nicksaviking

Then why did it take so long for it to leak, and why now? The timing screams of stratagy, either by the Astros to get him at a discount or another team's desperate attempt to make him fall. Teams all knew but their fans didn't, drafting a drug abuser doesn't help perception.

Things I'm wondering about with the draft: 1) Last year the Astros kept their plans to themselves until the pick was revealed at the podium surprising everyone with Carlos Correia who was not really known to be a consideration. They seemed to like that stratagy quite a bit. So why is there so much chatter this year about Colin Moran and Jonathan Gray? If they followed last year's stratagy the target may be someone else. If they are thinking about going underslot and it is not Moran, the first name that comes to mind is hometown kid Kohl Stewart. 2) Why are the Rockies so tied to Kris Bryant? Is it because the assumption is that Mark Appel and Gray will be off the board and Bryant is the 3rd best player? Things are not looking so set in stone any longer, there is a chance Appel or Gray are available. Are the Rockies dead set on passing up the pitchers over Bryant? The Rockies need pitching more than any organization. In our forum there have been debates over the Twins selection of Bryant and Stewart. One would think the Rockies would have the same thought process, especially if need plays any part in the decision. The Rockies hope they just called up their 3B of the future in Nolan Arenado and their organizational OF depth is pretty solid. 3) Which ever team leaked the negative information about Gray wants him, and only three teams seem to have the draft position to take advantage of it. Houston may have done so in an attempt to drive down his price, but Chicago would not have done so as it could mean Houston could get one of the top two pitchers underslot while they pay full price. Colorado may have done so hopeing he would slip as may have Minnesota . I don't think it makes sense for Cleveland to do this as Minnesota drafts in front of them and they would be opening the door for a division rival to grab him. I suppose it's possible teams lower in the draft order may have done this but I don't think they could reasonably expect him to fall that far. Perhaps Miami or Boston have delusions of granduer?

Well if we was planning on going to school, why isn't he already moving to campus along with the rest of his teammates? I call BS.

Right, this wasn't about addiction. Or are we to believe that when MLB cracked down on stimulants nearly the whole league quit cold turkey with hardly any instances of relapse or the need for medically assisted withdrawl?

Yup, because there are four teams in the first round with 2 picks and the Yankees have three. Then six more teams have competitve balance picks. That's basically 12 picks that other teams can use as wild card selections, long before the Twins make their second choice, and that doesn't include the three picks the Astros, Cubs and Rockies have before the Twins due to the draft order. Pick a stud at #4.

Wow, what unfortunate timing for this report to come out. Obvioulsy a coincidence. Surely no unethical front office would leak this hoping he would slide to them.

Remembering some of the barbs we've thrown his way concerning his time in Minnesota, it's particularly nice to see someone care that much about the game. Hopefully there is a place for him in some organization once he officially retires from pitching.

I think the Twins should have kept Santana instead of trading him and picked Mike Trout and Tyler Skaggs with the two comp picks they would have gotten for him.

Iberra was in New Britain last year too. Neither look to be any more than upper level filler but I can't think of why to promote the lesser of the two performers other than to reward him for having put more time in. You make it sound like there is something undesirable about a career 5.6 BB/9 rate in the minor leagues.

I'd say the same about the Astros.

Yeah it's a good story. Was he called upon at Ft. Myers when Rosario was in the dog house? I can't remember the timing. Had he not been called to Ft. Myers, I wonder if he would have now gotten the call in Cedar Rapids with Goodrun likely out awhile with concussion issues. Either way, I like that his success in Ft. Myers contradicts the idea that youngsters need to spend a ton of time in the Midwest league to develop properly.

Also, in regard to the Pirates and Marlins having more money than the Twins, the Pirates are in that postion due to having 2 first rounders due to not signing Appel. If Gray were to refuse the Twins offer, the Twins would be in that situation next year.

Kohl Stewart is also a hometown guy for the Astros and isn't a Boras client. I'd find him a more likely conspiracy target as he could still be the underslot player they desire.

The Twins website already has the Robertson/Thomas 40-man updated (which is very quick for the very slow Twins site). I also noticed that Blake Martin is listed on Rochester's roster now, has this move been confirmed? Obviously with Robertson likely gone they'll need another lefty in the pen, but why would they call on him over Edgar Ibarra?

I don't have much issue with the move, but did anyone else realize that the Twins now have as many catchers on the 40-man roster as they do left handed pitchers?

Right, the arguement to pick underslot basically is that the Twins COULD draft 2 first round caliber players. That being said, I agree, don't be foolish, pick one of the top four players. Quality not quantitiy.

Still with 5 catchers on the 40 man. I guess I don't have much of a problem with DFA'ing Robertson, he is a lefty reliever but because of that the Twins could have given him more leash than he deserved. I'm glad they aren't concerning themselves with holding out hope on fringe roster players. I'm ok hopeing Theilbar sticks and although I was never high on Pedro Hernandez, I don't know that production-wise he's much different from Robertson aside from minor league strikeout numbers which the Twins don't generally seem concerned with anyway.

Correia was not nearly terrible enough today for me to get worked up over, though he was facing the Mariners. However I think the underlying issue is actually the contradiction brough up in your post. If Liam Hendriks does today what Correia did, Gardy would have been throwing around phrases like, "He has a few things to work on," and he certainly wouldn't have thrown out the, "He deserved to go out there for the 7th," line which he did in his postgame speach to the media. If Gardy is allowed to play Gods and Goats, surely we as fans can too.

I've always been a guy saying if the players are similar pick the pitcher as it is a need. However in this case I don't think they are similar. I think Bryant looks to be an elite prospect. I also like Stewart and he's far and away my #4 but Bryant looks like he possibly could be a once in a generation player (along with Buxton and Sano of course!) as could Gray and Appel. My opinion is that Stewart is not anywhere close to them at this point; I think the drop off is pretty big. On a side note, it seems like Bryant is nearly a given to the Rockies at #3. I don't think this is the case. Colorado has put a new emphisis on pitching development. They have taken the unique approach by hiring two pitching coaches and obviously pitching for them is as strong of a need as it is for the Twins. Even if Appel and Gray are off the board, I would not be surprised if Stewart was their pick assuming Colorado doesn't share my opinion on Bryant. They also have a much stronger history of picking pitchers in the 1st round. Of course most have failed so that may disway them.

So we're guessing top 10 and the Twins pick at 43? 1 Astros: Moran 2 Cubs: Appel 3 Rockies: Gray 4 Twins: Bryant 5 Indians: Stewart 6 Marlins: Shipley 7 Red Sox: Ball 8 Royals: Frazier 9 Pirates: McGuire 10 Blue Jays: Meadows 43 Twins: Cody Reed

Bryant is also a Boras client. I don't think the Twins would rule one out for being a Boras client and not the other. As fans we often do that, but I'd bet the Twins are considering every player, even Appel, Gray and Bryant. You just never know if someone is going to drop. You have to do your homework on each of them and have proper evaluations on them in case they do. Similar to how the Vikings assumd Sharrif Floyd was going to be a top 10 pick, they weren't going to automatically cross him off their list due to assumption. I'd be shocked if the 4 guys aren't Gray, Appel, Bryant and Stewart in that order. With all the talk (and criticism) I don't believe for a second the Twins are seriously considering a questionable hitting defensive catcher at the 4th pick.

Interesting to know and a little concerning considering the recent benching of Rosario and the early hook for Sano due to un-Twinlike baseball behavior. Maybe he should get a promotion to Ft. Myers simply because Mientkiewicz has already shown he's not putting up with unprofessional onfield antics.

So Rosario was benched for a lack of hustle? I'm not saying that's wrong, I just thought those in the know were intimating it was due to off-field issues.

But is that hate just your pride? Because it's not as if paying Morneau more than he deserves would be a financial detriment to the team. That kind of trade is likely no longer available. Ryan pulled that move many times in the late 1990's which is how he got his reputation as a shrewd GM. He was trading somewhat useful vets for well regarded prospects because the other GM's were making expendable all but their top 1 or 2 farmhands. Ryan took advantage of the win-now mentality, however Ryan's stratagy has now become common practice throughout the league and now he has lost his advantage.

Last estimate I saw was $14 million. Clearly more than he is worth, but it's not like the Twins will be anywhere near their self-impossed salary ceiling. And as has been discussed before, there's really no such thing as a bad 1 year contract, especially for a guy who has meant so much to the team. On the other hand, Terry Ryan sometimes seems more concerned with getting the better end of a deal than with getting a usable commodity. Let's play pretend for a minute. Let's say that the Twins somehow land Kris Bryant in the draft. I'd guess that one of he or Sano would then be moved to 1B immediately as both would likely be at similar levels during the next two years. If the Twins had Morneau as a stop gap in 2014 Sano/Bryant would hopefully be ready to take over in 2015. I will have to set a reminder in my phone to come back next week and delete that last paragraph seeing as drafting Bryant is unlikely.