diehardtwinsfan

Hopefully, the regression was the first few months of the season...

good to see Rooker heating up at the plate in FTM. Didn't like the fact that all he was doing was hit home runs or nothing. Nice to see him collecting some hits as he gets used to facing more advanced pitching. Hopefully, that continues throughout the year so we can see him in AA to start next year.

People wear clothes when they work from home? I think RB would be the source on this one...

People actually do that when working from home?

Play pitcher, short, or center I'm guessing.

I'm guessing having 3 catchers on a roster that for the most part only had 3 bench bats might have something to do with it. Reality is that neither Castro or Giminez got hurt this year, so there was no need. I'll be a bit more upset if they bring Giminez back.

I don't see the Twins doing much winning with Dozier. Next year, I think should be another step forward, but that will also be his last season with MN and given the pipeline, he will be off somewhere else in 2019. Mauer, on the other hand, could have some role, albeit fairly reduced as he hasn't exactly aged well. He still takes good at bats and can be an on base machine. I'd prefer a bit more flexibility in that he play some 3rd and RF as well, but I think Mauer as a bench bat and positional flexibility should have value, especially as the pen improves and the team no longer needs to carry this many pitchers.

lots of good pitching... no complaints there.

Seems like an easy option to stash in your pen for a year. That's my thought. I agree that Slegers isn't a special prospect by any means, by shows potential on occasion and has been doing well of late. He's certainly earned a look. I would think that a pitching needy team would give him that.

I'm a bit surprised he doesn't get a tryout this season. Given his results in AAA, you'd think he would be a pretty sure thing to be taken in Rule V. Given the current needs, he strikes me as a guy worth trying out.

I'm personally pretty convinced the problem has more to do with the death in his family than anything. He's been pretty bad since coming back from bereavement. When you lose someone close, it takes more than a few days to clear that up, and on major league team, he doesn't exactly have the time/space to process it all.

You're confusing Colon with Chief.

there's nothing lacey under... oh, never mind.

well, I live in Indiana, so that one is not an option for me. Unfortunately, I don't have customers up in the Twin Cities area like I do in FL, so I don't have a convenient way of crossing that off my bucket list.

It's your loss for not joining us last spring.

That pizza looks delicious.

Speaking from the perspective of a moderator... yes.

Enough that your peers think you surf the net all day.

Well, it's sight you don't get to see every day... isn't that what road trips are for?

So, is this a trip to Mankato or the Sea of Japan?

I was thinking excessive time on TD.

Again, I'm not sure the point of concern. We want them to win. We want them to enjoy that and value it. I would also note that a lot ETown's contributors are coming from prospects such as Badoo, Miranda, and Javier. You sited Carrier, and I see your point, except that they did try him in Low A. He failed, so he's back down. He will likely get another low A look later this year or next year, and if he keeps failing, he will get released. That's how this works, and with a guy like Carrier not being a top pick, it's largely to be expected.

It should. Pitching isn't a point of strength in the org. I'm sure they will listen on Santana, but they have every right to have a high asking price as Santana will likely help them in 2018, and most prospects they get back would not. This trade deadline did make one thing clear, they are not punting on 2018. That is why only Kintzler, Murphy, and Garcia were moved.

Truthfully, I'm not sure the question is fair or accurate, as none of the top (older) hitters whose ages are mentioned are playing in advanced rookie ball. I'd also note that the Appy league is advance rookie, so it's not equivalent to the GCL... for any team. As for the older hitters: Rodriguez is org filler and has never really been a prospect (at least not for the Twins). There's no one at a lower level ready to take his place. Every org has those types, and he's having a good month. No big deal. He's old enough that he could potentially move to AAA, but given his age, he's filler, not priority. Park was an old regime international bid. He never spent time in the minors or the US until last year. He never played in the rookie leagues. He's in AAA in large part b/c he failed in MLB last year, and he was jettisoned from the 40 man. That is cleaning house. He's doing fine in AAA, but he's also under contract. It's encouraging to see him hitting well given the org needs, as I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a call yet this summer due to Vargas not taking the job despite getting every opportunity to do so. You can certainly question the old regime's decision to add this talent, but he's a hold over from there without question. I'm not sure where he ends up bodes well or not well for the org. they can go out and sign a DH type if they are convinced Park can't be an option. Those are cheap. Garver is the only real prospect listed that's older. He was drafted at 22 in the 9th round, hardly a sure thing. He's also a catcher, and they tend to take longer (again, this is normal across baseball). His hit tool his really come on the last couple years, so he may be a late bloomer, but he also had a lot more question marks at the beginning of the season than more recently. He hasn't destroyed the minors in every stop though, and that's an important thing to note. He has, however, been very good with the bat the last two seasons. It's his glove though that is slowing his move up. He has a reputation for being a decent defender, but there's a lot more defensively to catching than there is elsewhere. On to the younger guys, Bechtold was drafted this year (5th round, so not a huge prospect) and placed in the advanced rookie league. Again, this is normal for a lot of teams. He's probably the closest guy to the original point. He's doing quite well while basically being 2 months older than league average for the Appy. I wouldn't call a 5th round pick much in terms of a prospect, but he will without question play low A next year and if he hits the MWL well, he'll be the first up to the FSL. Carrier is in the same boat except that he was drafted last year (8th round) . Note that Carrier was nothing special last year in the Appy (.755 OPS) and that he got demoted b/c he did poorly in low A this year. He's not much of a prospect, but he's definitely doing well in low A. As for playing old guys in rookie leagues, again, everyone does it. The average age in those leagues is around 20 for the GCL and 21 for the Appy. Our better prospects (Miranda, Badoo, Kirilloff, Enlow, etc) are all younger than those leagues, but college guys end up going there too, which skews the age, and again, all of baseball does this. If anything, looking at who is doing really well in these leagues, it says a lot for the long term pipeline as we have a bunch of 18 and 19 year old players doing very well in those short season rookie leagues. Those are the real prospects with high ceilings, and right now, we have a lot of them. You won't see many on the top 100 this year, but if they continue to do what they've done at higher levels, they will get noticed. I would also note that the HMs have quite a few prospects there who are doing well while being younger than their leagues. You won't find a ton of huge standouts in that category though on most any team. We have some (Royce Lewis for instance or Kirilloff last year), and those guys tend to be the ones you find in your top 100. But with guys like Badoo, it's just encouraging that they are out performing a league that they are younger than.

I'd add Palka to the list too, though I wouldn't really call Park and Palka much in terms of prospects anymore. I don't think 40+ HR power though is the thing to be concerned about. I'm perfectly fine with guys that hit 20-30 as long as they can hit for average, take a walk, and play decent defense. That is far more valuable than a guy that can hit 40+ (unless of course it's Bonds, but there was only one Bonds)...