ToddlerHarmon

Seems accurate, if relatively brutal. No obvious breakouts waiting to step in.

Among committed 2022 salaries to trade out of, Sano is the obvious choice. Beyond that, you are starting to trade away pieces that you need to be competitive. So, the question becomes, do you: - trade Donaldson, sign Berrios and Buxton, and hope that 2023 dawns with 2 starter prospects having proven worthy, OR - keep Donaldson, stay in arb with Berrios and Buxton, and buy one amazing starter and take your championship shot before everyone becomes a free agent? - surprise birthday pony option 3: increase payroll by $20M I can't see option 2 being a good idea, unless you

If his power grows at all, he can cut it at as a high-OBP DH. But I think while he can still hold down 2B or 3B, he should be played there as much as possible. And with Donaldson under contract, that might be quite a bit

Thank you! I was reading the second sub-linked article offering statistical evidence that the Negro Leagues were at least equal to the National and American leagues of their time, and most likely better. As part of that analysis, the author points out how Black players dominated the majors after integration, despite racist quotas. One doesn't need to do much more than look at those numbers to see why Black young players, especially pitchers, remain rare.

So: Fried Liver Expired Mayonaisse Undercooked Brussels Sprouts, or Ordering a Sundae and Getting Frozen Yogurt? Ummm....

And in Buxton's case, the answer could change every tonight, and is always relevant. TD should just glue the answer to the top of the front page: Welcome to Twins Daily: Byron Buxton IS/IS NOT in the lineup!

So excited that the Twins are building something everyone wants to be a part of. Sigh

Got nothing lol

The 2019 Stashak is nowhere to be found. And Rocco knows it, as he has him pitching once a week

One benefit of a year like this is we can now start to see some of these prospects debut. Some hard choices probably have to be made about which of them have a future in the bullpen, because that need is now

I wonder if the Twins themselves agree. Dobnak has again shown he belongs in the rotation, leaving a spot open for an effective long man

How to explain a huge performance gap in late innings and with RISP? Clutch, and pressure, and intangibles might explain some of it. Maybe. No question the hitters have to be thinking they must perform, with the pitching staff struggling. Talent may explain some of it. High-leverage plate appearances are no longer against a random pitcher. Today's game has optimized to put the opponent's best option on the mound at these times. Our hitters will see better stuff, fewer mistakes, and the best possible approaches to getting them out, and they may not have the talent to maintain performa

Another option, which the late minor league start has complicated: Use one of the starter prospects, probably Duran, as a short reliever for this season. Yes, I know it has risks. But it alleviates the crowding of the 40-man and of the bullpen with unusable arms. And it's better than trading them. Starting pitching depth was supposed to be a thing we have, right? We always intended to need more relievers. Well, it's not convenient, but time to see what Law, Hamilton, Gibaut can do. And another thing: not all analytics-driven strategies work. Pulling your starters when they struggle in

The playoff losing streak, the 2019 explosion, the disappointing encore last year, the White Sox' spending spree, and their own offseason moves add up to a lot of pressure. Good. I'd rather them have 140 games to figure out how to play to high expectations than just the three in October.

Maybe this is obvious to everyone here, but it seems like Sano and Garver, unlike Donaldson and Cruz, do not have the contact skills to be consistently taking first pitch strikes. If they want to swing for the fences, fine, but hoping that the second strike of every at bat is a meatball is too easy to pitch around. Yes, when the weather warms, both of them will make more contact with the crap they see with two strikes. But the approach still limits them