OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - We're Gonna Win, Twins: A Minnesotan Dynasty (1961-)

bpbrooksy · 01-04-2020, 12:41 PM

End of Spring Training

April 9, 1961

Before we get into the day-to-day of running this ballclub, this is a great opportunity for a look into the whole organization -- how we're looking at the big-league level, who's coming up soon, and what the general sense of our talent level is.

With that, here's a look at our inaugural Opening Day Roster. (Next time around, we'll have a greater sense of direction, and it will be worthwhile to cover the spring training battles/cuts.)

All Stats from 1960

CATCHER

Earl Battey (.270/.346/.427, 15 HR, 111 OPS+, 3.0 WAR)
Hal Naragon (.207/.275/.228, 0 HR, 40 OPS+, -0.3 WAR)

Battey is only 26, but almost qualifies as a veteran after debuting in 1955 with the White Sox. He's coming off his first-ever Gold Glove win, while enjoying his best offensive season yet. This is mostly due to his becoming a full-time catcher; prior to last year, he'd never made more than 72 starts.

Behind him, Naragon is your prototypical light-hitting backup option. I can't foresee myself ever starting him against lefties. I can foresee him boarding the next train of Minnesota as soon as somebody on the farm demonstrates a lick of talent.

INFIELD

1B/3B/LF Harmon Killebrew (.276/.375/.534, 31 HR, 147 wRC+, 4.5 WAR)
1B Don Mincher (.241/.330/.392, 2 HR, 99 wRC+, 0.1 WAR)
2B/3B Billy Gardner (.257/.313/.363, 9 HR, 86 wRC+, 1.3 WAR)
2B/3B/SS Bob Meisner, AAA (.211/.324/.263, 0 HR, 0.2 WAR)
3B/2B Reno Bertoia (.263/.313/.359, 4 HR, 80 wRC+, 0.5 WAR)
3B/1B/CF/RF Joseph Christian, AAA (.268/.340/.413, 8 HR, 1.0 WAR)
SS/2B Billy Consolo (.207/.310/.305, 3 HR, 71 wRC+, 0.2 WAR)
SS Zoilo Versalles (.133/.170/.267, 0 HR, 14 wRC+, -0.3 WAR)

Right away, the Killer jumps out as the anchor of the infield. The well-built slugger profiles at first base, but will be seeing playing time at third and left this season. Sticking with that side of the infield, Oriole veteran Billy Gardner will be out at second; he's never been one for the bat, but is one of those scrappy, dependable types who can eat up a full season's worth of ballgames without hesitation. Both Killebrew and Gardner have a platoon man behind them; Meisner, the rookie, will get his fair share of looks, while Mincher projects to get a lot of starts at first as Harmon roves around the diamond.

There's not much else to write home about here. Versalles is probably the most interesting guy here, an incredibly green 21-year-old Cuban shortstop with good minor-league numbers and almost no major-league track record. Christian is an old rookie at 29, but earned his spot after a good 1960 in the minors.

OUTFIELD

LF Jim Lemon (.269/.354/.508, 38 HR, 130 wRC+, 3.9 WAR)
CF Lenny Green (.294.383/.430, 5 HR, 120 wRC+, 2.6 WAR)
LF/CF Everette Joyner, AA (.307/.396/.461, 17 HR, 3.4 WAR)
RF Bob Allison (.251/.367/.413, 15 HR, 115 wRC+, 2.5 WAR)

The bulk of our offense resides on the outfield grass. Lemon is the middle-of-the-order complement to Killebrew; he'll likely do the cleanup hitting and give Harmon some much-needed protection in the order. Green is the stolen base threat, with 21 bags from last season, the most of anybody on the roster. Allison is one of the most exciting faces here -- two seasons removed from a Rookie of the Year win, he's just 26 and can hang with the big boppers without striking out all over the place.

Joyner is 33 and has never made the show. That will change after a great all-around showing in Double-A last season, where his leadership and hard work made as many headlines as his solid offensive campaign did. He'll be a lefty option off the bench, spelling all three outfielders as needed.

ROTATION

RHP Camilo Pascual (12-8, 3.03 ERA, 8.5 K/9, 126 ERA+, 4.4 WAR)
RHP Pedro Ramos (11-18, 3.45 ERA, 5.3 K/9, 111 ERA+, 4.2 WAR)
LHP Jack Kralick (8-6, 3.04 ERA, 4.2 K/9, 126 ERA+, 2.1 WAR)
RHP Don Lee (8-7, 3.44 ERA, 4.8 K/9, 111 ERA+, 1.4 WAR)
LHP Jim Kaat (1-5, 5.58 ERA, 4.5 K/9, 68 ERA+, -0.6 WAR)

The success of our inaugural season will likely fall on the backs of the starting pitching. With only a couple proven offensive weapons, it will be up to this rotation to repeat their performances from last year. All five were with the franchise in 1960, all five are young guys in/entering their prime, and all five can carry this team to some wins.

Pascual and Ramos are the 1-2 punch here. Pascual has the edge with two straight All-Star selections and the only strikeout stuff on the entire team. I'm expecting Kralick to take a step forward if he can stay healthy. Don Lee is traditional back-of-the-rotation fodder, and hopefully can get bumped down to #5 is Jim Kaat starts improving. Kaat is still raw, but there's a lot to be excited about there.

BULLPEN

LR Sonny Dixon, AA (3-1, 2.52 ERA, 3.4 K/9, 159 ERA+, 1.8 WAR)
MR Jack Taylor, A (11-14, 3.50 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 114 ERA+, 3.2 WAR)
MR Wally Seward, AA (6-8, 5.14 ERA, 4.9 K/9, 78 ERA+, 1.4 WAR)
MR Jackie Collum, AA (6-8, 4.04 ERA, 3.9 K/9, 99 ERA+, 1.3 WAR)
SET Chuck Stobbs (12-7, 3.32 ERA, 5.4 K/9, 115 ERA+, 1.2 WAR)
STOP Ray Moore (4-3, 13 SV, 3.54 ERA, 3.3 K/9, 108 ERA+, -0.6 WAR)

This is probably the clearest weak spot of the team. The guys with minor-league numbers aren't young phenoms, they're a group of folks in their 30's who have bounced around various levels for the last decade or so. Almost by default, then, Stobbs and Moore are manning the back end, which isn't exactly the hottest spot for either of them. If the Twins decide to make it interesting this year, addressing the relief may be one of our first goals.

01-04-2020, 12:41 PM	#5
bpbrooksy Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 99	End of Spring Training April 9, 1961 Before we get into the day-to-day of running this ballclub, this is a great opportunity for a look into the whole organization -- how we're looking at the big-league level, who's coming up soon, and what the general sense of our talent level is. With that, here's a look at our inaugural Opening Day Roster. (Next time around, we'll have a greater sense of direction, and it will be worthwhile to cover the spring training battles/cuts.) All Stats from 1960 CATCHER Earl Battey (.270/.346/.427, 15 HR, 111 OPS+, 3.0 WAR) Hal Naragon (.207/.275/.228, 0 HR, 40 OPS+, -0.3 WAR) Battey is only 26, but almost qualifies as a veteran after debuting in 1955 with the White Sox. He's coming off his first-ever Gold Glove win, while enjoying his best offensive season yet. This is mostly due to his becoming a full-time catcher; prior to last year, he'd never made more than 72 starts. Behind him, Naragon is your prototypical light-hitting backup option. I can't foresee myself ever starting him against lefties. I can foresee him boarding the next train of Minnesota as soon as somebody on the farm demonstrates a lick of talent. INFIELD 1B/3B/LF Harmon Killebrew (.276/.375/.534, 31 HR, 147 wRC+, 4.5 WAR) 1B Don Mincher (.241/.330/.392, 2 HR, 99 wRC+, 0.1 WAR) 2B/3B Billy Gardner (.257/.313/.363, 9 HR, 86 wRC+, 1.3 WAR) 2B/3B/SS Bob Meisner, AAA (.211/.324/.263, 0 HR, 0.2 WAR) 3B/2B Reno Bertoia (.263/.313/.359, 4 HR, 80 wRC+, 0.5 WAR) 3B/1B/CF/RF Joseph Christian, AAA (.268/.340/.413, 8 HR, 1.0 WAR) SS/2B Billy Consolo (.207/.310/.305, 3 HR, 71 wRC+, 0.2 WAR) SS Zoilo Versalles (.133/.170/.267, 0 HR, 14 wRC+, -0.3 WAR) Right away, the Killer jumps out as the anchor of the infield. The well-built slugger profiles at first base, but will be seeing playing time at third and left this season. Sticking with that side of the infield, Oriole veteran Billy Gardner will be out at second; he's never been one for the bat, but is one of those scrappy, dependable types who can eat up a full season's worth of ballgames without hesitation. Both Killebrew and Gardner have a platoon man behind them; Meisner, the rookie, will get his fair share of looks, while Mincher projects to get a lot of starts at first as Harmon roves around the diamond. There's not much else to write home about here. Versalles is probably the most interesting guy here, an incredibly green 21-year-old Cuban shortstop with good minor-league numbers and almost no major-league track record. Christian is an old rookie at 29, but earned his spot after a good 1960 in the minors. OUTFIELD LF Jim Lemon (.269/.354/.508, 38 HR, 130 wRC+, 3.9 WAR) CF Lenny Green (.294.383/.430, 5 HR, 120 wRC+, 2.6 WAR) LF/CF Everette Joyner, AA (.307/.396/.461, 17 HR, 3.4 WAR) RF Bob Allison (.251/.367/.413, 15 HR, 115 wRC+, 2.5 WAR) The bulk of our offense resides on the outfield grass. Lemon is the middle-of-the-order complement to Killebrew; he'll likely do the cleanup hitting and give Harmon some much-needed protection in the order. Green is the stolen base threat, with 21 bags from last season, the most of anybody on the roster. Allison is one of the most exciting faces here -- two seasons removed from a Rookie of the Year win, he's just 26 and can hang with the big boppers without striking out all over the place. Joyner is 33 and has never made the show. That will change after a great all-around showing in Double-A last season, where his leadership and hard work made as many headlines as his solid offensive campaign did. He'll be a lefty option off the bench, spelling all three outfielders as needed. ROTATION RHP Camilo Pascual (12-8, 3.03 ERA, 8.5 K/9, 126 ERA+, 4.4 WAR) RHP Pedro Ramos (11-18, 3.45 ERA, 5.3 K/9, 111 ERA+, 4.2 WAR) LHP Jack Kralick (8-6, 3.04 ERA, 4.2 K/9, 126 ERA+, 2.1 WAR) RHP Don Lee (8-7, 3.44 ERA, 4.8 K/9, 111 ERA+, 1.4 WAR) LHP Jim Kaat (1-5, 5.58 ERA, 4.5 K/9, 68 ERA+, -0.6 WAR) The success of our inaugural season will likely fall on the backs of the starting pitching. With only a couple proven offensive weapons, it will be up to this rotation to repeat their performances from last year. All five were with the franchise in 1960, all five are young guys in/entering their prime, and all five can carry this team to some wins. Pascual and Ramos are the 1-2 punch here. Pascual has the edge with two straight All-Star selections and the only strikeout stuff on the entire team. I'm expecting Kralick to take a step forward if he can stay healthy. Don Lee is traditional back-of-the-rotation fodder, and hopefully can get bumped down to #5 is Jim Kaat starts improving. Kaat is still raw, but there's a lot to be excited about there. BULLPEN LR Sonny Dixon, AA (3-1, 2.52 ERA, 3.4 K/9, 159 ERA+, 1.8 WAR) MR Jack Taylor, A (11-14, 3.50 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 114 ERA+, 3.2 WAR) MR Wally Seward, AA (6-8, 5.14 ERA, 4.9 K/9, 78 ERA+, 1.4 WAR) MR Jackie Collum, AA (6-8, 4.04 ERA, 3.9 K/9, 99 ERA+, 1.3 WAR) SET Chuck Stobbs (12-7, 3.32 ERA, 5.4 K/9, 115 ERA+, 1.2 WAR) STOP Ray Moore (4-3, 13 SV, 3.54 ERA, 3.3 K/9, 108 ERA+, -0.6 WAR) This is probably the clearest weak spot of the team. The guys with minor-league numbers aren't young phenoms, they're a group of folks in their 30's who have bounced around various levels for the last decade or so. Almost by default, then, Stobbs and Moore are manning the back end, which isn't exactly the hottest spot for either of them. If the Twins decide to make it interesting this year, addressing the relief may be one of our first goals. Last edited by bpbrooksy; 04-23-2020 at 06:06 PM.