Article: Twins Daily 2019 Top Prospects: Honorable Mentions

[The Mask of Zoilo]

DeJong DFA to make room for Perez. One heck of a trade.....

 

I keep waiting for one of the 7 outfielders to be dfa'd. Twins only have 20 pitchers on their 40 man, lowest in the American League.

[jimbo92107]

The Twins could use a vacation from the injury bug this season. Wouldn't it be great to see just normal aches and pains, and nothing catastrophic for a while? 

 

Throw with your legs, beeches!

[The Mask of Zoilo]

Now that de Jong has been dfa'd let's replace him on the honorable mention with Zander Weil who's going to get a cup of coffee someday with somebody and may surprise as a Cron type 1st base/DH bat. Go Zander.

[rdehring]

 

I keep waiting for one of the 7 outfielders to be dfa'd. Twins only have 20 pitchers on their 40 man, lowest in the American League.

I have been thinking the same thing.  Kept expecting Granite to be the one gone.

 

After carrying only 14 position players much of last year, are they going to try to stay around 20/20 this year?  

[ashbury]

I have been thinking the same thing.  Kept expecting Granite to be the one gone.

 

After carrying only 14 position players much of last year, are they going to try to stay around 20/20 this year?  

26 pitchers bugged me last year - they were evidently having trouble deciding wheat from chaff, not that I'm a better guesser. 20 now may be too low by a smidgen. Can we not swing to the extremes, please?

 

I think I can see the logic behind all the outfielders, as they individually seem like they could contribute, and none of the ones at the bottom of the totem pole have trade value at the moment.

[bird]

 

DeJong DFA to make room for Perez. One heck of a trade.....

 

 

For a couple months of Zach Friggin' Duke I thought a team would give up a heckuva lot more than a B grade starter like De Jong and a C grade guy like Costello. Stupid Twins. 

[JustinCB]

 

For a couple months of Zach Friggin' Duke I thought a team would give up a heckuva lot more than a B grade starter like De Jong and a C grade guy like Costello. Stupid Twins. 

 

Weren't there more logical choices to DFA ahead of De Jong though?  I'll just leave these first couple comments from the mlbtr post here:

 

nmendoza7
Tyler Duffey is absolutely blackmailing someone

hrbekrules
He has got some sketchy pictures Falvey for sure!

 

[rdehring]

 

Weren't there more logical choices to DFA ahead of De Jong though?  I'll just leave these first couple comments from the mlbtr post here:

 

nmendoza7
Tyler Duffey is absolutely blackmailing someone

hrbekrules
He has got some sketchy pictures Falvey for sure!

Do you remember watching Duffey pitch the first month or so he was with the Twins a couple years ago?  I recall a game he started in Houston where he was unhittable.  Remember thinking he could tell the hitter he was throwing his 12-6 curve and they still couldn't handle it.  Maybe some within the organization are thinking this new staff just may help him find what he once had?

[Seth Stohs]

 

Do you remember watching Duffey pitch the first month or so he was with the Twins a couple years ago?  I recall a game he started in Houston where he was unhittable.  Remember thinking he could tell the hitter he was throwing his 12-6 curve and they still couldn't handle it.  Maybe some within the organization are thinking this new staff just may help him find what he once had?

 

I remember that... was 2015... But, he does have an option remaining and the spin rate (I assume). 

[Seth Stohs]

More on the voting... remember that the Top 30 rankings for Seth, Tom and Cody are in the prospect handbook whereas Nick provides a Top 20 list. The honorable mentions were others who received votes. For this, that includes those in the Top 30 for Tom,, Cody and I. Here are the votes for the players mentioned (in order mentioned in the article):

 

Balazovic: Seth (29), Tom (28), Cody (25)

Leach: Tom (27), Cody (28)

Stewart: Seth (26), Nick (16), Tom (23), Cody (22)

De Jong: Seth (27)

Arraez: Seth (22), Tom (25), Cody (21)

Blankenhorn: Seth (30), Tom (24)

Maciel: Seth (23), Cody (18)

Pearson: Cody (23)

T Wells: Seth (20), Nick (20), Tom (22), Cody (27)

Jax: Seth (25), Tom (26), Cody (29)

Urbina: Seth (17), Cody (16)

Raley: Seth (28), Tom (20)

[nater79a]

Speaking of the athlete that Blankenhorn is - wasn't he a really good basketball player at Pottsville, PA?   Trying to recall whether he also had a basketball scholarship offer or just the baseball one to Kentucky?  Have to think he could have played some D2 hoops at the very least.  Not too shabby at football either.

[rdehring]

 

More on the voting... remember that the Top 30 rankings for Seth, Tom and Cody are in the prospect handbook whereas Nick provides a Top 20 list. The honorable mentions were others who received votes. For this, that includes those in the Top 30 for Tom,, Cody and I. Here are the votes for the players mentioned (in order mentioned in the article):

 

Balazovic: Seth (29), Tom (28), Cody (25)

Leach: Tom (27), Cody (28)

Stewart: Seth (26), Nick (16), Tom (23), Cody (22)

De Jong: Seth (27)

Arraez: Seth (22), Tom (25), Cody (21)

Blankenhorn: Seth (30), Tom (24)

Maciel: Seth (23), Cody (18)

Pearson: Cody (23)

T Wells: Seth (20), Nick (20), Tom (22), Cody (27)

Jax: Seth (25), Tom (26), Cody (29)

Urbina: Seth (17), Cody (16)

Raley: Seth (28), Tom (20)

I really like the above group of players, Seth.  Wouldn't shock me if well more than half got at least a cup of coffee with a third or more having nice major league careers.  If these guys are all outside the Top 20, this has to be the deepest the system has been...at least in my memory.

 

Expect a lot of this is due to last summers trades.  How many guys in the Top 20 were added last July?

[nater79a]

 

Do you remember watching Duffey pitch the first month or so he was with the Twins a couple years ago?  I recall a game he started in Houston where he was unhittable.  Remember thinking he could tell the hitter he was throwing his 12-6 curve and they still couldn't handle it.  Maybe some within the organization are thinking this new staff just may help him find what he once had?

 

Yes, in 2015 Duffey was the Twins best starter down the stretch.  I mean, he had a 1.6 bWAR in only 10 starts.   Minnesota was in the wildcard race so they needed him, but I wonder if pushing him to 200 innings (combined minors and majors)  that year was too much, too soon.

 

Agree that Josh Kalk, Wes Johnson or somebody in the org must see something in Duffey and has an idea how to develop his off-speed pitch.  That's always been his main weakness on the mound.  Has plenty giddy-up on the FB and, of course, the plus curve. 

[nater79a]

Still like 3B/2B Andrew Bechtold.  Had an off year with the Kernels last season after a promising Elizabethton campaign in '17.  But I think he has a chance to rebound.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Speaking of the athlete that Blankenhorn is - wasn't he a really good basketball player at Pottsville, PA?   Trying to recall whether he also had a basketball scholarship offer or just the baseball one to Kentucky?  Have to think he could have played some D2 hoops at the very least.  Not too shabby at football either.

 

He was an incredible defensive back in high school ,all-american type, but then he focused on baseball as a senior, after committing to Kentucky. Yes,, he also was a very good basketball player. 

[sdangus]

 

Yes, in 2015 Duffey was the Twins best starter down the stretch.  I mean, he had a 1.6 bWAR in only 10 starts.   Minnesota was in the wildcard race so they needed him, but I wonder if pushing him to 200 innings (combined minors and majors)  that year was too much, too soon.

 

Agree that Josh Kalk, Wes Johnson or somebody in the org must see something in Duffey and has an idea how to develop his off-speed pitch.  That's always been his main weakness on the mound.  Has plenty giddy-up on the FB and, of course, the plus curve. 

About that, a couple of years ago I was at a game where the Twins played the Atlanta Braves. Duffy started against Mike Foltynewicz. I was in the left field stands, and both pitchers warmed up in the outfield right in front of me before they moved on to the bullpens. I can tell you that there was no comparison in the velocity those 2 exhibited there in front of me. It was before Foltynewicz really took off, but I could tell then that I would take him 10 times before I would think about Duffy. Until Duffy can develop a good changeup, or maybe a cutter to keep hitters off his fastball, they will lay off that curveball and hammer his fastball all day long, just like they did that day.

 

[ashbury]

About that, a couple of years ago I was at a game where the Twins played the Atlanta Braves. Duffy started against Mike Foltynewicz. I was in the left field stands, and both pitchers warmed up in the outfield right in front of me before they moved on to the bullpens. I can tell you that there was no comparison in the velocity those 2 exhibited there in front of me. It was before Foltynewicz really took off, but I could tell then that I would take him 10 times before I would think about Duffy. Until Duffy can develop a good changeup, or maybe a cutter to keep hitters off his fastball, they will lay off that curveball and hammer his fastball all day long, just like they did that day.

That was my impression too, watching Duffey in a game at Pawtucket August 3. Unless his curveball is perfect, it is not of use, and hitters can sit on the fastball. And that day, his curveball was far from perfect. It was easy to forecast the game going down the drain as his stint proceeded, and that's indeed what happened. As the PawSox enjoyed a walk-off win on a homer during his second inning of work (after a tying solo shot off him in the eighth), the ever-tolerant Mrs Ash was subjected to my grumbling and I-told-you-soing.

[beckmt]

Jordan Balazovic seems too low on this list.  Given what we are seeing from other sites, is that just a miss, or has he improved so much that he rose that far.