TNLooky2015

When do HR & RBI & XBH become an important stat line? ABW II had twice as many home runs as anyone on his highly touted minor league team [31 to 15] and 22 more than the 3rd closest teammate [9]. ABW II had 35 more RBI than the next closet teammate [71] and 52 more RBI than the next closest person after that [54]. These are really disproportionate numbers for a guy on a championship team. And even bigger numbers for a guy so declared to "probably" fail. And why he is The Most Intriguing Prospect in the system! How do these numbers relate to most elite players? ABW II is accountable for ___% of teams stat line: 17% of RBI 29% of HRs 18% of SO 14% of 2B 09% of BB 16% of XBH Paul Goldschmidt 16% of RBI 21% of HRs 12% of SO 13% of 2B 24% of BB 14% of XBH Kris Bryant 15% of RBI 15% of HRs 13% of SO 11% of 2B 13% of BB 13% of XBH Chris Davis 17% of RBI 21% of HRs 16% of SO 12% of 2B 20% of BB 16% of XBH

He just seems to have those intangibles. *HR vs #2 baseball prospect - Blake Snell (2015) 6 Hits in 15 Spring Training ABs *HR vs Matt Barnes (Red Sox) *HR vs Tommy Layne (Red Sox) *HR vs Mike Pelfrey (Twins / intra squad) *HR vs Trevor May (Twins / intra squad) *2B vs Jose Valdez (Red Sox) *2B vs Masahiro Tanaka (Yankees) That's 4 HRs / 2 2B / 5 Runs / 5 RBI / 4 SO in 15 AB. I want to see him have the opportunity to fail. That's all. I get everyone's comments. I truly do. I just want to see him fail 1st. By failing I mean Not Win. Although all the strikeouts say he should fail, something tells me he has a knack for winning. 301 Wins - 197 Loses (65% win rate). Yes 4 championships in 4 years can be explained all kinds of ways. Still the record remains the same. The Twins need Intangibles not just sabermetrics! IMO

Predicting that a person won't be able to sustain something when all they have done is sustain something (4 year history) is maddening. Sometimes what you see is truly what you see. ABW II guarantees strikeouts and lots of run production. Your argument is "I don't think he can do it --- Again" - - - ANOOOMMOOOOLY

If Walker (who is on the 40 man) outperforms Vargas; Arcia; and Park this Spring Training, would you still put Park as the opening day DH and / or Arcia and Vargas for that matter? Since none of the 4 options have proven to be a consistent performer, what would be your rationale? Walker is not looked at as a viable OF option (as a starter) so................

I agree. But when you suck - it calls for some new GM thinking / action. At this point before ST, I'm looking for near ready prospects who can get thrown into the fire for a season and learn on the job with no true expectations. And again these moves were made on January 21st. [i'm talking about the purpose of the Brewers GM moves]

I'm sure the 68 - 94 (2015) Brewers would be willing to designate for assignment a few of their current 40 man roster guys in an attempt to gain more talent. 40 MAN ROSTER BREWERS DFA MIL -Junio Guera (RHP / MN - Alex Myer (RHP) MIL - Garin Cecchini (3B) / MN - Trevor Plouffe (3B) MIL - Colin Walsh (2B) / MN - Jorge Polanco (2B) MIL - Andy Wilkins (1B) / MN - Adam Brett Walker II (OF/1B) MIL - Kirk Nieuwenhuis (LF) / MN - Oswaldo Arcia (LF) Would you have a problem designating these Brewers for our guys? Our guys are either younger or better or both. The Brewers 40 Man is designed to have a team for 2016 - not win. Nobody is sacred on their team. MIL - Jonathan Lucroy ( C) for MN - Kurt Susuki ( C) MIL - Will Smith (RP) for MN - [Gonsalves; Garver; Peterson (Non 40)] MIL - Will Middlebrooks (3B) - bonus baby for Twins This is essentially how the trade breaks down even if it wasn't formatted that way. Everything else is collateral damage for the Brewers.

..............The Brewers talk Smith first and settle for Alex Meyer; Jorge Polanco; and Oswaldo Arcia. They ask for Gonsalves, but we felt he was too much for a reliever. Once settling on the Smith Deal, we talk on Lucroy. We (Twins) start by offering Susuki and paying half his salary for 2016. Then we talk prospects and players: Gonsalves (LHP) comes back into the talks. Mitch Garver ( C) and Adam Brett Walker II (OF/1B) are added to the list along with Trevor Plouffe (3B). The Twins originally balk on Walker, but eventually agree to terms after both teams add players: Twins add Brandon Peterson (RP) and the Brewers add Will Middlebrooks (3B). DONE DEAL 4:30 pm - I call the Mets to distinguish earlier talks on Plouffe. This deal made more sense. It helps the Twins win now and allows the Twins financial flexibility to make mid season moves as needed. Brewers are building for the future and add some nice pieces for that future. They already have Zach Jones. We (Twins) even gain a MLB ready player (Middlebrooks 3B) in case Sano struggles. WIN WIN

I often read about how one player should be at a certain level based on age and another player should be at a certain level based on experience. My question is - Should the region you grow up in as it relates to experience trump the region you grow up in as it relates to age? High school players from Florida, Texas, and California play extensive baseball (50 game schedules) due to weather. This can also be said about the baseball practices in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. These players at the age of 16 thru 18 have been involved in year round travel baseball teams and / or baseball academies. High School players from the Midwest (Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan), have to deal with 25 game high school seasons due to weather restrictions. Their ability to play and practice year round in a non restrictive environment doesn't exist. Therefore players from this region sometimes have half the experience of the above group by the time they head off to college. Is it wrong to make a blanketed statement like we often do, in regards to the college player vs the high school player when not taking in to effect their region of development. I would suspect that a Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco, and Eddie Rosario were far more experienced / developed at 16 than say, a high schooler from the Midwest at the age of 18. If my suspicions are correct, would that mean that a 16 year old international signee is on the same developmental path as a Midwestern 18 year old high school senior? So back to my original question: 1) Should the region you grow up in as it relates to experience trump the region you grow up in as it relates to age? 2) Should age always matter as it pertains to prospect development? (considering a MLB club probably has an athlete for 4 to 5 years tops before you lose him to free agency anyway) 3) Can college experience be rationalized for all prospects into one study of expectations? 4) Or is it just easier to group prospects into high school; college; international (Latino); international (European); and go from there?

Hey Boom Out of the 36 potential hitters on ZIP list: ABW II 4th in HRs 4th in Runs Scored 2nd in RBI 1st in K% 5th in ISO I only list these stats because this is who ABW II is and has always been. This is what makes him special and what makes him questionable. I still stay amazed that he scores runs consistently (aka = a lot more than others) and continues to have such a low OBP.

Actually there is a website that shows every pitcher a player has faced in his career and every other prospect. I suspect those numbers are for his minor league career and not just 2015. Awesome site. http://mlbfarm.com/index.php

I never understand what managers truly want in their #4 hitters. ABWII hit 4th in the only year he won league MVP and posted a 20% K rate. Since then he has batted 6th and 7th and his K rates have risen. Home run numbers stayed the same however. So the bigger question may be who bats in front and behind you in the order and not, can you hit for power anywhere in order.

Hard to believe ABWII had 8 more homers than Sano at the time Sano got the call up from same AA team. Extra base hits always limit the use/need for small ball. Useful speed and top run scorers have to have some correlation in overall picture.

The minor league teams of Buxton; Kepler; Polanco; Walker; and others never had problems taking extra bases. Maybe that's why they always scored more than the other teams in their respective leagues. Youth movement is here. I mention those 4 because they appeared to be at the top of the league in scoring every year. They challenged outfield arms all the time. They didn't steal much but did steal effectively. I would like to know if the Twins have races in ST to see who are the faster players in camp?

Stats are year to year and production is year to year. Escobar and Dozier are both very good quality middle infielders. Twins look good for 2016 & 2017. Niko Goodrum is still a quality middle infielder and will be one someday for another organization. Best range in the system and rated the best infield arm just 2 years ago. He's just with wrong franchise.

I agree with much of what Seth says here. I also agree with Boom and like to see guys run around the bases. Some guys get out of the box extremely fast like Buxton and some guys are better going first to third. Walker is so long and takes such big strides that he appears to take off for his slides half way between the bases . Kepler like Buxton just glides. Polanco speed is misleading. He runs better once he gets started. Not fast from home to first and not fast stealing bases, but scores lots of runs yearly. Base stealing doesn't tell all, but does give you a blueprint of guys who are probably instinctual on the bases. FYI - Counting his NCAA career, collegiate summer ball, AFL, and minor league career, Walker is 91 for 109 in stolen base attempts. Like Seth stated above. Impressive

Walker takes more strikes looking early in count than he does swinging. He also works a lot of full counts which he eventually ends up striking out in. I think if he is actually more aggressive early in counts - He would have better results with OBP and OPS. IMO

Agreed or Arcia and Park Lt./Rt. Combo. At least we would have another OF option with Arcia.

That kind of power = runs. OBP may guarantee a guy gets on base. It takes several guys however with a HIGH OBP to guarantee runs. With our team make up - I would rather go the power route. As Boom stated - game changers.

Miguel Sano (Best of) Brian Dozier (Best of) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKc-6ma09CQ Park Byung Ho (Best of) (GS) (Walkoff) (vs AS) (Off CC) Trevor Plouffe (Clutch Home Runs) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmJtkGl7mIg Oswaldo Arcia (Best of) (RF) (Oppo) (CF) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6WxuqD4H1o (LF) Kennys Vargas (Switch Hitting Power) Adam Brett Walker (Best of) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnVT8WqaOUI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5LCRu_VNGo Max Kepler (Power Potential)

Not saying Walkers better than Sano (he's not), but just imagine what power numbers a Twins lineup could bring considering Walker had 8 more HRs than Sano (23 to 15) when Sano got called up in June. Sano; Park; & Walker alone could hit 100+. Arcia actually never hit more than 20 HRs in the minors yet bashed in the MLB once he arrived. Sano was more prolific in the MLB than in Chattanooga too. Can't wait to see how Park and Walker perform in spring training and beyond.

Balboni and Buhner both played 12+ years and had MVP caliber seasons during those decades (earned votes). Walker is a better athlete than both and his defense isn't that bad. His throwing can be more consistent, but that should be a workable fix. Besides I'll take Buhner's .852 career OPS. You're right not a bad ceiling.

You know I would go with Walker Merry Christmas Everyone

I'm impressed that he hits as many doubles as he does home runs. Plus he's stolen 36 out of 45 bases as a professional (80% success rate). That tells me he is athletic enough to play in the OF. Time will tell.

Mike Trout led the league in SO during his MVP season in 2014 and was able to improve last year by 26 SO. Sano and Rosario both should have the capabilities to improve in the SO department. The questions become: 1) Are they waiting to see what happens when they get to camp in terms of SO improvement "plan"? 2) What is the plan for all our SO prone / regression prospects / players (Arcia / Santana / Buxton / Mauer / Rosario / Sano & Vargas)? 3) How do the coaches help prospects / players with such SO issues in the off season is the bigger question? Drills / Mental Therapist / Standing in Box during Bullpen sessions (off season) / Etc.

Had to stir things up some how and Park was it