3 Twins Prospects Off to Great Starts

We have some really great prospects, the 3 you mentioned are 3 of my favorites. Miranda must've had the wind let go from his sails when he got sent down but he'll come back. Expect great things from Martin and a lot of our pitching prospects, My radar is also on Noah Miller and E Rod

I will be honest I had not heard of Encarnacion-Strand until this early hot weekend.  He strikes me as someone that will need to keep proving he can put up numbers at each level until he is considered a serious prospect.  If he can really defend at 3rd and not just a bat only that will help.  

From what I saw, he has always hit well, but huge concerns about his chase rate and K rate.  Now, I was one that always defended Eddie for his chase rate, that sometimes there are guys that can expand the zone and get hits.  They are few and far between though.  The big question will be when he starts facing the same guys, scouting reports get out on him, and he faces higher competition if that chase rate really starts to hurt him with more K's and more weak contacts, or will he learn to be more selective on what he swings at. 

I agree with the list.  I would add Mark Contreras as a guy who has a great start after a nice year last year.  He has 2 homeruns, 7 RBI, 3 stolen basis and is hitting .353 with an 1.274 OPS.  He is a better prospect than many people realize.  

8 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Great start for Contreras, but he's 27 and not on the 40-man roster. On a different roster, he might be a good candidate for fourth OF, but it is pretty hard to call him a prospect.

Thanks for the comment stringer bell.  I don't think whether someone is on the 40 man determines his prospect status as that can change quickly.  As for his age, Rooker is 27 and we put him on our prospect lists right up until the trade.  Every player has a different development trajectory.  I am not suggesting he is Royce Lewis, but Garlick is not on the roster and neither is Cave, and if the Twins need a 4th outfielder (probably won't if sign Upton) I would take him over the other two.  Actually, Ted Schwerzler had a nice article about him on this site you might enjoy.  

24 minutes ago, RJA said:

I don't think whether someone is on the 40 man determines his prospect status as that can change quickly.  As for his age, Rooker is 27 and we put him on our prospect lists right up until the trade.  Every player has a different development trajectory.  

I suppose a 27 year old could be a prospect but if that 27 year old is not yet on the 40 man roster I think that tells you the team themselves doesn't consider the player much of a prospect

That was an interesting short update on some of our fast starting prospects.  I hope yoou keep writing like this about the minors for those of us who otherwise wouldn't be up to date. 

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

Why do people limit a starting pitching prospect to "middle of the rotation"? I think Woods-Richardson, Canterino and Balazovic, to name a few, have the potential to lead a rotation, maybe not as rookies but soon.

Evaluators will rarely project a player to be a #1 starter or even a #2, because the flame-out rate is so high with pitchers. It's always "He's got the stuff to be a font-line starter, but until he refines a 3rd pitch/improves his command/gets consistently deeper into games we project him as a mid-rotation starter". It's essentially hedging your bets in an arena where there's always a LOT of uncertainty. (frankly, they're not wrong to do it.) If a guy emerges as an ace, it'll happen in MLB as well.

besides, there's still no agreement on what a #1 starter even is? Some people consider a #1 an "ace", a Cy Young candidate pitcher, etc. Others go "is he one of the best 25-30 pitchers in baseball?" 

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

I didn't consider Rooker a prospect either. 27 and up rookies breaking in and making an impact are pretty rare. If the Twins part with Kepler or make Kirilloff an full-time first baseman, I think Contreras would be a good fit to be promoted and I think he would do okay. With the amount of injuries that occur, I would expect one of the three non-roster outfielders getting a chance with the big club at some point this year. Cave and Garlick have the advantage of MLB experience, but if Contreras has performed clearly better than those two, he might get the nod.

Contreras is at best a bench player so I wouldn't consider him to be much of a prospect either, but what really hurts him is that he's a LH hitter just like Kepler, Kirilloff, and Larnach. 

I would consider Yennier Cano, who is also 27, to be a prospect - he started very late in the MILB system and I think he still has very high upside as a reliever.

Reading these comments left me with one question.  Should the Twins need a fourth outfielder to actually play a lot this year, who should it be? 

I know they added Celestino to the opening roster, but would Contreras actually be a better option?  Is it not true that Contreras plays all three outfield positions and was the best defensive outfielder in the organization (minor leagues only) last year?  I understand that Celestino was outta whack last year because of the premature callup, but didn't Contreras hit better while they were with the Saints?  Is it possible that Contreras would be the better player for the Twins, at least in 2022?

17 minutes ago, roger said:

Reading these comments left me with one question.  Should the Twins need a fourth outfielder to actually play a lot this year, who should it be? 

I know they added Celestino to the opening roster, but would Contreras actually be a better option?  Is it not true that Contreras plays all three outfield positions and was the best defensive outfielder in the organization (minor leagues only) last year?  I understand that Celestino was outta whack last year because of the premature callup, but didn't Contreras hit better while they were with the Saints?  Is it possible that Contreras would be the better player for the Twins, at least in 2022?

Maybe 2023 but 2022 big league is not training camp try-outs for rookies; last year was necessity, if they do it again the cellar will be their reward.

5 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Great start for these guys. Lewis proving himself worthy would be an absolute boon to this organization.

Looks like he quieted down his swing too. Still has the minor leg kick, but seemed to me before he was injured that there were lots of extra dance moves in his set up and swing.

If Lewis can show he is healthy, and can provide offense, I bet we see him come up to play 3rd base much of this season and back up SS when needed.  I know Miranda is knocking too, but there is only so many at-bats to go around.  I would love to see the debates of Miranda, Lewis, and Martin all showing they deserve a chance, and having to argue if anyone on Majors should be traded or cut to make room.  Hopefully it is not who gets call up because of injuries or poor performances at MLB level.