terrydactyls

A month ago I looked at the Comp picks after round 1 between 2014 and 2022. As I remember, there were several big names in the list. However, the vast majority of names were of people that were unknown to me. This brought me to the conclusion that, while a comp pick is nice if a player already on your team decides to test free agency, trading a player like Julien for a one-year rental (Burnes) and a 15% chance of drafting a future MLB player is not a sound strategy.

I know abbreviations save time and energy but who (or what) is RL? Rich Little? Roberto Luongo? Robin Leach?

Wait until you start getting notices for your 60th reunion. Ouch!

The longer this off-season drags on, the more I'm starting to think that the front office has chosen the smartest strategy. Bear with me as I attempt to present my opinion. And remember, this is my opinion and not a declaration of facts hitherto unknown to the general population. When the off-season began, I think the front office evaluated the Twins and determined what holes needed filling and looked for targets to pursue in the free agent market. This was in the pre-budget reduction era and their assumption was they had some money to spend. Once the ownership announced that payroll would be cut, a new strategy was developed. If Sonny Gray could be replaced via a trade that would not tear apart the prospect list, they would go that direction. But it appears that the starting pitcher market is so inflated right now that they are thinking that a trade may not be possible. And now we have off-season strategy #3 - do nothing right now (unless a team approaches them with an offer they can't refuse. And this is the strategy I am starting to embrace. The Twins are heavily favored to win the Central division with the team that exists right now. They are going to let the season play out until the All-Star game and then reevaluate. If Lopez, Ryan, Paddock, Ober, and Varland are doing well and Fiesta and Raya (and maybe even Woods-Richardson) are also doing well in the minors, why trade for a starter? If Correa has bounced back, Buxton is playing some in CF (maybe a slight exaggeration), and the younger position players are performing as hoped, why trade for more offense? And there may also be teams looking for a Kepler or a Polanco, or even a Sanchez. This would add to the prospect pool. Opinion now over and I'm going to take a nap.

I find it very curious that the phrase above has to be added to almost every article about possible trades. I was under the impression that Twins Daily readers were knowledgeable and true fans of the team.

Tough to win a three-game playoff series when the opposition throws three 20-game winners at you.

Is there going to be a follow up article on Lewis and Culpepper? The opening sentence promised a look at four CR pitchers.

Obviously (thus the reference to Captain Obvious). I went back right away and edited my comment to add a smiley emoji to indicate I wasn't criticizing but just amused by your comment. But you responded faster than I could type.

Let me see if I understand your comment. If a player doesn't suck for several years before having one good year, then he would make more money? Interesting, Captain Obvious. 😇

In order to appease people on both sides of this discussion, how about starting Duran every sixth game but returning him to his reliever role on the in-between days? Problem solved! Everybody happy now? 😇

It will be my pleasure. Someone (or several someones) will tell you that you are wrong because your opinion is not the same as their opinion. I see that happen everyday.

Never intended to give that impression. I'm just genuinely confused about the potentiaL of Brooks Lee.

I have no opinion concerning which of these two players should be traded except to say I would prefer whomever returns the best pitcher. But I do have a tangential comment. The many discussions on Twins Daily that include Brooks Lee have me very confused. Sometimes I read that the Twins were: A) "fortunate" that Lee was available at pick #8, and B) Lee was the premier bat of the 2022 draft. And then I read in other articles that Lee should become a "solid" MLB player. Or in some cases (such as this article), I read both. Why would a team use the #8 pick of the draft on someone who may become "solid"? Having a top ten draft pick doesn't happen often (except for Oakland). I would hope that a team selecting that high would aim for a potential All-Star or MVP vote getter rather than "solid". So I'm quite confused about the value of Brooks Lee as trade bait. If he falls in the "the Twins were lucky" category, his value in a trade goes up. If he is in the "solid" category, his value diminishes. I guess that distinction becomes even more important regarding the teams with which the Twins are looking to trade.

Isn't Canterino a product of the Rice University pitching mill? They probably had him throw 175 innings each month. 😁

If he can still hit like he did during his brief MLB stint, maybe the Twins should sign him and put him in left field.

You are absolutely correct. I read this at 6:15AM this morning and couldn't wrap my mind around it. But now that it's almost 9:30AM (EST), I think I can comment. First, thank you, Cody, for putting this together. It provides a good insight into the unpredictability of the MLB Amateur Draft. Can Jenkins approach Harper-like results? The potential is there and only ten years of watching him perform will answer that question. My guess is that Jenkins will be some combination of Benintendi, Tucker, and Harper. But above all, I just hope he avoids incurring a catastrophic injury that might derail his career (think Byron Buxton v2.0). I think the Twins are about due for something positive to happen to them.

In my mind, I see Lewis' biggest impact being the energy, enthusiasm, and joy to the field every day that may propel other Twins (especially the younger Twins) to also push forward to new heights.

It is my opinion. Opinions are NOT facts. Therefore, I am not "wrong." You just have a different opinion.

Actually, the alternative could possibly be lower ticket prices, a reduced parking fee, and affordable concessions.

As always - it all depends on the cost to obtain him.

I can't "hate" the big spenders (Dodgers) or the non-spenders (A's). Both are operating within the rules of MLB. It reminds me of when my college basketball friends in the 1980's would call coaches cheaters or cowards when they would go into a four-corner offense if they had a 2nd half lead on a much better team. I always told them that if they didn't think they could outscore the better team, then they should use the best "legal" offense available. Don't hate the people following the rules. Hate the rules that allow them to operate as they do now.

Who is Tris?

To follow up on this point, how many times did Julien get called out looking and the pitch tracker showed the pitch was a ball? I'm not sure he will get better calls until robo-umps are introduced.

Polanco and two highly thought of pitching prospects for a one-year rental and maybe a draft pick? Unless an extension is a sure thing, count me out.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 2023 Twins and the breaking of the playoff curse. But #9 of all time? Not even close (in my humble opinion).