Eephus

My hope is that 4 months (not this month, because this team is going nowhere) from now we have a legit feeling that the team is poised (within 1 or 2 years) to become very competitive for a long time. For this to happen we need our prospects to steadily progress (or shake the dust off) and be either dominating the minors or already called up (because they were dominating in the minors).

If the Twins are going to win 60 or so games this year, I'd so much rather watch the young guys try to win the games. Someone mentioned it, even if it was just to watch better defense being played.

I may never read a comment I will agree with more that this one for the rest of my life. The red flag for me is his invariable overreaction to inside pitches. He soooo plays into the hands of opposing pitchers. He needs a sports psychologist to calm him down and help him realize it is okay if he hits .305 with only 25 home runs. Something's going to have to click for him or he'll be gone.

Right. Mainly I see a possible scenario where Arcia and Vargas would best fit as DHs and that might be one DH too many.

One way or another, I think the Twins need to keep Sano playing a position with his athleticism, arm and age. Who projects to be less a future defensive liability, Vargas as the future first baseman or Arcia as the future LF? If Mauer hits, Arcia or Vargas might need to be exchanged for a pitcher at some point.

If Mauer can return to being a good hitter (OPS in the mid to high 800s), we'll have a great problem on our hands. If the 2014 Mauer is the Mauer of the future, he could really muck things up. Long-term, I'd rather see Sano or Mauer in the outfield than Arcia. If Mauer doesn't improve, I think the Twins have to face up to future without him. Sano must have the athleticism to adjust to the outfield.

Mine is a Starter brand mostly polyester. Stitched on "Carew". Stitched on "Twins" across the front. There's no sponsor and the Twins logo seems to be put on wrong -- it is almost perfectly horizontal instead of more diagonal. Doesn't look like it was a giveaway item.

Really enjoyed this. Thanks! I found a Carew Twins jersey a few years ago in a Goodwill in Iowa. I've wondered if it is the real deal or a reasonable facsimile of the type of jersey you got that day.

At that age, he seems like a guy the Twins would only call up this year if they are 1) absolutely horrible and desperate to hold fan interest, or 2) have bunch of pitchers break down. Otherwise, I'd be pleasantly surprised if he pitches for the Twins this season. Just one man's humble opinion.

Games have gotten longer by quite a bit.It takes a long time, especially if you go to the game. I think that's why.

Something has to change. Very hard to watch an entire game, especially for kids. Pitch clock seems to make the most sense. An at bat is an event in a game, not a pitch. All you gotta do is watch a big game on Fox. Every pitch is treated like an event. They show you 5 or 6 different shots of fans, managers, pitchers, hitters, back to fans. Not blaming Fox, but they shouldn't have the time to do all this stuff between pitches! Another way I look at this -- if a football team can run a play (with no huddles) in a matter of seconds then a pitcher and catcher should be able to do it. Hitters same thing. I've watching baseball and listening on the radio for 40 years. This slowness has no purpose. It's actually kind of odd. Worst thing about baseball in my humble opinion.

It would be great to see Pinto improve, but he's been catching since he was 18. It seems like people think of him as this raw, converted to catcher, learning the tools of the trade type of guy. But he's caught 393 games in the minors. 40 or so more in the majors. If he hasn't picked it up by now, it doesn't appear he's "catching on" too well. He even DH'd 25 games in Rochester last year. Was he injured or is he seen as something other than a catcher? To answer the question posed in the headline: I'd say if Suzuki stays healthy and bats his weight (listed at 230), he's very safe.

Wouldn't it be nice to have such a good MLB team that we didn't have to try so hard to be so patient with these prospects, especially the youngest ones? Maybe we'll have such a team in a few years...then we can more casually track a guy like Nick Gordon and other low-level, high potential prospects.

My glass is exactly 50/50. I think the Twins will be better, but the competition will be better, too. Not sure being better will translate to much of an increase in the W column.

This article makes me want to see Buxton and Hicks in the outfield to rake in some more of the fly balls.

Second round pick, schmeckond round pick. We need another low minors prospect like the Startrib website needs trolls.

Deadspin could be Hustler, Mother Jones, Readers Digest, the Washington Times and Happenings all rolled into one, but it doesn't change the publicly stated views of the person. Like Chris Kluwe, he's said what he's said. Hunter could have not said these things so publicly, but he chose to take a stand -- publicly. I'm probably missing something.

I don't understand what Deadspin has to do with it. He's in an tv ad exclaiming his views. That's not speculation or spin or anything.

I'd agree with the sentiments about TR playing it close to the vest and also not kicking a dog while it's down. Both are pretty trademark Terry Ryan traits.

First, the depth chart articles are great stuff. Second, aside from the three prospects you mention in the summary, can't imagine the Twins brass view any of the others as future MLB starting catchers. Third, having three catchers with real MLB potential (Turner, Garver, Navaretto) might be really helpful with a trade for a pitcher some day.

I'm curious if there is any history of Buxton being hurt either in previous minor league seasons or in high school (including other sports he might have played). A concussion is pretty uncontrollable, but bruised wrists and a broken finger seems to have "injury-prone" ring to them. Not to imply he's soft, but maybe he gets hurt a lot. It happens. If no track record exists, then I'd say this is just a tough luck stretch. My bet is on bad luck.

Wonder if Plouffe is another Casey Blake in the making. Never going to be a superstar, but someone you look back and wish you still had on your team. Gotta admit "post-mortem" seems like the wrong word for these bits.

Some times I picture a comparison to what people thought Jason Kubel's ceiling was with maybe a little more power, a little lower batting average and quite a few more strikeouts. Kubel raked in a balanced way in the minors, but with the rebuilt knee sort of became a .270 guy with some power. That's who I think of when I look at Arcia's minor league numbers.

I pay way more attention to the Twins farm system now (thanks to Twinsdaily) than I ever did in the previous years. With baseballreference.com, it is interesting to look back at the minors stats of Twins players from the 80s - 90s. I'd love to spend more time on how many of "good" Twins didn't play much AAA and debuted (and stuck) in their early 20s. I'm sure times change, but there are several guys in this 40-31 that seem to not be that far away from giving it a go in the bigs (by the standards set by previous Twins). 30-1 must include a lot of other almost ready guys. Just randomly, Puckett, Gaetti, Hrbek, Knoblauch, Radke, Milton, Erickson, Koskie, etc., didn't really play AAA. Are they exceptions to the rule or do a lot of very good MLB players start their MLB careers at 23 or 24? If so, why not spend 2015 and '16 playing a lot of these guys in the majors and hope that potential holds the interest of the fans until we have an actual contender 3 years from now?