travistwinstalk

At 2 the more i hear the more I hope the Twins take Kyle Zimmer, but my gut says that the Twins are going to play it safe and take once again an outfielder in Byron Buxton. Nothing against Buxton but the biggest need is pitching with some velo and that fits Appel and Zimmer perfectly and with Appel likely to go to Houston that leaves Zimmer as the perfect pick.

I thought this would be a fun debate topic since the Twins aren't giving us much to cheer about. I welcome your choices as well and feel free to tell me I don't know what I am talking about as it is all in pure fun. This is a subjective topic so it doesn't have to be the guys having the best years this year, but who you think is the best hitters in the game. 1. Miguel Cabrera 2. Albert Pujols 3. Matt Kemp 4. Josh Hamilton 5. Jose Bautista 6. Joe Mauer 7. Joey Votto 8. Robinson Cano 9. Ryan Braun 10. Troy Tulowitzki

Last night they both pitched and Hendriks went 7 and gave up an unearned run on five hits with two walks and nine strikeouts. Now on the year at Rochester he is 3-0 with 1.40era in 4 starts. Cole De Vries went 5 innings and gave up 6 runs although only 3 were earned on three solo homeruns. I really respect Cole De Vries for his story and the hardwork he put in to get a cup of coffee with the Twins. However, for anyone to compare the two is like comparing Barry Bonds to Nick Punto it just is not a fair comparision. The reason I have a problem with bringing up De Vries now is the Twins with a move like this are giving up when you have a better option. I would have 0 problem with this in july or august and the twins are 20 games back. I know they are 11 back now but Cleveland is red hot right now and that won't last and with Mauer and Morneau taking off with the pitching of Diamond and Walters the Twins should be trying to get better not giving a guy a chance. Maybe I am blind, but I don't see the logic in this and before I get any hate responses i have followed De Vries in the minors the last three years and respect the heck out of him. I am so happy for him that he gets an opportunity couldnt happen to a better guy. However, to be objective with a good pitcher like Hendriks ready this was the wrong move.

I think Houston has been pushed into a corner with the number 1 pick. I think they want Buxton, but getting alot of pressure to pick Houston native Mark Appel. My question is not are they the same caliber of Mauer and Prior because they arent. But will Houston take the best player or the hometown kid?

I like Correa and I think Twins like him too, but I view him as a top 10 pick not a top 5 pick. I think the Twins were just doing their due dilligence like they should when you have the number 2 pick. When it is all said in done the Twins will either draft Appel or Buxton with an outside shot of Zimmer and Gausman. If I had to put money on who the Twins pick it would be Byron Buxton.

nothing against devries but a mistake Devries will get hammered at MLB level. He is a solid AAA pitcher but he will get hammered at MLB level mark my words.

if he had not gotten hurt Giolito likely is the number 1 pick in the draft. But when pitchers get arm problems in high school that shoots up the red flag with the amount of money that a top 5 pick costs. That is the reason Giolito won't go in the top 5 he will likely go between 6-10 as the potential is there and a little less risk outside top 5.

With the MLB draft coming up I thought I would do a top 10 mock draft and see what people think. 1. Houston Astros- Byron Buxton OF HS Georgia 2. Minnesota Twins- Mark Appel SP Stanford 3. Seattle Mariners- Mike Zunino C Florida 4. Baltimore Orioles- Kyle Zimmer SP San Francisco 5. Kansas City Royals- Kevin Gausman SP LSU 6. Chicago Cubs- Carlos Correa SS Puerto Rico 7. San Diego Padres- Lucas Giolito SP HS California 8. Pittsburgh Pirates- Marcus Stroman SP Duke 9. Florida Marlins- Max Fried SP HS California 10. Colorado Rockies- Richie Shaffer 3b Clemson Now for Twins analysis; There are 6 guys that are plausible in my mind with Buxton, Appel, Zunino, Zimmer, Gausman, and Giolito. However, I don't think Giolito will be the pick because of his injury and everything that we have heard Gausman is a step behind Appel and Zimmer for pitchers. So I believe it comes down to Buxton, Appel, Zunino, and Zimmer. My guess is it will come down to Buxton and Appel and the Twins will take whoever Houston doesn't take. That is of course if Houston doesn't take one of the other top 6 because this class is weak and no clear cut number 1 so the pick will be anyone. I am really hoping for Appel, but in my mind if he is there the Twins will take Buxton as he is the toolsy outfielder that the Twins love. He has a big upside, but he also has substantial risk. I think Appel or Zimmer are more of a sure thing even though neither is likely a top of the rotation starter. The bottom line is the Twins picked the wrong year to have the number 2 pick in the draft as if it was either the last 3 years they would have gotten a stud and next year looks alot better, but this class is not good. If you want true upside the pick should be Buxton who has a chance to be in the Justin Upton mold, but also a high chance he doesn't reach that potential. I will have another one next week and see if there any changes.

criticize Ryan all you want for the Marquis signing as he deserves criticism for that. However, don't be so kneejerk as Gray and Burton were great finds and have been the reason the Twins bullpen is the deepest it has been in years. Both Gray and Burton are reliable relief pitchers at the big league level. Gray in his past 9 outings before yesterday had given up 2 runs in his last 11 innings and has become a reliable middle relief guy. Burton for a long time was the Twins most reliable reliever pitching 11.2 hitless innings and of course he was going to come back to the pack a little bit, but it is a bit early to jump so quickly off his bandwagon. I have just as much confidence in Burton and Gray as I do in Perkins, Capps, and Duensing. Of all the problems the Twins have the bullpen is not one of them.

Shane I thought you said Revere belongs in AAA they don't need a singles hitter?

in my mind the pick is between Buxton and Appel whoever is left you take them and move on to scouting for your comp picks.

I would play Morneau at 1st all 3 days if able becasue they have a day off on Monday to rest his wrist. I don't want Butera playing more than one day and I think tonight is the right day for that to happen. Tonights Lineup 1. Span 2. Dozier 3. Morneau 4. Willingham 5. Plouffe 6. Casilla 7. Butera 8. Carroll 9. Diamond Saturday 1. Span 2. Dozier 3. Mauer 4. Willingham 5. Morneau 6. Plouffe 7. Casilla 8. Carroll 9. Pavano Sunday 1. Span 2. Dozier 3. Mauer 4. Wilingham 5. Morneau 6. Casilla 7. Carroll 8. Revere 9. Marquis

OK so the Twins head to Milwaukee for a weekend series against their border war foes in the Brewers. They face the Brewers 2 aces in Gallardo and Greinke on Saturday and Sunday so it should be a fun series as Miller Park should be packed of Twins fans making the drive down. So here is my question, with the games in a National League park there is no DH, therefore do you have Mauer and Morneau play all three days in the field or do one or the other get a day off in the series being that they also have Monday off. Another aspect to keep in mind is Drew Butera is coming off a 3 hit game yesterday and Scott Diamond is pitching tonight and Butera has caught Diamond in his 2 previous gems. Do you mess up the combo and have Mauer catch him or do you stick with the Combo and give Mauer a full day off as he comes into the series in a 3-19 stretch and hitting only .179 in May. If I am making the lineup I probably sit Mauer tonight and bring him back and catch Saturday and Sunday and have Morneau if he is up to it play 1st all 3. So what does everyone else think.

Gardy is not the reason that Revere spent most of the season so far in Rochester. That credit goes to Terry Ryan who told everyone that would listen that Revere was nothing more than a 4th outfielder. I respect Terry Ryan's opinion, but i think he is wrong about Ben Revere as I think he brings so much to the plate. Look at the lineup yesterday after Morneau you had a 6-9 of Plouffe, Casilla, Butera(I know drew had 3 hits, but that will never ever happen again), and Carroll. So basically every inning or 2 it was an easy inning for the pitcher. With Plouffe he should not be starting, I know he has 3 homeruns but that is also 30 percent of the hits he has on the year and thats terrible. There is no doubt in my mind the proper 2013 lineup for the Twins should be. 1. Span CF 2. Dozier SS 3. Mauer C 4. Willingham RF 5. Morneau 1b 6. Doumit DH 7. Valencia 3b 8. Carroll 2b 9. Revere LF

I agree Revere should not be right field, but he should be playing every day for the Twins over guys like Plouffe, Komatsu, and Mastroianni. He is a career .326 hitter in the minor leagues and 160 stolen bases. So yeah i stand by my point that Ben Revere is a great minor league hitter who only has had 496 major league ab's and to say he will not be a great mlb hitter is foolish because that is such a small sample size. I don't believe he has gotten the opportunity to play everyday except last year when he was a rookie. I guarantee you if he played everyday this year he would put up signficantly better numbers than he did last season. He is only 24 years old and he is only going to get better. The thing that I disagree with people all the time is you act like a singles hitter is a bad thing. Add in his speed and he is not a singles hitter he is a nuisance and a basestealer the Twins haven't had in years. Look at the late 80's Cardinal teams with Vince Coleman, Ozzie Smith, and Willie Mcgee were singles hitter that ran roughshot on the bases. I don't know if Revere can be that good, but those criticizing him because he is a singles hitter are selling him short. If he can learn to take a few more walks to increase his OBP I would be completly happy having Ben Revere starting for the Twins.

plus with going to Milwaukee Morneau is likely going to have to play 1st all 3 games so maybe they wanted to get him a day before the series with Milwaukee.

What happened to this, "Justin Morneau will be the 1st baseman until further notice" well I guess further notice was 2 games.

Im sorry to say,but Cole Devries would get hammered atthe big league level. I have followed devries career since he became a Twins and he has overcome the odds to make it to AAA. He doesn't have anything that screams major leaguer and as much as I like him and root for him there is no doubt in my mind that bringing him up would be a disaster. Since when do you reward a person for working hard and being a ok pitcher. That sounds crass but Devries is a C pitcher in the minor leagues and would be a F pitcher at the big leagues. I don't know where people all of a sudden think he is a good pitcher because he is an average pitcher. I really hope I am wrong because i respect the heck out of him with all he has been through from getting promoted and then demoted. He is a role model for fringe prospects to keep trying, but I can't say with a clean conscious that him coming up would be anything but a complete disaster. Devries is 31-42 with a 4.00 era in 6 minor league seasons nothing that screams promotion.

My question is fans do you think Harrison will be able tostay at 3rd going forward?

I am not going to make this a Revere forum as most that know me know that I am a big Revere supporter. However, it is a shame that Doumit got hurt as he was really coming on. Hopefully he can be back in 2-3 weeks because this offense definately needs him. Right now he has been the most consistant hitter in this lineup and they will definately miss him. I don't expect the DH spot to be a steady spot for anyone and the arrival of revere seconds that motion. Mauer, Morneau, Willingham, and Span will all get turns at the DH spot. Maybe Willingham would make the most sense so you could put revere in left, but sometimes as a manager your job is to keep everyone happy and Willingham even though he is not a great outfielder has been clear he enjoys playing in the field. I still expect him to play left 4 out of 6 games. Revere will get some pt as they will want to baby span because you don't want him to pop his hamstring so you be careful with that. Revere will play center until Span is ready. Let me be clear the reason Revere got the call instead of others is he is a great hitter. I know some will say he is a singles hitter, well i am fine with him being a singles hitter especially with his speed and ability to steal bases. So the Twins didn't bring him up to sit on the bench he will play. Probably not every day but I expect him to get plenty of opportunities to hopefully shut up the revere haters once and for all.

Travis Harrison 3b/OF 6'1 215lbs Bats Right/Throws Right Travis Harrison was born October 17, 1992 in Aliso Viejo, California, US (Age 19) and had quite the high school career from Tustin High School. With a supplemental pick in the 2011 MLB draft the Twins selected Harrison with the 50th overall pick. There was talk he would be tough to sign because he had a scholarship to USC to play baseball. However, the Twins stepped up and got him signed at the last minute. Here is an exerpt from Bleacher Report, "A Southern California commit, Harrison bashed nine homers in his first 22 games for Tustin HS and finished the season with 12 long-balls and a .486 average." He obvously can mash the ball with 12 hr in only 22 games which is very impressive. Harrison is big and projectable so there are questions whether he can stick at 3rd or if he might end up at 1st or the outfield, but for now he will likely head to either Elizabethton or the GCL as a 3rd baseman.

Bobby Cox was able to relate to guys in different generations. The problem is not the manager it is about these prospects turning out and I have no doubt that most of them will and by 2014 the Twins will be back in the playoffs.

No prospect is a sure thing but I like their chances. Twins overspent in 2010 and 2011 and came back to earth to what a mid market usually spends. I will take a 100 million dollar payroll and its way more than I ever thought the Twins would go to. The Twins overspent to try to win and now they are back to where most midmarket teams are.

if you want to be a fan of a team that spends spends spends be a Yankee fan. I am proud to be a fan of a team that develops. And yeah some prospects haven't worked out, but that is part of the process. The future of the organization is bright whether people want to admit it or not.

I had that exact exchange on Twitter and I may be Nieve in thinking that no the Twins org is not broken. The Twins have been in the playoffs 6 of the last 10 years. Two years ago if you would have done a poll of this question the results would have been way different than if you asked it today. My view that the Twins are going through a little rough patch, but this is a process that the organization has to go through. All mid to small market teams have about a 5 year window to win a world series before they need to hit the restart button and struggle for a bit. After last year the Twins hit the reset button by letting Joe Nathan, Michael Cuddyer, and Jason Kubel leave as free agents. I think it was smart to sign affordable vets to short term contracts so that the Twins prospects will have time to work out the kinks at the minor league level and not at the big league level like players in 1982 and 2000 were forced to do. You have Joe Mauer as the center of the rebuilding of the Twins organization. Add Liam Hendriks and Chris Parmelee who will be solid contributers going forward and you got the start of things. Add in Kyle Gibson, Joe Benson, Brian Dozier, Deolis Guerra, and possibly Scott Diamond helping out in 2013. Then you got Aaron Hicks, Alex Wimmers, BJ Hermsen, Adrian Salcedo, and the number 2 pick in the draft to help out in 2014. So by 2014 Twins should have the core that should help them win division titles again. My synthesis is that Twins fans are too impatient and don't realize that this is just part of the process. They were spoiled after goiing to the playoffs every year for a while that if they have a couple down years they want gardy's head and the earth is exploding. In addition to those prospects after 2012 and 2013 the Twins will much more financial flexibilty to improve the team. Three rough years is small potatoes compared to the 9 years that the Twins went through after blowing up team after the 1992 season. I know fans are going to flip out anyway all I am saying is sometimes it is necessary to break something down to build it back up and that is what the Twins are doing so please calm down.