All Things 2023 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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short ornery norwegian said:
a lot of people seem to think there are only two possible answers:

"everything's fine"

or

"FIRE EVERYBODY!!!!!"

There is a middle ground. you can be disappointed with the Twins' performance, but at the same time, not be in favor of burning everything to the ground. Mackey and Judd live in the 'hot-take' world where it's a constant fight to see who can take the most outrageous position.

in the real world, things are more complicated.
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To me the middle ground is "FIRE Somebody!"

Leading candidate is the Hitting Coach, IMO.
 

Ope3 said:
To me the middle ground is "FIRE Somebody!"

Leading candidate is the Hitting Coach, IMO.
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Exactly, and get some offensive help! Whether via trade or bringing up talent. Standing pat is a punch to every paying fan out there. These repeated 1-run games are embarrassing.
 


Ope3 said:
To me the middle ground is "FIRE Somebody!"

Leading candidate is the Hitting Coach, IMO.
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They tried the "middle ground" of a Rocco "tongue lashing" and players only meeting. It lasted a week. Heads need to roll. "Fire everyone"? No. Of course not. Fire Rocco and the hitting coach and bring in replacements from St. Paul along with Wallner and Larnach? Yes.
 



The problem is they (front office and manager) keep saying that things need to change yet nothing changes.

Their approach to hitting has not changed. They have not brought up anyone outside of Miranda to replace Lewis who was hurt. Their hitting coach has not been fired.

Don’t tell me things need to change and the don’t change anything. Batting Correa first as opposed to second ain’t a change.

The funny part is they are waiting for Polanco to come back and the guy he is going to replace Julian is the only guy hitting on the team.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
The problem is they (front office and manager) keep saying that things need to change yet nothing changes.

Their approach to hitting has not changed. They have not brought up anyone outside of Miranda to replace Lewis who was hurt. Their hitting coach has not been fired.

Don’t tell me things need to change and the don’t change anything. Batting Correa first as opposed to second ain’t a change.

The funny part is they are waiting for Polanco to come back and the guy he is going to replace Julian is the only guy hitting on the team.
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I would be OK with sending Julian down if it's to teach him to play Left Field. His defensive liability in the infield has already led to several runs allowed.
 

Ope3 said:
I would be OK with sending Julian down if it's to teach him to play Left Field. His defensive liability in the infield has already led to several runs allowed.
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We have enough LH hitting outfielders even if Kepler and Gallo are sent packing. Maybe he can play 1B. My vote for now is putting Polanco at 3B and leaving Julian at 2B and working him as much as possible. Someone get Corey Koskie to come be a coach for a month. Either way, this team cannot sacrifice offense for defense right now.
 

Ope3 said:
I would be OK with sending Julian down if it's to teach him to play Left Field. His defensive liability in the infield has already led to several runs allowed.
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It's why Buxton not being able to play CF is such an issue. If he could play CF, then Julien could DH at least half the time.
 



GophersInIowa said:
It's why Buxton not being able to play CF is such an issue. If he could play CF, then Julien could DH at least half the time.
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Yes Buxton only being a DH is a giant issue with how inflexible this lineup is. If he’s healthy enough to go from 1st to home on a hit he can certainly play center field. Plus he has been a terrible DH, that anyone else would have been moved out of that spot by now. Buxton just seems to get a pass by saying he’s too hurt to play center but we have to get his bat in the lineup so he’s not too hurt to bat. Trouble is his bat sucks.
 

Ope3 said:
I would be OK with sending Julian down if it's to teach him to play Left Field. His defensive liability in the infield has already led to several runs allowed.
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Julian has been a terrible 2nd basemen his entire career and yet the twins never tried him at another spot. I have no faith that if they send him to triple A he would get playing time in the corner outfield positions. Plus as others have pointed out, the twins have not shortage of left handed hitting corner outfielders, which makes the Gallo signing even more stupid. It was such a waste of money and a roster spot.
 

howeda7 said:
We have enough LH hitting outfielders even if Kepler and Gallo are sent packing. Maybe he can play 1B. My vote for now is putting Polanco at 3B and leaving Julian at 2B and working him as much as possible. Someone get Corey Koskie to come be a coach for a month. Either way, this team cannot sacrifice offense for defense right now.
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From the Parkinglot said:
Julian has been a terrible 2nd basemen his entire career and yet the twins never tried him at another spot. I have no faith that if they send him to triple A he would get playing time in the corner outfield positions. Plus as others have pointed out, the twins have not shortage of left handed hitting corner outfielders, which makes the Gallo signing even more stupid. It was such a waste of money and a roster spot.
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I don't disagree with either assessment of the glut of corner OFs but he's so bad at 2nd (more critical without shifts) I don't think his offense offsets it.

DH is Julian's best position. DH is Miranda's best position. DH is currently Buxton's only position and maybe for a while, perhaps always.

The situation is less than ideal. Understatement.
 




Ope3 said:
I don't disagree with either assessment of the glut of corner OFs but he's so bad at 2nd (more critical without shifts) I don't think his offense offsets it.

DH is Julian's best position. DH is Miranda's best position. DH is currently Buxton's only position and maybe for a while, perhaps always.

The situation is less than ideal. Understatement.
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I'm of the thought if DH is your best position or only position, that maybe the team could do better. Having a player able to help the team in multiple ways is important imo. Obviously, there are exceptions. Also, I don't understand the angst of some who are upset at the left-handedness of our outfielders. Yes, collecting lefties is dumb, but if a guy fits, I'd hope the team is all over them regardless of which side of the plate he hits.
Here's to me hoping to quit refreshing my Twins news app looking for hitting help soon. Come on!
 

GopherPoke said:
I'm of the thought if DH is your best position or only position, that maybe the team could do better. Having a player able to help the team in multiple ways is important imo. Obviously, there are exceptions. Also, I don't understand the angst of some who are upset at the left-handedness of our outfielders. Yes, collecting lefties is dumb, but if a guy fits, I'd hope the team is all over them regardless of which side of the plate he hits.
Here's to me hoping to quit refreshing my Twins news app looking for hitting help soon. Come on!
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I think the angst with the the lefty OF bats is it makes the Twins even more vulnerable against left handed starters and then relievers late in games.
 




update on MLB draft. rounds 11-20 on Tuesday.
so far: 5 college pitchers, 2 College INF, 2 HS Pitchers, 2 HS OF.

First round, fifth overall
Walker Jenkins, OF, South Brunswick (N.C.) High School
An 18-year-old who hit .417 in 24 games his senior season, but was walked in 32 of his 95 plate appearances. He's 6-3 and 215 pounds and was the state's player of the year as a junior and senior.

Competitive balance round, 34th overall
Charlee Soto, RHP, Reborn Christian Academy (Kissimmee, Fla.)
At 6-5 and 210 pounds, Soto had a 0.52 ERA with 69 strikeouts and only five walks in 12 games his senior season. The 17-year-old was born in Philadelphia but was raised in the Orlando area.

Second round, 49th overall
Luke Keaschall, 2B, Arizona State
Keaschall hit .353 with 18 home runs in 55 games for the Sun Devils. He is from Watsonville, Calif., and played two seasons at the University of San Francisco before transferring.

Third round, 82nd overall
Brandon Winokur, OF, Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.) High School
A righthanded hitter, Winokur plans to attend UCLA if he doesn't sign. The 6-5, five-tool player was mostly a shortstop in high school.

Fourth round, 114th overall
Tanner Hall, RHP, Southern Mississippi
Hall has twice won conference pitcher of the year — in the Sun Belt last season and in Conference USA as a junior.

Fifth round, 150th overall
Dylan Questad, RHP, Waterford (Wis.) High School
The 6-foot, 200-pounder has committed to play at Arkansas.

Sixth round, 177th overall
Jay Harry, SS, Penn State
In 146 games with the Nittany Lions, the New Jersey native hit .304 with 12 home runs.

Seventh round, 207th overall
Nolan Santos, RHP, Bethune-Cookman
The 6-1 Santos had 138 strikeouts in 97 innings. He's a Miami native.

Eighth round, 237th overall
Jace Stoffal, RHP, Oregon
In 10 starts, the 6-3 Stoffal had a 2.83 ERA for the Ducks. He's from Roseburg, Ore.

Ninth round, 267th overall
Jack Dougherty, RHP, Ole Miss
The 6-4 native of Collierville, Tenn., pitched in 15 games, nine of them starts. He struck out 65 in 60 innings.

Tenth round, 297th overall
Ross Dunn, LHP, Arizona State
The Salt Lake City native was a transfer from Florida State. At ASU last season, the 6-3 Dunn started 15 games and pitched 65 innings, striking out 84
 


Ope3 said:
I am starting it. The 2022 thread went 136 pages. Let's beat that by playing meaningful baseball into October (or even November perhaps).
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Above is from my Thread starter.

Given this is now at 118 pages at the All Star Break, I'm going out on a limb and will say the 136 total from 2022 will be eclipsed big time. However, it will be completely independent of playing meaningful baseball in October...for better or worse.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
update on MLB draft. rounds 11-20 on Tuesday.
so far: 5 college pitchers, 2 College INF, 2 HS Pitchers, 2 HS OF.

First round, fifth overall
Walker Jenkins, OF, South Brunswick (N.C.) High School
An 18-year-old who hit .417 in 24 games his senior season, but was walked in 32 of his 95 plate appearances. He's 6-3 and 215 pounds and was the state's player of the year as a junior and senior.

Competitive balance round, 34th overall
Charlee Soto, RHP, Reborn Christian Academy (Kissimmee, Fla.)
At 6-5 and 210 pounds, Soto had a 0.52 ERA with 69 strikeouts and only five walks in 12 games his senior season. The 17-year-old was born in Philadelphia but was raised in the Orlando area.

Second round, 49th overall
Luke Keaschall, 2B, Arizona State
Keaschall hit .353 with 18 home runs in 55 games for the Sun Devils. He is from Watsonville, Calif., and played two seasons at the University of San Francisco before transferring.

Third round, 82nd overall
Brandon Winokur, OF, Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.) High School
A righthanded hitter, Winokur plans to attend UCLA if he doesn't sign. The 6-5, five-tool player was mostly a shortstop in high school.

Fourth round, 114th overall
Tanner Hall, RHP, Southern Mississippi
Hall has twice won conference pitcher of the year — in the Sun Belt last season and in Conference USA as a junior.

Fifth round, 150th overall
Dylan Questad, RHP, Waterford (Wis.) High School
The 6-foot, 200-pounder has committed to play at Arkansas.

Sixth round, 177th overall
Jay Harry, SS, Penn State
In 146 games with the Nittany Lions, the New Jersey native hit .304 with 12 home runs.

Seventh round, 207th overall
Nolan Santos, RHP, Bethune-Cookman
The 6-1 Santos had 138 strikeouts in 97 innings. He's a Miami native.

Eighth round, 237th overall
Jace Stoffal, RHP, Oregon
In 10 starts, the 6-3 Stoffal had a 2.83 ERA for the Ducks. He's from Roseburg, Ore.

Ninth round, 267th overall
Jack Dougherty, RHP, Ole Miss
The 6-4 native of Collierville, Tenn., pitched in 15 games, nine of them starts. He struck out 65 in 60 innings.

Tenth round, 297th overall
Ross Dunn, LHP, Arizona State
The Salt Lake City native was a transfer from Florida State. At ASU last season, the 6-3 Dunn started 15 games and pitched 65 innings, striking out 84
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A general observation about the entire MLB Draft is it seems really odd that they do it now a few weeks after the College World Series instead of before/during.

I suppose that's a byproduct of low level Minor Leagues Rookie Leagues/Class A-Short A being jettisoned or merged. RIP Elizabethton. That's across the board, not just the Twins.

Seems weird, only 6 weeks until Labor Day when the Minors generally end but I suppose than can still get them work in Ft Myers and Fall Leagues for their best prospects.
 

Ope3 said:
A general observation about the entire MLB Draft is it seems really odd that they do it now a few weeks after the College World Series instead of before/during.

I suppose that's a byproduct of low level Minor Leagues Rookie Leagues/Class A-Short A being jettisoned or merged. RIP Elizabethton. That's across the board, not just the Twins.

Seems weird, only 6 weeks until Labor Day when the Minors generally end but I suppose than can still get them work in Ft Myers and Fall Leagues for their best prospects.
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MLB decided to put the draft in conjunction with the All-Star Game, moving the Futures Game up a day to Saturday.

That makes it a whole weekend (plus Monday & Tuesday) in the host city.
 

Ski U Mah Gopher said:
MLB decided to put the draft in conjunction with the All-Star Game, moving the Futures Game up a day to Saturday.

That makes it a whole weekend (plus Monday & Tuesday) in the host city.
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I get that aspect as well. Multiple facets for the change.

Just for reference, the Elizabethton Twins in their last season, 2019, were already playing games by June 18 of that year. Eliminating those Rookie Leagues altered the need for the Draft in early June to supply the roster as well as allow it to be combined as part of All Star Weekend.
 

MLB also partners with 4 Indy Leagues, comprising of 48 teams. There is also 3 other leagues that have 24 teams plus 2 traveling teams (one consists of all Japanese players).

MLB uses Indy leagues (mainly the Atlantic) to test new rules before taking them to the regular minor leagues
 

as I understand it, the team complexes have essentially taken over the role that was played by the short-season leagues. they have a Florida Complex League, an Arizona Complex League, and the Dominican Summer League for International players.

if teams want the new draftees to get in more work, they do that under more controlled situations at the complexes. I'm sure they monitor pitchers very closely, especially guys who just completed a College Season (where pitch counts are not enforced as closely.....)

just checked - the Florida Complex League Twins team is 11-14 - so they've already played 25 games. but there is no roster limit at that level, so they can have as many players as they want and rotate people around, or work on skill-building and evaluation/development.
 

Ope3 said:
I get that aspect as well. Multiple facets for the change.

Just for reference, the Elizabethton Twins in their last season, 2019, were already playing games by June 18 of that year. Eliminating those Rookie Leagues altered the need for the Draft in early June to supply the roster as well as allow it to be combined as part of All Star Weekend.
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Teams have started to utilize their spring training sites more during the season too. Instead of always just sending their draft picks to start playing right away, some head down to Ft Myers (or wherever their site is) for awhile before playing a few games.

It's probably not a bad thing to have a little break. College and HS kids are not used to playing every day so throwing them into the fire right away after just playing a bunch of games can be tough on them. I certainly saw that when I worked in Minor League ball. There's not a lot of developing occurring when a guy is exhausted.
 

and day 3 of the MLB draft is in the books: Twins 21 total picks - 15 pitchers
(final tally - 12 College Pitchers (10 RH, 2 LH) 1 Juco Pitcher (RH); 2 HS Pitchers (RH); 3 HS OF; 1 HS Inf; 2 College Inf)

for the Twins on Tuesday --

11th round, 327th overall
Ty Langenberg, RHP, Iowa
The Urbandale, Iowa, native started 15 of 17 appearances and was 6-3 with a 4.15 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 78 innings.

12th round, 357th overall
Paulshawn Pasqualotto, RHP, Cal
Started 14 games and struck out 51 in 58 innings, going 5-1. He's a Las Vegas native.

13th round, 387th overall
Jeremy Lee, RHP, South Alabama
Started 13 of 14 games, but was 2-8 with a 6.41 ERA. He's from Valley Grande, Ala.

14th round, 417th overall
Xander Hamilton, RHP, Appalachian State
In 16 starts the Raleigh native went 8-4 with a 5.75 ERA in 88 innings, with school record 115 strikeouts.

15th round, 447th overall
Spencer Bengard, RHP, California Baptist
Bengard, from Moreno Valley, Calif., started 12 of his 23 appearances and had 70 strikeouts in 68 innings.

16th round, 477th overall
Anthony Silvas, RHP, Riverside (Calif.) City College
After playing as a freshman with Bengard at California Baptist, Silvas transferred to a JUCO to get draft eligible.

17th round, 507th overall
Kade Bragg, LHP, Angelo (Texas) State
Was 15-1 with a 1.20 ERA in 18 games, with 124 strikeouts in 104 innings. From Ennis, Texas.

18th round, 537th overall
Hector Garcia Jr., RHP, Hope International University
The Fullerton, Calif., native started 11 games and struck out 93 in 56 innings with a .80 WHIP. HIU is in Fullerton.

19th round, 567th overall
Sam Parker, 1B, Kennesaw Mountain High School, Georgia
The left-handed hitting Parker, who is 6-5, is committed to Chipola Junior College in Marianna, Fla. He's from Marietta, Ga.

20th round, 597th overall
Ashton Larson, OF, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Kansas
A left-handed hitter, Larson is from Overland Park, Kansas. He is the top-ranked player in the state and is headed for LSU.
 

Interesting tidbit I saw online regarding RHP starting pitching prospect Daivid Festa, who pitched in The Futures Game, and a scout's eval -

Minnesota right-hander David Festa was 95-96 mph with a changeup and slider, and has a huge torso turn in his delivery, which has to make it harder for hitters to pick up the ball. He’s struggled on the surface this year in Double A with a 5.21 ERA, but he’s had some bad BABIP luck (.356) that I don’t think is reflective of this stuff.

Here are two brief articles on him as well -

www.milb.com

Former Kernel David Festa Selected to Participate in MLB Futures Game

Former Cedar Rapids RHP David Festa has been selected to pitch in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game. Currently listed as the Twins' number 10 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Festa has been chosen to compete on the American League team against the National League team as part of a
www.milb.com www.milb.com

twinsdaily.com

Twins Minor League Report (6/26): David Festa Named to Futures Game

A year ago, the Twins were represented at the Futures Game by infielder Spencer Steer and outfielder Matt Wallner, two members of their talented 2019 draft. In 2023, the Minnesota Twins will be represented in the July 8th, pre-All Star game festivities by right-hander David Festa of the Wichita W...
twinsdaily.com twinsdaily.com
 

Doogie expects no changes to the roster or coaching changes before Friday. Falvey thinks all is well and won't admit being wrong on Kepler or Gallo. There's your answer, Joe Pohlad. Your move.
 

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