Trov

When Castro is hitting well he is the most important player on the team. His ability to be at least passible defender at just about every position, means you never have to worry about having a guy defending in a position they cannot. You can pinch hit an OF for an IF or vice versa because Castro can fill in the vacant spot. He is what allows for Rocco to do what he wants to do with his bench. Kody Clemons has been close, but he cannot do CF or SS but he can fill other spots. Not to same level defense. Twins love having flexible guys that can play multiple positions, at least having 1 or 2 each year.

Cleveland traded out of their rotation two years in a row when they were fighting for playoffs. Detroit did it last year too. You can certainly trade guess if you feel what you have to replace will be close to equal value, but can fill a different need. No Paddack will not fetch a ton, but too many people on here are thinking too short term about stuff. Too many want to ride Paddack out until he regresses back to the mean, or end of the season and throw QO on him, hoping he turns it down so he when he signs elsewhere you get something in return. The flip side is how much worse will Festa or SWR be over him at this point, even he has no regression back to his mean or injury, I doubt it is that much regression, he still falls into 4th on our staff. If that can net you a decent prospect even, we do not need to just fill in this year. Some would look at it as "selling" but it really is not, because you are saying we can get a good deal now, not give up much this year most likely, and restock for down the road. If there is someone for this year you think can help, most likely just another bench bat, then okay do that. Of course you do not just put Paddock on the trade block and take best deal, if other teams are not sold on him you then ride him out, but it is fully worth asking teams in great need of SP. I would much rather trade Paddock this year, then one of our guys with long control if you can get similar returns.

I would not go crazy over nearly 30 innings pitched. Pen guys can have great run only to fall to pieces. They are so volatile. We have seen our own team take scrap heap guys and have a good short run, and seen our own guys have great runs for periods on other teams. Take Cano for instance. We traded him for Lopez. Lopez fell apart for us, Cano had great 2 seasons but is terrible this year.

He has always been someone that strikes me as a guy who struggles in higher leverage situations. When the lead is generally big either way, more than a save situation, he tends to get outs, but when game is tight late and hitters seem to grind out at-bats more, he struggles. This was something LaTroy Hawkins had issues with, Hawkins still much better than Alcala, but Hawkins was amazing 8th inning guy, but you threw in the closer role he would struggle badly. I am not sure if it is Alcala stuff, or more his head when the outs are more important.

It is not completely based on the fact their is likely to be regression. Of course the other teams will see the same numbers. The question for the team taking him on will be when will the regression be? Will it be this season, will it be later on? Also, will they be able to sustain his numbers longer. No one is saying Paddack is going to win a Cy Young. However, there are teams that are struggling to fill out their rotation at this point due to injuries. No, Paddack will not bring back some huge piece, but teams like Tampa, and Cleveland have for years dealt established guys in their rotations middle of the year to supplement and reload system knowing they can get something, instead of nothing when they walk. I started the forum yesterday on this subject, love when that sparks a more in depth article that I do not have time to write. However, for myself it is not just about flipping him for something we really need right now, but knowing teams will take him on right now hoping his regression will not be soon, you can get something in return for your 4th starter. If we did not have Festa or SWR that could fill in I would not suggest this. However, being either one if not both could fill in and not be that much of a regression from what we expect from Paddack. Coming into the year he was fighting for the 5th spot.

I think what this article really highlights is his developing other pitches really allowed him to go back to using his fastball more and have it be more effective. The hitters need to at least respect his other pitches which allows him to use the fastball to great effectiveness. I think what also helps when he throws his fastball down not just up. It used to be if the ball was down it was always offspeed. He seems to mix up the location more.

Paddack generally only goes 5 innings as well. This year he has 3 starts more than 5.1 innings. Most starts are 5 innings. Not saying his replacement would be pitching as many innings but it is not like Paddack is some workhorse.

I have no names to through out because I have no clue what the other teams thought of value of Paddack right now is. If the Twins want to keep staying relevant they need to strike when value is highest. There may be very little value from other teams out there, and if there is not, then okay lets hold onto him and hope he has a career year and let him walk. However, there has to be a team out there willing to pay something of decent value.

After watching yesterdays game and watching Paddack have a great overall game, it got me thinking that his value has to be near the highest it has been since we traded for him. The Twins should look to find a team starved of pitching and willing to take a swing for him this year. Get your best deal possible and be happy. Some will say, but you cannot have too much pitching and he is having a good year, by far his best with the Twins and best since his rookie year. Keep in mind it is a contract year, most players have boost in those years. His numbers have been good, not cy young or anything. However, I think he is set for some great regression and if there is team willing to hope he is not we need to pounce. His record is not great, but that is due to a lack of run support, yesterday he got 0 runs while out there. He pitched 8 innings, would have been complete game 1-0 loss had we not tied it in 9th. The one run was a pitch out of the strike zone for a HR from a guy that right now is locked in hitting all pitches for HR it seems. However, Paddack K-rate is way down, 6.9 per 9. Walks at all time high, 2.8 per 9. His hits per 9 are way down from career average, and HR are just below career average. I have not done a deep dive into why his hits per 9 are so much lower, outside of his rookie year, he is a full 2 hits per 9 less from career average. This is not the real Paddack, but there has to be teams out there willing to jump at him for this year hoping this is an outlier season and ride him to the finish line as a good 4th or 5th guy. Right now the way he is pitching he slots into our 4th best pitcher. But is he that much better than Festa, SWR, or Matthews, most likely no. There has to be a team facing injuries or lack of back of rotation that they will give up value for Paddack based on his current run. I would be calling any team fighting for playoffs that need starter and see what they would give up for Paddack right now. Strike while his value is high.

I would look to move Paddock if you want offense. I agree, there is no such thing as a true pitching prospect, and as you pointed out they get hurt a lot. Which is exactly why you need as many arms as you can get. Paddock is gone after this year, so trade him for offense this year, and maybe too some minor league depth too. That is what Cleveland does. On back to back years they traded away one of their best pitchers in their rotation for depth and offense. They had the arms ready to come up from minors to not fully replace abut to fill in well enough. Then the guys that got traded away gave little value the next season to the teams that traded for them, and a couple of times their careers were basically over. I have said for years, unless you are a future HOF pitcher most top pitchers fall off a cliff around age 30. Some bounce back after injuries and learn how to pitch differently, but many just keep getting chances with teams hoping they can be something again.

Interesting part of the bill that no one has really talked about that I have seen, until here. I agree, not sure how taking money away from owners would cause them to want to reduce ticket prices. I think it they are really trying to do is decrease the contracts players are getting because owners will now have to tell the players well we are now paying more in taxes and the money we used to pay you cut against our taxes, so to make up for that we either need to raise ticket prices or pay you less. If that part of the bill is finalized by Senate all the next CBA's will be very interesting.

There are differences, rather slight, but they are not the same pitch. The splitter is normally held on laces on the finger tips. This will produce more spin with slightly more control. The fork ball is not held on the laces and will have much less spin, more similar to a knuckle ball. The screw ball is held more like a curve ball or slider, but you snap the arm the opposite way it is normally done, causing the break to opposite way a curve or slider normally would.

I fully agree, you get so much info and break it down to the littlest things sometimes you start overthinking everything. Should my foot be here, or there, should my hands be half an inch lower. Yes, there has always been the tried and true things, but if baseball has taught people anything over the years, there is no 100% right way to do something. We have seen crazy stances make great results, then we would see guys like Ripken Jr. coming up with new stance every year it would seem. We would hear the sage advice of find a good pitch to hit and not miss it. I remember for years Buck would be told a new way to hit and he would struggle then say I am going back to what worked for me my whole life. I have not heard much about changes he has made lately, but it seems like we adjust the young hitters saying if you do not fix this issue you will fail, but then you are asking to change something that is so ingrained in their mind at the smallest adjustments. This can be hard to do.

Hopefully he can put these injuries behind him, but sadly he will most likely fall in the, well if he can just stay healthy pile as most of our top guys have been for years.

I sure hope they call Wallner back up this weekend. Not sure what more they want to see him being ready to come back up.

His K-rate at AAA right now is like 25% it was worse at MLB before injury. It was worse last year. Yes, it is only 5 games and 23 PA so just a few games can swing that, but how is a K-Rate lower than it has been his whole career in his very SSS in AAA "back to where it should not be"?

I would argue that McCusker has not continued to grow, but has an amazing SSS in AAA that fans for some reason think will be more than that. That is the point I am trying to make. I am not big on either. I do not expect either do much if anything at MLB level. I pointing out that because McCusker was undrafted took 2 years in independent ball to hit, then took 2 years in our minors to have a hot 38 games. I am trying to bring this to the attention that we give more praise to a guy who as you point out seems to be growing, where a guy like Sabato failed right away and slowly grew but his expectations were that they would be better out the gate. Both had similar numbers at similar level at similar age, but the path both got there are different so we view them different.

I am comparing their same age season at same level. I pointed out that McCusker was hitting better at AAA this year than he did last year, but the league the Saints are in are known to be a hitters league. What I was pointing out is that fans have been big on a guy at age 27 finally hitting like crazy, some were talking about him last year I recall, but Sabato is doing slightly better than what McCusker did last year same age. Of course, Sabato would have to hit at AAA too. I also wanted to point what some comments brought up, Sabato was a first round pick that might finally be doing okay at age 26 and we say he is not MLB worthy, but he is doing what McCusker did same age same level.

I am sure most will see the question and say loudly NO! However, I only ask because I read so many fans saying lets give McCusker a chance. Many are upset he is getting little run on his call up. Yes, McCusker has been crushing at AAA this season, but last year at AA in his age 26 season he slashed .281/.357/.489 with a HR every 28 plate appearances and a K-rate around 30%. Sabato at his age 26 season in AA so far this year is slashing .293/.398/.478 with a HR every 27 plate appearances and a K-rate around 30%. So I ask again, should we have some excitement for these numbers of Sabato? If he comes up to AAA, a well known hitter league, and put up similar numbers still to McCusker do we change our toon on him? Or because he was drafted high and never did well enough to warrant a call up soured us, but when McCusker the undrafted guy that moved up to AAA and doing well there mean we believe he has a shot? Personally, I say no we should not be, maybe if he moves up to AAA and crushes we can give him a shot at 1B, but my main point is we are upset McCusker is not getting more time but someone like Sabato in similar situation we would never want to see given a shot.

I never said I was mad at the manager, I was pointing out that is how Rocco has always managed. Many fans want to see guys with big numbers in the minors to be given a chance at the majors, but there is plenty of times they do not, and normally there is a reason for that.

This is nothing new with Rocco. He has never just given a guy at bats to give them a shot. He has always put who he feels gives him the best shot to win. Even late last season many were calling for giving Kerisay a shot, not that September numbers mean anything, but he did not get thrown out over and over, but Rocco kept doing what he does. It was clear the Twins do not have a ton of fait in McCusker but it was his turn to get called up. I believe the team looks a lot more about how a guy does in BP, and his minor league at bats than just his output. As many point out on here, just because someone is hitting well does not mean that is sustainable. How much of the SSS is luck? When you swing and miss as much as McCusker does at AAA how much worse will it be at MLB? Now, I agree you can give him a few full games and see what he looks like at MLB level. Clemons has never been a good MLB player, just average bench guy. He is on a crazy hot streak so ride it out. Now talking about trusting him over McCusker is not really something to compare as one is OF and one is IF.

I actually feel McKusker will get very little chance to show he can stick at MLB level. He will play against lefties, but outside of that, Keirsay will play against righties, Larnach and Bader will have the other 2 OF spots. Could McKusker get a chance at DH maybe, but we have seen Rocco not play a guy just because he is up and we want to see him, Rocco plays who he thinks will give him best chance to win. There has been many times we wanted to see someone get a shot only to ride the bench for a few games and then back down when someone comes of IL.

What I got out of the article is if he can make contact and hit the ball hard he will be fine, but his ability to hit the ball at this level will be in question. When he hits the ball it generally is hard. So see ball, hit ball, swing hard, sounds good.

His AAA have been decent this year. ERA a little skewed because his runs he gave up are 5 more than earned runs, which without looking the unearned may be more his fault. I will not go into my issue with earned runs rule. Either way his WHIP is respectable with nice K rate. Walk rate still a little high. However, clearly he is not ready for MLB pitching. Still has nice K rate, but his walking guys at an insane rate in his 2 games 8 walks in 5.1 innings to just 7 strike outs. He is giving up even more hits, 13 over the 5.1 innings. He is still young, got a taste of what he needs to work on. I would not call him a bust for Reds yet, as his AAA have been decent, but he is not displaying top prospect or ace type qualities. Such is the risk with high school guys, they are so hard to project.

Fleeced in the trade for Lopez? Why do you say that? Yes, Lopez was terrible for use with little help. Cano had 1 great year in 2023, an okay year last year, but so far a bad year this year. Povich has been below replacement starter. The other 2 have not made the majors. I would say yeah we did not do great in the trade, but if you look at this year the 2 MLB players we gave up we would not even have on our roster right now. Everyone of our starters have had more value than Povich, and doubt he would even be on our 40 man, most likely lost to a rule 5 at some point or waiver pick up. Only Jax has been as bad as Cano, but has been much better lately.