the_youngster

I appreciate that you took the time to look into Cleveland during this same time. I wanted to do this as well. However, as I started off saying in my post "out of curiosity, I looked into" it without having much time really to do so. It wasn't meant to be an analysis or even that much of a lament really. Off the couch "looking into" style research cannot reveal that much practical information. The part that really struck me as interesting was the amount of pitchers who never even managed to get the major leagues (or, like BJ Hermsen, never even managed to get to AAA). Finding valuable pitchers who can contribute at the major league level is one thing, but to have so few pitchers manage to rise through the system is what I find peculiar. Again, I would be "curious" to see how that compares to other teams like Cleveland.

Out of curiosity, I looked into the long term inability of the team to develop pitching (which coincided with the franchise's 2011 crash that has lingered for over half a decade now). Just looking at prospects who went through Fort Myers between 2007 and 2011 (of course excluding anyone from the MLB team making rehab starts) is pretty revealing: Kyle Waldrop Jeff Manship Yohan Pino Rob Delaney Armando Gabino Anthony Swarzak Alex Burnett Cole DeVries Deolis Guerra Matt Fox Tyler Robertson Anthony Slama Jose Mijares Liam Hendriks Kyle Gibson Alex Wimmers Logan Darnell Pat Dean Andrew Albers Caleb Thielbar AJ Achter Michael Tonkin Ryan O’Rourke Edgar Ibarra 5 Years of prospects and only 24 pitchers made it to the major leagues. A few of those guys lasted a season or two of average production out of the bullpen. Several pitched less than 10 innings in the major leagues. Only a couple are still in the majors, let alone with the Twins. Half a decade of pitching development and Gibson is the only potential success there (for the Twins at least. Hendriks has found some decent success the last couple of years, but with other teams of course). 2012 marked a shift in the team's pitching development philosophy, and the jury is still out on a lot of those guys. But fingers crossed for the 2012-2017 batch.

It was Harris and Hardy for Hoey and Jacobson. I know this well because I had to inform my mother that her two favorite players were gone in one trade...

I do really like Plouffe. He has demonstrated his ability to grow as a player all around. I would like to see a analysis like this but in regards to his defense at third. He was absolutely brutal to watch in the beginning, but I no longer hold my breath when he is making a throw over to first. I would much rather have him manning third than Sano. In my opinion, Sano's future is at first base. It's a good problem to have, but where do you put Plouffe, Sano, Mauer, Vargas, or even Arcia? One option would be to move Plouffe to the outfield like Cuddyer, and he would probably do a good job as a corner outfielder. But then how do you manage Buxton, Arcia, Rosario, Hicks, and Hunter (at least for this year)? Part of me hopes that the Twins move Mauer back to catcher. His bat profiles better there; and that would allow them to have Plouffe and Sano at the infield corners, Vargas/Pinto/Arcia at DH, and the outfield however it plays out.

Hopefully one day Hu can get to the major leagues, take an at-bat and get to first base. Thus one could say in all seriousness "Hu's on first."

Thus far this draft class has been disappointing, there's no way to really deny that. That said, however, there are guys that I could definitely see being quality big leaguers some day. Allard has some very valuable assets at this stage in his career: command, movement, and an extremely smooth delivery. He is very young, still growing, and could have a very bright future. Bregman has long been touted as a true leader for LSU. If he can catch, that mentality could work well with pitching staffs. Then there are also guys like Fulmer, who will likely be a reliever, but just has good stuff, and Happ who honestly reminds me a bit of Chase Utley.

.278/.342/.462 with 38 doubles and 18 home runs. I have always had an affinity for second basemen, and Dozier has become one of my favorites (along with Kinsler and Neil Walker). I would rank the AL central second basemen the same as in the article, but only for the start of the year. By season's end, I fully believe Dozier will surpass Kinsler, and likely all other second basemen not named Cano. But who knows? Maybe Dozier ends up batting .300 with 20+ home runs and becoming an offensive mainstay for many years (Or at least I hope so). But these are my realistic predictions.

For me, it is annoying to see the White Sox sign Robertson as well to be linked to Gregorson. They are two of my favorite relievers. Nonetheless, I am glad Robertson got a good contract. An interesting beginning to the meetings for sure.

My bad. While in the mind set of thinking of possible coaches, I forgot about Bruno. I am all in favor of keeping Brunansky as hitting coach. He has gotten very good reviews from current players who are now showing results, and he should definitely be a part of next year's staff. So i guess I would be very supportive of Molitor as manager, Bruno as hitting coach, Glynn as bench coach, Mauer as third base coach, an outsider as pitching coach, and maybe retain Steinbach for first base coach? I really don't know what I would do with Steinbach right now.

As far as manager goes, I also believe that Molitor will be the next skipper. What's more intriguing, in my opinion, is who the new manager will have as to work with as coaches. Personally, I would love to see Gene Glynn as the bench coach, Jake Mauer as the 3rd base coach, and then bring in from the outside for pitching and hitting coaches. From hearing how Mauer has been as a minor league manager, I strongly believe that he has the ability to be a MLB manager, and likely one for the Twins. Might as well give him a Gardenhire-like entrance to MLB at third base.

If Hicks has really turned a corner after his last disappointment, then I want him in centerfield and Santana at shortstop. Another left fielder who can keep Schafer as the 4th outfielder would still be nice to have. That's why I like Van Slyke. Left field to start off, but as soon as another outfielder like Buxton comes up, Van Slyke can move to the role he has had with the Dodgers, a back up outfielder who can still get 200-300 at-bats and fill in nicely for an injury.

Best fit for any trade with the Dodgers really is Pinto. They don't have any realistic everyday catcher now or in the near future via prospects. They will want to improve. They have an excess of outfielders, but I don't want to pick up an older one in their decline via trade. An older player possibly in their decline from free agency is better than a trade. Then there is only a loss of money instead of players. I'll take Cuddyer/Span/Hunter and spending money over Kemp/Ethier/Crawford and the potential loss of prospects or major league contributor. Keep Nolasco for now because if he is needed by another team during the season (which pitchers always are) then there's a better trading situation. Pinto for Van Slyke and Carlos Frias. Throw in a mid level prospect if needed and thus we have a LF for next year and a flame throwing reliever who could be a steal if converted into a starter (and a little bit of luck of course).