HansGruber

I figured if Berrios continued to pitch well, KLaw would come up with some excuse why he was so down on him earlier. I doubt law saw him at all this year and went off assumptions because Berrios didn't just learn to pitch a couple weeks ago and go from a non-prospect to top 50.

I highly doubt this is the type of deal that would make the Dodgers willing to part with Pederson, their top prospect. I think we need to set our expectations a little lower such as a Chris Reed, Matt Magill, Tim Windle type prospect.

I am not a big Plouffe fan but have always hoped Plouffe would come around. There seems to be a lack of alternatives so he will continue to play the hot corner until better options are ready (Sano). His defense has improved but his offense has sputtered since his power surge that you mentioned. Not sure he would fetch much in a trade so his future is likely that of a bench piece. Even in that role he doesn't hold much value in my opinion.

The Astro's front office certainly does not have a fan in me. They played games with players service time in order to get very friendly contract extensions, which makes it difficult to give them the benefit of the doubt here. It's been reported that their problem is his UCL is smaller than normal which doesn't necessarily mean he is more likely to be injured and he currently is not hurt. A number of third party doctors have okay'd him, which doesn't mean the teams concerns are illegitimate but it certainly makes them look bad. I question whether they should even be concerned if he needs TJ. Lucas Giolito was drafted knowing he need TJ and I would bet teams regret letting him pass. Hoffman was drafted highly despite having TJ surgery. Aiken's upside is so high that its hard to let him go over concerns that may not happen. Not to mention they could lose future picks or a couple draft picks this year, who are highly rated, assuming they rescind their offers.

Honus Wagner has to have the top spot. Despite all his faults, I would take Alex Rodriguez over Jeter. Troy Tulowitzki in my opinion is the better shortstop but he might not match Jeter in longevity. For what it's worth, Jeter is 10th in all time WAR for SS's on BRef though the list includes some players who moved off short at some point in their careers. Interestingly, the Wizard topped him so defense does matter (Jeter -10 DWAR for career), and I'd probably take him over Jeter as well.

Josh Donaldson

So the Twins had to drag it out of him that he is hurt yet they have a culture that encourages players to play hurt? Doesn't add up. Seems more like Nolasco was ignoring the issue. Perhaps he didn't think it was serious and would go away or he wanted to tough it out, either way I find it difficult to come to the conclusion that this injury not being discovered sooner is related to how the Twins do business. The funny thing is, most people want to blame the Twins for being too soft with players every time Mauer gets hurt. Guess it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't sort of thing with fans.

It is not lost on me that the title is "Buxton's Back" with a picture of Buxtons back, very clever. http://smileys.newbeginningsnetwork.com/piwigo/galleries/EXPRESSIONS_AND_GREETINGS/salute/hat-tip-smiley-emoticon.gif

Law was a bit quick to dismiss him because of his home ball park in A+ ball. The ball park doesn't create a 4.67 k/bb ratio and his splits are identical. Not to mention Berrios is only 20. Seems like a reach on Law's part, but it's just one man's opinion.

Well outside of the people who knew Sano had Tommy John surgery in March.

I am a bit skeptical about the report of the Twins not signing anyone over a million. They have a rather large bonus pool so it would be difficult to spread that over many smaller signings, though not a bad strategy, unless they plan to trade some it. I imagine if there is a player they like, they would spend what is necessary, within reason as they have always been somewhat risk averse. Also, Doogie has whiffed on the Twins in the past when he reported they weren't likely to make any major moves the day before the biggest free agent signing in team history. I am hoping this is a long the same lines as Ynoa sounds intriguing even if 16 yo pitchers are tough to project. As for the Yankees and other big market teams spending on IFA, I don't like it but it's within the rules and guessing the other owners are just fine collecting the checks on the tax overages. Not that the fans should care. Guessing it won't change until there is a draft.

Intersting comments about Berrios. I trust the management knows what it's doing, hopefully Berrios continues to dominate and forces their hand sooner than later.

Thanks for posting, interesting read. The report on Cederoth didn't offer much hope on his chances of starting. Very encouraging report on Berrios, like hearing that his change-up is advanced and that he maintains velocity. Couldn't help but think of that Moneyball scene where they are talking about the appearance of the players girlfriend in a couple of the reports, sometimes these guys think too much. Giolito seems to have fans at BP, both had him max out at 80. At the time of the draft, I was kind of hoping the Twins would draft him but I guess I will have to be satisfied with the guy they selected.

When I wrote that I was under the impression that it was one outing of 7 runs given up which in roughly 30 innings appears as an obvious outlier. It was actually over two outings( 3 and 4 runs) which does not make it such an obvious outlier considering he has had multiple run performances scattered throughout the year.

To be clear, I wasn't advocating on dumping Theilbar. My point was that Theilbar and Guerrier have performed well thus far so there isn't a reason to dump them over more obvious candidates. A low BABIP doesn't necessarily mean good luck it could be a sign of a hitters inability to square up on pitches thus hitting directly at players though Thielbars extreme flyball tendencies are a slight cause for concern.