killertwinfan

Very good article. Change the title and eliminate everything before the "Hitting" heading. Baseball people will appreciate the work just as much. It seems that Falvey and Co. have done a good job estimating Garver's rise. It has to be impossible to nail the timing down perfectly. Two more years of Castro with Garver probably taking 1/2 (or more) of the starts in 2019.

Notwithstanding an interesting season ahead, I agree on the Mauer situation. If you look at his batting statistics, he is a middle of the pack first baseman. Interestingly, a similar comp may be on our team. I know this is a very rough comparison but if you compare positional ranks between Mauer & Morrison they are similar... Mauer Morrison BA 5th 18th RBI 16th 11th HR 36th 2nd OBP 7th 14th SLG 21st 9th OPS 17th 11th Age 34 30 (I hope the formatting holds up.) Looking at this you would have to ask yourself why would other teams pay much more than the $5.5M Morrison got this season?

I am expecting to see more of the second half Gibby this season.

Felt like an opening day game, we showed a lot of rust, especially at the plate. Our only production was a result of control issues and flare that luckily dropped in between the infielder and outfielder. Some of our strikeouts really weren't fair competition with the light the way it was. Both side made some awful swings especially around the 7th inning, when it seemed to be the most difficult. That is what was disappointing with Duke. He came in too excited or whatever. He needed to calm down, knowing he had a huge advantage. Mollie was a little off too. Let's hope for a quick transition into good regular season habits. It would be nice to get off to a good start and win this series.

First and foremost I want to compliment Falvey and crew for the work they have done revamping our 40 man roster and farm systems. In a very short time they have put this franchise on track, with the right kind of pieces and some depth. Also, when you make this many moves you are going to make some mistakes. I fully agree with "The Bad" but recognize that this is part of the process. (I will never understand the Kinley deal). I am worried about the back end of the bullpen. And, I am anxious that we are not going to get an equal performance from our new duo as compared to our old duo. A lack of performance here could derail any improvement over last season, which is the a key measuring stick for our FO.

The outcome makes me wonder if one read more into the result. He wasn't given any discipline, no sensitivity training, no counseling, etc... It didn't seem that anyone disagreed with the incident happening, just the context of it. Is the league saying there is insufficient evidence that Sano's behavior (intent or actions) crossed the line?

I am looking forward to hearing about the lawsuit Polanco will surly file since those people gave him an illegal substance that cost him a boatload of money. It's about time all of these players take their stand against the rising tide of trainers/doctors/etc who conspire to make them fail drug tests. Baseball players are truly the victims here, can't anyone see this trend??? No articles, no congressional hearings and no social outcry. #sarcasm

I suppose if the player wants their help they could, but I don't believe they can test players. They PA would step in.

I am sick of cheaters. Cut him.

I would like to understand the rationale that set up this move. Yes, 20/20 hindsight shows this move to be odd, however, it never seemed to make sense. It seems like when Burdi went high in the rule 5 draft, the FO panicked to make a move to offset the loss. Pulling at straws here. Like I have said in the past, this FO, is making great strides and this one seems out of step with everything else they have done.

Only becoming more difficult to see the logic of this move. These questions still not answered... http://twinsdaily.com/topic/28220-article-what-do-the-twins-see-in-tyler-kinley/

Sounds like a great start!

I agree.

It would be nice to know what our mindset on salaries are for the future. I think the Twins should spend a minimum of $130M (obviously there can be exceptions). There is also reason to believe that this organization can afford $140-150M. IF, we are going to spend $130M, I think it is a solid plan to hold the payroll slot for a top flight pitcher, like Darvish, should one come available. If we are willing to go up to $150M, we can sign Dozier too. With Mauer coming off the books in '19, and then Hughes you will have room to sign some of your up and coming talent.

Wow, would have never expected this. Maybe he was getting desperate... https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/01/central-notes-brewers-indians-salazar-pirates.html

He goes back to his original team if he is not on our 25 man roster.

He was selected #13, Burdi went 3 and several other pitchers went before him. Burdi and Kinley have similar stuff but Kinley has control issues. At this point it is a flat out guess and you have to put him on your roster. I just don't see it. But, you could be right. Personally I would prefer to have Burdi on our 40 man than Kinley on our 25 man.

I think it is pretty obvious that they haven't seen him pitch. Recent signings leave limited opportunities (at best) for him to make the roster and we lost two pitchers of similar potential in the same draft. Like I said, they took a risk, no big deal. In no way am I criticizing the FO. I like the fact that they are willing to take these types of risks.

I am not sure why you would write this. I would think that the Twins FO has already recognized this move as a mistake. They took a risk that didn't pan out. No big deal.

Hmmmm, sounds like you are describing leverage and a backup plan for Darvish. I would love to be optimistic, but I can't be on this one. Nobody seems to really know what is going on. The only substantive statement I have heard is that he passed on the Yankees $160M offer. Do you think the Twins will make that offer or beat it? I don't and I am not sure I want them to. The last couple years of that deal are likely to be ugly.

I am not sure either party has much of an understanding of what to expect from Buxton in the future. Injuries, regression at the plate in 2018 instead of improvement would have a great affect on his leverage and value to the team. At some point he will have to quit diving for balls. When is that and how will it affect his defense. Pay this guy $20M per year and maybe I am ok with him not diving for everything. On Dozier, I think we should expect him to leave upon free agency. Gordon, or whomever better be ready.

Hopefully the FO takes a business approach and appropriately factors his potential value to the team. Yes, it would be cool for Joe to play for the Twins his entire career but I don't see this situation like we had with Oliva, Puckett, Herbek, Radke & Bush. I never felt we overpaid for any of these players. After a decade of feeling we got poor value, it seems like any deal for him needs to be team friendly.

I have a question. Since you are trying to measure a players effectiveness when he hits balls into the field shouldn't you count double plays against the hitter and for the pitcher? Certainly would help explain Kintzler's success with his allegedly mediocre stuff.

Sure, I can agree that anything can happen. I just can't get it out of my mind how poor the Dodgers offer was for Dozier. 42 HR, from your second baseman while everyone could agree he was likely to hit 30-35 in the next season. Sure Sano can hit 30-35 too, if he stays on the field. Dozier is more of an outlier and he works harder. I just think it falls into a low probability.

Given the Twins success at putting Dozier on the market last off season, your Schwarber argument appears to be in the "highly debatable" category making the answer your question an obvious yes. Given the current climate baseball thinking on pitching I find it doubtful that we would get more than a prospect for Sano.