DocBauer

HUGE potential logjam in the OF corners, DH and 1B as Kwak reminds us. Someone pleased emind me again, when is Mauer's contract up? Isn't 2017 his last year? I have always been a Mauer fan and supporter. I'm puzzled, frustrated and happy for his 2015 campaign thus far. He's not hitting like he should be, like I expected him to, but he's been CLUTCH and playing a very nice 1B. But while I think he has life left, can play, and might even surprise us yet again this season, and the next couple, I have to believe when his contract is up.....so is his career. At least as a Twin. (Unless he suddenly moves behind the plate again late in his career-doubtful) Walker, Harrison and Kepler may get cups of coffee, but more than likely, each is a year away. Meaning they are ready, or ready sometimes during Mauer's last season. The timing may not be all that bad. Of courses,if I'm mistaken about '17, then we are in much more of a jam than Im thinking.

I can easily see Kepler as our future 1B and part time corner OF. He'd be a much better than average athlete for a 1B which would be outstanding in regard to being on the bases and such.

There is a perfectly good reason..sorta...why the Twins don't have a full time DH. What, you thought it was complicated and Molitor didn't want one? Silly you. The truth is, right now, the Twins don't have one. Period. So for now, Molitor is putting together a lineup that makes the most sense daily. And for the most part, it's working quite well. Now, I've been vocal and critical about sending Vargas down just when it looked like he was coming around. And we could go round and round together and against management if it was a smart move to send him down when it appeared he was starting to hit. But, he has been raking at AAA, a level he's NEVER played at, BTW, and will hopefully get the entirety of his game legs under him before being re-promoted again. Also, in the near future, you have to figure Arcia will be healthy enough again to rehab and hopefully be brought back up. In the meantime, Molitor is putting out the best daily lineup he can. That means balancing offense and defense. And that means, once in a while, for now, you have a utility INF batting .370-ish, or others, playing the DH role on any given day. Now, when Arcia, Vargas or Pinto, etc al, can hit .250 w/power or above, then we are talking my friend! In the meantime, that is where we are at. Hey....you may not like the answer, but there it is.

What Brock just said. Free Oliveros! Or at least, give him a much deserved shot! Hes never pitched poorly at the ML level. Ofcourse he's gotten few opportunities either. Other than getting hurt, and then rehabbing back as strong as ever, what's he ever done negatively?

I'd be in full favor of Jay were he available at 6. As previously stated, I believe this is the perfect time for the Twins to pick the ONE pitcher, preferably LH, that has the highest upside in the draft and take their shot. We dont have a second round pick to "back up" our first rounder. And I'm ok with that. But we are probably done with top 10 picks for a while too. Jay, Alien, whoever...just take that pitcher with the biggest payoff and trust your scouts and coaches. I just hope that one guy van also be LH.

You know, the problem isn't making a mistake in a signing. The problem isn't trying to ascertain fully if you've made a mistake by taking another look. The problem is a guy pitching awful in spring, awful at the begining of the season, getting hurt, and then getting brought back up after only a couple of appearances as though he were an all star closer the team felt it needed to rush back. Absolutely, positively no reason for Stauffer to be back at this point. He should be rehabbing and proving he deserves his next opportunity.

Not to sound unfair but, why is Stauffer here? He's been awful since ST and the start of the season, and comes up almost immediately after a couple milb innings? I honestly thought he should have to work and prove his way back. However....the team does appear to have one too many relievers right now. As a result, I would suppose Stauffer will get more rope, and Tonkin or Pressly will go down now. And the other in a week or so for a position player. I'm not so sure a couple guys shouldn't go down and bring Oliveros up. But that's a question and 40 man discussion for a different day.

Not saying yes or no, but I assume you are talking about a continuous 6 day rotation vs each pitcher missing a turn every 5th week?

OK, guess I have to toss in some opinions as well. 1: I am not big on the BIG trade idea mid season, Hammels or whoever. I would consider it should it be a top young pitcher under 30 that we can reasonably expect to keep for a few years. But those are also the hardest players to come by. I also like the idea of taking complete stock of the organization at the end of the season, when we have a full 2015 season of action and numbers for comparison sake to help make the most educated and complete decisions possible. EX= Sano continues to get better and better, moves up, finds nice success at Rochester and seems ready. Do you keep Plouffe and move him to a different spot, or move him around? Or do you trade him/include him in a nice/big deal? 2: No, the Twins can't keep ALL of their prospects, they will not all turn out, and even if they did you wouldn't have room for them all anyway. But it's not a situation where you are forced to trade them, but rather, you have the opportunity to do so and improve. But this also plays back to point #1 to a degree. 3: Other than a top flight SP to join Hughes, Gibson, May and Berrios soon...(there are other possibles as well to be sure)...where would you improve the team? No, seriously. Not going to do better than Plouffe and Sano at 3B. Santana, Escobar and Polanco at SS. Unless you make a BIG move there, you just aren't helping yourself enough, or long enough. Replace Dozier? Mauer? Hicks is growing up before our eyes and Buxton is the future. Corner OF? Maybe there. Hunter is playing great and has meant a lot to this team, but he's almost certainly done after this year. Rosario might be here to stay...but maybe not yet. Arcia is still rough. Kepler is exploding but not ready yet. Ditto Walker. So maybe. DH? Maybe...but see the OF equation and toss in Vargas and Pinto. LHRP is what I'd shoot for. As mentioned, there is so much overall depth of talent, so many solid guys who aren't a top 10, that I'd be looking for a reliable LH for the pen. I'd be willing to up the ante while still trying my best to stay out iv my top 10 for a young catcher that I like. Someone needing some pitching help, for instance, and willing to move a quality milb prospect or young ML catcher because they have someone else ready. No names, just examples of what would be at the top of my list. 4: Barring injury or bad regression, solely or part of a package, (which would naturally include Duensing), the Twins pretty much gave to trade a SP at some point. Santana isn't going anywhere. Hughes and Gibson aren't going anywhere. Mays probably isn't going anywhere, and shouldn't. He's talented, improving, and part of the now AND the future. That leaves Nolasco and Pelfrey. I don't buy Nolasco being worthless. He has a solid career history. He's played for some bad teams. When on a solid to good team, his numbers are even better. DUH! But it's worth noting. Healthy and continuing to pitch well again, someone somewhere is going to be willing to have him solidify their rotation for 2 1/2 years. Yes, maybe even the Dodgers.

Never had anything against Pelfrey personally. Always heard he was a good guy and teammate. And I respect the hell out of guys who want to play and genuinely want to earn their paycheck. But the entire mantra of "but when healthy...and look what he did during this stretch..." was simply turning in to "look at the history and track record." I was...oh, not excited, but curious...as to what he could maybe do out of the pen for us. Slow delivery, high hard and straight might work for an inning or two. That is simply not what we are seeing out of him. If I didn't know better, I'd swear there was an invasion of the body snatchers going on. That first pitch on the top of the page is what an 88 MPH knuckle ball would look like if you could throw such a thing. I don't recall names, but I am reminded of 20 years or so ago when Pitching coach Roger Craig had great success teaching the split finger and changing some careers. I don't know if this is Allen tweaking Pelfrey's delivery, approach or head, or if Pelfrey is just growing in experience, (learning hard lessons to be sure) and now fully healthy and feeling great he's tossing hard and care-free. I sure am enjoying it though. I'm almost excited when I see his name listed as the starting pitcher.

Lookouts need to play a triple-header

Pfft! Everyone knows the Twins ACE is Nolasco.

First off, having an actual ACE is awesome because for THAT start on the season, you generally increase your odds of winning. That is especially nice if the team is struggling or he starts the first game of a series. But in the playoffs, said ACE is matched up against the other team's best starter. If you lose, then what? Why I like thedepth of #2 starters. Secondly, after a slow start last season, Hughes pitched about as close to ACE-dom as you can get. He was a certified #1 starter to be sure. And thus far, he seems to be repeating himself. Third, Gibson will probably never be dominate in the power and K way we think of to be an ACE. But I believe he has the stuff, plane, build, wherewithal, etc to truly control a game, which is another version of dominance. Hes already shown the ability to do so. Its just been about experience and greater consistency.

This occurred to me recently as an idea/possibility.....just for fun. Sometime in the VERY near future, whether it be September of this year, or April, May, June, etc of 2016, Buxton will be in CF and Sano will be handling the hot corner. And despite the ability, potential and huge presence of these top 5 overall exceptional talents, Polanco may actually be the most easily and early ML ready positional talent in the system. (And at arguably a more difficult position) This clearly represents improvement of talent on the parent club, but also signals changes to be made in the roster. Forgoing unpredictable injury issues or any trades, I find myself wondering about possibilities. Plouffe is not Cuddyer, and doesn't have to be, to be a quality OF convert. But like former #1 pick and SS prospect, I am in the camp that believes former #1 pick and top SS prospect Plouffe, (who is a better 3B than Cuddyer was) has the athletic ability, baseball acumen, and requisite arm to be at least an OK RF. Hicks seems to be finally growing up as a baseball player, (observation, not a personal shot) but isn't the talent Buxton is, may or may not yet prove to be productive enough to be a starting ML corner OF, but could be a great fit as a now mature 4th OF. While a fan of Arcia, there have been injury issues and inconsistency surrounding tremendous talent and flashes of great ability. Is the question time and experience? Or maturity? We don't know yet. Kepler, Walker, Harrison aren't quite there yet, though Rosario could be close. (And he and Arcia could blow the idea of this article out of the water.) So we have, somewhat easily, 2/3 of a nice, solid, quality and productive OF. So who plays LF? Santana. He moves from SS to make room for Polanco, though he could still see action there as he did in '14, though it may not be necessary with Escobar still around. Santana played a credible CF in '14. Not great, but credible. Especially considering the situation handed him. Plus, he has spent the majority of his baseball career on the left side of the field. It wouldn't be that big of a stretch, would it, to expect him to play a solid LF? He would certainly have the range and arm for it and the OF. And we've seen his offensive potential. Perhaps it could be better realized in LF where he might be a dangerous entity at the top of the order best case scenario, and a dangerous bottom of the order entity, turning the lineup over again, worst case scenario. Again, this is just for fun. Although......

Forget the depth of the Twins OF situation in regard to the draft...in general terms. And forget any of the several talented OF's in A ball or lower specifically. Just at the ML, AAA and AA levels we have Arcia, Hicks, Rosario, Ortiz, Walker, Buxton, Harrison and Kepler. That's 8 guys not including any trades or FA signings to build the OF with. (Or positions switches) Even if you dismiss Ortiz as any sort of top prospect, a solid 4th OF type, that leaves 7 legitimately talented prospects to work with. I believe in taking the most talented player available. Guys wash out. Guys get traded. A HS OF could take 5 years to be ML ready, even if he's very talented, and things could change for a variety of reasons by the time that 5 year mark comes up. But in a draft that is this convoluted and ambiguous, and then/now considering the organizational OF depth, I just wouldn't take an OF unless I was just totally certain he was not only the best player available, but the BPA by a large margin. There is no Mauer-type prospect at C this year, or close, unfortunately. For while I feel the Twins have some interesting catching prospects in the system, it's probably the one spot, organizationally, where we don't have that top prospect we can really feel good about or seemingly count on. With the organization flush with upwardly mobile talent, the parent club not untalented and seemingly turning a corner, perhaps a year early in some's opinion, the Twins should NOT be in the top 5 again in regard to the draft, or even the top 10, for some time again. So while best overall talent selection theory exists, I feel the team should be taking a shot this year on best overall "projectable" talent. In other words there may be someone, maybe a pitcher, maybe a position player, that reports say is an after 10 pick...but...has projectability that carries some risk of failure...but has legit top of the line potential. This is a year where the Twins shouldn't make the safe talent pick, but the talent pick with the highest potential reward.

I know we are WAY PAST April Fools Day, but this is a joke, right? Vargas shouldn't have been sent down, but at least is embracing the opportunity to kick butt and come back up hacking. Should be soon. Arcia will be back soon, but might not be handed anything at this point. Still, he's super talented and needs to play. We already don't appear to have room for Pinto on the roster. But we would actually consider offering up even a marginal prospect for an over the hill hitter with next to nothing left because of a recent hot streak? Because said over the hill veteran is going to do what exactly for us? Block a young talent but somehow give us a couple more wins cranked out of his creaky old self? How many languages can be quoted using variations of the word NO?!

What's the old expression? "There are lies, damned lies, and there are statistics." For the sake of this umpteenth discussion, we could easily change that to; "there are statistics, damned statistics and lies." I don't have a problem with measurement, statistics or any sort of comparison. But I find it odd just how many different stats, measurables and comps have been created for baseball. My goodness, if you just put in the research, you could come up with a hitting statistic for Mauer, on weekdays, not raining, facing RH's with runners on base, less than 2 outs, against pitchers with at least 2 vowels in their last name. Hell, there probably is already! "You know, Mauer was clutch on Tuesdays and Thursday's against all the Smith's and Johnson's of the world, but don't EVER let him face a pitcher on Wednesday or Friday who has 3 vowels in his name. He's .25 below league average with runners on and no outs and the sun shining with the temperature above 55 with those guys on the hill." I mean, it gets ridiculous. If you think a stat is relevant, great. RBI is a great example. Overblown? Irrelevant? Tell that to the manager and the team trying to score more than the other guys. Someone hits lead off and #2 in a lineup. Why? To get on base and help set up RBI opportunities for the next guys to bat. Why does Plouffe hit #4 for the Twins? Because he's good at collecting RBI there. And he's better at it than other guys who DON'T hit there. If they were better, then they'd hit there instead of Plouffe. Are there multiple factors that can influence RBI opportunity and thus also RBI production? Absolutely. But to arbitrarily dismiss a statistic because it isn't perfect or old school is kind of ridiculous. We're never all going to agree on this stuff, but minds need to be open both ways.

I had picked Kepler to be my pick to click last year. Looks like I was a year early. But considering his youth, who cares missing the target by a year. Always been a believer and been expecting something to click. Scouting reports have always intrigued, along with reports of attitude and work ethic. I remember my father seeing him at ST year before last, and just talking about how smooth and athletic he looked in his movements. I seriously doubt his future is in CF. Despite depth of OF talent in the system starting to come to fruition, he could find himself owning one of the corner OF spots. But I keep seeing him as the Twins next 1B while backing up in the OF. Darin Erstad anyone?

I don't know who will end up doing what, ultimately. But then again, neither does anyone else. But I am going to deliberately take the other side of the fence on this one. Turner was voted the top defensive college catcher in the country. All evidence and scouting reports indicate this was well warranted. At the end of the day, defense and game calling are still the primary job responsibilities of a catcher. (Bob Boone anyone?) But Turner has shown some hit ability, some development possibilities, and some power potential. He started very slow in'14 before finishing the last 3/4 of his season actually hitting well. Suddenly his slow start this year has him as a bum? Garver was the runner up to Turner for the Johnny Bench award. His play last season, and various scouting reports, have him as no defensive slouch, and in college and the pros he's been a better hitter. Hell of a year last year. Again, a slow start early this season and suddenly he's lousy? Swim was a JB nominee, but to be honest, I don't know much about his defensive prowess as his short time with the organization has lead to comments about his hitting and OF play last season. I'd like to know more. Seems he has little power at this point, but he appears to have a major hit tool. Combine that with defense and any kind of pop that develops at all and WOW. Kind of hard to comment don teenage catchers at the rookie and low A level...so I wont. Except to say reports are there is some talent there to work with and mold. And unless you have a Mauer, you are probably talking a couple-few years to even know what you might have. So I'm not so sure the cupboard is bare at all. Talk to me at the end of the season, and not knocking on the door at the 1/4 point.

Let me be clear, I've seen very little of Sano at 3B. I'm sure there are many posters here who have seen him at least enough to form a fair and educated opinion. Most of what I know comes from what I read, near, and a few innings played here and there. But from all of that, here is what I know, or think I know: He can play 3B. His biggest problem is simply slowing things down and finding consistency. He's a good enough athlete and has a very big arm to handle the job. He will NOT play as good of a 3B, when he comes up, as Plouffe does now. But then again, Plouder didn't play this good of a 3B when he came up either. Neither did Koskie. Neither did Gaettit. Neither did half the quality 3B I've seen in my lifetime. I'm sorry, but you want a gold glove rookie 3B, look for a team with a bad hitting former SS at the hot corner. It takes time. Moving Sano off 3B now, due to some preconceived notion he can't play the spot, or will somehow rise quicker to HOF status by being an OF or 1B is misguided and short sided. His offense will play anywhere. It plays even better, with even greater impact, when he sticks at third. Plouffe is a very nice and under appreciated player despite some of the limited buzz around him the past few months. He could be of great value to a team, including the Twins. If Kepler doesn't become the next Twins 1B, Plouffe could. If the OF Doesnt become too crowded too quickly, I am a believer he is a good enough athlete, with a strong arm, that he could be an OK OF. While I don't know if "super sub" is realistic, he could, in fact, possibly play almost every day at a corner INF or OF spot or DH. He's valuable to the Twins now, and in the near future, at least, whether as a player or a trade option. But I think the entire "move Sano because he's a big frame guy with some errors and we're afraid he can't play 3B as well as we'd like as a rookie and we want to catapult him to ML stardom as quickly as we can so a position move should make that happen" mentality has got to be put in check.

Count me impressed by what Milone has done since his demotion. It's way too easy to simply say an experienced ML pitcher should dominate like that. Rehab starts or not, we've seen it doesn't just happen like that. He's working hard to prove a point and I comend him greatly for that! However, today, right now, I say don't promote him. Sucks for him, but I just don't think he's a reliever. And despite his Rochester success, there is just no justifiable reason to promote him at this time over any of the other Twins starters. Hughes is Hughes, quality, and like last year, starting a bit slow but seems to be rounding and gaining momentum. Talent and contract, you aren't messing around with him. Gibson is young, talented, has a bright future, is doing well despite also rounding, and no way he comes out. Nor should he. May? No way! The kid was ONE pitch away the other day from a 1run 7 IP performance. It was still a high quality start, the Twins still won, he pitched well, has outstanding ability and potential, seems to keep working and improving, and you shoot yourself in the foot with a shotgun if you pull him for any reason other than a bad, bad slump. The past couple of games, Nolasco hasn't made it through the 6th, but he's SO a ton without BB, won, flashed, and is owed money and time contractually. He's also owed patience due to injury. His OK career is that, solid and OK, not bad, and he shouldn't be dismissed. I still maintain the best case scenario is for a healthy Nolasco to produce and be traded at some point. That leaves Pelfrey. His career biography would state things like; injured, inconsistent, poor peripherals, disappointing. But he's healthy NOW and pitching well NOW. Is he really fully healthy, strong and developing? Or is he on a "flash" cycle? Odds and history say the latter. But who knows. And if you're riding a nag who is outperforming thoroughbreds, you don't put the horse down or send it to the glue factory just because it's a nag. You ride it as far as you can. I still believe Pelfrey will falter, is a better fit in the pen, can re-invent himself in the pen potentially, and carve out a nice niche worth real $. But for now, I don't know why you'd pull him for Milone. Besides, we're going to be overcrowded when July rolls around and Santana shows up. And that isn't even counting Meyer getting on track, Berrios continuing to heat up, or any other of the solid upper milb pitchers looking like they deserve a shot.

I am not comparing Rosario to Buxton or Sano directly...they are special and on a different level...but like them he shows/flashes the talent/ability to perform and succeed that seems to transcend current numbers. In other words, his abbreviated and rather disappointing 2013, along with sparks he showed in the AFL and in ST didn't speak of dominance or readiness, butter when you watch him, you can just see potential oozing, you can see how close he is to the light begining to brighten if not snap on completely. I admit to being surprised when he was called up. Not to say there were a lot of options other than him, but there were options, including Pinto with Herrmann seeing time in the OF. The fact that he is still up is a testament to his defense and hard work, but also Molitor's obvious belief in him. It's almost as if he just wants him to succeed so badly he's going to stick with him as long as he can.

Dum da dum dum DUMB! I mean SERIOUSLY? WTH? You send down a young talent who is actually hitting and performing after a slow start? So we demote and punish a player for improving? Of course 3 utility infielders is ner too many.

Great point, but I'm kind of thinking the opposite. With no more top 10 picks in the near future, presumably, and such a deep and talented milb system, and such a mix of available draft talent WITHOUT consensus, it might be the perfect time to roll the dice. Even more than the NFL draft, I believe in drafting the best player available and not reaching for need. The hardest thing to find in all of baseball, I believe, is a top of the line SP, ace or not. A top of the line, front line, ace or not, LHSP is doubly difficult to find. There are a couple guys out there that may fit that bill. If the Twins believe one of those guys has that kind of potential, I'm not so sure we shouldn't roll the dice.

Bingo! Kind of nailed it here. Liked the Morales signing even though it didn't work out. With a youth movement afoot, and the potential of Vargas, I don't think I'd take him back if I could. Hindsight is 20/20, and this is NOT some shot towards Mauer, but considering what he has done since leaving, and all the time and patience the Twins invested post concussion, how much different might things look like in the lineup if the Twins had given Morneau that ONE MORE SHOT?