http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2014-top-10-prospects-minnesota-twins/

 

Nice things to say about the Twins - "The organization is positioning itself to be a true powerhouse in the American League Central." Credits the Twins for finding impact players in the draft, trades and international signings.

Solid read. Lots of good info. I'm in the minority but I have Stewart #3 and Meyer #4. I don't care that Meyer is closer. Stewart's all around package is insane.

Seems to me like Danny Santana is too high. He'll slug like Ben Revere, walk like Ben Revere, but won't put up a batting average over .300 to mitigate the other lacks. I just don't see him topping a .650 OPS in the majors, but I'd love to be wrong.

 

Also, I think Gonsalves could have been in the honorable mention spot, probably over Turner.

 

Oh well. I'm just picking nits but still excited about the prospects over all.

I just wonder how many times Marc Hulet watched these guys play or even followed them through the season (other than the top 3 perhaps), instead of looking up other top prospect lists like Mayo's and Callis'... I suspect not that many. That's why I really shy away from most of the national team top prospect lists. BA and mlb.com and minorleagueball.com (or whatever Sickels calls his site) are the exceptions. The rest are pretty derivitive... There were national lists this time last season having Michael in the top ten...

Agreed that Santana might be too high, though prospect rankers do love their shortstops. I'm not as high on Walker as many are, mostly because of his low BB/OBP skills, but he's normally in this range.

He mentions questioning Sano's age, I hadn't heard anything on that front for quite some time. Also didn't Sano get a fair amount of extra scrutiny when he turned 16 about his age? Seems like it probably would've come out then.

He mentions questioning Sano's age, I hadn't heard anything on that front for quite some time. Also didn't Sano get a fair amount of extra scrutiny when he turned 16 about his age? Seems like it probably would've come out then.

 

When you are 20 and look the way Sano does people will always question. MLB did a lot of tests and came back saying he was 16 when signed. I'm not worried about it at all.

I really liked Hulet's comments about Stewart - could be a top 20 guy next year. I think I tend to be a little down on him simply because he isn't in that same Sano/Buxton/Meyer etc group that has been debuting between last season and 2015. But he and Thorpe and Berrios make a nice potential group coming in a year or so later than that. And maybe quicker depending on how fast the Twins promote.

He mentions questioning Sano's age, I hadn't heard anything on that front for quite some time. Also didn't Sano get a fair amount of extra scrutiny when he turned 16 about his age? Seems like it probably would've come out then.

 

That was put to bed years ago. They carbon dated his right arm and found he contained 3% pterodactyl DNA.

A little bit after that article they posted the Steamer projections for the Twins top prospects if they hypothetically played a full year in the majors. Now these are just projections and just kind of a fun thing to look at in the offseason, but they have Josmil Pinto at 2.7 WAR with a defense of 10. I'm just sayin, I wouldn't complain if that happened.

 

You can see the rest here: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/steamer-projects-minnesota-twins-prospects/

Is TJ surgery really a concern for Sano right now? I hadn't heard anything negative on his elbow injury recently so I assumed his recovery/rehab was going well.

 

Would much appreciate it if someone who knows more than I would comment on to what extent we should be concerned over Sano's elbow and the possibility of TJ.

I didn't like this list much past Rosario.

2014 is the year Kepler needs to show us something. I kinda like Santana but I would put Thorpe in his place given some of the recent scouting reports.

Is TJ surgery really a concern for Sano right now? I hadn't heard anything negative on his elbow injury recently so I assumed his recovery/rehab was going well.

 

Would much appreciate it if someone who knows more than I would comment on to what extent we should be concerned over Sano's elbow and the possibility of TJ.

TJS is always a concern for any elbow that's been carbon dated.

I didn't like this list much past Rosario.

 

Yeah. Kepler and Santana were both strange inclusions so high on the list.

A little bit after that article they posted the Steamer projections for the Twins top prospects if they hypothetically played a full year in the majors. Now these are just projections and just kind of a fun thing to look at in the offseason, but they have Josmil Pinto at 2.7 WAR with a defense of 10. I'm just sayin, I wouldn't complain if that happened.

 

You can see the rest here: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/steamer-projects-minnesota-twins-prospects/

 

However the scouting report that was posted brought up a couple of concerns which could cause his MiLB numbers (Steamer projections are based on them) to dip as he moves up to the majors. I would move him up over Santana and Kepler though.

 

I think it says something for the system that Walker and Vargas are excluded. Same goes for Eades. Typically 2nd rd picks are near locks to be top 15 prospects in a farm system.

I didn't like this list much past Rosario.

 

You don't like the players or you don't like the list?

 

Santana is the head-scratcher to me. I wouldn't put him that high.

Is TJ surgery really a concern for Sano right now? I hadn't heard anything negative on his elbow injury recently so I assumed his recovery/rehab was going well.

 

Would much appreciate it if someone who knows more than I would comment on to what extent we should be concerned over Sano's elbow and the possibility of TJ.

 

LEN III just addressed this:

 

And here's a Miguel Sano update. The slugging prospect was shut down early in winter ball season because of a strained right ulnar collateral ligament. But he's been examined in Fort Myers, Fla., and has been given a clean bill of health. He'll return to the Dominican Republic, where he'll resume throwing, then return to Fort Myers in January to train in advance of the 2014 season.

 

Hopefully it really is behind him. When they let him play during Spring Training I'll breathe a sigh of relief.

 

Santana is the head-scratcher to me. I wouldn't put him that high.

 

This is a derivative list. Mayo has Santana 12th, so he will be high in a lot of the derivatives. Another example: Sickels got Thorpe 7th so a lot of the derivatives (like Parks' in BP) jumped on that bandwagon.

 

 

Easy. Imagine trying to make an Astros prospect list from scratch without following the Astros. You look at existing lists and mix and match. That's what most of the National guys do with Twins' lists.

 

That's why all the national lists other than Mayo's/mlb.com, BA's and Sickels' are pretty much worthless.

Edited December 13, 201312 yr by Thrylos

You don't like the players or you don't like the list?

 

Santana is the head-scratcher to me. I wouldn't put him that high.

 

Didn't like where they were ranked. Pinto was too low. Santana and Kepler have no business being there. Polanco is arguable.

Not a huge fan of this list. I think Thorpe should easily be in the top 10 at this point. By this time next year the Twins could have Meyer (if he doesn't get enough innings to go over rookie status), Stewart, Berrios, Thorpe all in the top 100 prospects. If the Twins can hit on the next draft pick, they will be very well positioned to have another long run of success.

I'm not in complete agreement with the list, but in an odd way, I think it's a good thing that there's so much room for debate about the order.

 

It really speaks to the depth of the Twins' system that there are a handful of guys that you could arguably put in the top 10-15 that weren't even mentioned. Too much talent is always a good thing.