nicksaviking

And the write up says they believe it's Gordon or (please, please, please no) Nola. Nola than falls five spot further with two different pitchers going before him. This stinks of the Wimmers fiasco. Everyone knew the Twins would take the guy because he was "safe" and "MLB ready." Other teams weren't interested because the guy had zero upside but the Twins were less concerned with upside than they were with the floor. That was the old Twins though, I believe they have changed. I know the team has watched Nola a ton, but I don't think they'll blow their pick at #5 on a guy who won't be able to miss bats at the MLB level. They have to be frustrated by that too by now.

I'd feel better about that if the Twins had a track record of helping guys increase velocity and showing guys how to miss bats. Instead, well, there's quite a track record of the exact opposite.

Nearly every minor league pitcher who makes an extended stay in the majors manages a K/9 of 7. Gibson clearly lost most of his helium when he got hurt, but it was already dipping a bit when people started saying his ceiling was a #3 because he didn't have an out pitch and wouldn't miss enough bats.

I agree I'd take them both over Nola. I'd probably still like Kolek as a top pick even with TJ as I view him as in a tier alone with Aiken and Rodon. I might drop Hoffman with Holmes, Toussaint and Newcomb though. Although for me, I'd be OK considering them at #5. One thought on the TJ guys though. If one ISN'T worried about the recovery but instead is worried about development, make the pick. It was only two years ago that top picks often didn't get any MiLB time because they'd haggle over contracts all summer. Even last year, the Twins "high floor/low ceiling" #2 pick Ryan Eades threw all of 15 innings.

Very true, neither pitcher has had the same luster they had pre-injury. However in fairness, Wimmers was looking disappointing well before he got hurt and Gibson never had the swing and miss ability we were hoping for before or after surgery.

I'm guessing most teams would see that kind of improvement if you took out the starts by their #4 and 5 pitchers. Of course on the Twins these are the #2 and 4 pitchers.

Wimmers and Gibson would also fall into that catagory. Drafting high floor/low ceiling is not new territory for the Twins, which is what scares me. Just as the ceiling is unpredictable, so is the floor. I think the draft guru's overestimate how low a floor really can be for guys who don't project to maintain an above league average K%. Of course if Wimmers and Gibson had become Gray and Wacha I'd probably be a hypocrite with all the backtracking I would doing.

"Last year, through 29 games, the outfielder was batting .133/.239/.214. This year, at the same point, his line is .170/.315/.239. While Hicks has shown an improved approach at the plate, he simply is not hitting the ball." Patience everybody, patience! If these numbers tell us anything, a .037 BA improvment a year means he'll be batting well over .400 in seven years.

Perhaps there is now in Paul Molitor.

Sure there will, but I guess my point is that the Twins draft too far down in the 2nd this year. I find it very unlikely they get a shot at this years, Lance McCullers or Sean Manaea. The other "upside" HS kids likely will still be signable regardless of who the 1st pick.

There will be 12 teams picking their 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th selection or a total of 18 players before the Twins pick their second. I really, really want a high upside HS with the second, but the Twins can't go into this thinking they'll get thier pick of the litter. They'll get stuck with the runt, at least comparativley speaking as Houston, KC, Clevland, Miami and 8 other teams are going to get first crack at the thoroughbreds. I know the Twins have watched Nola a lot. Man I hope the Cubs take that possibility away from them. I don't see it happening though. I don't recall Epstien/Hoyer going after control pitchers in the past. They've seemed to target guys who were perceived to miss bats at the next level.

I also doubt they'll cut him though they should. I will give them a pass and say they will keep him not because of the money, but instead because they are terrified beyond reason of not having enough starting pitching options. They've surpsided me before and cut bait with Jason Marquis, Mike Lamb and lord knows how many washed up vets they gave MLB contracts to over the years. But their sole obsession this off season was to make sure they had more starters than they needed. Still wouldn't make much sense though when you consider Correia almost certainly isn't doing anything that a Logan Darnell, Scott Diamond or Sean Gilmartin could do. At some point there really isn't any difference between a terrible performance from a disappointing vet and a terrible performance from a young guy who has no business being in the majors.

Ineresting, only 10 college players out of 51. None of them currently play for the Gophers either.

I just can't see Gatewood sliding to 46. Even if he doesn't go in the 1st round, which I find pretty suspect, 12 teams get thier 2nd pick before the Twins while division rivals Kansas City and Cleveland along with Houston get their third picks before the Twins get their second and Miami will pick 4 times before the Twins get their second. The Twins will NOT be getting the cream of the crop of the second round bargains. Houston and KC in particular have shown that they like to go with this underslot/overslot stratagy in fact. If the Twins really like Gatewood, it will have to be at #5, and I don't see that happening though I do like the guy a lot.

I think we're missing the obvious option. There has been no production from the CF spot, and the Twins clearly don't give a crap about OF defense. Ladies and Gentlemen, meet your new centerfielder: http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Josh+Willingham+Minnesota+Twins+v+Kansas+City+bdcMSJxCd8hl.jpg

My patience has been aggravated since reading the last half of this thread.

I don't dislike Gordon but at #5, I could really care less about defense. It's hip to talk about defensive measurables these days, but offense is still much, much more important than defense. If the Twins go offense, I guess I want the guy who has the best bat regardless of position. Still, I'm glad to see Holmes, Newcomb and Toussaint continue to inch up the rankings. Those guys still intregue me.

Well Molitor did leave once. He became the Angels hitting coach when Gardy got the Twins gig over him. I think he did step away to spend more time with his family and now returned as his kids are no longer in the nest. I really don't think he's jumping into coaching again simply to do the Twins a favor. I'm sure he has some ambitions. And this is baseball, not football. I doubt the manager puts in that much more time than the coaches.

While reading another gushing report about the positive impact Paul Molitor is having on the club this year, it finally dawned on me that this public adoration is almost certainly not doing the Twins any favors. If Molly can keep the offense over-achieving near this current clip, no doubt his name is going to be a hot one once the annual MLB manager job fair rolls around next November. This is his first year in the dugout in about a decade, but getting credit for turning around this woeful offense will carry much clout. Surely his HOF resume and his place on the top 10 leader board for hits won't hurt either. So what do the Twins do? If Molitor succeeds, likely so do the Twins, at least compared to recent seasons. This would likely mean Ron Gardenhire would also try to lay claim to the turnaround. Would the Twins really have the stones to ax Gardy and promote his underling if it is clear that Molitor was the true driving force behind the Twins (offensive) success? Obviously I couldn't see this happening if Molitor's services are not in demand at season's end, but would they even consider such a move? I think they would not, even if every single player, coach, reporter and fan lined up outside of Terry Ryan's office and offered proof that Molitor was the best man for the job. If it is clear come the off season that Molitor needs to stay but the Twins will have a hard time retaining him, my hope is that the Twins work out an agreement that he is the manager in waiting, and he will wait no later than the 2016 season, or simply, he will be asked to remain the bench coach for one additional season. From all reports, Gardy isn't ready to hang up his cleats, but of course the alternative might be less appealing.

Velocity and strikeouts are up in the league while guys are throwing fewer pitches and going fewer innings. It would seem that guys are exerting more effort these days to try to miss batas. I would think if a guy is exerting max effort on each pitch to keep the ball out of play instead of pacing himself, he would have a higher likelyhood of needing reconstructive surgery. We're not that far removed from the days when a 5.5 K/9 was above aveage and 91 MPH fastballs were impressive. Of course that would make most of the current Twins pitchers safe from the procedure.

I still cheered for the Stars in Dallas so I'm sure I'd still cheer for the Twins. My interest in hockey began to wane exponentially though after the hockey team moved. I don't think that would happen with baseball but I'd probably eventually turn into a passive observer. Just like during the contraction scare I absolutely WOULD NOT cheer for the Brewers. As if Bud Selig's franchise gaining the Minnesota market wasn't part of the contraction plan. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of that minor victory.

The problem is that we KNOW what Jose Fernandez is, we have no clue about Hoffman. I don't think it's a given that the Twins would have taken him at #5 if he was healthy. I like him, but I'm not sure the Twins would have been comfortable with the incosistancy. I'm also afraid you're making the assumption that guys who have TJ surgery come back from it without missing a beat. The Twins have had a lousey TJ success record. Liriano was never the same, Baker can't make a MLB roster, Wimmers can nearly be called a bust. Even Gibson isn't the pitcher we were all anticipating pre-TJ surgery. Again, if it was Rodon, Kolek or Aiken you probably have an arguement, but Hoffman does not seem to be in their class. He would have gone 4 or 5 anyway, surely a surgery that could derail his career should knock him down at least a couple pegs. There are other high ceiling arms if they want to go that route. Holmes, Toussaint and Newcomb may be just as electric. And I think there is a very good chance the Twins draft this high again. They currently would be picking be picking 7th if the 2015 draft were to be held today and the offense is outplaying it's talent level by a large margin.

Time to bench the vets and the guys who are clearly future non-contributors. With a full-time DH knocking on the door, this team HAS to finally get a definitive answer on Parmelee. No more time-sharing, no more options or DFA. Plug him in and see what happens. It should go without saying that Arcia needs full-time work and Colabello will always be walking a tightrope. If the team wants answers on these guys, Kubel and Willingham have to ride pine. There's just not enough room for all these corner/DH types. If a player has even a small chance of being a part of the future they need to be playing now. The Twins need to put themselves in the position where they can make an informed decision before the loss of options, roster-crunches and service time force them to make an un-informed one.

If it was Rodon/Kolek/Aiken I might agree, but as much as I like Hoffman, I think he was in the tier below them. He might have had the tier to himself, but his inconsistancies kept him from being with the top three arms.

With the roster bungles and the preference to aged players, I have a feeling Arcia and Parmelee will lose out to Willingham, Kubel and Colabello.