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5. Eddie Rosario, OF (26)
Baseball is a game that can sometimes require a frustrating among of patience. For the better part of three seasons in the majors, Rosario tantalized with his immense potential. He had all the physical tools to be a star: good speed, outstanding arm, quick wrists, stunning strength, and – perhaps above all – that aggressive and fiercely competitive edge that often separates the great from the good.
For the first 250 games of his career, however, Rosario's output was suppressed by an almost legendary lack of discipline.
Entering this past season, the outfielder had drawn only 22 unintentional walks in 828 plate appearances, a mind-boggling 2.6 BB%. He continued to swing away in the early portion of 2017, but somewhere along the way there was an epiphany. Rosario certainly didn't become a patient hitter by any stretch, but he suddenly was laying off those truly unhittable offerings with unprecedented consistency. And then, he was an absolute monster.
After putting up a .660 OPS in April, Rosario finished at .810 or above in every following month. He showed a flare for the spectacular: a three-homer game in mid-June, a five-hit effort in July, a two-run homer at Yankee Stadium in the AL Wild Card Game.
Knowing Eddie, we can expect plenty more of that sort of bravado over the next four seasons before he's eligible for free agency.
4. Miguel Sano, 3B (24)
It feels strange to have Sano outside the top three in these rankings. As recently as July, he was on top of the world – an All-Star, Home Run Derby runner-up, on pace for 35 jacks and 100 RBI... all before his 25th birthday. But since then, it's been a rough go.
He hurt his shin in early August and barely played afterward. He missed the team's postseason appearance and subsequently had a titanium rod surgically placed in his leg. His commitment to diet/conditioning was publically called into question by a local columnist, and it wasn't the first time. And more recently, Sano was in the headlines last week for all the wrong reasons.
I've always counted myself as a huge Sano fan – I love the enthusiasm, the ferocious cuts, the fiery competitiveness – but even I can't deny that his stock has taken a significant ding, causing him to slide down at least two spots from where he'd have been a few months ago. Sano possesses the rare stuff that superstars and MVPs are made of, but at this point he's got some work to do in order to get back on that trajectory.
3. Jose Berrios, RHP (23)
The lean, mean, fireballing machine. A beyond-shaky 2016 arrival in the majors generated plenty of concern around Berrios. Were his spinning frisbee pitches too uncontrollable to keep in the zone (5.4 BB/9)? Would his short stature – often cited by doubters as a fatal flaw while he rocketed through the minors – make him too homer-prone (1.9 HR/9)?
It takes us back to the Rosario thing... patience. In 2016, Berrios was an overmatched 22-year-old kid struggling to stay afloat. He was openly determined to erase memories of that inauspicious debut, and in 2017 the right-hander did just that. Sent to the minors to open the year, Berrios torched Triple-A for a month, then burst onto the scene in Minnesota with back-to-back gems in May.
He had his ups and downs thereafter, but ultimately Berrios had himself a very strong year, holding opponents to a .239 average and sub-700 OPS while notching nearly a strikeout per inning. He doesn't turn 24 until late May and has been amazingly durable. The Twins can own his services through 2022 at least.
2. Royce Lewis, SS (18)
The baseball world was taken by surprise when the Twins selected prep shortstop Royce Lewis with the No. 1 overall pick in June, bypassing multiple players who were widely ranked above him by analysts. Six months later, the decision looks brilliant, not just because the club applied slot savings to load up later in the draft, but also because early evidence makes a good case for Lewis being the best player taken.
He went to the rookie-level Gulf Coast League and dominated with his advanced plate approach and blazing speed. Then he made the rare jump straight to Single-A as an 18-year-old, and more than held his own there (.296/.363/.394 in 18 games). Lewis ranked 39th on Baseball America's mid-season Top 100 list, released shortly after he was drafted, and his impressive work the rest of the way will surely move him further up the pre-2018 list.
Lewis is still extremely young but has already entered a rapid ascent. His athleticism is off the charts and his Year 1 performance in the pros helps validate his pedigree as a #1 draft choice. It's unknown whether he'll ultimately end up being a shortstop or center fielder, but either way Lewis stands out as one of the game's most prized assets and (thus far) a slam dunk signature addition by the new front office.
1. Byron Buxton, OF (24)
The 2011 Twins season was a pit of utter malaise. Colossal expectations that cratered early on, bilateral leg weakness, the Tsuyoshi Nishioka fiasco, Morneau's lingering concussion effects, Matt Capps... it all amounted to a 99-loss campaign that set off a half-decade of misery.
And yet... it was all worth it. Because that catastrophe enabled the Twins to land Byron Buxton in the 2012 MLB draft.
After being selected second overall, Buxton quickly gained distinction as the No. 1 prospect in baseball. Despite some injury setbacks while rising through the system, he still was in the major leagues by age 21.
While his offensive game took a bit longer to acclimate at the highest level than we'd hoped, by the latter half of 2017, Buxton looked like a comfortable, discerning hitter with power and game-changing speed. And he has already established himself as the most valuable defensive player in the league.
Buxton impacts games in so many ways, bringing entirely new levels of entertainment and excitement for the viewer. He received MVP votes and a Gold Glove at in his age-23 season, and I'm guessing he'll be getting plenty more of both in the coming seasons. Humble, likable and hardworking, he's a perfect face for the franchise.
The Twins own his rights for the next four years, and if they're smart, they are actively working on an extension right now that will keep him around for even longer. Buxton will be the centerpiece of Minnesota's efforts to forge a World Series winner through 2021 at least. You'll find few superior building blocks around the league.
OVERALL RANKINGS
20. Alex Kirilloff, OF (20)
19. Trevor May, RHP (28)
18. Wander Javier, SS (18)
17. Jason Castro, C (30)
16. Tyler Duffey, RHP (27)
15. Taylor Rogers, LHP (27)
14. Adalberto Mejia, LHP (24)
13. Nick Gordon, SS (22)
12. Fernando Romero, RHP (23)
11. Trevor Hildenberger, RHP (27)
10. Stephen Gonsalves, LHP (23)
9. Ervin Santana, RHP (35)
8. Brian Dozier, 2B (30)
7. Max Kepler, OF (24)
6. Jorge Polanco, SS (24)
5. Eddie Rosario, OF (26)
4. Miguel Sano, 3B (24)
3. Jose Berrios, RHP (23)
2. Royce Lewis, SS (18)
1. Byron Buxton, OF (24)
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