diehardtwinsfan

I assumed you had plans on killing and eating it...

13 home runs in June? That's insane.

always darkest before the dawn??? Hope that's the case, though I'd probably punt on 2017 at this point and let those rookies take their lumps... Problem is that 2017 will suck.

didn't Felix Jorge just get bumped to A+ (or am confusing him with someone else)? If so, I'd probably wait on that one. Arraez on the other hand has been in CR all year and absolutely raking. He's really young (turns 20 in April), so I can see some merit to leaving him there, but he's got a really nice OPS for someone 3 years younger than his league average and has done so all season. Only big knock that I see thus far as that it is largely being driven by a high BA. I think a bump for him at some point makes some sense, if for no other reason than to give him a taste later this year of what he's going to see most of next year. Should also note that his power numbers haven't really shown up yet. He's got a decent amount of doubles, which is encouraging for 19 year old, but not much in terms of deep power thus far.

just picking a nit. I wouldn't protect anyone I didn't fear would get drafted, and even though Mauer is Mr. Twin, I don't think anyone is picking up that contract.

My preference is to keep Santana, but if they get a decent offer, I think they trade him. I'd prioritize Nolasco for the moment, and possibly Hughes, though I think he's untradeable. My 2017 rotation would be as follows. That means Milone and Nolasco aren't around and Hughes is still in the pen (or gone as well). At least with that one there's young talent taking some lumps, and you'll likely be seeing Gonsalves/Stewart/Romero and company pushing for a spot in AAA at some point next year. Gibson May Berrios Santana Duffy/Meyer Rochester/emergency starters: Pat Dean/Taylor Rogers Rotation isn't too exciting, but May, Berrios, and Meyer all have upside. Duffy has shown he can be decent in stretches, and while he might top out as a 3/4 guy, I'd be fine letting him learn on the job.

You might want to see what I did there Let's just say I'm mildly dyslexic and corrected what eyes originally saw...

I'd be hard pressed to find Harrison higher than the 10-20 range on most lists. He's there b/c he's been better than league average while being young for his age. They've been pretty aggressive with him in comparison to others, promoting him each year. The main question with Harrison is whether or not his power will ever develop.

yeah sorry, there's no reason MLB cannot pay them minimum wage... and they aren't getting that right now. This would be very easily fixable if MLB gave them housing and food (which I'd add is probably in MLB's best interest too)... but then again, we've been over this 100 million times now. I don't think anyone's opinion is going to change here.

You sure about that?

Dozier is gone 3 years from now and is on the wrong end of an extension curve 3 years from now. I think he should be traded.

It's probably more fair to question what said team was doing 5 years ago to give us a crop of major leaguers that led to 5+ 90 loss seasons, not automatically question what they are doing today. If they are using the exact same methodology, then perhaps...But I think you've been around here long enough to know that isn't the case. It's always good to question why we do things. Doing so without regard to understanding how the results are achieved will rarely lead to better results.

I should note on my comments about MORE than 2 years in rookie leagues, I was referring to US players. International is a bit different given the very obvious age gap. And I'm not disagreeing at all with the case by case basis. I've been saying the same thing for years. I was responding more to the idea that we have 40 man issues b/c we aren't promoting fast enough. I think there's real problems with international FAs, but if your HS/college prospect cannot get out of rookie leagues after 2 seasons, he's not much of a prospect anymore. That doesn't mean you give up or choose not push him aggressively if he figures it out, but that most definitely IS NOT on the organization. It's a real problem that everyone faces. And I would most certainly argue that you do not push for the sake of pushing. I'd think watching Aaron Hicks, Carlos Gomez, Byron Buxton (now), etc. should more than enough evidence that the end result more often than not does not benefit the pushing organization.

I'm guessing yes. They are on a roster.

Keep losing at this point. May as well get the first pick in the draft.

I think we forget that Harrison was an HS pick who has been continually moved up and challenged... while not excelling, he's held his own while being younger than the league. This is the first time in his career he's being asked to repeat, so I would like to see a nice bump in the numbers by the time the season ends (his OPS is about 50 points higher as of this post than his last season, but that's not enough in my opinion). His real issue thus far is that his power really hasn't developed as hoped. Hopefully that changes, and at his age it certainly could. He could be on the Trevor Plouffe or Denard Span development plan. He is only 23 in his second stint in AA. That alone is nothing to sneeze at. Unfortunately, he just hasn't taken that step forward that we all want. BTW, side note, but this is probably what to expect out of most HS guys drafted after the first round.

Let's not assume that. I know a lot of people have no love for Ryan, but Plouffe is going to get really expensive. I think Ryan would have extended him already if that was the long term plan, so I won't assume Plouffe will be here come next year. I could see him being here after the trade deadline. I don't like that at all, but Ryan doesn't typically pull off a trade without value, and I think we're all pretty much saying that he should do that in Plouffe's case. I could see Polanco playing once a week, more than anything b/c Molitor seems to have zero desire to play him. To me, that would be the sticking point on whether Molitor is the manager of the future. If he cannot work with the kids, we need to find someone who can.

A C+/B- prospect on Sickel's scale is a pretty decent prospect. I'd be perfectly fine getting that for Dozier. I'd probably start by asking for a top 100 (note that on Sickle's scale, the bottom part of the top 100 are B+/B guys), perhaps throwing in someone in the low minors to make that work if said top 100 guy fits a position of need (such as a near ML ready C), but after thinking it through, I'd take a lower return on Dozier and a C+/B- prospect would be just that.

Plouffe is tradable. The return will be low, and I agree with everyone else that I'm perfectly fine getting a C prospect for him. That solves the Sano problem. At this point, I think it's a given. Trade him. Give him away. I really don't care... nothing against the guy, but he's the odd one out. It doesn't solve the middle infield problem. That situation is a bit different and oddly enough is a good one to have.. Escobar got off to a hot start, got hurt and cooled, and seems to be heating up again. OPS now sits at about .700, which is pretty good for a SS and even better for one that plays average to above defense. If he keeps this up for another couple of weeks, that OPS might be sitting much higher. Repeating what he did last year makes him a much more valuable commodity. If so, do you keep him? He's under control for a while yet if memory serves me right, which tells me he can be a part of the future. He's also young enough that extending makes sense.Polanco is killing AAA. Defensively, he's week at SS, but from the sounds of it, he's adequate to better at 2B. He's blocked by Dozier and Nunez. He has too much control to be given up on and needs to play every day. At some point very soon, he should be doing it every day at the MLB level, with no concerns about being sent down... He just needs to play. By the way, Polanco is one of those guys who has 4 options. Is he out next year or did the Twins burn the fourth one this season?Dozier is the current 2B. 2 years and change at a very cheap contract who seems to have adjusted to what pitchers were doing. OPS is climbing to above average levels while playing good defense. 2017 is likely not going to be a playoff year, meaning Dozier is only around for 2018, and recommitting doesn't make sense in his case given his age and that Polanco guy just mentioned.Nunez is a wild card. His bat was always decent, glove not so much. His bat has really taken a step forward this year, though to be fair, this could be somewhat luck driven. He's also cheap, though at 29, there's a bit more risk in extending him. But he's under control for a couple more years and could easily be the 4th guy in a 3B/SS/2B platoon and get enough plate appearances to be (for all intents and purposes) an every day player.Reality is that you can only keep three of the four. I've been on the fence about trading Nunez, but I think at this point he's the guy to keep. Dozier should be traded and Polanco should get an extended shot... by extended, I mean he's playing most days at 2B for the remainder of the season. Yeah, I think defensively we will be disappointed (I was when I saw him this spring), but at this point, who really cares. Let him play and develop. Dozier was defensively at first too, and I think Polanco has the chops to get there if he puts in the effort. The real issue here is next year, as he has to stick. If he's out of options, we may be rolling with some pretty sub-par play at 2B in 2017. I don't see this team going from 100 losses to 90+ wins, so I'm fine with that in 2017, not so certain about 2018 though. So, after thinking it through online.... Trade Plouffe for whatever. Trade Dozier. I want a return for Dozier, and I'm willing to take the risk and wait a bit longer for him to make those numbers a bit more respectable, but I think I'm trading him for the best offer I can get before July 31. Keep Nunez, Polanco, and Escobar.

Man, Wade gets promoted to FTM and promptly hits the DL. What's the injury?

Klaw constantly criticizes everyone, and he commends them too. Lest you forget, Law was the one saying the Twins are doing just fine with Stewart while also saying that they left Walker in A ball a bit too long. He has different opinions on different people, and I'd also add that of late he's been more complimentary to our system than not. You're working off of an older meme that was more pronounced a few years back (coincidentally, when the Twins farm system was really bad). From the looks of things, Walker's problem isn't that he was left in A ball too long, I might add.

Honestly, the only place where this really happens is with international free agents signed at 16 (think Kepler and Polanco). You don't see it nearly as much with high school kids, b/c if the kid spends more than 2 seasons in rookie ball, he's already on the bust side of the spectrum. I really think the CBA should give those kids and extra year or two of team control prior to rule V. As it is, it's a short season plus four full seasons for them, starting at age 16, which means they are being put on the 40 man at 20/21. That's a problem that every major league team has, and it has nothing to do with where they start out the season.

I read the article and the first thing I thought was that each of these teams would be suitors for Plouffe too. I doubt you could unload both on one team as it gets redundant (unless they are really hurting for a starting 3B and a versatile infielder). That said, for some reason I really like Juan Hillman. Of all the names, that's the one I want the most. I think I'd prefer the ceiling over some one closer to the big leagues that's just going to end up adding one more less than top ceiling guy to a young core of AAA/MLB pitchers in Gibson, Duffey, May, Meyer, and Berrios.

Personally, I'd go after the high schoolers... higher ceilings in general. Given the org's need at C, Shamoy wouldn't be a bad grab either.

Yes and no. It's contextual more than anything else. You have a high ceiling young OFish guy who clearly isn't a CF but does have some real roster crunch issues making it harder for him to get PT. An occasional game in CF (think Parmelee a few years ago) isn't going to hurt anymore than it already does. Yeah, not good long term for pitchers, but then again, it's probably costing an out every game or two, which is while it sucks will give the team a chance to see if this kid could have been a cornerstone bat or the very least up his value so he could be flipped if the team is sold on Park (why he hasn't been optioned at this point is another issue). Bottom line is that Arcia needed at bats, and he didn't get them consistently in what was a make or break season. In a season where you're going to lose 100 games, this is (in my opinion at least) inexcusable. It would be far more understandable if this team was in the middle of a race for a playoff spot, but they weren't. Arcia's release comes down to a complete failure to recognize what was clearly obvious after week 2 and a failure to adjust to this reality in the name of the long term health of the organization.