diehardtwinsfan

Up until about 3 weeks ago, Hicks was slowly improving at the plate. I was fine (like others) with letting him work through it as he seemed to be improving. That said, the last 3 weeks was clearly a stall in that plan. Sending him down isn't a bad thing. I'm not as convinced that this was right for Parmelee, but oh well.

I'm sick of you guys already. Ran a 10k in 52 minutes in college. Training for my first Marathon right now and would be thrilled if I could do a 10k in 65 minutes right now.

yeah, I suppose rubbing alcohol and mouthwash would definitely go with the no shower look.. Grow out a beard too while you are at it.

Couple it with copious amounts of alcohol.

An Astros sweep would really help us out in the Rodon race.

surprised he hasn't been sent to E-town with Gonsalves.

That's just all, all don't have to perform to their ceilings. Some need to perform as others progress. There's a ton of names on that list, all of whom look to be pretty sizable upgrades over what we presently have. With those names, 2014 will show improvement over 2013. Lots of guys are going to take some lumps, but they should establish themselves. In 2015, some of these guys are going to start breaking out. Some will still struggle, and some will be average. I don't expect 2015 to bring home a division title, but competing is hardly out of the question.

I'm not sure about the ROY stuff. Most of us expected him to struggle, though not quite as much as he has. I don't think your conclusion is accurate either. I expect him to combine the best of what Span and Revere can offer. He's better defensively than Span and pretty close to Revere. He has power that neither have. Definitely needs to work on his contact, but his approach is fairly sound. I'm kind of curious how he adapts to AAA. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he takes of a bit in Rochester.

No problem.

I suspect 2015 will be more like 2001 where they give you reason for hope but fall short. By 2015, guys like Gibson, Arcia, Hicks, Tonkin, Plouffe, Pinto, Parmelee, Rosario, Sano, Darnel, Meyer, and May will either be performing or showing flashes of what they can be with Buxton, Stewart, Berrios, Walker, Harrison, Vargas, etc. all knocking on the door.

Similar but not the same. I should have added that having some vetran presnese is good for everyone's development as well. The problem on the payrol flexibility thing, is that Mauer or not, if these guys are as good as they are looking, you will be looking at all of them getting some pretty massive contracts at the same time. I'm not sure that's wise from a competitive standpoint.

Not sure what else people were expecting. He wasn't going to trade everyone away for pitching. That's not realistic. That said, I didn't add drafts or intl FA signings. Kohl Stewart, Steven Gonclaves, Lewis Thorpe, Kua Hu, Ryan Eades, Berrois, Baxendale, Melotakis, Bard, and Chargois all say hi. Ryan has made a point of adding higher upside pitching... just saying.

I would toss Gibson out. He's already pitched a bunch at the ML level and will not be eligible for any list this offseason. I'm leaving Albers off because to be fair, he isn't really a prospect. I am hoping he gets a shot and can prove himself, but I think at best he's more of a back of the rotation type guy. Also leaving off Worley. Here's my list: 1) Meyer - potential ace. Injury is the conern right now. ETA at some point next season. 2) Stewart - potential ace. potential for 4 plus pitches. Doing what he should in GCL. 3) May - gets the Ks, walk rate is dropping. Could still top out as a 1/2 type guy, but looking more like he'll be a 2/3. Not a bad pitcher. ETA next season some time. 4) Berrios - potential #2 5) Eades - potential #2. Could rise through the minors quickly. 6) Thorpe - potential top ceiling guy, but still way too far away 7) Gonclaves - potential top ceiling guy. Hard throwing lefty. Too far away, but doing his job in GCL. 8) Darnell - potential #3. Struggling a bit in AAA after flat out dominating AA. Needs some time and will likely be in the rotation at some point next year. Delievered results at a high enough level that despite the lower ceiling, he belongs on this list. 9) Bard - potential 2/3 type guy, but has been rehabbing an injury. This is a lost season for him. Could rise through the minors quickly next year if healthy. 10) Melotakis. Potential 2/3 guy, but I think he's likely going to be a 3/4/5. HM: Wimmers, Hendricks, Baxendale, Hu, Fernando Romero, Jorge, Rosario Truth be told, this really isn't a bad list. I know pitching is considered the weakness of the system, but a lot of teams would be very happy with this group of pitchers. There are a number of high ceiling arms in there (and that includes several of the guys on the HM list), unfortunately most are pretty far away, and as high ceiling arms go, most will likely fail. There are 3 guys in the system who can all be above average pitchers who will likely see MLB action next season. I still think they need to add high ceiling arms, but Ryan and company have done a decent job shoring this one up.

I think most commentators are going to be saying this. I've reading through Sickle's top 20 lists, and the big thing I've noticed is that virtually none of the Twins top prospects took steps back this season. Benson is the notable exclusion but his stock had already dropped pretty hard. Plus so far, this draft looks like they hit on a few higher upside guys as well. Time will tell obviously, but the farm looks very strong.

Peavy doesn't have another 5 years on his deal. And truth be told, Iglesias was a sell high move and was designed to make room for Bogarts. Iglesias was already crashing back to earth. The Sox gave up Peavy for practically nothing.

I was thinking something along this line too. I cannot see a team giving up a potential starting pitcher or fielder, but Ryan needs to target guys that can have an impact. For guys like Butera, Carol, etc, I could see Ryan targeting relief pitching prospects. Those guys are higher risk, but if they succeed, the reward can be nice too.

Alex Meyer and Trevor May say hi.

Boras almost always takes his clients to FA. Only exception would be a client that really wants to stay, but even then, I think he tends to go to FA just so they can see what they'd get. I suspect Albers will be replacing Diamond shortly, as he should. I'm not sure if he'll amount to anything at all, but it cannot hurt giving him a shot.

Not sure this is a good idea. For one, if the guys have things to learn in the minors, let them learn. It doesn't make good business sense to waste service time learning things that they could learn in the minors. Second, I'm not sure it's good for everyone's development. Third, if they get called up at the same time, their clocks all expire at the same time too. It means they will need to replace nearly an entire team 6 years later. Much better to spread these guys out as they are ready.

Have to admit this was the last guy I expected traded. Nice to get something, and it allows Pinto some AAA time and frees up a 40 man spot for (potentially) Albers. What do you guys think we got for him?

Is that a UFO in front of the MSP skyline?

Absolutely. That would be an excellent buy low. I haven't looked at his service time, but Kennedy will have 4+ years under his belt at the end of this season. While he'd be an upgrade in the rotation, and obviously has a nice ceiling, I'm not sure this would be the type trade Ryan should deal Perkins for. He'd have to lock him up, and I'd also think that Ryan would need to get one of AZ's bigger prospects to pull it off such as one of Owings/Gregorius or Bradley/Chaffin. They'd have matched up well if the D'backs wanted Perkins bad enough, but I couldn't see a Kennedy for Perkins swap.

hehehe...of all the people that got traded, this is the one I didn't think there'd be a market for.

I really wish we had matched up better with the Royals... They've made another questionable trade today.

Thorpe (1995) birthday GCL. 23 IP 34 K 2.74 ERA.... 2 BB.