awinter

I would take Vargas. The only knock against him is fewer games than Walker at minor league level. Polanco deserves consideration. A case could be made for Buxton to slot into this all star team, but that would be a stretch since he played less than 1/2 the season in Rochester. How about guys that spent most of their season with a short-season affiliate. Lewin Diaz, Travis Blankenhorn, and Alex Kirilloff are all better choices, in my opinion. If the criteria is that the player have ended his season with a minor league club (not the big league club), and played a full season, I would take Walker. In this pool, there's a pretty steep statistical decline after Walker. Seth- I have been reading TD since it's inception and it seems to me that projections on Walker (by our beloved TD community) were split much more evenly in his first few years. I've seen a lot more positive projections than negative in recent years- that is to be expected with each step he takes in the organizational ladder. I'd be interested to see a poll of TD readers on whether they think Walker will be above replacement level in the big leagues. Just wanted to add this- Seth and all other writers and contributors- I love reading your articles/posts.

Great list. Only one I can really disagree with is AB Walker. Out of curiosity, am I the only TD member that is not drinking the Walker Kool-Aid?

If the Twins could find a way to trade Dozier for a quality MLB arm, who's going to coach him? Given that the Twins are so much worse at pitching than the rest of MLB, I think the problem lies in the coaching more than the pitchers- just my opinion.

Does Dozier have an option left? I think the Twins owe him the opportunity to compete for a playoff spot.

I vote YES. I want the media sideshow. If our team is going nowhere this year, why not have a little fun?

Tough crowd... no more jokes for me.

Would any of the other Suzuki doubters like to join me for dinner? I'll be having crow...

I agree that the Twins should try trading Dozier when his value is at his peak. His recent performance certainly has hit a peak, but I don't think his trade value has actually gone up. Dozier has proven to be a streaky hitter and every other team should recognize that. With his history, he needs to put together a solid 4 month (or more) stretch. That might get him past his previous peak value, which was last year's all-star break. That said, I would start shopping him with the understanding that he's not at peak market value, but a team could get desperate and offer an above market return.

I only meant mentioned in this thread. Agreed that we don't know how Turner's BA & walk rate will translate. Also agree that Turner needs more time in the minors. If he plays well for a few more months, I'd like to see him make the jump to MLB. My point is that come August/September, I'd rather see Suzuki and his .213 batting average and poor defense riding pine and take a chance on a player that plays better defense and could provide something more offensively.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Stuart Turner as Suzuki's replacement. Sure, he might hit for the same average as Suzuki going forward, but at least he'll provide value defensively and he should take good at bats and generate some walks.

Let's play a game. You are the GM of the Twins- responsible for both the talent put on the field AND you are operating under the constraints of your owner's pocketbook. You're feeling the pressures of failed expectations and massive amounts of losing and you have to improve your 40 man roster to make your team more competitive without selling your future or wasting too much of your owners money. Assuming no trade partners, who do you DFA and when? And who are some guys in AA & AAA that can take their spots?

I'd be interested to know who everybody thinks will make it to the big leagues first and who will have the best career. I'm going with Gonsalves first, but taking Stewart for best big league career- both are mostly wild guesses.

On a serious note, I agree he has been looking good his last few games. At the beginning of the season, I hoped he'd either be so terrible they would have to send him down and put Sano at DH, or be so good that we forget about our surplus of DH types. With injuries setting in, it's tough to complain about who is playing each position now.

Can he pitch in high leverage late innings situations?

Just an observation I want to point out: it seems the Twins are trying to win with a model that seemed to work in the mid-2000's for a certain Central division foe that's currently in town. Have a lineup of guys with slugging ability at the expense of on-base skills and a rotation that is solid across the board, but with no ace. I'll use 2005 as an example- this worked in Chicago for a few reasons. 1. The starting staff had 4 starters that had career years AND each pitched over 200 innings, which led to: 2. A rested bullpen 3. Their top 4 homerun producers struck out no more than 109 times each 2016 Twins 1. Solid with no ace, but not too likely for more than 1 or 2 of them to go 200 innings 2. Bullpen has pitched a lot already. As currently constructed, I expect struggles to continue. Although we can all hope that the reinforcements in Rochester & Chattanooga will provide relief. 3. Our expected top 4 homerun producers look like they could strikeout at least 150 times each. I'm honestly not trying to be negative... just was interested by the comparison of the two clubs.

I like it- here's my "short-term fix" lineup. 1. Escobar 2. Kepler 3. Mauer 4. Plouffe 5. Sano 6. Dozier 7. Murphy/Suzuki 8. Rosario 9. Buxton Escobar at the top to spark the lineup with an occasional extra base hit. Kepler replaces Park, he will strike out less and hitting in the 2-hole is much less pressure than hitting 5th (or even 3rd). So far, Mauer has been hitting better than anyone so he stays at 3. Dozier moves down based on performance. I've got Rosario & Buxton at the bottom of the order to provide speed on the base paths for Escobar to work with. I'd like to see the Twins cut down on strikeouts and improve onbase percentage- Kepler over Park should do this. I also would like to see the them bring up Polanco and work him in wherever they can (2nd base to give Dozier a few days off, and try to get him some starts at short & DH (I'm not advocating for him to supplant Escobar or be a regular DH, just want to see what we have in him). I think he's likely to get on base more than Dozier and for sure strike out less. I wouldn't mind seeing a little more Arcia against righties, even though that may result in more strikeouts- IMO he has too much upside still to leave him on the bench.

I like the optimism- it appears all of your player predictions are for improvement over last years team (maybe the Sano prediction is just to replicate his success, but the Twins should benefit from him being in the lineup for 2x as many games) If the predictions on individual players are true, I would hope our team could get at least 87 wins. The Santana/Gibson prediction is probably the one that has the biggest effect on the team's overall success.

I'm getting excited to attend again this year. I don't get out much these days, but The Meltdown is on my calendar every year. I especially appreciate that the writers make an effort to meet the readers (thanks for dropping by our table and introducing yourself, Seth). Looking forward to some great Twins talk with this community!

Thrylos- thanks for your rankings and your rationale for why you have them ranked where they are. I am glad to see your list put AB Walker about where I put him.

Didn't mention Dozier by name in his ideal Twins lineup. Instead said a second baseman...

Nice post- this is the most level-headed thing I've read on this subject.

Brian Harper hit a grand slam in the first game I ever attended. How about adding Eduardo Escobar to this list?

I vote no. I'm going to go with my gut and say those power numbers from the KBO league won't translate well to MLB. If the Twins need a slugger, I think they should pay for an MLB-proven one. I'm genuinely curious- what players have made the jump from KBO to MLB and what kind of success did they have?

Weren't the Yankees frustrated with Hughes throughout most of his tenure there? I don't think they want any part of him. I also think it would be a mistake to trade away Hughes or Santana. They both had a rough year, but Hughes was our best pitcher in 2014 and suffered through injuries in 2015 while Santana at times season looked like an ace. If the Twins think they are one bat away, I think they should go out and pay for a guy that is both proven AND healthy.