DocBauer

Going off the reservation here. What SHOULD they do? They should go out NOW, while there is still time, and make a move for a defensive CF who won't spike himself offensive...(does that analogy EVER grow old?)...and improve the OF defense...which will improve the pitching staff...which will improve THE TEAM. Santana can still continue to work at CF and make an appearance here and there. That allows for rest and matchup play. Escobar can get 500AB's as the part time SS as well as primary fill in 2B and 3B. Hicks gets to play at AAA for something more than a month to regain confidence, work on his hitting and approach, and learn to drive the ball again. (the video Parker showed recently showed wide open hips that would have a hard time getting the ball out of the damned infield!) Schafer gets his shot to prove that at long last, ability met maturity and opportunity and his finish for the Twins last season wasn't an illusion. Or at least...only a puff of smoke and one slightly cracked mirror. He can be a 4th OF and possibly quasi-platoon CF in certain situations. I am not a Hicks hater or basher. Far from it if you've followed my posts in the past. But "3rd time just must be the charm" doesn't cut it! Rosario and Buxton aren't ready yet. Yet. What is so wrong about penciling Hicks in to AAA to work on his game, and, oh, I don't know, earn and prove his way in to a ML job this time? What I'm AFRAID they WILL DO: Give Hicks the job and hope. Robinson will be a fall back option if anyone gets hurt or performs like white-can Butera when he should be a 6th OF option. Or march Santana back out there on a 60/40 or 70/30 CF/SS split like last season. And based on last season, that would probably be the better option.

May. May based on stuff, potential, ML experience last season, how he finished, and everything else already stated. Despite less total starts, innings, no ML time yet, etc, Meyer is definitely in the mix just behind May entering camp. Milone should be a distant 3rd option, at least initially. I'm not bagging on him at all. He deserves a shot. But a soft tossing lefty who will almost certainly never rise beyond #4-5 SP status vs a couple top prospects with real stuff and the ability to rise a good deal higher on a team still in at least one level of rebuild is kind of a no-brainier isn't it? Now who goes down to AAA to stay stretched out and who might go to the pen is a different matter. With all due respect to his character and attitude, I'd just as soon pay Pelfrey to leave and try his craft elsewhere. Better for him at this point, and better for all the other pitchers on our roster.

Think we're splitting some very fine hairs here. That being said, I will break out my scalpel as well. Completely understand the rationale for Polanco and your 80% offensive mark. And I am also a fan and believer in Polanco, and never have been bothered by the whole milb error numbers arbitrarily spouted. Regardless, I still give the nod to Buxton over Polanco despite the physical/performance downer of 2014 as we are talking overall ability and project-ability at this point.

A question about Minier, as I honestly know little about him. At 6' 2" and 190 lbs, he's not small, probably has growth potential at only 18 yo, but is far from a big lumbering kid, physically. But does anyone know what kind of athlete he is? While it would be nice to have an 18 yo youngster that you can pencil in to a future defensive position without qualms, I don't always fret a lot about defense this early in a career. But does he have decent enough athleticism to warrant time at 3B, which can take a while to get comfortable?

I am really hoping Darnell makes a move and gets a real shot at some point in the pen. He and Thielbar could make a nice combination from the port side with solid SO ability. With 7 RP on staff, I kind of like of O'Rourke as a third portsider LOOGY. Oliveros, Tokin and ???? from the RH side of things with Perkins closing.

Can't argue, generally agree. And, of course, we're talking opening day, not where we are a month or even two in. Combination of thoughts, hopes and speculation: 1) If Milone has the early edge for the 5th spot, I think it's by a hair. No offense to him, but he's not the future and he's nothing special. Molitor won't keep him in the rotation just because he's LH. 2) I don't believe the Twins would hesitate to just let Pelfrey go, nice guy and contract or not. 3) Graham was a smart pickup/flyer. But with the number of RP available and on the way up...probably up quickly...Graham has to really show something, not just be a stash with potential. Of course, working out a trade to keep him is also possible. 4) If Milone is not in the rotation, does he join Duensing and Thielbar in the bullpen? Or do we see a trade? I'm still wondering if Milone or Duensing isn't moved as part of a trade for........... 5) I still hope/believe the Twins make a move for help in CF. How can you not? 6) Assuming May or Meyer is in the rotation, I've come around on the idea of having the other in the pen until another opportunity arises. I don't know that either has anything to prove in AAA or anything to work on that can't be worked on at the ML level at this point. Less room for Pelfrey, or Milone and possibly Stauffer. If you ask me, not to be a downer, but I think Stauffer has as much to prove as anyone.

Darnell?

Meyer absolutely! But when is the question? I absolutely believe the Twins will give him a quality shot in ST. However, not only does he need to prove it and earn it, but Milone and May, a somewhat veteran MLer and a fellow prospect who got actual ML time last season, also have to prove they don't belong. I'm still hoping and banking on May for the 5 spot. Betting one of Milone or Duensing are gone unless the team goes with 3 LHRP along with Thielbar. (again, Perkins is the closer, not just a LHer) Sano and Rosario will be up at some point, even if it's September. Same with Polanco and Ortiz. Polanco is already on the 40 man, and only has Nunez ahead of him really. And I don't know that I can see Hicks and Schafer stopping Ortiz from coming up at some point. Buxton would have to have something pretty bad happen to not be up at some point this seasons. 40 man roster considerations don't apply to him. September, or before September, if he shows enough he's up and getting some experience to get him ready for 2016. I believe Burdi, Jones and Reed all are legitimate shots for some time in the second half. What stops them? No need to rush their clock if Oliveros, Achter, Pressley and Tonkin establish themselves. So I tossed out 9 names. There are others who could easily get a cup of coffee at least. Is it so impractical to potentially see so many youngsters up for the first time. No. And not just because the Twins are still in a re-build mode, but because the cream of their milb crop is starting to rise to the top.

I'd do the extension for Dozier, and probably would for Plouffe. 1) Even with possible age regression, we're talking 4 or 5 year deals that put each player only in age 31-32 seasons. 2) An extension is a protected 2-way street for each party, and neither of these guys becomes a $10M man over night. 3) Dozier seems to have made a few adjustments for power but has always hit in his career previously. A few more points on his BA, and his cost could climb very quickly. Same with Plouffe. You take what he did last season overall, offensively and defensively, and you put just a bit more power in his year, power he has flashed before, and his cost also suddenly jumps. Why not look for better cost control now? 4) If Sano, and possibly Polanco, can take over or really push for the starting spot this year or next, you still offer cost control for both players in a trade, or to keep with a possible position switch.

I don't know if simply an optimistic home or what, but I look at prospect lists like this, or the the ones Cody has done, and I just get giddy from the talent, the potential, and the depth of such. How can you not get excited from all the things you hear and read concerning Vielma as an exciting SS prospect? Or Garver as a catcher? Personally, I've never been big on the ages of catchers and top relief pitchers, especially closers. Yeah, it's great if you can find a young one who is ready. But it seems that both are positions usualy filled by guys who need to be seasoned for a while. Catchers need to learn all the defensive nuances, and how to control a staff, plus learn to hit at least a little bit. And so many quality RP and closers find their success only after faltering as a SP.

Regarding the Silva comparison for Hu, he won't turn 21 until after the season starts and has already shown an uptick in velocity. And you have to just love the ground ball rate and low BABIP numbers. You know him far better than I possibly could with your first hand account, but not only is his velocity seemingly better than Silva, but his body type seems far trimmer. Regardless of similar delivery, I always felt Silva had a hard time maintaining his early success because it just looked like he got awkward and pretty much ate himself out of baseball.

As stated elsewhere previously, this is about the bullpen move I expected, and would have made myself. Looking for that "Berenguer-Willis-Burton" guy on the FA market as a potential high reward, low risk guy. And despite really hard stuff, Stauffer might be that guy. A solid slider and quality change can go a long, long way if his fastball is at least decent in movement and location. I just don't know that he does anything, or brings anything, other than experience, that Oliveros and Tonkin and Achter can't provide as well or better. A healthy Pelfrey MIGHT be included on that list.

Seth, in your opinion and crystal ball...the Twins catchers in two seasons?

I keep wanting to say who I like in this second top 10, or who I think is going to break out this season, and I just keep coming up with the same answer......everyone.

It's not like a Dozier extension suddenly makes him a $10M man overnight. And with even a small amount of improvement he could be considered in the upper echelon of ML 2B. (If he's not there already) He would still be very tradeable in the next year or two should Polanco step it up.

I have a little difficulty in adding an "age 32 SP" to the roster as a bad thing. His contract is not only fair, it's borderline outstanding when you look at the Peavey contract and others like it. It's not only fair, but 4 years, and you can probably figure he's in top form at least 2 if not 3 of those seasons. No he's not an ACE, buts he's good and a known, proven quantity. But spending $25M per for 7 years on another 32 yo would be OK? Because you'd have your ACE for a couple years on a still rebuilding team, (getting closer I admit) only to see him begin to decline while still owed a heft sum for several more years just as the team is rounding in to form? Naw...I'm more than OK with THIS 32 yo signing and making my team better. And I don't dislike Santana, or the move, just because he isn't 26.

The kind of move I fully expected and have mentioned repeatedly since last season ended. Just not a guy I had thought about. I know he's a NL pitcher, but if he can keep his K rate even close it could be a smart move. It's only 1 year. And the investment is small enough a demotion to AAA or outright release would remain an option.

Personally, while a profound proponent for Plouffe, I believe the preferred and prudent move would be to see him perform in 2015 as he has this past season, since his price is still partially to pretty much controlled by the Twins for the next few seasons. No need to pull open the purse strings posthaste. A small parcel of patience. Sano, you know, could complicate or simplify this scenario by the nature of his success this coming season. With sudden and great success he could force his way to immediate succession of the 3B position. Point of fact, should this performance push Plouffe off the hot corner, the Twins could still profit, without trade price proffered, simply by placing Plouffe in another potential position, such as a corner OF spot, which has already been proposed. Dozier is a darling, and a dandy of a 2B and has proven not to be some dark horse candidate. There is no dilemma, I have no druthers, of extending him as I don't believe he is a candidate for digression. I dare say he hasn't even developed his full game yet. Waiting too long will only cause the Twins to delve deeper toward the bottom of their only so deep well to satisfy a decent and fair demand. There are damn few 2B like Dozier, and I think it would be dumb to wait too long to deal him in long term. Santana was a singular, stealthy and shrewd signing of great significance for the upcoming seasons. Proving once again that our often subjugated and dismissed GM remains sly and sharp still. Compared to other market signing, he not only saved money, but practically stole Santana. And we still want to call the FO stingy? Now, the Hughes happening today was not only the highlight of my hectic day but also a heady move by the Twins that didn't come by happenstance. Whatever heavy burden or hefty horrors Hughes had a hard time dealing with in NY, he has handled himself handsomely and seems to finally have a full handle on his potential, no longer hidden. Now, if only Nolasco, who I have nothing against, can avoid nagging nuisance injury, and just nail his normal career numbers, the Twins could have a nice trade chip for a team in need to net them at least a nominal return, while reducing payroll net for further investment. This preferred option would open up a place in the rotation for one of the Twins proud prospect phenoms, May or Meyer, whoever is not currently performing already. One more bright and beneficial move to acquire Bourjes from the Cardinals would banish the bungling of the CF position the past few seasons. That's about as crystal clear on my convictions as I can be.

I should have been more clear on this. I don't count Perkins as a LH in the pen, he is simply Da Closer. I was referencing three additional LH in the pen vs the two we have normally kept.

A few thoughts: Hamburger still throws hard, and has some actual ML experience. There is a LOT of RHRP competition for the pen this spring, and we never talk about him. He just might be a surprise. Speaking of surprises, if O'Rourke is as good against LHers as we hear, he might also surprise, though I think it would require the Twins keeping 3 lefties instead of two. Ortiz is a guy who has flown under the radar most of his career thus far, and yet, he seems to always put of OK numbers and work his way up the ladder. Though not a prospect close to their league, I wonder if he might see the majors before either Rosario or Buxton. Does anyone have a solid scouting report on Farris? I know he's nothing special, but he can play 2B, was suddenly transformed in to a CF last season, and actually seemed to perform reasonably well. Is there any chance he could be a versatile, 25th man type?

I don't think Walker is being disrespected at all. The whole purpose, generally speaking, of bringing someone to camp on an invite basis, is you expect that individual to have a legitimate shot at playing time some point during that year: AAA call up, AA up to AAA and then a call up or September promotion, etc. No matter how talented and productive Walker has been thus far...and I'm a fan...he has holes in his swing to work on, and the odds are pretty doubtful he sees the majors at any point this season. And besides, a lot of kids not actually "invited" still make appearances in the big games at the behest of staff, or to fill up a roster for SS games, or both.

Excellent post! Still talented, filled with a lot of potential, having shown at least some of that potential off previously in the minors, being rushed to the majors and then pulled and pushed about like Stretch Armstrong...and still only 25...there is no reason to give up on Hicks yet. For those who say he has nothing to learn or prove at the AAA level at this point, I'd say he hasn't proved anything at that level yet, and unless we're watching two completely different players in CF for the Minnesota Twins named Aaron Hicks, he hasn't proven he can play at the ML level enough to warrant any consideration there to be sure. Again, talented and only 25, the smartest thing the Twins could do would be to make a move for a fill-in/stop gap CF...such as a member of the St Louis Cardinals that we have mentioned on several occasions...to a) help the 2015 ballclub be a nice role player on the bench when Buxton arrives c) remove pressure off Hicks and allow him to play a year in AAA, work on his game, gain/re-gain confidence, and rewind his career a bit in hopes that he can actually have one. As far as the initial function of the post, breaking down his swing, I'm no Parker, but rolling of the foot or not, his hips and whole lower half seem to bail out before the ball even arrives as though Nolan Ryan were pitching and pi**ed off. How could you ever hope to drive the ball with any authority with that opening movement?

What Riverbrian stated 100%. For the Twins to go in to 2015 with nothing more in place in CF than Hicks and Schafer, a pair of failed and failing prospects, with nothing else for contingency for a third straight season is beyond odd or frustrating, but borders on apathy or incompetence. There absolutely has to be a third option added to this mix.

Not sure I follow you on Cederoth. I know he was a college draftee at high rookie level, and he's expected to do well, but it's still a transition from college to milb, being a professional, the travel, different cities, different coaches and teammates, etc, etc. His numbers were pretty impressive, and his stuff is pretty outstanding. When you say his debut didn't go "perfectly", could you elaborate? Are we talking consistency?

I fully expect May or Meyer in the rotation as the #5. Based on his time with the Twins late last season, and his general improvement as he got acclimated, I'd put May in the lead. Meyer could get his ML feet wet in the bullpen initially, though I could also see him pitching every day at Rochester in the beginning, to keep himself stretched out and on a regular turn. Vice versa with May potentially. Pelfrey is in the pen or simply gone. And I have doubts the team will, or needs to, keep both Duensing AND Milone. Not with Thielbar around, Darnell really close, and Thompson as a possible as well. In fact, I still think the Twins make a move for a CF, one of the LH's may be included. (Insert Duensing comment/joke here)