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Sure, 25% of the country is on fire, meeting in groups is verboten because #pandemiclife, hurricane season wiped out much of the gulf, racism is still real... ...but if 2020 gives us glorious Yankee failure, it just might be worth it.

This is the quality content I come to Twins Daily for

Who's ready to laugh even harder?? Gerrit Cole in 2020: $13.3 million adjusted salary / 0.6 fWAR = $22.22 million per fWAR Kenta Maeda in 2020: ~$3.1 million adjusted salary (including incentives) / 1.6 fWAR = $1.97 milion per fWAR BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

This Justin...Bieber overrated.

For the most part I agree with you. As we have literally witnessed starting pitchers no matter what round can be dangerous picks because you never know what injuries might happen to the arm or if they will develop into a viable major league pitcher,but here is the rub. Generally if you want to find an arm with "special" qualities you are going to find them in the first round. Lets take a trip through the division and I think you will see what I am talking about. Lets start with the White Sox. While we have to go back in time a little and they did not personally pick all the pitchers they have they did trade a pitcher they got in the 1st round (Sale) for another pitcher taken in the first round Giolotto and I would say that has worked out pretty well for them. They also got another 1st round pitcher from Washington in Dunning and although it is small sample size he is off to good start. They also have the hard throwing and almost unhittable although also wild Michael Kopech waiting in the wings and he was a supplemental 1st round pick. Just this year they took Garret Crochet a lefty who can wing it up to 100 mph with the 11th pick in the draft so yet another 1st round arm. These are the type of arms that can make a difference, that can separate from a more average starter. Its not like Chicago spent all their draft capital on pitching as they arguably have the best lineup in the division as well and to top it all off they are a very young team with some of their best tied up for the next 6 years. Yes they took chances and they haven't won anything yet but they have the look of team that could win a world series and those 1st round arms look to play a big part in that. Kansas City I believe tripled down on 1st round pitchers in 2020 and got Asa Lacy, and Brady Singer in the first round and they are in top 50 prospects in MLB and I believe Singer almost threw a no hitter yesterday. They also have Daniel lynch in the top 100 as yet another first round arm and that doesn't even include Jackson Kowar who didn't make the top 100 this year but certainly could in the near future. All high quality arms likely to impact their team soon. The pitching poor Royals look like they will be in good shape very soon all with those solid 1st round pitcher picks. Detroit did the same thing taking Casey Mize and Matt Manning at the top of the draft is successive years. Guys with Ace like stuff and Multiple highly rated pitches. Mize has struggled in his debut but the high end talent is there and he seems likely to harness it in time. So you can see that grabbing 1st round pitching can be important to finding guys that have potential to be better than average pitchers and often times that is where dominant pitching comes from. You can still do what the Twins do and grab a bunch a pitchers later but why not take a chance now and then on top shelf talent in the 1st round especially when you have so, so many Left field\1st baseman type hitters? Believe it or not there is a point where that strategy no longer makes sense. Right now and into the future they are locked and loaded for outfield, 1st base and DH. They could possibly use middle infield help and oh yeah they lack young high quality starting pitching. I like the potential of Balazovic and Duran but lets be honest they are not even close to stretched out yet so unlikely to help much even next year. The Guys behind them have potential but nothing like the 1st rounders I just mentioned for the other teams. So while we might be developing good pitching our competition might be developing great pitching and that might be the difference in where we end up the next 5 to 6 years, Now I know I left out Cleveland and I know Falvey is from that school of thought and maybe there is a trend in the making there but to this point most teams either get their pitching in free agency, trades or high draft picks. Yep lots of lower drafted guys make it too but that doesn't mean a team needs to skip trying to draft pitching in the first round. Especially a team that appears to have quite a few hitters in the pipeline as it is. I know the FO loves the pitching they have in the pipeline but I am skeptical it will be make enough of a difference versus the talent our competitors have. I hope I am wrong but I think based on what I have written above a case can be made that I am right as well.

where is this idea that Eddie Rosario has somehow shown particular loyalty to the Twins? He's still an arbitration-eligible player. He hasn't taken any discounts, he hasn't passed up on anything to keep playing for the Twins. I'm amazed at your certainty that we will not be able to sign Buxton or Berrios, but if we aren't able to make it happen it won't be because of declining to offer another year of arbitration to Eddie Rosario. (Considering Buxton's injury history, we may have a better chance than ever to sign Buxton to a long-term deal that buys out 1-2 years of free agency) I was happy to keep Rosario for this season, because I wasn't sure the internal options were ready and the realistic FA options weren't significant upgrades in my mind. Plus, there was hope that recovery from the nagging injuries might improve Eddie's defense. But the reality is, the defense hasn't improved: his range and glove are not good. The arm is still excellent, but there are fewer opportunity to influence a game with your arm from LF than your glove. His bat is still fine, especially in this COVID season where hitting is down all over the place...but it's hardly elite. So when it comes to making the call next year you've got an increasingly expensive player with declining defensive skills that is not improving at the plate a track record of terrible base-running who plays one of the most replaceable positions in baseball. It's not about hating Rosario. It's about paycheck vs production. The more a player makes, the less you can ignore their flaws. The more a player makes, the fewer flaws you can accept. And as exciting as Eddie Rosario is, and as many big splash plays as he might make...he also has a lot of botches. I'm not going to pretend that Rooker or Kirilloff or Larnach is going to be able to replace Rosario's production right now (Rooker is doing better at the plate, but it's a very small sample); they might, but it's a much riskier bet. We know what we're going to get from Eddie, and it's not worth a 10-15% increase against a potential 50% decline in production when it's also not going to save you any money either. Roll with Eddie this season. Probably move along next year with thanks for his service. (The $13M he's made should help make him feel ok about his time here too)

Everyone can see he's got a higher level of production available to him if he can learn to be more selective. He's just learning how to do it. The fact that he's been able to make this much change and produce close to the same in the short-term is a good sign in my opinion. He's set the right goal and he's making a concerted effort at it. If he actually develops a better knack for pitch recognition, he could turn into a monster hitter. Some of the best hitters develop that ability as they mature.

You never know what you have until they are in the big leagues for a year or three. Pipeline looks good at this time, we will know more a few years from now. Pitching if you are not the Yankees and just buy it, is the hardest commodity to find. Twins now look good in that area, but will have to see. Remember Oderizzi is not likely to return and good chance Hill and Bailey will not either. We are going to need the depth and hopefully we are like Cleveland and just keep churning them out.

Arm talent and potential is harder to define than athleticism and bat potential, IMO. I don't think that is a hard stretch. In regard to pitching, especially SP, there are few "guarantees" when it comes to the draft. There are so few guys like Clemons, Verlander and Strasburg at the TOP of the draft you can have the luxury of drafting as a close to sure thing. The next best thing to do...NOT talking about major trades or major FA signings...is what the current FO is doing. That is, revamp coaching. Which they have done. Next, draft a guy who has 1 or 2 great pitches or qualities you see and develop them. I would call this the Cleveland/Dogers/Rays format. I think we all know throwing 95mph+ doesn't mean you can "pitch" and be successful. But what if you can throw 92 with a great change or curveball and the Twins staff can add velocity and help with command and teach you a slider, slurve or cutter? The FO looks for arm talent, to be sure. While it's not talked about, I believe they are also looking for intelligence and the obscure "coachability" talent. Duran was obtained through trade, Vallimont through trade, Enlow and Sands via the draft. Dobnak came from the nether regions, lol. And I've left a lot of guys out, obviously. The point being they are astute at looking at coachability and projection. And not everyone will make it as a SP, or make it at all. But being a 1st round draft choice as a P guarantees little. It's about having as many arms as you can to work with and develop as you can. Right now, I am so encouraged as to what may be coming up the next couple of years that i am giddy with anticipation. And yes, I did use the word "giddy". Lol

Seems we are a little Rosario centric lately. There are plenty of Twins that aren’t perfect.

I had really mixed feelings about sports starting again back in April when there was so much uncertainty about the pandemic. Frankly I didn't have much hope that baseball would start at all when they were arguing about money up until the very last minute. It's been nice to have the option to watch baseball every day, even if I don't take advantage of it.

Cleveland and Chicago are formidable opponents but don’t take your eye off the ball.With the three AL Central leaders separated by a game and a half and the Twins lined up to play the other two back-to-back, it’s critical to remember the important thing: The Yankees straight-up suck right now. The persistent cause of Minnesota’s postseason nightmares is currently in the depths of a 5-15 slide and it’s important to recognize that this is hilarious. Take in a deep breath and laugh the kind of laugh that rings with joy and merriment and makes others laugh with you. The Yankees are bad at baseball and you love to see it. It’s great, and you shouldn’t be ashamed for enjoying it. Relish their misery. It whips ass. There are extenuating circumstances if you’re inclined to sympathy. Unlike any other team in baseball, the Yankees have injuries. Unlike any other team in baseball, the Yankees have critical players in prolonged slumps. Name one other team that could overcome injuries or slumps, much less both simultaneously. It can’t be done! You might think that the crucial matter at hand is fending off Cleveland and Chicago for the AL Central crown in this last frenzied quarter of the truncated season. You are thinking wrong. All three teams are going to get in, home field doesn’t exist, and any division pennant from 2020 is going to have an asterisk larger than the champion’s logo. Focus on what’s important. Focus on the Yankees being an epic trainwreck. This coming weekend promises to be filled with distractions for local sports fans. Not only are Minnesota and Cleveland battling at Target Field, the Vikings make their 2020 debut against the hated Packers. There are NBA and NHL playoffs. The Lynx and the Loons are playing. There’s even a slate of college football games on Saturday and the US Open at Flushing Meadows. It’s a staggering buffet of sports action. And I’m asking you to please spare an eyeball for the upstart Baltimore Orioles (only two games below .500!) as they battle the Bronx Bombers. New York is clinging to the last playoff spot in the AL at this writing. Would be a shame if they lost it at the hands of a team that went 54-108 in 2019. A damn shame. Click here to view the article

Details, details... Can't we just take some time to irrationally point and laugh at the big bully who just fell and skinned his knee, even though we know we are likely in store for a beatdown from said bully in the near future?

Oh ye of little faith. Go Tigers! Go Orioles!

I don't think the Yankees are too concerned about the efficiency of their spending... (FWIW, Cole threw a 2-hit shutout today, albeit only in a 7 inning game.)

Houston is currently the 2nd seed in the AL West. That is unlikely to change and they don't play the Yankees anymore in this regular season. There is nothing the Astros can do to effect Yankees playoffs. I am rooting for either Baltimore or Detroit to claim the final AL Wild Card.

Baseball has been so incredibly welcome. Something sane in the world. Liking the runner on 2nd more than expected. Good tension, which is what extra innings should have. Agreed about the umps' bad calls, would like to have seen MLB try robo-umps. The expanded playoffs is awful; really prefer a regular season with tense races, but so little has been regular in baseball or life this season. Still worry about a bad C-19 outbreak. Want to see these guys make it to the playoff bubbles. Mostly: I am so glad to have baseball.

The Twins will host Cleveland for a pivotal three-game series this weekend at Target Field. Friday’s game specifically could have a big impact on the A.L. MVP race.Starting pitchers have had a hard time winning MVP; only 25 have won the award since 1931. It sure feels like No. 26 will be crowned in 2020. Cleveland starter Shane Bieber is on his way to the triple crown, leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He’s been untouchable, posting an insane 1.25 ERA and 94 strikeouts in his first 57 ⅔ innings. The Cy Young award is all but locked up for the Beebs, but is the MVP? This shortened season has seen more than a handful of players thrive. The White Sox have a legitimate candidate in 2019 breakout Tim Anderson, who ranks fourth in the A.L. in fWAR (1.9). Anderson’s teammate José Abreu is lighting it up too, hitting .311/.355/.599 with 13 homers in 43 games. Anthony Rendon, after missing the start of the year, has emerged with a league-leading 2.3 fWAR. Oh, and don’t forget about Mike Trout, who finds himself near but not on top of most statistical categories with a few weeks to go. I wouldn’t put a world-beating final stretch past him. But… Nelson Cruz trumps all offensive foes. The 40-year-old Cruz leads MLB in wOBA (.459), wRC+ (193), and OPS (1.117). He’s produced 19.9 fWAR offensively, the most in the A.L. Cruz is hitting a nutty .343/.432/.685 with 15 home runs, tied with Mike Trout and Fernando Tatís Jr. for the most in baseball. Tom Verducci recently told Pat Reusse that “everything seems to be about WAR now with a majority of the [MVP] voters, and with a DH getting zero help from defense with WAR … I don’t know how it’s going to happen.” Cruz’s 2.2 fWAR ranks second behind only Rendon, who is hitting at a 30% lesser clip by wRC+. Cruz also ranks third in bWAR (1.9) behind Abreu and rookie Luis Robert. It’s true that even with how amazing Cruz has been in 2020, a primary DH has never won MVP. This isn’t your typical great season from a DH, though. This just might be the year where it could make sense. Nelson Cruz is hitting better than any DH in baseball history. Yes, it’s only been 45 games. Simple sample size rules will tell us we can’t compare him to 162-game season players. That’s fair. Let’s look at the best DH starts to a season, sorted by OPS after 45 team games, as many as the Twins have played. Somehow, 2020 Nelly has been more productive than 2019 Nelly at this point. With only 15 games to go, it isn’t crazy to think Cruz’s numbers won’t totally free fall from their towering heights. 75% of his stats are locked in. He’s in winning position with the all-mighty Bieber standing his way. The two will face off Friday night. Who will make their statement? 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

For the next few years we will be drafting in the last 1/3 or last 1/4. That makes it difficult to find top of the rotation pitching. Here is hoping the FA can trade some assets this winter for high upside pitching, and more of the Twins draft picks come through. It can be done, just asking a lot.

Agreed about it making sense to try this year, and I have been mostly ambivalent about the electronic strike zone until watching this season play out. Maybe it's just that I'm watching the games pretty much everyday this season, but the balls/strikes calls have been absolutely atrocious. It's actually made me less interested in watching just because its so inconsistent and really takes away from the game for me. Watching a guy get rung up on a ball a foot out of the zone, or taking first on a pitch down the middle is unacceptable, and seems to happen multiple times every game.

I guess I'll be the first person to say this: I hate the 7-inning rule for doubleheaders. The length of games has definitely become an issue, but 7 innings feels awkwardly short. It's basketball or football with only 3 quarters or hockey with 2 periods. (Yes, I understand those games have clocks, that's not my point here.) I don't really miss starting pitchers going 7 innings and I'm not too bothered by the frequent relievers, and I kind of wonder if reducing the number of innings will encourage teams to use their best pitchers more, rather than rely more on their starting pitcher. Otherwise, everything has ranged from indifferent to great. I don't really care about the 60-man pool as it's just a slightly different 40-man roster. I wish teams were playing more than just their division rivals, but meh. The 3-batter minimum has been less of an issue than I expected. Plus, perhaps my biggest surprise was how much that I love the extra inning runner on 2nd rule. I always thought I'd oppose it, but now I'll be pleased if it carries over beyond this season. I was a bit surprised that I didn't miss baseball as much as I thought I would from April - July, but I'm definitely happy to see it's back.

Biebs is Cruz-in' for a bruisin' from Nellie.

game tonight will set the tone for rest of series. Win tonight and confidence could be there to close out this short season on a high note. Control your own destiny is better than relying on some others for assistance. Take advantage, small ball the defense often and early and capitalize on deficiencies. Win the day, then the series, then the title!

I'll be rubbing my hands together and cackling with glee if somehow the Yankees don't make the playoffs. C'mon Orioles! That said, if this were any normal year the Yanks would be on the outside looking in. At this point you almost have to be trying NOT to make it to the post-season. The expanded system for 2020 is an absolute joke and one of many gut-punches to the integrity of baseball this year.

Home-field advantage, especially with the bubble still not being implemented, is definitely important considering our home/road splits so far. As long as we have the season series wins against both teams, I'd take that. And if we could find a way to get to Bieber later today, that would help quite a bit.

Next time, book mouth-breathing woofers for the opponents' proxies. These guys were too good!

Are we watching the same team? Since the beginning of 2019, Kepler has gotten on base at a higher rate than Rosario and hit for more power than Rosario. I think it's more likely the next few seasons will look much closer to 2019-2020 in terms of their offensive production rather than 2017-2018, when Kepler was still figuring things out at the plate and Rosario outperformed him. And that's not even taking into consideration that Kepler consistently grades as one of the best defensive corner outfielders in the game, while Rosario grades as well below average defensively. There's a good reason why Falvine prioritized locking up Kepler long-term instead of Rosario, and I'm very glad that they did.

Lots of really astute observations here. My own theory is that, going forward, they are going to need to continue to be aggressive traders of redundant major league talent for the promising prospects from other systems. They no longer can claim any sort of substantial superiority when it comes to scouting and talent evaluation, although they may still have better relationships and connections in the DR and may still have a work culture that drives them to find a Dobnak and resurrect a Thielbar. Any advantage in the area of cutting edge development technology, innovation and expertise is likely somewhat short-lived or narrowed. And MLB success quickly allows others to catch up because of favorable draft order and larger bonus pools. In my view, that leaves two primary ways to create separation. The best way, IMO, is to take advantage of other team's perceived immediate needs for MLB talent, where prospects offer a considerable future value discount compared to a current value for your expendable player. The second way is related, which is to keep enough dry powder ("financial flexibility") to take advantage of FA talent opportunities and cost squeezes. I agree with others that, today, we're behind our ALC rivals when it comes to top notch pitching talent. If I were the GM at the 2020 trade deadline, I would have solicited conversations about Rosario, May, Clippard, Romo, and Cave, and taken a prospect deal IF an overpay was available for any of them. I'd be an aggressive seller of MLB surplus 7/24/365. In short, the three pillars should all be significantly above average and then exploited to further improve things: MLB talent, prospect talent, and available cash. I think the Twins are in pretty good shape in all regards, with the talent pipeline at the lower end of the preferred range for my liking.

Was about to post something similar*. Eddie's been roughly an average major leaguer the last couple of years. I like him and he's not by any means at replacement level, but he's not above average either, taking his whole game into account. RoY by contrast is an extremely high bar, and the hitters who win it typically put up monster numbers for their rookie season. The worst RoY of the past 10 years was arguably Wil Myers, and he put up better OPS than Eddie has this year. https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/roy.shtml * And, apparently, I still will.

Rosario's career tripleslash: .277/.309/.477 (.786 OPS) 2019 Rookie of the Year candidates: Yordan Alvarez .313/.412/.655 (1.067 OPS) Brandon Lowe .270/.336/.514 (.850 OPS) Eloy Jimenez .267/.315/.513 (.828 OPS) Cavan Biggio .234/.364/.429 (.793 OPS) (NL) Pete Alonso .260/.358/.583 (.941 OPS) Fernando Tatis Jr. .317/.379/.590 (.969 OPS) Bryan Reynolds .314/.377/.503 (.880 OPS) With a tripleslash a little below Eddie's, you would be lucky to get a single vote for ROTY. We're in the era of the juiced ball, and a .786 OPS with 32 HRs isn't as rare as it used to be.

I love the runner on 2nd rule as well. This is what they do in the fastpitch softball world. My daughter plays travel ball so I have seen alot of them. Makes extra innings much more fun.

Good article and I agree with practically all of it. I am only hoping that the 16 team postseason format is for only this season - much like the expanded NFL playoffs in 1982's shortened season lasted only that season. I get it for this year, to maximize interest, but we all know that the Marlins, Orioles and Giants would not be close to postseason in any season before 2020. I too like the 7 inning games for doubleheaders but you KNOW they won't stay and the split admission doubleheader will return. Lastly, I know it's not popular with many - but I LOVE the runner at second base to start extra innings. Before this season, I attended several minor league games in which that rule was in play and it added juice to the extra frames. Plus, never saw a game go beyond 11 innings with that rule.

I find it hard to argue with you about May. He is prone to occasionally fall apart and he gets hit HARD when he gets hit. The outs he gets come by strikeout, but opponents are slashing .275/.315/.493 with 2.7 HR/9 against him this year. I like May a lot, but that's not dominance and among this group he isn't standing out the right way. Clippard though? All he does is get outs.

The thing that made the most sense on implementing in this fearful season was the robo umps. #1 was that it kept distance between older umps & players #2 it eliminated human error. But it was not accepted, why not?

I am now officially an Orioles fan. Boo Yankees!

In terms of Yankees, they at least still have their starting catcher, sure he is hitting like he is on the injured list, but we are on catchers 3 and 4. We also lost our starting 3b for half the season, starting cf for a few weeks, and been rotating pitchers like crazy because of injuries. Every team has dealt with injuries some maybe more than others. It is the fact that the starters or fill ins have faded when the stars have gone on shelf. Maybe it is the pressure, or maybe it is the circumstances of COVID that is messing with players heads, but there are a lot of top talent that are not playing anywhere close to what they normally do this season.

I do not mind the 7 inning games for double headers, and would be fine with that move for double headers only in the future as well. Not for non-double-headers though. Pittsburgh is in the central because there are 5 teams in the NL that are more east. Miami, Mets, Nats, Phills, Atlanta. Plus they are the closest to the other NL central teams compared to other NL east teams. So sometimes it would seem it does not make much sense on where teams are, but lines have to be drawn somewhere. I am not fan of the 60 games, but I get it. I get the expanded playoffs, which makes the 60 game season even less of an issue. I do not have an issue with how the playoffs will be though. Having best of 3 is better than a first round single game at least.

What's the incentive to win the division if the top 8 teams make the playoffs and there are no home games?

Here are the things I like - seven inning games are quicker, less relievers and very entertaining and also get done at a reasonable time.DH in both leagues - why not? Playing in the Central division (why Pittsburgh in the Central?) but I would also have combined them into one division for the year. The three batter rule - anything that reduces the number of pitcher changes within an inning. Having baseball every day. What i don't like; Manfred - the more he speaks the less I like his attitudeBullpen gamesHaving the 60 man roster without relaxing rules that keep it from a fluid movement between active and reserveEight teams in the playoffs. Too many. I know there are some fun storylines in Baltimore, Miami, and Detroit, but the real storylines should be three teams fighting for the AL central title.

https://www.mlb.com/prospects/twins/ 9 of the current top 30 twins prospects on MLB.com were acquired by the previous regime. When you consider how long it typically takes a player to develop in the minor leagues that they have been able to keep supplementing the big league roster with talent and develop another wave of talent to follow so quickly speaks well to the farm system development over the last few years. It's not just the development of players in the minors but also how they keep improving once they reach The Show that determines the quality of a MLB organization. Just look at Shane Bieber's growth this year and all of their other pitchers over there in Cleveland that we are starting to develop here in Minnesota now. The whole reason they brought Falvey over from Cleveland was because of how he helped them develop their pitchers. So far so good with Canterino, Balazovic, Enlow, Duran all looking very promising and all the other relief pitchers and starting pitchers that have/are coming up in the system. When you factor in the explosive growth in the Twins' offense and pitching last year and now their defensive improvements this year when they were able to put in place the coaching staff they wanted as opposed to inherited it is mind boggling to me that people don't realize how lucky we are to have them leading the organization. For some examples to remind everyone: Duffey and Littel became relief aces last year when our pitching coach (more like pitching whisperer) Wes Johnson advised them on things to work on when they went down to Rochester. This year Thielbar and Wisler have become two more set up quality pitchers that Falvine got off waivers and near retirement for Wes to work with. Maeda has gone from a very good pitcher to an actual capital A - Ace pitcher after they changed his pitch mix. Dobnak was an undrafted free agent that has a 60+ GB% and his slider has become a real weapon this year. Cody has illustrated well with his examples how well Falvine have done with the early returns from their drafts and trades so far. I've never been more excited as a Twins fan regarding the direction of the organization. Cheers!

While the jury is still out to be sure, I've been very impressed by their drafts thus far, as well as the overall changes in development philosophy. They also seem more aggressive in promotions. I don't want to start yet another debate about who was traded in a bad season, but it does appear they brought in a few guys who have real potential and some high ceilings when they did so. And let's not forget Dobnak came under their watch. Right now, Dobnak, Alcala, Jeffers and Littell are part of this team and Acquired via the FO recent moves. Sure I'm forgetting someone. Maeda was acquired by actually moving a prospect, something we aren't used to seeing. I wish the best for Graterol, I really do. But right now, I can't imagine not having Maeda on this team. And I believe he's here for at least 3 more years. There is another thread concerning Rosario that I don't want to get in to because that discussion should stay where it is. But I would make one point that references that discussion. Teams and rosters DO CHANGE. And they do so for many reasons. While I personally don't feel a championship contending team should be banking on prospects to replace a quality position player, with a wide window of opportunity, especially coming off a no milb season of normal development, how tantalizing is it to reflect and speculate on Rooker, Kirilloff and Larnach...with Celistino just behind...as future fixtures? (Or part of trade possibilities, of course). And not that there aren't other solid prospect behind them. Teams change every year. And while there could be arguments for mostly keeping our current Twins team intact for 2021, changes WILL take place. How about Lewis, Gordon and Blankenhorn for infield additions soon? I do share Dman's concern somewhat about a lack of top selections pitching wise in the draft. I'd like to believe this bas been a result of taking the best player available and a belief in their ideals of draft and development. The Cleveland way of doing things if you will. But then I see what Dobnak and Alcala are doing. (Completely different additions). I see the potential of Duran and Balazovic and maybe Chalmers. I wonder about Colina and Enlow and maybe Sands. I suddenly remember Celistino, recently added to the 60 man. And while I'm sure I'm leaving a few guys out, I'm starting to see the Twins version of a pitching pipeline potentially beginning. Drafting, signing and trading for young talent and developing them IS the lifeblood of a successful organization. Isn't that what Falvey and Levine spoke of when hired? So far, so optimistically good I'd say. Despite some really nice and even key veteran performers on the roster, there are a lot of still young players that make up our beloved Twins. And the window OP opportunity appears wide open to me with a ton of young talent ready to rise up over the next year or two to replace and augment the team. Not everyone will make it or stay with the the organization. But I am really excited for what we have and what is coming up.

I can't say I'm surprised by Brent Rooker's success at the plate, given his consistent good AB's in the minors. What I'm hoping now is that he works his butt off to become at least average in a corner OF spot. Meanwhile, I'd love to see the team find some excuse to bring up Duran. Another horse? Let's find out, yea or neigh!

In terms of position players and relievers the Twins farm system has been a great pipeline of talent. Unfortunately, there has been a distinct lack of starting pitchers being able to establish themselves at the major league level. The only guy since Berrios who has had moderate success has been Dobnak and he an undrafted free agent signed out of an independent league. Way too many former top 100 prospects have flamed out in the last 5 years including Meyer, Stewart, Gonsalves, Jay, and Romero. I'm hoping the next crop of Duran, Balazovic, Enlow, Canterino, Sands, and Chalmers has more success.

Although this article is about the farm system, Cody, you only talk about the draft and players acquired via trades. Considering that four of their starting 9 position players are International Free Agents, that source if not most important is certainly as important as the draft. Where would this team be had their International scouts taken a vacation one July back in what was it, 2009, when they signed Sano, Polanco and Kepler? Although others were International players acquired in trades, I am guessing nearly half of this team were originally signed that way.

Pretty simple why Kepler was way better last year as reflected in fWAR. Better hitter - OPS 55 points higher, from more walks and better power. Vastly superior fielder, since he has great range in outfield and poor range from Rosario. Better hitter and way better fielder combine for much better player.

I also did come up with a comparable white player to Rosario--CJ Cron. Last year Cron hit a homer every 20 PA's, Rosario did it every 18.4. Look at the RBI/PA rates for various scenarios below. Rosario with none on--18 RBI in 305 PA--.06 RBI/PA Cron with none on--14 RBI in 284 PA--.05 RBI/PA Rosario with men on--91 RBI in 285 PA--.32 RBI/PA Cron with men on--64 RBI in 215 PA--.30 RBI/PA Rosario with RISP--79 RBI in 173 PA--.46 RBI/PA Cron with RISP--55 RBI in 121 PA--.45 RBI/PA Cron isn't known for gunning down players on the basepaths sure, but that's not something first basemen get a chance to do much. Cron did rate out better defensively than Rosario, by a lot; of the 24 players who logged at least 500 innings in left field in 2019, Rosario was 21st in UZR/150, 18th in errors, and dead last in range (his arm was 3rd). Cron was 20th out of 29 first basemen by UZR/150, 26th in errors, and 8th in range (there's no measurement for arm for first basemen). None of us were upset when the Twins let Cron go, despite the fact that he is reasonably comparable to Rosario in Rosario's alleged strengths.

Cool racism accusation bro! Can you name any current white Twins player with mediocre to bad stats that continues to get playing time AND praise for hustle/hard-nosed play/leaving it all on the field? If not, maybe we can accept the author's argument on it's merits, rather than conduct a search for implicit bias in an owner of a site that has been quite progressive in the current climate.

The Twins tried to trade him last winter and got no bites. He has minimal trade value because other teams can see all the numbers and indicators I've shared above, and no one wants to give up prospects for the right to pay $8M for that.

I see what you're alleging here, but if you're going to make that point, you had better come with some better receipts than that. You accuse people of cherry picking stats, to make Rosario look bad, but then you use a 6 game sample to back up your point? Also, let's go ahead and compare him to Kepler: Kepler doesn't run himself into outs on the basepaths consistently like Rosario does, he doesn't throw to the wrong base nearly as often as Rosario does, and he has much better range (when healthy) than Rosario does. And Kepler's fWAR in 2019 was more than three times higher than Rosario's! Sure, Rosario had more RBI than Kepler, but that's very much a function of Rosario always hitting in the heart of a great lineup where he had a ton of RBI opportunities vs. Kepler most often hitting leadoff. That's precisely why we tend to look at things like WAR instead of RBI when we're trying to predict future performance. I can understand the argument that he's a "glue guy" in the clubhouse, but it seems to me that the author provided plenty of solid numbers to show why the Twins should part with Eddie, and you're the one that's basing your argument on emotion.

I'm ready for a new left fielder in 2021. Definitely. But not now.