diehardtwinsfan

He needs to play short in my opinion. From what I have read, he's pretty raw there, so I wouldn't be terribly surprised if he had to spend some time in AAA to work on his defense. That said, he's certainly earned a chance to play every day and has shown enough promise that I'd have to think he's now in the longer term plans.

I'd still argue that May can be anywhere between a 1 and a 3 starter. He pitched like an ace in Rochester this season. However, he's obviously got some learning to do. I dont' think this is normalization as much as it is that he will need to adjust. I'm not terribly worried about him going forward... he's been getting better with each start, and I suspect he's going to do something similar to Gibson last spring and outperform Millone and Pelfrey for that spot.

I'm more concerned about the average personally. He needs to bring that up. His minor league career says he can, so I'm hoping that next season he can get it into the .250-.260 range while continuing to get on base and hit for some power... That said, I think the Twins should extend him through his arb years and buy out some FA.

Hope it's not age, he's under contract for a while. Kind of praying for dead arm here, though given his career, that's unlikely.

I have not heard of Rainis Silva. Not a name I'd have expected to see.

I suspect he adjusts a bit. I do think the average will come up. He hit .298 in his minor league career. I suspect he's able to raise it up into the .250/.260 range while keeping his power.

The Twins have a Escobar/Santana dilemma. I'm not sure Escobar will be able to be traded for much this offseason and I'm not sure Santana's defense is really ready. Even though Santana did quite well this year, I wonder if it makes sense to let him play SS in AAA next year and hone his defense before getting called up for good in 2016.

Excellent writeup, agree 100%. 1) Mauer - I think improvement here is possible... even likely given his career. I do agree that he may have to train like he's never trained before to do it, but it is doable and will pay dividends to the offense. 2) Defense - OF defense is horrid. A 1 year stop gap in CF should improve on Santana (who I think belongs at SS). LF is a different situation that's been discussed ad nauseum here. As for Arcia. I'd tell him that if he wants a long term contract, he'd be wise to spend a lot of time this offseason working on his OF defense. He is 23, he should improve naturally and should improve a lot more if he puts in some effort. 3) The rotation is going to require some patience. We wanted FAs last year, so they got them. 2 of the 3 didn't do so well, which is sadly typical. Hughes and Gibson spots are pretty much earned, and I think Gibson will improve a bit. I'm hoping and praying for a bounce back season by Nolasco as well. I expect improvement from May as he's going to be a lot more comfortable pitching every 5 days and think a season somewhat more in line with what Gibson did this year is quite reasonable. In May's case, he misses bats too, so if he gets around the mental issues, he could quickly be an above average pitcher. I think the last spot is going to Millone for now, who the Twins will likely attempt to trade at the deadline (or if he's pitching well and things break right, next offseason) to make room for Meyer. 4) I don't think TF brings quite the same home field advantage that the dome did. I'm not really certain that's on coaching, though the team's construction going forward (with some dead pull hitters) will be beneficial. 5) This will require some coaching changes. I agree, they need to get back to that and have been slowly slipping away from that during the Gardy era.

I've read that a lot of guys come back stronger... I'm guessing it falls in a 'it depends' type situation. That said, I'd rather him go through it younger than older. He's more likely to bounce back better at a younger age... Also, he's still at an age where it may pick up velocity, so it could end up being a wash if it takes something away from him. I'm holding out hope.

Considering this is his first full season, I wouldn't get too worked up about it. Bottom line is that most teams have pitchers worse than Gibson in their starting rotation. He's young, and he will probably improve. The big concern I have with him at this stage is getting the K rate up a bit closer to his minor league average. I'm hoping that is something that will come with a bit more experience. Bottom line though, Gibson is not the problem in the rotation, and when rebuilding with younger talent, we have to recongize that it takes time.

I think the bulk of the bad defense is showing up in the OF where there are some vacancies as well. I do think Santana needs to go back to SS, even if that means a stint in AAA for him to work on his glovework, but Santana in CF, while showing promise, has been a defensive disaster, as has LF and RF this year as well. Arcia is the only given in the OF, so I think his best perscription is to spend the offseason doing just that. Getting a decent CF on a 1 year deal I think would help, and in LF, the team needs to decide who is going to play there.

yeah, I think this would be wise as well.

I don't see it happening. The Twins would have to eat some contracts. Hughes has earned his job, and I think Gibson has as well. Nolasco and Pelfrey are under contract and I suspect Millone will be tendered too. May will get another shot, and I would be surprised if he ran away with it much like Gibson did this spring. Then you have Meyer, Gilmartion, and Berrios all sitting in AAA.

Vargas, Santana, Escobar, Dozier, and Plouffe have all been above average at their various positions. While I can certainly see regression, given their age, I wouldn't be dumping any of them. Mauer, like it or not, is going to be here a while (and will probably have a bounce back season next year), and Arcia, while he's taken a bit more time to develop is only 23 and seems to be figuring things out after murdering AAA. I don't think this is a SSDD type situation as you suggest. I'd agree that there could be regression, particularly from Santana and Vargas, but given their age, it's also reasonable to think that they will turn into pretty decent players. Compliment them with Buxton and Sano, and I really do think that the offense is going to be fine. I'm not arguing on pitching. It's bad. But the Twins already did the FA fix and are stuck with the fruits of that labor. Hughes is a stud. Nolasco... well, we have 3 more years of him. Hopefully he turns things around. Gibson had a pretty good season in his first full year and should improve on that a bit. May is where Gibson was last year, and given his swing and miss stuff could improve quite a bit more. The big thing that I think people forget is that these things take time. I'm not exactly certain what people expect the Twins to do. Hitting the FA market is a crap shoot and doesn't work very well (we are seeing that this year, and that's with 2 very good aquisitions and 2 poor ones). Trading prospects for expensive vets doesn't work very well either, and it is far more likely to extend the mediocrity then it is to end it... and I'd add that when those vets get old/leave, there aren't much in terms of prospects to take their place and we are right back where we started.

I think it depends on a lot of factors. They did the same thing with Walker, and up until the last couple of months, he really struggled making contact in the FSL. Garver has a better approach, but I wouldn't be shocked if he's working more on the defensive aspects of the game. Eitehr way, this was his first full season. If he keeps producing like he did this season, he'll move up pretty quick.

I think you start seeing the fruits of that labor next year as the core starts getting more PT. The offense is largely set with Vargas, Santana, Escobar, Dozier, Mauer, Plouffe, and Arcia. Sano and Buxton should see some time next year at some point. There's a couple of OF holes that need addressing. The pitching will take longer, but if May gets it in the same way Gibson did, we could have a pretty competent front four in Meyer, May, Hughes, and Gibson by mid season.

I don't see Jake Mauer managing when his brother is playing... Just me. I'd say Mientkiewicz or Molitor. I'm fine with either one personally.

Oh dear. Hope he doesn't have to go under the knife... Really hope it doesn't take a full season for them to figure it out. A sprain is a partial tear, correct?

I'm not a fan of how Gardy manages his pen. It seems to lead to a lot of breakdowns like this. Warming guys up to throw 3 pitches and then pulling them is bad in my opinion. Warm them up and let them go a couple innings and then give them a day or maybe two off. I think it's better for long term health. As for the answer to the poll... unquestionably both. Several of the guys are marginal, and as the pen breaks down, that becomes more apparent.

Thorpe, Gonsalves, and Hu beg to differ.

Well, the guy they drafted had a pretty good year in his first full season. The guys they traded for predictably struggled (which the guy they drafted did too in his first call up). I think, to an extent, expecting instant success (especially from starting pitching) is asking a lot. That's just my 2 cents. I expect May to be much improved next season and Gibson to register a slight improvement as well. My bigger concern is that they signed 3 FAs and only 1 worked out. In reality though, that is pretty normal. Look at last year's FA class. Most were pretty bad. For the Twins, the got one home run (Hughes), an injury (Pelfrey), and an epic fail that will hopefully rebound (Nolasco). The fans were asking for FAs, the FO obliged, and they went after some of the best options. I'm not sure it's worth holding the GM accountable for doing what he was told to do and not defying the odds, especially considering that his primary task is rebuilding, which he is doing quite well. I'll say what I've said before on him... Once the rebuild is done, I'm not sure he's the guy. Right now, I want him at the helm. I won't say that about the current coaching staff.

Ashbury, RB, and I were talking about this a few weeks ago... but I think Escobar's value gets hurt quite a bit if he moves into a utility role. Do you put Santana in AAA and see how he does there, or do you try to figure out a way to ensure Escobar is playing 3 out of every 4 games? I don't think he's going to net a ton in a trade this offseason. I do think that at worst Santana will be the equivalent to what we've had a SS the last few seasons, and at best this season isn't a fluke... Just curious.

I don't think anyone has said Walker won't hit for power. They are concerned about his ability for contact (which was mentioned)... I'm simply encouraged that his contact ability has improved significantly over the season. I think the Twins were right in keeping him in FTM, and I think it bodes well long term. He may turn into the steal of that draft... Given it's the same draft that netted Buxton and Berrios, I'd say the Twins have done OK in what was considered a pretty weak class.

I think he can have an impact. I'm not ready to hand him any position though. I'd like to see what his September split is once the season is over. He hit well in AA, not as much in AAA. I think the best course of action is to start him in AAA and make him earn it. I think the Twins should sign a 1 year stop gap in CF and try to stash a 4th OF type guy in Rochester. If the CF fails and Hicks is doing well, then promote him. If they both fail, let Schaffer have it. If they both succeed, then trade the reclamation project at the deadline and promote Hicks. Next season is his last option too I believe.

Really enjoyed the read. Yeah, I'm not sold on Schaffer either. As a 4th OF, I'm fine with him. He was once top talent, so if he's figured something out, yay Twins, but I highly doubt that. I think he's earned that 4th OF role, but my main concern is Gardy's love for players like him. He will stick with him for far too long. I'm guessing the pitchers love him though, as he's the only above average defensive OF we are carrying. As for SS, the Santana/Escobar thing is going to be interesting this offseason. I'm not sure what value Escobar has in the trade market, I'd imagine that there are enough questions that GMs are going to want to see a repeat performance before they give up something of value for him. But SS is also one of those positions where teams are desperate to find good talent, so who knows. If the Twins could get an above average LF (both offensively and defensively) that is currently blocked, I'd probably pull the trigger. The question at hand is whether or not you can find a way to keep both Santana and Escobar in the lineup while maintaining their value. Santana, from what I understand, is still pretty raw defensively, and while he's been a pleasant surprise, he really needed to be working more games at SS. He's got a lot of the same issues Jose Reyes had when he came up (not saying he will pan out the same way). He's got superior range and gets to far more than most SS, but he rushes sometimes and ends up making costly errors. He needs to be playing SS. I could Santana spending a bit of time in AAA next season to work on defense. That's not to say that he deserves it, but I could see the Twins attempting to maximize Escobar in 2015. If Escobar regresses as some think he will, you call up Santana and make Escobar the utility guy. If he doesn't, he gets traded either at the deadline or in the offseason.