810 WHB had me thinking Craig Kimbrel Jersey , and, maybe he’s not wrong."When I first saw this tweet from Kevin Kietzman I just brushed it off. Opinions of our local radio personalities tend to burn some pretty hot trails and I sort of dismissed this tweet without thinking much of it. But, then I, ya know, started thinking about it. Here was a quick search I did over at FanGraphs to get a quick assessment of what we were dealing with:Here’s a more organized, and more detailed comparison position by position from the 2015 team and the 2019 team. For the 2019 team, we’ll strictly be looking at the pace for which the player is on (based on 150 games played) given his start to 2019 (this may look a bit different than my tweet above). We’ll tie in obvious nuances later.First Base:2019 - Ryan O’Hearn: 22 HR, 118 wRC+, 2.1 fWAR2015 - Eric Hosmer: 18 HR, 124 wRC+, 3.5 fWARSecond Base:2019 - Chris Owings: 10 HR, 33 wRC+, -1.1 fWAR2015 - Ben Zobrist: 13 HR, 122 wRC+, 3 fWARShortstop:2019 - Adalberto Mondesi: 20 HR, 130 wRC+, 6 fWAR2015 - Alcides Escobar: 3 HR, 66 wRC+, 1.5 fWARThird Base: 2019 - Hunter Dozier: 40 HR, 127 wRC+, 4.6 fWAR2015 - Mike Moustakas: 22 HR, 123 wRC+, 3.8 fWARCatcher:2019 - Martin Maldonado (based on 130 G): 0 HR, 54 wRC+, 1.08 fWAR (3.25 bWAR)2015 - Salvador Perez: 21 HR, 87 wRC+, 0.9 fWAR (2.2 bWAR)Left Field:2019 - Alex Gordon: 32 HR, 191 wRC+, 11.8 fWAR2015 - Alex Gordon (104 G): 13 HR (19 HR pace), 122 wRC+, 2.7 fWAR (3.9 fWAR pace)Center Field:2019 - Billy Hamilton: 0 HR, 44 wRC+, -2.1 fWAR2015 - Lorenzo Cain: 16 HR, 128 wRC+, 6.1 fWARRight Field:2019 - Whit Merrifield: 20 HR, 134 wRC+, 5 fWAR2015 - Alex Rios: 4 HR Steven Wright Jersey , 72 wRC+, -0.2 fWARDesignated Hitter:2019 - Jorge Soler: 40 HR, 104 wRC+, 0 fWAR2015 - Kendrys Morales: 22 HR, 131 wRC+, 2.1 fWARTotals:2019 pace: 187 HR, 103.9 wRC+, 27.38 fWAR2015: 138 HR, 108.3 wRC+, 23.4 fWARSo, let’s start out with some perhaps obvious caveats to the data above.Alex Gordon is not going to post 10 fWAR this season. Nor will he be anywhere near as good offensively as he’s been so far. That’s not to say that I don’t think he’ll continue to be good, but he’s on an MVP pace right now and I don’t think any of us expect Gordo to be an MVP. 20 HR? 130 wRC+? 4.5 fWAR? Hell yeah. But this has been a ridiculous pace thus far.Adalberto Mondesi may very well post 6 fWAR this season, but that would be an extremely favorable outcome and not what I just expect to happen. I would not be shocked, nor do I think we should assume that he keeps this pace.Billy Hamilton and Chris Owings will not combine for -3 fWAR. The Royals won’t allow them to play that long, contrary to popular belief. I’d expect these two to be worth nothing positive, but certainly not negative three wins either.I love Salvador Perez, and I think he’s been one of the best defensive catchers for some time. The reason I put the catcher’s bWARs up there as well was to offer some variety in value. There’s a reason these WAR calculations are free to the public, and they should be taken with a grain of salt. I am not a fan of using WAR to judge a catcher. HOWEVER. Martin Maldonado is off to a blazing start defensively. He’s been every bit as good as I’ve seen Salvy in the past. His offense leaves much to be desired, but his defense has been Gold Glove level early on. Depending on your way of valuing catchers, there could be an argument here, but I’m going to tip my hat to Salvy based on his known clubhouse presence and legitimate power threat behind the plate.To begin 2019, Kevin Kietzman may not be wrong in his evaluation of this group of position players. Over the course of 15 games, they’re projecting to be better than the 2015 World Championship group. The Kansas City Royals have scored the fourth most runs in the American League to begin 2019. They are on a tear and they’ve been fun to watch. Do we really expect them to have the fourth most runs at season’s end, though? In 2015, the Royals scored the sixth most runs in the American League. To expect that kind of pace from this current crop seems like lofty expectations. To say that this current group of position players is better than the crop from 2015 seems short-sighted. To expect this kind of production over a full 162-game schedule seems unfair. However, in Kietzman’s defense, he may be on to something in the sense that this current crop of position players has looked really, really promising early on. If we could potentially add Nicky Lopez to this group later on in the season, they have a chance to be really good.But let’s also be sure to not get too caught up in unreasonable expectations. A lot of this offense so far has centered around some robust performances by Alex Gordon, Adalberto Mondesi, and Hunter Dozier. If/when those three begin to regress, I’m not sure what this offense will look like. It’s been really fun to begin the season, but expectations of a top five American League offense ought to be tempered just a bit as well. Last chance to make your voice heard!"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Twinkie Town Farm ReportSatire, Irreverence, & Other HumorGame RecapsTwinkie Town Community Prospect Vote 2019: Final RoundNew,22commentsLast chance to make your voice heard!EDTShareTweetShareShareTwinkie Town Community Prospect Vote 2019: Final RoundWho will be the last to join Royce Lewis this year on the Twinkie Town Prospect List?Kim Klement-USA TODAY SportsLandon Leach eked out the win in round 29. We look forward to seeing him rise up this list in future years.2019 Twinkie Town Community Prospect Vote ResultsRoyce Lewis 52% (Kirilloff 44%, Graterol 4%)Alex Kirilloff 90% (Graterol 4% http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-dustin-pedroia-jersey , Gordon 4%, Larnach 2%)Brusdar Graterol 56% (Gordon 19%, Larnach 12%, Thorpe 8%, Gonsalves 5%)Trevor Larnach 42% (Thorpe 25%, Gordon 21%, Gonsalves 12%)Lewis Thorpe 31% (Gordon 30%, Rooker 14%, Javier 13%, Gonsalves 11%)Nick Gordon 39% (Rooker 20%, Gonsalves 18%, Javier 17%, Alcala 5%)Stephen Gonsalves 35% (Rooker 28%, Javier 28%, Alcala 5%, Baddoo 4%)Brent Rooker 43% (Javier 41%, Baddoo 6%, Enlow 6%, Alcala 4%)Wander Javier 70% (Baddoo 12%, Enlow 7%, Alcala 7%, Duran 4%)Jorge Alcala 32% (Baddoo 28%, Enlow 23%, Duran 14%, Celestino 3%)Jhoan Duran 39% (Enlow 31%, Baddoo 25%, Severino 3%, Celestino 2%)Zack Littell 56% (Enlow 28%, Baddoo 11%, Severino 2%, Celestino 2%)Blayne Enlow 50% (Baddoo 33%, Balazovic 10%, Severino 4%, Celestino 3%)Akil Baddoo 54% (Balazovic 13%, Jeffers 12%, Rortvedt 11%, Severino 8% Jackie Bradley Jr Jersey , Celestino 4%)Ryan Jeffers 34% (Balazovic 31%, Severino 12%, Rortvedt 12%, Celestino 10%)Jordan Balazovic 63% (Rortvedt 13%, Severino 11%, Celestino 10%, Urbina 3%)Ben Rortvedt 33% (Severino 23%, Celestino 20%, Wells 17%, Urbina 6%)Gilberto Celestino 36% (Severino 30%, Miranda 19%, Wells 11%, Urbina 4%)LaMonte Wade 31% (Severino 30%, Miranda 22%, Wells 11%, Urbina 6%)Kohl Stewart 30% (Severino 28%, Wells 21%, Miranda 16%, Urbina 6%)Yunior Severino 40% (Miranda 21%, Arraez 15%, Wells 14%, Urbina 9%)Jose Miranda 32% (Vasquez 31%, Urbina 14%, Wells 12%, Arraez 10%)Luke Raley 33% (Vasquez 22%, Urbina 17%, Arraez 14%, Wells 13%)Andrew Vasquez 32% (Urbina 24%, Wells 22%, Arraez 15%, Maciel 6%)Tyler Wells 29% (Urbina 27%, Arraez 26%, Leach 14%, Maciel 4%)Misael Urbina 35% (Arraez 30%, Leach 18%, Jax 12%, Maciel 5%)Willians Astudillo 65% (Arraez 19% Roger Clemens Jersey , Leach 10%, Jax 4%, Maciel 3%)Luis Arraez 45% (Leach 29%, Moran 15%, Jax 7%, Maciel 4%)Landon Leach 28% (Helman 25%, Maciel 18%, Moran 17%, Jax 11%)Our last addition is a very young pitcher who has drawn some attention in the foreign rookie leagues.Gabriel Maciel, OF2019 Age: 202018 High Level: Cedar Rapids (A)Gabriel Maciel grew up playing soccer in Londrina, Brazil like most children in his country. He was introduced to the game of baseball at age 9 by Japanese immigrants and switched sports thereafter. He was part of the 18-under World Cup team for Brazil and was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the summer of 2016. His athletic skills were far ahead of his baseball skills at the time due to his late start with the game and playing opportunities in a country where baseball is not the most popular sport. In fact, Maciel admitted he had never been taught to bunt or how to steal bases until he got to the United States. The Diamondbacks sent him to their rookie league team in Arizona where he hit .289/.341/.309 and then pushed him to their Pioneer League team in Missoula, Montana to end the season. In 2017 he returned to the Osprey, hit .323/.389/.438 and was named a Pioneer League All-Star. He received a promotion to Single-A Kane County in 2018 where he hit .287/.362/.333 before the Diamondbacks traded him to the Twins as part of the Eduardo Escobar deal. The Twins sent him to Cedar Rapids after the trade and he finished the season hitting .263/.302/.381 in 30 games. Maciel’s best tool is his speed and the switch-hitter has displayed good contact skills in his short career so far. He has shown very little power and he continues to need a lot of development in order to become a major leaguer.Griffin Jax, P2019 Age: 242018 High Level: Fort Myers (A+)The Twins selected Griffin Jax in the third round of the 2016 MLB draft from the Air Force Academy. He was named co-pitcher of the year for the Mountain West conference in his junior year. When Jax was drafted the Twins and Jax thought there was a chance that his military commitment could be served in the Air Force reserves and Jax could pitch for the Twins simultaneously. Unfortunately for the Twins, the military policy at that time required Jax to serve two years in active duty before he could start his athletic career. Jax had been able to pitch only 39-2/3 innings while on leave up until 2018 and showed a 90-93 MPH fastball, a decent slider and a changeup while avoiding walks (1.8 BB/9). In a positive turn for Jax, baseball was added to the 2020 Olympics. This allowed Jax to get a world class athlete exemption in April and pitch for Fort Myers in 2018. He put up unspectacular numbers for the Miracle last summer (6.8K/9, 1.5 BB/9, 4.52 RA9, 87.2IP) but was sent to the Arizona Fall League to help make up for lost time. His performance in the fall wasn’t much better but it allowed him to throw over 100 innings in 2018. No pitcher from the Air Force Academy has ever made the big leagues so I’m sure if Jax is successful he will have a large cheering section. In the meantime we will see if he can make the 2020 Olympic baseball team.Jovani Moran, P2019 Age: 222018 High Level: Fort Myers (A+)In the seventh round of the 2015 MLB draft the Twins picked lefty Jovani Moran from the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico. He pitched 6 games for the Gulf Coast Twins that summer, then had surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow that kept him out all of 2016. The Twins sent him to Elizabethton in 2017 and Moran was dominant out of the bullpen. He gave up only 2 runs in 24-2/3 innings while striking out 45 batters. Moran started the 2018 season in Cedar Rapids and pitched well (44-1/3 IP, 14.2 K/9, 5.5 BB/9, 2.23 RA9) despite starting the season with trouble finding the strike zone. He got his walks under control and earned a mid-season promotion to Fort Myers where he built on his success (31-2/3 IP, 10.5 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 2.84 RA9). As a skinny lefty with swing-and-miss stuff his future is almost certainly in the bullpen but he showed he could handle multiple-inning outings last summer (37 G 76 IP) and get out both right-handed (.487 OPS against) and left-handed (.596 OPS against) batters. He should spend some time in Double-A Pensacola this summer and could move quickly if he continues to strike batters out.Michael Helman, 2B2019 Age: 232018 High Level: Cedar Rapids (A)Michael Helman was the Twins 11th round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft from Texas A&M. Being overlooked is not a new phenomenon for Helman. After starring all over the diamond for Pius X High School in Lincoln, Nebraska (including two state championships and once runner-up) he was not recruited by big colleges and instead attended Hutchinson Community College. As a Blue Dragon he starred again and was named National Junior College Athletic Association player of the year. Despite this success he was overlooked in the draft and surprisingly not recruited by his hometown Nebraska team but continued his baseball journey with the Aggies. In his one season at Texas A&M he earned All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Tournament team recognition while starting at second base. This performance was finally good enough to get him drafted but not until the 334th pick. The Twins spent a little extra ($220,000) to get Helman to forgo his senior year but he certainly did not get the same media attention as higher picks like Larnach and Jeffers. The Twins sent him to Elizabethton to adjust to hitting with a wood bat. In 12 games he hit .375/.435/.575 which showed he had adjusted just fine. The Twins promoted him to Cedar Rapids for the remainder of the season where he kept on hitting ending up with a .355/.398/.486 line in 27 games at that level. Expect him to move up to Fort Myers in 2019. If he keeps on producing at the plate he will not be overlooked much longer.Anthony Escobar, P2019 Age: 182018 High Level: DSL Twins (Rookie)Anthony Escobar was signed as an international free agent from Caracas, Venezuela. He pitched for the Dominican Summer League Twins in 2018 and was one of the league leaders in ERA. He had an 8.3 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and 2.20 RA/9 in 57-1/3 innings pitched as a 17 year old. Other than his Baseball Reference page, I can’t find any information at all about Escobar. Players who do well at a young age are usually good prospects. Let’s hope Escobar continues his success in a stateside rookie league this summer.