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Your 2024 Minnesota Twins Owner: The Heirs to the Fortune of Carl Pohlad, Parasite Front Office Dorks: Derek Falvey, Thad Levine Manager: Rocco Baldelli Overall Expectations: If they can stay healthy, they're one of the best teams in baseball. Almost a lock for the postseason, possible deep run, extreme longshot WS participants. Dearly Departed: Donovan Solano, Michael A. Taylor, Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda, Jorge Polanco, Tyler Mahle Added Despite Ownership's Stinginess: Carlos Santana, Manuel Margot Today's Opening Day Squad SP: Pablo Lopez Lopez is team's ace now that Sonny Gray (the team's other ace last year) and Maeda (the team's other other ace) are gone and Joe Ryan was merely effective last year. He was bonkers in his time in Miami, and last year was an All-Star and received Cy Young votes. At 27, he still has room to improve, but even if he doesn't and stays merely Very Good, he'll have been great for the Twins. Seems to like Minnesota, and Minnesota seems to like him. C: Ryan Jeffers This looks to be Jeffers' year to shine. Last year, Vasquez started the bulk of the games in the season after losing longtime Twins backstop Mitch Garver. Jeffers has spent most of his time as backup, but with a great offensive season last year and Vasquez certainly not getting any younger, it should finally be his turn to see the majority of appearances. 1B: Carlos Santana First has been a position in flux since Joe Mauer's retirement in following the 2018 season. The trend continues this year with Santana taking the place of the departed Donovan Solano. While the two were productively similar last year from an OPS standpoint, Santana brings a bucket of power and a defensive upgrade with him, despite being two years older. He's been effective everywhere he's played and was long a fixure in the AL Central, first with Cleveland, and then Kansas City. Santana, however, will not be the only one seeing time at 1B, with Alex Kirilloff and Kyle Farmer on the big league roster and Jose Miranda and Brooks Lee waiting in the minors. 2B: Kyle Farmer Farmer, ultimately, is a utility infielder, but will be platooning with Eduard Julien, who is much more exciting and discussed below. Farmer's ability to play all over is his biggest asset, as he is a below-league-average bat and on the wrong side of 30. As mentioned above, he will likely see time at 1B and 3B as well when the starters need off days. 3B: Royce Lewis This is something that could be said of a good half of the 2024 Twins: when he's healthy, he's the best guy on the team. When he came back to the team last year following his second ACL sugery, he was good, but then he just got better and better, getting extremely hot in September and a remarkable postseason. He's one of the first-overall draft picks on the team, and every plate appearance is something to watch. Defensively, while he was drafted as a shortstop, the long-term signing of Carlos Correa (another first overall pick, though for Houston) necessitated some shuffling. With the departure of Polanco, it looks to be his position to hold onto, ideally with no ridiculous outfielding experiments in the future. (RIP Lewis' second ACL.) SS: Carlos Correa A first overall pick, Rookie of the Year, an All-Star, and a Gold Glove defender. When he's healthy, he's the best guy on the team. Last year, Correa was hampered by plantar fasciitis, which sapped a lot of his power and caused him to lead the league in GIDP. Turns out running to first is hard when every time your foot lands it causes agonizing pain. In any case, late in the season, the tendon in his foot that was causing the problem finally ruptured entirely, and after a couple weeks off the field, he came back and played to his normal caliber, hitting just over .400 with an OPS of 1.004. He'll turn 30 in the middle of the season, hopefully making this a prime year for him. As long as The Worst Ankle I've Ever Seen continues to hold together like it has for the past decade, he should be absolutely earning his paycheck. LF: Willi Castro Left field will likely be the position with the most churn this year. Castro is listed here only because he is the Opening Day left fielder. Castro is a capable player, playing in 124 games last year at every position except catcher and hitting just above league average OPS. Matt Wallner and Alex Kirilloff figure to see play here as well, with Trevor Larnach being a possibility coming up from Triple-A again, as well as backup CF Manuel Margot. CF: Byron Buxton When he's healthy, he's the best guy on the team. 2nd-overall pick to Correa's 1st in 2012, Buxton has some hardware and honors, but still has only had one 100+ game season in a 9-year career. He has suffered from injuries to nearly any body part one could name, plus has a history of concussion and migraine. He is, as is often pointed out, his own worst enemy, and has spent the majority of his career trying to unlearn his superhuman athleticism in order to play through an entire season. His spring has been Good and he is, as one might say, in the best shape of his life. But part of the reason Buxton is such an electrifying player is the capricious nature of his body. Playing 105% on every play means that when things happen, good or bad, they happen big, and every Twins fan knows that it's likely not a question of if Buck gets hurt, but when. And it's more likely this year, as he's slated to start and play the entire year as the regular center fielder rather than being able to get inside his own head as a full-time DH. So long as he manages to stay safe around walls, we all wish him the best. (But just in case, the front office picked up Miguel Margot, as they did last year with Michael A. Taylor.) RF: Max Kepler Currently the longest-tenured Twin now that Polanco is gone, Kepler has been a constant source of trade rumors as a relatively cheap, plus defender with an okay left-handed bat attached. This may be his last year as a Twin, and when the trade dealine comes up in July he will again be the first person on the list from the squad. The entire state of Minnesota is in love with him despite his sometimes mediocre play, and if he leaves everyone will be sad. If he doesn't, we'll all know why. (It's because he's Pretty Good and not Great, in that gray area where his return wouldn't be worth giving him up, especially as one of the few lefty power bats we have.) Whether he comes back next year remains to be seen. DH: Manuel Margot Today's edition. DH, like left field, will likely be whoever fits the bill best for the day. Baldelli uses the position pretty indescriminately, and aside from Buxton's spot as full-time DH last year, he rarely employs one guy like the Twins have done with players like Jim Thome in the past. The team is built to be flexible in a lot of positions, and DH enables a lot of it. So, effectively, literally any non-pitching player on the roster could be in this spot on any given day. Today is Margot's day. Other Fielders/Bench C: Cristian Vasquez As mentioned previously, Vasquez got the lion's share of playing time last year, but this year is largely going to be filling the "veteran presence" role, I think. He's not bad, but he is old, slow, and historically just as well-suited to a backup role as main. If Jeffers really continues to shine this year, Vasquez may become a trade chip, especially with another year owed him. That said, he's fine, but his value is mostly in experience. 1B/LF: Alex Kirilloff A former 1-rounder, the sheen has sort of faded from Kirilloff. In 2021 and 2022 both, he had his seasons ended by surgery to his right wrist, and at the end of last year, he had a torn labrum on his right shoulder repaired. While, as a lefty, this mostly won't affect his throwing, he also bats left, thus leading with his right arm. As I mentioned, he'll likely platoon with Santana at 1B, hang out in LF from time to time, and he'll probably be spotted at DH now and then. When he's healthy, etc. etc. 2B: Eduard Julien Last year was Julien's first year in the majors, and it was a heck of an effort. The Canadian's callup was due to Jorge Polanco being moved to the Injured List, and played so well at second that when Polanco came back to the team, *Polanco* was moved to 3B. Julien garnered a few Rookie of the Year votes, and if he continues the pace he's on, looks to be a great player for an 18th-round draft pick. CF: Manuel Margot Mostly brought in as Byron Buxton insurance and with his salary offset at least partially by the Dodgers, he's a perfectly cromulent outfielder. I don't expect anything particularly flashy from him, especially after having had Taylor play effectively the same role but with a bat last year. OF: Matt Wallner I dunno. He's fine. He's a solid hitter, but the Twins have so dang many outfielders. He'll probably see most time at DH if I'm pressed to answer. He's technically a 1st-round draft pick, and he'll definitely stick in the majors somewhere, but where and when is a question. He's mostly likely Max Kepler: Part 2. The Rest of the Rotation Joe Ryan A pretty good pitcher, all told. He definitely aims for the strikeout, with 10ish per nine innings. He's split pretty evenly between ground and fly balls. He's got a good fastball and added a splitter and sweeper, dropping his changeup and curve. Really good at missing bats (which is a phrase I never thought I'd say.) Minnesota loves him. From what I can tell, he's an absolute goof. Bailey Ober One of the tallest dudes to have played for the Twins at 6-foot-9, Ober was one of the guys that was on the outside looking in to start last year. He has a pretty standard 4-seam, change, slider, curve repertoire and tracks similarly to Ryan in results, though last year his ERA was a full run better (albiet in 2/3 as many games.) His long extention and high fastball make for a wicked strikeout. Seriously. He's a scary big dude. Louie Varland Varland was another question mark last year, ultimately appearing in 17 games and starting 10, as well as pitching two innings against the Blue Jays in the Wild Card round. He has a slightly-faster-than-average fastball, a cutter, slider, and changeup. He even threw 10 sinkers last year, for outs in both PAs involved. However, his biggest claim to Twins fame might be that he's the most recent Hometown Kid, having grown up in St. Paul, MN. His call up to fill in for Tyler Mahle last year famously (if you're Minnesotan) interrupted a family reunion. It's repulsively wholesome. I mean that in the best way possible. Chris Paddack Oh, Sheriff. I had such high hopes for you. And then you exploded after three starts. Paddack enters this year as his first full season back from Tommy John Number Two. I don't recall, but I may have seen him play in one of his three games for Fort Wayne, right before his first TJ. In any case, I always have a soft spot for Padres prospects, and until his elbow blew up I thought Paddack was gonna Make It. I'm still hoping he does, considering how much time he's spent with or recovering from an exploded UCL. If he stays healthy, his curveball is absolutely nauseating. Here's hoping the Twins extention/buyout of his contract pays off. The Somehow Already Decimated Bullpen There's some names in here, and the biggest one, Jhoan Duran, is starting the season on the IL, along with Caleb "Retired to Coach College Ball then Unretired" Thielbar. However, Brock Stewart, Griffin Jax, Kody Funderburk, Cole Sands, and Jorge Alcala are all names I recognize and don't immediately dread hearing. No one knows how the bullpen will shake out, but last year it was extremely good, and Duran is, well. His intro is up there with Rivera and Ruiz. When he's healthy, he's the best guy on the team. Probable Minor League Role-players Fielders Jose Miranda, Trevor Larnach, Emmanual Rodriguez, Brooks Lee, Yunior Severino, Austin Martin The first three have some MLB time, but Lee, Severino, and Martin do not. Lee could have very well broke camp on the MLB team, but will likely be spending a lot of time in AAA due to the infield mostly being set. He was the 8th overall pick in 2022, so he's basically going to need seasoning and that's about it. He's just waiting for an opportunity. Severino is likely a corner infielder and may see time at either. Martin is a utility guy through-and-through, with great contact and not much else. A bog standard Twins Org Guy that will provide depth. Pitchers David Festa, Matt Canterino, Simeon Woods Richardson Canterino hasn't played above AA, Festa only has 3 games at AAA, and Woods Richardson has played in two games at the MLB level. The Twins pitching situation is grim, folks. Absolute Question Marks Jovani Moran and Randy Dobnak are both technically part of the org? Jair Camargo is on the 40-man, and will probably remain at AAA so long as neither Jeffers nor Vasquez are hit by a train. Josh Winder's loving SHOULDER BLADE is broken?? Amazing Baseball Names in the org: Dalton Shuffield, Jake Rucker, Ernie Yake And Just Now I Find Royce Lewis Hit A Dinger and Then Limped Out of the Game I'm Gonna Puke rickiep00h fucked around with this message at 22:38 on Mar 28, 2024 |
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Mar 28, 2024 22:24
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BrigadierSensible posted:Are there any MLB teams that have any players from the West Indies? The West Indies have a shitload of players if we're talking Greater Antilles. Cuba, the Dominican, and Puerto Rico are awash in baseball players. Lesser Antilles and outer islands of North and South America are less common, but most "Dutch" players are actually from Curaçao. Unfortunately no players seem to be directly from Trinidad and(/or) Tobago.
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Mar 31, 2024 14:25
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