Article: Twins Organizational Depth Chart: Outfielders (Part 1)

[Seth Stohs]

After a busy week last week with the Minnesota Twins naming their new manager, we are returning to our look at the Twins organizational depth chart. This week, we’ll be reviewing the outfielders throughout the system. Since there are nearly fifty outfielders, I am going to split it into two parts. Today, I’ll look at that outfield depth in the Twins four lowest affiliates; Dominican League Twins, GCL Twins, Elizabethton Twins and the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Later this week, I’ll discuss the players in the upper levels.Coming Soon - The Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2015 will be available soon here at Twins Daily. In it, there will be much more detailed prospect profiles and much more.>

 

Dominican Summer League

 

Down in the DSL, there were six players that got significant time in the outfield. Looking at the statistics in the lowest levels can be quite fruitless, but it’s always interesting to get to know the names. A couple of these players could wind up coming to the States and playing in the GCL or even Elizabethton in 2015 or beyond.

 

Francisco Hernandez led the DSL team with 31 games in centerfield. He was 18-years-old this year and in 42 games he hit .210/.369/.210. At 5-10 and 160 pounds he has very little power (no extra-base hits) and had just seven stolen bases.

 

18-year-old Antonio Tovar spent his second season in the DSL in 2014. The 6-0, 195 pounder was the leader in games played in left field with 32, though he played 26 games in centerfield as well. He hit .253/.381/.335 (.716) with six doubles and five triples. After going 12-13 in stolen base attempts in 2013, he went just 9-20 in 2014. He walked 41 times and struck out 35 times.

 

Junior Amarante turned 19 before the 2014 season started. It was his third season with the DSL Twins and by far his best. He played 31 games in right field and eight games in left. He hit .287/.383/.337 (.720) with five doubles and two triples. He was also 22 of 24 in stolen base attempts. He is 5-11 and 185 pounds.

 

Edgar Herrera is a 17-year-old from Venezuela. He played 26 games in right field and 13 games in left field. At 6-0 and 170 pounds, he hit .259/.361/.302 with two doubles and two triples. He walked 23 times and struck out 23 times, as well.

 

Jorge Parra is 6-0 and 176 pounds. In his second DSL season, he played in 52 games and hit .260/.356/.345 (.700). He added nine doubles and three home runs. He played 19 games in left field and 15 more in right field.

 

Luis Martinez was an 18-year-old in his first DSL season. He played in 23 games and hit .328/.443/.414 (.857) with three doubles and a home run. He also stole 14 bases and walked as much as he struck out. He played 15 games in centerfield and one in right.

 

Gulf Coast League

 

Tyree Davis was the Twins 37^th round draft pick in 2014. The now-19-year-old played 36 games in centerfield for the GCL Twins. In 38 total games, he hit just .087/.210/.146 (.356). He went 9-103, but he had two doubles and two triples. He is a great athlete, a five-tool athlete. The graduate of Centennial High School in Compton, California, is looking to become the school’s 11^th major league player and the first since Lonnie Smith retired in 1994. At 6-3 he has a lot of power potential.

 

Amaurys Minier was the Twins top international signing in 2012. He debuted in the GCL in 2013 and went back to the GCL in 2014. He had offseason shoulder surgery, and he moved from third base to left field where he started 34 games. In 53 games, he hit .292/.405/.520 (.925) with 11 doubles, two triples and eight home runs. At 6-2 and 190 pounds, he has terrific power. He also spent a lot of time at first base.

 

Frank Encarnacion led the GCL in games played at right field with 16, though he also played seven in left field. After a year in the DSL, he moved to the States where he played in 26 games and hit .198/.244/.235 (.479) with three doubles.

 

19-year-old Roberto Gonzalez is another five-tool outfielder whom the Twins drafted in 2014 (15^th round) out of Orlando. He played in just 13 games due to knee surgery. In 43 at-bats, he hit .233/.313/.302 (.615) with three doubles. At 6-0 and 195 pounds, he has very good speed and a lot of power potential. He stole four bases in five attempts. He will need to be able to make more contact.

 

Rafael Valera came to the States in 2014 after two seasons in the DSL. He played in 47 games for the GCL Twins, but he also had a couple of stints (and three games played) in Ft. Myers. With the GCL, he played eight games in right field solely and three games in right and left. He also played around the infield. He hit .254/.370/.341 (.710) with eight doubles and two triples.

 

After four seasons in the Dominican Summer League, 21-year-old Dubal Baez finally got to move to the States. He played 40 games in the GCL and hit .281/.351/.331 (.681) with six doubles. He played 18 games in centerfield, 11 games in right field and nine games in right field.

 

After a season in the DSL, Ariel Montesino hit .165/.233/.220 (.454) with four doubles and a triple. He also stole 10 bases. He played 13 games in left field and 10 games in right. He turned 19 since the end of the season.

 

Elizabethton Twins

 

Max Murphy was the Twins ninth round pick in 2014 out of Bradley. The 21-year-old Minnesotan was the Appalachian League Player of the Year and spent only 35 games with the E-Twins, but he hit .378/.483/.723 (1.206) with seven doubles, two triples and ten home runs. He then played 32 more games with the Cedar Rapids Kernels where he hit .242/.314/.395 (.709) with seven doubles and four home runs. Combined, he played 35 games in centerfield, 20 games in left field and six games in right.

 

Tanner English was the Twins 11^th round pick in 2014 out of South Carolina. He played in 32 games for the E-Twins and hit .316/.439/.474 (.913) with five doubles, two triples and three homers. He was also five for six in stolen base attempts. Despite being just 5-10 and 160 pounds, he is far from a slap-hitter. All 26 games he played defense, he played in centerfield.

 

Austin Diemer was the Twins 26^th round out of Cal State Fullerton. He played 37 games in centerfield for Elizabethton and another 18 games in left field. In 55 games, he hit .227/.305/.286 (.591) with six doubles and two homers. He stole ten bases.

 

Jeremias Pineda spent most of the 2013 season with the Cedar Rapids Kernels, minus his 50-game suspension. He began 2014 in Cedar Rapids, but he was sent back down to Elizabethton where he played 58 of his 73 games. In all, he hit .224/.301/.295 (.597) with six doubles, four triples and two homers. He has good speed and stole 27 bases in 34 attempts.

 

Trey Vavra was the Twins 33^rd round pick in 2014 out of Florida Southern. He primarily played first base for the E-Twins, but he also played 13 games in left field. He hit .319/.392/.454 (.846) with 20 doubles, a triple and a home run.

 

Cedar Rapids Kernels

 

JD Williams advanced to Ft. Myers in the second half of 2013, but a spring training broken thumb and rehab sent him back to the Kernels. He played 52 games in left field. In 75 games total, he hit .245/.330/.383 (.713) with 19 doubles, four triples and three homers. The 23-year-old will need to get to Ft. Myers to start 2015.

 

Zach Granite began the season in Cedar Rapids, but unfortunately the centerfielder missed time with two injuries and played in just 21 games with the Kernels. The 21-year-old hit .291/.321/.367 (.689) with two doubles and two triples for the Kernels. He is very fast and has the skill set to be a good leadoff hitter.

 

Zach Larson began the season as the Kernels right fielder. The 20-year-old hit .265/.325/.358 (.683) with 11 doubles and a homer. Unfortunately, he dealt with a hamstring issue most of the rest of the season. Despite being a 20^th round draft pick out of high school in 2012, he is a very good hitting prospect.

 

Chad Christensen primarily played first base for the Kernels, but the versatile athlete also played 20 games in left field, ten games in right field and six games in center. The 24-year-old was the Twins 25^th round pick in 2013 out of the University of Nebraska. In 127 games total with the Kernels, he hit .272/.339/.404 (.744) with 24 doubles, seven triples, nine home runs, 73 RBI, 84 runs scored and 30 stolen bases.

 

Alex Swim had almost solely been a catcher until mid-June when he came up to the Kernels. He went on a hot streak and then he was moved out to right field to keep his bat in the lineup. He played 46 games in right field. In 63 total games, he hit .311/.352/.349 with nine doubles.

 

SUMMARY

 

In Part 2 of the outfield depth chart later this week, we’ll discuss players who are closer to the big leagues. However, Part 1 does show a lot of players with some big-time potential. A few have the potential to be great. Of course, at the low levels, the odds are markedly against them. Amaurys Minier and Zach Larson are arguably the two top prospects in this list. Players like Max Murphy, Chad Christensen and Tanner English have the opportunity to advance after strong showings. Players like Tyree Davis and Roberto Gonzalez have a long way to go, but they are two players that legitimately have five tools.

 

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[bird]

Thanks once again, Seth. You're right, looking at the stats for the Dominican and GCL prospects tells us very little, but I suspect the outfield  might be an area of relative weakness in the system.

[Seth Stohs]

Thanks once again, Seth. You're right, looking at the stats for the Dominican and GCL prospects tells us very little, but I suspect the outfield  might be an area of relative weakness in the system.

 

tough to say without seeing the four highest levels. With the lowest levels, it's about tools and projectablility and there are some exciting prospects at these levels... It's just that a lot has to happen and go right just to get to the higher levels, much less to get to the big leagues.

[chamoman]

Thanks, Seth. Of course you are right that there is a high level of unpredictability at the lower levels, and that players like Buxton, Rosario, Kepler, Travis Harrison, and Daniel Ortiz are all legitimate candidates to make the big league roster in the near future.

 

Still, there seems to be a greater dearth of minor league positional talent than in recent years, no doubt a function of the ascension of the aforementioned players through the minors' ranks, but especially the pitching-heaviness of the tops of the recent drafts.

 

Seven of the first eight players taken in the 2014 Rule 4 draft were relievers, which certainly leaves an impressive relieving corps, but stretches the organization in other areas.

[Seth Stohs]

It's certainly not as deep as when there was Young, Cuddyer, Revere, and Span in the big leagues... At that time, the organization had several other top prospect types like Benson, Parmelee, Angel Morales and Aaron Hicks... It's why I think depth is so important and having options at each level is huge because guys get hurt and primarily because it is so hard to actually get to the big leagues, much less succeed and stick. 

[lightfoot789]

I sure hope the Twins give JD Williams a chance to move up or release him.  He brings a special intangible to his teams and deserves better than he got last season (injuries and all). IMO

[Seth Stohs]

I sure hope the Twins give JD Williams a chance to move up or release him.  He brings a special intangible to his teams and deserves better than he got last season (injuries and all). IMO

 

He's such a great athlete, and there's so much talent there. The injury really hurt him last year. He likely would have spent the full season in Ft. Myers. Instead, back to Cedar Rapids, and just couldn't get it going. He'll definitely have to get to at least Ft. Myers in spring to stick.

[Rosterman]

It's certainly not as deep as when there was Young, Cuddyer, Revere, and Span in the big leagues... At that time, the organization had several other top prospect types like Benson, Parmelee, Angel Morales and Aaron Hicks... It's why I think depth is so important and having options at each level is huge because guys get hurt and primarily because it is so hard to actually get to the big leagues, much less succeed and stick. 

Yeah, good list. I seem to recall Terry Ryan praising Joe Benson as the second-coming, a real deal. Angel Morales sorta disappeared. Hicks is questionable and shouldn't be. Parmelee was a surprise, and is still a surprise. The number of players from this 50-man list (some still coming) that will make the majors is...mind-boggling. 3-5 maybe, and not all with the Twins?

[Thrylos]

Thanks once again, Seth. You're right, looking at the stats for the Dominican and GCL prospects tells us very little, but I suspect the outfield  might be an area of relative weakness in the system.

 

The thing with the outfield is that infielders can also become outfielders.   Remember that crazy Ryan talk about Sano being an outfielder potentially?   That would give the Twins the top OF pair of prospects in all baseball.  Add Rosario, Kepler and Harrison (another convertible IF) and you got 5 potential good OF prospects, before you even get to Adam Walker...

[jokin]

 

Tanner English was the Twins 11^th round pick in 2014 out of South Carolina. He played in 32 games for the E-Twins and hit .316/.439/.474 (.913) with five doubles, two triples and three homers. He was also five for six in stolen base attempts. Despite being just 5-10 and 160 pounds, he is far from a slap-hitter. All 26 games he played defense, he played in centerfield.

 

 

SUMMARY

 

. Players like Max Murphy, Chad Christensen and Tanner English have the opportunity to advance after strong showings.

 

 

 

So Tanner English is 5'10" and 160?  Based on his similar style of play, if he also has diabetes, I believe we might have to announce a Sam Fuld II Alert.

[bird]

The thing with the outfield is that infielders can also become outfielders.   Remember that crazy Ryan talk about Sano being an outfielder potentially?   That would give the Twins the top OF pair of prospects in all baseball.  Add Rosario, Kepler and Harrison (another convertible IF) and you got 5 potential good OF prospects, before you even get to Adam Walker...

That's why I labeled the outfield as possibly a relative weakness when compared with the strength in the system regarding starters, relievers, and infielders in particular. But you're right, there are certainly a lot of exciting OF prospects too.

[DocBauer]

Hopefully earthy this season, both Zach's should be fun to watch.

 

Did we potentially get a couple of steals in Murphy and English? I understand the whole SSS and age vs level debate, but Murphy really excelled and I believe English won a Gold Glove or two didn't he?

 

Man, if the lightbulb could turn on to even 70 watt brightness Williams could be a nice, valuable player. If he could hit or approach full 100 watt status we could have something there. Reminds me of Angel Morales some in regards.

[DocBauer]

I really hope the Twins aren't missing something with Christiansen. He is a well built and talented overall athlete who was an All Big 10 SS previously. Not saying he has SS projection at this level, but I have to wonder about playing some INF in a reserve/developmental role. Particularly 3B.

 

I keep thinking a former SS with a good arm and nice athleticism should be getting a look there. Any word Seth on him seeing time at 3B?

[Seth Stohs]

I really hope the Twins aren't missing something with Christiansen. He is a well built and talented overall athlete who was an All Big 10 SS previously. Not saying he has SS projection at this level, but I have to wonder about playing some INF in a reserve/developmental role. Particularly 3B. I keep thinking a former SS with a good arm and nice athleticism should be getting a look there. Any word Seth on him seeing time at 3B?

 

Christensen played all over in college, and he's played all over in his one year-plus of pro ball. I'm sure he'll continue to be used in that role.