August 10, 201610 yr I'm not sure why we are disagreeing then. Because a guy who sits 91-95 depending on the report is not a "soft tosser". A soft tosser is a guy who sits in the high 80s and maybe occasionally hits 90-91. You're sliding the scale way too far north to fit your perception of Stewart, a guy who sits between the low and mid 90s. As of 2014, the average MLB fastball velocity was 92mph (and remember, this is including relievers who skew the number higher). That's toward the bottom of Stewart's range, though just barely. He has an average-plus fastball velocity.
August 10, 201610 yr I just spent a lot of time I can't get back reading a thread about whether higher draft picks wind up better than lower draft picks (spoiler: they are) and how fast Kohl Stewart throws (spoiler: this is factual, not debatable). I suppose there is a debate to be had over whether a few more wins in August and September portends better for the future of the youngsters, than a higher draft pick from a few more losses would.
August 11, 201610 yr In short, I believe the mistake people are making here is viewing the draft with tunnel vision. Yes, some players picked after, for example, Byron Buxton have outperformed him thus far. But that's ignoring the swath of players who have not outperformed Buxton. The latter number is far larger than the former. Besides, looking at one player is the wrong way to go about an analysis of something as large as the MLB draft. The only way the draft can be analyzed is in the aggregate. Picking and choosing individual players leads to, well, cherry-picking. Only when viewed as a whole do we see the overall picture. And that picture is pretty clear. The further you are up the draft ladder, the more likely you are to find a quality player. In general, it also needs to be analyzed well after it took place. It's really hard to make any reasonable conclusions on any of the last few drafts given that most of the guys in them are still in the minors.
August 11, 201610 yr Well my 2 cents on the original premise... I'd have been happy picking 1 overall, but as I said in similar threads last month, I wanted them to bring up the kids and let them play. If they do bad b/c of it, so be it. If they do well b/c they let the kids play.. great. so far, it looks like the guys coming up are better than the ones being replaced. I think that's good. 2017 may not be all that bad after all.
August 12, 201610 yr Twins have 47 games left. In their last 47 games, they have gone 26-21. If they replicate that, they will finish 72-90, and they will undoubtedly pass a few teams and maybe get the 6th or 7th pick. I suspect they won't finish that well, but rather more like 22-25, for a 68-94 record. And maybe the 4th or 5th pick, behind the Braves, Reds, and 1-2 other teams (Rays/Angels/DBacks/Padres). In order to post a 50-50 record in their last 100 games of the season, the Twins need to go 23-24 down the stretch. That would mean the team played 24 games under for their first 62 games, and then break even over their last 100. Edited August 12, 201610 yr by AM.
August 12, 201610 yr Half of the Twins games from now until the end of the season will be against teams with playoff hopes soundly dashed. September could mean even more teams with less to play for. Projecting does get trickier. As many as 9 teams could tank leaving the Twins out of the top 10 if they finish with a .450 winning percentage.
August 20, 201610 yr Hey hey! Twins are second worst in MLB again. (If it wasn't for our 2-game "sweep" of the Braves, we would only be a game out of the worst spot too...)
August 20, 201610 yr Hey hey!Twins are second worst in MLB again. (If it wasn't for our 2-game "sweep" of the Braves, we would only be a game out of the worst spot too...)Hey hey, right back at ya At this point, I'm guessing everyone knows what the Twins record is like. This season is now about developing MiLB players into MLB players. Polanco, Kepler, Sano, Centeno and Berrios were all in the lineup last night and have been frequently. In August, the Twins are 9 - 9, if my counting is correct. Are the still getting their collective butts kicked by the usual suspects? Yup. Have the Twins been kicking around a couple teams? Sort of. And how about Cole Hamels? Twins love them some Hamels! Fix the defense, find some pitching talent from wherever, and this could be a pretty decent team. I know, I know. Couldn't be worse
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