Twinkie Town 2 hours ago
Twinkie Town Prospect Vote 2019: Round 28
Everybody loves Willians Everyone’s favorite utility player Willians Astudillo wins round 27 handily. We will be excited to see if he can carry his minor league success to a full major league season. 2019 Twinkie Town Community Prospect Vote Results Royce Lewis 52% (Kirilloff 44%, Graterol 4%) Alex Kirilloff 90% (Graterol 4%, 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%,...
Minneapolis Star-Tribune Mar 20, 2019
Nelson Cruz has a glove; Willians Astudillo behind the plate as Twins face Pirates
The Twins play one more game before their scheduled off day as Michael Pineda takes the mound for his fifth appearance of spring training
Minneapolis Star-Tribune Mar 9, 2019
The Astudillo Project: Willians Astudillo's unique makeup intrigues Twins and fans alike
Utility player's unique makeup intrigues Twins and fans alike.
Minneapolis Star-Tribune Mar 5, 2019
Twins day at camp: Marwin Gonzalez taking over third base seems likely
With Miguel Sano sidelined until at least May, Marwin Gonzalez becomes Rocco Baldelli's primary option at third base, though Ehire Adrianza and even Willians Astudillo could see time there.
Twinkie Town Mar 5, 2019
The Twins should trade Jason Castro
Why? Because Astudillo, obviously The Twins should trade Jason Castro. Reading Cole’s article from the other day, it became abundantly clear to me that Castro is nothing but a stop-gap behind the plate. He’s 31 years old, his best years are behind him, and he had knee surgery last year. His bat has never been stellar and his defense is likely declining. The young pitchers spent last year building a rapport with Mitch Garver and Willians Astudillo, who both have plenty of promising upside. For some A+ advanced statistical analysis of why we could get by just fine (and maybe be better...
Twinkie Town Mar 4, 2019
Willians Astudillo should be Twins Opening Day catcher
A statistical look at why the eccentric catcher should be Minnesota’s primary backstop No one can deny that Willians Astudillo made a big time impression with the Twins in 2018 despite accruing just 93 at-bats. Astudillo slashed .355/.371.516 with a wOBA of .379 (between excellent and great on FanGraphs’ scale) and a wrc+ of 139 last year in 27 games. Obviously this level of success is not likely sustainable over a full or even half of a season of Major League Baseball, but could Astudillo still be a better option than Jason Castro or Mitch Garver as the Twins’ starting backstop? The...
Twinkie Town Feb 23, 2019
Willians Astudillo and the backup catcher question
Can Willians Astudillo make the opening day roster? The Marwin Gonzalez signing was a pretty dang good move in a vacuum. However nothing happens in a vacuum, (except literally everything if you zoom out far enough) and his inclusion means someone else’s exclusion. That exclusion has a pretty good chance of being utilityman/catcher and international sex icon, Willians Astudillo. Here’s some cursory roster crunching for you: Erasing the (probable) 13 pitchers and the starting lineup we have an entire 3 spots left. New friend Marwin seems a lock for the utility infielder slot, and carrying...
