diehardtwinsfan

I.Dont.Get.May. Everything else didn't bother me that much. Hicks needs AAA time, and I think that's the right choice, even though his replacements might put up the same OPS. We've been saying for a while that things need to be earned, that goes for rookies too, and Hicks certainly hasn't earned anything. For that matter, neither has Rosario. Rosario has no business in MLB as he hasn't hit AA consistently yet. I see a lot of people calling for him right now who will be livid if (when?) he fails. May started out bad but got better. He was a pretty decent pitcher his second month. Does he have stuff to learn? Yes, but he's likely to be better than Milone right now while still learning said stuff. I'm a bit surprised there weren't a few younger spots in the pen, especially with what's coming up, but May is the one that I'm scratching my head on right now.

Plouffe hits 20 home runs in a torrid April and finishes the season with 65

Not sure they are widening it as much as calling it by the rules. During the offensive explosion, they made it much smaller, which in my opinion is ridiculous. Personally, I wanted an automated zone. That could solve a lot of those types of issues in general.

Not sure about the homers, but I think the slash line is pretty realistic. He maybe on the downward arc of his career, but that doesn't mean he's suddenly going to be consistently posting an injury free OPS of .730. I think he can maintain an OPS in the upper .800s for another year or two if he's healthy.

So based on that logic, they should just promote everyone with some tools to the big leagues, even if they are only holding their own in the minors? That really isn't a good way to run an organization. These are organization assets, and the idea that they shouldn't be brought along based on how ready or deserving they are seems kind of odd does it not? And tell me how it is that the organization is going to benefit when the guys that do succeed are likely going to spend a lot of service time doing horribly at the major league level.

We're arguing the same thing here Jokin. The Twins promoted him before he was ready. That was my point. I agree he should have been sent down quicker. That doesn't really change the fact that he was moved too quickly. People look at years of service and forget that unless the talent was exceptional, these times frames are pretty normal. Most high schoolers who are drafted are going to spend at least 4 seasons in the minors, and that's for good prospects. Some guys take longer than that, and it's pretty normal (not just a Twins thing). Bottom line is that you are hurting their development by moving them before they are ready. Yeah, a few guys will shine, but more often than not you end up with guys like Delmon Young (who definitely needed more minor league time) or Carlos Gomez (who eventually clicked but not until his final arb year). College prospects tend to spend less time, but they've had 4 years developing against superior competition, and international free agents tend to take the longest as they are brought into the org at 16. They spend time in the DSL usually before playing rookie ball. I'll be honest in that I thought May should have won the job, but I'm not sure where this indictment on the Twins is coming, especially citing guys who debuted young (pretty much the definition of fast tracking in my opinion) such as Santana (age 23), Vargas (24 minus a lost half season due to suspension), Gibson (25 minus a lost year and then some to Tommy John surgery). These other factors are pretty much outside the org's control, and you cannot just pretend they didn't happen. And as others pointed out, minor league success matters too. May wasn't very good in 2013. He was pretty darn good in 2014 and had that calf injury not happened, he'd have been in the big leagues sooner. It's real easy to just look at a guys age and say 'they move to slow', but doing so without context is just wrong.

With the exception of Hicks, I believe all of these guys were international FAs, which means they were signed as 16 year olds. Making a debut at 21/22 IS fast tracking, and as for Hicks, I think the case at this point is this point is that they moved too fast with him.

I was in Tampa this week... Too far away unfortunately That said, I really hope May dominates his next start.

yeah, I think this is a next offseason thing if all goes well, but I suspect it will be a no brainer.

I don't know why, but I think Mauer would be the better outfielder...

That's pretty much it. Some teams are going to have extra dollars too because they overspent. They still have those slot dollars, but since they are being penalized, they cannot sign players for more than $300k.

What Brock said on the cap space. It sounds like they are going all in for the international market this July, if so, they'll want the dollars, and some teams b/c they over spent last season have dollars to trade b/c they cannot use them. I could see a lot of those teams sending a couple slots our way for Tommy. As for the Meyer vs. May thing, there are a few reasons. 1) Meyer's walk rate needs to drop and he needs to refine that changeup. May was in the same boat coming into 2014 and did exactly that. He pitched better than Meyer did in AAA last season, and it wasn't particularly close. I get that Meyer has better stuff, but he's still sorting out those control issues, and I'd rather him do that in Rochester than in the majors. The majors will present it's own challenges. 2) Workload issues. May is ready to go a full major league season. Meyer was working in a limited capacity last season. That's not a huge reason in itself, but Meyer is likely only going to go 160 IP this season, which means a lot of his starts at the big league level will end an inning early or he's going to get shelved in September (assuming all goes well). You can do that earlier in the season in Rochester with the hopes of bringing Meyer up at some point later in the year (due to injury, a trade, or Ricky Nolasco deciding to retire ). 3) ML experience. May has this, he predictably struggled in his first go around, but he also was much better his second month (he was actually a pretty decent pitcher his second month). He's a lot like Gibson was last season in the sense that it's clear he was learning some things at the big league level, and he needs an extended trial to prove it. Unlike Gibson though, his stuff has translated and was getting those much valued Ks. On top of that, he was also clearly nervous and now that he's got that out of his way, I suspect a lot of those issues will take care of themselves. I think May is a guy who could potentially be a 2/3 type starter, and he's more ready now. I get that Meyer could be a #1 at some point, but for those that want to win now, I think May gives them a better shot right now of doing that.

There's only so much learning you can do in the minors. I think Meyer still has things to learn. I think May is ready and needs to be in the majors. Millone, I'd trade him personally. I think at the end of the day you can get him for cap space, which is still a pretty good return on Sam Fuld.

I've been wanting to make this trip for years now, and I can get a 1 bd condo out there for $99 for the week. One of these days I need to do that. Too bad my kid's spring break starts later this year. If it was in March, it would be an easy decision.

I'd say you are right about Barrie, except that Seth beat you to the punch and wrote an article about him last week

7 infielders for 4 spots? Seems like a lot there. I think they'll want a bat they can use to PH for a weaker spot. May end up being Nunez, but I'm failing to see Herrman here given that he's not a very good hitter. He may be versatile, but he's not a defensive whiz out there either.

yeah, I do agree with others that given the Ks and the weak contact, a higher walk rate won't kill him, but he's got to have more command than that. It's one thing to miss your spot by a couple inches, but when it's obvious, you'll put runners on and encourage more hitters to be patient. I think this was for the best. I do think he'll have a good career, but unfortunately, he needs more time. I think we forget that he's only been in the minors for 3 seasons. If he's pitching well in June, he's probably first on the callup list when someone goes down.

I know a lot of people around here don't like it, but walking 4.4/9 in AAA is going to be a lot worse in MLB. I think he's up at some point this year, but I'm not too worked up about letting him spend time in the minors. He needs to start, period. He's already not where you'd like from a work load standpoint given his injury history. Long term, this is probably for the best.

Duffy wasn't on the radar when the resigned Pelfrey. I doubt anyone expected him to do as well as he did last year. I was wondering about Santana. I get that he's a good pitcher. However, for all intents and purposes, that leaves one open spot for the next 3 seasons for Meyer, May, Berrios, and others to fight over (baring a trade). Back to the topic at hand. While he may not be trying to strike everyone out, he needs to up that K rate a bit more I suspect. From what I've read, he throws in the mid-90s, so velocity isn't the issue. But if he can up the K rate, he can end up being a bit more than a back of the rotation arm.

I'm not sure that the roster should be constructed based on the fact that they acquired Meyer and May in a trade. Though personally, I'm on the May bandwagon (not for that reason, as I think he is the guy that will likely perform best over the course of the season). I have to think though that if everyone stays healthy that at least one of Pelf/Millone won't be in the Twins organization come opening day. There are tons of teams who could use a 5th starter that would happily trade some international bonus dollars for one of those guys, and I have to think that Ryan would jump on it if they did.

I thought there was no structural damage to Thorpe's UCL. Does anyone remember if it was a sprain/partial tear/whatever?

I think it will come up. His minor league career certainly indicates that it can. It's all about adjustments. Even a .020 increase in BA without losing his other stats would be pretty significant.

Gardy's problem was consistency. I don't have a problem pulling Hicks in that situation. I'd want him to do it to Hunter too if it was Hunter making the gaffes. Gardy would not do that. He'd also turn around and bunch the rookie in favor of the vet doing the same thing for days. A good policy and consistent enforcement is what I'd like to see here.

usually ends up in either one... depends on context... it will be moved if the mods think it's in the wrong place. No big deal.

You work as an international scout?