All Things 2024 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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TNGophfan said:
I'm not as optimistic. Lack of pitching depth and the play everyone schedule is going to plague them. 80 - 82, good for 2nd or 3rd in the division. Hope I'm wrong.
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The "play everyone schedule" could hurt them for a Wild Card or perhaps seeding, but should not have any impact on the pursuit of the Central Division. Their counterparts are playing the same schedule (expect for 1 extra contest against their Inter-League Rival).

Somewhere earlier in this thread, I believe it was pointed out that based 2023 winning percentages, the Twins have the weakest schedule of any MLB team in 2024. They were the only ones to finish above .500, and don't have to play themselves.

Detroit is the team I am most concerned about figuring things out.
 

I still think they can mash their way to 85 wins, but man the pitching staff might be a disaster. Especially the rotation.
 




Ohtani met the media - sort of. through an interpreter, read a prepared statement and took no questions.

huge shocker - Ohtani says he knew nothing about the gambling. He never placed bets. He never paid off the translator's gambling debts. the translator stole his money to pay off his bookie.

of course, questions left unanswered: How did the translator have access to Ohtani's funds to make the transfers to the bookie? and How did the translator transfer $4.5-million out of Ohtani's bank accounts without anyone noticing?

Ohtani may be able to stonewall the media, but when the Feds come calling, he will have to provide some more detailed answers.
 



I think the range of outcomes is pretty wide. If the pitching can get relatively healthy, they win 90 games. If not, they'll limp their way to something in the low 70s. If the Twins don't win the Central, I don't think it's the Tigers or the Guardians. It's the Royals.
 



FWIW -

The Athletic has us as the 13th best club in their preseason power rankings (numero uno in the Central). Jim Bowden, ex-Gm, who writes them picks Pablo to win the Cy Young.


theathletic.com

MLB Preseason Power Rankings: Braves, Dodgers duke it out for the top spot

The battle for the No. 1 spot in our preseason power rankings was a close one. Which National League team came out on top?
theathletic.com theathletic.com

13. Minnesota Twins

Playoff odds: 64.5 percent

The Twins are not “better,” if that’s what you’re wondering. But they’re still the team to beat in the AL Central. Their ability to repeat as division champs, sans Sonny Gray and Jorge Polanco, hinges on a series of familiar ifs. If Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis are healthy. If Carlos Correa’s bat returns. If the Pablo López-led rotation turns in numbers like it did in 2023. The Twins have a balanced lineup, an experienced rotation and a shutdown bullpen (when healthy, which it very much isn’t at this hour). But while they may have all they need to win the division, it’s all still less than they had last year. — Stephen J. Nesbitt
 


45-year-old Tommy John was the Yankees Opening Day starter at the Metrodome in 1989, outdueling reigning Cy Young Award winner Frank Viola.

1989 was John's 26th season in the majors, setting a modern record (since 1900). Not bad for a guy whose name is synonymous with injuries.

The record didn't last long, as Nolan Ryan pitched in his 27th season in 1993.

Twins fans may remember Tommy John as Dick Bremer's broadcast partner from 1994 to 1996, succeeding 25-year major league veteran Jim Kaat and preceding 22-year veteran Bert Blyleven. Bremer has worked with some pretty long-tenured pitchers. In addition to Kaat, John, and Blyleven, he has partnered with 21-year MLB veteran LaTroy Hawkins, and Jack Morris, who pitched a mere 18 seasons in the majors.

John's son, Tommy John III, was the Gatorade Minnesota State Player of the Year in 1996 at Orono High School in Long Lake, Minnesota.
 

Here is a more in depth analysis from The Athletic on our season - first with 84 wins

theathletic.com

MLB American League Central preview: preseason grades, odds and analysis

The Twins were the class of the middling American League Central last year, but it wouldn't take much for a challenger to take the division.
theathletic.com theathletic.com


Analysis
Despite an offseason spent slashing payroll by $30 million and losing key veterans Sonny Gray, Jorge Polanco and Kenta Maeda, the Twins are the clear front-runners in the American League Central and well-positioned for their fourth division title in six seasons.

Much of that depends on the trio of Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis staying healthy, but the injury question marks don’t end there. Alex Kirilloff, Chris Paddack and Brock Stewart are also health risks, and the Twins have lost key arms Jhoan Duran, Caleb Thielbar and Anthony DeSclafani to spring training injuries.

This is the most talented team in the division, with the star power and depth to rank among the league’s top five lineups and pitching staffs, but they need Duran to get healthy, Correa/Buxton/Lewis to stay healthy and someone to replace Gray atop the rotation alongside ace Pablo López. — Aaron Gleeman

Jake Ciely's projections
TOP HITTERS
AVG
HR
RBI
3B Royce Lewis
.266
26
81
DH Byron Buxton
.235
27
69
SS Carlos Correa
.260
21
73
TOP PITCHERS
IP
K
ERA
SP Pablo Lopez
187
206
3.57
SP Joe Ryan
171
188
4.01
RP Jhoan Duran
61
80
2.82
Austin Mock's odds
🎟️ Make postseason
57.5%
🏅 Win division
50.8%
🚩 Win pennant
8.5%
🏆 Win World Series
3.5%
 



Breakin' The Plane said:
I think the range of outcomes is pretty wide. If the pitching can get relatively healthy, they win 90 games. If not, they'll limp their way to something in the low 70s. If the Twins don't win the Central, I don't think it's the Tigers or the Guardians. It's the Royals.
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I'm kinda the opposite. I think the hype for the Royals is a bit over done. They lost 106 games last year. They made some nice additions, especially on the pitching side but I don't see them finishing above .500.

I'm usually wrong with my predictions so take it with a grain of salt.
 

I guess I'd rather have the injuries now and - hopefully - get through them. schedule usually has more off-days early which should take some strain off rotation and bullpen.

other than DeSclaf, who nobody wanted, the current injuries all seem to be short-term. get through the first month of the season, get the team back to full strength, and see where they are.

here are the opponents through May 1st: (1st 32 games of season) - with 2023 winning percentage)

Royals - 3 (.346)
Brewers -2 (.568)
Guardians - 3 (.469)
Dodgers - 3 (.617)
Tigers - 7 (.481)
Orioles - 3 (.623)
Whiteys - 7 (.377)
Angels - 4 (.451)

8 games vs teams that had winning records last year. 24 games vs teams that had losing records last year.

if the lineup produces at even a reasonable level, Twins can survive until the bullpen is back to full strength. If the lineup really clicks, Twins can do better than survive.
 

Thursday we play ball in KC.
P-Pablo
C-Jeffers
1B-Santana
2B-Julien
3B-Royce
SS-Correa
LF-Wallner
CF-Buxton
RF-Kepler

Bench/DH: Vasquez, Margot, Farmer, Castro
Bullpen: Jax, Stewart, Okert, Jackson, Alcala, Funderburk, Alcala, Duarte
Other Rotation: Ryan, Ober, Paddack, Varland

They are really going to miss Duran and Thielbar right away. Big early season test for Jax and Stewart as they will be heavily relied upon
 

TRF Guy said:
Thursday we play ball in KC.
P-Pablo
C-Jeffers
1B-Santana
2B-Julien
3B-Royce
SS-Correa
LF-Wallner
CF-Buxton
RF-Kepler

Bench/DH: Vasquez, Margot, Farmer, Castro
Bullpen: Jax, Stewart, Okert, Jackson, Alcala, Funderburk, Alcala, Duarte
Other Rotation: Ryan, Ober, Paddack, Varland

They are really going to miss Duran and Thielbar right away. Big early season test for Jax and Stewart as they will be heavily relied upon
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I think you are one short, Kirilloff.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I'm kinda the opposite. I think the hype for the Royals is a bit over done. They lost 106 games last year. They made some nice additions, especially on the pitching side but I don't see them finishing above .500.

I'm usually wrong with my predictions so take it with a grain of salt.
Click to expand...

The Athletic forecasted 79 wins
 

TRF Guy said:
Thursday we play ball in KC.
P-Pablo
C-Jeffers
1B-Santana
2B-Julien
3B-Royce
SS-Correa
LF-Wallner
CF-Buxton
RF-Kepler

Bench/DH: Vasquez, Margot, Farmer, Castro
Bullpen: Jax, Stewart, Okert, Jackson, Alcala, Funderburk, Alcala, Duarte
Other Rotation: Ryan, Ober, Paddack, Varland

They are really going to miss Duran and Thielbar right away. Big early season test for Jax and Stewart as they will be heavily relied upon
Click to expand...
Is it too late to bring back Emilio Pagan? :cool:
 




Per MLB, here is what level our 4 top 100 prospects are suppose to start at -

10. Walker Jenkins, OF, MIN -- Fort Myers (Single-A)
18. Brooks Lee, SS, MIN -- St. Paul (Triple-A)
42. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, MIN -- Wichita (Double-A)
79. Gabriel Gonzalez, OF, MIN -- Cedar Rapids (High-A)
 

www.mlb.com

D-backs land Montgomery just before Opening Day (source)

The D-backs swooped in two days before Opening Day to pick up the last big name remaining on the free-agent market, agreeing to a deal with left-hander Jordan Montgomery, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand on Tuesday night. The club has not confirmed the move. Bringing in Montgomery gives Arizona
www.mlb.com www.mlb.com


The D-backs swooped in two days before Opening Day to pick up the last big name remaining on the free-agent market, agreeing to a deal with left-hander Jordan Montgomery, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand on Tuesday night. The club has not confirmed the move.

Bringing in Montgomery gives Arizona a pair of aces atop the rotation alongside Zac Gallen, and it also gives them some insurance in the event Eduardo Rodriguez, their other big pitching pickup from this offseason, has to miss extended time with a lat issue.

Impressive top of the rotation once all three of them are healthy. Wild card for the Dodger 🐶? @tikited
 
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Gopher_In_NYC said:
www.mlb.com

D-backs land Montgomery just before Opening Day (source)

The D-backs swooped in two days before Opening Day to pick up the last big name remaining on the free-agent market, agreeing to a deal with left-hander Jordan Montgomery, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand on Tuesday night. The club has not confirmed the move. Bringing in Montgomery gives Arizona
www.mlb.com www.mlb.com


The D-backs swooped in two days before Opening Day to pick up the last big name remaining on the free-agent market, agreeing to a deal with left-hander Jordan Montgomery, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand on Tuesday night. The club has not confirmed the move.

Bringing in Montgomery gives Arizona a pair of aces atop the rotation alongside Zac Gallen, and it also gives them some insurance in the event Eduardo Rodriguez, their other big pitching pickup from this offseason, has to miss extended time with a lat issue.

Impressive top of the rotation once all three of them are healthy again. Wild card for the Dodger 🐶? @tikited
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I am never a pocket protector, but man has this been a tough off season. The twins have done so little to make the team better. I think they are the best team in the Central still, but that’s it. That will get you a home playoff series, but no way they will be favored in a playoff series against anyone.

What a depressing and bad vibe for this team coming off so much positives last year.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
I am never a pocket protector, but man has this been a tough off season. The twins have done so little to make the team better. I think they are the best team in the Central still, but that’s it. That will get you a home playoff series, but no way they will be favored in a playoff series against anyone.

What a depressing and bad vibe for this team coming off so much positives last year.
Click to expand...

Being the best team in the AL Central still gets a ticket to the Post-season. While perhaps not being the betting favorite, if they are putting the best starter out in Game 1 plus a potential additional game, they would have more than a decent chance.

The roster in September could look much different than March.

First things first. They need to weather the storm with these early injuries to get on track to defend the AL Central.
 

With Grapefruit League action now in the rearview mirror, Rocco Baldelli will need to decide whom he is bringing north with the Minnesota Twins. Opening Day is on Thursday, and a date with Cole Ragans and the Kansas City Royals awaits. Trimming the roster down to 26 doesn’t need to take place until Thursday, and with health questions lingering, the team may wait until the last minute.

Seven players were reassigned to minor league camp following the 9-6 win over Atlanta. They include: right-handed pitchers Matt Bowmanand Jeff Brigham, catchers Brian O’Keefe and Chris Williams, infielders Michael Helman and Anthony Prato, and utility player Niko Goodrum. With the moves, 32 players remain in major-league camp.

twinsdaily.com

Minnesota Twins Make Seven Roster Cuts as Spring Training Ends

The Minnesota Twins needed to make it through their final spring training tilt before making a handful of roster moves. After a win against the Atlanta Braves, seven players were reassigned to minor-league camp.
twinsdaily.com twinsdaily.com
 

Diamondbacks must be operating under that crazy, insane notion that it takes money to make money.
 

Keith Law from The Athletic has us winning the Central as well. He’s a senior baseball writer for him -

theathletic.com

Predictions, projections and wild guesses for the 2024 MLB season from Keith Law

Who will take home the division titles? Will the Dodgers win it all? Who will be the major award winners? Keith Law delivers his picks.
theathletic.com theathletic.com

American League Central

TEAM WINS LOSSES
Minnesota Twins
90
72
Cleveland Guardians
80
82
Detroit Tigers
78
84
Kansas City Royals
72
90
Chicago White Sox
60
102
The Twins winning the AL Central may be the best lock of all six divisions. They are a genuinely good team, and they’re also the only team that seems to be trying to win the division currently. I’m hopeful that Byron Buxton returning to the field will go well for player and team — he’s such an electric defender that it feels wrong to have him DHing, even though that was obviously about protecting his health. They’ve done well with maximizing players with limited skill sets, like Matt Wallner (a platoon player at best), and have to avoid falling into the trap of letting those guys play more than they should. They’re also betting on Chris Paddack — whose only full healthy season as a starter came in 2019 — and Louie Varland — who gave up 16 homers in 68 innings last year — to be 40 percent of their rotation, which seems optimistic.
 

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