DocBauer

I think you'd have a very hard time finding any team that has a very good/stud 3B and a plug and play backup option. So I think the Twins depth is fine with Marwin and Adrianza, plus Astudillo plus Sano, though I don't like the idea of playing musical positions with him. Lewis and Blenkenhorn should absolutely be included in the prospect section. Lewis should be considered not because he can't play SS, but rather because he has all the tools to be successful at 3B as well. The Twins, as they should, are open to him playing other positions just like any other prospect. In fact, they seemed almost pleased that he got to move around so much in the AFL so they could see how he would do. There is a very likely scenario where his first ML action will come as result of injury. His talent and flexibility should/Could allow him to help out in a variety of spots. If the Twins are giving up on Blenkenhorn playing 3B, I think they are making a big mistake. He was drafted as a 3B. I've never heard his arm is weak. We keep hearing he's a good athlete, especially for a larger guy. Unless he is an absolute butcher at the hit corner, you keep playing him there. And then you play him some more. All he needs to be is passable there to be a greater asset. Hopefully, he should be able to play all 4 corner spots as well as 2B. He could be an excellent super utility player in a season or two.

Absolutely embrace this new FO and their approach from the top on down. No question each player is unique and finding the best ways to untap their potential is the answer. I am a big believer in what is happening. But, I have an objection in regard to the objection of "Twins Way". We can object to how a lot of things were done all too rigidly within the confines of the system. Times change, and the Twins are changing and changing FAST. The "Twins Way" was developed during the TK and MacPhail era. It was defense, aggressive baserunning and yes, pitch to contact. Remember, pitch to contact was throwing strikes and not some bizarre concept of "let the other team get hits". Most of those precepts still work today, though hitting and pitching approaches have clearly changed. The regime that set the standard produced some great seasons and 2 WS championships. It's simply time for this new FO to re-brand what the "Twins Way" means. I think they are doing that tremendously well.

Absolutely love these updates, Seth! Thank you! 1] Gleeman has commented a couple times from his sources the Twins really like Thorpe. I do as well. But he's behind everyone else. He also referenced the Twins wanting/needing him to continue to stretch put and start and is probably not a pen candidate for that reason. I agree. But a comment he made puzzles me somewhat. Dobnak, being a little older, and probably less of a ceiling, is a guy you feel OK getting the most out of now, including a possible bullpen role. I can't really disagree, and he's shown thus far he is up for anything...but...I think some people are selling him a little short on his potential. I think the guy is super smart and has the innate ability to "pitch". I think Chacin has a leg up, however, if he shows well the next few weeks, due to experience, past performance, and the option factor. 2] Someone PLEASE get Colina to find a quality 3rd pitch. Just have a hunch about this kid. 3] Was really happy to see Marwin get time at 2B. I don't think there is any question Adrianza is our best "reserve" middle infielder. But Gonzalez is only 30-31 and not some decrepit old timer. You never know when he may be needed on the dirt. I like him getting time there.

The Minnesota Twins 2 deepest positions might be the starting rotation and the bullpen? THE Minnesota Twins? MY Minnesota Twins? Please...don't wake me up. I like this.

Do they have enough depth? Absolutely! I don't even think it's debatable when you look at the past 5-10 years plus. It's almost a perfect blend of proven talent vs potential. Young veterans and older veterans and prospects. It wouldn't be hard to argue the Twins have better depth than most teams. Are there questions? Absolutely. But questions abound for virtually every team. I am NOT debating the Twins having a Verlander heading the rotation. And that's not what the OP is about. They have a pair of young and young-ish SP all stars, a couple of really nice veterans behind them, a couple of very interesting fliers, a potential half season stud flier in the wings, and a few interesting prospects ready to make a mark, after showing some real potential in 2019. Forgive me, but there is POTENTIALLY, a logjam come July. Berrios, Oddo, Maeda, Pineda, Bailey, Thorpe, Dobnak, (not even any sort of bounce back by Chacin), and then Hill is ready to go for a half season. Is it guaranteed to work out this way? Nope. Could it? Yes. But We're a long way from that point. But the depth of options is absolutely there to begin the season.

I love baseball and baseball season. I especially love the Twins! Period! I think how one defines a successful season is very open to internal perspective. Good: Win the Central Very Good: Win a series and advance. Terriffic: Reach the WS Awesome: Win it all!

Love these updates, Seth. Thank you! I had also forgot about Olsen. This year's version of Cole Sands?

This supports everything I felt I saw the second half of the season. It just never seemed Rosario was the Rosario I/we were used to. Echoing statements shared Eddie is far from perfect, but healthy, he's a really nice, dangerous and productive player. Really hoping for a full year of health in 2020.

1] Unlike Perez, Bailey not only maintained his solid numbers throughout the season, but showed improvement. (Yes, the A's ballpark may have helped). Perez started hot and then regressed. 2] Bailey has been working on a new pitch that not everyone is capable of, and seems to be developing a feel for it. Refer back to point #1. 3] Bailey was once pretty good before a series of injuries. I wasn't a fan of Bailey's signing. At all. And then I looked back at 2019, read more about his new splitter, remembered how good he once was, and then decided it was actually a smart move. Now, whether he is "back" in some form or just fooling everyone and they will soon catch up and figure him out, that we just don't know at this point Interesting to me is Chacin has better or nearly matching career numbers in everything from ERA, ERA+, WHIP, BA to BB/K statistics. And he's a year younger, FWIW. But Chacin is coming off a bad season while Bailey is on the rebound. So Bailey gets the $7M ML deal and Chacin gets the milb invite. I know there is more to it than just that, but I find it interesting.

He's probably going to muscle up a little more the next couple of years naturally. And he has the ability to make consistent and solid contact. So 8-12HR and 30+ doubles should just be natural for him. But he should be himself and do what he does and not try to change in to something he's not.

Hill may do nothing this season. There is also a very good chance he does something pretty darn good on a partial/half season basis, as has been most of his career norm. From the day he was signed I've dismissed any sort of June return to the mound. I have always felt he was a secret weapon/second half addition. And unless things blow up, that's what he should be. Pineda comes back in May. Bailey has a chance to at least be solid. Chacin would have gotten 2-3yrs and $10-15M if he had been a FA following 2018. Thorpe's recent leave of absence hurts, but isn't decimating. Dobnak and Smeltzer are still here and ready to compete. All I wish and hope for in regard to Hill is to be a hired gunslinger who bides his time and rides in to town sometime in July. He twirls his gun...errr...stuff, for about 10-12 starts and holds a spot for the playoffs and helps mow down the opposition with his accurate bullets. And then he rides off in to the sunset having helped the good guys win the day against the railroad/land baron/disreputable cattle rancher/Yankees that are all evil. That's why he was signed.

Great post. In reference to Marwin and Adrianza at 1B, I think we are fine there. Might like Adrianza more defensively, but we're talking about a fill in, right? Call me crazy, but if someone were needed more than a game or two, I'm not so sure a roster move wouldn't be made for Wiel to get a shot. He's one of those guys who flies under the radar who could actually get a shot at some point and not embarrass himself. Of course, I hope the need isn't there.

I think you are correct. However, since he finished that inning, could he start the next inning and then be removed at any time? I believe if he started the next inning he now falls under the 3 batter qualification, yes?

End of the day I get my choice for free? I take Wheeler and his velocity and the hope he takes another step forward. That's why he got the offers he did. That's not to knock him. The Twins, myself, majority of people here wanted him. But he is good with hope attached. I was never really in on Ryu. Just hard for me to be in on a guy, even a talented guy, who I just have no clue if he's going to be available, for how long, etc. I liked Bumgarner as I don't agree he will just "fall off a cliff". I like his success, knowledge and bulldog mentality and thought he would be a solid second choice behind Wheeler. Now, Maeda vs any one of these guys? I'd probably still take Wheeler, straight up, with the hoped for upside. But I am not disappointed in Maeda, like the trade, and it turns out even better when you factor in Donaldson and the Maeda $ numbers. Man, it's almost like our FO is smart or something.

I don't expect Rosario to suddenly re-invent himself. And let's be honest, guy is an amazing "bad ball" hitter. But if he can take all his experience and just reign it in even a little bit, he becomes so much more dangerous. And while not mentioned, I would like to see The Turtle make a few adjustments. Contact is great! But contact on stuff way outside the zone doesn't cut it. We saw he could hit in 2018. Healthy, we saw he could hit in 2019. When hurt or coming back, he really struggled at times. Able to just lay off the crazy/stupid stuff, guy has value as a reserve. Not a stud, not a star, but potential as a useful reserve.

I absolutely love the mentoring attitude of Donaldson! And while it isn't his job to coach, I sure he works with Blankenhorn. I've been intrigued by him since drafted. IIRC, he was a multi sport athlete in HS. Correct me if I'm wrong. It's not uncommon for those kinds of kids to take a little longer to hone their skills once they settle on a single sport. Kid is a good all around athlete with power and seemingly some hit potential. I've never heard he has a weak arm. Last year he concentrated on 2B and LF. He has the size for 1B and I would think he should be able to play at least a decent RF as well. I think it's a huge mistake to move him off of 3B so quickly. Now, I don't know, maybe he's just a butcher at the hot corner. But if he can play the position at least passably, or develop that ability, how valuable could he be as 5 position player with power?

I also thought for sure you were going to mention Duffey. I really liked what I saw of Littell last season, but there is absolutely room for improvement. And I mean that in a positive way. But if we're going to include Littell in this conversation, really curious why Stashak didn't make it an article about three potentials.

I appreciate the idea. I'd rather Kepler stay in RF if/when Buxton has any time off. Just not sure I can get behind trading any of our pitching for all the reasons given previously. I was really hoping there was a veteran FA flier to bring in on a milb deal for some insurance to start at Rochester and see if he rebounds. Not sure there is anyone left that fits that thought process. Might there be a similar player during the course of the season? Possibly. Could a trade option be available during the season? Also possible. I think I'd go status quo for now, see how the guys on hand actually do, and make a move if necessary rather than trade away a young pitching asset right now.

Just tossing this out there, but there's a neat article on the Twins website about Sano and Donaldson already creating a bond from day one. And let's not forget, Sano helped champion Donaldson joining the team via a video message he made. Sano has clearly been growing the last year or so from everything we have seen. I'd invite everyone to read the article.

Kind of stole my thunder Cap, and that's OK. I think where the Yankees pen exceeds the Twins is in 2 areas: 1] They probably have more experience. 2] NAME RECOGNITION Point #1 can now be argued, somewhat at least, as a non-factor with Romo and Clippard on board, plus the experience of Rogers and May over the past few season's. Point #2 is easily arguable, reflecting some back to point #1 as well, because no matter how good any of our pen is/may be, everything from time to press...not results...would favor the NAMES in the Yankees pen. Skipping to the rotation, you also made a valid point or two in regard to the Yankees vs the Twins. I am not denegrading the Yankees...or Astros, or anyone else...when I/we look at the rotation depth. And while there are certainly some things left to prove, I really don't knkw that anyone has the depth of talent/potential/numbers that the Twins do. I was literally lost in thought yesterday on a 3 mile walk rolling the rotation options over and over in my head. Berrios, Odorizzi, Maeda, Bailey and one of Chacin, Thorpe, Dobnak or Smeltzer to begin the season. Let's just suppose Chacin is toast, which I kinda doubt, and the 5th spot belongs to one of the kids. Mid May, Pineda is now ready. Unless someone is hurt or just stinks, someone has to get bumped. July comes around...and I'm playing the long game here...and Hill is ready for the second half and hopefully the stretch run and playoffs. Now who gets bumped? And what about a couple of these young guys raking in Rochester for depth? It's a long season for EVERYONE. While we may not, in February for sure, match up at the #1 spot, the depth is outstanding. Winning and getting there is half the battle. And from there, anything can happen. I think we match up pretty well. Are we the best team? I don't know. But the pen and rotation are good and deep. The lineup is one of the best in all MLB. The fact that we are even debating as to whether we are the "best" team at this point is exciting as he'll! Can't wait for the season to begin!

I thought Berrios and Romo both looked great. Alcala showed some life to his FB and had a few really nice breaking balls but was all over the place. I'm hoping that was mostly nerves/excitement and not truly indicative of his control. On Kepler, if he doesn't leadoff, I'd like to see him slot after Cruz and Donaldson and before Sano to break up the lineup. That should put him 4tn or 5th in the lineup most days.

Wonderful! Wish I was drunk enough or twisted enough to write this! Probably not far off how it actually happened.

This. At this point, it is about today and future tomorrows. Any mistakes or blame to anyone for any dark ages of drafting and development are moot. They are over and done. Just being honest, the jury will be out on the FO for a couple more years as virtually anyone they have drafted or acquired as a prospect has yet to reach the ML level. Early returns for development look very good for our current FO. Early returns on player acquisition outside the draft look very good. But for me, I am hopefully and enjoying what we are seeing and will refrain from any sort of judgment for another year or two. But yeah, I like what I'm seeing thus far.

To me, that is the entire key to any sort of "regular" order. (Though I'm sure Rocco will continue to mix things up as he did last season). There are good, sound reasons for Kepler, Polanco or Arraez all hitting #1. And it creates a bit of a trickle down affect. There are almost as many reasons for Arraez hitting 7-9 as there are for him hitting #1. Hitting between or behind less contact prone batters, for instance. You almost can't make a mistake however you make out the lineup.

I understand the arguments against. Phenomenally conditioned and determined, I see him growing "mentally" within the nuances of the game itself. The change seems to be improving but the curveball needs to come back. I have often mentioned stuff meeting experience. At only 26yo I see that happening, even if velocity dips some. Not speaking of Berrios directly, but if a guy drops from 96 to 94 while improving his secondary stuff and just further learns how to "pitch", that guy is usually better even with a decrease in pure velocity. I would absolutely like to keep him until or through age 30 if the contract demands aren't unreasonable.