DocBauer

But wait, I thought we only kept, played and promoted ML castoffs and AAAA fodder? But seriously, this list goes a long way to show that the Twins are indeed moving forward. But it takes time. You can't simply say: "this young man is talented...PROMOTE HIM." There's just way more to it than that. There was a comment recently that the Twins rebuilding efforts really began with the trades for May and Meyer. And I think there is real merit to that thought. To me, stage two encompassed the Nolasco and Hughes signings, the keeping of Gibson, despite having options available, and the jettisoning of Worley and Diamond. That one move told me the Twins weren't going to just stand pat.

I'm also firmly on board with keeping both. And not simply because one good season from Escobar isn't enough to gain a quality return in trade. Let's all be honest and admit that what Escobar has done this year, offensively and defensively, is far above anything we've had for years now. If we could have been assured before the season began that he would do exactly what he's done, we'd of been ecstatic! And not just this year, but every year going back to what, Guzman leaving? Further, there is no guarantee he will regress, or how far. He may even improve. This is his first real shot at playing every day, and he's only 25. His "utility" label thus far is mostly earned by being promoted early, too early, at only 21, and used as a utility player by the Sox before coming to the Twins. Pure talent and explosiveness, Santana is the better potential player. And I have no problem with his continuing to play some SS and "auditioning" to a degree for 2015 and beyond. May the best man win. And may the other provide great utility play, or in Santana's case, possibly a role in the OF. Depth, options and roster potential is a very good thing to have, and something the Twins need more of, not less. Great point on Vielma from SD, though he's a ways away, just as Gordon is. I think it's WAY to early to corner Polanco as a 2B only. The overall talent and athleticism is there. Errors come with young players, especially infielders, being groomed and developed. Michael I'm not so sure yet. He seems to have finally begun to find himself offensively. Better late than never. He's going to have continue the development he's shown this season in 2015. If he does, he might be a solid option somewhere, but I think we're a season away from knowing for sure. Again, there is talent, and there are skills there, that made him worthy of a 1st round pick initially.

May needs to pitch. Period. My gut feeling? He's learned what he needs to learn, has worked on what he needs to work on, and now just needs to pitch at the ML level the rest of the season. Much like Gibson last season, who the Twins ran out consistently despite mixed to bad results, he needs the experience to adapt and learn, fit in, gain experience, and even get pissed a few times. It's ML time for May. Damn the torpedoes and the results...for the most part.

Not going to copy and paste everything Seth said since I think everyone has pretty much read it at least twice by now. And I agree with him whole-heartedly. I think Joe's "reputation" with certain fans has little to do, overall, with his contract, which a different subject entirely, water under the bridge, and ultimately unimportant vs scoreboard. Any problem with perception of Mauer comes down to two things in my mind. 1) 2011. The Twins were supposed to be a top team and contender. The season became an absolute wreck. Missing one of your best, if not the best, and one of your top players while the disaster is taking place for mysterious reasons never explained or understood made fans very disappointed and frustrated. I still don't know who to blame on this one, but I'd say the Twins on this one. 2) Unreal expectations. Mauer has always had a mystique of the national athlete who could been a QB on a top, possibly national championship college football team, who was instead the top pick and top prospect of the local ML baseball team. And with all his talent, and big athletic frame, to some, no measure of defense, all star votes and batting titles will ever make up for not being Johnny Bench and Hank Aaron rolled in to one. Especially as the team has struggled the past couple of seasons. BTW, Mauer's concussion was not his fault. And he WAS hitting like Mauer before his last injury, and has continued to hit like Mauer since his return.

I believe speed and defense have been undervalued for the last decade or so. Probably a result of PED's and the HR ball. Baseball is clearly shifting back to better pitching results and less overall scoring and lower power numbers. I think this is a positive thing as it brings back more nuances to the game in the form of situational hitting and running, bunts, sacrifices, stolen bases and the such. What has been referred to as the NL way of playing the game. I think that's a gross misnomer as teams like the Twins in the past, the A's, the Royals, and several teams in the AL, in the past, have enjoyed playing that form of baseball.

One final thought...IF the Twins are indeed guilty of trying too hard to teach hitters to hit the opposite way, stubbornly, is that perhaps a reflection of years spent playing on the turf in the dome? And apologies for my last post running together. About half my posts do that for reasons beyond my control.

I'd like to state that I believe in playing to a player's strengths. I also maintain there are very different hitters. Mauer's stroke is built to spray line drives all over the field with gapper and some HR power. Get over him being a 30 HR hitter, he just isn't. Dozier, small than Mauer, has a stroke, and has made certain adjustments assuredly, that allow him more lift on his balls for HR power. In the Twins past, Gary Gaetti was much smaller than Kent Hrbek, but while Hrbek usually produced a higher BA, Gaetti usually had more pure power. HOF 3B Wade Boggs was a very similar hitter to Mauer, as another comparison/example. The one year Boston put him at 3rd in the BO he produced much higher power numbers than normal, but all of his other perifferals took a fall. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong here, but wasn't the problem with a still very young Ortiz that he was injured a great deal? He showed potential and power but had a hard time being in the lineup daily. The Twins had to make a decision, felt the decision was best not to outbid, and let him go. Suddenly he seemed to get more healthy and productive. There is nothing wrong with hitting the other way. But it's also a skill that can be worked on and learned, and not necessarily a strength of a strapping young power hitter. I know the Twins, over the years, have talked about teaching guys to hit the other way. And I know a COUPLE former players have blasted the Twins for this. Once again, please correct me if wrong, but have we ever actually ever heard the Twins, for lack of a better term, DEMAND hitters observe this approach or they can't play? Or were they simply trying to make certain guys a better hitter overall? I guess it sounds obvious, but to me the most obvious approach is to play to a hitter's strength, even if he is a pull hitter. Next, you want to teach them to simply not try to pull every damn pitch they see. Just have a little control and discipline. Third, NOW you begin to get them to shorten strokes and make contact, and go the other way when pitched consistently outside. Overly simplistic? Yes. Absolutely. But isn't this the approach that makes the most sense? If all you do is pull the ball, not only could you strike out at high rates, but defensive shifts and ML pitchers hitting the outside corners consistently will result in weak ground ball after ground ball.

Is it possible Arcia's comments were a bit off the cuff, filled with some truth, and it's being blown waaaaay out of proportion?

Stringer, you and I are on the same wavelength here. This article's subject matter has been on my mind for weeks now, and have touched on it here and there. My thoughts, initially, were to sign a power/RBI bat for LF, which still needs to be done, and a stop-gap CF who could make a nice #4 OF if Hicks suddenly came on. I also thought a AAAA type would be a smart pickup for depth and insurance. Perhaps that can be Schafer? But as time has moved on, and Santana and the freed Escobar have done so well in their current roles, my thinking changed to just keeping things the status quo for 2015, with Hicks still in the wings, Rosario eventually, and Buxton the long term answer who hopefully won't be long term in fulfilling his promise and role. The AAAA insurance player, ex; Schafer, could still apply. Now, I'd still like Santana to work at and play some at SS so that when Buxton arrives, there is still the option of Santana playing SS if not LF where he could be a fine top of the order presence and one assumes at least a decent if not eventually quality LF. Recently, my thoughts have been swaying to the idea of moving Santana back to SS, where if his defense could be at least comparable to Escobar, the entire lineup suddenly shows even greater all around depth of talent for 2015 and beyond.

Surprisingly, it's not the rotation that concerns me for 2015. I like Hughes, Gibson, Nolasco, Milone, May, Meyer, Pelfrey and a couple secondary "just in case" options available. Mostly young, talented, and potentially the deepest and best SP staff in years. My concerns are the offense and bullpen. Mauer being Mauer for at least 140 games, hopefully 150, is HUGE. Dozier is for real. Arcia is wild, but young, and immensely talented. Hopefully the lightbulb goes on in 2015, or at the very least, the dimmer switch gets turned way up. I like Vargas a lot. He has a nice swing, decent contact, power and OB from both sides. I think it's just a question of how soon holes get closed and adjustments get made. Suzuki could lose 50 points off his Avg, still make decent contact and have a decent OB and be a helpful bat in the bottom third of the order. Pinto could greatly assist the overall production from the C spot. Plouffe has really grown, and I don't think he's hit his ceiling yet. Of course, he is keeping the hot corner warm for Sano. Escobar and Santana have simply done everything we could have dared dream; hit, play defense, perform, and perform well without going up in a puff of smoke that so many expected. The problem offensively is one nice veteran, power, RBI bat to consistently hit at the 4 spot behind Mauer. This is key. It allows Arcia, Vargas, and others, to hit 5 and lower to fill out and deepen the lineup. We could make a major trade. However, if we can, I'd rather find a quality FA to fill this spot/responsibility and hold down one of the corner OF spots. I'm not ready to trade prospects just yet for that "piece" we need. I'd rather wait one more year before going down that path. The bullpen, to me, is a conundrum. We have a premium closer. We have a very solid guy in Fien who I really like, though I'm not sure he's really the 8th inning guy you want to count on. I'm high on Thielbar and like Deunsing. I think Darnell might be a really good LHer for the pen, who can get SO's BTW. And there are a couple other LH options who could help. From the right side, we have Swarzak, down a little this season but known and reliable, along with possibles like Deduno, Pino and now Pressly. The minors offer Tonkin, Achter, Oliveros and Guerra. The real bite here is these guys all offer real ability and potential, and are all having excellent seasons. But is there ONE that makes you feel comfortable pairing them with Fien to give us that 7-8 inning duo we can count on? On the one hand, you want to audition each of them and give them their shot. On the other hand, you really want to sign that one really good FA setup guy to help solidify things.

Gibson is absolutely part of the 2015 rotation. And there is room to improve. We still haven't seen the best of Mr Gibson. Then you pencil in Hughes as well. And as well as he's pitched, I also wonder if we've yet to see his full potential as well. Thus far, there is nothing to indicate Nolasco is headed down either the dreaded "bust" or "TJ" roads. It would appear he is a young 30yo veteran who simply suffered a bad and disappointing season due to minor injury he tried to play through, manifested all the more being his first year on a new contract with a new team. I like this first 3. Milone might not be anything special, but appears to be a very solid option. A long term future with the Twins might not be in the cards. But, he seems to be a very solid LHSP who has put up pretty solid numbers thus far. His first start was solid as well. It would seem we have a solid guy here, and a really nice pickup from Ryan. Pelfrey? I don't know. He wasn't my first choice to sign. (It was Kazmir. And Kazmir before 2013 as well) But if finally healthy and ready, he could provide a solid fill in or temp SP. I still can't forget that he actually looked pretty good in '13 before tiring. He's not an answer, but again, he might fill a role. No question May and Meyer are the future, and hopefully the future is 2015 if not now. But how great is it to look at that list of 7 SP candidates for 2015 instead of trying to sort through some of the AAAA fodder we've had to work with and wade through the past few seasons? And before 2015 is over and done, we may see Berrios, Gilmartin, And possibly Darnell and Duffy as options?

I think wins is a telling stat. It indicates a SP simply pitching well enough for his team to have a chance to win. Yes, it is still a team sport, and defense, runs scored, and a bullpen holding leads are all factors. So to me wins definitely don't tell the whole story. Witness King Felix a couple years ago for Seattle. He was clearly the best, most dominate SP in the league even though his win total was small. Wins don't tell the whole story to be sure. But they DO indicate your pitcher threw well enough to get the win. I'm very pleased with Gibson this season. And other than a few Jeckyl/Hyde performances, could you really expect more in his first full season? I know all pitchers would have inflated statistics if you threw out their poor games, but didn't someone post an interesting stat recently that showed Gibson's numbers were greatly influenced, to the negative, from only a handful of bad starts? Wish I could recall that post. I know this is highly debated, but I feel the Twins handled Gibson perfectly. While showing real signs last season in Rochester, he also showed inconsistencies that gave them pause to promote him. When they did, we didn't see anything special. But I really think the ML experience he received went a long way toward getting him prepared for 2014. And while we could engage again in another huge debate, I still see strong parallels to Meyer this season and Gibson last season. He has to be added to the 40 man, no choice about it. Therefore, I still hope he will get at least some ML time before the year is done to give him similar experience to build for 2015.

I know it's way, way too early to really address this past June draft, but as some have commented on here about it, I think it's fair to say that thus far, it's looking very good so far. I hate to say it, but Gordon might be better than expected, with a skill set that might be higher than the scores I read on his 20-80 scale. Burdi looks like the real deal. I agree he's in AA next year, whether immediately, or shortly after a dip in the Ft Meyers pool. The majors might not be out of the question at some point in 2015. Curtiss looks good so far, his last start more so. Not fully converting to a SP role as he did start some at Texas did he not? Max Murphy has been very impressive as well. Mental blank, who is the other reliever doing so well? From Oregon, yes?

Is bubble wrap illegal? I mean seriously, how much more cam happen to one poor kid in a single season? I feel I want to re-visit Nick's article on bad luck just in regard to Buxton solely. I have to say, my first instinct is to just shut him down for the rest of the season. And perhaps they still will. We still know so little about concussions, their affects, treatments, degrees, etc. Twins, between Koskie and Morneau alone have suffered as much as anyone. It does appear that like other injuries, there are degrees of severity, and with each player/person being their own unique physical specimen, it also appears to have different affect as well. Should he recover quickly with no ill affects, I guess I can see the wisdom in still getting a little time in before the season ends as a jumping board to the AFL.

AH COME ON!

Absolutely right about Mauer, Shane. Some are so focused on what he doesn't do..."how come such a big strapping guy isn't a pure power hitter"...that they lose focus of what he can and does do. It is not hyperbole to say he is one of the current generation's best pure hitters. Nor is it off base to compare him to Puckett, Gwynn or Boggs as earlier generation hitters. Healthy, and he has been most years of his career, he hits .300+ day, night, home, road, bases empty, runners on, days ending in Y, in the shower, in bed, falling out of bed, etc. And he'll toss in 38-42 doubles as well. Probably double digit HR's. He may never hit 20 HR again, but who knows. I do think healthy, post concussion, 150 games, fresher at 1B than behind the plate, I do think an uptick in most of his offensive categories shouldn't be unexpected. This would include at least slightly better HR numbers. While it could be an illusion, I sure hope not, Mauer was starting to look like Mauer before his recent DL stint. And when I toss out statements like "Mauer being Mauer", it's not meant to be glib. It simply indicates how special he is just being himself, not trying to be something others would make him. I do disagree, however, as to him hitting second. I still maintain a team's best pure hitter is best off at the third spot. With the likes of Santana, Buxton, Dozier...to a lesser degree Escobar and possibly Hicks...Rosario and Polanco on the way...I think the Twins have quality options for 1 & 2 to set the table for the offense, offering nice overall skill sets. One of those listed might also provide a dangerous option at 9. With Mauer at the 3rd spot, you've got an RBI producer and R provider right before Sano, Arcia, Vargas and others.

Seth, I am 100% on board with you. College or professional, in any sport, it's virtually impossible to only hire and promote from within. At some point, you must reach outside your walls for additions to your organization. Not only out of necessity, but it's also nice for new blood, new perspectives at times. But I love the Twins identifying quality men, quality baseball guys, to bring back to the organization and contribute. It helps breed and maintain a positive organizational attitude and philosophy. And let's be honest, while there have been down seasons and a couple rebuilds, since McPhail and TK took over 25+ years ago! the Twins culture has been pretty effective. I also find it frustrating and a bit disingenuous when some blast the Twins for hiring former Twins. Good baseball men are good baseball men. And pretty much every "ex-Twin" brought back has spent time outside the Twins with at least one if not several organizations before or after their Twins tenure.

Tobi, love to argue with you man, but I think you not only hit the nail on the head, I think you just about hammered it! Just a few points of opinion from me: I would put Berrios in the lock category. He's athletic, talented, coach able, hardworking, a seeming natural with tremendous stuff. I think the only thing that could hold him back....and I don't want to say it...I don't want to even think it....is injury. I just have this feeling he can't and won't be denied, will be good to very good, and then, after gaining a little experience, might just explode as a #1 or #2. I'm higher on May than some. He's a big strong, strapping kid who has the ability to throw a lot of innings. He throws consistently in the mid 90's with SO's and some nasty stuff. Lots of pitchers struggle with control, at least to some degree, power pitchers probably more so. I see his floor as a #3. Honestly, no disrespect to Meyer and his potential, but he has the potential for a 1 or 2. Nolasco may have to be moved by sometime in 2016. It would be a nice problem to have to be sure. Arcia is also a lock for position players. Too much talent. It's going to click! Sano is our future 3B, at least for a few years. He's worked hard to make himself a solid, competent and still improving defensive player. He is not a pitcher. His injury is not going to be debilitating. His strong arm will still be strong, and probably stronger a year later. He may be a big man, but the former SS is a quality athlete who is showing he can play the position. Unless he eats himself out of the position or something, people need to quit worrying so much. I love the 3-part race for LF! (And 4th OF spot) Santana is speed, defense, potential avg. with some OB and gap power, some HR power, and potential position flexibility. Rosario offers defense, CF ability, great pure hit ability, some OB, with gap power, and I believe, decent HR power. Despite decent speed, he'd probably never match Santana's SB potential. But he'd probably hit better with more power. Hicks is a mystery after what we've seen the last couple of seasons, but still offers huge potential as a defensive OF at all 3 spots, speed and power potential with OB ability, but maybe not as much avg. potential as Rosario or Santana. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but if Polanco can be at least average defensively, isn't he the best and most exciting SS option? I fully agree on the pen. There's almost too many good arms to count over the next year or two to settle on a list. Man, the next year or so could and should be very exciting!

I know. But I can't help myself! I didn't even mention he's LH! LOL

Nice article Goulik. Made me smile and laugh. Reading the article, I'm a bit older than you. And while I lived 4-5 hours from the Twin Cities, I was raised all things sports from Minnesota by my father, an avid sports fan. Other than a few cable games at my grandmother's house, I learned the game of baseball and love of the Twins from the radio. And you made me smile as I also recollected Hrbek, one of the best, and one of my personal favorite, all time Twins. An all time measuring stick though? Maybe. But Morneau is also a forever Twin to me. Man, I wish we had taken one more shot at him this season hoping the concussion symptoms would be gone! How to save Mauer? To me it's an easy solution. (Yes, I know you're speaking tongue in cheek, but I'm turning serious here for a moment) Mauer's time behind has robbed him somewhat of his vast atheticism. But he has more than enough to be a very good defensive 1B. And while I don't say the positions are the same, digging out ground balls, moving around the bag, and chasing pop-ups is very similar. The only thing Mauer has to do is be healthy. Playing first should do a lot to promote that, and prolong his career. Provided he can shake the concussions symptoms like his friend Morneau! Before his oblique injury, it looked like Mauer was begining to play like the Mauer of old. This simply might end up being another lost season for Mauer. (Rookie year injury and 2011) I just want him to finish 2014 healthy, getting his stroke back, and getting ready for 2015. If over the concussion issues, he should be a fine 1B who is back to hitting .300+ with and OB around .400. Back to 40 doubles and anywhere from 12-18 HR's while playing 150 games at 1B with a few games at DH. I know 12-18 HR's seems like a wide spread, and I don't know if he'll ever hit 20 singers again, but does he need to? If Mauer can just be Mauer again, I'd take double digit HR totals. And his overall production in 150 games would be very, very solid.

A nice pickup to be sure. I don't care what team you are talking about, if you can aquire what is, or recently was, a top 10 listed prospect for an aging and decling player who is out of contract and doesn't fit in with your next season, you've done really well. Living in Omaha, I hear quite a bit about the Royals. They've actually had several pitching prospects, well regarded and rated, who have struggled to fulfill their potential. Who knows how this will turn out, but a great return. And a change of scenery could do wonders for him.

We all have to be careful here and temper our enthusiasm and expectations. Otherwise, we're all going to end up bald, with no finger nails, and the TD server will eventually meltdown from repeated posts demanding to know why 20yo Lewis Thorpe isn't already promoted to the bigs in a couple years. Until November 23rd, almost 2 full months after the ML regular season ends, almost 3 since the milb regular season ends, he will turn 19. Let that sink in. He's pitching in the Midwest League as a SP at 18 years old. Let me type that again, he's only 18 years old! And assuming the well reported speed gun at the Kernels park truly is slow by 2mph, not doubting-just saying, he's throwing up fastballs at 91-94 at 18 to guys usually 3-5 years older than him, along with other good to nasty offerings, striking out more than a batter an inning, and showing continuous game by game improvement. Oh yeah, he was in the GCL last year. It's hard to say where he would have been drafted were he in an American high school, which is where he would have been last year. Perhaps as high as the first round if well scouted and at a decent HS wherever. Regardless, he should be a rookie for someone right now in a rookie league. This kid is a super talent! Regardless of how well he finishes this season, age alone should bring him back to the Midwest League next season to begin. We'll see from there. But unless he falls under the same injury curse that has befallen other top talent this year, you'd think he'd get at least part of next season at Ft Meyers. New Britain at age 20??? Okokokok, I'm already doing what I said not to do and get ahead of myself.

I am also not concerned about 1 start from May. Even the best pitchers have clunkers. And top prospects also throw clunkers their first time out. Some toss a great first game, or two, then come video and scouting reports, and they may stink next time out, or so. One game, one start, nobody should have any great angst over it. I am also a Plouffe supporter, and have been a Plouffe hopeful, for some time now. Baseball 1st round picks are the hardest to define and predict of all sports for way too many reasons to even bother to get in to. Overall, I am not disappointed with Plouffe. He's worked very hard to improve himself and his game with obvious results. He's still relatively young, and still has around 1600 AB's is all. Slow but real development is taking place. There are a lot of quality ML players who mature later and have nice solid productive careers without being true stars. My disappointment, if any, is that I believe he has some true HR power available I don't think is out of reach. I like the doubles and other numbers to be sure. But I do think there's more power to be seen yet.

C=Suzuki, Pinto 1B=Mauer, Vargas 2B=Dozier SS=Escobar/Santana, Nunez 3B=Plouffe LF=FA (unlikely but possible trade), Parmelee CF=Santana/FA (Hicks a possible) RF=Arcia Herrmann, Beresford, Hicks in the wings, along with Rosario possibly. Sano and Buxton a little further down the line. SP=Hughes, Gibson, Nolasco, Milone...May, Meyer, Pelfrey. Uncertain on #5 at this point. Whoever isn't is in the wings. Deduno and Pino could both be AAA filler/fill-in. Gilmartin and Berrios further down the line. PEN=Perkins, FA (strong hunch in my mind), Fien, Pressly-Tonkin, Swarzak, Thielbar, Duensing. Achter, Pressly-Tonkin, Darnell, Ibarr amongst others in a line. I see the Twins making one quality pen FA signing to keep the unit strong, and to not overly depend on too many youngsters at once. I believe Swarzak and Duensing are both back, at least initially, as fairly inexpensive veterans. There is competitive depth here however.

Sorry for the disjointed last post. I usually post on IPad these days, and for whatever reason, despite paragraph breaks, most of my posts end up showing no breaks and end up as long running paragraphs. I don't know what the issue is.