Twins' Spring Training Roster Projection, Two Weeks In

Injury or earning it...Ober will be one of the top 5 starters......

1 hour ago, miracleb said:

Injury or earning it...Ober will be one of the top 5 starters......

Assuming of course he himself can stay off the injured list.

No Twins Pipeline Pitchers among the starters? Say it ain't so!

Spring training is for the players to build towards Opening Day. The lists are pretty much the team with the last spots decided in the final week of March. Only injuries will cause any surprises on the roster that is announced in Kansas City and it is a long season where there will be plenty of opportunities for individual players to push for MLB positions. No worries.

Agreed - your New Chart looks about as close as one could come!

Larnach needs to play & hit .500 this spring to even get a thought for opening day - still don’t see it w/o an injury to an outfielder.

27 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

It's certainly a reasonable roster, but I'm still pretty disappointed in all the spots given to lackluster vets instead of the hungry, more talented young players. Solano, Taylor, Farmer and Kepler? Ugh, it should have been two of those guys tops with the higher ceiling young guys fighting each other for the last two spots.

So in place of those four vets would you rather have Jermaine Palacios, Jake Cave, Mark Contreras, and Kyle Garlick?  That was a sampling of our subs later last season and it was not very impressive and it was the start of our late season dive.

I like the four vets much better for this year.  We can always call up the young guys if/when needed and cut one or more of the vets.

I know it has been a couple of years, but I am still angry about letting Berrios go.  We knew he didn't want to stay and last year wasn't his best, although he did pitch a good number of innings.  They did not want him to just walk away so they decided to trade (makes sense).  BUT did they get anything for him.  Starting to look like a bust.   Austin Martin already on the 60 day and SWR hasn't had a good start in spring training.  I know the spring training is not really something you can base much on but SWR has a 9.00 ERA so far.  It is only 3 innings but still!

I'm not sure how Kiriloff CAN be on the opening day roster. He is progressing as spring training rolls along getting more reps. But are the Twins going to put him at 1st base to start the season despite the fact he hasn't faced live pitching in a game scenario since last summer? Idk, maybe. But I would bet he'll start at SP. They pushed him last year and we all saw how that worked

Quote

But those are the things that matter, not giving up a grand slam on March third.

I feel attacked. 🤣

34 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Which veteran should not start?

My point being the Twins FO, which proclaimed it was going to establish a pipeline of team-produced talent, has apparently been unable to do so. Unless I'm mistaken, all the SPs listed were acquired via trade. Ipso facto; the pipeline is either plugged, or it leaks like a sieve.

2 hours ago, Dave The Dastardly said:

No Twins Pipeline Pitchers among the starters? Say it ain't so!

…and no 10year vet retreads trying to imitate Lazarus.

Good to know that we already have complaints of having too deep of a bench and too deep of a rotation.  Can you imagine a scenario instead where Celestino was our planned backup CF and Gordon was our only main INF and OF backup with the hopes that Martin would be up soon?

Taylor, Farmer, and Solano all raise the floor substantially.  Same for Lopez in the rotation.  I'd much rather have Lopez pushing out a stud prospect instead of having Archer or Bundy in the rotation.  I'm also excited knowing that Ober, SWR, Varland, etc. are all ready to fill in WHEN injuries happen.  A lot better than relying on 10 year minor league veterans too as our second wave of reinforcements.

2 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Cody Christie article today says that Kirilloff is taking live BP and feeling no pain. That is an improvement from a week ago when he was facing pitching machines and still had "discomfort". If he has no setbacks and can get ten days to a week of games in, I think he can make the club. 

I don't think the Twins really pushed him last year. He started out hurting and was on the IL in April and then when recalled, he raked until the wrist dogged him again. I'm convinced he can hit if healthy. 

I want Larnach on the team from the start as well. He has a higher ceiling than Kepler and Gordon and showed last year, before injury, that he can both hit and field. The word is he's playing tomorrow. I hope he rakes and forces his way on to the Opening Day roster. BTW, there are already three injury questions (beyond Trevor) that need to be answered (Kirilloff, Gordon, Miranda) and if any of them don't make it by Opening Day, there is a clear path for Larnach to make the team.

I was only referring to Kiriloff in the case that he doesn't get in any spring training games at all. If he is able to play in live games before the season starts, then he'll be fine. But I will dispute you on the matter of the Twins not pushing him last year. I remember them acknowledging his pain, but following that up with " he has to get used to playing with pain." And that there was nothing else that could be done. I'm rooting for him. And as for raking when he came back, he was hitting but there was no power due to the pain. The wrist injuries are hitters worst nightmare.

5 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

I know I got a bit hyperbolic, but really, I'm just disappointed in the offensive ceiling of this club overall. It was constructed safely, and I do understand the benefits, but it's so absent of firepower. They signed Correa and extended Buxton, but still, this feels like a super vanilla offense, and that might be a generous characterization. In particular, I really, dislike the outfield situation because of this. Gallo OR Kepler should be the FOURTH outfielder, not two of the three starters. And I don't like the team's outlook any better if Buxton goes down and a no-bat guy like Taylor is manning CF instead of Gallo or Gordon or Celestino. Those are still bathroom-break at bats.

Have said it often over the winter that Kepler just might have a big year in 2023.  Believe that the shift flat out messed with his head.  It’s only a few games, but he looks like a totally different player to me.

I'm with Nick...and it continues to surprise me on the number who have drank the cool-aid on Solano and his ability to "mash" left-handed pitching.

Solano's carrer OPS against lefties is 711.  711.  It's higher in small samples in the past couple of years...hitting in the bandbox that is Great American and with an unsustainably high BABiP. Farmer is significantly better than Solano against lefties...but for context, he's slightly below Kyle Garlick in career OPS against lefties...and again having played basically half his career in Great American. Useful, but I don't know if I'd call it 'mashing' or 'killing' left-handed pitching. Farmer was the choice, love the defensive flexibility, but still don't get both he and Solano. I'd so rather have Lee brought up the instance there's a long-term injury on the infield to play every day. Meanwhile, I assume some of these middling veterans are gone the instant this team is out of the race (hoping that doesn't happen, but if/when it does).

Also, tip-of-the-hat to Pagan who seems like one of the only guys this spring that showed up already in mid-season form. Remains a lock as long as those photos of Rocco are in a safe place.

Love the idea of long relief. Hope Baldelli can figure how to use them. Because he sure was lost in how to use Dobnak. We have some pretty good candidates that can come into a game and keep us it. If we have to have Pagan, we can use him for any mop ups innings.

54 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

But he only hits singles. I just don't see how the new rules will give him XBH power again.

Have you watched him in spring training?  Couple days ago he had a hard hit double and home run.  Few agree with me, but I believe his problems were mostly psychological as the shift really affected his psyche.  I look for him to be a totally different player in 2023.  Understand I may be in the minority with that view, tiny minority.