gunnarthor

What's the level of competition? I know the Big 10 isn't the SEC.

I'm really not sure what else people can say here. Many have said that the BPA is the best route to go and that the professional ranking guys seem to have supported the Buxton pick. I don't think anyone is saying that earlier picks don't (generally) lead to better players but it works for both pitchers and hitters. As good as Hicks is supposed to be, Buxton is better. I'd rather have Matt Kemp than Anibel Sanchez. While no one knows who the best player will become, teams devote lots of energy trying to figure that out. The Twins will probably heavily scout at least 12 guys for consideration for the #4 pick, maybe more. They'll send cross checkers and interview coaches, teachers and others to learn as much as they can. They'll obsess over mechanics and make up and make a list. Remember the Twins were the only team that mentioned concerns over Prior's mechanics before he got injured, although some said it was just BS to cover the Mauer pick. So far the consensus is that the Twins have drafted well. We'll see. We were able to trade for guys like Liriano, Boof, Nathan, May, Worley and Meyer b/c we had depth at catcher and outfield. The Twins still have depth in the OF so they could flip a guy like Willingham for a prospect or, more daring, do a prospect trade and move Arcia for pitching. I think the Twins will draft a pitcher b/c that's the main depth of this class but what if SD's Kris Bryant pulls a Zunino this year and is a third baseman who could be in the majors by late 2014 while the top 3 pitching guys are gone? I certainly wouldn't be against that pick. The future of this team's pitching staff looks like it will be some grouping of Gibson (late first rounder who fell due to injury), Meyer (late first rounder who fell b/c of salary concerns, traded for), May (4th round pick, traded for), Berrios (supp pick), Hendriks (international signing), Worley (MLer, traded for), Diamond (rule V pick, traded for) and most likely this years #4 pick. The best two recent Twins teams - 06 and 10 - starting rotations were made up of Santana (rule v), Silva (traded for), Radke (8th rnd pick), Liriano (traded for), Boof (traded for), Baker (2nd rd pick), Pavano (traded for, resigned), Blackburn (29th rd), Slowey (2nd rd) and Duensing (3rd rd). Health and a strong bullpen help a lot. As does a little luck in later rounds which Johnson has not had in his drafts but it's still a bit early to condemn his drafts.

I think people have tried to answer that question. I didn't look at all lists again but I don't remember any list that had Gausman/Zimmer close to Buxton. So I guess, specifically, Buxton's upside was that of an all-star type (think Sizemore or Upton) center fielder. Gausman/Zimmer's upside was that of a #2 type pitcher. So that's how much better the hitter had to be. I think the Twins have done a decent job of getting amateur talent in both the draft an international market in recent years. Finding a Verlander type pitcher is easier if you pick in the top 5 but there isn't a Verlander in this years group - or last years. Taking the best player - a guy BA thinks is the 10th best prospect in the game - is a good thing. Drafting for need is a horrible strategy for a baseball team.

I don't think anyone is really arguing the theory with you - we all hope the Twins grab a pitcher. But last year, Buxton was the nearly consensus top guy. BA has him as a top 10 prospect in baseball right now. Neither Gausman, Zimmer or Appel were on his level. And keep in mind, all had questions - Appel wanted a lot of money, Zimmer's arm had some issues as the draft approached (and he got some offseason surgery), Gausman might have been the safest of the three but there were/are questions if he could develop a third pitch. The Twins did load up on pitchers in the supplemental draft and later so I think they are aiming for pitchers but Buxton was too good to pass on. I don't think they thought he was "slightly" better, I think they thought he was a lot better. I doubt that, on their draft board, there was any real difference between Berrios and Gallo but they took the arm instead of the bat.

Not sure anyone is saying pass on top pitching prospects. Some are saying take best player available, which as Klaw noted today, would almost certainly be a pitcher. They lineup well. I think the concern might be if Appel, Manea and Stanek go 1-2-3, if there would be a 4th pitcher good enough to go #4. But we have months to go before we have to worry about that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Puntohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Punto Some one edited it to read, "In 2005 Nick Punto batted .239, with a career high 4 home runs, and 26 runs batted in over the duration of 112 games. He led the league with a 7.8 grit above replacement value (GAR)."

I wouldn't be surprised to see Houston do what they did last year and grab a top 10 guy #1 and use some of the money later. It worked out well for them and, even more than the Twins, they need lots of talent. My guess is that Appel and Boras won't slip past the Cubs. They'll have a ton of money to throw at him and they can easily double what the Pirates offered last year so Appel's gamble pays off. Boras and Theo might even have some "understanding" about service time going in. I just don't see Appel being there at #4. If he is, grab him. Rockies and Twins are both probably dreaming of an elite pitcher. I'm really hoping a few of these other pitchers turn it around and be there at 4.

I wouldn't worry too much about May. When prospects lose their 'shine' they tend to drop a lot. Last year, Hicks missed several BA's editors top 150 list, too. Guys like Josh Bell, Daniel Norris and Jose Iglesias also plummeted after a bad year. Everyone knows what the deal is with May, if he can cut down the walks, he'll be a very nice #3 type starter who should eat a lot of innings. The Twins will give him all the time in the world to get there. If that doesn't work, he's a bullpen arm.

Obviously, it's a long way off but at this point, yeah, I think he and Appel will both be gone. I'm starting to hope that Twins go after Kris Bryant, the college third baseman. Apparently he's already hit 8 HRs. I don't know much more about him but that sounds nice.

Marc Hulet at fangraphs ranked his top 100. I think fangraphs is probably a touch below the other lists that have come out but it's still nice to see a top 100. He has the 6 Twins: 16 Buxton 17 Sano 65 Hicks 65 Arcia 77 Gibson 78 Meyer Interesting to see another list with Buxton above Sano. Twins, Rays and Cardinals all have 6 prospects in the top 100.

Seth is right. Nothing wrong with Gardy talking up the youngsters, he does this all the time. But Meyer isn't making the team out of ST.

Has Manaea pitched lately?

Thanks, I wonder if they might grab the college third baseman, if he has a strong year? Fits a need and college bat might be quick through the system.

That's too bad. Any other pitchers making moves into the top 10? Right now, if Appel's gone, I'm not sure there would be a good pitcher to take at #4. Obviously, there is a lot of season left.

Jeremy, can you start keeping track of the Florida pitcher? I think he was supposed to be a top 10 guy and, at this point, I might like to see more of him than Stanek.

I suppose but I don't see anyway he slips past the Cubs at this point. No one else has really even made a case for going #1.

Revisiting Trout vs. Cabrera MVP debate ? with a twist | HardballTalk Joe Posnanski writes that the Oakland A's internal "WAR" calculator rated Cabrera slightly ahead of Trout. fWAR and bWAR had Trout plowing Cabrera out of the water.

Come on, John, you're better than that. I think the 'haters' are the people that are unrealistic fans who just want to bitch. No one is happy about the losing but unless you're the Yankees you can't be up forever. The team plummeted to the bottom but they already have one of the top farm systems in baseball and a GM with a track record of fixing things. It's not like the Twins are becoming the Pirates or Royals. They'll have a few down years - although this is probably going to be the worst one - and cycle back up. Not sure we need to hate on Ryan or Gardy for that.

Yeah I remember something about that. Bert also plucked him with a baseball back in the day. I'm not saying Reusse is a Twins cheerleader or apologist but he usually seems fair in his assessments and (in general) tries to see a good path forward.

As for the article, I guess I'm bummed about the payroll but I believe that falls on ownership. I have absolute trust in Ryan and Gardy to turn the team around and I've always liked following the minor leagues so I'm happy to watch a rebuild. Last year's adopt a prospect thing was fun and Hicks (my prospect!) turned out to have a great year. So I guess I'm usually pretty optimistic about the team.

You know, I'd actually disagree with this. Reusse has always been a baseball guy first and foremost. I remember reading some of his columns in the 90s and he was trying to talk himself into Matt Walbeck and Rich Becker and he'd often write about how wonderful it would be if the Twins had a Camden yards of their own. He's pretty plugged into the Twins and has stood up to defend Mauer multiple times. He's not afraid to criticize of course but I think he's always been less negative toward the Twins than the other local teams when he writes.

I think the only question coming into ST was whether Hicks was ML ready. If he was, it didn't matter how the other two performed and it looks like that's what is happening.

I'm not sure what the fuss over Ryan's ski comment was. He told it to a reporter. I'm sure he speaks to Beradino differently than he speaks to Reusse. And I'm sure he speaks to his players and managers differently too. Just know your audience when speaking. No big deal.

The argument against Bud is that he (or MLB) doesn't want to hurt his marquee franchises. They supposedly kept quite a report about Damon and Jeter both testing positive when they were with the Red Sox and Yankees. ARod was outed by a SI reporter, who also suggested that MLB was tipping some players about up coming tests. MLB didn't do anything to ARod. Manny was busted only after he left Boston. Other than Palmerio in the first year of testing, no big names were caught in five years of testing. And while a few big names have been caught in the last few years, they were caught years after public opinion against PED users was in full force. To this day the only Yankee or Red Sox ML player to fail an MLB drug test is Matt Lawton.

Well, I'll admit I'd be very happy if that were to happen but kind of hard to believe if only DAPS is reporting it.