Twins Draft '12 = FAIL

[gunnarthor]

Twinswon has taken a lot of flak today, but I don't believe that he is making up the fact that scouts have told him this. Such scouts may or may not be correct, but I do not believe that this is a fabrication.

But perhaps an exaggeration.

[glunn]

But perhaps an exaggeration.

Perhaps. But I am glad for the original post. It has provoked an interesting discussion. And from reading twinswon's other posts, I believe that he is sincere and not a "troll."

[Thrylos]

I would guess Bard, Melotakis and Jones will get a shot to start. Chargois, in my opinion, fits much better as a bullpen guy.

I'll tell you more about these guys after I see them at Fort Myers next spring, but from what I hear Melotakis' delivery does not really translate to starting. Given that the guy does not throw like Neshek I am taking that with a grain of salt till I see him pitch. Heck, I think that Corey Williams should be starting too (if he takes a better approach to get ready in the pen than he does now - long story)

[bird]

twinswon1991, thanks for the post. What a hoot! And what a privilege it is for all of us to share in those scintillating conversations you have so often with all of the scouts behind home plate. Many thanks! Oh, and thanks so much for your obvious objectivity. You know, it's a rare genious that can declare a draft to be an epic failure before some of the players have even strapped on a jock, but you obvipously have inside info, such as DJP's unquestionable judgment that we have a bunch of flawed college relievers on our hands. Geez, what a bunch of crap. Funny stuff.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I am fortunate to have the money to sit in the primo seats which gives me ability to talk to scouts. You would be suprised how many are nice guys who are willing to talk. Some, especially when they are focused on the pitcher on the mound will not give you the time of day.

 

I see you are from Nevada, go to Cashman Field some day and sit behind home plate. There are usually scouts at minor league parks and those guys can be fun to talk to.

 

Is your name Dan by chance?

[johnnydakota]

time to clean house , no more david st.pete (im so tight i sqeek) no more terry(i get confused with all dem stats) ryan no more ron (the waddler) gardenhire no more @ss clown posse (anderson vavra liddle ulger...time for real baseball people not the good ole boys club.....

[glunn]

time to clean house , no more david st.pete (im so tight i sqeek) no more terry(i get confused with all dem stats) ryan no more ron (the waddler) gardenhire no more @ss clown posse (anderson vavra liddle ulger...time for real baseball people not the good ole boys club.....

 

[video=youtube_share;qsK-_GTHP2w]http-~~-//youtu.be/qsK-_GTHP2w

[kab21]

it looks like people are just going to complain about how much money the Twins spend (draft/payroll/everywhere). they did have the highest draft pool and they have already signed two int'l FA's. Perhaps they don't sign those prospects if they spend their whole draft budget.

 

My disappointment has more to do with the college RP's picked. I watched video of two of them and they made my arm hurt. I doubt they make it as starters. They didn't screw up the Buxton pick, Berrios was a nice pick and Walker is a good pick that late.

[Seth Stohs]

This has been (primarily) a good discussion. Buxton and Berrios are exciting. I think they did well with where they got guys like Powell, Rogers, Baxendale, Hicks, etc. As for the relievers and what they're going to do with them... I guess I'm more willing to see it play out. I certainly wasn't overly excited with those picks on the draft days, but we will see.

[Twinsoholic]

I don't understand all the crabbing going on about the Twins' draft. I've been watching drafts for years and years, and if you take the time to look at the success rates, i.e., the number of top 10 picks drafted who actually make it to the majors and have a significant career, then you will see that that number is quite small despite the "world of talent" that the drafted players supposedly bring to their new organization. Think about the Twins drafting the closer from Florida that they traded for Diamond. Where is that closer many people were complaining about at the time of the trade? Think about the lefty from Indiana that the Twins drafted a few years ago who had already had Tommy John surgery only to need it again and derail his Twins career (he now pitches in the Yankee's organization). Or, think about 3rd rounder Ben Tootle who was drafted the same year as the lefty starter whose name I cannot remember (starts with a B I think). Tootle threw 100 mph. Tootle got hurt again and did not make it. My point is simply this: you have to draft lots and lots of pitchers to have a few who will make it through the minors and onto your major league roster. That is what the Twins have been doing with the draft the last two drafts. My guess is that the Twins will use the same draft strategy in the June 2013 draft as well. By the way, I would point out that Hudson Boyd, drafted with a sandwich pick in 2011 has been doing great at Elizabethton. I would expect Berrios will also be a starter there next April. While these players may be years away from making the Twins, they also may be players who help the Twins more immediately by being dealt in trades in the next couple of years as well, trades for major leaguers who could help the club compete in the trade deadline in 2013 or for major leaguers in the offseason to prepare for the 2013 season. In other words, the Twins are re-stocking their system with quality players--pitchers that throw hard for example. Which team does not covet pitchers that throw hard? Also, one last thought: it seems a little naive to think that because a pitcher has not been a starter in college ball that he cannot become a starter in a major league baseball team's minor leagues. And, if he ends up as an effective major reliever, that is not a problem. Last season taught us all how important it is to have effective relievers.

[kab21]

I'm not an expert in pitching mechanics but my arm hurt after watching video of two of the RP'ers (Bard and either Chargois or Melatokis) shortly after the draft. I'm not sure their arms will last as a RP'er much less a starter. Others have said the same thing. That's my beef with the draft but we are talking about sandwich/2nd/3rd rd picks and most of these don't make it.

[Kobs]

I'm not an expert in pitching mechanics but my arm hurt after watching video of two of the RP'ers (Bard and either Chargois or Melatokis) shortly after the draft. I'm not sure their arms will last as a RP'er much less a starter. Others have said the same thing. That's my beef with the draft but we are talking about sandwich/2nd/3rd rd picks and most of these don't make it.

Nothing like treating the second round of the MLB draft like you're Kevin McHale.

[Badsmerf]

I'm not an expert in pitching mechanics but my arm hurt after watching video of two of the RP'ers (Bard and either Chargois or Melatokis) shortly after the draft. I'm not sure their arms will last as a RP'er much less a starter. Others have said the same thing. That's my beef with the draft but we are talking about sandwich/2nd/3rd rd picks and most of these don't make it.

I didn't like Bard's delivery much either. Mostly because I feel it isn't easily repeatable or smooth. I think he will most likely be a work in progress for a few years while they adjust his mechanics.

[diehardtwinsfan]

This has been (primarily) a good discussion. Buxton and Berrios are exciting. I think they did well with where they got guys like Powell, Rogers, Baxendale, Hicks, etc. As for the relievers and what they're going to do with them... I guess I'm more willing to see it play out. I certainly wasn't overly excited with those picks on the draft days, but we will see.

I don't think anyone was over excited about those picks, but I also think people need to take a deep breath and relax a bit...

 

Fact number 1: This was a weak class.

Fact number 2: With the exception of hte top, there was very little in terms of college pitching available to help. This was one of the reasons I wasn't thrilled with the Buxton pick.

 

What exactly would the Twins do? They could draft #5 ceiling college guys (which they have plenty of), some higher upside highschool picks (who'd likely not sign, none of whom would help in the near term), or some lower milage hard throwing college relievers with hope they can teach one or two of them a 3rd pitch. I'm not sure it was the best strategy, but that is what this class gave them. Those hard throwing college relievers are also very safe picks. The floors on most of those guys is a fairly effective relief pitcher, which means we should have some nice bullpen prospect type players to assist with that 2014 team. If one of them develops a semi-decent 3rd pitch, you just picked up an average or better starter...

 

Not the best strategy, but hardly the worst approach either. I for one am encouraged that they didn't go after soft tossers... now let's see how it works.