Elite Benchwarmer

Arcia has looked the best at the plate during the Spring. At least during this Spring, he's showing as a dead pull hitter. If the Twins are OK with Arcia defense at SS, I think he's the guy. Neither Kreidler and Gray have shown anything at the plate this spring in Fort Myers. I don't think Kreidler can hit enough to justify his defense, although he's the best among this trio.

Spring hope is eternal (for a Twins fan). I'm excited and ready to go with my spring season tickets! My first spring in SW FL since Hurricane Ian.

Quality SP have tremendous value, especially with multiple years of control. I believe the odds of the Twins trading Lopez or Ryan by Aug 3 is around 100%. If they stay healthy and performance is similar to their recent track record, the return should increase over time. Injuries and post-season needs will drive the value higher. I hope the Twins demand young major-league ready talent. (Not expecting that, however.)

A key negative for Wallner vs early Schwarber/Ortiz is K/BB - higher K rate and lower walk rate. This is partly a trade-off for higher slugging. The 2-year age difference is also important to note. I don't think Wallner will be Schwarber or Ortiz, but I believe it's still too early to know where his career lands. Kyle Matt David Schwarber Wallner Ortiz PAs 1274 901 1227 K 369 294 252 K% 29.0% 32.6% 20.5% BB 174 95 143 BB% 13.7% 10.5% 11.7% 2B 36 44 76 HR 72 49 38 AVG 0.228 0.238 0.263 OBP 0.341 0.35 0.354 SLG 0.472 0.501 0.457 OPS 0.813 0.851 0.811 OPS+ 108 133 105

I'm a fan of Wallner, and I hope/expect that he will be a valuable asset for the Twins over the next few years. I believe most players need 1200+ PAs to prove out their MLB talent. Wally is at 900 PAs, so he's still climbing that early career wall. This got me thinking about early stats and career trajectory for a couple other talented lefty sluggers who aren't great defenders. The chart below shows the first 4 years for three players. Wallner is Player B. Player A is active. A & C have both won world series rings. Player C is a former Twin. Wallner certainly compares favorably, but one caveat is that he is 2 years older than Player A & C at the career stage shown by the stats below. Bottom line, my view is that it is still early in Wally's career and has ample room for improvement. Player A Player B Player C PAs 1274 901 1227 K 369 294 252 K% 29.0% 32.6% 20.5% BB 174 95 143 BB% 13.7% 10.5% 11.7% 2B 36 44 76 HR 72 49 38 AVG 0.228 0.238 0.263 OBP 0.341 0.35 0.354 SLG 0.472 0.501 0.457 OPS 0.813 0.851 0.811 OPS+ 108 133 105 Obviously, I had some free time today. (Being retired will do that for you.) I'll share names for Player A & C later today. Any guesses?

At a minimum, the Twins need to sign/trade for 2 BP arms. One RH & one LH. One of these needs to be closer capable. And I don't expect either to be on the level of Duran/Jax. However, an upgrade vs Sands/Topa/Tonkin is essential. The lineup, as proposed, is missing a RH 1st basemen/bench bat. (Wouldn't it be nice if Miranda could find himself. He could fill that missing piece.)

This is my view on the reliever trades. I believe the Twins took advantage of the high prices being paid for bullpen arms. However, the current question is what is the plan for next year? The Twins have a long way to go to put together an average bullpen for 2026. Maybe trading a SP for some bullpen help in the off-season?

Fedko was locked in last night. This photo is just before his RBI single. His uniform is still clean given homers in his first 2 ABs.

Today from Eric Longenhagen @ FanGraphs: Ben Ross, Utilityman, Minnesota Twins (Salt River Rafters) I know his numbers aren’t good, but superutilityman Ben Ross looks good, playing defense all over the field and showing surprising power for a hitter as lithe and skinny as he is. Ross “broke out” in 2023 with 19 bombs at High-A Cedar Rapids, but he struck out in roughly 30% of his 2024 plate appearances and posted a mere 78 wRC+ at Double-A Wichita. Ross struggles with secondary pitch recognition, but he’s very dangerous in the middle-up portions of the zone and his swing is surprisingly short considering how much power he has. He will probably always strike out too much to be an everyday player at a single position, but Ross’ ability to play a competent shortstop and center field (the latter is less certain, but regular season tape from Ross’ time there suggests it’s plausible) could soon make him a better, more impactful role-playing option than Austin Martin has been. Hopefully, with a bit of adjustment/improvement/maturation with his bat, Ross can be a valuable utility player for the Twins!

AK and EJ will probably be in the game by the 7th inning. The Twins are like a mediocre Little League Team - everyone gets to play!

Terrific writing. The league needs to identify and implement the most accurate ball/strike system that doesn't significantly delay the game. Hopefully, the options being tested over the past 3-4 years have provided sufficient data to get this implemented ASAP (meaning 2025).

I hope they keep Max to start the season. If he can deliver anything close to his 2023 2nd half, he will either help lead the Twins to winning the division or his value will be higher in July than it is in February. I also hope to see a Wallner, Buxton, Kepler outfield for a 100 games or so.

I understand the risk and hesitation regarding drafting HS SP. However, I appreciate that the Twins are occasionally willing to take a risk on a high upside SP. #1 SP are (IMO) the most valuable commodity in baseball. Having control of a #1 type SP for 4-5 years would be a major catalyst to a championship-level team. I can dream!

"so they're either relying on Buxton, Castro, Gordon, and Martin or they're making another trade. I'd bet they plan to rely on those 4 until mid-February when they see what Buxton's knees are looking like. That'd be the earliest I'd expect a CF move." I agree with this. It feels like the Twins will wait until late Feb/early March to make a move on a CF. If they think Buxton can play 80 games in CF, I think they'll be OK with current options. At a minimum, they really need to add a solid #3 starter. I'm hoping they are working the trade market to obtain a multi-year, affordable quality SP.

I'd bet on Funderburk having a better season than Thielbar. I think that age is catching up to Caleb along with higher than average injury risk. And hitters seem to be starting to figure him out. I hope I'm wrong and that Caleb offers big value in 2024. I agree with the author, Funderburk needs to improve his control. I am optimistic that he'll be a valuable part of the 2024 Twins.

Giolito is the best the Twins can hope for in a free agent SP. I'd go for a deal in the ballpark of 3 years/$45 mil. If the bidding for Giolito (and similar SP talent) pushes $20 mil+ and/or 4 years+, we may be settling for Kenta Maeda as our best option. Just like me, the Twins are on a budget!

Except for keeping a few batters (Buxton, Correa) too high in the order for too long and allowing Gallo too many PA, I think Rocco has done a pretty decent job of maximizing our lineup through the year. For the most part Twins hitters provided very little value during the first half. I think Solano, MAT, Kirilloff, and Castro have been used fairly optimally.

"Farmer’s big fly was the first hit of his postseason career, and it’s arguable that he’ll never hit a more impactful one." I have my hopes set on Farmer and the other Twins batters having their most impactful bats in the next couple of weeks. Yes, I'm an optimist!

Pablo is working on becoming legendary !

Lewis. >>>>> Gausman

Jimenez returns wearing number 1.

My favorite player back in High School - Rookie of the Year for 1980. Correction... Castino was ROY in 1979.

My favorite player back in High School - Rookie of the Year for 1979. Those were some tough years to be a Twins fan.

Who can forget Houston Jimenez?