DocBauer

Berries up, and that's pretty obvious. But keep Romero at AS for half the season, I say. First taste of AA, young, plenty of time to promote him. Let him really get cranked up and going at AA for now.

Honestly, there are so many bright spots on this team right now that I'm not sure I dare to list them all. An yes, I know I tend toward the optimistic side of things, but this whole team and early season is just filled with shiny things! 1] The catching has been noticeably better, IMO, and we've seen some clutch hits numerous walks, occasional power and some RIB production. I'm still rooting for Garver, but Castro and Giminez have given us the best pairing we've had in a while. 2] While Gibson has been a huge disappointment, and I was really hoping Mejia would get off to a better start, Santana has been outstanding, Santiago solid, and Hughes hasn't been bad. The fact Hughes is ever here surprises me. He's not the same pitcher he was in 2014, but he's healthy, battling, escaping, working different pitches with a different game plan, and struck out 5 today, (Sunday), if I remember correctly. The rotation isn't in fire, don't get me wrong, but it is still better than expected, and better than last season. 3] The defense is just sooo much better, especially the left side of the infield. And it will only get better. 4] Kepler has been nice. Poland and Sano have been very as well. Buxton is suddenly performing vastly better, and the hits have begun to fall in for Rosario lately. Grossman is a solid piece and looks to be relatively real. Recently promoted Vargas has looked solid thus far. Just imagine Dozier getting hot and Meyer doing almost anything. There is room for improvement on the mound, of course, and I believe there will be changes in the rotation and pen as the season moves along. But this is a vastly better team, overall, then the one we suffered from watching and rooting for last year.

Interesting that Goodrum is listed as a 3B on his milb page but has been mostly playing SS and CF. Hes slumped a bit lately, but is still holding his own mostly and contributing. Granite and Garber both doing well! Glad to see Granite ready to play! I know we're a mostly young and still rebuilding team, but it's nice to see the AAAA guys at Rochester doing well. Makes you feel comfortable that there's a couple guys who could come up for a week or so if necessary and not embarrass themselves. Just have to believe Burdi and Melotakis are close to a Rochester promotion.

I've had him in my mind as well. Really, he's been promoted pretty quickly and seems to be doing well, all things considered. Still showing inconsistencies, which you'd expect for a young pitcher, especially hitting AAA for the first time. Seems to me he generally has good control, and while he doesn't have the velocity you might expect for such a big guy, I believe reports I've read indicate his length and delivery help hide the ball and play his FB up. I'm honestly thinking we may have to add him to the Berrios, Mejia, Gonsalves, Romero and Jorge list of young SP we have hopes for.

Couple points that I believe are important and in some cases worth repeating. 1) Both these guys are young, learning and developing. Just as they were in the minors. Nobody ever said they were promoted and plugged in gold glove ready and deserving. They are playing solid, occasionally outstanding, with some mistakes mixed in. We shouldn't expect a few growing pains while they still develop? 2) When Polanco was first signed, he was considered a defensive first player with a questionable bat. Until last season when he was inexplicably taken off AS, he did continue to play the spot on a regular basis through the minors, splitting time at other positions, like most young players. (Just like Gordon seeing time at 2B now). As to still needing work and not being 100% polished, refer again to point #1. 3) This the first time Sano has been allowed to focus on 3B at the ML level. Yes he's put in a lot of work, and that's a good thing! But he's also being allowed to play his natural position. All reports I ever read when in the minors was he was solid, with potential to be better, and that he worked hard on his defense. Talk of him moving off 3B, possibly outgrowing the position, we're generally listed as "eventually" and not immediate. And once again, a reminder, remember how good Gaetti and Koskie were at 3B? If so, then also remember how they struggled initially. Gaetti had stone hands and Koskie was stiff. A couple years later they were amongst the best overall players at their position, offensively and defensively.

I "liked" your post because I love the passion and agree with part of what you say, but not all of it, however. I also very much want to see other young talented players who may very well be part of the future get their opportunity. But I do think you may be jumping the gun a bit. Vargas still has limited opportunity. Tonkin has a shot though there are others who may displace him fairly soon. (He hasn't always been used properly). Breslow, in limited opportunity, hasn't done anything wrong yet, and Melotakis and Jay are in AA, with their seasons just getting going. In fact, the ML season is barely 3 weeks old. As frustrated as we are at times, this is already a better Twins team than last season, despite some disappointing performances. I believe changes will be forthcoming. I believe the roster will actually be in flux for much of the season. But April isn't even done yet.

This might be a yawned, but it's the right and smart move. Haley, your long man, is out for now. This allows Duffey to email in his role, and not make the mistake of casting someone like Tonkin in to a role he's not suited for. And with a 4 man rotation for the next couple of weeks, you don't need Berrios just yet. Hughes has been far better than I ever expected, and will hopefully continue to improve. But he remains a question mark, and Gibson is a HUGE question mark at this point. You need that long man and this is the right, temporary move. And as Brock pointed out in another post, the Twins just don't have the depth, at the moment at least, to just dump Gibson. Like it or not, he's going to get a couple more starts to see if he can find himself.

Right now, Gibson is the bugger disappointment for me. Like him or not, we have seen what he can be capable of. Seemingly healthy, working hard on his arm and mechanics, putting up solid performances in the spring, I really thought he was ready to get back on track. I don't know exactly what his problem is, or how to fix it, but he seems, IMO, to pitch tentatively. Does he not trust his stuff? His much improved defense? Is he just too afraid to make a mistake? I am very concerned about Buxton, of course, but less so. He is very young still. He oozes with talent and ability. We have seen this before, years ago, from Hunter. (Similar at least). And we saw it with Gomez, also young and talented and probably given up on way too soon by the Twins. SOMEONE needs to work one on one with him to find a stance, stroke, approach and relaxed mental state to let him get going. Maybe Hunter? I'm unconcerned, at this point, about his first 50AB or so, and more concerned about his next 450+. Players and pitchers have streaks, and very seldom, if ever, does everyone get hot at once. But just imagine another 2-3 wins for this improved team if Gibson and Buxton were just performing at a "solid" level at this point.

Call me an oddball I'd you will...and I would probably agree and have been called worse before...over the years I've enjoyed almost all of the Twins announcers. This includes Gordon and Gladden as well, and also the TV crew. Are they perfect? No. But after listening to other broadcast teams from other organizations, and various TV crews, I don't want stale. I enjoy stories and tidbits.

While I would very much like to see Vargas or Park in the lineup, I have to say I really like today's version

What a tremendous human interest story. Very much looking forward to the second article and watching these brothers in their milb career with the Twins.

Sooner or later, Berrios will be up. Hopefully for good. I haven't dismissed Duffey to the rotation, but I'd rather he stay in the pen and excel there. I believe we will see 3 or 4 young RP make their mark at some point this season. Seems to see the FO really knew what they were doing brining in Castro and Gimenez. But Garver is ready, or soon will be. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Gimenez traded at some point to a team needing catching help and Turner brought up. Really hoping Goodrum turns out to be what we all hoped DanSan would become. NOT damning Mauer or wishing him ill will in any regard, but he is starting very slow. He does seem to be injured at least once, if not more, ever year. Could this really be the end of the line for him? If so, could make room for both Park AND Vargas at some point, once the bullpen drops to 7.

I can't say I'd be upset to trade him around July if we could get a solid return for him. But if this team is somehow in contention, .500 record, spot at a wi,d card, etc, I think I'd be inclined to keep him. There's a whole lot we don't know yet, like how Hughes will hold up, despite surprising thus far, or how Mejia will develop, (nice last game), same with Berrios when he comes up, (hopefully for good), or just what we really have in the enigmatic Santiago, (he's been to an all star game for goodness sake, pitched well for the Angels before we got him, then finished '16 strong and is off to a nice start so far this season). What we do know is that Santana has been a nice signing, and thus farm has not fallen off the proverbial cliff, as of yet, and it could be easily argued he's not within peeking distance of seeing the edge of that cliff at the moment. Something to consider; Perkins and his $6.5M comes off the books next season. With young relievers on the way, it's very conceivable that another $6M also comes off in the form of Kintzler, Breslow and Belisle. That's $12M+ in extra payroll for a team that cut payroll from last season, and is quite a ways under the ML average. (I'm not even going to reference Mauer off the books after 2018). Gibson and Santiago are making $8M and almost $3M this season. This means if the Twins are even close to being a .500 team and contender, they could keep Santana and Hughes, factor in Berrios and Mejia as young starters to get established this season, and have possibles such as a healthy May, Gonsalves, Romero, Jorge and even Stewart, plus a maybe in Slegers available to fight for a 5th rotation spot. (Maybe toss in Haley and Duffey as "possibles"). But the team could legitimately have $20+M available for a major FA to be signed for 2018! I'm not necessarily advocating trading or not trading Santana. I'm simply talking about a talented, young and improving team that via trade and non-tender, could legitimately have room and money to make a major acquisition for their rotation in 2018 while still keeping him. I find that....interesting.

During today's broadcast, a stat was shown that Santana leads the league in ERA since, I believe, July 6th of last season. That and his overall performance last season and his start this season is very interesting to me. It tells me, #1, the Twins were smart to hold on to him. #2, it tells me the rest of the league, particularly those teams who could make a serious run but might need another SP, are either not paying attention, OR, were lowballing the Twins with offers. (Sound familiar?) It also, IMO, despite being a bit of a stretch, indicates something I've argued about for some time now in regard to prospects and roster construction in general. You just never know who will become a top, front line SO, despite "expert" evaluation. Again, I'm stretching the Santana argument a bit, but not that much really. I've seen countless, sure-fire future ACE pitchers flame out, as well as "solid" guys turn out to become front line #1 guys. And I suppose we could spend hours of posts and threads discussing such, but my point is, I always find it blindly interesting how the Twins seemingly have NO top of the rotation arms in their system, when we just simply don't know what the next 1-3 years will produce. And I realize we are talking about a solid, established, veteran pitcher vs prospects, but the comparison remains valid. Just look at the Cubs and Indians for examples. You draft, you sign, and you try to put the best coaches and instructors in place, but you still can't always predict where or when the next great pitcher will emerge in your system.

Bullpen has been very solid thus far, the loss today to the Dirty Sox not withstanding. No offense to the guys thereally jow but the pen just looks and sound so much better with Chargois there.

Great post Indiana! The milb game posts are absolutely one of my favorites. I don't get the opportunity to do or read much on the game threads, but enjoy when I do and hope to do more. The two goals I have for "someday" are to make a pub crawl or winter fest to meet some of the wonderful people here, and to reach spring training for the same.

Don't look now...(yes, actually do go look at the milb thread if you haven't already)...but young Mr. Berrios may be putting Gibson and Mejia on notice.

I also don't think his overall defense was/is as bad as he showed last season. But his bat is starting to look legitimate, sans great power, but with decent power. The plate discipline is outstanding. I really like him on this team as a role player who plays a lot. And I may be proven wrong, but I still think, overall, the team is better with a productive Vargas or Park to deepen the lineup, bench and options. (Goodrum, Granite or someone to replace DanSan adds to this). But I think Grossman is maturing in to a solid overall hitter.

Note to Gibson and Mejia; settle down...trust your stuff...attack the zone. If you don't, Mr. Berrios is about ready to take one of your spots.

Not to sound like an audition for Captain Obvious, but a good start to the season is way better than a poor start. It relieves pressure and helps build a winning mentality. And it just might help some of the youngsters in the lineup, and a couple veterans, get their proverbial legs under them.

Okokok....we're only 9 games in. I get it. But remember where this team was 9 games in last season? It was the first chapter in a season long horror show that not even Wes Craven could dream up! Now there is a whole lot of season to be played. I get that. But the 2016 "nightmare" Twins were projected to win approximately 70 something games with Sano in the OF, Plouffe at 3B, "I don't give a damn" at SS, Suzuki at catcher, a questionable rotation, a pen that was NOT re-worked, etc, etc. And at times, it looked like Freddy Kruger and his knife-blade hands was pitching, or playing defense. And if not doing either of those two things, he was inflicting various pain and injury to the roster. I maintain this is simply not the same team that began the '16 season, however, as some have vented. This OF is simply better, and Sano is "home" at 3B despite being a bit of a work in progress. The pen has been at least marginally tweaked. The swing and miss air conditioning attempts at the plate have been dialed down, and we've even seen some plate discipline thus far. This team is still "haunted" by two obvious factors: 1] The starting rotation is still...err...questionable. 2] Youth...and all the highs and lows that come with it. Defensively, the OF has shined, the catching has been excellent, and the INF, even with the huge left side question, has been solid to occassionally very good here and there. Santana has looked excellent leading the rotation thus far. Hughes has already looked far, far better than I expected. I thought he'd be on rehab or EST. What if he keeps gaining even a little velocity while getting a better feel for his new change? Smoke and mirrors or not, Santiago finished 2016 solid and has looked pretty good thus far. Gibson and Mejia are both question marks. One shows flashes, but needs consistency and needs to attack more...(can he do it?)...and the other needs to settle down after one poor start. The pen, thus far, has been quality and seemingly used better. The offense has produced surprising discipline at the plate, (yes some opposing pitchers have been wild, but come on, the wind power last season from SO totals could power a small city), we've seen situational ball played better, scored runs, and we don't even have everyone grooving yet, (especially Buxton). But we're 6-3 as of this writing and playing solid, competitive ball. We still need to get a few guys going, at the plate and on the mound. We're still a bat short, and still have a super-utility guy looking more like Shoeshine Boy than Underdog. But this roster, I believe, is still in flux, and will remain somewhat so for a good portion of the season. But we're playing quality ball, winning, and just looking like a different ballclub. I'm not expecting contention this season at all. But winning is, you know, better than losing.

I really thought he had bulked up a bit too much to play SS daily, and was turning himself in to a potential, quality super utility player. Very interesting that he is being looked at again as a possible SS, starter OR a better sub at the spot than speculated the last year or so. I am just so intrigued by him as a super utility player with nice offensive potential. Could he be a dark horse candidate for more somewhere?

Interesting to see Goodrum playing AS for Rochester. Lost count, is that 2 or 3 games he's started there? I understand it's early, but it would appear the Twins are focusing on him there at this point.

OK, it's only 5 games, but until Sano had a bad day today, error-less ball thus far with solid play and more than a couple of defensive gems from almost everyone on the roster, including Sano. Anyone surprised? What are you seeing, expecting thus far?

Actually surprised the odds aren't higher, but Vegas knows more than most of us. Suddenly feeling better about my prediction of 80+ wins. Lol Don't have the money to bet, even were I a gambling man,and would enjoy the payout if I were, and could use it, my payoff would be it actually happening. Some things are just....PRICELESS!