Ted Schwerzler

Each year the Stadium Club line is one to circle in the Topps Baseball release calendar. A product with strong affordability and not driven by extraordinary chase cards, the allure here is the stunning visuals. There’s short prints and photo variations across a plethora of Topps products but it’s Stadium Club that showcases images on the most beautiful level. Stadium Club is not a massive product and boxes include 128 total cards. The base checklist is 301 cards and there’s only a handful of insert checklists in the product. Boxes will retail around $80 and include two autographs along with three guaranteed insets. Minnesota has a few noteworthy cards to check out as well. Base In that 301-card base checklist the Twins find themselves with nine different subjects. Stars include players like Jose Berrios and Eddie Rosario, while veterans Miguel Sano Jonathan Schoop and Nelson Cruz also make appearances. Willians Astudillo has a rookie offering and Harmon Killebrew is a legend representative on the checklist. Hits Despite not having a base card Jake Cave does have autographs in the product. He is joined by Astudillo who has certainly become a popular signer for Topps in recent products. Each of these cards have parallel versions as well. Inserts While not incredibly extensive, there’s more than a few insert checklists to collect in Stadium Club. Unfortunately for Twins fans, the only player included in any of them is Byron Buxton. He gets a single entry in the Warp Speed set. Even with the photography and base cards being the main draw of this product, it certainly feels like a missed opportunity not to include more Minnesota flavor in this section. For more from Off The Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz

Fresh off their first losing week of the 2019 major league baseball season the Minnesota Twins welcome the Tampa Bay Rays to Target Field for the first time in 2019. These two clubs hooked up at the end of May for a four-game series and the Twins took three of four. However, thanks to an 11-run drubbing in game one, Rocco Baldelli’s squad was on the short end of the run differential stick. Tampa comes to Minnesota having dropped six of their last ten playing against the Athletics, Yankees, and Angels. They’ve been near the top of a strong AL East division for much of the year, and the +85 run differential has their Pythagorean W/L at 48-30.What They Do Well Like Minnesota the Rays can pitch. The 12.1 fWAR is 1st in baseball and is largely bolstered by Charlie Morton. Blake Snell has taken his lumps at times this season, and he’s coming off his worst outing of 2019 (0.1 IP 2 H 6 ER 4 BB 0 K vs NYY). After losing Tyler Glasnow to injury much of the Rays rotation has been in flux. They employ the opener often and getting to Jose Alvarado or Emilio Pagan on the back end has been key. Despite not having the same offensive chops as the Twins, Tampa’s lineup is no slouch either. Their 12.9 fWAR is eighth in baseball and fifth in the American League. Owning just the 19th best ISO in baseball (.171) the approach is more of a team effort to score runs rather than living on the long ball or extra-base hit. What They Do Not Do Well Looking at a team this solid we’re nitpicking a little when attempting to find significant flaws. The lineup construction here is not one built to come from behind, however. Being in the bottom-third of baseball when hitting the long ball doesn’t provide many quick avenues to get back in a game. They also hover around the midpoint in regards to doubles, so it’s no surprise that their total runs scored check in at just 18th in the sport. Individuals of Note While Blake Snell gets the headlines as the reigning AL Cy Young, there’re two guys vastly more important for the Twins to key in on over the next few games. Wednesday starter Charlie Morton has been arguably the best free agent acquisition in baseball and leads the league in ERA. Houston turned him into a strikeout monster and his 1.025 WHIP suggests opportunities won’t come often against him. Morton has allowed more than two ER in just three of his 16 starts, and he’s held opposing lineups scoreless five times this season. On the offensive side of things, it’s former top prospect Austin Meadows. Acquired in the exchange for Chris Archer, Meadows has a .930 OPS. He has cooled just a bit since returning from the injured list in early May, but the .850 OPS still makes him a dangerous hitter. His 146 OPS+ is one point higher than that of Minnesota’s Jorge Polanco. Recent History As noted above, Minnesota and Tampa Bay squared off the last two days of May and first two of June. After a 14-3 drubbing in game one, Minnesota came back to take three in a row from Tampa. Minnesota is dealing with some missing pieces right now, but the hope would be that a return of one or two could have the Twins adding favorably to their 24-13 home record. Ending Thoughts Tampa is again a good squad and facing their two best hurlers isn’t going to provide any breaks for the Twins. Kyle Gibson is coming off an ugly outing against the Red Sox and will need to set the tone against Snell. Odorizzi faces his former organization and looked a bit lackluster his most recent time out. Minnesota’s lineup has slowed of late but getting right following the off day and against a good team at home, would be a great thing to see. Click here to view the article

Max Kepler used to be relatively vocal about his decision to avoid an increased launch angle. He wasn’t looking solely to hit home runs, and while his goal was to enter the zone on a level swing path, he was just fine with ground balls. Former Twins beat writer Mike Berardino talked to the outfielder back in the spring of 2018 and Kepler said as much there. Now he’s become one of the best outfielders in baseball, and it’s because he’s changed his approach. Baseball has transitioned to a sport where getting lift on the baseball provides the optimal route for success. As the game invokes shifts and the ball is now juicier than ever, lifting the pill over defenders is the most direct path to generating extra-base hits. Although this may not be a direct focus for Kepler, it’s a principle that James Rowson has impressed upon Twins hitters and it’s one Max is putting to use. In 2019 Kepler owns an 18.5 degrees average launch angle. Last year that mark was 16.2 degree and in 2017 it sat at just 12.6 degrees of lift. Launch angle on its own isn’t conducive production, but Max has paired it with an enhanced exit velocity as well. The 90.9 mph mark this season improves upon an 89 mph mark last year and an 88 mph tally the season before. Summarizing it easily, harder and higher is producing the best results of his career. The percentages reflect what we are seeing in the raw data as well. Kepler owns a career low 35.7% ground ball rate and a career best 18.3% HR/FB number. His 42.6% hard hit rate is nearly seven percent higher than his career average and over a five percent improvement from 2018. Despite chasing and whiffing a bit more often, the contact rate is right on par with career norms and contact within the zone is a career best 93.9%. Through just 70 games played Kepler has the 7th best fWAR total among outfielders. He’s the second best in the American League trailing only a guy named Mike Trout. Minnesota saw the value in their German native this offseason and extended him for $35 million over five years. Fangraphs estimates his worth as already being over half of that mark ($21.8MM). When you hear launch angle from a place of scrutiny it generally is assumptive of the idea that players are simply swinging up through the zone attempting to get lift. The practice is built around creating hard contact on the bottom portion of the baseball. A level swing can still be utilized with the point of contact being honed in. Combining lift with an enhanced exit velocity is where the power stroke comes from. As balls are being thrown harder than ever, they’re also being put in play at a similarly increasing velocity. Minnesota’s instruction may not have transformed Kepler’s swing plane through the zone, but it’s certainly worked to adjust the contact point and process when putting the ball in play. Regardless of if the baseball leaves the yard, Kepler is hitting the ball harder and longer than ever before. It’s because of that fact he’s experiencing a jump in performance and the Twins look to be the benefactor of belief over the next five years. For more from Off The Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz

First there was Babe Ruth, then there was Willie Mays, that turned into Barry Bonds, and now we have Michael Nelson Trout. The lineage of the greatest player to ever play the game of baseball is one that can be contested, but only a few names are worthy of being discussed. Despite the ridiculous heights we’ve already seen the 27-year-old Trout transcend, he’s surpassing even his best once again. In 2019 the Minnesota Twins have the best lineup in baseball. It’s worth wondering if there’s a makeup that can equal what the guy in Los Angeles provides.Despite playing on the West Coast I find myself staying up many late nights to watch the tandem of Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Encompassing both the best and most exciting players in the game, the duo is must-watch television. Seeing Trout barreling towards yet another MVP award this year, I wondered if pulling his numbers out of the Twins lineup is at all possible. His current stats are lofty to say the least, so we may have to stretch some, but I think it’s doable. .299 Batting Average- Mitch Garver (.301) Trout’s .299 average comes in a 71-game sample size. Garver has split time with Jason Castro, and missed 16 games, but when he’s been in the lineup he’s produced. It was Ohtani who sent him to the IL with an ankle sprain, and in the 11 games since his return, he’s compiled just a .250 average. Still north of .300 on the season though, Mitch is having as good of an offensive season as any backstop not named Willson Contreras. .462 On-Base Percentage- Joe Mauer 2009 (.444) Admittedly this is cheating. The goal here was to construct a cumulative player from the current Minnesota roster. However, the nearly 50% clip that Trout is reaching base is truly absurd. Joe Mauer won and MVP in 2009 leading the league in AVG, OBP, and SLG yet his on-base numbers are still nearly 20 points shy of Trout. The Angels outfielder has struck out plenty throughout his career, and both 2014/15 were high water marks. Right now, though he leads the league in walks and is 10 above his strikeouts in that category. The best lineup in baseball doesn’t have a guy like this. .651 Slugging Percentage- Mitch Garver (.642) Back to the land of small sample sizes in looking for a challenger here. Garver has blasted 11 homers in just 123 at bats, and he’s added another eight extra-base hits. His 25.6% HR/FB rate is a career high, and so to is the 46.6% hard hit rate. Since returning from the injury the production has slowed a bit, but Garver’s bat has always played for power and he’s posted the best number there thus far for the Twins. Finishing in the .600’s would be remarkable, but a teammate such as Max Kepler or Nelson Cruz could tag in for him. 59 Runs Scored- Max Kepler (50) Batting leadoff quite often for the Twins has its benefits this season. Kepler is also able to drive himself in with the longball, but his .359 OBP presents plenty of opportunity for the guys behind him. Leading the league in run differential, and leading the majors in runs scored, it’s been the German who’s crossed the plate most for Rocco Baldelli’s club. 17 Doubles- Jorge Polanco (21) It was Byron Buxton who ran out to the major league lead early in the 2019 campaign. However, his doubles were largely a reflection of stretched singles or balls that weren’t carrying over the wall. The Twins centerfielder is always going to be able to leg out extra bases, but as the weather has warmed, distances have grown on the gap shots and they’ve left the park. Polanco is a gap to gap hitter, and while there’s plenty of power in his bat as well, the extra-base pop inside the outfield fence seems reflective of Trout’s efforts. 22 Home Runs- Eddie Rosario (19) Across his nine-year career Trout has swatted more than 40 dingers just once. Already at 22 through 71 games, that changes in 2019. Although Rosario is an incredibly streaky hitter for the Twins, I think there’s an outside chance he reaches that mark for the first time in Minnesota since Brian Dozier did it. Rosario isn’t ever going to be a patient hitter, but he’s certainly a potent one. All the added thump around him helps to give him more hittable offerings and he’s certainly crushing them at a good clip. 56 Runs Batted In- Eddie Rosario (53) Just ahead of teammate Max Kepler (50), Rosario benefits from hitting more towards the middle of the lineup. You can expect that he’ll hit plenty of long balls, and both Kepler and Polanco should provide plenty of baserunners to drive in the rest of the way. We’ve come to see RBI more as an outcome of opportunity rather than individual performance at this point but expecting Eddie to capitalize on what’s in front of him is a good bet. Essentially what we’ve come up with here is a torrid start by Mitch Garver, career years for Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco, and a high level of performance from Eddie Rosario all combine to equal something close to what Mike Trout is by himself. Given how well the Minnesota Twins have played this season, and what the lineup looks like, it’s truly unfathomable to equate how valuable one single player is. Mike Trout is the type of guy we’ll go decades without seeing again. In watching the level of greatness Twins Territory has this season, it’s mind-boggling to note that one player can account for that same level of production on his own. The Minnesota Twins are going to continue the crash course towards the postseason. They’ll lay waste to plenty of foes over the course of their next 90+ games. Big numbers should be expected when the dust settles and fall baseball will be plenty of fun. If the Los Angeles Angels don’t join them though, at least Baldelli’s club can attempt a combination effort to put Trout on the big stage. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins still have a couple of affiliates in the midst of their All-Star breaks this evening. Royce Lewis stole the show offensively with a double-dinger night including a walkoff, while Ryley Widell looked strong in his 2019 debut for Elizabethton. Read about the action below.Transactions: Rochester Red Wings- RHP Adam Bray transferred from Double-A OF Jaylin Davis transferred from Double-A INF Brian Schales transferred from Double-A C Willians Astudillo recalled by Minnesota RHP Sean Popped contract selected by Minnesota Pensacola 1B Lewin Diaz promoted from Fort Myers RHP Hector Lujan promoted from Fort Myers Fort Myers RHP Tanner Howell transferred to Cedar Rapids RHP Derek Molina promoted from Cedar Rapids LHP Zach Neff promoted from Cedar Rapids RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Columbus 1 (Game suspended in bottom 5th) The Red Wings and Clippers will resume this game and make it up tomorrow as part of a quasi-doubleheader. Before the game was put on hold, Brent Rooker kept up his hot hitting. BLUE WAHOOS BITES ALL STAR BREAK MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Charlotte 3 (7 innings, Game 1) Box Score Playing a doubleheader tonight Edwar Colina got the nod for Fort Myers in the first game. Working one out into the 6th inning he left in line for the win. Alex Phillips did allow a trio of inherited runners to score, but the Miracle held on to get the victory. This one was like a page out of the big league book. Ryan Jeffers returned from the home run derby blasting his ninth dinger in the first inning. The two-run lead was added to in the second thanks to a Royce Lewis solo blast. Tied at three in the final frame Lewis stepped in again. His second dinger of the day came in walk-off fashion and doubled his homer output in 2019. Charlotte 5, Fort Myers 0 (7 innings, Game 2) Box Score After racking up eight hits in the earlier game against the Stone Crabs offense was non-existent in the nightcap. Melvi Acosta and Joe Record allowed five earned and Trevor Larnach accounted for the only hit in the game. KERNELS NUGGETS ALL STAR BREAK E-TWINS E-NOTES Bluefield 6, Elizabethton 0 Box Score Ryley Widell made his 2019 debut tonight for the E-Twins and looked sharp. Working four complete he gave up just one run on two hits while fanning six and walking none. After a strong eight game debut with Elizabethton in 2018, that’s a great note to begin this campaign on. Unfortunately the E-Twins were able to generate just five hits on the evening and didn’t push any runs across. Bluefield got to the bullpen late and the five runs scored after thesixth inning was enough to do the home team in. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Ryley Widell (Elizabethton) – 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – 2-7, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 HR, K PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – 2-7, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 HR, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Injured list #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured list #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 2-6, R, 4 K #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - No game (All-Star Break) #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Game suspended #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) – Did Not Pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – Did Not Pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Fort Myers) - Did Not Pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Injured list (Tommy John surgery) #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) – Game suspended #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured list #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – 1-6, R, 2 RBI, HR, K #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - No game (All-Star Break) #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured list #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - No game (All-Star Break) #17 - Zack Littell (Minnesota via Rochester) - Did not pitch (as of this writing) #18 - LaMonte Wade Jr. (Rochester) – Game suspended #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - No game (All-Star Break) #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 0-6, K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Columbus (11:05AM CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart (5-3, 4.56 ERA) Pensacola @ Jacksonville (6:05PM CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Jupiter (5:30PM CST) – TBD Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35PM CST) – LHP Kody Funderburk (0-0, 2.03 ERA) Bluefield @ Elizabethton (5:30PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! Click here to view the article

I'm not sure if my tone was misinterpreted or not but both this article, and the one I wrote a week and a half ago, have been in defense of him. Among those blogging/tweeting on the Twins, I've arguably been the most defensive of him.

Roughly a week ago the discussion surrounding Miguel Sano was in relation to his strikeouts. Now operating at a 39.2% strikeout rate, the trips back to the dugouts remain inconsequential to me. The issue with his production profile revolves almost entirely on plate discipline. I touched on this in passing during that piece, but there’s a more nuanced conversation to be had here.During the Twins 17-inning affair with the Boston Red Sox, Sano went 0-for-7 with five strikeouts. He came up in multiple big spots and simply couldn’t put the ball in play. It’s one thing to be fanning on pitches in the upper 90’s, but he was swinging through fastballs topping out below 95 mph. For a guy like Sano, bat speed isn’t the issue, but he certainly could be playing a literal guessing game. First the good news. Although Sano’s strikeout rate is fourth highest in the majors among players with at least 100 plate appearances, he also owns the sixth best hard-hit rate (52.0%) in baseball. Because he doesn’t put the baseball on the ground, and crushes it when he makes contact, the 30.4% HR/FB rate is 11th in the majors. From this we can deduce that when the ball is put in play, good things happen. Now the bad news. Steadily climbing since his debut season, Sano’s 33.7% chase rate is a career worst and his 19.2% whiff rate follows suit. With that mix you get an obvious combination detrimental to contact rates, resulting in just a 62.5% output. To summarize this bit of information we can understand that Miguel is expanding the zone, giving himself less opportunity to hit the ball hard, and finding himself behind in counts more frequently. Download attachment: chart.jpeg As Sano has shown a willingness to expand, chase, and guess through at-bats, opposing pitchers have exposed him in the most inopportune moments. Coming up in high leverage situations, he’s got a .167/.250/.333 slash line across 20 plate appearances. That’s certainly a small sample size, but the reality is a lack of plate discipline is most exposed when pitchers need to exploit batter tendencies attempting to work around damage. There are two trains of thought here that can provide some reason for hope. One is that Sano went without spring training and is still settling in. Teammate Marwin Gonzalez started with a .191/.262/.277 slash line across his first 100+ plate appearances this season. Sano is 103 PA in and owns a .225/.314/.539 slash line. Since settling in Marwin has been among the Twins best hitters, so once Sano gets acclimated an uptick may be coming. Another avenue to venture down is the sustainability of a split like this. Three true outcomes players exist, but many of them fail to produce at a high level for any significant amount of time. Joey Gallo has certainly transformed himself into one of the best players in the game, and he’s done that by being something like the 100th percentile of Miguel Sano. Gallo’s 57.9% hard hit rate is the best in baseball while his 43.6% HR/FB mark is second. He’s putting up both of those outcomes alongside a 35.5 K%, just three spots behind Sano. So, what’s the difference then? The third outcome for Gallo, walk rate, is nearly double that (19.6%) of Sano’s (11.8%). He whiffs plenty at 15.1% (down 3% from 2018), and he actually makes contact less often (61.8%), but he chases significantly less. The Rangers star swings out of the zone just 22.8% of the time (10% drop from 2018). By forcing pitchers into the zone, he’s barreling hittable pitches with a powerful swing almost every time the two objects connect. Joey Gallo forces the opposing hurler to pitch to him, while Miguel Sano allows the opponent simply to throw. James Rowson has a moldable piece of clay in front of him, and if the weight loss is any indication, this is the first time in a while that Sano may be a willing student. Figuring out how to get rid the check swings, hold off on the offerings well out of the zone, and commit every time the bat goes through the zone is an absolute must. Sano’s best season came with a 25.2% chase rate and a 15.7% whiff rate. He’s not far from those benchmarks, but it will take work and focus to get there. Once again, I’m willing to suggest I could care less that Miguel Sano strikes out. In and of itself, the strikeout is no worse than any other out. What I do care about is that a guy whose entire value is derived from plate production, figures out how to read pitches, work counts, and commit to attacking the ball with a swing destined to produce results. Click here to view the article

This is a GREAT comment. I stayed away from post hype type inclusions, but the two most obvious are Romero and Gordon. Could certainly see either being moved.

Of those, maybe only Rooker has real value right now.

As we move closer to July, we also push towards the looming Major League Baseball trade deadline. With the waiver period being removed in 2019, the July 31st deadline is a hard cap on all player acquisition. There’s no denying that the Minnesota Twins need to find some pitching help, and the assumption is that the answers will come in the form of a “when” as opposed to an “if.” As names circulate from an acquisition standpoint, it’s fair to wonder what the cost may be.From the outset I think we can safely assume that neither Royce Lewis nor Alex Kirilloff are going anywhere for the Twins. Moving either of the two top prospects, both among the top 10 across baseball, would be monumental. Barring a blockbuster deal including a high caliber player with multiple years of team control it just doesn’t seem to be on the horizon. We can attempt to glean an idea of what packages may look like by viewing things through the lens of recently made deals. From a top tier starting pitcher standpoint, the Chris Archer deal is a good place to turn: Pirates get Chris Archer in exchange for Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows, and Shane Baz Viewing this deal through the lens of Minnesota’s organization, you’re looking at something like Brusdar Graterol, Trevor Larnach, and Jordan Balazovic all being sent out. There’s a possibility that Graterol ends up as a reliever, and that’s the biggest evaluation Minnesota needs to make. Larnach looks the part of a legit corner outfield bat, and Balazovic has emerged as a middle-of-the-rotation starter. A return like this would by more focused on nabbing a player like Marcus Stroman or Matt Boyd than it would a rental option. No doubt losing the prospect capital would sting for the Twins, but they’d be targeting a pitcher that can improve the rotation both immediately and in the future. There isn’t a great blueprint for a top-tier rental pitcher being moved in 2018, but one happened a year earlier: Dodgers get Yu Darvish in exchange for Willie Calhoun, A.J. Alexy, and Brendon Davis The further back we go the more complicated it gets to evaluate prospects and returns on an equal playing field. Even in a rental situation, there needs to be at least one top 100 inclusion if the expectation is a number two starter. It’s Graterol that’s likely the coveted get, although there’s an outside chance he could be changed out for Larnach. Wander Javier may be enough of an add in on his own to get the job done, or a pair of Jhoan Duran and Nick Gordon could make sense. This is the grouping that will need to be explored most if Minnesota is going to make a push for San Francisco Giants Madison Bumgarner. There are no guarantees he’s in a Twins uniform past 2019, and losing some serious future depth will hurt, but if it pushes the postseason performance to the next level it could be worth it. Relievers are a fickle bunch and looking at the 2019 free agent crop is an absolute minefield. Getting the right guy will come down to scouting, but needing a high-leverage arm may not be cheap either: Indians get Brad Hand and Adam Cimber in exchange for Francisco Mejia Although Cimber posted great numbers with the Padres in 2018 this move was about Hand, his elite ability as a closer, and being under team control for up to the next three seasons. Cleveland had to part with their top prospect and a consensus top 30 player across baseball. Short of netting Felipe Vasquez from the Pittsburgh Pirates, Minnesota should be able to improve without going down this path. Both Jeurys Familia and Zack Britton were had for lesser returns and that’s the pool the Twins likely want to wade in. Some combination of Brent Rooker, Nick Gordon, Blayne Enlow, and Akil Baddoo should be an enticing group to an opposing team. There’re a couple of takeaways for potential moves the Twins could make, and they’ll need to thin out a group that has more 40-man options than the team can accommodate. As the big-league club moves into a winning window, turning some of the depth into usable major league pieces is a logical decision. If I had to make a couple of assumptions regarding pieces that will be moved here’s what I’m going with: The Twins will make three trades, or acquire a total of three players, in the form of a starter and two relievers. The starter will be good enough to act as the third best option, with both relievers intended to operate in high leverage. Across the trades that Minnesota makes, no fewer than five prospects will be dealt. The starter is probably going to cost at least two players with the potential for a third, and that could leave the relievers eating up another two or three bodies. Trevor Larnach would seem the most likely bat to be moved. He’s got a safer floor than Brent Rooker, and he looks the part of a guy who should be no worse than an every day big leaguer. I’d guess Derek Falvey wants to hang onto Graterol if possible, making the Oregon State product the next most valuable asset. If there’s a pitcher dealt outside of Graterol, one of the duo acquired last season (Jhoan Duran/Jorge Alcala) is a good bet. Click here to view the article

I feel like his whiff rates have been heightened by times of serious struggle at both of those levels. Once he's settled in and been healthy, he's looked better. There's definitely going to be strikeouts there, but I do like his plate discipline as well.

This week Topps will launch the latest entry to the Museum Collection line of baseball cards. The 2019 set continues along the path of previous offerings presenting a mid-high end offering composed of multiple packs and big hits. The box contains 20 cards and checks in right around $200. Split between base cards and hits, there’s a gamble that could pay off in a big way here. Unlike the previous upper tier product, Definitive, Minnesota is well represented in Museum Collection. There’s a handful of chase cards and Twins fans should be able to find excitement in one of the best-looking products each year. Base Set- The base checklist runs 100 cards deep, but unfortunately there are zero Minnesota Twins inclusions. With subjects consisting of past and present stars, this would’ve been a great opportunity for a nice image of Joe Mauer, but Topps passed on putting anyone in this checklist. Relics- Museum Collection hits are split heavily between swatch relic cards and autographs. Although there isn’t a base inclusion for the Twins, they’re well represented in both categories. Byron Buxton has a quad relic card with multiple parallels, as well as having a jumbo patch offering. Six Twins are found in the Meaningful Material checklist including two different Joe Mauer cards. Each of these offerings have five different parallels with a 1/1 chase card per player. The limited 1/1 Museum Memorabilia checklist also includes the same six Twins (Buxton/Kepler/Sano/Rosario/Berrios/Mauer) providing some very big hits. Autographs- Minnesota is a bit light on autographs, but many of these come in the form of sticker signatures. Rod Carew and Torii Hunter are both included in the Archival Autographs checklist with Carew being the sole representative in the Framed Autograph offerings. Both Rosario and Berrios have dual relic autograph cards to be had. Short of reintroducing Joe Mauer as a signer or expanding to guys like Justin Morneau, many of the same names Minnesota has had sign in products all year, will remain constant. For more from Off The Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz

And perhaps I should have added... Does this dichotomy say more about them, or about us?

Great comment. I think there’s a gray area that the spotlight can expose where moral decisions can be questioned. Physical altercation obviously goes beyond that however. For Kirby, his public transgression are never mentioned (which I don’t have a problem with), but Joe is cast in a negative light despite never giving fans anything but all he had (which was superstar caliber for a decade).

It's a good thing we attribute that solely to him and not the other 24 guys on the roster, all while ignoring that Puckett also had 24 teammates helping to capture those rings.

Justin Morneau addressed the throng of Minnesota Twins fans gathered at Target Field on Saturday night. There to celebrate the retirement of Joe Mauer’s jersey, it was the other half of the “M&M Boys” that offered some thoughts. Among his comments Justin noted that Joe’s favorite player growing up was Kirby Puckett. The star of yesteryear is thought fondly of, while the one currently receiving organizational praise is heavily scrutinized. It’s probably time to put down that cause and appreciate them equally. Puckett was the Willians Astudillo of decades ago. He was the short and stocky athlete that allowed every man, woman, and child to believe their major league dreams weren’t so far out of reach. Puckett didn’t toil away in the minor leagues though, as he was a man who performed admirably on the highest stage. A batting champ, 10 time All Star, six-time Gold Glove winner, and member of two World Series teams, the peak was as good as there ever was. The result was a Hall of Fame induction and years of post-playing career celebration. The parallels between the Twins hero that was and the one that was before run so deep. It’s in that reality that the need to divide the two remains so unfortunate. Twins fans will never stop wondering what Puckett’s career may have been had it not been cut short due to Glaucoma. Those same fans will never have to guess what Mauer’s career looked like after a brain injury changed his trajectory forever. One of the two saw his days on the diamond end immediately, only to be instantly celebrated with a Hall of Fame induction at the first opportunity. The other was forced to remake himself, miscast in a new role, and playing on a contract offered under different circumstances. A similar crossroads was approached, but next steps moved the two players in opposite directions. There’s certainly something to be said about achieving the ultimate goal, a World Series title in baseball. That’s not an individual accomplishment in this sport however, even with the highlight reel offerings provided during both stretches. Puckett contributed to those trophies while Joe was never presented the same opportunity. It’s probably in those accomplishments that the division begins. Whether you like analytics or not, Puckett’s career was worth a total of 44.9 fWAR, or roughly one spot higher than Mark Texeira on the all-time leaderboard. Joe Mauer topped 50 career fWAR, and while he played three more seasons, the time at first base was largely to his detriment. The most obvious parallel between these two is their injuries and how one was ended and the other was changed. We’ll get to a point in the next five years where Joe Mauer’s Hall of Fame candidacy becomes a reality. Writers will need to put pen to paper, and the decision will come down to whether a catching career reminiscent of Johnny Bench is worthy of induction. He was the best in the game for roughly a decade, but following injury, played out of position and over his head in a role miscast for his skillset. Where Puckett got benefit of doubt regarding his injury, Joe will be judge because of his. It’s fair to wonder what if for Kirby. Although he was set to be 36 years old in 1996, coming of an .894 OPS season doesn’t suggest that regression was close. A first ballot inclusion likely would not have been the result, but future celebration was sure to come. The reverse narrative will need to work in Mauer’s favor, and a campaign pushed by those in Twins Territory should be what fuels that fire. Rather than continuing to debate a contract signed under different circumstances, or a personality that didn’t jump off the page, celebrating the greatness that was should be a unifying discussion. Players like Kirby and Joe don’t come along often for organizations. Even those that are the best rarely sustain that production for this type of length, and for every All-Star selection there is, very few push the envelope towards a Hall of Fame discussion. When each new ballot comes out, and there’s an opportunity for a bronzed cap to be added in the halls of Cooperstown, it should be something we all find excitement in. Joe Mauer’s favorite player was Kirby Puckett. Puck might have considered Joe one of his favorites as well. You can bet that Kirby is waiting to welcome Joe into The Hall, and its time Twins fans get on board with that movement as well. For more from Off The Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz

Really too bad isn’t it!?

It’s the first time he’s hit in a full season league. Love the year he’s having, and the body changes he’s made, but he’s 30-35 for me right now.

There isn’t a name in the top 10 right now that I’m worried about. Slow starts or injuries, those guys are all either good enough, young enough, or both that a few months right now doesn’t change their prospect arcs.

Continuing down the path of searching out relief help for the Minnesota Twins, a host of closers and high-leverage arms can all be explored. The latest target is a guy who once tormented the hometown nine from the opposing bullpen. No longer the fireballer from the Kansas City Royals pen, he's still a serviceable arm that's carved out a pretty solid career.*You're going to see a lot of speculation and analysis on potential bullpen additions at the site over the coming weeks. Cody led things off earlier this week with a great overview of 10 potential trade targets. We'll continue to explore the reliever market by running profiles on specific pitchers each day. Greg Holland, RHP, 33-years-old Arizona Diamondbacks (35-33, 3rd place in NL West) Free agent following 2019 season 2019: 2.08 ERA, 1.015 WHIP, 11.6 K/9, 4.2 BB/9 in 21.2 IP 2018: 4.66 ERA, 1.619 WHIP, 9.1 K/9, 6.2 BB/9 in 46.1 IP What’s to Like? This season Holland found an immediate suitor and was able to start his year on a traditional note. After a shortened spring and two teams in 2018, being back on track with the Diamondbacks has had to feel good. His 2.08 ERA is the lowest it’s been since 2014 and neither the FIP nor xFIP numbers suggest a crazy amount of regression is ahead. Holland has operated in the closer role previously, leading the league in saves during the 2017 season. With just shy of 200 saves in his career the 9th inning, or similar high leverage, is nothing new to him. This season Holland has skirted trouble be keeping opponents bats at bay allowing just a 5.0 H/9. A 14% whiff rate is an improvement over last season and his 37% chase rate is a career best. He remains predominantly a fastball and slider pitcher, and that’s been his blueprint for most of his career. Concerns He's 33-years-old, surgery in the rear view, and just shy of 500 miles on his arm, Holland is working to stave off Father Time with each year that goes by. He has lost a bit more velocity (down to 92.2 mph) on his fastball, and his 4.2 BB/9 is on par with career norms. Prior to surgery he was a guy that never allowed the long ball, but he’s doing so now at a 1.2 HR/9 clip. A trade would have Holland on his fourth team in the past two seasons, and while it’s not reflective of clubhouse issues, no one has bought entirely into his ability to help them long term either. An impending free agent, his acquisition cost should be relatively low, but there’s no future benefit to this deal either. If there’s a way to define what Holland is right now, it’s probably a bit softer throwing Fernando Rodney of 2018. That worked out well for the Twins, but I’m still not sure if he’s the guy Minnesota would’ve wanted at the end of a must-win playoff game. If the club is making two moves, this could be that secondary level. See Also Sean Doolittle, LHP, Nationals Kirby Yates, RHP, Padres 10 Relievers Minnesota Could Target Click here to view the article