rdehring

Expect one difference, Cody. If Buxton is able to start on Friday or is certain a day or two later, I think they will begin with 16 pitchers and 14 position players. I see Blankenhorn not making the cut and Thorpe as the third long/swing man out of the pen. That may be especially true with the questions surrounding Odorizzi's back.

Will be interesting to see who fills that spot. Imagine they could leave it open this week to see who other teams release that may be of interest, either fringe MLB player or prospect. If it isn't filled come the weekend, could we please see Balazovic join the group...please!

If it were my decision, would want him leading off. With that said, I doubt he will be there. Have a feeling it will be Kepler versus righties and I don't know who versus lefties. With Donaldson/Cruz at #2 and #3, who will be the left handed hitter batting cleanup. Don't be surprised if it Rosario, although could also be Polanco. Seriously doubt he will have three righties in a row.

Yes, their practice squad MAY be headquartered at Frontier Field seeing Rochester is only an hour or so drive from Buffalo.

Well, its official, Canada has said no to teams entering Canada without going thru the 14 day quarantine. State reason being that several teams will be coming from areas of U.S. that are current COVID hot spots. Assume they are talking about Florida (Tampa and Miami). Article in Strib speculated they would be playing in Buffalo. Also speculation that their taxi squad training site could be in Rochester. I know lights have been a problem talked about here and elsewhere. Could they play only day games? Or I don't suppose it would take too long to bring in temporary lights until they could install better permanent lighting.

Have a request from those of you at TD, maybe Tom or Seth, who have close contact with some of the guys running the minor leagues for the Twins. We hear about player X staying in Fort Myers and continuing to work out. Does anyone have a listing of who those players are? And more important, what they are doing and how long they have/will be there? I know the dorms there house something like 50, or is it 80, players. Now that some of those there have moved to the Twins Cities, have other younger players arrived? Is there a lot more organized instruction going on than we know about? Would certainly hope so.

Great article and I for one am looking for Buxton to be in center for about 55 games this year. Then the Twins can sign him to a nice extension next winter so when he sets the MLB record for most doubles he does so at Target Field. Found it interesting to see that whereas Sano returned this week, Astudillo was put on the COVID List opening a second spot on the 60-man roster. Was surprised to see that Aaron Whitfield was one of the two players added. Hit less than .200 last summer, but the Twins must really like his athleticism, speed and defense in center field.

Will agree that the Twins are/should be ranked in the Top 10, perhaps as high as the 6-8 range considering their depth. But would you prefer to have them ranked Top 10? Or since you mentioned Dangerfield, "getting no respect?" I'll take the Rodney side of that coin and hope like heck they pitch the entire summer with a big chip on their shoulders.

Great read, Matt. I expect, however, that Duffey was in the Twins plans for 2019 and the fact he started at AAA was a disappointment. But he sure as heck turned it around and was great down the stretch. Listened to the Romo interview yesterday. He raved about what to expect from Alcala. Got me as excited as I was last year for that guy who now wears Dodger blue. What was his name again? Will second the comments above that I am hopeful that Colina can stick as a starter.

Having been involved with both the Badger hockey and football teams back when, certainly understand that the Badgers own the market. Heck, that was true even when the football team was awful all those years back in the 70's. I know there has been talk of getting Badger baseball back as they are the only BIG school without it. But that isn't going to happen as long as Barry is AD. Add the financial problems all Ath Depts are having right now, the only changes we are going to see in the next few years is schools cutting sports rather than adding.

A long time ago Madison had a low A ball team, the Muskies. Was affiliated with Oakland and had Conseco, that good shortstop and several other of the great A's from the late 80's. Team never made a penny and after several years was sold and moved to Michigan. Owned a small piece of that team and to be honest, we probably could have done a better job of marketing and managing the team.

Who was the starting pitcher a couple years ago who had an incentive for reaching a certain innings level, maybe 200. Recall he was within less than an inning and Molitor told him they would bring him in the last Sunday of the year for an inning of relief. Remember he chose to not do so. Stand up move by the pitcher and the Twins. And regarding the above comment, aren't incentives based on things like ERA and wins not allowed?

So true Trov. Seems I don't often get to laugh of late, thanks!

Based on the Twins recent history, Matt, I suspect Roco will be told to not consider the incentives when scheduling Maeda's workload. One question I do have, will the Dodgers make a claim to recover part of what they paid to the Twins for this year based on the shortened season and reduced dollars owed Maeda? If they do, do they have a case?

My biggest question regarding the Tigers is how the new rule that you must stay 6' away from the umpire is going to affect Ron Gardenhire's ability to argue? Where would you put the number, Nick, at how many games Gardy will get ejected from this year? Considering the shortened season, I put it at 2.

No, yes, maybe? The good news is that it is looking like he has a chance as there will/maybe be baseball. The bigger question is, will Jake Odorizzi be in the hunt to be the Twins ACE in 2021? I for one sure as heck hope so.

Great read, Seth, thanks. Now if they can get May signed to a nice extension, all will be good.

I have never seen Celestino play, Mike. But from what I have read from Seth and others is that he is a major league ready center fielder now. Because he hasn't yet made the upper levels of minor league ball, his bat isn't ready.

I understand much of what you are saying and agree with your expectations for Kirilloff and Larnach. And your belief that the team may be better off putting the dollars Rosario will earn elsewhere may also be correct. But I must disagree with your statement that Rosario is an average MLB player. There is nothing average about Eddie Rosario. Hitting 30+ home runs and driving in 100+ is not average. Yes, I understand the argument some bring that he was fortunate to have the opportunity of coming to the plate often with runners in scoring position. But, unlike so many over the years he got the job done and drove them in...more than 100 times. There is nothing average about his swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. And I would guess that he gets more hits and extra base hits on balls well out of the zone than any other player in baseball. Frustrating, yes. Average, certainly not. There is nothing average about the emotion he brings to the field and his team when on one of his several streaks every year, streaks that can last for weeks. There is nothing average how he cuts off balls down the left field line that look for certain to be doubles, at least when playing on two good legs and ankles. There also is nothing average about how he comes to the field and plays with noticeable injuries. Yes, there are many others that also play hurt, but I would guess not your average MLB player. There is nothing average about his making a few truly dumb baserunning mistakes during the season, mistakes you try to eliminate in Little League. Yet, he also takes so many extra bases that those few gaffes can be forgiven. Again, not your average player. And there is nothing average about the five to ten outs he gets from throws that very few players in the game will even try, much less be successful with. And yes, there is nothing average about the dozen or so throws he makes to the wrong base each season...certainly not something you would expect from your average veteran outfielder. Yes, there can certainly be criticism of some of the things Eddie does on the field. And I suppose that some of the stats you all use may put Eddie amongst those average outfielders in the game. But the player I see on the field is anything but average and a player I hope I can continue to watch in a Twins uniform for many years.

I understand what you are saying about Eddie's situation, Matt. And agree that two of the Twins prime prospects are corner outfielders. But I must ask, who from inside the Twins organization has ever indicated that the organization and Eddie are going in opposite directions? I recall seeing many writers here and on other sites piling crap on Eddie's play. I recall seeing many, many commenters taking shots at his abilities. But I don't recall anyone who makes decisions for the Twins ever hinting at anything other than they like Eddie. I don't know what the future holds for Eddie and the Twins, and I have warmed to the position that trading him may become their best alternative. But I wouldn't be surprised if they gave him an extension sometime next year. They can then sit back and see which of the top prospects actually makes it and deal with the others. But that's just my opinion.

Sorry about those Kirilloff comments, Matt. But I swear I saw something this morning. There is so much information in your piece, guess my old eyes saw something that wasn't there. Will toss my hat into the ring that Dobnak was amazing last year and is going to continue to be very good in 2020...assuming they actually play in two weeks. Reminds me of a pitcher who was very good back in the 50's or 60's, just can't remember who. With all these pitchers, don't have a clue who the five starters are going to be. Just know that Dobnak is going to be in the mix, pitching alot.

I guess I don't understand your definition of Fringe. Ranking all three of last year's young starters, Dobnak, Thorpe and Smeltzer as low is a mistake, in my opinion. Also raised an eyebrow when reading your comment about Kirilloff's defensive limitations. Yes, he will become a long-time MLB star because of his bat. Yes, he is not known for being a top defensive player. But he is adequate, average if you choose, defensively both at first base and in right field...at least he was a few years ago when I saw him in Cedar Rapids. Seems like someone decided he is a defensive liability and others are piling on.

Love Lincoln, with lots of fun memories.

Great article that I agree with in its entirety. As I read, kept thinking that every starting position player on the Twins is amongst the top half at his position in MLB. The more I thought about that, may even top third...Top 10. Here's to a summer, albeit short, of both Buxton and Kepler becoming top three. As I have often said, we could be watching a future Hall of Famer in Kepler.

Always thought Brian was going to become a very good MLB player while moving through the minors. Loved him when he became one of the best on his Twins teams. Thought trading him made sense and liked the return we got. Sorry to see this news and wish him well. If he doesn't catch on with anyone this year, expect he will give it one more try in 2021.