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nicksaviking

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Everything posted by nicksaviking

  1. nicksaviking
    Unless you're looking at ERA, I don't know that there's much to fix. Kikuchi throws gas, strikes out a ton of batters and doesn't give up many free passes. Like Joe Ryan, he's had a problem giving up homeruns in the past, but in this year of suppressed offense, he's not any more. I know that I like Kikuchi more than most, but he has the stuff to be the best arm in the Twins rotation. I like him better than Bassitt and Gausman. My only concern would be that I'd bet something will change to increase offense next year, so I'd not want the Twins to fall in love with him and re-sign him only for the long balls to come back into play next season.
  2. nicksaviking
    I don't know, this front office hasn't been terribly inclined to go after soft-tossing, high-contact guys except on MiLB deals. They like the strikeouts (justifiably), I'm not sure putting Paxton in the rotation would appeal to them much.
  3. nicksaviking
    This is a trick question right? Kyle Farmer has played in 63 games, so the answer must be 63.
  4. nicksaviking
    Not a fan of trading for a LOOGY, 32 innings is too small of a sample size to think this guy is any good. Looks like he tops out at about 91 MPH on his FB and he guy got jacked by right handers last year. If he had good stuff, he probably wouldn't have had to wait until his fourth decade on the planet to get called up to the majors. The Twins need to really start capitalizing on the prospect depth before they lose value. Seattle (obviously) said no to trading one of their starting five pitchers for Polanco, would they really have held firm to that had the Twins instead offered a package around Julien?
  5. nicksaviking
    It seems pretty clear the Twins don't target the top pitchers in the draft, they target guys with the best developable traits. In theory it's working great as they continue to have unknown draftees pop up all over top prospect lists. I'm a fan of the approach, but it's going to have to pay off in more than just theory pretty soon; Ober can't be the only success story.
  6. nicksaviking
    I'll take a reliever, but I don't want ONLY a reliever. I still think this team needs a starter that makes the other playoff teams take notice; I realize there may not be such a pitcher available this year. Looking at Irvin, I don't see why I'd want him on the mound in October over what the Twins currently have. Front line playoff starters get strikeouts, he doesn't.
  7. nicksaviking
    Yeah, Lee was pretty big blunder by the Twins. There were pre-draft rumors that he didn't want the Twins to draft him, they should have known to dot their i's and cross their t's when it came to dealing with him. One of my favorite tone deaf quotes in Twins history from Mike Radcliff: “I feel for the kid. I feel he’s pretty much uninformed,” Radcliff said of Lee, whom he thought was being led astray. “I don’t think he knows what he passed up.” Ha, because he should have been honored to play for the 1.5M or so the Twins were going to pay him instead of the 10M the Diamondbacks gave him. Surely to this day Lee regrets his decision! Prior to looking that up, I had remembered that as a Terry Ryan quote, but I guess I recalled that wrong.
  8. nicksaviking
    He's under guaranteed contract for only four more years and he's five years younger than when the Twins signed Josh Donaldson to his four year deal. Next year is Correa's big money year, which based on the youthful construction of the team seems about perfect. The years after that drop in salary dramatically, particularly the option years. Every non-skin-flint team in the league would be happy to take this contract right now.
  9. nicksaviking
    I agree. Pitching is way harder, but that's a good reason for the Twins to do what they are good at, producing hitters found all over the draft, and then move them for controllable pitching. Let the other teams take the 1 in 10 chance of developing a quality starting pitcher while the Twins use their 1 in 5 chance of developing hitters. It won't always work out obviously, but it's worked out better for the Twins lately than developing their own arms.
  10. nicksaviking
    Is it just me, or are the Twins going to struggle spending all of their draft pool this year? Should everyone but Hill be slot value or less. Some way less? And it would be very un-Twin-like to target the top tough-to-sign prep players left out there.
  11. nicksaviking
    I don't know, the Twins have done well finding good players at all spots in the draft, but 6th round doesn't sound early any longer to me. If he's your favorite bat at this point, take him regardless of position.
  12. nicksaviking
    Yeah, it's a culture war thing. Even in little old Fargo ND it's a made up talking point: https://www.inforum.com/news/fargo/is-downtown-fargo-safe-city-leaders-say-perception-doesnt-match-reality
  13. nicksaviking
    Don't forget the slow start to the season, that too certainly is contributing to the lower attendance. Plenty of fans probably wrote them off, and without the ability to watch them on TV, likely have no idea the team got good all of a sudden. First impressions still mean a lot, especially when something is out of sight, out of mind. Of course the lower payroll certainly aided in that slow start to the season.
  14. nicksaviking
    A bigger (stronger) Nick Gordon probably would have been a pretty good player though. I know some people wanted Brecht and others wanted Honeycutt, but the Twins have been pretty reliable about doubling down on what is currently working, and running far away from the things that aren't working. They have steered clear of pitchers with command issues for a few years now and hitters with strikeout issues since leading the league in that category last year. On the other hand, middle infielders with good bat-to-ball skills? They've been doing well there at all levels, so this is no surprise.
  15. nicksaviking
    I don't think WAR is terribly reliable, but lately it has been pretty reliable in who the voters will choose. So for these predictions, I think it's a pretty safe benchmark.
  16. nicksaviking
    I think voters already know the issue with using counting stats now. I think Greinke gets in by year three on the ballet at the latest. I think Votto, Goldschmidt, Freeman and Betts are basically locks too. How many guys with .890 OPS, or whatever they'll finish with, aren't in the HOF?
  17. nicksaviking
    Fun discussion. I mostly agree with those tiers, but probably not the relievers as locks. The voters can't make up their minds about that position. Mariano Rivera is the ONLY unanimous HOF amongst all positions, but then you have to twist their arms to put anyone else in? Make up your minds guys and gals. Altuve is close to a lock but so was Carlos Beltran. We'll have to see how that trashcan blow back turns out in the years to come.
  18. nicksaviking
    He was always more of the crafty type, working with that low velocity. His velocity and movement look to be the same, I wonder what changed with him.
  19. nicksaviking
    The best part about these bios is that anyone can create or add to them. Click the View Player Bio link in the post above yours. If his foreign stats are available, they're probably included in the Baseball Reference link. Feel free to add pertinent information to that page, including his years overseas!
  20. nicksaviking
    I agree with going after ceiling players, not floor, and I'd give up a ton for Steele. However, I do think Kikuchi has the stuff to be a top end arm though. Even if it's only for this season when no one is hitting HRs anymore. I like him quite a bit more than Gausman and Bassitt. Just my take.
  21. nicksaviking
    He's had a HR problem in the past, like Joe Ryan. They both seem to be benefitting from this year's suppressed offense. I'm more than happy to take advantage of current climate while using past results to lower his cost. Then when they tweak the game next year to heat up the bats, you just don't re-sign him.
  22. nicksaviking
    I actually think Kikuchi might be the best of the three. He has the best K% and BB%, the two things I think are the biggest contributors to shutting down good offenses, which is what you'll see in the post season. The counting stats may keep his price down, meanwhile FIP says he's the one to target regardless of cost.
  23. nicksaviking
    Then the Twins need to keep starving them for wins so they continue to feast on Guardians!
  24. nicksaviking
    I agree, I'm skeptical they sell. They might test the waters, but they're not that far back of Seattle.
  25. nicksaviking
    The tighter purse strings were a surprise this year, and then they got their TV money late in the offseason after there were no good free agents left to spend on. I think the odds of them expanding the payroll are lower than 50/50, but I'm not writing it off completely. A deep playoff run surely wouldn't hurt next year's TV negotiations, and after last year, surely they know starting pitching is the best bet to get there.
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