Baseball America: Midseason Top 50 Prospects (5 Twins!)

[Seth Stohs]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/midseason-top-50-injury-cant-knock-buxton-1/

 

It's a pay-article, but we know that five Twins prospects appear in Baseball America's Midseason Top 50 Prospect list.

 

Byron Buxton remains #1.

Miguel Sano is #9.

JO Berrios is #27.

Kohl Stewart is #30.

Alex Meyer is #32.

 

And Nick Gordon is listed as one to watch.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Three pitchers between 27-32?

 

Holy crap. That's impressive.

[gunnarthor]

Wow, who would have thought that Meyer would be our #3 pitcher and still ranked #32 overall? Personally, I think the Berrios rating is too high (for reasons in the numerous Berrios threads) but it's a bold ranking and I'm sure the people at BA know a lot more about it than I do. Really exciting to see.

[Monkeypaws]

Hard not to get excited about the state of the organization.

 

C'mon trickle up!

[diehardtwinsfan]

Wow on Berrios. I'm more impressed that even with the Sano/Buxton injuries, this team is in great shape long term. I'd be curious who would round out their top 100... I'd think Rosario, Thorpe, May, Santana, Polanco, and Vargas might have a shot.

[gunnarthor]

BP put out their top 50 midseason as well but it's behind a pay wall so I don't know who/if any Twins were ranked (well, I know some were ranked). http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=24076#commentMessage

 

According to the comments, 4 Cubs are in the top 20.

[shs_59]

how many were there in the "others to watch" section

 

10 names? Nick Gordon is top 60 !

 

 

 

Cubs #1 , Twins #2 or #3

[acrozelle]

BP put out their top 50 midseason as well but it's behind a pay wall so I don't know who/if any Twins were ranked (well, I know some were ranked). http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=24076#commentMessage

 

According to the comments, 4 Cubs are in the top 20.

 

Buxton - #1

Meyer - #12

Sano - #16

Stewart - #27

Berrios - #41

[Brad Swanson]

BP put out their top 50 midseason as well but it's behind a pay wall so I don't know who/if any Twins were ranked (well, I know some were ranked). http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=24076#commentMessage

 

According to the comments, 4 Cubs are in the top 20.

 

5 Twins on the list.

 

1. Buxton

12. Meyer

16. Sano

27. Stewart

41. Berrios

 

The article states that if Berrios doesn't tire at the end of this season, he'll be higher on their 101 in the offseason. Gordon is listed as one to watch on this list as well. They are very high on Meyer, noting that he's throwing more strikes and locating them lower in the zone.

 

Sorry for the concurrent info as well.

[Badsmerf]

These guys are all inching closer to the twins. I'm guessing the twins will have another good draft pick next year so hopefully they continue to add talent. As much as I like what dozier has done, he will likely be past his prime when these guys get acclimated to mlb. He could be a nice trade piece to add more talent to come behind this group.

 

The twins should have some payroll flexibility in coming years too. No reason to think they couldn't add a big bat to fill a hole if needed.

[JB_Iowa]

Happy to see the prospects rated well.

 

WAITING to see when and how well they transition to the Twins.

[lightfoot789]

FSL Top Prospect Cards are in - great chance to get Berrios and Polanco cards at this level. Great seasons for both. Polanco will warrant higher ranking by seasons end.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fort-Myers-Miracles-2014-FSL-Top-Prospect-2-cards-Jose-Polanco-Jose-Berrios-/121368356730?pt=US_Baseball&hash=item1c421e277a

[bird]

I would doubt that Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago combined have 5 prospects in the top 50. KC will likely be a force, but the future looks pretty bright in the division for the Twins.

[John Kelsey]

These guys are all inching closer to the twins. I'm guessing the twins will have another good draft pick next year so hopefully they continue to add talent. As much as I like what dozier has done, he will likely be past his prime when these guys get acclimated to mlb. He could be a nice trade piece to add more talent to come behind this group.

 

The twins should have some payroll flexibility in coming years too. No reason to think they couldn't add a big bat to fill a hole if needed.

 

I love Dozier but I agree with you here. I have a feeling two or three of Polanco, Gordon, Santana, and Vielma will make him expendable. Santana is already here, Polanco and Gordon seem like fairly safe bets to at least make it to the Majors, and Vielma is a really talented wild card who I think flies under the radar here at times.

[Brandon]

with 3 starting pitchers in the top 50 makes me like the odds that at least 1 of them will pan out.

[Brandon]

with 3 starting pitchers in the top 50 makes me like the odds that at least 1 of them will pan out.

 

Also when is Seth going to do his top 50 prospect update midseason version? That's usually a good read.

[PseudoSABR]

That's without May, Vargas, Polanco, Rosario, Santana or Pinto. Our upper minors are downright scary. Add Thorpe, Gonsalves, Kepler, and Gordon. There's a dozen guys who could be garner top-100 consideration during the offseason.

[righty8383]

If Berrios can duplicate his FSL success in the Eastern League, I expect we'll see him high on a LOT of lists next spring

[gunnarthor]

If Berrios can duplicate his FSL success in the Eastern League, I expect we'll see him high on a LOT of lists next spring

Yep, I'm excited to see how he does in AA. Jason Parks at BP is having a chat and defended Berrios' delivery against KLaw:

Jason Parks on the Top 50: We have put eyes on him this season and movement wasn't an issue with his fastball. This is why seeing players in person is so vital when forming and propagating scouting opinion. Here's a good (free) report on Berrios from Jeff Moore: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/prospects/eyewitness_pit.php?reportid=105

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/chat/chat.php?chatId=1176&nocache=1404750495#new

[righty8383]

That's without May, Vargas, Polanco, Rosario, Santana or Pinto. Our upper minors are downright scary. Add Thorpe, Gonsalves, Kepler, and Gordon. There's a dozen guys who could be garner top-100 consideration during the offseason.

 

That's what makes this farm system even more exciting. A year or 2 ago there was a lot of promise at the lower minors, but you had to kind of reserve your excitement for guys that are so far away. Now with them showing success at AA/AAA, the future is looking better than ever.

[jorgenswest]

It is exciting. Jason Parks spoke about his list on today's Effectively Wild podcast.

 

Midseason lists need a little perspective. Players in the majors do not qualify so Taveras, Polanco, Betts... are not eligible. Recently drafted and recently signed international players are not eligible.

 

The pool of players is smaller and a number 30 prospect midseason is not the same as a number 30 in the winter. If Berrios, Stewart and Meyer drop towards 50 in the winter it won't be because the opinion of the players has dropped. It will be because the pool of players is larger.

[PseudoSABR]

Here's some reports from that BP chat, gunnarthor pointed to.

Tom (MN): Reports from Fort Myers have Jose Berrios getting the bump to AA New Britain today. What are you going to be looking for out of him as he makes the jump?[

Jason Parks on the Top 50: The ability to make his pitch when he needs to make his pitch, and to sequence his arsenal multiple times through better orders. Double-A is always a good test for prospects, both on the mound and in the box,

flashtheleather (In the 6 hole): Alex Meyer at 12? Does this mean your team thinks he has an elite ceiling, or ready for the bigs, or both? He still seems to have a little issue with the walks, but the Ks keep coming. Do you have a report on his changeup development?

Jason Parks on the Top 50: Elite is a strong word, but I think he offers impact potential in his ceiling (#2 starter) and his floor (frontline closer). That's a nice profile to bring to the table and helps balance the risk/reward.

 

Can anyone confirm that Berrios is going to AA today?

[gunnarthor]

That's what makes this farm system even more exciting. A year or 2 ago there was a lot of promise at the lower minors, but you had to kind of reserve your excitement for guys that are so far away. Now with them showing success at AA/AAA, the future is looking better than ever.

 

Yeah, good point. Arguably our current top 10 is Buxton, Sano, Meyer, Stewart, Berrios, Gordon, Rosario, Polacno, May, Thorpe? Mlb.com's top 10 Twins for 2011 were: Hicks, Gibson, Sano, Arcia, Benson, Hendriks, Gutierrez, Salcedo, Dean and Wimmers. The first four are solid but there is a huge drop between that 5-10 and now.

[Seth Stohs]

Here's some reports from that BP chat, gunnarthor pointed to.

 

Can anyone confirm that Berrios is going to AA today?

 

Yes, I can. Not sure if that helps, but I can confirm it.

[nicksaviking]

Yep, I'm excited to see how he does in AA. Jason Parks at BP is having a chat and defended Berrios' delivery against KLaw:

Jason Parks on the Top 50: We have put eyes on him this season and movement wasn't an issue with his fastball. This is why seeing players in person is so vital when forming and propagating scouting opinion. Here's a good (free) report on Berrios from Jeff Moore: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/prospects/eyewitness_pit.php?reportid=105

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/chat/chat.php?chatId=1176&nocache=1404750495#new

 

Ha, the question didn't list KLaw by name but it was clearly him that the individual was referencing. I like to think that Parks knew this and his response was a shot at KLaw.

[Mike Sixel]

ya, because KLAW never goes sees players....why are people obsessed with KLAW? One guy can't go see everyone, but it his job to talk to people that do see the guys he can't, and to process those conversations.

[Vervehound]

of the five twins on the lists, i'm most surprised by stewart. understood that he's been being handled with kid gloves so the lists must have taken that into account. encouraging.

[Steven Buhr]

Stewart is on what seems to be a pretty strict 70 pitch per start limit, intended to keep his workload under control and get through an entire full season. The result of that is that, even when he's pitching pretty well, he doesn't necessarily get through 5 full innings, which means he can't get a "win" in those games. Of course, it doesn't keep him from getting nicked for a loss if CR is behind when he exits.

 

Long way of saying, yes, it's good that these folks are looking a bit deeper than W-L record anyway.

[John Kelsey]

Take a look at the number Berrios put up in his first full season of pro ball at Cedar Rapids last year. That transition is not an easy one.

 

Stewart is still VERY young, and is pitching better than Berrios did at the same level and roughly the same age. He'll be just fine.

[Mike Sixel]

I have no issue with the Stewart approach, for Stewart. He was a two sport guy, that did not concentrate on pitching. This should be a transition year for him. I think their approach makes sense (in terms of pitches per game, I have no idea if their approach on not using his slider much makes sense).