Tom Froemming

Romero is still only entering his age 23 season and has pitched 24 games in Double A, Littell will be in his age 22 season and has only pitched 14 games in Double A. I don't see any reason to feel the need to bump those guys up right away to start the year. Can always move them up during the year if needed.

As a way to look back at a great minor league season and look ahead toward the release of the 2018 Twins Prospect Handbook, I’ll be writing a series of features on prospects I am especially high on. Next to receive the spotlight treatment is left-handed starting pitcher Lachlan Wells.Ranking prospects is a difficult task and everyone has a bit of a different methodology. This series isn’t meant to be critical of any of the other lists out there, it’s all about presenting a positive case for the featured player. We’re starting at the bottom of my list and working up from there. Here’s a look at what’s on deck: Range 41-50 spotlight: Zander Wiel, No. 48 Range 31-40 spotlight: Tom Hackimer, No. 36 Range 21-30 spotlight: Lachlan Wells, No. 22 Range 11-20 spotlight: Coming Dec. 12 Range 1-10 spotlight: Coming Dec. 19 While the first couple of players I’ve highlighted in this series were drafted out of college and have been a little old for their level, the exact opposite is true of Wells. Signed out of Australia in 2014, Wells has been on an aggressive path. He faced older hitters 91.2 percent of the time last season and was three years younger than the average player in his league. At just 20-years-old, he was the youngest player to pitch for the Miracle and the third youngest in the Florida State League to throw at least 80 innings. Here’s the list of pitchers who logged at least 80 innings for Fort Myers in their age 20 season since 2010: 2017: Lachlan Wells, 81.1 IP 2015 Kohl Stewart, 129.1 IP 2014: Jose Berrios, 96.0 IP After turning heads by posting a 1.77 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 7.9 K/9 with Cedar Rapids in 2016, Wells had a 3.98 ERA for Fort Myers. While he didn’t have as easy a time carving through FSL lineups despite the notoriously pitcher-friendly atmosphere, there are still plenty of reasons to be excited about Wells’ future. He still had a 1.17 WHIP and 3.58 K:BB ratio. Those marks ranked 11th and 16th, respectively, among the 48 pitchers with at least 80 IP in the FSL last season. So what’s with the much uglier ERA? Giving up a .276/.328/.496 line (.824 OPS) with runners on certainly didn’t help. Wells’ 2017 got off to an exciting start, as he was able to represent his home country during the World Baseball Classic. On March 8, he pitched 2.0 innings perfect innings out of the bullpen with two strikeouts for Australia against Japan in front of more than 41,000 fans in the Tokyo Dome. One of the hitters he struck out, Yoshi Tsutsugo, led the NPB with 44 home runs in 2016 and was eventually named the WBC Pool B Most Valuable Player. Wells also got off to an excellent start with Fort Myers. In his first three games, he only gave up one run over 14.0 innings (0.64 ERA) with 17 strikeouts and just one walk. On May 17 he pitched a nine-inning complete game, throwing just 90 pitches, a pretty impressive feat considering only five other pitchers had a nine-inning complete game in the FSL last season. Unfortunately, Wells missed all of July and most of August with an elbow flexor muscle strain, but he still established a new career high of 85.1 innings (he made a 4.0 inning rehab appearance in the GCL). He also managed to end 2017 on a high note, throwing 5.0 shutout innings with seven strikeouts in his final start. Over the past three seasons, Wells has pitched 204.0 innings to the tune of a 2.74 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9. I honestly feel like his prospect stock was suppressed by some outlets last year because his online profiles all listed him as only standing 5-foot-8 for so long. Almost any write-ups I could find that year made reference to how small he was. He’s still not the biggest guy, but those profiles have since all been updated to 6-foot-1. Still, his relatively unimpressive stat line in the FSL combined with an influx of talent into the system from both the draft and trades will keep him from shooting up most rankings. Along with the WBC, Wells has had the honor of representing his country on a few other occasions. He was teammates with Lewis Thorpe at the 2013 18U World Cup in Taiwan. Lachlan has a twin brother, Alex, who was named the Orioles’ Minor League Player of the Year for 2017 after posting a 2.38 ERA and 0.91 WHIP over 140.0 innings, though he was playing a step below Lachlan in the South Atlantic League. It has to be somewhat beneficial to have not only a large group of Australian pitchers as teammates in the Twins system, but also a sibling going through the same process of trying to fight through the minor leagues. Per Baseball America, Wells was already able to occasionally touch 90 mph when he signed back in 2014. In a piece for BA in April 2016, Phil Miller reported Wells sits in the low 90s comfortably, but his best pitches are his curveball and changeup. I typically like to lean on the numbers, but there’s something about Wells’ delivery that I like. He starts out slow and smooth and then everything speeds up, especially with his upper body, and his head even does a subtle jerk, almost like you’d see from max-effort little league pitchers. Maybe that’s not ideal mechanics, but the action seems to create especially good deception for his off-speed offerings. Everything looks like it’s coming in hard. Again, I don’t pretend to have an eye for scouting that kind of stuff, but below is a little bit of video from YouTube of his rehab appearance with the GCL Twins. You can kinda see what I’m talking about in the parts that were shot from the first-base side (starting around the 1:00 mark). The lack of workload is a concern, but it’s worth noting that while Wells’ innings only increased 19.6 percent from 2016 to ’17, his total pitches thrown increased by 26.2 percent. Only time will tell if Wells can make it as a starter, but if he’s forced to the bullpen at some point the fact he’s a lefty helps. With a three-pitch mix and especially strong secondary options, he seems like a safe bet to continue to progress. There’s obviously no guarantee he see advances in his fastball, but if anything it’s only going tick up and he already has very good control. For more on Lachlan Wells and about 170 other Twins minor leaguers, be sure to pick up a copy of the 2018 Twins Prospect Handbook, which will be available later this winter. Click here to view the article

Thanks for the update. I'm not sure how the Twins should be planning May's future, but I will say that ever since Joe Nathan had Tommy John I've looked at this surgery a lot differently. I think we're a little desensitized to it, since it's so common and so many players bounce back, but it's a big recovery and some guys need that 24 month timetable to really get back. Nathan had the surgery in March of 2010 and made the Opening Day roster the next season. It looked like he was toast in his first year back, but nope, he still had two more amazing years in him that the Rangers benefited from. 2004-09: 1.87 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 11.1 K/9 2011: 4.84 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 8.7 K/9 2012-13: 2.09 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 10.5 K/9 It's going to be a really tough message to deliver to a 28-year-old Trevor May who I'm sure is absolutely chomping at the bit to get on the mound and prove himself, but it's going to be important that he and the team remain patient.

I agree, this is getting embarrassing. You did a great job touching on the racial issues, but people also overreact to the Park and Nishioka signings. They weren't even disasters. The investments made were modest and I even think there's still some debate that either guy may have panned out if they hadn't have gotten injured. With posting fees and everything else a grand total of $38.85MM was committed to those two players. Nishi was a $5MM posting and a $9MM contract, Park was $12.85MM posting and a $12MM contract. And some of that was even recuperated when each of those guys returned home. These weren't six-figure signings. Their failures did not cripple the franchise. These are fans who saw their club give Ricky Nolasco $49MM and Phil Hughes a $42MM extension, if anything the argument should be don't give pitchers money. But then again ... Why am I even arguing this!?!?!? Park and Nishioka have nothing to do with Darvish, Ohtani or anyone else!!! It's just the worst take ever on so many levels and I've seen it like a hundred times now. Barf. Those fans don't deserve to get to see Darvish or Ohtani pitch for their team.

Oh no, in the grand scheme of things for the Twins creating more competition and making those guys force their way in is certainly not a bad thing. But just from a selfish viewpoint of my own fandom, am I going to be more excited/invested in seeing Gonsalves/Romero or even Aaron Slegers or Trevor May pitch in the rotation, or a free agent? My heart wants to see our young guys get a shot, but my head wants the Twins to sign two starters and two relievers.

I've been thinking a lot about whether they should leave a rotation spot open for one of these guys too, but it's so tough to know how a guy is going to handle his first taste in the bigs. The advantage of being a non-contender is you can give prospects a test run and if they fail it doesn't matter (like Berrios in 2016). I'm excited to hear the front office talk about trying to catch Cleveland, don't get me wrong, but it is kind of a bummer that being a contender probably also means it's probably going to be more difficult for these young guys to break in.

In the FSL. I wasn't all that impressed with him pounding on kids in the Appy League, but what he did with the Miracle was unbelievable. There were only 15 hitters who had more HRs in the FSL, and Rooker was only there for 40 games. I shared this on Twitter yesterday ... PA/HR for Fort Myers 14.7 Brent Rooker, 2017 15.2 Miguel Sano, 2013 20.4 David Ortiz, 1997 The strikeouts are a concern, especially since they didn't come with a gaudy walk rate, but the power is so hot. The guy hit 41 homers in 129 games total last year between college and the minors. I get it if some people don't buy into the hype, especially given the small sample and his apparent lack of positive defensive value at this point, but I'm allowing myself to get excited already.

Yeah, I've wondered that same thing in concern to adding Neshek as a free agent. Hackimer is a couple inches shorter than Hildy, and I'd guess he doesn't throw his changeup as often, but them being too similar would definitely still be something you'd worry about. That's a good way of looking at it. FWIW, Hackimer also had that kind of thing happen in the AFL. Had one bad outing of his 10 games where gave up two runs and walked four in an inning. So he seems a tad prone to those blowups but is otherwise dominant. I suspect as he gets more comfortable on the mound we'll see fewer of those hiccups.

As a way to look back at a great minor league season and look ahead toward the release of the 2018 Twins Prospect Handbook, I am writing a series of features on prospects I seem to be especially high on. Next to receive the spotlight treatment is right-handed relief pitcher Tom Hackimer.Ranking prospects is a difficult task and everyone has a bit of a different methodology. This series isn’t meant to be critical of any of the other lists out there, it’s all about presenting a positive case for the featured player. We’re starting at the bottom of my list and working up from there. Here’s a look at what’s on deck: Range 41-50 spotlight: Zander Wiel, No. 48 Range 31-40 spotlight: Tom Hackimer, No. 36 Range 21-30 spotlight: Coming Dec. 5 Range 11-20 spotlight: Coming Dec. 12 Range 1-10 spotlight: Coming Dec. 19 “Billy, this is Chad Bradford. He's a relief pitcher. He is one of the most undervalued players in baseball. His defect is that he throws funny. Nobody in the big leagues cares about him, because he looks funny. This guy could be not just the best pitcher in our bullpen, but one of the most effective relief pitchers in all of baseball.” -Moneyball (the movie) The days of sidearm pitchers being overlooked are probably behind us now. There have been so many good ones over the past few years: Pat Neshek, Darren O’Day, Brad Ziegler, Steve Cishek and Joe Smith, just to name a few. Tom Hackimer is one of those guys who throws funny. Having been a fourth-round pick in 2016, however, the Twins clearly viewed him as much more than just a novelty act. I’m sure you can already guess where this is going. Yes, I’m going to compare Hackimer to Trevor Hildenberger. It’s irresistible. Not all guys who throw sidearm are created equal, but it’s pretty striking how similar Hackimer’s 2017 season was to Hildy’s 2015. Hackimer 2017 24.0 IP with CR, 37.1 IP with FM 1.76 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 Opponents: .142/.256/.171 (.427 OPS) vs. LHB: .184/.291/.241 (.533 OPS) Hildenberger 2015 45.0 IP with CR, 19.0 IP with FM 1.55 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 11.3 K/9, 1.0 BB/9 Opponents: .176/.206/.194 (.400 OPS) vs. LHB: .247/.267/.278 (.546 OPS) The edge goes to ‘15 Hildenberger, but it’s worth noting that he spent a larger percentage of his time in Low-A and was in his age 24 season while Hackimer just turned 23 in June. The big concern with sidearm hurlers is how they’ll fare against opposite-sided hitters. As you can see, Hackimer actually allowed less damage to lefties than Hildenberger. But the area where you notice the biggest difference between those two is definitely a cause for concern. Whereas Hildenberger was amazing at limiting free passes in the minors, Hackimer has had a bit of trouble with his control. He seemed to have tamed his wildness during his time with the Kernels at the beginning of last season. In 24.0 innings pitched, he’d only walked three batters (3.3 BB%). After his promotion, however, Hackimer lost some of that feel and walked 19 batters in 37.1 innings with the Miracle (12.3 BB%). An ugly performance on Aug. 13 really took its toll, as Hackimer walked four batters while failing to record an out. He entered the ninth inning of an 11-2 game and was left out on the mound for a while. Hackimer walked in three runs before manager Doug Mientkiewicz finally brought out the hook. It’s possible Doug saw it as an opportunity for Hackimer to work through some things and grow from the experience, or it could have just been that he was trying to save the rest of his pen. Either way, that performance ended up really damaging Hackimer’s overall numbers. Full season: 1.76 ERA, 3.2 BB/9, 3.23 K:BB ratio Minus Aug. 13: 1.03 ERA, 2.7 BB/9, 3.94 K:BB ratio I know a lot of people don’t like to fudge with the numbers like this. That bad outing happened, and it was real ugly, but I’m willing to give a free pass. There are valid reasons why a player may have a bad game, and I’m inclined to look at that bottom line of numbers as sort of the “real” Tom Hackimer. He also hit 11 batters, however, so the concerns over his control are definitely legit. Hackimer also got to pitch in the Arizona Fall League, where he had a 2.31 ERA and 1.29 WHIP over 11.2 innings. While it was nice to see him hold his own against some stiff competition in an environment that’s typically tough on pitchers, the control concerns remained. He walked seven batters and hit three more in the AFL. We learned in Seth’s “Get To Know” interview with Hackimer this February that he was a physics major in college. It seems there’s a good chance he’d be interested in things like spin rates or pitch tunnels and may even have a leg up on other players in terms of his ability to interpret and apply some of that information. Plus, in the grand scheme of things, he’s really still figuring things out on the mound. Hackimer walked on at St. John’s (where he had an academic scholarship) and converted to the mound from shortstop. He didn't pitch at all in high school, so 2013 was really the first time he pitched regularly. His changeup is still a work in progress, so if he can harness that pitch the concerns against lefties will really be eased. He’s a bit of a mad scientist on the mound (sorry, I couldn’t help myself), so I wouldn’t bet against him harnessing his control. Sir Isaac Newton said “what goes up must come down” but Hackimer pitches more to the theory of “what goes down cannot come up.” He had an insane ground ball rate of 65.2 percent, which was the 10th highest among pitchers who logged at least 60 innings in affiliated ball last season. Thanks to that remarkable ability to keep the ball on the ground, Hackimer was excellent at limiting damage. He faced 246 batters and gave up only four doubles and a triple while not surrendering a single home run. Nobody seems to be able to square up the ball against Hackimer. Trying to rank relief prospects is especially difficult. Starting pitchers are more valuable, but so many of them end up transitioning to the bullpen anyway. Plus, even six-inning starts are becoming rare and eight-men bullpens are the new normal, so relievers are becoming much more valuable. Hackimer’s prospect stock is hurt because he’s a reliever, but the fact that he throws funny and doesn’t exactly light up the radar gun doesn't help his case, either. He’s also been a bit older than the average player for his level so far, but these are all the same things that could have been said about Hildenberger and plenty of other guys who’ve made it. The numbers have been impressive, he just needs to keep moving onwards and upwards. For more on Tom Hackimer and about 170 other Twins minor leaguers, be sure to pick up a copy of the 2018 Twins Prospect Handbook, which will be available later this winter. Click here to view the article

I get it, but I'd rather wait to see him not hit before I rank him too low (though I don't have him as high as Seth). But the injury to Kirilloff shouldn't really hurt his prospect stock much, right? A lost year of playing time is unfortunate, but I'm sure he's developed physically over that time. He'll be 20 and I suspect in Cedar Rapids, just like Blankenhorn and Diaz were this past season, so it's not like he's fallen way behind or anything like that. I just don't see that injury as having much impact on his overall ceiling or floor.

I find it interesting there's been so much support for Lewis Thorpe in the comments of this series, yet at the same time a lot of concern over players who were recently or are currently injured. And nobody seems to disagree with Fernando Romero being in the top 5 despite his injury history and the fact he ended the season clearly not himself. I'm not saying I disagree with the rankings or those concerns, but it's just funny how some guys seem to get the benefit of the doubt while a guy like Kirilloff gets the misfortune of the doubt.

My favorite Park moment was him being one of the only reasons to watch the dumpster fire that was the first month and a half of 2016. Through May 15, he was hitting .257/.342/.581 (.923 OPS) with 9 homers, but the Twins were 10-26 over that stretch.

I wouldn't be too worried about that. T.J. White is primarily a third baseman and he's turning 26 in January. I'd imagine he'd be ticketed for Rochester to start the year. As far as Rooker goes, that's anybody's best guess. His development will certainly take precedent over guys like Wiel, but they co-existed on the Miracle just fine for 40 games.

One of the things I find fun is that a lot of the new stats still hold the players from previous eras in high esteem. Cy Young and Walter Johnson are still the all-time leaders in pitcher WAR. The all-time greatest pitchers in terms of FIP all played around the turn of the century: Ed Walsh, Rube Waddell, Addie Joss, Smoky Joe Wood, Christy Mathewson and Chief Bender. For pitcher's WPA, the top 10 includes Warren Spahn, Tom Seaver, Lefty Grove and Jim Palmer. But still, I can appreciate the idea that these players are more than just a stat line. No matter how many convoluted numbers we come up with that help us provide context, there's really no substitute for having experienced their careers in the moment.

Yes, the step up to Double-A is huge. That seems to be where college hitters really start to be taken seriously if they strive. I'm really excited to see how he does. I had forgotten about this article, thanks for linking to it. Great stuff. I see in the comments that my man crush on Wiel dates back awhile And I get these guys are never ranked higher because they're less likely to be super duper stars, but I take a look at Garver and Granite and see a couple guys who have the chance to have nice long MLB careers as role players. If Wiel can just be a good defensive first baseman, at least usable in a corner outfield spot and mash lefties ... heck, that sounds like a guy the Twins could use on their bench today. Obviously I'm getting way ahead of myself and he has to keep getting better, but I can see a scenario in which Wiel becomes that player down the road.

As a way to look back at a great minor league season and look ahead toward the release of the 2018 Twins Prospect Handbook, I’ll be writing a series of features on prospects I seem to be especially high on. First up to step into the spotlight is Fort Myers Miracle first baseman Zander Wiel.Ranking prospects is a difficult task and everyone has a bit of a different methodology. This series isn’t meant to be critical of any of the other lists out there, it’s all about presenting a positive case for the featured player. We’re starting at the bottom of my list and working up. Here’s a look at what’s on deck: Range 41-50 spotlight: Zander Wiel, No. 48 Range 31-40 spotlight: Coming Nov. 28 Range 21-30 spotlight: Coming Dec. 5 Range 11-20 spotlight: Coming Dec. 12 Range 1-10 spotlight: Coming Dec. 19 Zander Wiel has put up strong numbers in each of his first two full seasons in the Twins system, so what’s keeping him off of most prospect lists? Well, he’s just not a guy you can pin super lofty dreams on. Drafted in the 12th round out of Vanderbilt in 2015, Wiel has been old for his level at each stop of his minor league career thus far. The fact that he’s also a first baseman certainly doesn’t help his prospect stock, either. Wiel remained in Fort Myers for the entire 2017 season, and will enter this coming year as a 25-year-old with no experience above High-A. But, that exact same thing could’ve been said about Mitch Garver as he entered the 2016 season. While you can’t simply compare two guys and assume similar progressions, it is pretty interesting to look at Wiel’s 2017 results versus Garver’s 2015 numbers. Wiel 2017 (528 PAs with Fort Myers) .250/.344/.429 (.773 OPS) 13 HR, 11.8 BB%, 19.9 K% Garver 2015 (520 PAs with Fort Myers) .245/.356/.333 (.668 OPS) 4 HR, 13.3 BB%, 15.8 K% Garver’s sterling walk-to-strikeout rate stands out, but Wiel’s power numbers are far superior. Obviously, Garver played the much more demanding defensive position, but I still see reasons to be intrigued by Wiel. While 13 home runs may not seem like a ton on the surface, Wiel was tied for third in the Florida State League with that mark and only six other players in the Twins minor league system went deep more often in 2017. It was also the first time a Miracle hitter cracked double-digit homers since Adam Brett Walker slugged 25 in 2014. Wiel was tied for third in the FSL with 62 walks, which was also the third-highest total in the system, trailing only Jonathan Rodriguez (81) and LaMonte Wade (76). Who doesn’t love a guy who can hit for power and draw walks? The .250 batting average looks like a red flag, but that was due in large part to a .293 BABIP, the fifth-lowest in the FSL among 47 qualified hitters in the league. You may be thinking “yeah, but he was just beating up on a bunch of kids.” There may be some truth to that, but a deeper dive suggests to me that he won’t crumble against more advanced pitching. Yes, Wiel faced younger pitchers 78.8 percent of the time, but he thrived against competition more up to par with his level of experience. He was actually much better against older pitchers, hitting .266/.366/.468 (.834 OPS) in 112 plate appearances, posting nearly as many walks (16) as strikeouts (17). He also had strong numbers against some of the best pitchers in the FSL. Against the top five qualified pitchers in the league per FIP, Wiel hit .375/.474/.750 (1.224 OPS) over 19 plate appearances. Tiny sample size, I know, but it’s another shred of positive evidence in Wiel’s favor. Wiel also finished the year strong, hitting .291/.383/.488 (.871 OPS) over his final 36 games, showing he was prepared to take the next step. It’s too bad he didn’t get a shot in Double-A, but it’s not his fault Rodriguez was putting together an MVP-like campaign for the Lookouts. A big guy at 6-3 and 232 lbs, Wiel is more well-built than beefy. His athleticism shows up on the field, as he’s legged out 14 triples the past two seasons and is 15-for-18 in stolen base attempts (83.3 percent success rate) in his career. He even got some work in the outfield for the first time as a pro last year, logging 17 games in left field for the Miracle. Sometimes prospect rankings can be harsh on guys drafted out of college. I completely understand why, but players like Garver and Zack Granite are perfect examples of how prospect rankings, or perceived ceilings, only matter to a certain point. Potential only gets you so far and most players never reach their perceived ceilings. At the end of the day, it’s all about performance and continued improvement. So is Zander Wiel the heir apparent to Joe Mauer at first base? No, probably not. If you’ve made it this far, you can probably tell I have a bit of a thing for this guy, but he’s still down at No. 48 even on my list. We’re going to learn a lot about Wiel in 2018, however, and a big year against stiffer competition could really catapult his status. Wiel still has a long road ahead, but at the very least he’s a player worth familiarizing yourself with as he prepares to step up to the high minors in 2018. For more on Wiel and about 170 other Twins minor leaguers, be sure to pick up a copy of the 2018 Twins Prospect Handbook, which will be available later this winter. Click here to view the article

That was nuts. I thought for sure he was going to come back to us once Mesoraco got healthy. The crazy thing is Cincy already has maybe the best defensive catcher in baseball in Tucker Barnhart signed through 2022, so why did they basically move mountains to keep Turner? Very strange. Entirely possible somebody does that with Diaz.

Thome obviously had an incredible career, but how often was he truly among the absolute best few players in baseball? His MVP shares is shockingly low at 1.22. He topped out with a fourth-place finish in 2003. You may think that's a poor point of focus, but a lot of the same people who vote for the MVP also vote for the Hall of Fame. Jose Bautista has more MVP shares. So does Paul Goldschmidt. So does Nolan Arenado, who's only played five seasons. Thome was also only an All-Star five times.That's one fewer than Will Clark, Prince Fielder, Paul Konerko and Don Mattingly and the same as Andres Galarraga, Todd Helton and Fred McGriff. Again, not the greatest point of reference, but I think it's worth pointing out. Thome will get into the Hall of Fame, but if guys like Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell couldn't get in right away I think it'll take Thome a few years. Hell, guys like Edgar Martinez and Larry Walker are probably never getting in.

These are great, thanks Steve. Encouraging to see Paul, Vasquez and Hackimer all hold their own despite having never reached Double-A yet.

I think Diaz gets picked, but ends up being returned. I'm curious if maybe the pitching moves suggest the team is more likely to beef up the bullpen via free agency than the rotation. One thing I'm confident about is this means the Twins will be active on the free agent market. Four spots open. Ohtani+Darvish+Wade Davis+Carols Santana = four baseball players. Coincidence? Well, yeah ... probably

Really sucked? That's a bit harsh, no? Curtiss' K:BB numbers over that small sample certainly pass the sniff test (10 Ks, 2 BBs in 8.2 IP). He's also is actually younger than Burdi and averaged 95.6 mph on his fastball during his cup of coffee while Moya was at just 91.2 mph. I'm not saying Curtiss is in another class above those three other guys or anything like that, but you make him out to be trash. Seems to me he has a high ceiling, low floor, great results and we're certainly not going to nitpick his health when we're throwing Burdi or Jay into the same conversation, lol. What am I missing here? You must be forecasting more trouble with the longball/too much hard contact.

Ha! Got me on that one. What would be the proper language to use here? His home territory? Home commonwealth? I guess I'll just go with homeland next time