Baseball America: Midseason Top 50

[Seth Stohs]

Two Twins appear within the Top 3 prospects in all of baseball according to the good people of Baseball America. They released their Midseason Top 50 list this morning:

 

Midseason Prospect Update: Top 50 Prospects - BaseballAmerica.com

 

Three Twins appear on the list in total. Check out the BA site and come back here and discuss it.

 

(Hicks, Arcia and Gibson are not on the list, in case you were wondering.)

[jay]

Two of the top 3 and Alex Meyer at 32. I'd have to believe that Rosario might have been up for consideration. May, Berrios, and Kepler would be in the mix for a 100 list, maybe even a few others as well.

 

These guys give me hope that we can contend for titles again soon. Not going to lie, I eat through post-it notes at work on a no less than weekly basis drawing up future lineups.

[gunnarthor]

They have another article behind a pay wall about 10 potential break out candidates for next year. Would think Rosario's on that list.

 

Anyhow, it's great to see Sano and Buxton so highly regarded. Buxton is hitting pretty well after his promotion. .855 OPS from a 19yr old in the FSL is great, it would put him 14th overall if he had enough ab to qualify for the league.

 

It's really amazing that, even with Hicks, Arcia and Gibson essentially removed from the prospect camps, our system is still doing so well.

[howieramone1406390264]

Two of the top 3 and Alex Meyer at 32. I'd have to believe that Rosario might have been up for consideration. May, Berrios, and Kepler would be in the mix for a 100 list, maybe even a few others as well.

 

These guys give me hope that we can contend for titles again soon. Not going to lie, I eat through post-it notes at work on a no less than weekly basis drawing up future lineups.

Two of our top 3 have arrived on Ryan's watch, plus May and Berrois. I can't help but think that's pretty impressive for 18 months. I'm too lazy to do the research, but I wonder if any other GM has been able to accomplish that. IMHO it's pretty hard to minimize Ryan's role in all this.

[gunnarthor]

IMHO it's pretty hard to minimize Ryan's role in all this.

 

I agree. He's a pretty good GM. Love to see him get a haul for Perkins now.

[Red Bull]

Buxton has been amazing in FT Myers and should move through the Minors quickly. I think we will see him sooner than we thought. Sano on the other hand is really struggling, I thought he was turning it around a little bit ago but he is still hitting around .200 and isn't improving much. Im sure he will turn it around soon but if he doesn't he might see Buxton join him on NBR. And when is Alex gonna be back?

 

But it is awesome to have the the number 1 and 3 prospects in the league, when was the last time a team had the number 1 and another in the top 3? Cant wait til they are on the team.... Next season maybe???

[Brock Beauchamp]

Sano on the other hand is really struggling, I thought he was turning it around a little bit ago but he is still hitting around .200 and isn't improving much.

 

He's a 20 year old OPSing .827 in AA. I don't know if I'd call that "really struggling". He's scuffling only when compared to his own A+ numbers, which were basically a video game stat line.

 

AA is the level in which hitters start seeing guys who throw harder with better command and plus breaking pitches. It's not terribly surprising to see Miguel's stat line dip significantly as he adjusts to better pitching.

[gunnarthor]

He's a 20 year old OPSing .827 in AA. I don't know if I'd call that "really struggling". He's scuffling only when compared to his own A+ numbers, which were basically a video game stat line.

 

AA is the level in which hitters start seeing guys who throw harder with better command and plus breaking pitches. It's not terribly surprising to see Miguel's stat line dip significantly as he adjusts to better pitching.

 

Yep. What has been a real pleasant surprise (to me, anyway) is how well Rosario has been at AA - .284/.357/.432. I thought he'd stuggle more but his k and bb are at good numbers.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I have to think Rosario is a bit underrated. How many 2B prospects are there with a shot at having a consistent OPS around .900, as that is his career minor league OPS, and he's 21? That's pretty impressive when you think about it, especially given that Beloit and Fort Meyers are strong pitchers leagues.

 

As for Meyer, I didn't realize he was touching 100. I do hope this shoulder thing is nothing.

[cmb0252]

J.J. Cooper is about to start a chat about the updated list. Here is a link so we can get some Twins questions in:

 

BaseballAmerica.com: Chat Prospects

[Larsbars08]

Rosario has to be a top 100 guy at this point. Rosario has always been able to hit. He's definitely a more advanced hitter than Sano, so it doesn't surprise me to see that he is adjusting faster. I'm curious about his defense at 2nd though. Jason Parks was very down on Rosario's defense when he saw a series. Called him stiff and his footwork bad. It might have been a bad series, as Rosario was still adjusting to AA pitching and might have let it affect him in the field. I haven't heard anything else from others to suggest he couldn't stick at 2nd.

 

This list is a very nice way to get through a monday.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

Rosario and Berrios are two of the 10 "near misses".

 

That makes five of the top 60. Stewart should be included in their Top 100 next winter as well.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

As for Meyer, I didn't realize he was touching 100. I do hope this shoulder thing is nothing.

 

Well, he was touching 100... before the Twins asked him to slow it down so people could hit it... and that's what hurt his shoulder.

 

I'm kidding, of course. I guess I never heard he was hitting 100 either, but yeah, he's up there.

[jay]

• Richard (Saint Paul, MN): What are the chances that Sano is able to stick at 3b?
  

 

J.J. Cooper: I think very good. Scouts who have seen him this year say they think the questions about him sticking there are very overblown. He may eventually outgrow the position, but that could be years from now.

[diehardtwinsfan]

• Greg T. (Twin Cities): Max Kepler a top-100 guy in 2014? He's a forgotten guy in the Twins' system.
  

 

J.J. Cooper: He's making a pretty strong case for it right now. He's not forgotten, but yes, it's hard to be too noticed when you missed half the season with injuries and are playing in the same org as Buxton and Sano.

[gunnarthor]

Rosario and Berrios are two of the 10 "near misses".

 

That makes five of the top 60. Stewart should be included in their Top 100 next winter as well.

 

Was their an excerpt you can post on that?

[gunnarthor]

• Richard (Saint Paul, MN): What are the chances that Sano is able to stick at 3b?
  

 

J.J. Cooper: I think very good. Scouts who have seen him this year say they think the questions about him sticking there are very overblown. He may eventually outgrow the position, but that could be years from now.

 

I was going to post that, too. Having Sano stick at third - and remember the Twins were in the minority on that view last year - is huge. It let's them stick another elite bat at either RF/DH or 1B for awhile. Great news.

[Joe A. Preusser]

He's a 20 year old OPSing .827 in AA. I don't know if I'd call that "really struggling". He's scuffling only when compared to his own A+ numbers, which were basically a video game stat line.

 

AA is the level in which hitters start seeing guys who throw harder with better command and plus breaking pitches. It's not terribly surprising to see Miguel's stat line dip significantly as he adjusts to better pitching.

 

Yeah, nothing to worry about at all. He's walking a ton, which likely means both that he's seeing the ball well and that pitchers are being very careful around him. Seeing another 80-100 ABs worth of pitches will do wonders for his comfort level.

[Badsmerf]

Pretty fun to watch this minor league system right now. I've never been more excited about the future of this team.

[jokin]

Two of our top 3 have arrived on Ryan's watch, plus May and Berrois. I can't help but think that's pretty impressive for 18 months. I'm too lazy to do the research, but I wonder if any other GM has been able to accomplish that. IMHO it's pretty hard to minimize Ryan's role in all this.

 

It actually isn't hard at all. GM Bill Smith should get some of the credit for the horrendous 2011 season that gave the Twins the opportunity of being "qualified" for the #2 pick. Smith gets most of the credit for tabbing Berrios, as well, he was identified as a prospect under his watch, and the supplemental draft pick was created under his watch. Houston GM Jeffrey Luhnow should get some of the credit for drafting for need instead of drafting the BPA. Washington GM Mike Rizzo gets some of the credit, along with Smith, as they had been negotiating about the movement of Span to the Nats for quite some time beforehand. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro gets most of the credit regarding May (and Worley, gulp0, practically begging Ryan to take the deal for Revere.

[jokin]

Pretty fun to watch this minor league system right now. I've never been more excited about the future of this team.

 

Weren't you around in the previous 2 franchise turns? ('86/'02) Those were equally exciting, IMO, anyway. The 2 top-end elite players are certainly mouth-watering, we need to see the Viola/Santana Ace-type pitchers stepping up to the fore- before I can get more excited about the Next Turn.

[Oxtung]

I have to think Rosario is a bit underrated. How many 2B prospects are there with a shot at having a consistent OPS around .900, as that is his career minor league OPS, and he's 21? That's pretty impressive when you think about it, especially given that Beloit and Fort Meyers are strong pitchers leagues.

 

As for Meyer, I didn't realize he was touching 100. I do hope this shoulder thing is nothing.

 

Are you perhaps referring to this quote about Mike Foltynewicz, the prospect listed above Meyer?

 

Mike Foltynewicz

Fastball sat at 91-94 mph when he was drafted; now he touches 100 mph regularly.

 

For Meyer all they said was that he filled a power pitching need for the Twins.

[PseudoSABR]

BA has a Twins Midseason Update. Cliff notes anyone?

[diehardtwinsfan]

BA has a Twins Midseason Update. Cliff notes anyone?

Buxton is good. Sano is good.