Jocko87

Also rooting for him but he profiles as the perfect looks interesting trade chip that can get over valued at the deadline. Better than even money we never see him in Minnesota as a Twin. He's at an unfortunate age in that unless he goes nuclear he will be stuck behind Correa, Lee, Lewis, Martin, Julian, Schobel etc but to old to be in the next wave of Salas, Noah Miller and whoever else is drafted.

The Gallen move didn't happen in my time machine, you may have a glitch. Lee came up in September to along with our new ace, Paul Skenes. Drafted with the 5th pick after his new agent Scott Boras floats signability issues to the first 4 teams, he comes up to pitch meaningful September innings out of the bullpen. While the move baffles KFAN caller Glen from Maple Grove as he can't find a way to criticize it, Skenes proves his Wes Johnson enhanced stuff plays in the bigs with 9 1/3 solid innings with 12 Ks and 3 walks. Alas, my time machine ran out of banana peels on September 14th, right before the start of a crucial 4 game set against the Pale Hosers with a 82-64 record.

It will take this fan base a bit of time to adjust to that pivot that the front office has made (not that I blame us). We are now firmly in the fill needs through asset management camp and out of the build from within model that made everyone covet prospects. There is a reason they are drafting a ton of college shortstops and pitchers-not for the roster but for trade chips. We are going to see players that were part of the organization succeed elsewhere, its a good thing. Just as a random curiosity, I went through three different AZ Diamondbacks message boards. Nobody gives a **** Duran is being Duran max. Oddly there was much more chatter about Duran Duran for some reason. They didn't seem to care when he left either. Its almost as if future value is much harder to predict than present value. Would they feel different if they could look 4 years ahead? Probably but it still might make sense to make the deal. We are in the good place now, embrace it.

I also like the idea of leaving Miranda mostly out of this mix and letting him focus on 3rd as he has a chance to stick there. Just settle in and mash, young man. A new position, even 1st base, makes last year all that more impressive.

As someone who hit every rung of the defensive spectrum ladder on true way down to finally settle in as a semi-competent 1st baseman I approve of this strategy. I never bought the argument that Mientkiewicz saved enough runs to make up for his lesser bat as much as I enjoyed watching him play. You would need horrible scattergun arms all over the infield for it to matter much. One of the underrated factors of Correas arm is that he throws easy to catch balls to first, even at 100mph. He is very good at the long skip that we defensively limited gloves love at 1st. The other infield arms are good enough it won't be a significant difference. If they think any of the prospects can't hang at 1st defensively they should trade them now before the rest of the league finds out. Whoever hits, plays. Good problem to have now that we have options that can hit.

Also, he homered off three guys who will be bagging groceries in a couple a weeks. Couldn't help it...

You in Wichita too? Fun group to watch, I’m in Goddard. On topic, we should hope the guys we send away have glimpses of success, it will help credibility when we trade the next one. Seriously, where would he slot in the depth chart? This front office were supposed to be pitching guys but it turns out they have really been good at finding hitters for the most part. Work it with what you have, anyone drafted after round 2 last year or this year is already on the block.

This whole game is a mess. Good thing its practice.

Hopefully Rocco keeps rolling him out for the next few weeks to hammer the point home. He should need a perfect spring to make the team.

About a year ago it seems like the organization made a large pivot in strategy and seemingly are addressing several of the long held valid gripes dedicated fans have had. I'm split on how much can be attributed to the new owner in charge, our new assistant GM Correa or the combination of the two. A strong voice in a new ear is very persuasive. Boras is also giving good advise to help his clients. I don't count the first Correa signing as the change seems to have followed that. They were still trying Archer and Bundy at the time after all. It really started with being aggressive with prospects at the deadline. Even though it didn't work perfectly the moves were exactly what was needed for the season. While the offseason felt like a meandering walk in the woods at times they got their guy at every turn somehow. They deserve massive credit for that even if you want to poke holes in how they did it. I have a very different opinion of the Mets situation that can't be discussed in open media but the Twins nailed the value of the player from the start. They won an awkward situation with their approach. I struggle to see how anyone gives the offseason less than an A. In game changes remain to be seen but they are openly talking about adjusting the approach. Brooks Lee will see MLB action in the Bregman role if he stays on track. They have flipped to embrace trading value they have developed (hitters) to fill holes, mainly starting pitching. The #5 pick this year has a chance to be an ace that we could see in September or early next year. I expect them to draft several more college shortstop types after that not to being waiting in the wings but to trade to fill needs. We have roster debates where the winner will have to be playing well rather than options available. Old Twins do none of this, even under this front office. I will readily admit that they have been lucky in a few areas. The draft with Lee falling in our laps and the 5th pick this year were very fortunate. The Correa situation involved a lot of good luck and karma. Having all the injured assets seemingly past the worst of it at the same time is fortunate. None of that matters when evaluating the front office. In business, we are judged only superficiality by results. The proper judgement and evaluation is in the process and doing the right things to position yourselves when luck strikes and take advantage. The Skor North season preview did a pretty good job of laying out why they are so pessimistic about the organization but failed to mention or realize that the team had made a meaningful significant change in nearly every item they mentioned. It felt like Mackey wants in but Buy stock in this organization. They are hitting the peak of the competence/luck curve and are positioned as well as anyone for the next 5 years.

The obvious comp is Alex Bregman? Very similar profiles and skillsets and hopefully trajectories. Bregman had 49 MLB games in his second pro season, at all sorts of positions because Correa was at SS. Huh. I wonder how Correa would compare them?

There were several times last year where pushing that one run across wins a damn game. I counted 6 in a quick scan and it felt low from my memory watching. It was painful watching a home run approach when old school would win the game. I’m hopeful that the rule being permanent will force teams to look deeper into the analytics of the situation and train some situational hitting back in. My hypothesis would be that when you really dig into the analytics of getting that run in to win a game the old school way will fare really well. Stealing 3rd is also going to be very popular in extra innings if you have a good bench move available. Taylor might be that guy on his off days and Lewis if he’s able to run free. It doesn’t have to be Terrance Gore anymore. To me the analytics aren’t so much about processing data, it’s about which data to use in a given situation. Rocco left me confused many times last year in these situations. I feel the same way in football when they throw a goal line fade when three sneaks are available. Just score the damn run.

Lots of good talk about player development and rightly so but I think the main thing we should be discussing in relation to the Twins drafting/player development strategy is that they appear to be pivoting from a draft and develop for every spot organization into a draft the best prospects and trade to fill needs organization. The next 6 years for sure are win now mode and prospects will be sacrificed for the good of the big league team. This will end up being a lot of college shortstops, center fielders and pitchers. I think they have adjusted a bit and we wont see many more Sabato type picks going forward. Versatility trades well.

Except for $20 insert shortstop and for peanuts insert starting pitcher or literally any other position. Get to work meme makers. What a great problem to have and a welcome change in approach from the organization. Do not be surprised if the #5 pick this year is another shortstop either. I don't know the draft board, maybe its the second round pick. Get talent, turn it into what fits best. I love it. I also love Brooks. I got to watch one of the AA playoff games from behind the dugout last year and the dude is impressive. I'm speaking mostly from a body language standpoint here, many others will do the on field. Hugely impressive to watch him interact with a new team in the playoffs after what had to be a whirlwind year. Obvious coaches kid and carries an uncommon confidence that damn few would have in that situation. Also took the loss hard, harder than his new teammates. Selfishly I'm hoping to watch him play in Wichita for a good long time but want that to be because everyone on the big squad is healthy and raking. I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

I'm not a scout by any means and some pitchers won't be good for this model. I most often see Ober mentioned as someone who needs to stay a starter and thats fine. Part of the development is sorting that out. There is only a one or two spots for doing this any given year and AAA needs starters too. For the same reasons they should be playing other sports growing up, they should be situationally flexible as pitchers. It develops different muscles.