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I kinda hope it isn't Colina. I'd like him to advance as a starting pitcher.

It sure would be nice if Alcala turned into something. That Pressley trade really stings and it would be nice to see some return from Alcala.

He is 100% a reliever now... no more plans for starting.

5 Prospects Who Could Be the Next Cody Stashak We're down to 4 now?

I'm hoping Alcala can be that guy, though if things go right, he shouldn't be pitching too often. I think it's been rather clear that he's not going to make it as a starter, so hopefully they will work on him as a reliever.

As do the rest of us. You are biting off more than you can chew. As stated in the original post, the goal of the Twins panel is to : “to introduce possible job applicants (students and current professionals) to a side of the team they may not know exists.” Please take your concerns to the blog section, the sports bar, or better yet, elsewhere. I have every reason to believe the Twins have their heart in the right place and are what is in their power to do right now to improve this situation.

Great read, Matt. I expect, however, that Duffey was in the Twins plans for 2019 and the fact he started at AAA was a disappointment. But he sure as heck turned it around and was great down the stretch. Listened to the Romo interview yesterday. He raved about what to expect from Alcala. Got me as excited as I was last year for that guy who now wears Dodger blue. What was his name again? Will second the comments above that I am hopeful that Colina can stick as a starter.

I just registered. Really looking forward to listening and learning... I've had some good chats with both Sean Johnson and Deron Johnson. Great people. This should be a great event!!

This Tuesday, the Twins will kick off a series of roundtables featuring underrepresented minority groups from the Twins. The goal is to introduce possible job applicants (students and current professionals) to a side of the team they may not know exists.The event will kick off with a zoom webinar featuring five Black members of the Minnesota Twins Front Office: Sean Johnson - Director of Amateur ScoutingDeron Johnson - Senior Advisor, ScoutingJosh Ruffin -Analyst, Advance ScoutingNavery Moore - Fellow, Pro ScoutingThe roundtable will be moderated by Noah Croom, former Assistant GM of the Timberwolves and current General Counsel & Partner at Beautiful Game Group. The event will also feature an introduction from General Manager of the Twins, Thad Levine. If you’re interested in attending, you can register here. Click here to view the article

I am always curious about trades – do they work in the short run, long run or not at all? How do we judge the Twins trades? I am not interested in the end of the career moves of Killebrew and Thome, but rather the movement of players who will have a career that goes on for a few years after the trade. Most likely the balance between good and bad will even out after a number of years, although David Ortiz will always be a thorn in the Minnesota Twins field. But then Ortiz was not traded - we cut him (and you still think Kelly was a good manager?) and so we got nothing for him. Lucky Boston. So I will ignore that stupid move and look at real trades. And the Twins can always counter with - Liriano, Nathan and Bonser for Pierzynski. Joe Nathan is our greatest closer and he was with us for seven years accumulating 260 saves and 18.4 WAR. Liriano was also with us for seven years and was 50 – 52 with 4.33 ERA. For one year he was the best, but then injuries took him from HOF to great potential. He had 9 War for the seven years. Boof gave us our best name and played for us for three years. 18 – 25 with 5.12 era and -0.1 WAR. The three of them gave us 27.3 WAR. Pierzynski was with us 6 years and played 13 more after leaving us. He had 9.5 WAR with us and 14.3 after he left. I know we consider this a big Twins victory and it is, but maybe not as large as we like to claim. In 1989 we acquired Tapani and Aguilera for Viola. Tapani played seven terrific years for the Twins and was terrific. 75 – 63 with 4.06 ERA and 19.1 WAR. Aguilera was with us 11 years 40 – 47 and 254 saves with 3.50 ERA and 15.5 WAR – that is 34.6 total WAR. Frank Viola was a stud for us for 8 years, but his career was not long after leaving. A total of 15 years with 64 – 57 record in his years with the Mets, Red Sox, Reds, and Blue Jays. His WAR was 11.4 with us, 11.8 with the Red Sox and Mets and -1.1 his last two years. We won that trade for sure. Milton and Guzman and Buchanan for Knoblauch in 1998. Knoblauch was with us seven great years and is second to Carew in our 2B rankings. He accumulated 38 WAR in those year and then in 4 years with the Yankees he had 7.5 WAR until the yips ended his career. With the Yankees he also posted great post season numbers. Brian Buchanan was with us three years and had 0.3 WAR. Christian Guzman was with us 6 years and was one of the fastest and most exciting players we have had. He had 7.6 WAR before being traded. Eric Milton was with us six years and posted a record of 57 – 51 with 4.76 ERA. His WAR for us was -0.6. Put it all together and it is a wash, but NY was happy to have Knoblauch on their championship teams. 1976 Smalley, Singer, Gideon, and Cubbage for Blyleven Of course Bert would come back to the Twins and Smalley would go away and come back too. In all Smalley would play 10 years for us – seven after this trade and three more to end his career. He had 18.7 WAR in his seven years after this trade and 2.1 for his last stint with the team. Bill Singer was 9 – 9 in his one year with the team and had 0.4 WAR. Gideon did nothing for us or anyone else – he had one year in Texas. Mike Cubbage had five years with the Twins and 6.6 WAR. Blyleven had 11 years with the Twins out of 22 and seven came before the trade and 4 more in his last stint with us. He had 49.1 WAR with the Twins – 10.5 in his return so 38.6 before the trade. He had 47.1 WAR with other teams which would mean that we lost that trade! In 1979 thanks to Calvin Griffiths big mouth we had to trade Rod Carew for OF Ken Landreaux, C/OF Dave Engle, RHP Paul Hartzell, LHP Brad Havens. Rod had 63.8 WAR with the Twins when we traded him and 17.4 with the Angels afterward. Ken Landreaux was with the Twins for two years and had 1.8 WAR. Dave Engle played five years for us and had 3.9 WAR. Paul Hartzell was with us one year for 0.4 WAR. Brad Havens was with us three years for 0.3 WAR. We lost that one. In 1963 we pulled off one of our best trades – Jack Kralick for Jim Perry. Kralick pitched five years for Cleveland and had a 6.6. WAR. Jim Perry pitched for us for 10 years and won 128 games. He had a 26.3 WAR. That was a steal! In 2008 we got OF Carlos Gómez, RHP Deolis Guerra, RHP Philip Humber, RHP Kevin Mulvey for Johann Santana. Yes we lost this one. In the four years before his injuries ended a HOF career he had 15.3 WAR with the Mets. Gomez in his two years was exciting and posted 2.6 WAR. Guerra did not pitch for us. Philip Humber had no wins or losses in two years and a WAR of -0.1. Kevin Mulvey had -0.2 in his one year. Yes we lost that one. And if you are thinking – we traded Gomez for J J Hardy so we won, think again, we kept him one year and traded for Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson. If you are keeping track, we are 3 – 3 – 1 in the trades so far. 1969 we got RHP Luis Tiant, RHP Stan Williams for 3B Graig Nettles, RHP Dean Chance, RHP Bob Miller, CF Ted Uhlaender! Tiant had a 2.84 ERA in six seasons with Cleveland before the trade, and Williams was thought of as an ace reliever. Tiant, only threw 92 2/3 innings with the Twins because of a shoulder issue and was released after the season. Williams had a 1.99 ERA in 68 relief appearances in 1970 but was traded to the Cardinals the next year. Tiant then caught on with the Red Sox as one of their star starters and Nettles went on to play 19 years. Tiant had 1.2 WAR with the Twins out of 66.1 for his career and was 7 -3 before his injury and went on to win 229 games. We lost because we could not wait for his injury to heal. Stan Williams was 14 – 6 with 19 saves. He was a terrific relief pitcher but we only kept him 2 years and he had 2.3 WAR for us.Craig Nettles would play 22 years. He had 1.1 WAR in three years with the Twins, but as an excellent glove man and power hitter he would amass 68 WAR in his career. Chance was terrific for us with 13 WAR in three years but had a total of zero war his last three years. Ted Uhlander played only three more years for 1.1 WAR. Bob Miller pitched 17 years – nine after we traded him. He gained 5.7 WAR in that time, but served as a valuable relief pitcher. With Nettles alone we lost this one. And with our impatience for Tiant we doubly lost. 2007 OF Delmon Young, INF Brendan Harris, OF Jason Pridie for Matt Garza, Jason Barlett, and Eddie Morlan. Young was such a disappointment it would have been a good trade if we had given up only Eddie Morlan (who?). Delmon was here 4 years and teased us with his potential each year. His WAR for those years totaled – 1. He played 10 years total. Jason Barlett totaled 10.4 WAR for Tampa. Do I need to go on? Well we did get Brendan Harris and for three years he played for us and accumulated -0.6 WAR. For his career he ended with -0.3. Jason Pridie was with us 2 years and had -0.2 WAR. And then there was Matt Garza who won 93 games in 12 years and had 13.5 WAR after leaving us. WE DEFINITLY LOST THIS ONE. In 2010 there was the trade of Wilson Ramos to the Washington Nationals for Matt Capps and we also through in Joe Testa. I believe this was an unpopular trade! So far Ramos has 15.4 WAR. Matt was with us three years – I forgot that – and somehow got 1.9 WAR. So we lost that one too. THAT BRINGS THE RECORD TO 3 – 6 – 1 Now we come to the Centerfielder trades. Aaron Hicks for John Ryan Murphy – do I have to go into the details? We lost. Denard Span for Alex Meyer – okay, let’s move on – we lost that one too. Ben Revere for Vance Worley (not good) and Trevor May – great! We won. It just took a while. Recently Eduardo Escobar was traded for Jhoan Duran and outfielders Gabriel Maciel and Ernie De La Trinidad. Escobar has been a stud for AZ and the minor leaguers are not here yet. Duran looks like he could be special and is listed as our number 5 prospect by MLB.com. Maciel is listed at number 27 and Tinidad is not on the list. Too early to judge, but AZ is happy! What about relief pitchers. Ryan Pressly traded for Acala (25) and Celestino (15). Both great prospects, but I think we would have liked to have Pressly in the pen. He was a star for Houston. Still too early for a final judgment. Nick Anderson for Brian Schales – Tampa Bay would do this trade any day. Anderson had 1.4 WAR last year and 3.32 era for Tampa as a rookie. Liam Hendriks was not really a trade but we DFA’d him so we could sign Phil Hughes. I suspect we would like him back too since he is now one of the best of all RPs. So I treat that as a default loss. The tally as I have it is 4 – 10 – 3. Maybe the desire to make trades is something we might want to think about.

Just registered. Looking forward to learning!

The Twins definitely view Duran as a long-term starting pitching option for them. That's not to say that he couldn't get called up as a reliever for part of this season, but they want him to be a starter for sure.

Hopefully this talk honestly addresses real issues and concerns, with real, practical plans to resolve any issues noted. What I’m really running out of patience for is public figures that are doing nothing more than virtue signaling and stirring up animosity by shifting bigotry (a lot of anti-white and anti-Semitic garbage being spewed that is called an illegitimate concern right now - very frightening). It’s doing the opposite of helping. Throwing stones from their literal ivory towers (gated communities, personal security, etc.). It’s further dividing and inciting violent/politically charged exchanges, not bringing people together. It’s creating standoffs, not open discussion. We’re seeing racial divides increase, not decrease. Crime is skyrocketing around the country, and insane politicians and political figures are condoning/enabling it because they’re scared to death of being called a racist and being cancelled by extreme left Twitter mobs (mostly comprised of privilege, white suburbanite twenty-somethings trying to cover their own rear end). People are calling out peoples addresses, children’s names, etc. How long have people been marching in streets (some peacefully, some violently)? Have we heard one honest, real solution or plan? Honestly, give me one. I’m sorry, but it’s nothing but political/corporate public relations opportunism. The legitimate gripes are being drown out by corporations, politicians, and disingenuous celebrities virtue signaling in an attempt to leverage a moral high ground for self-gain. Shame on these sick, sick people. Once we’re done addressing this, why don’t we also make sure we get Asian, Native, Latino, and White players proportionately represented in the NBA and NFL. I’ve never felt the need to go down that road, but you can’t have it both ways. You can’t push these initiatives to set race quotas only when they benefit you or your “group,” or it’s a fraudulent cause. You can’t only let certain “groups” have a say. It’s counter productive. It’s for your personal gain, a power grab, not a righteous cause. It’s replacing one broken system with another. People’s willingness to listen is waning. The nation’s attention was captured. It was decided that yelling, chiding, accusing, canceling, was the best approach. You aren’t keeping anyone’s attention by constantly insulting them (no matter the veracity of the claim). Do you think some broke, white guy working two jobs to feed his kids is going to “change” as a result of billionaire Pharrell Williams from his cabana telling him he’s so awful, ignorant, and racist that he can’t see how much more “privileged” he is? The time of the perversion of these serious race-based issues for PR purposes has to end now. It’s sickening. Wake up. Grow up. Make real, constructive change.

Hats off to Chelsea! for the courage she has shown to battle skin cancer, divorce, career set backs & last but not least the loss of her dog. The support of a pet dog is so important in coping w/ sufferings plus losing that support is very grievous. On top of that, to battle for the start up independent ball deserves the admiration from all who love the sport along w/ all who participated w/ her. God bless you!

Totally agree, he needs to perfect those pitches that`ll make him a great pitcher as a starter. We could use Pressley especially last year but in the near future that trade will pay off nicely, Alcala has my vote also once he gets his control down. Sorry I haven`t forgotten Graterol yet

I just registered, too ... looking forward to it.

Celestino is the exciting prospect that came from that deal, but Alcala can be Pressly with a year or so if given that opportunity.

Good job Twins. But - Let’s hope there is no diversity of success on the field this year. Let’s hope our players are universally excellent and healthy. I am so pumped for baseball - let me out of the Covid Cage - Play Ball

One week from today the 2020 Major League Baseball season is expected to get underway. With substantial testing protocols and fanless action, this will be a season unlike any other. It isn’t the first baseball season to get started this year though. That honor belongs to the American Association.Here in Twins Territory, the independent baseball league should be recognizable immediately due to the success of the St. Paul Saints. CHS Field is a gorgeous park nestled next to the highway 94 and highway 52 split, home to the 2019 Champions. It's currently being used as the satellite location for the Minnesota Twins. Much like the NBA plans to do, the American Association created a bubble model to go forth with their season using regional hubs. Playing as the defending champs, St. Paul will look to defend their title with all games in 2020 being played in Sioux Falls, SD. In an effort to dive more into the American Association, the St. Paul Saints, and the path paving the league is going in 2020, I connected with a journalist synonymous to Indy Ball. Chelsea Ladd, founder of Dugout Dish and contributor to both Pitcher List and Prospects Live, is among the best resources in the nation when it comes to baseball off the beaten map. It was a fun conversation, and here’s what she had to share: Twins Daily: First off, let's get to know you. What's Chelsea Ladd's story with baseball, and how did covering Indy Ball become your sweet spot? Chelsea Ladd: I grew up around baseball. I was actually born during an Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos game. My mother was in labor and my father, who is a die-hard Braves fan kept hoping they would get through one more inning before I arrived. He jokes that he won twice that night — he became a girl dad and his Braves won. I played softball from fourth grade until my senior year of high school. I’m left-handed and despite wanting to be the female Mike Piazza, I started pitching in sixth grade. I grew up a Mets fan even though I grew up two hours away from Busch Stadium. Back when I was younger, ESPN didn’t have much softball coverage, so I leaned on baseball. At the age of 10, I made a promise to myself that I would be on Baseball Tonight when I grew up. I lost that promise along the way but last year I found it again. I went through skin cancer at 19 and my softball career was completely over at that point; then a divorce in 2018 and the death of my dog in March of 2019. After the death of my dog, my anxiety was at a very high point. He passed-away traumatically in my family’s home and my love for baseball and writing was a grieving technique. The first professional baseball game that my parents took to me to was an Evansville Otters game — a team within the Independent Frontier League. I have always had a love for independent baseball. The grind that these men go through to play the game they love is incredible. The talent within each league is remarkable and my end all goal with covering indy ball is to get these guys noticed — to give them the kind of recognition they truly deserve. TD: You created your main platform Dugout Dish roughly one year ago. What spawned the site, and what do you see as the next evolution in coverage from here? CL: Dugout Dish is officially a year old as of July 11 and I could not be prouder. As mentioned before, I used writing and baseball as a way to grieve the loss of my family dog. I wanted to be able to promote the game and share my love. My dream as a young girl was to be able to be in the baseball industry and I finally took the leap to getting that dream back. As far as coverage, I’ll be branching into more independent baseball and MiLB coverage in the future. With Indy and MLB returning, expect a lot of this type of content on the site. I’m credentialed with indy teams and a minor league team. TD: The NBA is returning through a centralized bubble model, but they aren't the only league. The American Association is using regional hubs as well. How has that worked and how has it made the game different? CL: So far, the regional hubs for the American Association have worked very well. There was a brief moment when the Milwaukee Milkmen had to postpone a game due to two players testing positive. The team has since been tested and everyone has since been negative. It has not made the game much different from what I have seen. Of course, rules are in place to keep everyone safe during this uncertain time but in the first few weeks back, everything is going smoothly. I spoke with Commissioner Schaub earlier in the month and the main goal and motto for this season is, “For the Love of the Game.” TD: With a physical presence in Missouri and Kentucky, what can you tell us about covering the St. Paul Saints from afar. What are some of the highlights from AA ball in general? CL: While many baseball fans often do not know what independent baseball is, many know who the St. Paul Saints are. The entire organization is truly a blessing to the independent baseball community. Of course, there are rumblings of the Saints becoming an affiliate to the Twins — which would be incredible for the organization. Sadly, the men who play for the team would more than likely have to search for a new home if that were to happen. A few guys worth keeping tabs on: Ryan Zimmerman, Troy Alexander, Chris Chinea, Mikey Reynolds, and Matt Solter. Across the league, teams are showing up and showing out. The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks recorded 13 strikeouts against the Chicago Dogs. The Sioux Falls Canaries are leading the standings, as of the weekend, they were leading with five game winning streak. Right now, it is the perfect time for someone to become a fan of the American Association. What Joshua Schaub and his league are doing is truly inspiring for many. You can purchase a subscription to watch the games, an indy ball version of MLB.tv without blackouts. Other leagues are doing the same — despite the Frontier League cancelling the season, the GM of the Washington Wild Things has formed a four-team league that includes the Black Sox Professional Baseball team. Each game is streamed for fans to view. TD: As Major League Baseball prepares for a return, how does that shift your coverage, and what expansions into big league and prospect narratives are you excited about? CL: I’m ultimately excited about Dylan Carlson under the lights at Busch Stadium. The opportunity to see younger guys who might have had to wait to play if we were having a normal 162-game season. My coverage on Dugout will not shift much thankfully because I currently cover all levels of professional baseball. But it’ll be nice to have fresh information on MLB teams for Dugout’s content. TD: How has dealing with a global pandemic challenged your baseball coverage, and what has it forced you to change. Keeping a job within the industry during this time is no doubt difficult. What has helped you to stay creative? CL: I went from three jobs in February to one in March due to COVID-19. I freelanced for my town’s newspaper, worked and wrote for a local radio station, and as tech at an eye surgeon’s office. As of right now, I’m only working at the radio station, but I have been blessed with the opportunity. I went from having my entire summer planned where I would be spending my time between Marion, Illinois, Washington, Pennsylvania, Evansville, Indiana, Springfield, Missouri and St. Louis, Missouri to spending my summer in Kentucky and virtually covering games for the teams still playing this summer. I’ve added multiple series to my website to stay fresh and have at least one post weekly. I have In the Press Box, In the Dugout, Swinging into History and Women Who Inspire. I have also kept my podcast going with new episodes — I have had guest appearances by Jessica Kleinschmidt and a few friends within the baseball community. TD: As you've grown your platform to now include bylines at Pitcher List and Prospects Live, what are some of your future goals? What's next for you and Dugout Dish? CL: My goal has always been to eventually write for Major League Baseball. It has been a dream of mine since childhood and I can only hope that one day, it comes true. As I’ve dove into the baseball industry more, I realized a lot of my heart belongs to Minor League Baseball and Independent Baseball. Any way that I can promote the game and help the guys who might not get recognition, actually get recognition, that’s something I cherish. That’s one of my ultimate goals at the end of the day. Indy ball and Minor League ball deserve so much and if I can be a part of that, I’ve done my job. TD: Let's wrap with this, assuming baseball does return in its full (but modified) capacity, what are you most looking forward to this season. Is there a particular narrative or story you're anticipating playing out? CL: I would love to see the season run as smooth as it possibly can despite the odds against it. As far as a narrative or story, I am excited to see how small market teams and teams that are often quickly out of the running for October baseball do with a 60-game schedule. Follow Chelsea and check out her work here. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

This is pretty similar to the Vikings' Dalvin Cook. They're both incredibly talented, but unfortunately injury prone.

I just registered as well. Very excited

I'm a fan of chunder.

The Twins have assembled a great squad for this year. Absent injury or poor performance (by a player who cannot be replaced adequately on the depth chart), the Twins should avoid making trades.

Falvey is clearly a bigger fan than me; all this time I always thought they were Australian. In fact, I'd like to call for an investigation. I dare someone to think of a word more Australian sounding than Chumbawamba or Tubthumping.

Seems reasonable to me. Anyone got any better suggestions?

Thank you Mick for putting salt on the wound! LOL! But being serious I hope that our new FO will have a better track record than the past. I think you forgot Odorizzi/ Palacios trade I believe we won. Also it seems to me that Andy Macphail was pretty good

ARGH!!!! EAR WORM ALERT!!!!!!!!!!

This looks like a great Round Table that will be interesting and beneficial to many. Looking forward to it.

What have we heard about Duran? Is he still slated to start. I haven't really heard what the ultimate plan for him is.

Go Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks!! Was happy to see my old teammate Chris Coste get that manager job. He was supposed to be hitting coach again, but their manager wasn't brought back and he took that job.

Thanks Parker. Good info, though it is a very tough subject to study, with soooo many confounding variables (and the plus fastball and plus slider combo seems to be used together often so hard to evaluate the impact separately). I'm always more excited about the sustainability of pitchers like Santana and Viola with a plus plus change up....

I am heading to Sioux Falls next week to catch a couple of Saints games. According to the Sioux Falls local newspaper's website there isn't much mask usage or social distancing observed at the games. This confuses me as the infection rate is greater in Sioux Falls than the county in the metro area where I live. I am just going to go and enjoy live professional baseball.

especially looking at alternatives in house. Cave (113 wRC+) Wade(98 wRC+), Kirilloff(121 wRC+ in AA) & Rooker (139 wRC+ in AAA) all in house ready to back fill at major league rookie rates, or Eddie Rosario (103 wRC+) at 12 mil or more.

I believe you are thinking of Hughes

I agree for 2020. I am not so sure for 2021. It depends on if we get the 2017 and 1st half of 2018 Eddie or the 2nd half of 2018-2019 Eddie. If we get the latter in 2021 Cave + a wise investment of the roughly $10M delta between Eddie and Cave probably yields more significant value. However, I still think the most likely scenario is they hold onto Eddie through the end of his contract. However, it could come down to which Eddie shows up this year.

Even if having Rosario in the lineup means they don’t upgrade the starting rotation? Keep in mind, Odorizzi is UFA. Where do you think they have a better chance to fill in a hole? Corner outfield or at the top of the rotation?

I never meant to start a new thread over it. I simply used those examples to demonstrate how in my opinion, the way Los Angeles handled his usage was straight up a screw over and I think the fact that he just took it all these years is commendable. We all know Maeda's contract ia sweet deal for the owners. I merely meant I don't ever wanna see the Twins pull that back handed kind of crap with Any Players Ever. That's a great way to make sure free agents don't wanna come to Minnesota. nuff said? good.

I don't believe modern research necessarily supports this claim. It was once thought of as a pitch that caused injury to the UCL but more studies now conclude that high-velocity fastballs can be more capable of producing injuries. Driveline looked at multiple studies and used Motus to measure stress levels in the elbow and found that sliders did not induce any more stress. One study showed that youth pitchers had higher rates of elbow pain when throwing sliders but the thought was they had improper mechanics and throwing motion of the pitch. In regards to the two specific cases, I will say this about Erickson: He went from throwing 91 innings in college to being drafted and throwing another 78.2 in the Twins' system as a 21-year-old -- 169.2 innings combined -- in the same season. The next year the Twins had him through 214 innings between AA and the majors. No organization would do that to a pitcher anymore. I would bet that his injury had more to do with a workload issue than any one type of pitch. I do believe the method in which Smeltzer describes his slider flowing off of the finger rather than torquing the pitch is also likely less of a stress factor.

I've been impressed with Smeltzer thus far. Flat out, he knows how to pitch. And that can never be discounted. But when you have limited velocity, you need to be able to really work the batter. An improved slider does a lot to raise his bar. I wouldn't bet against the kid, guts and instinct, especially if he finds a slider that works. But Thorpe and Dobnak have better pure stuff and Duran and Balazovic are on their way. I think he ends up fitting in best as a versatile pen arm who can give you 1-3 IP and spot start.

She is a true pro. "I don’t want people to see me as a girl in baseball. I want people to know me for my work, and nothing more." Also, this: "Focusing on mental health is such an important factor. I know firsthand what that battle with anxiety can feel like, and my hope is that while I’m trying to inspire others through baseball, if you struggle with anxiety or depression I want to listen and encourage there as well. Knowing that you’re never alone is a big thing, other people can always relate." Following her on the Athletic from now on!

I don't disagree with you at all if this is game 20 we're talking about. I think to throw Rooker or Kirilloff in on Opening Day for what could be a very brief absence by either player would be a mistake. Maybe less so if this team could afford them the acclimation process or had 162 games to work with.

Which is pretty messed up in and of itself, though it's not like baseball hasn't had its issues with labor abuses in the past. Hopefully there's some progress on making the minors less of a hellscape.

In the Athletic they recently had a scout poll rank starting pitchers on 1-4 tiers. included in the rankings are I.Aces I.2 Applicants. There are only 4 aces, Cole, Scherzer, deGrom, and Verlander. There are 18 applicants and I think Berrios is like number 12 overall. III. Starts with Greinke. There are 25 sp in this category of solid #3 guys. Maeda is #21 and Odorizzi is #25. In the IV. Category Pineda is listed as 11th best and Bailey is 13th. Rich Hill isn't on the list at all but from what we have seen so far my guess is he would rank somewhere around Maeda and Odorizzi. Basically it means according to the survey the Twins have 6 of the top 60 Starting Pitchers in the mlb (#s 12,43,47,58,and #60). I am estimating Hill would be say #45 were he on the list at all. What does it mean? The closest thing we have to an Ace is Berrios with Maeda and Odorizzi not far behind. I think the group as a whole is better than 2019 but I also think we lack a true #1 guy. I don't know who that would be but I do know we will win plenty of games with the guys we have now.

I have to commend her for writing the "I can't afford to play this game" piece. She took a huge risk to do this. She is already a small set of women in baseball, and to write about how bad the minor leagues get exploited. She took a huge risk, and now it looks like she is getting huge rewards for it. She could have been blackballed by MLB for bringing to light about minor league players disrupting the MLB minor league system. She helped break the gender wall, and she took a risk that many before her never were willing to do. Good for her, and I hope great things for her in the future.

To be the ace, you have to be able to get deep into games. Even if you kill it for 5 innings, you still can't be the ace if you're consistently coming out without finishing 6. Part of the responsibility of the #1 pitcher on a staff is turning that outing that saves the bullpen, and I'm just not sure Odorizzi can do it consistently enough. He doesn't finish off guys fast/easily enough. I'm not saying he's not a good pitcher, and I'm very happy we brought him back for another spin. I was happy when we acquired him, and it's definitely paid off. But I think Berrios has better odds of being the ace, especially in a short season. Berrios seems to have some challenges staying sharp/strong during the long grind of the season, having some noticeable dips mid/later in the year. The shorter season may work to his advantage. But regardless, he's shown he has the stuff to be the guy.