tobi0040

Milone plays a role. I don't fault them for trading for the guy. I would favor a Meyer debut in the pen versus no debut at all. I am guessing one of the five guys gets hurt or needs to go down.

Another month is 5-6 starts. Seems like that is better than not. I just don't get the why. Why does it make sense for those starts to go go anyone but those two? So for me it is not one decision in a vacuum. It is a thought process.

I don't think the Twins have focused enough on rebuilding. Lot of talk about the three 34-35 year olds we signed.... The injuries of Sano and Buxton played a huge role. But I think May and Meyer should have been up here 2 months prior. We wasted innings on Pelfrey, Pino, Johnson, and Darnell IMO. I would have liked to see Pinto actually get a shot at catching up here and Santana a shot at SS. Playing them at CF and DH does not make sense for the 2015 or 2016 team. As we look to next year, I really hope we avoid re-tread signings and we really need to get Pelfrey a gold watch and send him on his way. Hopefully, barring injury, Sano and Buxton don't have to wait as much and Meyer and May did. I don't have the patience. It all starts with a vision. Without it, we are all over the board with our decisions. Is the goal a 78 win team in 2015, or a 90 win team in 2016? You get to both of those with different decisions. I hope we choose the 90 win team with a slightly longer outlook.

I am not really buying into Buxtons "struggles". He has played 30 games. He was out 6-8 weeks, then came back rusty. Got hot, then got drilled on the wrist. Then was out again. .240 average, 4 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 6 SB. .718 OPS. If given 150 games he would end with 20 2B, 10 3B, 20 HR, 30 SB and most of that work was working through rust.

I really, really hope Meyer is in the rotation out of camp. No way Peflrey outperforms him in ST. We have seen too many scholarships handed out. It is these types of decisions that keep us from winning 74+ games next year as well

I could be convinced regarding Berrios. I tend to be more conservative with predictions. So the distinction between Meyer and Berrios is the track record, Meyer has 3+ years of great numberse. Berrios has one, albeit maybe better than any year Meyer has had. The fact that he has done it at such a young age is very encouraging too. I think Arcia will click too. think if he can put up OK numbers against lefties he will be hitting 4, 5, or 6 for us for a long time, we will find a place for him. He is young too. I wasn't thinking TJ was going to determine whether or not Sano could stick at 3B. He has had a ton of errors, and keeps growing. I am very high on him regardless of where he ends up. I agree with you regarding Polanco, it is just a matter of if the Twins accept less than a gold standard defensively at short. Historically I believe they would rather have a guy that can get to every ball versus a guy that will let 15 go through, but have another 45 hits. Doesn't make sense to me but it is what it is.

I still don't see how he isn't with the Twins until then. I guess part of that is I don't see him as a .250 hitter with 2 HR a year or whatever. If he comes back to any level of normalcy, it is hard to see how he isn't at .280/.360 type guy at least. He won't be replaced at that point. I also don't think he would be allowed to re-work his contract in order to take less money. It is my understanding that was not allowed in MLB.

Very interesting. I think people do expect Mauer to be something else, but you are right. He is a cheese pizza. Hopefully he does come back to his old .320, 10-12 HR, 80-100 BB type of player. That isn't a bad pizza.

The 2016 Minnesota Twins Some of the young players have emerged and a few others are close or knocking on the door, I thought it would be a good opportunity to look at the 2016 roster (and get a free pizza). Position Players - Near Locks: 1B – Joe Mauer – Joe Mauer will be under contract thru 2018 and it is really hard to see a scenario where Joe is not with the team. His contract is next to immovable, even if he was having a typical .330, 10 HR pace. He, of course is not. I have never been a huge proponent of playing a guy to play for someone else and the Twins aren’t going to do that. My person view is that the Twins view Joe's contract as part player contract, part marketing expense anyway 3B/DH Miguel Sano – Sano should break through in June of next year and be a fixture on this team. Even at the low end of his range, .250 and 30 HR, some BB’s, he will hit his way into the lineup. The best case is 3B, otherwise he could DH or play corner OF as a long shot. CF – Byron Buxton – I was arguing with my friend about the likelihood of Buxton flopping. He is in the camp of prospects fail and some truth exists to that theory. My only caveat was barring a serious injury, this kid will be the CF for the Twins. That may be as early as spring training next year, but more likely June or August/September of next year. My point was that Buxton is going to provide plus defense (both range and arm) in CF and he should be able to steal 35-40 bases even if for some reason he struggles to get on base. Given that, even if he hits .250 with 10 HR, he should provide value from that position. I know his ceiling is much, much higher than that all around. I think Carl Crawford offensively (.300, 15 HR, 60 SB) with much better defense. C – Kurt Suzuki, I felt I had to put Kurt on here because he is still under contract. Whether he is starting or splitting we will find out 2B – Brian Dozier – With talent coming up at the position, the Twins could trade him and he would provide a ton of value. I would just rather have a 20-20 type 2B that plays good defense at a reasonable price on our team Position Players – In the mix Arcia – He is young and has potential with his bat. The issues thus far are left handed pitching and where he will play. He could DH obviously, but he may run into competition there. His odds are better if his defense in the OF improves. Rosario – Rosario has hit too well to not be in the mix. But the issue for him is position. My understanding is the Twins appreciate that he tried to become a 2B, but it didn’t really work out. He is in the mix for a corner OF spot, but will need to hit enough to justify the position. Hicks – Hicks is in a similar position as Rosario. He isn’t going to play CF and he may struggle to hit enough for a corner OF spot. He looks like he could get on base a ton if he could only hit about .260. I think Rosario and Hicks are in competition for one corner OF spot. We likely can’t have two softer hitting/good defensive players in the corners. Both should be able to stick as a 4th OF. Vargas – He is in the mix and having a great year. I just can’t put him as a lock given he may find a crowd at the DH spot and he may be the least flexible defensively. Prior to this year, he didn’t look like he was going to hit enough for the DH role Plouffe – In some ways, Plouffe’s future is dependent on whether or not Sano can stick at 3B. I think the Twins will have a tough time finding a better 3B if Sano can’t stick. If Sano does stick at 3B, I think Plouffe would be a great bench guy as he can play multiple positions and hit lefties very well. It would just be a matter of whether or not he would provide more value via trade Santana – He has hit well, but it is hard to see him sticking in the outfield on this team and it is hard to know how the Twins feel about him at short stop Polanco – I also don’t know how the Twins feel about him at SS. His best path would be if Dozier gets traded. Unlikely Pinto – I just don’t think the Twins will ever give this kid a chance at catcher and I don’t think he will hit enough for DH Gordon – I don’t believe he will be quite ready in 2016 Starting Pitchers – Near Locks Hughes – I really loved the signing and I think even if this year is on the high end, he will be a valuable member of this rotation Gibson – Kyle has taken a step forward this year. It would be nice to see some more K’s and I think those will come in time given his minor league numbers Meyer – Barring injury, this kid is going to be special Nolasco – Still under contract and hopefully he rebounds. I don’t think we would be able to move that contract if he doesn’t and I doubt we will have five pitchers that are better. Especially if you think at least one of the “locks” is hurt. Starters – In the mix Berrios – I did not put him in the lock category. I wanted to, but I just hope this year was not an aberration May – I am higher on May than most people are, but his numbers the previous two years were not great at AA. He has the stuff, control maybe an issue but I think he will likely figure it out. If he fails as a starter, I think he could excel as a reliever a la Perkins. My guess is he would throw upper 90’s and he has a good breaking ball Milone – He has a good track record and career ERA across three seasons. So he has to be in the mix regardless of how fast he throws Unlikely Kohl Stewart – I don’t think Kohl will be quite ready, although I am high on him Thorpe – Probably a tad early, he may break through in 2016 Relievers Perkins – Still under contract, hopefully still healthy and getting batters out Burdi – I think this kid is going to be special. Granted he was probably in the wrong league and he was recently promoted, but he had 25 k’s in 12 IP at Cedar Rapids Relievers – In the mix Frankly, too many to name and they could come from our minors, failed starters, or free agency. It is hard to speculate 2 years out. Tonkin, Guerra, and Achter should for sure be in the mix though When putting this list together, one thing that I find interesting is payroll. The only players at this point that will not be in their rookie deals are Mauer ($23M), Dozier (say $6M), Perkins ($5.5M), Suzuki ($6M), Nolasco ($11M) and Hughes ($8M). So you have $59M plus a bunch of rookies. Pretty interesting and room to supplement through free agency and lock up players early.

These are really bizarre transactions. If anyone has a minute, Kyle Kendrick was pranked a few years ago. The Phillies, with the help of the coach and GM told him he was being traded to Japan for a relief pitcher. It was a good one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nKKqPOiJxI

It was one start. If you look at last year, May's ERA was 4.87 and he had two terrible starts, both 8 ER each driven in part by a ton of walks. His ERA dipped in the 4.10 range sans those two starts. This year, May has not had one of those until yesterday. Really has no bearing on his career and I am glad that the Twins proceeded with a Kevin C. trade given the bad starts by May and Meyer. Maybe they both need to wet the bed once, but our future is riding on them so don't flinch.

I agree, Kevin was what we could have hoped for. It is just that we needed better and he is what we signed. Not his fault.

I don't think the guy is a bully. But he rarely ever says boo about veterans, but seems to make comments about young players that would be better kept in house. I remember one comment about Mike Pelfrey for example basically right before he was demoted. The guy has been terrible for two years. I can't remember the younger player a few years ago that was playing hurt and did not disclose the injury. Gardy laid into them. Well that is exactly what Nolasco did this year...any comments? Nope.

Last 15 starts: Meyer 76.2 IP, 2.47 ERA, 86 K's. 6.6 H per 9. 4.5 BB per 9. 10.2 K per 9. May 86 IP, 2.72 ERA, 79 K's, 7 H per 9, 3.66 BB per 9. 8.27 K per 9. One metric favors May, by a total fo 7 BB's (in more innings). ERA, K's, and hits favor Meyer. All in WHIP is basically a wash, May 1.18 versus Meyer 1.23. So I don't buy they decided in Meyer and switched to May based on performance. Just like the Pino arguments that were made....it is silly to look at one year and throw out their entire MILB numbers: Meyer 2.96 ERA, 7.1 H per 9, 10.3 K per 9, 3.7 BB per 9 Pino 3.77 ERA, 8.6 H per 9, 8.1 K per 9, 2.2 BB per 9 May 3.92 ERA, 7.7 H per 9, 4.4 BB per 9, 10.5 K per 9

Here are Meyers numbers in his last 15 starts: 76.2 IP, 2.47 ERA, 86 K's. 6.6 H per 9. 4.5 BB per 9. When will this madness stop about he hasn't pitched well enough or pitched his way out of contention? Pitch counts? If the Twins have access to a calculator they could have figured out how many pitches he would have thrown by 8/1. If the Twins had an agreement that he was coming up 8/1, he would be up.

Just a refresher on his stuff. I found a FB in the 93-94 range with heavy sink. A hammer curve and a straight change. From MLB: Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60 | Curve: 50 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 45 | Overall: 50 The Twins loved May's arm strength when they got him from the Phillies in the Ben Revere deal. They're hopeful a strong Arizona Fall League showing can help him reach a ceiling that has previously been elusive. May has always been more of a thrower than a pitcher, but the raw stuff is still there. He has an above-average fastball, and while he can't command his breaking stuff, he does get swings and misses on it when ahead in the count. May's changeup looked better than it ever has in Arizona. Add in improved mound presence, and the AFL version of May looked like the starter everyone has envisioned. The Twins don't have a ton of starting pitching in the upper levels, so they're going to try to hold onto May for as long as they can, knowing he has the power arsenal to succeed in the bullpen if necessary.

BTW, where is Spirit of Vodka Dave? He has been talking for 6 weeks that it was a done deal, with inside source that Meyer would be up as soon as the calender turned to 8/1. Saturday will be Meyer's 2nd start in August at AAA.

I prefer Molitor as well. He was a HOF player and he didn't get there based on physical tools. He doesn't exactly look like Barry Bonds did. Student of the game, hard worker, very smart base runner, good fielder,e tc.

Are you telling me Gardy treats young players and vets the same way? Remmber Danny Valencia? According to Gardenhire, entire seasons were his fault, every night in the press. He was constantly making comments about Aaron Hicks, who admitedly had confidence issues. Has Gardy every criticized Joe Mauer for anything? Gardy has not pulled anyone for failing to run out a grounder because it would be Mauer. I could run backwards faster than Mauer when he hits the ball to 2B.

I think Carl Crawford in his hay day when I think of Buxton. .280-.300, 15 HR, 60 SB, 10-15 triples. The difference is defense, Buxton plays a more important position and has a much, much, much better arm.

"This is not an attempt to open up old wounds from the past or berate the organization for a decision that probably still haunts them to this day, but the comparison is uncanny" Love it and I agree. This one has been talked about at length.

Gardenhire for Henry Owens!

My preference would be Ronnie is let go. His record has been terrible, most of that is not his fault. I am not a huge believer in motivational speakers inspiring guys to play better. His roster has been terrible, starting pitching has been in the 27-30 range the last 3-4 years. So you can't really expect a better outcome. Having said that, I really don't like the way Ron handles young players. He constantly plays guys, young guys even out of position (Pinto at DH, Santana at CF) and he also ridicules them in the press. For those reasons alone I don't think he is the right guy for the job given the level of talent we are going to bring up in the next 1-2 years. My preference would be Paul Molitor, but my only real request would be a better partnership between the GM and coach and they get on the same page as far as developing players. Given where the Twins are right now, the coach should be playing for next year more so than this year. Gardy does not seem to think past today. For what it is worth, I think Ron is the manager next year.

In the next 10 days, I hope both are up. So I will take either saturday if the other will be shortly after. I may be let down on the Meyer front though, he has a ton of things to straighten out first.

Yeah, but both Pinto and Morales saw some reps with the big club, so I figured they passed all the tests. Definitely tough work though and it is a good thing to have a lot of them.