DocBauer

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.

First of all, not a blatant attempt to suck up to anyone, but not only do I love TD as my favorite website, but I've shared it with non-Twins fans to simply show what is made available to us Twins fans, the pure quality of encapsulated information and community blogging, and I find extreme jealousy. I don't take the time to scout other opportunities for fans of other teams, but from what little I have seen, from said jealousy of acquaintances, and my own impressions of TD, I seriously doubt there's a site quite like this one out there. It's very hard for me to critique anything additionally for the site...but...were I to daydream a bit, I'd offer the following suggestions. (Sorry if some of them are repetitive) And sorry if I've missed anything new that I might have missed with the updates, but haven't had time to explore all the changes yet. 1) Direct links to Twins milb sites would be nice. I like to visit milb.com often, but it does prove painful at times to have to multi click and then multi backspace to check stats and the such. 2) I have to agree that bringing Gleeman over would be a natural move. 3) In regard to links, there is another Twins site that used to include links to other bloggers, including many of those here, which also included some local newspaper and columnists to the minor league affiliates. 4) Again, dreaming here now, but I really enjoy SD's perspectives on the Kernals, as well as those who visit them on opportunities. I wish there a way, in person experience, or via net interviews even, that we could have that personal connection to other teams, or, occassional articles or Q&A from coaches of milb teams. Again, kinda dreaming there. 5) I know this is far reaching hope, but it would be awesome if someone in the organization who could offer up perspectives and news about the players and teams. Moves, who's working on what, that kind of thing. Again, I'm daydreaming here and shooting for the moon. 6) On the site itself, if I offered one small critique, it would involve the front page offerings themselves. Over a slow day or two, rather than have a posted article that repeats itself in the right column, sometimes twice, I'd rather just have another post listed to make overall access a little more convenient. 7) I know we all have access to post in the forum and blog areas, but maybe a guest columnist would be fun. People outside to TD, possibly tied to the ML club or milb clubs, or even members here, to address the Twins, the past present or future of the Twins, covering baseball as a perspective, or even fan stories of their experiences or amateur "careers" as fans. Just daydreaming here.

I'd forget Berrios for 2015 at this point. Not that he isn't a stud. But with other options, he youth and somewhat limited time at AA this year, with more to come soon I hope, he's probably late 2015 at best. But we are looking at Hughes, Gibson, Nolasco, May, Meyer and Milone as 6, with a possible spot for Pelfrey, even temporary, if fully sound next year. Pino has shown just enough that I'd keep him around for Rochester, a possible pen role, and depth should anyone go down. Deduno and Johnson...hmmm...thinking Deduno might be brought back for the same reasons listed for Pino. Not sure about Johnson though. Especially with the listed depth, plus Gilmartin and Berrios on the way.

Great news! Exciting! And deserved. I just don't think you can doubt that he would have pitched the Futures Game and just stayed in Minnesota if it hadn't been for his calf injury. He needed to pitch a couple games after his DL stink to get back in the groove and get his legs under him. Shorter leash the first time out made sense. I had commented somewhere before that if his next start was an effective 90+ pitches or so, he'd probably make his next start for the Twins. When he wasn't as sharp as hoped for, I figured he'd get a third start before promotion. Guess the powers that be just wanted to see pitch count, and weren't as concerned with it being a so-so performance. I sure am glad to be wrong.

I have to agree with Jokin here. As a dreaded 3rd C option, Herrmann might also make the roster. Especially if the Twins rotation is strong enough to drop back to a 6 man bullpen. It's not that they need a 3rd catcher, but he could be a LH bat off the bench who could fill in here and there, with Pinto as a C and sometime DH. If Turner's defense is as good as advertised, and he posses decent power, even hitting from .225-.250 could make him a valuable backup. If he can hit .250+ he could be the starter. Thus far, seems Garver may have the better bat however, and if his defense is even close, probably the better option as a future starter. But yes, they're both just too far away for now to be counted on. Any opinion on Koch? I know he's down a bit this season offensively, but does anyone see him as a solid backup option?

Call me naive, or overly optimistic if you will, but I don't think the door is shut on Pinto. He has a strong arm, and despite questionable or inconsistent footwork, did a good job of throwing out runners in his milb career thus far. And there is little question that he posses a potentially quality bat overall, especially for the position. But even if he only develops in to an OK backup who brings a potent stick off the bench or at DH, that's not necessarily a bad ending. Plus, Suzuki's contract is not problematic to trade potential or even backup potential if Pinto makes a move. I do think having a quality, veteran game caller backstop, for veteran and young pitchers alike, is not a bad thing. I'm still in the Herrmann camp as a guy who could be a very useful player. I still point to his earlier success in the minors, and BA ranking him as a quality defensive player, before the Twins began to yo-yo him so much the past couple of seasons. Remembering that the most important part of being a catcher is defense, game calling, receiving, and to some degree, on field leadership, I like Turner's potential. If he can be any sort of average hitter, can tap some of his power potential, he could be anything from a top backup to a really good starter+. Garver might have an even better bat, and according to reports from SD, not to mentioning just behind Turner in college rankings defensively, he might be an even better player and potential steal. If Swim can play good defense, call a game and hit .290-.300, not sure I care if he has the power potential of Turner and Garver. And I'm still holding out some hope that Koch could be a quality backstop. From Pinto on down, there is nothing proven or guaranteed with any of these guys. But this is some of the best catching depth I can remember the Twins having since...since I suppose AJ and Mauer come to mind. Miller about the same time AJ took hold of the job. And that turned out quite well.

This! Great post Jokin. I think you might have hit it in the head. Let's be real folks, the Twins know how good Meyer can be, and that he is our top pitching prospect. Does anyone really think there is some conspiracy to keep Meyer down at AAA because...because...because...because they don't like him??? Because he really isn't as talented as first thought and they're afraid to promote him??? Sounds crazy right? You can argue until blue in the face, but for the most part, the Twins...right or wrong...have traditionally been consistent with their pitching promotions. A pitcher, position player for that matter, no matter how talented or productive, traditionally plays a half season at a level at least before being promoted to the next level. (This is a little less accurate in the low levels, especially for college players) Witness Berrios this season for example; already younger than most all players at his level, after a strong first half performance, he was promoted mid-season to a higher level where he became EVEN YOUNGER in regard to the league he had been playing in previously. There wasn't a hesitation because he had proven himself, appeared ready, and was building up his innings total after a full and healthy 2013. The Twins have always, again, right or wrong, followed a script whereby they increase a pitchers innings to a certain degree one year to the next. And like it to not, Meyer did miss time last season. If you want to accuse the Twins of being too conservative in their approach, then I guess you have an arguement I can agree with. However, as Jokin alludes to in his comments, is it really so terrible that the Twins want him to work on his change up, or whatever, a bit more, gain that little bit more consistency before coming up, to insure maximum possible success? FWIW, I advocated a 6 man rotation recently, as did Seth in his recent article. It provides a chance for the balance of the season to look at May, Meyer, and even Millone, to help prepare for next season, without taxing anyone's innings. As for Meyer getting some innings in the bullpen, it's not like anyone is talking about him becoming a reliever. It's about getting experience while maintaining his innings under control. There is a difference between a pitcher coming in from the pen to hold a lead in a pennant race, firing his best stuff, and having Meyer come in to pitch 2-3 innings and throw ALL his pitches in September.

I knew from reading the morning reports that Hicks was doing well at New Britain, but am pleasantly surprised at just how good a month he really had. Have to temper the enthusiasm though, doesn't mean he's fully turned a corner yet. I think we all get that. But it's very positive just the same! I'm also pleased to see that he will get an opportunity to play in Rochester for the next month. As someone pointed out recently, apologies for not remembering who, it's not as if Hicks was hitting against dregs at AA, but at Rochester he will face pitchers with at least a little more experience, a little more consistency, and some with ML experience. It's part of his building block, or re-building block, back to fulfillment of his potential. Now, in retrospect, I guess it's a shame they didn't make the move sooner. Demotion I mean. In theory, his June May have been his July and he might be starting his second month of AAA experience. I still believe that as part of his development/re-development, he should be recalled for September with theTwins this season to finish the season. The option is already spent, he will get to work with Twins coaches again, and it might do wonders to keep his confidence up that is being rebuilt. No promises, and he doesn't necessarily have to play every day, but he needs to come up and see some action.

My apologies if I misunderstood or mis-interpreted your use of the word "pedestrian" when I read initially. Thought you were saying his stuff was pedestrian in comparison to Meyer, not simply more pedestrian than Meyer's pure stuff. My bad.

Oh my. He's a fill in player to keep a bench spot warm for now after the Fuld trade. He costs nothing but money for the rest of the season...what's left of it. He was a top prospect at one time. I've mentioned the Twins actually signing a quality CF/4th OF candidate for next season, along with a possible milb contract Rochester option for depth. Possibly not necessary with Hicks and Rosario any longer. What if this kid actually hits, or is signed to a milb deal and does well at Rochester as a fill in player? Again, this is just a flyer and fill-in player, not a big option.

I don't feel May's stuff is pedestrian by any means. I see a big, strong bodied kid who can make 33 starts every year, throw a 100 pitches per game, rack up innings and SO's in bunches. I think it is WAY too early to pigeon hole someone in to a 1-2-3 starter hole. The word "consistency" is not ugly in any way. It refers to overall effectiveness and consistency. Walks can kill. This is a proven absolute. Further, walks, and long AB's, limit the overall effectiveness of a pitcher to log the appropriate innings to win games, help his team win games, and can result in a greater burden for the bullpen. Are the Twins too conservative with pitchers? Possibly. Not here to argue that point. But a guy who tosses his load in 4 or 5 innings, even with SO's, is not as valuable as a pitcher who can throw fewer overall pitches to accomplish 6-7 innings with the same number of SO's. It's simple, performance logic. I believe May and Meyer are close. I believe the Twins believe they are close. You may be frustrated with the Twins, but they ARE in the baseball business. They are well aware of the fact that May and Meyer...and Berrios...are their top 3 SP prospects at this point. Very few pitchers ever hit the majors and are instant #1 or #2 starters. But with the talent they possess, yes...actual ML experience, and more "consistency", talent like these two can be top of the rotation starters. I'm reminded of Gibson last year, when the Twins stated they wanted to promote him when he seemed ready, so that he would be up to stay for good. Scream conservative regarding the Twins if you will, but is that really a bad idea/philosophy? And Seth's list isn't a top 10 or 20 prospect list, or even a precursor of ML success, but best efforts/performance for a single month.

Not a direct comparison, even though a twist if fate has them playing CF, but Santana reminds me of Ben Revere but with more pop in his bat. Now, Revere was a hitting machine in the minors, but as I recall, he was brought up earlier than expected and was solid. His speed brought a very similar sort of excitement, though Santana is out performing him thus far. Who knows how long it will last, or to what level number may eventually plateau. But even if he were at that .270 or .280 level, with any kind of decent OB, he'd still be effective and exciting. I also believe, while not a power hitter, his "pop" May expand. And there is no doubting his speed and SB potential if he just learns and smooths out a few things.

I am in the Hicks camp still. He is still quite young, and still posses very good talent. Hey, when Rod Carew believes in you, you have something going for you. No question he wasn't ready for the jump or the pressure. From a few things uttered from coaches and Carew, I think things have come pretty natural for him in the past, and he's finally learning that you have to really work at a certain point to advance and reach your potential. It's only a month, but I'd have him in Rochester tomorrow, just to face arms/guys that are a little better, a little more experienced, to at least get that small stepping stone. And with no promises for next season, I'd have him back up in September. An option has already been used this season, so it doesn't affect him in that regard to close out the year with the parent club. I like Santana to continue in CF for now. For one thing, he doesn't deserve to sit, and he's our best option there. Of course, he should also still see some time at SS. We can't bank on Hicks, Rosario or Buxton for 2015. Whether to supplant Santana at CF or compliment him, I believe someone should and will be brought in. Span has been mentioned, and might be a choice option. As to Santana in particular, his future is still somewhat in doubt, SS, utility or possibly LF. Obviously, Polanco, even Escobar could have a say in this as well. I am not discounting him as a full time SS to be sure. The skill set is there. I wouldn't discount LF as a possibility. A team is made up of many different players and many options. With like the likes of Sano, Buxton, Arcia, say Vargas, Dozier and hopefully a healthy Mauer being Mauer, power and offense/power/RBI potential comes from many places. You also need, and have room for, guys who can hit and run and make things happen in different ways. LF does not have to be solely a power position. Think years ago of Mickey Hatcher playing LF for the Twins. No real speed, no great power, but some gapper and occasional HR power. He played good defense, hit well, made contact, and was a very nice #2 hitter. Santana could be a more exciting version of this.

Here we go again. I fully appreciate the various opinions expressed here at TD with the utmost respect. Even when I don't agree, I fully appreciate any counterpoints to my own. But this is one of the biggest arbitrary comments that rankles me. I have NEVER been on record as saying Anderson is the best pitching coach in baseball. In fact, I'm not even sure how any of us could quantify who is the best, or what quantifies what makes who the very best. But to just blast Anderson without question is a huge sticking point with me. The Twins, with Anderson as pitching coach, had winning records in 8 out of the first 9 seasons he teamed with Gardenhire. They made the playoffs 7 of those 8 years, losing out on a 163rd game one time. The ONE losing season the Twins had in that time frame, 2009, the Twins ranked 11th in team ERA. Every other season, they ranked no worse than 7. And in those 9 seasons, they ranked 1st or 2nd in fewest BB every season but one, 6th in 2002, his first season as pitching coach. He oversaw Santana in to a multiple CyYoung winner and candidate. He nurtured Nathan and Perkins in to All Star closers. He helped build and re-build bullpens over the years with power arms like those two and others, but also rans like Trombley, Fiore, Guerrier, Reyes, Neshak, Rauch and others. Some decent arms, some from the Twins system, some cast offs from other teams. Do yourself a favor, take a moment to look at all those winning teams rosters, look at the starting staffs, and then come back. Yeah, he had Santana and Radke some of those years, and Liriano before injury, and after before he lost his mind. But he also won with Blackburn, Slowey, Silva and Pavano, to name a few. A virtual who's who of CyYoung candidates to be sure! (Tongue firmly planted in cheek) This is not to say the Twins were devoid of talent these years. They weren't. But to blast Anderson arbitrarily for the work he's done the last few years, when the ERA and SP have been disappointing to lousy is ridiculous. Just look at what he's had to work with lately. Then look at this season where the first 3 months actually show constant improvement right up until the All Star break.