and Polanco took the wrong freaking supplement

 

And Mauer missed almost a month and struggled coming back from a concussion.

Have to admit I have been totally befuddled with how little spotlight Stephen Gonslaves has gotten. He has just turned 24 and his minor league accomplishments are staggering, plus he's a lefty ..

 

51-20 W/L with 2.54 career ERA and has only given up 408 hits in 575 innings .. 

 

Had a rough couple outings in AAA but has brought his ERA back down to 3.04 with a 7-3 W/L .. Stephen may not be a hard thrower like Romero but has more strikeouts than innings pitched in his career. Maybe it's a blessing flying under the radar. My money is on Gonslaves being in competition for our top three spots in 2020 and hope he premiers after the trade deadline ..

You say don't blame the F.O. for this weak season, but.  Can anyone explain why so many guys could have off years? I think we were sold on High Sides that couldn't be meet.   I will blame all 3- Players,Manager,F.O. for this failed season.  Like someone posted before, It's always wait till next year.  Also, does anyone know why we haven't seen Gonsalves yet?  

 

  Also, does anyone know why we haven't seen Gonsalves yet?  

 

I'd go with the fact that he's walking way too many guys right now... I think he's figured it out (or at least, he has of late), but this control issue was new to him this year, which may be due to AAA hitters who are more selective, who knows. 

I was no fan of that thread, but explanation != apology

i have no problem with you and Nick ripping my post. It prompted what I wanted to happen: a discussion on the catcher position and the roster construction. I thought varying types of discourse, whether pro or con, supporting or questioning, was encouraged on this site....

 

To be fair, most of those guys below AA I indicated as mid-season call-ups or late season guys (Badoo etc.). The ones who aren't are guys who should hit AA this year. For guys at AA, I don't think it's crazy to think that they can master AAA in a year. That's a pretty typical pace for a solid prospect.

I understand, but imagine a team calling up 13 non pitching prospects in two years and most contributing, that would be amazing, and even more amazing would be watching it happen.

It’s starting to look more and more like by the time Buxton and or Sano figure things out, if at all, they’ll be out the door towards free agency. If this team was gonna have a sustained run those two needed to be cornerstone types already. Here’s to the next rebuild.

 

i have no problem with you and Nick ripping my post. It prompted what I wanted to happen: a discussion on the catcher position and the roster construction. I thought varying types of discourse, whether pro or con, supporting or questioning, was encouraged on this site....

I wasn't ripping it. I agree it was a good discussion. I was just genuinely caught off-guard when I saw the thread title pop up on the sidebar. It baffles me that any fans would place significant blame on this front office. They haven't been perfect but from my view the sum of their work has been excellent. 

 

I'd go with the fact that he's walking way too many guys right now... I think he's figured it out (or at least, he has of late), but this control issue was new to him this year, which may be due to AAA hitters who are more selective, who knows. 

 

And the talking heads seem to think he doesn't have any + pitches.  Hopefully he turns out, but he seems far from a sure bet.  

 

I understand, but imagine a team calling up 13 non pitching prospects in two years and most contributing, that would be amazing, and even more amazing would be watching it happen.

even more amazing since they only hold 12 position players a lot of the time.

 

You're making a strawman argument. I didn't say they'd bring up 13 prospects in two years. They will have at least five of Garver, Mauer, Sano, Buxton, Rosario, Kepler, and Polanco. Plus a free agent or two. They really would only have 4-6 new players. Some of those will be next year (Gordon, Rooker) and some will be later. This is not an audacious ask I'm making. My point is that they have ready reserves to handle the guys going out. That's a natural cycle in baseball.

The Twins are going to be relevant in 2019. I'm not saying they will make the playoffs, but I believe a bounce back is likely.