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2021 Minor League Thread

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Dylan Crews is absolutely going to crush at LSU.

This dude is such a fun player, he’s not even eligible until 2023, but he could be a national name by then given how much hype he’s getting now.


College baseball needs stars, and guys like this and Kumar Rocker/Jack Leiter at Vandy are two others.

Would anyone participate in/read an MLB Draft / College Baseball thread?
there are quite a few forum posters from the previous site that participated often in the MLB draft and prospect watch threads.. quite a few indeed...
 
The twins bad luck (Lewis' injury) could open a spot for Jackie Bradley Jr as a FA signing even as late as this week.. Behind Buxton..the twins have nothing that comes close to resembling a center fielder..

The twins may be able to acquire a DeShields or other defense first cf'er that could find their way to the waiver wire too.. lots of options.. none all that great.. unless the twins want to spend... For a contending team.. that could be their best path to completing their team..

We'll see..
Even before the injury, Royce Lewis was no closer to playing for the Twins this year than Will Benson was for the Indians. Lewis's prospect pedigree has almost entirely been based on insane physical tools and off the charts athleticism. And yet...he's not a natural shortstop, lacking the fluid footwork of somebody with infield instincts, and his 2019 hitting--.236/.290/.371/.661 in A ball--was so unsettling that it had many scouts that heralded him slinking out the back door. Now facing two full years of non-development, the chances of Lewis ever being a big deal at the major league level have dimmed further. Not that the Twins don't have plenty of other exciting prospects, it's just that Lewis is no longer the crown jewel in that system.
 
I dont think the loss of Lewis is a big deal for the Twins this year.

Minny has been using Jake Cave as the backup in CF for years. And they brought in Keon Broxton as a NRI.

I really doubt the plan was to put Lewis on the 40 man and burn up an option to play a few games in CF.
 
More context:
 
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I'm wondering how much of the alternate site & limited extra player groups will be made up from the NRI players.

Ryan Lavarnway/ Beau Taylor/ Mike Freeman/ Billy Hamilton/ Ben Gamel make sense as taxi alternatives.
Pitchers like Bryan Shaw/ DJ Johnson/ Blake Parker/ Heath Hembree make sense as taxi alternatives.
 
I'm wondering how much of the alternate site & limited extra player groups will be made up from the NRI players.

Ryan Lavarnway/ Beau Taylor/ Mike Freeman/ Billy Hamilton/ Ben Gamel make sense as taxi alternatives.
Pitchers like Bryan Shaw/ DJ Johnson/ Blake Parker/ Heath Hembree make sense as taxi alternatives.

I don’t think you can carry NRI into the regular season, they’d have to be rostered by that point.
 
I don’t think you can carry NRI into the regular season, they’d have to be rostered by that point.
Players on the travel taxi & at the alt site last season did not have to be on the either roster.... until being called up/ active for usage in the MLB..
That was what I was referring too.

You don't start a game on the taxi squad & get put into the game in the 6th or 7th inning...
But you can be activated between games (which would require a roster move)..
 
I'm wondering how much of the alternate site & limited extra player groups will be made up from the NRI players.

Ryan Lavarnway/ Beau Taylor/ Mike Freeman/ Billy Hamilton/ Ben Gamel make sense as taxi alternatives.
Pitchers like Bryan Shaw/ DJ Johnson/ Blake Parker/ Heath Hembree make sense as taxi alternatives.

My guess is if we have a taxi squad until the AAA season starts, we will likely go with all the older players with some MLB experience. (I think there will be some type of taxi squad at least until the minor league season starts. Not sure how big, but at least 5 is likely). Young guys who dont make the roster likely will go to the minor league camp which I feel with the delay, that all minor league teams will start at the same time.

I don't think the MLB union would be against a taxi squad/alt site made from NRI type of guys since they will be earning minimum pay (at least) for each day on it, so if some extra players get paid then it's all good. Also they could always set it up that if a player gets covid they can remove him (with pay) from the roster until healthy. I don't know what all the little rules will be though for this season.
 
So will minors start at beginning of May when most 20 year olds will/may just be eligible for shots? Right now it is 60. By end of March it will maybe 50. May get to 35 by end of April. So 50/50, they need another delay unless they jump line in some states (with bad optics).

Taxi squad is still important even after minor league starts. If they are playing in Central, you can rush a AA/AAA player to your away game in a few hours. But, how long will it take to get a player from Columbus to even Minneapolis if testing is done at 10-12 am and game is at 7 pm? Worse if game is in Seattle or Tampa.

I would think Taxi squad is like last year. NRI guys are best fit (let AAA guys play simulated games in April at LC). Yet, like NRI invites, their contracts will need to be honored for opt outs if not on ML rosters. Also, what to do with Hambrees who have $1+ mill salaries if on ML Need to be rewritten because they won’t want to pay that much for a short COVID call up need. Also Chang/Zimmer maybe good options as well (if not cut). Prospects at end of their rope and no need for further Alt Site training.
 
If anyone has a subscription to The Athletic, I encourage you to give this article a read..

https://theathletic.com/2426538/202...-mlb-details-changes-for-minor-league-season/

There are a few more wrinkles/ details in the Alt site process & who can be called up in April (if needed)..
Agree -- a number of interesting items in article.

As to the Taxi Squad:
In 2020, teams were allowed to have a three-player “taxi squad” to accompany the MLB team on the road in case of injury or a player entering COVID-19 protocol. In 2021, the taxi squad will be expanded to five players — one of which must be a catcher.

Taxi squad players are not active on the MLB 26-man roster; they are allowed to participate in team workouts but cannot be in uniform or in the dugout during games. (The taxi squad catcher can serve as a bullpen catcher during road games, however.) These players do not accrue major-league service time but will receive a $110 per diem.


It is still unclear to me as to the roster status of these Taxi Squad players,...anyone with insight there? They would certainly need to be added to the 40 once activated, but not sure how they are classified previously.
 
Here is the MLB Pipeline list. Didn't notice too much (a few changes here or there from end of last year). Lavastida did make 29. And, they flipped McK and Freeman as #2/#3.


Surprised, they didn't make a few late movements especially Hentges as #27. Clase is #17 and Hentges has upside as starter. Gabriel Rodriquez dropped from 11 to 15 along w Angel Martinez. Lenny T was big mover up #29 to #12.
 

Great sign, looking forward to seeing him this year.

Would love it if they bring him over to the Arizona League later this year if he performs well enough in DSL, this was a pretty good sized signing for them.
He has Damien Dotson legs. I see the importance of baseball pants.
 

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