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The Twins entertain the Rockies tonight. It is Colorado's first visit since 2017, so previous matchups probably don't matter much. The Rockies are 30-40 in the tough NL West. They feature former Twin CJ Cron at first base. He leads the team in homers and RBI. I frankly don't recognize many of their players other than shortstop Jose Iglesias. Starting for the Rockies is German Marquez, who has poor numbers, but who doesn't when you pitch half of your games at Coors Field. The Twins are coming off losing two straight series, first losing two of three in Arizona and then losing two late-inning leads to Cleveland and surrendering first place to the Guardians. For the third straight game Byron Buxton is out of the lineup. Also out are Trevor Larnach and Gary Sanchez. Nick Gordon, Gilberto Celestino and Jose Miranda (apparently Rocco reads TD!) are in the lineup. Dylan Bundy hopes to back up his eight inning performance in Arizona this time against another NL West club (Colorado). I expect many runs to be scored and the winnner will be the team that makes the most of their opportunities. The Twins are virtually tied with Cleveland. The Guardians face the Red Sox this weekend while the Twins wrap up their homestand against Colorado. It is an opportunity to retake the lead and the Twins will being going on the road after this weekend. HITTERS H-AB RBI HR SB AVG C. JoeLF 69-254 16 5 3 .272 Y. DazaCF 58-181 16 0 0 .320 C. BlackmonDH 67-252 38 11 2 .266 C.J. Cron1B 81-274 52 17 0 .296 B. Rodgers2B 60-235 32 6 0 .255 R. McMahon3B 60-242 37 6 0 .248 J. IglesiasSS 63-208 18 0 2 .303 R. GrichukRF 54-211 34 7 2 .256 E. DiazC 35-157 18 4 0 .223 HITTERS H-AB RBI HR SB AVG L. Arraez2B 76-218 25 4 2 .349 C. CorreaSS 59-195 23 7 0 .303 M. KeplerRF 50-208 31 7 2 .240 G. Urshela3B 57-218 29 6 0 .261 A. Kirilloff1B 10-49 5 0 0 .204 J. MirandaDH 29-127 16 4 0 .228 N. GordonLF 38-145 9 2 3 .262 R. JeffersC 30-150 20 5 0 .200 G. CelestinoCF 34-112 5 0 0 .305 PLAYER W-L ERA WHIP IP H K BB HR G. Marquez 3-5 6.16 1.55 73.0 89 66 24 14 D. Bundy 4-3 5.17 1.31 54.0 61 44 10 10

I guess I've felt the Twins were very prone to place players on the IL when they were unable to play for a day or two. I've also thought they were inclined to keep players on the IL perhaps longer than needed, such as with Sonny Gray, who was supposed to be on the Injured List for the minimum amount of time, and then he was out for an additional week plus. Now I am starting to really not know what is going on. Case in point--Byron Buxton. After the knee injury scare, he didn't play for over a week and then DHed and then sat out a game. So basically all Buxton did in a 10-day period was DH one game. Now Buxton was removed from a game and out of today's game with an off day to follow. It would be speculation to determine what is going on, but Tingler indicated his current injury is a hip problem (same as last year at this time?). Bremer and Morneau were speculating that Buxton's knee was still bothering him. We all know Buxton's extensive injury history and his immense value to the team when healthy, but is carrying him on the active roster with frequent DH days and days off better than placing him on the IL to get as right as he can be? I know it's not an easy decision, but I have to believe going in to every day with "will he or won't he" be in the lineup (and center field) really the way to go? Next case--Carlos Correa. I guess it was understood he wouldn't play at all in the series with the Athletics, but will he sit out more games after Monday? If he misses two series, wouldn't it make sense that he be put on the Injured List? If he can play against the Astros (and I'm sure he really wants to), it probably is a good move to avoid the IL for him and they got a look at Royce Lewis as a fringe benefit. Sonny Gray (and maybe Bailey Ober)--Both guys were originally diagnosed with minor injuries that would require no more than the minimum time on the IL. Gray spent 19 days on the IL and would have taken even more (scheduled rehab start in St. Paul) which changed to starting for the Twins. I haven't seen anything about Ober being activated and his 10 days are up before Tuesday's game against Houston. Alex Kirilloff--AK went from being in the preliminary lineup to the IL. He didn't stay on the list too long (three weeks) and he was sent on rehab to St. Paul and apparently recalled mostly because there wasn't anyone else on the 40-man roster. To me, this is a crazy quilt of decisions. There really isn't consistency in the decision-making process. One decision seems to prioritize long-term health of the player, another seems to prioritize winning today's game and a third seems to be about expediency. I don't have first-hand knowledge of any of these situations, but it's puzzling to me. Please comment and discuss.

Never much cared for the White Sox, so seeing them get swept this weekend felt pretty darned good. I converted to Twins fandom in 2006, so I never knew A.J. Pierzynski as a Minnesota Twin. A Cubs fan painted a picture of him as a jerk, and I never really got convinced he wasn't. I went to the first White Sox game at Target Field just to boo him. Ozzie Guillen rubbed me the wrong way, too. If you need a team to be the bad guys, the White Sox seem tailor-made for your needs. It might not be rational, my gut reaction to this team, but they still get me riled up. Not even the Yankees get me as ornery as those White Sox. What;'s weird is that I tend to like cheering for the bad guys. I collect autographs from actors who have played Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th movies (If you have an "in" with Ari Lehman or Ken Kirzinger, get in touch with me). I like to wear black. I've seen My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult in concert 5 times, and it should've been six. I like my Batmen dark. Being a Minnesota Twins fan is one of the most wholesome things about me. Because, even though it might be naive and cliched, I believe the fairy tale Twins story. A smaller team who gets it done the right way by playing good baseball and being smarter than the smarties and tougher than the toughies. Thank you, Scrooge McDuck, for that last one. I read enough comments and articles to realize not everyone feels this way, but I still choose to see my Twins as the good guys. It's important to have good guys in your life. It helps. Life may not be filled with loathsome bad guys, but it often seems like there's a lack of heroes. Being a Twins fan doesn't automatically make you a hero, but maybe it makes small differences over time. I'd like to think someone in a Twins shirt is going to be a person who'd take the time to help you change a tire. Or give you a hug when you're down. Or spend some extra time playing catch with a child. Here's the deal - I don't do any of these things, realistically. I:'d just like to THINK that I would. And today, maybe, I am more likely to. Why? Byron Buxton. That man is playing so well right now that he makes me think superheroes exist. Once you picture him with a bright red cape, it's hard to picture him WITHOUT one. On Sunday's game, he granted the wishes of Twins fans who closed their eyes and wished please please PLEASE hit a home run. He did that TWICE. We would have accepted one time. Twice? Superhero. Now, people say "I love you" in all sorts of different ways. Some people cheer louder at the games, or maybe bring in signs. Some people just can't stop talking about him. Some people's love language is numbers, and they recite a litany of data that attempts to paint a picture of Byron Buxton, the man who could be king. Right now, in some way, ALL of Twins Territory is talking Buxton in their own love language. The hero defeats the villains. And right now, it's cool to be the good guys.

When I dipped my toe into the new Twins season, I braced myself and winced. Like most people on Twins Daily, I'm excited for our hitting but unsure if we've got the pitching to be competitive. More than that, these old bones are sore from the 2021 season. Things looked swell last year at this time, and then the losses piled on and on. And on and on and on. Admitting you were a Twins fan got you a free bowl of soup and a friendly ear in Depression-era diners last year. "Times are tough," the cook would say. I made time to watch the first game at a chain restaurant that specializes in wings (even though no wings come close to achieving the greatness of Tooties on Lowry, home of the best wings on earth). I took my 5-year-old daughter and bought some quality baseball time by loaning her my cell phone so she could play her little game on it. The Twins tripped and fell right away in the game. They staggered and righted themselves a bit with an Urshela home run, then stumbled on the way to their final out. Game two and Buxton does a little talking with his bat. Twins take a lead and then blow it. I follow along on my phone, sliding back into the groove of ignoring friends and relatives to keep up on the game. The secret is lots of eye contact when you're paying attention to THEM, to make up for all the times you only have eyes for your phone. Game three is much better. Sanchez knocks in a grand slam and there are home runs everywhere, like they were participation trophies. I tried to listen to part of this on the radio, but my 5-year-old daughter caught me tuning in when I was supposed to be babysitting her dolls. I ended up having to sing David Bowie songs to them while the Twins hauled in their first victory. Game four? I'm fully immersed in the Twins season and loving it. There are good things happening for the Twins, and there's every reason to nurture a bit of hope. So why did I feel so blah? General contrariness? Always a possibility. Maybe it's because I read the news today, oh boy, and the real world has become A Bad Place. Baseball usually takes me away from all that - the longer, the better! Maybe it'll just take a little longer this year to fully escape into the game. There's no reason to worry about whether or not this team can warm your heart. This team is so loveable it could sour puppies and kitties by comparison. Buxton plays the game with gusto and he'll take you along for the ride. Polanco and Correa can turn frowns upside down with a swipe of their bats. Kirilloff is going to get there, people, and it'll be delightful. And this Duran guy? You gotta love what you see when he pitches. Also, he appears to be a very good hugger, based on my own observations. This is a team you can cheer for. This is a team that brings "fan favorites" and "baseball crushes" back to the ballpark. I, for one, am ready to let baseball dazzle me into a happy grin yet again. Bring on the summer of 2022, and bring on the next chapter of Twins history!

A great pitching performance was not enough. The Twins offense wasted too many opportunities to score, despite producing a lot of baserunners. The Cubs, making their first trip to Target Field in six years, take game one of the interleague series. Box Score John Gant: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K (64% strikes) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Kepler -.209, Buxton -.148, Simmons -.144 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Each team scored a run in the first inning. John Gant, who’s trying to make a case for himself to be a part of the 2022 starting rotation, nearly had an uneventful top of the first. Standing in the way was Frank Schwindel, who jumped on the first pitch he saw to make it 1-0 Cubs. But that lead didn’t last long. Luis Arraez opened up the bottom of the inning with a leadoff double, snapping an 0-for-16 slump. Byron Buxton followed up with a single to move Arraez to third, and Jorge Polanco pushed him across with a sac-fly, tying the game. Since we mentioned Buxton, get a load of what he did during the second inning: The Cubs still managed to score their leadoff runner that same inning, after Robinson Chirinos hit a blast to center field and Brent Rooker couldn’t field it at the warning track. The ball apparently hit him on the leg and rolled away from Buxton. Matt Duffy scored, and Chirinos reached third very easily, giving Chicago back the lead. Minnesota threatened again, in the bottom half, with men in the corners with no outs. But this time, they ended up empty-handed. After a busy first couple of innings, both pitchers settled down and dominated opposing pitchers. Gant finished off his start with a perfect second time through the order – three consecutive 1-2-3 innings. He didn’t walk a single batter all night. Unfortunately for the Twins, Cubs starter Zach Davies also put away nine batters in a row, starting in the second inning. It was not until the fifth that the Twins would have baserunners again. Both of them ended up being stranded. Juan Minaya came in relief of Gant and faced the minimum in the sixth. However, he couldn’t keep up the good work during the seventh when he loaded the bases with no outs, forcing Rocco Baldelli to pull him from the game. Tyler Duffey took the mound and did a fantastic job, striking out the side on 16 pitches. This was the first time since May 29 (third overall) that Duffey pitched at least one scoreless inning with three strikeouts. With his outing tonight, he posted a 2.25 ERA in August. Meanwhile, the offense kept struggling against Cubs pitching. They stranded a pair of runners in the bottom of the seventh, at which point they had accumulated five men left on base and were 1-for-7 with men in scoring position. Chicago’s offense, on the other hand, extended their lead in the eighth, with Ian Happ hitting a monstrous third deck home run to left, which gave the Cubs a two-run lead, 3-1. The Twins tried to start a rally during the eighth, loading the bases with singles by Arraez and Polanco, and a walk by Donaldson. With only one out, Max Kepler hit a bloop to shallow right, and Arraez decided to tag up, but Duffy made a perfect throw home to get him, giving Chicago an inning-ending double play. Ralph Garza Jr. kept Minnesota’s hopes alive by pitching a scoreless ninth, but the offense went down in order in the bottom half. Despite losing tonight, the Twins still end up August with a winning record (14-13), the first time this has happened this season. They face the games again this Wednesday (9/1), at 7:10 pm CT, with Joe Ryan set to make his big-league debut. Check out Tom Froemming's video recap of tonight's Twins action! Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Albers 88 0 0 0 0 88 Colomé 13 13 0 23 0 49 Thielbar 0 23 0 0 26 49 Minaya 0 17 0 0 24 41 Alcalá 12 0 0 25 0 37 Gibaut 0 0 33 0 0 33 Garza Jr. 0 0 11 0 17 28 Duffey 6 0 0 0 16 22 Coulombe 20 0 0 0 0 20 View full article

After two frustrating games against the White Sox the Twins find themselves three games back from the South-Siders in the AL Central race. The good news? The Twins’ bats have been hot against Chicago ace Lucas Giolito, who takes the bump tonight.Yesteday's Game Recap CHW 6, MIN 2: White Hot-White Sox TODAY Twins (30-20) @ White Sox (32-16), 7:10 pm CDT Twins Starter: Jake Odorizzi, RHP 8.10 ERA Rocco Baldelli announced Tuesday night that Odorizzi will return from the 10-day IL to start Wednesday night’s game against Chicago. Odorizzi was placed on the IL after taking a liner off the chest on August 21 against the Royals. It’s been a year of injuries for ‘Odo,’ as he missed the entire month of July with a back injury and has only made three starts all season. All of Odorizzi's starts have come against the Royals, who split the season series with the Twins at five a piece. Odorizzi has a clean slate against the Sox this year and hopefully tonight;s game will provide an opportunity for him to find some sort of rhythm for the first time this year. Last year Odorizzi posted a 2-2 record against the Sox in four starts. White Sox Starter: Lucas Giolito RHP 3.43 ERA Giolito has played an integral role to the success story of baseball across the Windy City this summer. Not only did Giolito record his first no-hitter on August 25, he did it in dominant fashion, striking out 13 and only walking one batter against the Pirates. That performance combined with Alec Mills’ no-no on August 13 for the Cubs marked the first time both Chicago teams have recorded a no-hitter in the same season. While Giolito has posted a 4-2 record on the season his two starts against Minnesota have been rocky. In the season opener the Twins shelled Giolito as he exited the game after just 3.2 innings, giving up 7 runs on 6 hits and 2 homers. And even though the Twins lost their August 31 matchup to the Sox they were able to post 4 runs on 4 hits in Giolito’s five innings on the mound. Twins Starting Lineup: White Sox Starting Lineup: What to Watch for: Max Kepler has a career .364 average against Giolito in 22 at-bats. Nelson Cruz has a .353 average in 17 at-bats, including three home runs. Expect these two sluggers to carry the heavyweight for the Twins offense against the White Sox ace.Byron Buxton is faster than Jimmy John’s delivery service. He proved that last night, banking his third career inside the park home run on a line drive he clubbed to left center field. Buxton has batted .304 in his last seven games and will need to find ways to get on base for the Twins to find success.Jake Odorizzi hasn’t made it past 4 innings yet this year. And after a game where the Twins’ bullpen was heavily utilized they will need him to put up a quality start.Other News:In addition to Odorizzi, the Twins have activated Alex Avila from the Injured List. As a result, the team has optioned Travis Blankenhorn and Randy Dobnak to the team's alternative site in St. Paul. Around the AL Central Chicago White Sox 32-16 Minnesota Twins 30-20 (3 GB) Cleveland Indians 26-22 (6 GB) Detroit Tigers 21-26 (10.5 GB) Kansas City Royals 20-29 (12.5 GB) Click here to view the article

Reading the blogs and comments I see a lot of people looking at the outfielders and whether we should trade Rosario for starting pitching, put Jake Cave on the roster for Post Season and how to handle the surplus in the minors. September is a big audition month and a time to give some players a little rest. We have too many players who need to be added to the 40 man and not enough room. Do we trade, do we DFA, do we get rid of players already on the roster? Do we allow free agents to leave? So how do we clear the surplus? As I pondered the Rosario trade idea I was struck with the fact that Eddie is a nice player, but in many ways he his not much above replacement in a league where everyone hits HRs. I see Eddie behind Buxton and Kepler, but trading requires the other teams to value your player as high as you would like them too and I do not see Eddie bringing in the SP that we dream of. Nor do I see Cave as a full time player being better than Eddie - another just above replacement performer - nice but not essential. My thought is that if we want something; the player teams will value highest is Buxton. Buxton has now had 1250 big league at bats and this was his best year, but overall he has hit 237/292/706, His defense is what we really value, but he has to be on the field to provide defense. April 1, 2014 Buxton put on injury list by Fort Myers, and again in Fort Myers on May 11 and July 6. July 26, 2015 on DL (Twins) thumb injury. July 15, 2017 Buxton on DL, groin injury. April 2018 on IL for migraines; May 10 broken toe and July 14 back on IL with left wrist strain. In August 2018 he was on the DL in Rochester with a left wrist injury, in June 2019 he was on the IL with a right wrist injury, July 16 on the IL with concussion symptoms, and again on July 23, concussion again, and August 3 - left shoulder subluxation. He played five years in 388/810 games - 48%. How long before injuries and age remove speed and reduce him to a nice, but not great OF? He is valued by us and many others - if we want a starting pitcher Byron might be the best bait. But do we have another CF? Kepler probably moves there and in two years we would be surrounded by Larnach and Kiriloff and our OF defense would not be great. I cannot see this team extending Rosario and I do not see Cave as more than a place holder. Is there a CF in the system? So I see Rosario going, at least as a FA, Cave as a place holder and Buxton probably still here, but a good trade bait. I see Larnach and Kiriloff coming up, I see Rooker going somewhere else and I see Wade as never more than a fourth OF and probably playing for another team - maybe Gardy would like him in Detroit.

At the half way mark the one area of Twins baseball that is really bothering me is fielding. It used to be that the fundamentals of fielding were the Twins specialty, but now that we have the bats, we seem to be slipping in the field. I went to the various web sources to see if my eye test was right on a night that Adrianza makes two errors behind Berrios in a loss to the White Sox. Looking at fielding stats in Baseball Almanac http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/fielding.php?y=2019&t=MIN I went the simple way to test the fielding - I clicked on errors. Here is our starting infield by errors: Polanco - 9 Cron - 6 Schoop - 6 Sano - 5 Utility Men - infield errors only Adrianza - 6 Gonzalez 3 Astudillo - 2 That is 37 errors in exactly one half season - by the infield (not counting catching and pitching). https://www.espn.co.uk/mlb/team/stats/_/type/fielding/name/min/table/fielding/sort/defWARBR/dir/asc According to ESPN we have only three with negative defensive WAR - Castro, Cron, and Cave (what is it with the letter C?). It might come to a surprise for many but both Sano and Astudillo are a plus 0.1! This is despite the fact that Sano has a fielding pct (old school, I know) of 937. And as expected Kepler, Rosario, and Buxton are all +s in fielding with Buxton leading with 1.2. https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/minnesota-twins-team-stats?season=2019&category=FIELDING&group=1&time=0&pos=0&splitType=0&page=1 I have a hard time evaluating catchers - framing, calling a game, SB no longer seems to matter...When I went to http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/sortable.jsp#elem=%5Bobject+Object%5D&tab_level=child&click_text=Sortable+Player+fielding&game_type='R'&season=2019&season_type=ANY&league_code='AL'&sectionType=sp&statType=fielding&page=1&ts=1561813674629&position='2' I did not even see one of our catchers in among the 14 that they rank in fielding stats. And in ESPN fielding stats - including the non-qualified (batting title) Castro ranks 37. http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/fielding/_/position/c/qualified/false/order/true In fielding pct the Twins rank #10 and according to Baseball Reference the Twins are -2 in their state Rtot - Runs above average which matches our catchers total. https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2019-specialpos_c-fielding.shtml I repeat - Baseball defense is the hardest to measure, but using the tools that are available we are not elite, closer to average in fielding.

♪Tis the season for Spring Training♪, ♪Come Along with me to Fort Myers♪ Not as catchy as I contemplated, but the day pitchers and catchers report usually marks a new focus for the American Sports Landscape. You get predictions, it’s (newly inundated) but the clock’s ticking for free agency crunch time, rosters battles are waged as players jockey for roster positioning, and the fresh aroma of roster cuts lingers through the air. No better time of year, especially since every club is granted a new slate to which to engrave their fate. With the season rapidly approaching, spring training is the time of year which rejuvenates the baseball brethren. You get some real baseball (exhibition practice) but baseball more or less, despite the majority of us being in an absolute winter inferno. Speaking of Spring Training, it's also the time where newly added players begin sporting snazzy and brand new spanking merch and apparel. The Twins have infused their voids with many of these stop-gaps, budget friendly assets through free agency. Martin Perez, Blake Parker, Michael Pineda, Nelson Cruz, and C.J. Cron only begin the conversation of what new faces we probably might see play significant roles during the season. Among the most recently acquired faces, is Marwin Gonzalez. When reports surfaced that the Twins were interested in Gonzalez, let's say I was fairly reluctant that they would incline to pull trigger. And I assure, I wasn’t alone. But, sitting in biology class taking a genetics quiz I nearly lurched outta my seat as my phone buzzed incessentally. Let’s just presume that I wasn’t doing anything against the rules beforehand, but I literally couldn’t not stop smiling after I found out. But to my compadres, me enjoying this reprehensible quiz just added another layer of my peculiarity to my mantle. And in hindsight, I aced that quiz so who’s winning now…. But aside from this tangent, let’s analyze MarWIN, its implications on the roster picture, my horrendous takes on Sano and Buxton, and other housecleaning duties we must confer about because of my long absence (Sorry). Let’s dig’in MarWINS = More Wins? The Twins made some buzz and fairly interesting news on a Friday afternoon a few weeks ago, signing maybe* (we’ll get to that part later…) one of the under the radar gems of the free agency class—Marwin Gonzalez to a very cost-friendly 2 year, 21 million dollar deal. It’s funny how the Twins went from offseason failure to preseason sleepers in a matter of days after striking luck with the versatile man but…. You’ve probably already surfed the internet for some introductory description or sort of primer to what Gonzales provides. But for the sake of those who didn’t here’s a brief report card on the guy the Astros nicknamed Margo (appropriately named)... Dubbed the Jack of all Trades, Swiss Army Knife, Utility Man Extraordinaire and whatnot, Marwin Gonzalez was once a fabulous hitter in 2017. Prognosticators had thought he would have only bulked up the 2018 free agent crop, but a rough 2018 get-go depressed his stats and this suppressed market only further lessened his margins. We’ll get to the intriguing tidbits later, but in short and sweet delivery Marwin succumbed to depreciation-itis and proved to be less a safety valve contributor to the Astros than his 2017 numbers would suggest. Reading around 2017 articles of Marwin, some tabloids had been lobbying for Marwin to push for MVP votes, and in retrospect it’s rather hard to believe. What comes to Marwin’s calling however is his insane versatility. The AL’s closest apparent to Ben Zobrist, Marwin played the role of super-utility during his time down south, and had a breakout 2017 campaign. Gonzalez should at minimum provide exemplary depth, but its clouds my judgement that the Twins went luxury over necessity (pitching). I’m further dumbfounded that bulk inning eaters like Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Keuchel still remain waiting for some appealing offers. My dumbfoundedness is further compounded because there isn’t any shortchange of any money to invest in some semi-lucrative contracts. Getting back to Marwin, I kinda do enjoy this veil of obscurity in what your getting in Marwin. So I dived in to his stats an….. Marwin was super lucky in 2017. And he wasn’t in 2018. This explain his nondiscript aberration that soared him up into the 2017 MVP discussion. I spoke about wOBA and expected wOBA in my last article conveniently hyperlinked and located nearby here, but if you’re too lazy like me here’s a short snippet…. [wOBA is simply a synthesized linear statistic where singles/walks are considered as a the primary building block, and incrementally scales a hit as for it’s due result. Expected wOBA is as self-explanatory as it sounds, and just express the quality of contact and how it yields to on field results. Their are some flaws to this that might apply to (X PLAYER) for being left handed, but if a player scorches a frozen rope and persists to label it INTO THE SHIFT, xwOBA would flag that as an unlucky hit, even though the entire left side of the infield is just begging for a bunt down the left field line. This is what hinders the stat, and I haven’t found a way to quantify how much this action has tainted (X PLAYER’s) stat value.] When I used Baseball Savant to tailor the pool with the highest differentials of wOBA and expecting, essentially denoting the most lucky hitters, I found Gonzalez at the top of list with a shocking amount of amassed luck. Which explains why he had a high.303 batting average. I would like to get more in-depth with his OBP and wider array of his totals in 2017 outlier season, but it's clear that luck isn't a sustainable trait and if you want more just go here. This offense now appears more meticulous and premeditated than a patchwork assembly in the years past, and with Gonzalez I think this has some sudden implications. I’m currently at work with my piece for my Opening Day roster prediction, but for now I can tell this lineup is going to kindle a lot of traffic on the bases and by implementing boom in the form of Cruz, Cron and Schoop it has loads of boom or bust potential. I going to admit even I couldn’t have fathomed a offense this dynamic would actually be wearing Twins uniforms coming into the 2019 season. Yet I feel the rhetoric is still glass half empty (alluding to the pitching fronts). Yet I feel this offense can compete with the premier firepower offenses of the AL (on paper at least). Could we be entering the dawn of a monolithic juggernaut? My jaded and (not level headed) convoluted glasses lenses having me saying that. Or I’m probably just super pumped. Speaking of juggernauts, let’s forensically say the Twins offense will cook. I don’t believe that’s a question unless something catastrophic happens which has a funny way of playing out strangely enough?! But on paper I think you have an offense that might mimic the historic (raking) K.C royals in terms of from top to bottom. I could honestly go on and rattle off and outline a parade of heavily optimistic circumstances that each player in this lineup could feasibly do. What this lineup is, is healthy and fruitful and abundant in it’s upside and spunk. If they just played to their abilities we wouldn’t be staring at a constant cycle of depressing yearly season exits that make us dispel our hope. So boys just…... Buxton-hit for average Sano- be 2016 you Kepler- let development journey take in full effect Polanco- play like the 2017 you (without PEDS) Cruz-destroy baseballs Cron- hit as far as those muscles can take you Castro- don’t swing at those high fastballs Schoop- deep soul searching for some all star swagger and lose the rust Rosario- be freakin awesome and all the power to yah So far what the Twins lack in is pitching. But no so long ago, did we see a frontline staff make the postseason with BARTOLO COLON, DILLON GEE, MATT BELISLE, and HECTOR SANTIAGO’s elicit shells manning our staff. Aside from the much more stiffer completion, there resides a little recurring theme in all the Twins moves. They’re banking on the bouncebacks. Hildenberger, Reed, May, Pineda, Buxton, Sano, and many more are players that in a perfectly Twins oriented world should be able to recreate their peak performances or fulfill their prospect potential. All we can do is let it unfold before our eyes. So take a seat back and hunker down on a menacing joyride of hell that is the Twins season. The Buck and Sano Scoop; I’ve been preaching for the Twins to sign a high-caliber relievers to shore up the bullpen all offseason, at such a profound volume that I’m starting to feel like I’m sounding like a broken record. But imagining Kimbrel in our bullpen gets me hyped just even envisioning it, and any passable reliever you’d be even marginally comfortable handling the 9th inning would get my red stamp of approval. This makes me wonder why I would be resistant or even hesitant on with signing a premier commodity over some cheap flyers (no offense) in the case of Gonzo, Cruz and Schoop etc… It’s because of Sano and Buxton. Every coming season since 2014 have I found myself convinced that ‘This is the Year’ and ‘they’re going to flick the switch’ or found myself defending their culpable cases by saying ‘its bound to be time they hit their stride’. But it’s time to set a ultimatum. This year is the final audition year to sparkle just a scintilla of that superstar pulse we’ve all been fixated on eventually showing. But let's be real. I’m going to speak as candidly as I can (maybe to an excess) but this is the season they must either Put up Or shut up. No undisclosed, or half hearted excuses. This is the final tryout act. So let's speak a little speculation, shall we. Let’s say they (Sano and Buxton) spearhead a blistering first half and you hunker down on some legitimate division title hopes. You supplement and complement during the trade deadline and weigh the options of adding a short term implicating star to at least temporarily get you over the hump. We can levy and count our losses if all goes wrong later, but that’s what I would do (yet what am I to believe). But in the case of Buxton and Sano faltering and underperforming you sever your ties and reload with the next wave of incoming prospects (Alex Kirilloff, Royce Lewis, Brusdar Graterol etc.) Some rationale has to dictate hope and promise and the end of line repercussions must be enforced. As a faithful and diehard (maybe to my disadvantage) as Twins fans we must stop settling with this modest and mediocre production complex, where this second rate performance is just OK, but frankly the Buck and Sano are underachieving specimens with freak of nature tangibles that can’t muster any of the things you'd expect they could. How many hitters like Sano’s build and frame are there that just strike you as someone who literally could annihilate the baseball and maybe the bat they use to hit it. But they strike out at such an excessive rate that their warts mask their Kodak moments. In reality Sano possesses no athletic mobility, can’t play anything close to passable defense anywhere so they have to be relegated to a 1st basemen role they probably play substandardly (Heck we’ve got 2 of those guys in Tyler Austin, Lucas Duda and toss in C.J. Cron too). In Buxton’s case, I could probably spot and distinguish with identical profiles similar players on every single team. Perhaps the Billy Hamilton’s, Jarrod Dyson’s, Rajai Davis’s, Jose Iglesias’s of the world that are literal speed demons who can flat out fly on the basepaths, and play dynamite outfield/infield D, but can’t muster any kind of sufficiency in their offensive game that they end up contributing as a negative anchor in the grand scheme. Just look at Melvin Upton, who has been staked as a similar player comp. (in the early years when Buxton showed promise) that if you keep a baseline level of competency and competitiveness and you're instantly vaulted into the MVP conversation. Now changes like that are drastic, but say that Buxton hits for average and plays like the 2nd half 2017 phenom he was, and Sano plays exactly like the 1st half 2017 mauler he was. Now you have a expectation setter or baseline ceiling (weirdly redundant) for the on-field product they can yield. In the right mind it's practically inconceivable for me that Buxton and Sano live up to their respective game-wrecker, superstar labels that they were pegged, but rest assured they should be able to contribute a feasible fringe all-star 3 WAR. In that case, at least we get a disclaimer of what were are dealing with they. So….Sano and Buxton…..NO PRESSURE

My annual waiting for Buxton and Sano patience is wearing very thing. It reminds me of waiting for Godot! No, he is not a baseball player, Spark Notes tell us - "Two men, Vladimir and Estragon, meet near a tree. They converse on various topics and reveal that they are waiting there for a man named Godot." "a boy enters and tells Vladimir that he is a messenger from Godot. He tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming tonight," "The next night, Vladimir and Estragon again meet near the tree to wait for Godot." "the boy enters and once again tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming." https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/godot/summary/ Nothing ever happens because the two men just keep waiting. I think it is wonderful that we all have such patience with Buxton and Sano and that we can keep recycling our just wait columns, but in the mean time life happens, seasons come and go, and fans die, move away, or go and watch the Lynx and United. These are two men on a 25 man active roster, a 40 man potential roster. We have a FO that is supposed to deal with contingencies. We are not supposed to shut down the team for two players. Lots of teams have injuries that take their best players and they make moves. So we fill 3B and CF with really good players and suddenly Sano and Buxton look like superstars that we have all imagined. Great. Trade someone and continue to make the team better. Don't write off season after season. I posted in a comment section the following which is what I have seen from the FO (I have not included the manager and coaches changes because in the long run they do not matter - we need players): Here are the players that they have signed or traded for in 2017 and 2018, there are 54 and I skipped a few from 2017.So this is more than a 40 man roster - how much have these moves pushed us forward?What is the strategy of the FO? Lynn, Reed, Castro, Rodney, Morrison, Schoop, Torreyes, Adrianza, Cron, Austin, Cave, Odorizzi, Pineda, Haley, Paulsen, Field, Rucinski,Hague, Schuck, Tepesch, Vogelsong, Greenwood, Miller, Tracy, Giminez, Belisle, Breslow, Kinley, Duke, Pacheco, Buss, Curtis, Magill, Wilkins, Heisey, Sanchez, Rodriguez, Carter, Villalobos, Motter, Rupp, LaMarre, Raley, Smeltzer, Forsythe, Duran, Alcala, Celestino, Maciel, Trinidad, Costello, DeJong, Rijo, Drake,Adams, So Falvey and Lavine sat on a bench and said "We are waiting for Sano and Buxton." Twins Daily came out and said shouldn't we improve the rest of the roster? Falvey and Lavine sat on a bench and said "We are waiting for Sano and Buxton!

A lot of us were shocked by the Buxton treatment this year, from playing him with an injury to denying him his September call up. We were almost equally shocked to see Sano sent to A ball and when he returned people talked about him looking a little thinner, but then the season played on and before ending with another injury he resorted to the same 200 hitting occasional Home Run hitter. September call ups included Matt Belisle and a trade for Gimenez, more time for Johnny Field and not much excitement outside the young pitchers and that wonderful Opener experiment. Gonsalves, our top pitching prospect has stunk, Littell who has been called up a couple of times continues to stink (I know that they want to make that trade look good for the FO). Stewart has improved as we continue to pitch him against the mighty Tigers and Busenitz has demonstrated that AAAA is his best hope (when will they open that league?). Of course there is one rookie who looked really good early in the Season, but he could not even be called up to toss a couple BP sessions - Romero. Among hitters only Astudillo has appeared and that is because we have our original starter out for the season, our next starter out with a concussion, our first reserve traded for last years reserve and only Astudillo available for actually crouching behind the plate. No look at Rooker or Gordon or any other potential hitters. So how good is our player development? I just read the Athletics Matthew Kory in the season ending power ranking and his comments really jumped out at me. "One of the things that good teams do is draft talented players, develop them in the minors, and turn them into stars when they get to the big leagues. The Red Sox have done that with Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts. The Indians have done that with José Ramírez and Francisco Lindor. The Astros have done that with Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman (and George Springer) (and José Altuve). The Twins should have done that with Miguel Sanó and Byron Buxton… but they haven’t. Despite loads of talent, Sanó is barely playable and Buxton supposedly isn’t even ready for a September call-up. If you’re looking for the difference between Minnesota and every playoff team in baseball, that’s it in a nutshell."

I am back from guiding a hiking trip in Michigan where I got to watch the Detroit Tigers play a few games against the Cardinals - fun to see Gardenhire. As I watched their struggles to find the right Outfielders for the future I was interested in the various players that they put in and how each had different potentials and strengths. But it got me thinking about the Twins. For the last two years we have been led to think of the outfield as Rosario/Buxton/Kepler. But is it those three for the future? I know we have had LaMarre and Field out there during the year and they do not excite me. We have used Adrianza in the OF as well as Astudillo, and Taylor Motter. Logan Morrison was even in the OF for two games. And of course we have had Jake Cave and Robbie Grossman playing extensively in the OF. No minor leaguers were brought up this fall to get any MLB time in the OF but Wade seems like a candidate and eventually we will have more minor leaguers move up to challenge I hope. But what is the immediate future - the next two years? Who will be have out there when we turn the corner? Start with the Big Three Byron Buxton has had a lost year. He is 24 and has been with the team for parts of 4 years. His defense is out of this world, his slash line for the four years is 230/285/387 and we all know the drama that was 2018. 6.8 WAR Eddie Rosario seems to be the one who stepped up this year, leading the team in all the batting categories and playing a steady, if unspectacular OF. In his four years he has a slash line of 280/312/471. 8.6 WAR Max Kepler has not regressed, he has not progressed, he is not a star, is he a starter? His slash for the same four years is 235/314/421 and he has an accumulated WAR of 6.7. Before looking at other options - if I take the lazy route and just add and average these three players we would have an OF with a 248/303/408 slash and 1.8 WAR. Not good enough for a team that wants to be a champion. The two players on the team that look like our next OF candidates - Sorry Adrianza and Astudillo - are Grossman and Cave. Two players who elicit very different responses from TD fans. Robbie Grossman has been our number 4 OF for three years and has played in 331 games (DH and 1B included). His slash line for MN 262/365/397 which is actually a good line for a number 4 if we do not consider his OF range and defense. Jake Cave is our find of the year, after Motter and LaMarre and numerous other dumpster dives we were able to get Cave out of the Yankees and he has produced. 265/311/487 slash and 1.7 WAR for 76 games. He hustles and looks good but his fielding is not as good as some might claim. In the long run, when it comes to defense, Buxton has no worries. That is five players for starting and bench. Are they the right five and in the right order? The 40 man roster still has Zack Granite who had a lost year and Johnny Field. Granite earned 0.3 WAR in 93 ABs in 2017 and played better CF than all but Buxton. In 2018 he played in 68 games before ending his year with injury. He batted 211/282/245, He is 25 years old. Johnny Field has been in 13 games so far with a slash line of 071/100/171. If we look at his entire 2018 year he has 75 games and 193/231/330. I hope to not see him on the 40 next year. The next question is who is in the minors who might be up soon? MLB.com has a top 30 for each team - http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2018?list=min Our number two is Alex Kiriloff - how long before he comes up - will it be in the next two years? If he does Kepler better watch out because RF is his best position. Trever Larnach is in his first year, but already prospect #6. Too early to project him as a Twin. Akil Baddoo is #12 and so far has been a CF player. LaMonte Wade is #13 and seems the most ready for 2019. LaMonte Wade Age 24 has a minor league slash of 257/360/380 reminiscent of Grossman, but better in the field. He does not have power, but controls the plate. Alex Kiriloff is moving so fast he cannot be left out of the discussion for 2019 and definitely should be looked at for 2020. 348/392/578 is a slash line that cannot be ignored. Yes he is young, but you might notice that Atlanta and the Nationals both had players as young as him starting in their OFs this year. Akil Baddoo is 20, but could move fast and be a factor in 2020. 243/351/419. Trevor Larnach is 21, but is in his first year - 303/390/500 is an impressive start - 2020 is an outside possibility if the Twins are aggressive. Gilberto Celestino - just 19. He is our #14 prospect but should not be in this two year window. Gabriel Maciel is also just 19 and ranked #17. At least three years away. Luke Raley can play 1B or OF and is ranked #19. 275/350/471 He has the advantage of being someone the FO traded for - he is one of theirs and is considered a Grinder - Molitor will like that. Jacob Pearson is the last OF ranked in the top 30 Twins Prospects - He is age 20 with the Kernels this year and should be three years away. So that is the assortment we can work with in our system. Not counting more dumpster diving the following are Free Agent OFs for 2018. Bryce Harper - forget it Adam Jones - Not worth it Brett Gardner - he is already 35 Nick Markakis - he too is 35 Carlos Gonsalves - 33 coming from the light air of CO Michael Brantley - 32 - it would be nice to take him from Cleveland Steven Pearce - 36 - no thanks Lonnie Chisenhall - 30 - another Indian on the market Matt Joyce - 35. NO NO NO Curtis Granderson - 38, another old man, no thanks Carlos Gomez - 33, no we have already had him once Marwin Gonsalves - 30 - from Houston, interesting player. Cameron Maybin - 30 - nope Jon Jay - 34 - no interest Chris Young - 35, Angels, no Rajai Davis - 38 - another Cleveland OF - we could fill up with these guys, but no thanks Leonys Martin - 31, Guess which team - you Cleveland Gregor Blanco - 35 from SF. I say no to any over 32. Shane Robinson - 34 - Yankees Eric Young - 34 - Angels Brandon Barnes - 33- ANOTHER INDIAN! Jose Bautista - 38 - yes 38, no Austin Jackson 32 from the Mets Ben Revere - 31 - No retreads Some more with no resume, no interest on the list! Now comes the hard part - arrange them as you would like - this is the order I expect: 2019 Rosario Cave Kepler Buxton Grossman Raley 2020 Rosario Kiriloff Cave Buxton Raley Baddoo Where is Kepler, Wade...I expect trades. I would rather have Wade that Grossman in 2019, but I do not see the Twins making that move, I see him traded before being rostered. I am trying to guess at the Twins as much as looking at what I would like to see. Have at it.

I had to stop reading the Buxton portion of the WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS article today because it sent my mind back through the history of Baseball. I was luck enough to be a kid when Dizzy Dean was announcing games and he always made me smile, but as I learned more and more about him and his amazing, but too short career I learned lessons that continue to plague me. One injury cannot be isolated from the rest of the body. When I am suffering from various injuries that were accumulated in a lifetime of adventures and guiding my wife will sing a versus from skeleton song - https://www.lyricsondemand.com/miscellaneouslyrics/childsongslyrics/dryboneslyrics.html to remind me that everything is connected. For Buxton to play with a broken toe is exactly what Dizzy Dean did and it killed his career. ]https://www.fangraphs.com/tht/tht-live/the-dizzy-dean-injury-cascade/[/url] When asked about the injury Dean said, "“Fractured. Hell, the damn thing’s broken!”" Dean's injury happened during the All-Star game - "Initially, most thought Lou Gehrig, not Earl Averill, delivered the most damaging shot against Dizzy Dean in the 1937 All-Star Game. It wasn’t until later in the summer that the impact of Averill’s low liner that ricocheted off the toe of the Cardinals ace began to be understood." "Dean returned to St. Louis and had the aching toe examined by Dr. Robert F. Hyland, the club physician. Hyland said the toe was bruised, not broken, and prescribed rest for Dean, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Dean, who had a 12-7 record and 2.41 ERA, was scratched from his scheduled start July 11 versus the Reds. During his recuperation, Dean clipped a newspaper photo showing his bandaged foot, autographed it, inscribed “Thanks, Earl” and mailed it to Averill. Though Dean still was limping, Cardinals management instructed him to join the team in Boston. When he arrived, manager Frankie Frisch asked Dean whether he could pitch. Dean said he could. On July 21, two weeks after he was injured, Dean started against the Braves in Boston. He pitched eight innings and yielded two runs, but he altered his delivery to compensate for the pain in his toe. By throwing with an unnatural motion, Dean damaged his arm." https://retrosimba.com/2017/07/08/dizzy-dean-and-his-final-painful-cardinals-days/ Dean tried to continue pitching even though he was hurt - the worst thing he could do. Buxton is our future and he has a history of injuries, but looking at his build and the way he plays it is not surprising. Someone needs to help him make decisions because players will always play. In case we need reminding - here is a good site to look at 25 careers that were ended early by injuries. We might add the career altering of concussion to Mauer - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1022656-25-potentially-immortal-baseball-careers-derailed-by-injuries#slide5 We can also add the shortened career of Kirby Puckett, and the impact of bad knees on Tony Oliva, I know that I get caught up with critiquing players, but I also have to set back and realize that if they are injured and not playing it is frustrating them too.

I have hardly been able to keep up with all the free agents signings this winter. Kaat, Cuddyer, Morneau, join Hawkins and Hunter - and I almost forgot Eddie Guardado who will probably be joined in our front office bullpen by Glen Perkins soon. it is like an all star team! Is Johann next? http://m.twins.mlb.com/roster/coaches I have never seen so many coaches or so many special assistants - the team front office should be able to beat any other front office in a game! And I cannot begin to explain all the men hired for the pitching staff from minors to majors to FO. But who am I to care about that? I want to add one or more. I have stated in some threads that they can take the Yu Darvish money and give Gonsalves and Romero personal coaches to follow them around and get them in the rotation, but now I have another addition - Rickey Henderson. Who else can understand Byron Buxton and his unique combination of speed, power, and potential? Only Rickey combined so many attributes. Of course it would take a second coach or translator so we could figure out what Rickey would say, but boy would he give the writers something to write about. But, if that is not possible, how about having Byron acquire a few hours of Rickey being Ricky (before Manny was Manny).

The Twins Farm System is stacked, it's not Buxton and Sano stacked, but come on! Is there an ace pitcher or other top end pitching talent? No. Is there another bomber barreling towards Target Field? No. Is there top ten minor league talent waiting in the wings? Not yet. How then is our farm stacked? We have these guys: Engelb Vielma – 22 years old Nick Gordon – 21 years old Wander Javier – 18 years old Royce Lewis – 18 years old Jelfry Marte – 16 years old There are few things more tantalizing than a highly touted prospect at a highly touted position. A Short Stop that can field AND hit AND hit for power! Amazing! Everyone wants that and will do unspeakable things for it. Now, bear in mind, the Twins do not have one of those players. What they do have, however, are five touted minor leaguers that will offer admirable things to a major league club very soon. Simply put, prospects are just fun. They just offer so much to an organization that has seen so much losing. How much fun was it when Buxton was going to turn into Willie Mays? Hearing about Sano and his bombs that went so far no one could see them land; amazing! Often we, fans and otherwise, overlook their deficiencies for whatever mysterious potential is written or talked about. Someday, soon, someone is going to do that with Gordon, Javier, Lewis, or Marte. I believe, that one can make an argument the Twins have much of what they need to compete for many years. Buxton is already the best fielding Center Fielder in the league. Sano is turning into the franchise changing talent all Twins fans hoped for. Berrios is on his way to pitching domination. Mix in other talented players like Kepler, Rosario, Polanco, and Mejia and the Twins have a strong core built for the future. Not all players will stick around, but all should and will continue to improve. Only a few pieces are still missing, namely an ace. Alex Meyer was supposed to be something special, he wasn't. Trevor May, Phil Hughes, throw in Nolasco even, and what we have in recent past is disappointment. The Twins have not been able to develop a top end pitcher and they haven't been able to sign one either. However, soon, we will be able to trade for one. When the Cubs won their World Series, they did it with found or bought pitching talent. Jon Lester, free agent. Jake Arrieta, trade. John Lackey, free agent. Aroldis Chapman, trade. They only really developed Kyle Hendricks, a big congrats on that. Look around the MLB, how many teams develop their own top of the end rotation pitching? The Red Sox traded for Chris Sale. The Nationals signed Max Scherzer. The Diamondbacks signed Zack Greinke and before that the Dodgers did the same and before that the Angels traded for him. Pitching, especially starting pitching is barely better than a coin flip. Personally, I fell in love with the idea of Lewis Thrope and he missed two years of pro ball. Tyler Jay and Kohl Stewart have been major Twins disappointments. However, it is not just this organization. Look at recent draft history for supposed top pitching talent. Mark Appel, Jon Gray, Brady Aiken, Tyler Kolek, Carlos Rodon, Aaron Nola. All have failed to meet their own expectations. If not this trade deadline, it will be soon. “It” is of course, the time in which the Twins strike and move one their own tantalizing, mysterious, great, yet flawed, talented youngsters for their own ace stud. Nick Gordon rates as the Twins top prospect. Royce Lewis was the first overall pick and is very toolsy. Jelfry and Wander are the next in a line of international signings. Fans love these prospects because they are ours and because they offer great potential. However, in whatever a prospect may become, we know what Chris Sale is. Or we know who Max Scherzer is. One trade and once Mauer is off the books, one free agent signing. That is really as far away as the Twins are. This is season is nice, playoff contention is fun. However, World Series contention is amazing and that should be the goal. One trade and one free agent. Soon.

A few photos from Tuesday night's and Wednesday afternoon's games in Oakland. Possibly one of the last photos taken of Miguel Sano before his trip to the 15-day DL. Notice the tear in his left trouser leg. Left hamstring injury next time up to bat... coincidence? I think not. "Sorry son, that's strike three. By the way, I forgot to say, welcome back to the majors." Gulls just wanna have fun. Another Dull relief appearance. God, I slay me. Reggie Jackson, Rollie Fingers, and (not pictured) Dennis Eckersley entertain the fans. Old Timers Day, I guess. On a day game after a night game, Kurt Suzuki apparently moonlights as one of the coaches. Pat Dean intimidates the other team with an 88-MPH warmup pea. This is probably either strike one, strike two, or strike three, to either the first or second or third batter Trevor May faced Wednesday. Pinch hitter Joe Mauer coaxing ball four, or maybe ball three, I forget, to start a short-lived ninth-inning rally. I could upload the shot of him taking the first-pitch strike, but we already kind of know what that looks like, don't we?

n 2016, barring a trade, the Twins will have five players under the age of 26 who profile to be good or better outfielders. Five of these players will have played for the Twins, and the sixth (Max Kepler) might make his debut this September. Here's a look at all six, with my view of strengths and weaknesses: Oswaldo Arcia--Strengths: Big Time left handed power. In 853 Twins' plate appearances, he has 36 homers and a .437 slugging average. Pedigree of hitting. Going into this year, Arcia dominated the minor leagues, hitting .314 with a .375 OBP, and played each level young for his age. Charisma. He's an emotional player, who loves to do well and celebrate his success. Weaknesses: Fielding. Watching Arcia in the field has ranged from entertaining to embarrassing. He has a good arm and covers enough ground, but has let several balls clank off his glove or fall to the ground. He has been guilty of taking bad at-bats to the field, losing focus and playing fundamentally unsound defense. Strikeouts. Even in this high-K era, Arcia qualifies as a strikeout machine. He has whiffed 259 times in his 853 PAs, well over 30% of the time. Platoon splits. Arcia has struggled against lefties. His OPS+ vs. port siders is 67 with a batting average of .231. Byron Buxton--Strengths: Tools, Obvious to all, Buxton has a wealth of athletic tools. He is the fastest man to ever wear a Twins uni, he has impressive bat speed and plentiful strength to hit for average and power, and a fine arm plus great fielding instincts. Work ethic. With all the tools, Buxton is both coachable and a hard worker. He profiles as a leadoff hitter with 50+ stolen base speed who would transition to the middle of the order. Weaknesses: Unproveness (is that a word?). Buxton has only 40 plate appearances and didn't thrive, hitting under .200. The slowest to develop of Buxton's tools are his hitting. He has started slowly at each level.Injuries. Buxton missed almost all of last year with three injuries. He only played a handful of games for the Twins before going on the DL. Aaron Hicks--Strengths: Again, tools. Hicks profiles as above average in all five tools. He isn't off the charts in any category, but is a fast runner with a cannon arm, he can reach the seats and reach base and cover ample ground in the outfield. Selectivity. As a hitter, Hicks chases less than most young players, and has always drawn his share of walks. Since coming back to the team this year, he has remained selective, while being a more aggressive as a hitter. Weaknesses: Platoon splits. Hicks lifetime average vs. right handers is below .200 (.568 OPS), while hitting almost 100 points higher vs. lefties and has an OPS of .860. Looking only at 2015, the splits are still there. he's hitting .237 (.639 OPS) against right handers, but continues to have a dominant side, hitting .404 with a 1.092 OPS against left handed pitching. Previous struggles. Hicks was a failure in 2013 and a disappointment in 2014, if he slumps will he tumble back to that level? Max Kepler--Strengths: Projectable sweet swing. From the start Kepler has always looked the part of a fine hitter. He hadn't played much baseball when signed by the Twins and needed plenty of time to get things in order, but he's always projected as a fine hitter.Athletic. Kepler is tall, but fast. He might lead his league in triples (passing Buxton) and has stolen 13 bases in 2/3 of a season. League Dominance. As of yesterday, Kepler led the SL, in hitting, on-base, slugging, and OPS. Versatility. Kepler is a lefty all the way, but has played all three outfield positions plus first base. He projects as a good defender at the corners, Weaknesses: Two levels to go. Kepler is only at AA, he hasn't played an inning at AAA or in the majors. Injuries. Max has had his share of injuries, which probably slowed his development to this point. He missed the Futures Game with a sore shoulder. Platoon splits. Going into this year, Kepler had struggled against left handed pitching. He has solved lefties this year, with an OPS above .850. Lack of Power. Kepler has only six homers this year, three in the last week. Power is often the last tool to come forward, but it is possible that at his peak, even if he blossoms, his line might more resemble Joe Mauer than Bryce Harper or Mike Trout. Eddie Rosario--Strengths: Solid Stroke. Eddie has been viewed as a solid hitter and carried that to the major leagues. Stands in against lefties. No discernible platoon splits. He's able to hit for about the same amount of power regardless of which hand the pitcher throws with. Aggressive. Rosario gets his hacks, plays in the field and runs the bases aggressively. It has caused some outs on the bases and a couple of errors, but the net has been positive. Versatile defender. Rosario has started multiple games in all three outfield positions and done fine at all three. He has enough range to play center and enough arm to play right. Weaknesses: Over aggressive. The flip side of Rosario's aggressiveness is that he chases pitches, runs into outs and takes too many risks in the field. Not dominant. Doubtful that Rosario will ever be a slugger or contend for a batting championship. He profiles mostly as "good", but not elite. Strike against him. Eddie was suspended for a drug of abuse, meaning that any other infractions would cost him a season. I am assuming that Kepler will be ready to help the Twins by sometime in the first half of next year, if not sooner. With the DH, the Twins could carry four of these five guys and have enough at-bats for all of them. However, five outfielders needing more than 500 plate appearances is one too many. Do the Twins deal one of these guys to get bullpen help, a catcher or a shortstop? Since they are all young, I would think that they need to choose one guy and give him up to address positions of relative weakness. My pick would be Arcia, mostly because of his struggles in the field. A case could be made for Hicks, Rosario or Kepler.

The outfield and DH positions on the Twins presents many options and decisions will have to be made. The opening day outfield of Hunter, Schafer, and Arcia has been revamped to Hunter, Buxton, and Rosario. DH Kennys Vargas was demoted and has returned, but his status and his future are uncertain. Hunter started slowly this year, had a fine month of May and, with most of the team, fallen off in June. Torii has provided good offense, satisfactory defense and a whole bunch of personality. He's under contract for this season and so far the team has gotten it's money's worth from the almost 40-year old. He figures to be the primary right fielder, with several DH days, going forward. Buxton, the crown jewel of the Twins' farm system, was recalled last Sunday. He has a two week audition where he can take over center field, if not he would go back to the minors. The bar isn't that high and I expect BB will do enough to prolong his stay with the Twins. If Buxton is demoted, the job goes back to Aaron Hicks, who has looked like a big leaguer, but not a future star. Eddie Rosario has had a good run with the Twins. He has played both corners and made a number of good plays in the field. He's done a nice job hitting. He still doesn't walk much, but I think he is getting better at swinging at strikes. I think Rosario is here to stay. Like the Twins best player, Brian Dozier, he can hit, run the bases, and cover a lot of ground in the outfield and he has a good, accurate arm. If Rosario is the regular in left, it moves Oswaldo Arcia to compete with Vargas for DH at-bats. Torii Hunter is on a one-year contract and will be 40 next month. Despite his good season, I can't see Hunter continuing as a player with the Twins. Going forward, the Twins have several candidates to step forward. Arcia is in AAA. In Chattanooga Adam Brett Walker and Max Kepler are having breakout seasons. A year from now, most of those guys could be in the big leagues. It is great to have such a rich farm system, but not all the guys will be able to play where they should be playing. There will be 40-man roster issues and I think the Twins will have to selectively reduce guys who may be read to contribute. That is why I can get behind a building team making a trade where they yield prospects. The Twins need to decide who to go with. I think the emphasis should be to go with younger, more athletic players who can contribute in all facets of the game. Buxton, Rosario, Dozier, and perhaps Hicks represent a bright future.