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nicksaviking

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Everything posted by nicksaviking

  1. nicksaviking
    Duffey and Chargois were co-closers for Rice prior to the 2012 draft. It seems to me only Chargois was touted as having plus velocity. I'd guess Duffey could bump up the velocity in the pen but probably not to a level where we all get excited. But that's not his calling card really, he's useful because of a really good curveball. That could still play really well in the pen if it remains a knee-buckler and was paired with a 92-93 MPH FB.
  2. nicksaviking
    I'd think a trade is unlikely almost solely because the Twins catching options are so thin. Due to injuries or performance it's not out of the question that the Twins may need him fairly soon regardless if he's ready. Also, he's familiar with the top young pitchers in the system who still have developing to do so that's a bonus to the Twins. I'd guess the Reds would have to really overpay to keep him.
  3. nicksaviking
    If a team likes a player so much that they are willing to devalue their later slots to get the guy this has always been an option. Whether BA is full of baloney or not doesn't really matter since it's completely possible and has been forever. The Padres have 11.2M in draft pool money and the Twins have 13.4M. If the Padres are willing to commit 70-75-80% of their pool to one guy then the Twins have to decide if it's worth it to match the Padres offer. I'd hold my nose and do it, but I wouldn't be happy. And frankly, it's also possible the Padres expect the Twins to draft him but WANT the Twins to pick him. Leaking this kind of rhetoric might force the Twins to give up full slot value, that would minimize the Twins leverage later in the draft and help the Padres (and all the other clubs). If my team wasn't on the wrong end of this kind of gamesmanship I might even be impressed by this.
  4. nicksaviking
    I agree. If anything this makes me want Greene more. I was just really, really hoping that the Twins could work this draft like the Astros had been doing when they were always in the driver's seat. It's looking like the Twins are going to have much less leverage than I originally hoped for.
  5. nicksaviking
    Well that was the norm prior to the slotting rules. Scott Boras wouldn't have ever bothered representing HS kids if he couldn't squeeze 3x the kids value out of the big money clubs. Small market teams were regularly screwed over until the new system came into place. Now small market clubs can screw over other small market clubs it seems. And while this frustrates me, I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't acknowledge that about a dozen pages back I hoped the Twins would promise guys over-slot money with their next two picks to try to get them to refuse to sign with clubs drafting in the 15-30 range.
  6. nicksaviking
    Yeah, that's my understanding of that statement. Kind of a punch in the gut.
  7. nicksaviking
    And I'm not a fan of lefties at Target Field. You need monster power to be a consistent HR threat from that side of the plate. McKay sounds like he has power but probably not tape-measure type power which is what it takes. And if McKay is truly a good hitter first and a power threat second, that probably means he's a line drive hitter like John Olerud who people keep comparing him to. Not to diminish the fact that line drive hitters are typically ideal, but guys with those types of swings don't usually get the loft to carry that wall.
  8. nicksaviking
    From the write up: "Everyone expects the Padres and GM A.J. Preller to try to do what it takes to push Greene down to them at No. 3," Hmmm, I hadn't heard that one before. So the Padres are going to do everything they can to make the Twins pay top dollar? The team that once upon a time picked hometown kid Matt Bush over Justin Verlander because they wouldn't meet his asking price? Yeah that sounds like the Twins luck. They get the 1st overall pick and not only does the league lower the slot values at the top of the draft which hurts the Twins ability to load up on the best talent but now teams below them are maneuvering to sabotage their picks.
  9. nicksaviking
    Well I'm pretty sure that's because he only has the vocabulary of a 5th grader. Sad.
  10. nicksaviking
    Yeah, Breslow interests me much more because at 36-years-old he saw that what he was doing wasn't working anymore and made an active and substantial effort to try something difficult and new and most importantly it sounds like he's willing to preach his progressive attitude with younger guys. He might have more future off field value than on field value but I like it. However out of the brand new culture club, only Castro is signed past this year. The Twins brought Torii Hunter in for this exact same reason two years ago and it appears that this veteran leadership stuff may not be something that's transferable. So does this mean the team is going to bring in a ton of these high culture/low production vets every single year? That's going to drive me crazy if that's the case.
  11. nicksaviking
    I understand those who don't want a rebuild, but it's really hard not to roll one's eyes when bringing in vets to go for the "trying to win now" strategy basically boils down to Castro, Giminez, Beslise, Breslow, Stubbs and Vogelsong. No rational baseball mind is going to say a defensive only catcher and 5 DFA candidates is what a 100 loss team needs to contend. If that's the kind of effort put into free agency, is there really much downside to going for the rebuild?
  12. nicksaviking
    I can see it considering the skill set, but Granite is considerably bigger than Revere or Dyson. I'd think that would translate into a greater ability to drive the ball instead of slap them into the turf should someone advise him on a different approach. Not that someone necessarily would, just that there is greater potential to do so than a more slight guy. I actually think the Dozier comp in the title is more apt than we recall. Prior to his demotion Dozier was much more of a high contact slap hitter. He significantly changed his approach only after his original MLB demotion.
  13. nicksaviking
    Good. His slider and changeup are pretty decent pitches. Gibson and Dallas Keuchel have a pretty similar repertoire with a sinker/slider/change. Keuchel's sinker is much better than Gibson's though, at least until last year when Keuchel's sinker also went belly up. If Castro is as good of a catcher as advertised hopefully he learned something from Keuchel's struggles and now has an idea about sequencing, location, pitch selection or something else that will get Gibson back on track.
  14. nicksaviking
    Hughes needs a working off speed pitch with his current velocity levels so his change has to improve dramatically, it's never been a very good pitch for him. Gibson needs to stop relying on his sinker, it's not his best pitch and the new strikezone is the top of the knees now which is going to hurt guys who work down in the zone most. I haven't seen or heard enough in spring training to know if he has adjusted his repertoire/approach. I'd have some hope if these two things occur.
  15. nicksaviking
    After watching Buxton's success last off season, I think I'd like to see these speed guys stop using their speed by intentionally hitting grounders and trying to beat them out and instead drive the ball and turn singles into doubles and doubles into triples.
  16. nicksaviking
    Aw, one spot behind the Reds, had the Twins protected Stuart Turner in the Rule V they might have made #21! Maybe the Reds will end up returning him.
  17. nicksaviking
    If for some reason they had some kind of Chris Sale comp in mind I could see them doing it. Maybe there's a development angle we're not privy to. Unlikely, but we're largely in the dark on this one. I'm not a huge fan of the move but I will admit that doing this right now raises many fewer red flags than if they did it mid-season. Not that there still aren't plenty of red flags. I just really hope this isn't all driven by Jay. Say, he prefers closing but knows he's not getting drafted high if he doesn't tell teams he wants to start. Probably not the case but it's lingering in the back of my mind.
  18. nicksaviking
    I would prefer Berrios in the rotation over Mejia but I'd like them both. Putting Mejia in first might accomplish that goal fastest simply because everyone wants Berrios to get a spot so he's less likely to be held back by a semi-competent veteran starter. Also, the Twins likely will insist on having at least one lefty in the rotation, so if Mejia performs fine at the onset, it will be easier for the Twins to make other arrangements with Santiago.
  19. nicksaviking
    Bud Norris, Clayton Richard, Travis Wood.
  20. nicksaviking
    The Cubs and Dodgers have been doing it for s couple years now. I don't know why it wouldn't work with the Twins. I wasn't trying to take credit for something innovative, just suggesting the Twins take a successful but under-hyped strategy these other clubs are using.
  21. nicksaviking
    But cut/trade/bullpen are not the same options. Bullpen is a perfectly fine choice unless someone is worried about veteran egos. The risk/probability couldn't be any better optimized then by sticking the vets in the pen. The team then would have six, seven maybe even eight starting options on the 25-man and the only spots being sacrificed belong to guys like O'Rourke, Breslow or Tonkin, roles that the newly penned vets can easily fill and then some considering they can go multiple inngins.
  22. nicksaviking
    3 years 29.6M perhaps?
  23. nicksaviking
    Berrios is away from the team and unlikely to make the team possibly for that reason alone so he might not be the best example, but I think it's in this hypothetical that opposing sides will most often butt heads. I don't think it's a given that the hypothetical veteran (Santiago in this case) is more likely to positively impact the team over the hypothetical youngster. I'm struggling to understand why people (and waaaaaaay too many front offices) think it's a given that the veteran on the wrong end of the aging curve, a spotty performance track record and little to no upside is more likely to be a better contributor than the young guy with promise. The young guy with better stuff and better velocity is the guy with a much larger margin for error. Assuming he's not totally out of his element.
  24. nicksaviking
    Yeah, Batman is a pretty easy one to write for. I mean except for Zach Snyder. I'm sure the creators of Superman back in the 30's thought, "You know what, if we make this guy invincible and capable of every super power imaginable, 12-year-old boys are going pay us nickels by the boatload!" Little did they know that that sort of BS makes for some pretty weak adult theatrical entertainment.
  25. nicksaviking
    Pressly, Rogers and Chargois are the only guys in the pen I'd reserve spots for.
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