It has been an ugly year in Minnesota so far, as this team is in the race for the number one overall pick next season, and unfortunately they seem to be doing everything possible to bungle it up. The DFA of Arcia has really kind of irked me as he's the type of young talent I would think this team would be wanting to grow with, and to be honest this is probably the last straw from my end. I'm hoping for some serious organizational change given the total system failure that has been the 2016 Minnesota Twins. They looked so promising this spring. I figured we might see a few prospects traded off in order to fill holes if the team really progressed further, unfortunately regression means the team is stock piling prospects yet again.

The last few years I've tried to put together a top prospects list. It's a fun exercise and each of the last few years I've added to it, as I'm tracking more and more guys. I don't have a set of rules as to what constitutes a guy remaining a prospect or not. I try and balance upside with production, with higher levels meaning more. A lower ceiling guy in AAA who is getting results will tend to be a bit higher on my lists than on some, though at the end of the day, it's really just a gut feeling, as I haven't seen many of these guys play. I'm doing it a bit later after watching one of my higher rated prospects get traded with the hopes that the team adds a few more decent options by the 31st (note this line was written earlier in July; and sadly, I remain skeptical of that, but hopeful non-the-less).

Also of note, I tend to rate performance a bit higher. Perhaps that is scouting stat lines a bit, and generally there's something to be said about why that doesn't work, but if a guy is performing well in the high minors, he's going to get a boost. I'll admit that much of this is subjective, and it is certainly worth discussing as balancing ceiling with performance can be very difficult to do, but I'll bump a guy like Luis Arraez who is performing quite well in Cedar Rapids over Alex Kirilloff, who has done well at Elizabethon, but has virtually nothing to go on, as both have high ceilings and Arraez is doing what he does at a higher level.

Six players on my list from last year are no longer in consideration this year due to graduations or no longer with the team.

Graduated:

Miguel Sano 3B (#1 last year) - he was close last year, and while he hasn't exactly wowed the word in his Sophomore year, he still has been a decent bat. The RF thing, I hope, is put to bed permanently, though I'm not ready to see him as a full time DH just yet.

Byron Buxton CF (2) - This is a bit tougher as I'd have probably left him in AAA to start. We'd have had a stop gap CF, even if that was just a Ryan Sweeney type, but he'd have likely headed north to play center and Buxton would still be on my list. While Buxton has definitely been a better player this time around, I think he'd still have been better off spending more time in AAA, and who knows, that my happen yet. My biggest concern here is poor options management. He got put on the 40 man a season early, which I'm fine with, but as a matter of principle, you don't burn an option that same year. It's a colossally stupid thing to do in my opinion. It is one of the big reasons why Arcia is no longer a Minnesota Twin, and it is why Buxton has only one more option remaining going into 2017. Yeah, Buxton is not Arcia. Then again, Hicks wasn't Gomez either. That is a very poor argument to justify what is really nothing more than impatience. Just because there's a status there that says player X is a good prospect, I just don't think it's wise to burn them foolishly. That is something the Twins have done with Buxton, Berrios, and Arcia. In so doing, it forced them to make decisions far earlier than they needed to.

Max Kepler OF/1B (4) - I think it is clear at this point that Kepler will be in MN for the rest of the season, and given his play, he's likely earned a job in 2017 too. As such, I'm removing him from the list. He is also officially off most of the national publications now too as he has had too many major league at bats. Honestly, he's looked good. There is a lot to like. He strikes me as an .800ish OPS type guy while playing good defense at the corners. That's a pretty valuable commodity, and if the power spike turns out to be real, he could have quite a few seasons over .900 OPS.

Tyler Duffey SP (15) - Duffey was pleasant surprise last year, and while he hasn't been quite as good this year, he's still showing promise. I think he can be a pretty solid #3 (i.e. slightly above league average) and as a starting pitcher, that's a nice thing to have.

Taylor Rogers (18) - Rogers never really had a chance to be a starter, but as a LOOGY Rogers has been very effective in MN this year. He should be able to have a nice career in the pen, working potentially against lefties.

Not bad here. Three of the five guys listed were top 100 guys by many (or all) accounts depending on the guy.

Only one is underperforming, and a strong case can be made that he was promoted too soon. Duffey, who was never really on anyone's radar, could potentially be a pretty nice piece. While he won't be an ace, he's got mid-rotation potential and if he lives up to it can be traded for something nice when some of the younger pitchers are ready. Rogers is looking good out of the pen.

Traded/not in organization:

Chih-Wei Hu SP (9) - Traded for Jepsen. I apparently was a lot higher on him than the Twins. Then again, he was Tampa's futures game rep, so they apparently liked him too.

Josmil Pinto C (16) - For a team hurting for catching help, I'm surprised he was let go. Yeah, he's not much of a prospect anymore, and would never be good behind the dish defensively, but he could hit and seems to have recovered from his concussion. He's posting an OPS over .800 in the PCL as a 27 year old. That's not terribly impressive by PCL standards, but I'd have certainly given him another shot over some of the guys on the bottom of the 40 man, especially given the organizational needs behind the dish.

Mat Batts SP (26) - retired. Too bad, I liked him.

Now for the fun part. As bad as the season has been, the team still does have a nice collection of talent on hand. I don't think the Twins problem thus far is identifying talent. I do, however, thing they have an issue particularly with the transition of talent. Their pitchers seem to spend too long in the high minors and their hitters don't spend enough time there. None seem to get much of a shot in the majors, which is downright unfortunate. D-mac's study on that a couple of months ago was very enlightening, as such, I'll stick with that assumption. Hopefully we see some real organizational change in that area come this offseason.

1) Jose Berrios SP (3) - Another early add to the 40 man followed promptly by an option that we didn't need to spend. That's what you keep guys like Pat Dean around for if the trial was going to be that short. I don't have a problem adding him to the 40 man. I do have a problem giving him a grand total of 4 starts before sending him down. As bad as the team is, I'd have let Jose just run with it, even if that meant demoting Hughes to the pen earlier. Granted, he wasn't good (15 innings in 4 starts, and a 10.20 ERA will do that). Ranting aside, what to like is that he's 22 and destroying the high minors. Hopefully options won't come into play just yet, but he's got only 2 left now for 2017 and beyond. That said, he hasn't exactly been the usual Berrios this year. The big concern is the spike in his walk rate. He hasn't had a walk rate over 3 since his first year in Cedar Rapids at age 19. He was always noted for his command, and that has clearly failed him this year. Given his track record, I think that improves. His K rate is still down right sexy and even with the high number of walks his WHIP is pretty respectable being right around his minor league career rate. I still think he profiles as possible top of the order pitcher, but his most likely ceiling is a #2 at this point. That's a really good pitcher to have.

2) Tyler Jay (5) SP - The Twins were in an odd spot last year where they drafted with very little that was in the way of clear cut top tier talent. Jay had the upside in that he could be a #1 type pitcher, but he had a small problem of being a reliever in college. The Twins drafted him and turned him into a starter, and so far the results have been pretty good. He pitches in the mid 90s and at least in High A he was able to maintain that velocity well into the later innings. He kept his K rate up around 9 in A ball, and his walk rate was below 3. He just got promoted to AA, not bad for a 22 year old. I would expect him to spend all of 2017 in the minors, but he could potentially end up being an early 40 man add as I could see him forcing his way on to a major league roster. Shoulder problems, however, have crept up this season. That may be due to him being unused to this type of a workload or perhaps something worse. That will need to be followed closely.

3) Jorge Polanco (10) 2B/SS - I was pretty down on him last year, and I may have been wrong. I am not sure his defense is as good as one would like, but perhaps that has to do with my SSS viewing of it. When I saw him this spring he made a couple really bad plays on what should have been routine. That said, we tend to forget just how young he is, in large part because he's been with the organization for what seems like forever. He's 22, the same age as Tyler Jay. He hasn't had much major league experience to date, but he is out of options next season (though for some reason I keep thinking he could be one of those 4 year options guys). If I wanted to trash the CBA for the way options are setup, Polanco is a good example of why. No 23 year old kid should be in an out of options scenario (baring poor options management of course), but that is case with most international free agents who were signed at 16. Setting that aside, he's been respectable in an albeit very limited sample at the major league level (OPS north of .850) over three seasons. His minor league career has not been quite as good, but still respectable (OPS north of .750) and one could say that it was largely dragged down by a bad 2015. He's bounced back in a nice way in AAA this year keeping his OPS over .800 so far into the season. That's pretty good for a middle infielder. He's not Dozier, and I don't know if he'll ever be quite as good as Dozier (though I'd say it is possible), but he should be an above average 2B both offensively and defensively, making it relatively easy to trade Dozier off for some higher ceiling talent.

4) Nick Gordon (11) SS - Nick got off to a pretty nice start and has had a pretty respectable season to date. At 20, he's quite young for high A, and he's posting a pretty respectable offensive OPS in a league known for suppressing power. He does have a decent amount of doubles at this stage, and his K rate is nice. He could definitely walk a bit more, and his BABIP is a tad high, but not unreasonably so. He bulked up this offseason and it has shown in the power numbers, and at 20, we could see some similar spikes yet as well, but even if he can maintain his current production, that would make him an above average SS. AA will be an interesting test, as I'd like to see if there's a bit more power there than in the FSL. His defense at SS is said to be good enough to stick. In all, this is another very good prospect. I'd say his ceiling is an .800 OPS SS playing average or slightly better defense. That's an all star at SS.

5) Stephen Gonsalves (7) SP - After posting video game numbers in the FSL, Gonsalves was given a boost to AA to ply his trade against some tougher competition, and thus far he's risen to the challenge. His Fort Meyer's stats were impressive: 2.33 ERA, 9.05 K/9, 2.74 BB/9, a miniscule 5.98 H/9, and allowed home runs roughly once every 36 innings or so. Bottom line, is that High A hitters couldn't hit Gonsalves. He's seen an uptick in the numbers at AA, but they are still well within the respectable territory with the only real concern is a spike in his walk rate. I suspect that this will go down at some point, as he's likely not able to get away with as much against AA hitters as he could against A ball hitters. Setting that aside though, he's 21 and doing more than holding his own (albeit in a small sample) at AA. Other plusses include being a south paw and being able to throw reasonably hard (my understanding is low to mid 90s). While scouts tend to peg him more as a mid to back of the rotation guy, his results thus far say he can be more than that, especially if he remains good at keeping the ball in the park. I think the upside is top of the rotation, as he misses bats, though his fly/ground ratio indicates that the friendly confines of the FSL might be part of the reason for his success (though to be fair, he has minimized his HRs at every stop). AA should be a good test. Gonsalves will likely open 2017 back in AA with hopefully a promotion to Rochester in mid-2017, though if he continues pitching hot down the stretch, he might find himself in AAA to start.

6) Daniel Palka (unrnk) OF - I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised to see the Twins get Palka for Herrmann. Herrmann is having a career year in AZ (albeit in somewhat limited usage), and based on his minor league numbers, I don't put much stock into him maintaining it, but the prospect we got back is pretty intriguing in his own right. While Palka strikes out way too much (roughly 33% of his at bats this season), he has undeniable power and can take a walk (roughly 12% of his PAs). Ideally, that walk rate probably needs to rise a bit more and the K rate needs to drop, but Palka seems to maintain contact a bit better than one of his other powerful peers in ABW. I think Palka could potentially be a middle order bat, though the odds of being there are a bit lower. He's probably going to end up being a 6/7 hitter who is still quite capable of putting 30 or so balls over the fence on a year to year basis. Add to it that he's 24 and in AAA and has produced an OPS north of .900 in two levels this year. The real issue here is that there's an obvious log jam. Palka could potentially be a 4th OF/DH and get himself roughly 4-500 at bats at the major league level on this team, but he's blocked by better defenders in Kepler and Rosario as well as a DH that has plenty of options in Park, Vargas, Mauer (who isn't going anywhere). Not to mention the aforementioned Walker remains on the 40 man and very much in the team's long term plans. Given the lack of bench help this team has had over the last few years, that usually means there's a decent power bat on the bench in those situations where you need to pinch hit for someone. That's not a bad option at first, though if all of these guys do well, there may be a potential playing time issue forcing some sort of trade somewhere, and it won't be Mauer.

7) Adalberto Mejia (unrnk) SP - I honestly didn't think that Nunez would have had this type of value in a trade, and as such I expected him to remain a Twin. The Giants on the other hand, were willing to part with some decent value in this trade, and I have to admit that I like the end result. His minor league K rate is respectable for a pitcher (about 7.7/9 IP), and it's being buoyed by what may be a break out of sorts for the 23 year old LHP. Mejia sits in the low 90s with his pitches boasting a 3 pitch mix that puts his ceiling at mid-rotation type value with a very realistic floor as a #5 type starter. He gets by in large part by keeping his walks to a minimum and generally keeping the ball in the park. The PCL hasn't been good for him in that aspect of things, but he's more than 3 years younger than his league while continuing to hold his own. Given his age, he should be in line for a spot in MN should someone be hurt or we finally rid ourselves of guys like Nolasco and Milone.

8) JT Chargois (21) RP - I'm not a fan of ranking relief pitchers this high, but Chargois looks like he will be a back end of the bullpen type guy for a long time, and that does have value, even if it is only 70 innings a season. The Twins have a few guys that have that ceiling, but Chargois has clearly outperformed all of them. I'm as disappointed as everyone else that his first major league cup of coffee lasted all of two thirds of an inning, but I expect him to be up for good once someone from the pen is moved. He dominated AA, and his numbers in AAA are even better. He's 25, but has lost two seasons due to injury, and the Twins have been very aggressive in moving him (probably for this reason) as he started 2015 in the FSL. Hopefully, he gets more than a Tonkin type chance in the majors over the next season or two. He is a far better prospect than Tonkin, and even Tokin has shown that patience with these types of guys is a virtue. My expectation is that he's called up once Abad or Kinzler are traded, and as such I expect him to be graduated from this list come this time next season.

9) Alex Kirilloff (unrnk) LF/RF - I was thrilled when the Twins decided to go young for their 2016 class, drafting 4 prep kids with their first four picks and getting a couple more high ceiling kids later in the draft. Kirilloff is obviously the highest ceiling of the bunch being taken at 15 overall in the first round. He is a corner OF who was drafted for what we can only hope is a middle of the order type bat, and so far he is living up to the hype as he has gotten off to a good start in the Appy league. Time will tell in this case as he will most likely begin the season in Cedar Rapids.

10) Kohl Stewart (8) SP - Stewart keeps sliding down my lists a bit, though in his defense, the guys above him have pretty high ceilings as well. 2016 has been a good year for Stewart as he took big steps forward against much harder competition, and whey guys like Keith Law are pretty happy with how the Twins are dealing with him, then perhaps I'm wrong in ranking him to low. Potential is obviously still there, but Sickles has gone on record thinking his reality is more likely to be back end of the rotation then top. Even with that said, however, there's still a lot to like. He upped his K/9 in FTM by more than 2.5 Ks/9 IP. The walk rate was virtually unchanged, while his hit rate dropped significantly, all while being 21 years old and 2.5 years younger than the league. That's a pretty big jump, and while I think we were hoping for Gonsalves type numbers, Stewart did not have the same baseball background in high school as many of his peers. He has been a bit more hittable in AA and naturally his K rate has dropped there as well, but being 3.7 years younger than his league, I'll give him a pass on that for 2016. It will be interesting to see how he responds in 2017 as he could very well be in line for another mid season call up. He boasts 4 pitches and can hit the mid 90s. Like Gonsalves, he's stingy with the long ball, as he has been his entire career. Unlike Gonsalves, he does a much better job keeping the ball on the ground boasting much better ground to fly ratios. We all wanted to see Kohl take a step forward this year, and he did. If he takes another similar step forward next season, he will force himself back into national attention.

11) Fernando Romero (unrnk) SP - Fort Meyers' fans really got a treat this season if good pitching was something they wanted to see. Five members of their rotation this season sit in my top 15 prospects, and this is likely true with most of the national writers as well. Romero is another one, who as of this writing has yet to give up a long ball this year. Like Stewart, he's done a good job keeping the ball on the ground. After obliterating the MWL in 5 starts, the 21 year old got bumped to Fort Meyers where he pretty much continued on the same pace. The only real number that saw an uptick was his H/9 as the rest of his peripherals are remarkably similar to his MWL statistics. At 2.5 years younger than the league, that's impressive seeing his K/9 rate over 8 while allowing a miniscule number of walks (BB/9 is at roughly 1.6 for the season). The FSL is a pitcher friendly league that tends to suppress power, but the righty has given up a grand total of 2 home runs in his minor league career to date, which has more than 150 innings on record. Given his age, this is another guy with top of the rotation potential and could find himself in AA next year.

12) Felix Jorge (unrnk) SP - Another guy in the Fort Meyer rotation who earned a promotion midseason was Jorge. The 22 year old was pretty good, posting a 7.45 K/9 in high A while doing an excellent job killing worms. While the strike out rate is not quite as sexy as one would like for a guy with a top shelf ceiling, Jorge still boasts a MILB K rate of just under 8 while being younger than his competition pretty much every step of the way. Add to it that he is very stingy with the free passes, averaging 1 per 9 innings in FTM this season and has a minor league career rate at about 2. Bottom line, he gets grounders, doesn't give up walks, keeps the ball in the park, and still collects a decent amount of strike outs. His AA numbers thus far have not been all that impressive, but at 2.7 years younger than his league, this isn't a problem just yet. He will most likely return to AA for 2017 as he has struggled in his first taste of it, but hopefully he will be in line for an AAA promotion come 2018.

13) Mitch Garver (19) C - Garver has come on really strong of late (a .950+ OPS in July will do that) forcing me to rethink him a bit. He was very impressive in CR in his first full season, but really took a step back offensively in year two in high A. However, this recent surge has put his overall offensive numbers in line with his minor league career and if he continues to be hot, then 2015 will likely be the outlier in terms of his production. His age relative to the league is nothing special (he's slightly older than league average), but he does have the benefit of being a decent producing catcher in the high minors for a team that really needs help at catcher. The defensive reviews are somewhat mixed. He has the ability to stick, which is a plus given that his bat will likely outperform his catching peers. He was a finalist to the Johnny Bench award in both 2012 and 2013 (with the 2013 winner being Stuart Turner), so to say he's a defensive slouch would be a bit unfair. Sure, he won't be Molina behind the plate, or even Turner for that matter, but he does have the ability to be a decent defender while providing an above average bat. Garver's ceiling is an above average catcher who can start. I don't know if he will be ready in 2017, though I suspect he will start seeing playing time, and a Garver/Murphy catching combo should eventually be able to upgrade the position.

14) Luis Arraez (24) 2B - Arraez surprised last season by getting off to a hot start in rookie ball, but he was overshadowed by his double play partner Jermaine Palacios. Arraez was still good last year, as a .765 OPS is nice for a 2B, but other than his age relative to the league, it was hardly eye-popping. Both received the call to Cedar Rapids at very young ages, and while Palacios started hot, it has been Arraez who has completely dominated and stolen the show. What is to like here is first that he plays a key up the middle position. He's 19, making him three years younger than league average. Not many kids that young are in the MWL, and Arraez isn't just holding his own, he's playing at a well above average clip while not showing signs of slowing down this season. The kid has kept his OPS over .800 for the entire year and while he hasn't shown a lot of home run power, he has quite a few doubles. He's not a big kid, but at 5'10" and 155 pounds, I have to think he will fill out a bit more. He seems to have a professional approach, and while he does not seem to strike out a ton (just over 10% of his at bats), he doesn't walk a lot either. His numbers are being boosted by a BABIP that is a bit high, so it's possible that they come down, but it is really hard to ignore a 19 year old that is putting up those types of numbers against much older competition.

15) Lamonte Wade (unrnk) CF - The college draftee has rapidly moved up the system, getting a mid-season promotion from low A to high A and continuing to rake at every step of the way. His minor league OPS is just shy of .900 for his career, which as a CF is impressive. Even more so is that even as a college player, he's younger than his league. That type of bat will stick anywhere. While power is not a big component to Wade's game (though he does have some), good professional at bats are, as he has walks more than he strikes out and has done so at pretty much every stop along the way. It will be interesting to see if he can keep up this type of production once he starts facing pitchers with better control. As a ceiling, Wade is likely to have 10-20 HR power to go with a .400 OBP. Getting there will be impressive (and it's probably unrealistic), as that is the type of production we saw from Mauer back when he was good.

16) Lewin Diaz (30) 1B - Diaz was the big name in 2013 as the Twins signed him for 1.4M as a 16 year old. Diaz debuted at age 17 in the DSL putting up pretty good numbers against his competition. His first season in the US rookie leagues did not go quite as well as I'm sure the Twins would have liked, but at age 19, he's been doing all that could be reasonably expected of him in the advanced rookie league. His OPS has been north of .900 as he's hitting home runs and plenty of doubles as well. He's a 1B/DH type, but hopefully he can blossom into a #4 hitter as a major leaguer. Given his play, it's possible he gets a bump to low A yet this year as the rookie league season wraps up.

17) Travis Blankenhorn (27) 3B - The big reason for drafting HS players is due to their upside. The Twins grabbed two in Blankenhorn and Cabbage in their 2015 draft. Cabbage has struggled thus far, but Blankenhorn has shown some promise. To date this season his OPS remains on the north end of .900 while playing 2 years younger than average for the advanced rookie league. To be fair, Etown always seems to have some kids that can really hit for power, and not all of it translates well as a player moves up the ranks, but if Blankenhorn can maintain that pace, he'll be able to consistently hit around 30 HRs at the major league level. Time will tell, as his first real test will be in low A, which he might see yet later this year.

18) Alex Meyer (6) SP - Meyer's drop on this list isn't due to his talent and potential nearly as much as it is due to my concern that his health is going to be a big problem. He started well in AAA, but 17 and 1/3 innings is hardly a large enough sample to prove that he figured things out. His debut in Minnesota this season was certainly not ideal, although that isn't terribly unusual when the call up is injury related, especially for pitchers. That said, since his demotion back to AAA he has not pitched a single inning due to shoulder soreness that has again cropped up on him. Age and options are not going to be his friend as he's no longer young in the prospect world and he can only be optioned in 2017. Perhaps the change in management will give Meyer a shot at a starting job. Given what will likely be a lost season in 2017, that might not be a bad way to approach him. Sigh... I'm just not a fan of giving up a prospect, even one that is likely not going to amount to much, for a team that needs to add them. I don't care if we got rid of Nolasco. A DFA would have accomplished the same thing, and we could have kept Meyer.

18) Lewis Thorpe (14) SP - I really hate dropping him this low. He is one of my favorite prospects, and I still think he has a top of the rotation ceiling. 2015 was lost due to Tommy John. At 19, that isn't the end of the world, but at 20 he still hasn't pitched again in Cedar Rapids as he contracted mono during his recovery. Hopefully he still gets some innings. His line in A ball at age 18 was impressive, especially when you consider that his worst numbers were posted in his first month in Cedar Rapids. The overall walk rate is the only real issue here spiking from a measly 1.23/9 IP in the GCL at age 17 to over 4 in A ball at 18, but even that improved significantly as the season progressed. He also was impressive on the world stage as he represented his home country in the 2013 baseball world cup holding his own against other international players with far more baseball experience. The lefty boasts the ability to hit mid-90s and could be a very nice rotational asset if he can come back from these health setbacks. The good news is that both TJS and Mono are something that someone can recover from. The bad news is what amounts to two lost seasons. Hopefully he still gets to pitch a month or two in CR yet this season and can do so well enough to start in Fort Meyers, as due to the CBA, Thorpe will need to be added to the 40 man roster.

19) Huascar Ynoa (29) SP - Slotting high ceiling guys who are very raw can be very difficult to do. On one end, some of these guys due to draft status (Stewart, Kirilloff for example) get slotted high regardless of initial performance, in large part due to said status. Ynoa was a international sign for 800k. That's not a huge bonus, but it isn't chump change either, and the Twins at the moment appear to have gotten a good one. He just turned 18 in May, so he's young, and was pretty good in the DSL last season and seems to have gotten better this season in the GCL, dramatically upping his K rate while dropping his walk rate. He also has had the luxury of (as of this writing) allowing only 1 HR in his two professional seasons. Granted, we aren't talking about a ton of innings at this point, but that is still impressive, and his GCL numbers indicate top of the rotation type potential. He's also doing this at more than 2.5 years younger than the league. If this continues, he will be a candidate for a big bump come next year.

20) Adam Brett Walker (13) RF - I like Walker's ceiling, but other than a hot month this season, I'm not seeing a lot to justify the higher rankings here. Walker is without question a high ceiling prospect, but the strikeouts are a big issue and have gotten worse (over 40% of his at bats end in this capacity) and his K/BB rate is actually worse than his career in a season where his slash line is remarkably similar to his MILB career line. Walker's ceiling is a middle of the lineup guy that can pop 40+ HRs in a season. His floor, even in AAA is a guy who never gets more than a cup of coffee because of the boom or bust nature of his game. Major league pitching will eat him alive if he doesn't fix his issues with Ks. The question that is begged is whether or not he can fix that without sapping that impressive power. His defense won't give him many options at the majors, so his future might be that late inning PH type guy you need when you need a HR.

My thoughts after the first twenty prospects is that despite the fact that this team's farm system is not as strong as it once was, there is still plenty of top shelf potential in the system, particularly around pitching. While one can say with certainty that many of these guys won't hit that potential, a few may. If they do, it will mean some good things for the Twins going forward. There are nine starting pitchers in this group, most of whom have top of the rotation upside. There are three middle infielders as well to go with a catcher and a center fielder. Given that those positions are the hardest to fill, that alone is encouraging.

21) Mason Melotakis (unrnk) RP - Melotakis was a bit of a surprise 40 man roster addition this offseason given that he missed all of 2015 to injury. However, he looked pretty good in spring training and has pitched remarkably well this season in AA given the amount of time he has not been on a roster. His WHIP is a bit high for what one would like in a shut down reliever, but he gets the strike outs. He is a bit older than his league, but he did spend time in AA two years ago (and put up better numbers). I'm willing to argue that in his case he's still recovering a bit and that you might see a nice jump next year if he's still in the minors. That is probably a big if as Melotakis would be a candidate for next year's pen and could potentially still get a call this year if the Twins end up moving a couple of relievers. I'd argue on potential that he's a back of the pen option, though he really needs to remain healthy.

22) Wander Javier (17) SS - Javier has the luxury of being the Twins largest international signing contract in team history, eclipsing some guy named Miguel Sano by about $900k. He's a shortstop that could potentially be average to above in all aspects of his game, making his ceiling a major league star. His DSL season appears to have been cut short due to injury, but not without the 17 year old posting some pretty impressive numbers (OPS north of 1 with a pretty respectable K/BB rate) in what has unfortunately been a very small sample (30 plate appearances).

23) Zach Granite (unrnk) CF - Granite lit up Cedar Rapids last season at an age that was league average though his second half promotion to Fort Meyer did not go quite as well. Surprisingly, the Twins bumped the center fielder up to AA this season. Granite responded in kind posting very respectable numbers while being roughly 1.6 years younger than the league. He takes a very professional plate approach striking out and walking at roughly a 10% clip. He is more of a contact hitter than a power hitter, but he should have a reasonably high OBP as a major leaguer making him a valuable contributor. With Buxton at the ML level, I suspect that a guy like Granite will likely find himself establishing his career somewhere else, as there may not be room for him at the major league level by the time he's ready.

24) Trevor Hildenberger (unrnk) RP - I got to meet Trevor this spring. He's a nice kid, so perhaps I'm a bit biased here. He was an honorable mention on my list last year, and his continued performance at a higher level warrants putting him on the list this year. He's been outstanding as the closer in Chattanooga this season, posting video game numbers for the Look Outs. He's averaging right around 5 hits per 9, while striking out more than double that. He has good control and hasn't issued much in the way of walks, and he keeps the ball in the park. He is slightly older than his league average (roughly 4 months), but that tends to happen with college draftees. The fact that he was a 22nd round pick is even more impressive. I'm not sure what his pitch mix is, but this is another guy whose results command attention even though he isn't known for being a hard thrower. I'm hoping he's moved to AAA to replace Chargois when JT gets the call, with his first shot at MLB in 2017.

25) Amaurys Minier 3B/1B- Minier has been an interesting prospect to watch. He struggled in his first taste of the GCL and destroyed it in his second. He struggled at first time in the Appy and has been much better this time around. He has done all of this while being young for his league, though presently the 20 year old is only 1 year younger than his peers in the Appy league. He has a high ceiling, as he's a power hitter whose minor league career thus far has an OBP nearly 100 points higher than his BA, but he's struggled a bit when he puts the ball in play. This season he's dropped his K rate while upping his walk rate quite nicely, which bodes well for him if he can maintain that type of plate discipline. The ceiling here is pretty high for him as he's a potential middle of the order bat. I don't know much about his defense, but given that he's already slotted primarily in the corners, I'm going to work on the assumption that this is not something that will be a big part of his game. Next season will be a good test for him as he will likely begin in full season ball. His biggest concern presently is improving that contact rate.

26) Travis Harrison (12) 3B/LF - Harrison has unfortunately not developed as one would hope. While he has posted respectable numbers at every stop while being young for his league, he has never really put it all together other than showing a few flashes of what is possible for short periods of time. The potential for him to be a useful major leaguer is still there, especially with him posting a minor league career OPS at .750, but his numbers repeating AA have been less than stellar. He could be a late bloomer in the mold of guys like Span or Plouffe. It certainly isn't worth writing him off, but at this point the clock is ticking and if he wants to see something other than a cup of coffee, he's going to need to figure something out.

27) AJ Murray (unrnk) C - Murray was another later round college pick that has so far done everything that could be asked of him. While his overall numbers in CR this season didn't seem to match up with where I expected, he has posted some pretty respectable numbers. He won't hit for a ton of power, but could be reasonably expected to hit 10-20 HRs over the course of a season. He has a good plate approach, and he is not afraid to take a walk. He was promoted to Fort Meyer midseason and has seen a bit of a drop in his numbers. His BA and SLG in particular seemed to have been hit hardest, though the FSL is known for sapping power. To an extent, this is not too concerning just yet. He may likely start the season again in Fort Meyer and potentially see a mid season promotion to AA.

28) Jermain Palacios (22) 3B - Another high ceiling guy in the minors who absolutely destroyed rookie ball as an 18 year old posting an OPS over .900 between both levels of rookie ball. He looked to be doing the same this season during his age 19 season in low A and got off to a hot start, but then cooled considerably and was eventually shut down for injury. Power is another big question mark, but given his age, that can certainly develop. My guess is he starts the year again in low A. With a decent start, he will find himself promoted around his 20th birthday.

29) Jake Reed (unrnk) RP - Reed got off to a poor start to begin the season, but overall, he seems to have recovered in his repeat of AA. He's upped his K rate while lowering his walk rate by a pretty decent margin. Reed is another option that could potentially be a back of the pen member for the Twins, and while his overall AA numbers won't be quite as sexy as some of his peers, I suspect he starts the year in AAA.

30) Victor Tademo (unrnk) 2B - I wouldn't normally put a DSL kid on the list, especially when he wasn't publicized with all world talent and a big bonus, but the kid has been pretty impressive in the DSL this season as a 16 year old, who is much younger than his league. He turned 17 on July 9th, so he's likely to start in the GCL next year at 17, which is impressive. Also impressive is his plate discipline, as his walk and strikeout numbers are nearly identical and he has hit a fair amount of doubles as well, giving him an OPS comfortably north of .800. It will be interesting to see how his power develops. He certainly has the frame for it being listed at 6'1" already. While it is too soon to tell, he potentially has a high ceiling and could find himself rapidly ascending these lists with a similar year in the GCL next season.

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Honorable Mentions:

Nick Burdi (20), Brandon Peterson (25), Ben Rortvedt, Randy Rosario, Sam Clay, Sam Gibbons, Miguel Gonzalez, Max Murphy, Jaylin Davis, Trey Cabbage, Aaron Sleegers

In all, the farm system is still fairly impressive, and that is even with what will likely amount to graduations of several of the top 10 by this time next season. Ceiling wise, there is plenty to be excited about as a number of guys on this list could find themselves getting national attention with strong 2017 campaigns. Their system is currently lacking the superstar top talent ceiling, though they've graduated several such players in Kepler, Buxton, and Sano, so it isn't as though the major league team is lacking in that respect, but plenty of guys performing in the high minors could have all star type seasons at some point in their career. 2016 has been a less than enjoyable season, but there is still reason for hope.