Get on the turtle train. We can always make more room and it's slow enough that we won't have to stop so you can hop on

I lean more toward Ted. I would get beat up this winter when I would mention names like Parmelee and Pinto in referring to Astudillo. 

But I don't think it would require him to "entirely shift his approach." I don't think I would want that. And frankly, it's not realistic. The key is for him to understand where he can barrel up the baseball. That doesn't have to mean just in the strike zone. He''s not going to become Mitch Garver at the plate, ,and that's OK. But he just can't swing at everything.

Eddie Rosario went through that struggle early in 2016 and got sent down. I talked to someone at that time and they said that Eddie's going to be aggressive ,and that can be OK IF he understands which pitches he can hit hard. Kirby Puckett was able to barrel up baseballs that weren't in the strike zone. Rosario can do the same. What Rosario has done successfully is tame down his approach enough to lay off a few more non-strikes that he just can''t' do anything with and crush pitches he can. 

If Astudillo can do that he can be an OK backup catcher or fill that 25th man job that he started the season with. 

The other thing is defense... it''s just not good. He's not a good defensive catcher at all. And that is easily his best defensive position. So on this current Twins roster where is he going to play consistently enough to make it worth it?

C: Behind Garver and Castro.

1B: Behind Cron, Gonzalez, Sano and Adrianza.

3B: Behind Sano, Gonzalez and Adrianza

OF: Behind the three starters and Gonzalez and Adrianza. 

Hard to get at bats. But again, a nice luxury to have when he is hitting. But MLB pitchers are too good and they have adjusted to him. Like all MLB hitters, the onus is now on Astudillo to make the next adjustment... and that will determine what his career path will be.

If he can make an adjustment, he can be that 25th man and #2 or #3 catcher. If not ,I know I don't want a pinch hitter who swings at the first pitch no matter where it's thrown. 

Well worded by Seth up there. I think "entirely change" is drastic and meant for effect as much as it is in practice. Realistically the change is that he has to swing at pitches in the zone that he can hit hard. Right now he swings at everything, and hits very little hard.

I wish the turtle well and I think he will could be either a passing phenomenon or he could have you and Seth eat your words.  I am hoping for the latter.  No stats, no analysis, I find him refreshing and look for better things to come. 

The Turtle gives us fat folks someone to root for. and there a lot of fat folks in MN. 

Not a fan of Astudillo, expect for the no look pick-off throw to first base in spring training a couple years ago. His OBP follows his average, and even it that is .270, it becomes horrible. Plus, he is mediocre at all positions he plays. We have a need for him only as a backup catcher with flexibilty if Garver or Castro get hurt. There is no future for Astudillo, even if he does have more plate disipline, I think.

Astudillo has impressed me as being a "baseball player". He is aware of what goes on during a game, and is involved. Like Rosario, Puckett, Oliva, and some other "bad ball" hitters he needs to determine which bad balls to lay off of. I think he will. I am a little surprised by the shade thrown at his glove. One comment was that he had flexibility but wasn't good at any position. That comment on itself doesn't make sense. Players who aren't good at any position aren't flexible, they are likely the 4th OF. You don't get sent to three IF positions, two OF ones, and catch if you aren't any good at any of the positions. That doesn't mean you are a gold glove winner at anyone of them, but you are easily adequate. If that were not the case Sano would be an OF, Gonsales would catch, and Buxton would be at second base. Trust me, none of this will happen! Lastly, while Garver has worked hard and made his glove work less offensive, I don't see anything remotely giving him an edge behind the plate defensively. Garver is a hitter who can catch. He is not a catcher who can hit. And yes, there is a difference.

Astudillo has impressed me as being a "baseball player". He is aware of what goes on during a game, and is involved. Like Rosario, Puckett, Oliva, and some other "bad ball" hitters he needs to determine which bad balls to lay off of. I think he will. I am a little surprised by the shade thrown at his glove. One comment was that he had flexibility but wasn't good at any position. That comment on itself doesn't make sense. Players who aren't good at any position aren't flexible, they are likely the 4th OF. You don't get sent to three IF positions, two OF ones, and catch if you aren't any good at any of the positions. That doesn't mean you are a gold glove winner at anyone of them, but you are easily adequate. If that were not the case Sano would be an OF, Gonsales would catch, and Buxton would be at second base. Trust me, none of this will happen! Lastly, while Garver has worked hard and made his glove work less offensive, I don't see anything remotely giving him an edge behind the plate defensively. Garver is a hitter who can catch. He is not a catcher who can hit. And yes, there is a difference.

Couple of things I want to address here:

1. Astudillo is not a bad ball hitter. He chases because that's his process, swing and make contact with everything. He doesn't hit anything hard, so he's not really a hitter at all yet. Bad ball hitters make it work because they still barrel pitches out of the zone. They aren't just chasing.

2. He's below average defensively everywhere, the metrics and eye test both corroborate that. A catcher by trade, that actually may be one of his worst positions defensively. Because he can occupy the space doesn't, in and of itself, provide value. Marwin Gonzalez CAN play SS, but you never WANT him to.

3. Mitch Garver rated well below average defensively in 2018. After the work he put in with Tanner Swanson this offseason, he rates avg or slightly above across the board. Adding in the fact that he can hit, he's produced as the best catcher in baseball (when healthy) to start 2019. Is that sustainable? No. Defining him as "a catcher who can hit" drastically downplays the fact that he's a high level regular for the position.

Oddly during a discussion on Andrainza and the idea of releasing him, someone who was posting made the comment that Gonsales would be an adequate backup to Polanco because the Houston manager considered him there best defensive SS? Do I know this for a fact? No! In fact I found it odd having watched him play. I think his defense overall is over rated. My point being that defensive ability remains very subjective. And defensive abilities also are colored by the players bat. I did not imply that Garver was a catcher who could hit, I implied that he is a hitter who can catch. He is the behind the plate version of Polanco who is a hitter who can play SS. Neither is particularly adept at their defensive positions, but their obvious success with the bat covers those shortcomings. I am not suggesting they shouldn't play, I simply prefer to differentiate between the two different aspects of the game. It's similar to the old bugaboo of giving a Gold Glove to a ham handed first baseman who hits 32 HR's, even though he didn't hit them with his glove! And yes, even I cringed at some of the balls Astudillo swung at recently. He needs to narrow down the zone, but that zone for him like Rosario doesn't include simply the strike zone. He won't ever have the power Rosario does, but one has to have a short memory not to remember the hacks Eddie took for a couple years. You could have filled a book the size of War and Peace with the calls for his demotion both offensively and for his route running on fly balls. Patience in baseball is a virtue!

I could see him being the second catcher next year if Garver can handle 130 games behind-the-plate. If something happens to Garver, you can always call up a shared position player.

So, in that sense, you may not lose much if he can call a decent game. That he can also play in the field in a pinch is a plus. I wish I knew better if he can come off the bench and put that ball in play in a positive way (fly ball or non-double-play).

Right now, he is better served in the minors as the Twins have two outstanding catchers and no place for him to get other at bats.

At Rochester, he has an opportunity to showcase what he can do if he plays everyday, with most of the calls behind-the-plate. Hope he shines!

Astudillo has impressed me as being a "baseball player". He is aware of what goes on during a game, and is involved. 

Last season in Rochester Astudillo make one of the most heads-up plays I've ever seen. There was a man on second and none out and he was playing third base. A ball got hit very sharply to him on the ground and he caught it and immediately threw to second base, behind the runner who of course was not advancing. The runner managed to retreat in time to avoid the out, but there was still plenty of time to relay on for a 5-4-3 put-out at first. I'd never seen that before in my life, and he executed it so quickly that he'd obviously thought it through ahead of time.