again, I would be "curious" to see how that compares to other teams like Cleveland.

Out of curiosity, I looked into the long term inability of the team to develop pitching (which coincided with the franchise's 2011 crash that has lingered for over half a decade now). Just looking at prospects who went through Fort Myers between 2007 and 2011 (of course excluding anyone from the MLB team making rehab starts) is pretty revealing: Kyle Waldrop Jeff Manship Yohan Pino Rob Delaney Armando Gabino Anthony Swarzak Alex Burnett Cole DeVries Deolis Guerra Matt Fox Tyler Robertson Anthony Slama Jose Mijares Liam Hendriks Kyle Gibson Alex Wimmers Logan Darnell Pat Dean Andrew Albers Caleb Thielbar AJ Achter Michael Tonkin Ryan O’Rourke Edgar Ibarra 5 Years of prospects and only 24 pitchers made it to the major leagues. A few of those guys lasted a season or two of average production out of the bullpen. Several pitched less than 10 innings in the major leagues. Only a couple are still in the majors, let alone with the Twins. Half a decade of pitching development and Gibson is the only potential success there (for the Twins at least. Hendriks has found some decent success the last couple of years, but with other teams of course). 2012 marked a shift in the team's pitching development philosophy, and the jury is still out on a lot of those guys. But fingers crossed for the 2012-2017 batch.

It was Harris and Hardy for Hoey and Jacobson. I know this well because I had to inform my mother that her two favorite players were gone in one trade...

What to do with him? Simple, keep playing him. I like to look at it this way: look at Mauer's stats and Dozier's stats; Mauer's production has been roughly been equal to Kolton Wong and Dozier's has been roughly equal to Edwin Encarnacion. Thus we have a 1B performing like an above average 2B, and a 2B performing like a solid 1B. I don't think there would be much discussion here of "what to do" with Kolton Wong or Edwin Encarnacion. The team as a whole is strong offensively (at least when they are confident, usually at home), and has even more potential in the very near future. We don't need Joe to be a slugging 1B, or even his old batting champion self. As long as he doesn't crash and burn to Dan Uggla levels, he is just fine, as well as the rest of the team.

Hometown guy, and current Cedar Rapids DL member, Blake Schmit, who my sister had a crush on in elementary school.

During the roster reveals on Monday, Yost discussed how he wanted to ensure the final vote would give him a useful backup no matter what, thus 3 infielders and 2 outfielders. So from what both he and Bochy said on air, made it seem that they chose the final vote players.

While I wholeheartedly believe that Dozier should be in Cincinnati next week, I can sort of understand why Gardner was chosen over Dozier. By choosing Dozier, that would have virtually guaranteed Moustakas' win in the final vote and give the Royals 7 all stars. Perhaps the best way for Yost to avoid accusations of team favoritism.

I do really like Plouffe. He has demonstrated his ability to grow as a player all around. I would like to see a analysis like this but in regards to his defense at third. He was absolutely brutal to watch in the beginning, but I no longer hold my breath when he is making a throw over to first. I would much rather have him manning third than Sano. In my opinion, Sano's future is at first base. It's a good problem to have, but where do you put Plouffe, Sano, Mauer, Vargas, or even Arcia? One option would be to move Plouffe to the outfield like Cuddyer, and he would probably do a good job as a corner outfielder. But then how do you manage Buxton, Arcia, Rosario, Hicks, and Hunter (at least for this year)? Part of me hopes that the Twins move Mauer back to catcher. His bat profiles better there; and that would allow them to have Plouffe and Sano at the infield corners, Vargas/Pinto/Arcia at DH, and the outfield however it plays out.

Just to clarify, I wasn't trying to insinuate that there is an issue with Allard's elbow. The surgery is just so common now, and it is of my personal opinion that a lot of it is related to young players throwing way too many curveballs at such a young age. Allard is young, has a really good curveball, so it seems inevitable in my opinion. Saying that, however, I still fully believe in his potential and advocate for his selection at #6.

Since Allard has been my preference from the start, I am entirely ok with KLaw'a report. Really young, hits 95, killer breaking ball, and an impeccably smooth delivery. At this point in baseball, its almost a guarantee that he will eventually have TJ surgery, so might as well get someone who has his potential and is one of the youngest guys in the draft. As far as other possibilities, Nikorak is likely a solid choice, as is Tucker. Ideally I would like the Twins to get a high schooler who has immense potential, which all three do. Aim for a star four to six years down the road; the farm system is finally starting to churn out quality talent, might as well keep the line moving.

The tone can definitely change the meaning. There are four different tones, and then the absence of any tone. So the same word could have numerous meanings. My teacher once told our class that you could be trying to call a woman beautiful, but end up calling her a goose (it might have been horse, i don't remember the exact details). But I don't think he necessarily expects people here in the US to use the right tone.

As I studied Chinese for several years, his name would be pronounced like "che(w)" but without the w sound at the end, as if you were only saying the "ch" but with a vowel sound coming from the throat. And then Wei is simply "Way".

Hopefully one day Hu can get to the major leagues, take an at-bat and get to first base. Thus one could say in all seriousness "Hu's on first."

Thus far this draft class has been disappointing, there's no way to really deny that. That said, however, there are guys that I could definitely see being quality big leaguers some day. Allard has some very valuable assets at this stage in his career: command, movement, and an extremely smooth delivery. He is very young, still growing, and could have a very bright future. Bregman has long been touted as a true leader for LSU. If he can catch, that mentality could work well with pitching staffs. Then there are also guys like Fulmer, who will likely be a reliever, but just has good stuff, and Happ who honestly reminds me a bit of Chase Utley.

Oh there can be many many more, but I tried to avoid listing established major leaguers, top prospects, or guys who spent a good length of time as starters. Otherwise, yes, add in Marquis, Correia, De Vries, Deduno, Diamond, Hendriks, Benson, Valencia, Capps, Fuentes, Rauch, Bartlett, Kubel (the second time), and so many other guys who either were briefly good and slowly fizzled out, or guys who never put anything together and yet still occupied roster spots.

Randy Flores Rob Delaney Matt Fox Ron Mahay Matt Tolbert Brendan Harris Jim Hoey Phil Dumatrait Steve Holm Dusty Hughes Erik Hacker Jason Repko Chuck James Rene Tosoni Brian Dinkelman Matt Maloney Luke Hughes Clete Thomas Sean Burroughs Erik Komatsu Kyle Waldrop Tyler Robertson PJ Walters Pedro Hernandez Luis Perdomo Jeff Gray Shairon Martis Josh Roenicke Alex Presley Darin Mastroianni Wilkin Ramirez Doug Bernier Chris Colabello This is a brief list of some (but not all) of the many players, often forgotten, who have contributed to the Twins since the opening of Target Field in 2010. These are only minor players who have occupied places on the roster, to many fans' dismay. Some were fun to watch, guys to root for. I loved watching Mastroianni run. I cheered on the feel good story of Colabello, and the rise of one of MLB's seldom Australians in Luke Hughes. Ron Mahay was a solid LOOGY for the inaugural season of Target Field. And Brendan Harris was for some reason my mother's favorite player (along with JJ Hardy, so it was a truly disappointing trade for her). Doug Bernier is even still waiting around for another chance from AAA. These were not top prospects in the organization (Luke Hughes, Kyle Waldrop, and Tyler Robertson were probably the closest to being good prospects), with many of them being from the immense pool of AAAA journeymen. Yet many of these players were necessary to keep the team somewhat afloat as they sank each of the last four years. Were they the best options? No. Could better teams have been constructed by the front office? Almost certainly. But nonetheless, the Twins relied on these types of players far too much in the last half decade, which has been painfully clear. This year we begin the season with Eduardo Nunez, Shane Robinson, Blaine Boyer, and Aaron Thompson as the most notable AAAA players (you could also add in Herrmann). In the wake of the Santana suspension, and the subsequent moves which have disappointed much of the fan base, pessimism has once again shrouded the brief ray of hope we enjoyed as fans this spring. But as gloomy as things have become, there is still the rest of the roster, a roster slowly filling up with the talent we have patiently waited for. Brian Dozier, Oswaldo Arcia, Kyle Gibson, Danny Santana, and Kennys Vargas have all established themselves for the upcoming season. The Twins actually have legitimate top prospects in the upper minor leagues, both hitters and pitchers. Good things are formulating in Minnesota, even if the present is gloomy. I look forward to seeing Buxton, Sano, May, Meyer, Berrios, Burdi, Reed, Rosario, and whoever else may get their chance in MLB this year.

.278/.342/.462 with 38 doubles and 18 home runs. I have always had an affinity for second basemen, and Dozier has become one of my favorites (along with Kinsler and Neil Walker). I would rank the AL central second basemen the same as in the article, but only for the start of the year. By season's end, I fully believe Dozier will surpass Kinsler, and likely all other second basemen not named Cano. But who knows? Maybe Dozier ends up batting .300 with 20+ home runs and becoming an offensive mainstay for many years (Or at least I hope so). But these are my realistic predictions.

I would be fine with any of Aiken, Matuella, Kirby, or Funkhouser (although I'm guessing Funkhouser ends up as a good reliever unless he tones down his delivery), but I have been entirely sold on Allard. His delivery is so effortless and consistent. He already throws in the low to mid 90's and is one of the youngest players in the draft. He may be small compared to most starters, but with that delivery and his velocity thus far, I find it very reasonable to expect that he could end up sitting around 96-97 consistently once he develops physically. I like the kid and I hope he can be a part of a future Twins rotation that could feature the likes of Berrios, Stewart, and Thorpe (the draft always gets me dreaming up these kinds of things).

As I am sure many of us know, mlb.com has been releasing their top ten prospects for each position over the last week or so. Buxton, Sano, and Meyer all received recognition in their respective positions, with Buxton being ranked as the best outfielder. The website however, briefly had a mix up and also showed where each prospect was in their top 100 list, which has yet to be announced. The mix up has since been taken down, but for a while you could click on the ranking and see the top 100 list in its entirety. It was different from the 2014 list (I compared them side to side) and had several pleasant surprises for Twins fans. Buxton was still ranked #1, followed by Bryant of the Cubs (on the 2014 rankings from the end of the season he was ranked 3). The Twins had a total of 6 players in the top 36 with Buxton, Sano, Meyer, Gordon, Berrios, and Stewart but no others in the rest of the list. The list hasn't been announced yet, but the fact that Berrios was listed as the 33rd best prospect in the game leads me to believe that this was indeed the 2015 list. Not groundbreaking stuff, but fun nonetheless and nice to see Berrios get such recognition. With the release of prospect rankings, its starting to feel like baseball is approaching.

Angels interested in Escobar. They're willing to trade Wilson to free up some cash. Twins need pitching. There's something possibly worth building around there.

For me, it is annoying to see the White Sox sign Robertson as well to be linked to Gregorson. They are two of my favorite relievers. Nonetheless, I am glad Robertson got a good contract. An interesting beginning to the meetings for sure.

After mlb.com's release of their top 50 draft prospects today, and some perusing, my new personal favorite for the Twins is definitely Kolby Allard. The kid is young, left handed, has some nice looking pitches, and my personal favorite: a really smooth delivery. I like the size and stuff of Justin Hooper, but when you watch him pitch... it's a really jerky-jerky and violent delivery. Work out the kinks in deliveries early to do as much as possible to avoid injuries down the road. A future duo of Kohl Stewart and Kolby Allard could, in theory, be a nice right/left front of a rotation.

I've been a fan of Reddick since his days as Red Sox prospect, so I would definitely be a fan of adding him. A solid player. I would rank my preference of whose seemingly available now as Reddick-Bourjos-Rasmus-Rios-Hunter. There is also the possibility of prying someone away from the Dodgers, but really I would want Van Slyke over any of the declining big bucks veterans that they have. There are options available, all with varying degrees of cost. Personally, I like the trade for a quality and younger fill in for the time being rather than spending or trading for an older expensive stop gap.

A very disappointing development. I really like Melotakis as a prospect. A future Bullpen that could include Melotakis, Z. Jones, T. Jones, Burdi, Reed, Chargois (since it appears he's a prospect again), Peterson, etc. would have be about as hypothetically dominant as possible. I wish him the best and a speedy recovery.

I would naturally like any of Lester, Scherzer, or Shields, but none of them are likely going to sign here. Shields is roughly equivalent to good Phil Hughes, only consistent from season to season. I would be fine with the twins rolling the dice on another comeback possibility (but only on one year with a possible option). My main preference would be Brandon Morrow. When they are on their game, Morrow, Shields, and Hughes are all in the same tier of #2 starter on really good teams / #1 on most teams. Maybe you find a gem in Morrow, if not Meyer/Berrios are in the wings to take over (assuming May is in the rotation, which I hope he is). If not, Morrow is another guy who could rediscover himself as a reliever once again or be jettisoned without harm done. At the very least a wild card pitcher should be signed for spring training.