Vanimal46

Good. He can tease Atlanta for a few months like he did to Minnesota.

They could I guess. But why would you not want the 2nd best 2B in all of baseball? They could go with the cheap internal option and get maybe ~2 WAR from him, or 5+ WAR from Dozier.

And, to touch on nicksavikings' main talking point, his sinker percentage has risen exponentially over the last couple of years per Fangraphs: Sinker percentage: 2012: 21% 2013: 20.5% 2014: 25.8% 2015: 27.5% 2017: 42.2% Just say no to Lance Lynn.

Lance Lynn Pitch Type per Fangraphs: 2017 - FB - 81% SL - 11% CB - 4.7% CH - 2.6% 2015 - FB - 85.4% SL - 8% CB - 4.8% CH - 1.9% 2014 - FB - 79% SL - 10.2% CB - 8.4% CH - 2.4% 2013 - FB - 73.2% SL - 12.7% CB - 10.1% CH - 4% There's no dishonesty. He's a predominantly fastball pitcher.

The Twins would need to sign Escobar next off-season too, as he's a UFA. Morneau wouldn't have been traded if he wasn't dealing with post-concussion issues.

Agree with all of this. I also hope he proves people wrong by signing a deal with the Twins and playing at a very high level. It's not impossible to play at a high level as a 2B in your mid-30's.... Chase Utley, Ian Kinsler, Dustin Pedroia, and Robinson Cano are all doing it right now. I think some are really underestimating the gap in production between Dozier and the replacement (most likely Gordon). Over the past four years, Dozier has posted a 120 OPS+ while averaging 32 homers, 72 walks and 17 steals per season while playing above average defense. Keeping Dozier is something a contending team would and should do. If we believe the window is open now for the Twins, why would they let him walk? I'm of the belief they should keep Dozier, and trade Gordon+ at the deadline for an impact SP.

Throughout the winter Lynn hasn't interested me. Just because it's closer to opening day and he's still available doesn't change my opinion... At this point, the Twins could wait until June and NOT have to pay the draft pick to sign him.

Been a big fan of him since he joined the organization. I just love his approach at the plate, and think he has an extended MLB career ahead of him as a 4th OF at the very least.

It's going to be a long, looooong road to respectability for our friends down I-35...

KLaw chat going on right now.... Buckner 86 1:18 Does Jose Berrios take another step forward this year? Can he be a top 20 SP? Thanks Keith Law 1:18 Step forward, yes. Top 20 SP, no. Matt 1:18 Was Odorizzi really worth nothing? Put up 5 WAR from '15-'16. Hard to believe some SP-thirsty team couldn't do better than Palacios? Keith Law 1:18 I believe i mentioned in a previous chat that his back issues are a major concern. BD in DC 1:41 Are Lamonte Wade, and Brandon Lowe MLB regulars? Keith Law 1:41 Neither. Zachary 1:42 Twins starting shortstop in 2021 is Jorge Polanco? Nick Gordon? Royce Lewis? Wander Javier? Yunior Severino? Or someone else? Keith Law 1:42 I believe if you asked them, they'd say Lewis. I still have real doubts about him staying on the dirt; he has a LONG way to go, based on what I saw (and area scouts also saw) last spring. Brett 1:54 Do you think Buxton continues his progression in 2018 and has a better year than 2017? Keith Law 1:54 Maybe a small improvement, but even a repeat of 2017 would be great, given where he seemed to be last April or in mid-2016. http://meadowparty.com/blog/

12:19 Matt Klentak: When does Ervin Santana’s FIP catch up to him? He constantly beats it by a large margin. Does this type of finger injury linger and effect his grip? 12:23 Jay Jaffe: So long as he’s able to limit the quality of contact — and he was in the top 10 in both Soft Contact % (high) and Hard Contact % (low) — and avoids pitching for any team that occupies a bandbox, he’ll outdo his FIP. I’d be a bit nervous about any finger injury as to how it affects a pitcher’s grip, but I don’t have much deep knowledge of the specifics here offhand.

Last year I took the approach goulik mentioned in his post. Adopting players that were near MLB-ready. Now that Garver and Hildenberger graduated, I went out of my comfort zone and adopted a couple of kids in A ball. I'll tell you what, there's a lot more excitement and participation from the community compared to years past. Looking forward to keeping up the HYPE all season long.

This was a great read from an actual lawyer in Minnesota. Instead of us armchair lawyers going back and forth. Some that want to see Sano suspended harshly are going to be disappointed.

It's not going to be Ricky Nolasco.....

Was he a higher risk of TJS compared to any other pitcher in professional baseball? Sucks for De Leon. Good luck to him in his recovery.

He's pretty thin now, so I'm interested to see how he looks when he gains another 15-20 lbs.

Watson has an interesting wind up with the extra leg kick before he steps and throws.

Ask for international bonus money to use at an all-inclusive resort!

You want to feel really old? This is going to be the first year we'll see players drafted that were born in the year 2000....

Tyler Watson http://www.milb.com/images/663533/t492/180x270/663533.jpg Position: SP B/T: R/L Height: 6'5" Weight: 200 lbs. Birthday: May 22, 1997 AGE: 21 season Acquired on July 31, 2017 in exchange for RP Brandon Kintzler. 34th round draft pick in 2015 by the Washington Nationals. Starting the year in Cedar Rapids, and hopefully making his way to Fort Myers at some point in the season. If you're looking for a surprise breakout prospect for the Twins' starting rotation, you came to the right place! Prior to the 2017 season, John Sickels labeled Watson as a SLEEPER candidate for a breakout year. Since I have not seen Tyler throw a single pitch, let's let John break down this player: Watson certainly looks durable so far in his career. In 2017, he made 23 appearances, 22 of them starts, and put up this stat line: 120.1 IP - 4.34 ERA - 116 K - 32 BB - 1.26 WHIP - .260 BAA While his velocity isn't overpowering, there's plenty of time left for him to grow into his body, and gain another tick or 2 on his fastball. Prior to being traded to Minnesota, he was named an ALL STAR for Washington's Class A affiliate! From what I'm reading, Watson's control is his strong suit, as he's able to locate his pitches to all quadrants of the strike zone. In my uneducated opinion, he sounds like Stephen Gonsalves with a better curveball. Not too shabby of a return for a rental player at the trade deadline! And now, some fun videos! Here's a video of Watson warming up, and pitching to a New York Yankees' prospect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8078122o6kA If you're a Twitter person looking to follow him, too bad! I couldn't find him.

Don't sell yourself short! I remember you saying you went to a bar last season and ordered a salad during the Twins game!

Today I'll take the lanky lefty, Tyler Watson.

Yeah I suppose teams would be at risk of overpaying lesser players. I was just thinking if a team wants to rebuild and act like a small market team, they shouldn't get the revenue sharing benefits that MLB provides. That would give teams incentive to either stay competitive by maintaining a certain floor of payroll, or 'tank' by acquiring horrendous contracts like Phil Hughes to hit the floor.

It's fun to see some of these guys that I've only read about. Concur with Nick Gordon looking like he needs a Double Cheeseburger or 7. I also assumed Romero was kind of a lanky kid but he's pretty big. Hopefully he can continue to get stretched out as a starter, and save the last 20 odd innings in the MLB bullpen.

Jansen was right that only 6 teams appear to be competing this year in the NL... Which makes you think why wouldn't some teams try competing knowing others are going to be much worse than them? Kind of a best of the lousiest, lousiest of the best type of dilemma.