Leaderboard

I think the TD consensus is to trade BD and install Polanco there. That's where I am. That said, Polanco does have value. He's young, has 5 or 6 seasons remaining under control, has had stellar minor league numbers, and pretty decent major league ones. Is there risk there? Sure, but it's low. The question is what the reward would look like. That said, I think it would be downright foolish for the Twins to trade him. I really hope option 5 is not on the table here. I've got to think it's option 2. I'd rather him not be the SS, for no other reason than I think it would be odd to rely on BD knowing he is either gone after 2018 or very expensive during what would be his decline phase (which to be fair could start as soon as this season, asking him to hit another 40 HR is asking a lot). I've got to think the smart move is trading BD. Polanco won't likely upgrade Dozier. He may never upgrade Dozier, but what he can be is above average with the bat and glove at an up the middle position. A high OBP and a low 800s OPS with above average defense is still a fine player, and if trading the 900s OPS guy with sub par defense nets a top shelf pitcher, the team is better off in both the short term and long term.

Really? He's made several top 100 lists the last couple of years. It'll be years before the Twins, or any team, considers waiving Polanco.

He just turned 23 and has been remarkably consistent through all levels - .280/.340/.410 ish throughout his minor league career with a 109 OPS+ in his limited time with the big club. He certainly has trade value; the question is whether he has more value as a young player on a rebuilding team than he would return in a trade. I suppose the supplementary to that question is whether Polanco + the return from a Dozier trade > Dozier + the return from a Polanco trade. It all depends on the trade market, but I would plan to roll with him as the starting SS in 2017 unless the Twins are blown away in the offseason in a trade for Dozier, in which case I'd happily slide him across to 2B. There's a reasonable prospect Dozier gets traded in the next 18 months anyway, if not this offseason, at which point you put Polanco at 2B and hope Gordon is ready at SS.

I will continue to bear the drum of trading Dozier and letting Polanco take over 2B full-time.

In February of 2012, we merged four prominent Twins blogs into one. It was the start of Twins Daily. We are quite proud of the community of Twins fans that we have established here at Twins Daily. Our forums are busy, filled with generally intelligent, civilized discussion on Twins topics, positive, negative or informative. We encourage you to create your own blog on our site for more discussion. If you’re like us, you’re not just a Minnesota Twins fan. Many of you, presumably, are Minnesota sports fans. We have Monday morning quarterback tendencies and have all had our moments of Vikings disappointment. That’s true even if we were born since the last time the team lost a Super Bowl. Names like Herschel Walker, Mike Lynn, and Gary Anderson cause a reaction inside us. It is the same reaction many Minnesotans still get when they hear the names of Norm Green or Nick Leddy. Minnesota fans love Minnesota sports, at least a couple of them.Tonight, the Minnesota Wild will take the ice in St. Louis for their first game of the 2016-17 season. This should be an exciting season for the Wild. Last spring they fired Mike Yeo. He was replaced by Bruce Boudreau. The 2016-17 roster is a nice combination of veterans like Zach Parise, Ryan Suter and newcomer Eric Staal. They also have a group of 25-and-unders that remain exciting. Names like Mikael Granlund, Jason Zucker, Charlie Coyle, Erik Haula and Nino Neiderreiter need to take a step forward. Two years ago, we launched Wild Xtra with the same goals and the same mission as we have here at Twins Daily. We look to provide quality articles that provoke thought and discussion. We would love to have a intelligent, civil discussion. We want to encourage independent writers to create their own blogs on the site to share their thoughts on the club. The Minnesota Vikings are the NFL’s lone undefeated team as they enter their bye weekend. Even with injuries to their quarterback, future Hall of Fame running back, several offensive linemen and others, the team has played very well. The offense has been all right. The Vikings defense is elite, one of the best in the game. Vikings fans have had reason for optimism in various years over the last decade or so. This year is something different. There is a feeling that this defense can carry the team to the Super Bowl. There is a lot of season remaining for that to be the case, but the team and its players are certainly deserving of its accolades to this point. We launched Vikings Journal a little over two years ago. It has undergone several changes but there is a core of writers each week that provide content. As important, there is a community in the forums that civilly discuss the goings-on with the Vikings and the NFL. Twins Daily, Vikings Journal and Wild Xtra are tied together under the MinnCentric family. If you are registered at Twins Daily, you can use the same Username and Password on the Wild Xtra and Vikings Journal sites. That makes it easy to go from site to site and comment or blog. We would really like to help build those communities. Obviously we appreciate you spending some of your time each day reading and commenting at Twins Daily. But today we want to encourage you to take a couple of minutes of your time to visit Wild Xtra and Vikings Journal. Register your username and spend a few minutes reading the content, and commenting in the forums. Also, if you would like to express your thoughts on the Wild or the purple, start your own blogs. You can follow the MinnCentric sites on social media: Follow Twins Daily, Wild Xtra and Vikings Journalon Twitter. Like Twins Daily, Wild Xtra and Vikings Journal on Facebook. Give these sites a chance. We really appreciate all of your support despite the losing we have seen from the Twins over the last half-dozen seasons. The Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Vikings both have a good chance to make the playoffs and an opportunity to do some special things this season. Hop on the bandwagons and help us grow. Click here to view the article

Have you seen Brian throw? I think he would be pretty bad defensively at 3B.

Why isn't there more interest in moving Dozier to third?

My plan would be for Polanco to open the season at SS. No, his defense is not at the level that you'd want, but his offensive upside makes up for a lot of that. Plus, if he's not the starting SS, I don't think Eduardo Escobar is enough of a defensive upgrade to justify putting Polanco in a utility role.

This is hands down the best community-driven Twins site on the web. The Vikings side could use more activity and it will grow with time. The Wild and Wolves are a bit past my days in Minnesota so I don't follow them, but there is no reason this can't be the place for fans of both. One question. Though users can use their Twins Daily accounts on the other sites, there is still a bit of a registration hoopla one has to do in order to post on sites you didn't initially sign up on. Why not make this completely seamless? You register for one, you can post anywhere. One registration and you are automatically a member of everything on the site. I will certainly be blogging for the Twins and possibly the Vikings in the future. Great thanks to Seth and all the others who made this place an open community where everyone can contribute and express their opinions. I was once a regular on 'another' Twins forum where the comments can get a bit disrespectful. I assumed this was because the site was lightly moderated and simply accepted it as a place where people could freely express themselves. After some time I learned that the people who were disrespectful were all of the moderators. At that point I realized it wasn't a place where people can express themselves at all, but it was a place where the moderators were bullying people. Once I figured that out I left and never came back. Twins Daily is a site where I know this would never happen.

Thanks for all the great work you do on this site. It's my first click in the morning and has brought me much closer to the Twins in the last few years.

Dozier barely has the arm strength to make the throws from 2B. The left side is not an option for him.

I see it as a matter of time before Polanco gets shifted to 2B with Gordon coming down the pipe. Why not capitalize on Dozier's season and trade him now? Move Polanco to 2B and use Escobar at SS until Gordon is ready to come up. A utility role for Polanco would be a complete waste. Polanco seems destined to be a 2B regardless of his defensive abilities at SS. With that considered, Dozier wouldn't seem to be in the long term plans for this team and frankly shouldn't be. They've got to let this core group of youngsters grow as a team together. Keeping Dozier, in my view, is a wasted opportunity to improve the club and free up space for younger players that figure to be a part of the resurgence of this club.

Why no love for the Wolves?

Hard to criticize the guys defense at SS when the Twins have moved him all over the place the season after Baseball America rated him the best defensive SS in the FSL (scroll down.) One has to realize that Polanco, outside of the Twins farm brass that for some reason do not like his play at SS, has been seen as a better than average defender. In addition to the above, BA rated him the Twins best defensive infielder in 2009 and 2010 (same link.) The Twins' talent "evaluators" and "developers" messed with him by not letting him develop in the position. It is hard to play SS well right away, after you play 2B only for 2 seasons. Let the kid play a full season or two at SS and then we can talk about his defense.

Take heart, h2oface. Over the years, there have been a lot of fans who have needed glasses when it comes to the early stages of a player's big league career. We don't know which of these guys will end up more like Torii Hunter versus Marty Cordova, but it's not drinking koolaid to be optimistic, for example that Berrios will get it figured out any more than it might have been to excuse Frank Viola or Brad Radke for a shaky start. Or Brian Dozier. Or Gary Gaetti, especially defensively. Or Byron Buxton. Kepler. Sano. There's been plenty of evidence beyond the raw numbers that are telling discerning baseball people that Buxton and Sano still have the makings of future stardom. That's reality. In short, I think it's reaonable to be optimistic that most of the players you mentioned with fulfill expectations eventually, and I think it's reasonable to be optimistic about this next wave too, as long as we remember they don't quite have the elite pedigree of Buxton or Sano.

As we gear up for a crucial Minnesota Twins offseason, we have talked – and will continue to talk – about pitching a great deal. But on the other side, Jorge Polanco stands out as one of the most pivotal figures in the organization's planning. Today, we'll take a look at five options for handling the talented young infielder heading into 2017.Polanco has been a longtime star in Minnesota's system. He has been among the Top 10 on Twins Daily's top prospect list each of the past three years, performing well at each level of the minors. In 2014 he became the youngest Twin to debut in the majors since Joe Mauer a decade before. And this year, in his first prolonged taste of the big leagues, he put up very strong numbers and looked every bit the part of an everyday MLB player. But the problem now, as it has been for the past few seasons, is that there's no obvious full-time opening for the 23-year-old switch-hitter. And while patience has been an affordable luxury in the past, that is no longer the case. Polanco will be out of options in 2017, meaning that the Twins will need to keep him on the roster out of spring training or lose him. That reality will weigh heavily as they lay things out for next season. As I see it, the Twins have five different routes they can take with Polanco. Let's run through the merits of each: 1. Starting Shortstop For a few reasons, this would appear to be the most likely outcome. First, because the Twins don't really have another strong candidate for the position. Eduardo Escobar is the only alternative and he had a tough year that ended on an extremely sour note (.384 OPS in September). Second, because Polanco was Paul Molitor's exclusive starter at shortstop in the final six weeks of the season. That would seem to set the stage for a full-time assignment going forward. However, there's a problem here, and it's a big one. Polanco is not a good defender at shortstop. The organization had essentially given up on playing him there in the minors before he was called up. Defensive metrics rate him very poorly at the position. Even Molitor, the manager who wrote his name in at shortstop daily in the final stretch of the campaign, would only say that Polanco "handled it fairly well" and was "not going to get an 'A' grade." The Twins need to vastly improve in terms of run prevention, and defense is a big part of that. Outside of catcher, shortstop is arguably the most important position on the field. In my opinion, rolling with a subpar glove like Polanco is simply not an option. 2. Starting Second Baseman I think everyone can agree that this is Polanco's best position. It minimizes his primary weakness (his arm) and allows his strengths to shine. It's where he spent all of his time in the Dominican Winter League last year and in Rochester this year before joining the Twins for good. Of course, he happens to be blocked at this position by Minnesota's best player. As long as Brian Dozier is on the roster, second base is off limits. I do think the possibility of a Dozier trade is reasonably strong, so Polanco could still end up here. But as things stand, it's not an option. 3. Starting Third Baseman Sort of an intriguing possibility. If the Twins want to move on from Trevor Plouffe and his expensive 2017 commitment but aren't ready to entrust Miguel Sano with the position following a very shaky defensive showing this year, Polanco could be a solution. He didn't look especially good in his nine starts at the hot corner this year, but could improve if it is his focus heading into the offseason and spring training. However, the downsides here are clear. His arm might play a little better at third than short, but still would hardly be an asset. And while his bat stands out at a middle infield spot, that's less true at an offense-driven corner position. This year, American League third basemen posted the highest OPS of any position other than DH. 4. Backup or Utility Man This idea has its appeal. In a utility role, Polanco would be able to fill in a few times per week around the diamond, and would be an excellent fallback if (when?) one of the starters fizzled or got hurt. With his ability to swing from both sides and his solid speed, he would be a handy piece of have on the bench. Yet, it feels like a bit of a waste. It's also not especially fair to the player. Polanco has shown enough during his time in the majors to justify an everyday role. He's still in a developmental stage and that could be hindered by a lack of regular playing time. 5. Trade Him I really wonder if this is what they are leaning toward. In the latter part of the season, Polanco was constantly playing shortstop and frequently batting third in the order. Does the team really view him as that caliber of player, or were they simply showcasing him for the rest of the league? Everyone knows Polanco would be fine at second, but now teams have plenty of film to evaluate and make their own judgments about his proclivity at short. The Twins know that if they want to acquire impact talent via trade, it might mean giving up some of their own coveted young players. Polanco is among the only ones among that group that could really be viewed as expendable. What it comes down to is how much the rest of the execs around the league value Polanco. It doesn't make sense to give up a young, controllable middle infielder who has proven his capabilities at the major-league level unless you're getting a significant haul in return. Given that Polanco has a well-rounded yet unspectacular skill set, I do wonder if a sufficient offer is going to come. What would be your plan for Polanco this offseason? Click here to view the article

Thanks for all the kind words in the post (that I erased in the quote out of modesty). The registration isn't as seamless as we would like it to be between the sites, but it's the best we can do for now. It's just technically very tricky to make two separate site use the same security IDs and such and keep them in sync. In fact, if you remember, the original Twins Daily platform that we had until two years ago, the whole reason we switched was because there was just no way to do it with that platform. We had to build this one from the ground up just to have the IDs be able to be used across the platforms. So I appreciate your patience. We will work on that along with some other changes when we have a little more bandwidth.

Starting next week I will be in Jupiter for the Perfect Game WWBA World Championship. Last year saw the likes of first rounders: Matt Manning, Ben Rortvedt, Alex Kirilloff, Jason Groome, Josh Lowe, Delvin Perez, Carter Kieboom, Cole Ragans. Of the Top 50 HS players (rated by PG), the majority will be playing in the tourney: 2 Jordon "Jo" Adell OF 4 DL Hall LHP 6 Hans Crouse RHP 7 Alejandro Toral 1B 10 Conner Uselton OF 14 Calvin Mitchell OF 16 Tanner Burns RHP 17 Nick Allen SS 18 Brady McConnell SS 21 Cole Brannen OF 22 Adam Hall SS 23 Jeremiah Estrada RHP 25 Mitchell Stone LHP 26 Garrett "Hunter" Ruth RHP 27 Kyle Jacobsen OF 28 Mervyl "MJ" Melendez C 30 Mark Vientos SS 31 Drew Waters OF 32 Jayson Gonzalez MIF 34 Caleb Sloan RHP 36 Oraj Anu OF 37 Jordan Anderson OF 38 Jacob Pearson OF 40 Terriez Fuller OF 42 Ricardo De La Torre SS 43 Luis Campusano C 45 Jacob Gonzalez 3B 46 Logan Allen LHP 47 Tim Elko 3B 48 Philip Clarke C 49 Johnathan Rodriguez OF 50 Heliot Ramos OF

Agreed. At this point they will really win fans over by winning.

Individual players don't sell tickets, not Brian Dozier. How many less people buy tickets if they trade him? 50? 100? 1000 (no way)?

I would trade BD. I think the defense is close to a wash, with Polanco eventually being better than Dozier. And while Dozier had a four month stretch like few before him, I think Polanco is easily a much better pure hitter, and will continue to be so. Will he hit 40 HR's? Nope, and I really don't think Dozier will ever do that again. Or for that matter 30. They have added done and in to off the plate in how he is being pitched, and it's been very effective. He will still hit his 20 HR's, which is nothing to sneeze at. But I would sell as high as I can on him, while I can.

My then wife and I went to the Metrodome for the welcome home party. The people at the Metrodome later told me (I did some contract work at the Metrodome for a while and got to know a few of the people who worked there) they were stunned at the crowd that showed up to welcome the Twins back from Detroit.

Isn't this the kind of thinking that helped lead them to their run prevention mess this year? I've seen enough, honestly. He doesn't have the arm to be an asset at the position. He can play it serviceably, but they need more than that. Pointing to Baseball America's accolades from 2 or 5-6 years ago doesn't really support a strong case. Instead of pointing to those maybe you could look at what BA said about him in their most recent profile, from last year: "He has averaged 34 errors the past two seasons since moving to shortstop, showing fairly soft hands but an average arm that strains at times to match the added burden of the position. His range is only average and his play clock gets sped up, leading to unforced errors. Quiet and intelligent with a grinder's mentality, his makeup is strong. With all-star second baseman Brian Dozier locked up through 2018, Polanco is blocked at his best projected position"

Love Twins Daily. My view of Vikings Journal has been that it lacks good content and rarely has enough of it. That isn't helped that the comments sections are rarely entertaining to read - no one making an argument or starting a discussion. Maybe it's due to the basic difference between baseball and football? Baseball's stats make it easier for an everyday fan to make an argument and playing everyday keeps stories going. Football is significantly harder to understand and there's only 16-20 games a year.

Having both Dozier and Polanco on the same team is a sub-optimal use of their talents, as they belong both at 2B and putting one at SS or 3B diminishes his contribution. The question for me is whether trading either one brings back enough to exceed the suboptimal combination. (SydneyTwinsFan among others also expressed this point of view.) Therefore, before making any other decisions, I would shop both Dozier and Polanco hard. I want to know concretely the return either player would bring. Tactically, I think letting it be known both are being shopped will slightly increase the offers for the one who other GMs want more, probably Dozier - "I don't especially want Polanco, but if I lowball on Dozier, the Twins might accept an offer on Polanco from someone else, and then Dozier won't be traded". Dozier is at an age that he'd be the natural one to trade, if your business model is to exploit your minor league talent pipeline. We may look back and realize 2016 was his career year. On the other hand, if he's achieved a new level of performance, it's enough above average that he's the kind of player you want to retain. There is also the public relations problem with trading your best player, something that can not be ignored. So I want a lot in return for him, if I trade him - high upside starting pitching, to start with. The point of putting together a contending team is to fill all your positions with above MLB-average players. Those don't grow on trees. We finally have one. Polanco, as has been stated by others already, is less likely to bring back much in trade right now. If that assumption proves wrong, he's the one I probably deal. He projects as an above average 2B eventually, so I don't let him go for scraps in return. If neither trade option works out, I would roll with Polanco at SS for 2017.* I have been a harsh critic of Polanco's arm for a couple of years now, and I remain very skeptical he can ever become even an average shortstop overall. But his bat looks like it's good enough to make up for it, during a transition season; and unlike some players, being in over his head on defense didn't seem to harm his offensive production. Keep the channels open for a trade during 2017, and re-evaluate a year from now if I still have both players. * An option I haven't seen discussed: move Dozier to SS instead of Polanco. Both players are about average at 2B; if Dozier might provide marginally better defense at SS then that change has to be considered. The old regime seemed to give undue preference to veterans in their choice of positions; maybe under Falvey that changes. I think Dozier sees himself as enough of a team player to accept the challenge of being a mediocre SS for the good of the team. It's something Molitor wouldn't have asked of Dozier mid-season, but perhaps now he would.

Every single one of the scouts assigned to the international draft had more influence about both who should be signed and for how much than Billy Smith. And anyone who thinks they should all be fired is frightfully ignorant about the Twin's comparative success in the international arena. Smith's influence on the international effort, in truth, began much earlier than his short and disastrous tenure as GM. He, along with Andy MacPhail and Jim Pohlad, waged a long battle with Carl Pohlad before Carl finally capitulated and approved a massive budget increase that allowed the organization to finally build the necessary infrastructure of facilities and staff to build relationships and compete for talent in the D.R. This initiative took years, but they now have a beachhead there. Smith was a huge part of building this, and is still leaving his prints in this effort in very positive ways. The most striking recent evidence is the new joint facilities there, and anyone familiar with how the organization works will tell you that Billy Smith has been one of the people at the center of this undertaking.

Yeah, the problem with this is that the regime at Target Field is changing. So any alleged showcase could be dismissed with the presence of Derek Falvey. Personally, I think the trade Brian Dozier scenario is the most likely given where the Twins are at and what they need. You trade Jorge Polanco when you need to trade for a veteran because you're close to contention. You trade Brian Dozier when you need prospects to help your team improve. This team is definitely in the latter category.

stick him at short with sano at third. let them take their lumps.

I agree with Shane- starting SS. He actually is NOT horrible, and would be a great bridge to 2018. His bat will make up for a lot of defensive questions.

Parker, I love your writing. If you wrote a book I'd buy it in a second.

Starting SS.

Polanco as SS could be dicey if Sano is playing 3B. I think some of the offensive that Polanco may lack at 3B can be found at 2B by Dozier, 1B if Vargas platoons, and an improving OF of Rosario, Buxton, and Kepler. It isn't an ideal fit but giving up a little offense at 3B won't devastate this team. I agree, a utility role isn't appealing, but if Molitor uses Polanco like Dantana (i.e. playing him nearly every day) then I can stomach the utility role. Obviously 2B is the preferred spot for Polanco. I can see scenarios where options 1-4 work out. If somebody is traded, I hope its Dozier. He'll absolutely return more than Polanco, and he has only 2 years left on a good contract before free agency. Given the outlook for 2017 I think it makes much more sense to trade Dozier.

I don't care what some stupid metrics say, Sano is not a better defensive 3rd baseman that Plouffe. I'm sure the "metrics" didn't take into account the time he actually ran away from a freaking pop up.

Beer has a great stroke and bat, saw him play last year in the WWBA and he was very impressive. If he didn't graduate early and attend Clemson he would have been a first rounder last year. Video I took of him hitting in the cage a year ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aqgX-l4o-w

Why can't he be a guy like Ben Zobrist, play nearly every day, and play many positions? Now, my first choice is trade Dozier, and put Polanco at 2B (or trade Polanco if he returns a legit SP type)....but I'd be ok with Zobrist type usage.

Are we watching the same guy? I remember quite a few potential double plays has Dozier lobbed the ball over to first when a strong throw would've been an out. I'm not saying he's a bad overall defender at 2B, just that his arm isn't strong enough to play on the left side. Can you imagine a play where Dozier has to field a ball going to his right and has to throw from foul territory? The throw might get to the first basemen, but I can all but guarantee you it's not going to be on a line.

I think baseball is a much more nuanced game than football. Hitting the cut-off man, a player not properly covering a base, loafing while getting into position, all of these factors can affect the outcome of a baseball game. Football, at least the last time I watched, was about pass, pass again and then pass some more....with the hopes of getting a "completion" via a phantom "pass interference" call. I find football to be boring and predictable. Plus, the players and the on field celebrations for making a first down have become reminiscent of the touchdown celebrations of a decade ago. However, with baseball, I can safely say that even with the hundreds of games I've watched, there will always be something that happens that I've never seen before.

They are going to be a blast to follow this year!

I think we all agree trading Dozier, grudgingly perhaps, for real pitching help is the Twins best option at this point. But if the market/return is just not there, or, for whatever reasons the new FO has for not trading Dozier would be at this time, then you play Polanco at SS. I'm not saying it's best position, or he should stay there for good, hut as stated previously, he's not awful there. His bat does somewhat make up for average-ish defense. Further, getting a chance to play the position full time, work at it instead of being bounced around, will assist him in getting better.

I just want to see moves that are consistent with a vision, not just throwing crap at the wall to see what sticks. Polanco can stay at SS, but then get rid of the sinkerballers like Gibson and Kintzler, (or tell Gibson to stop throwing his terrible sinker). Polanco can be a utility guy, but then make sure your manager isn't so stubborn in his positioning at the other positions that Polanco doesn't play six games a week. Polanco can play 3B, but then there better be a plan to upgrade the SS position because it's not like Eduardo Escobar playing SS everyday is a huge upgrade. Polanco or Dozier can be traded, but the players coming back better make sense. Both players are too good to be traded just for the sake of a trade, because the above three options could work if they are made in conjunction with other moves to make a specific organizational vision. This just can't be another, "Eh, we're kind of just winging it, just stick Sano in RF for the time being" situation.

I can see not wanting to trade Dozier after the season he had, but is he locked in at 2B? If Polanco can be considered for 3B, why not Dozier? Brian certainly fits the offensive profile of a third baseman, plus is veteran enough that he could probably handle the position switch better than the youngster.

I watched that game 5 with pals at Stub & Herbs- what a game! And that night at the Dome, when the team returned to a full house- wow, one of my favorite sports memories of all time. It was a special time, and a special team. I gotta find those old photos from that rally sometime- if I do, I'll post 'em here. If anybody else has some, please do the same!

Agreed about the first 3, but English went 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts. If that is "not bad", then what is "bad"?

Yeah, but we knew he wouldn't. IIRC, the consensus was the Twins would nab the pitcher that was left - Appel, Gray or Stewart. There was some discussion of the two Georgia OFers but they were secondary to pitching.

What thrylos failed to do was to compare results to other teams. It's hardly instructive to make lists of failures and successes like that. I can do that for any one of the 30 teams and it looks exactly like that list. If anyone doubts this, just look at a recent look-back to the 2005 draft authored by John Sickles of the site minorleaguebaseball. He dug up his list of the Top 50 pitching prospects from that draft, which was regarded as an excellent one. Here are some facts: 1. Exactly 25 of the 50 most-coveted pitchers from that draft busted. 2. Of the busts, 13 simply busted, and 12 were injury busts. 3. Among this elite list of 50, the Twins garnered 5 selections. That's 10%. No other team had that many. 4. Only 5 other teams had more than 2 names on the list. 5. The Twins results matched (exceeded, actually) the overall results. Of the 5, 3 were successful: Crain, Baker, and Perkins. One was an injury bust (Harben) and one turned out to be a head case (JD Durbin) The point is simply this: making a list, good or bad, with zero context and attempting to sell it as "proof" is at best inferior analysis and at worst disingenuous. Even a factual, accurate comparison like what Sickles allows us to do neither proves or disproves an argument that the Twins are good or bad at the draft. It proves that the draft is really hard, and that's about it. BTW, many people believe that Sickles would run circles around the knuckleheads the Twins have out there scouting pitchers. He had Crain (#6), Durbin (#19) and Baker (#30) ahead of Verlander (#34) and Perkins (#35). It's a bit of a crapshoot, people.

You should be able to borrow those glasses from one of the many posters on TD. A possible contributor to draft "failures" is: "we like what you've done--now change to do things our way." If a prospect "doesn't get it, they dump him.

Speaking of first base, I am eagerly awaiting our bi-annual tradition of celebrating Mauer's health! We're probably 5 months away from that "Mauer feels like he's 19 again!" newspaper article and about 11 months from the "Mauer: I used a walker in the hallways between games but kept playing like a trooper" follow-up. Play Vargas.

The conclusion to draw is to give him lots of at-bats next year and see what we have.

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/0/5/0/187004050/062916_sano_med_ok9rqg9t.gif ..............

Jeremy, none of us say it enough, but thank you for the work that you do on here. It is always good discussion, and reading about the potential players is exciting. I appreciate it.