In my recent blog "Diamonds in the Rough"   I stated that I believe Chris Archer was a diamond in the rough. Although he always has shown potential & ability to pitch 200 innings, he hasn`t lived up to our high expectations. Many stars takes a while to break out; at TB he had stiff East division competition & wasn`t ready & at PIT, he wasn`t coached properly. Early this fall, I had a gut feeling that 2020 would be his breakout. I was hoping that FO 1st external deal was to call up Shelton & say lets get this done. I remember in an article I read that Chris Archer could be had for Twin`s Severino then. 

 

Archer I believe has a lot of up side like top of the rotation. He has pretty good spin rate, fast ball, change up but his best pitch is the slider. He was behind in ST because of neck issues, yesterday was his ST debut. I didn`t expect much because he`s behind most everybody. In the slug fest Pirate`s victory 19-13, Archer in 2 innings had 4 SO, 1 BB, 1 hit & 0 runs while hardly using his slider. He exceeded my expectations! 

 

https://www.mlb.com/pirates/news/chris-archer-does-well-in-first-spring-start

 

 More I see him, more I believe my gut is right! I see a new maturity in him & w/ new good coaching he`s ready, Wes`s coaching he should be great! Forgive me but I`m not satisfied w/ any of our external pitching deals, they have very little upside, what you see is what you get (if you`re lucky). I know people will say the bus is full which regrettably could be but we should make room & not wait until dead line. Right now we are probably looking at Rosario value in trade or 2 mid prospects or some combinations if we wait longer his stock will continue to rise as he starts to break-out. Pirates should be willing to deal. Twins should pull the trigger! What do you think?

If at any time we could have gotten Archer for Severino, he's definitely not top of the rotation material. What you see is what you get with grizzled veterans.

I just never bought in to Archer while with TB for the kind of cost it was reported it would take to get him. Despite a big arm and some solid numbers, he never seemed to "transcend" his potential to another level.

 

The Ray's are very progressive, have had some quality years, and have been fairly well known for developing talent. I often think about King Felix up in Seattle all those years, often times pitching for poor teams. And while the W-L weren't there, all the other numbers were.

 

Archer is just young enough where he could raise his game. And I was in favor of the Twins making a move for him if the cost was right. But I never felt he was going to front the rotation. Apparently nobody else feels the same way. Maybe he will surprise and be a major contributor or a mid season chip. Personally, I think the staff for the Twins looks awfully good right now.

Why is this on the twins board? Can this be moved to off topic?