Seth's Preliminary Top 50 Twins Prospects: Part 1 (41-50)

Players eligible to be on this list include players who remain eligible for Rookie of the Year voting in 2017. That is to say, hitters with less than 130 at-bats and pitchers with less than 50 innings. (The list is preliminary. Following research for the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2017 - which Cody Christie, Jeremy Nygaard and I are working on - I’ll provide my final Top 30 prospects list.)

Top Prospects 41-50

#50 – Tyler Wells - 22 – RHP – Elizabethton Twins

The Twins used their 15th round pick this June on the right-hander from Cal State-San Bernadino. There, he made 15 starts and was 4-7 despite a 2.84 ERA. He had 89 strikeouts in 92 innings. At 6-8 and about 265 pounds, he has the potential to be a hard-throwing, strikeout pitcher. Obviously he’s got a long ways to go to get there. He finished the season with 19.1 scoreless innings. In his penultimate start, he gave up just one hit over seven innings and struck out 14 batters. He makes this list as a guy worth watching.

#49 – Taylor Clemensia - 19 – LHP – GCL Twins

The young Amsterdam native played in the Dutch leagues for a couple of years. He was an outfielder, a very good athlete with a big arm. The Twins signed him and moved him to the mound. He had a solid debut in the GCL this year. He posted a 2.47 ERA in 11 games (43.2 innings). He showed the ability to miss bats, at times, and he fought with control ,at times. However, Clemensia is said to have a good feel for pitching despite the fact he’s still learning.

#48 – Travis Harrison - 23 – OF - Chattanooga Lookouts

Harrison was the 50th overall pick of the 2011 draft out of high school in California. He’s been around quite some time, but he still is just 23 years old. In 2016, he repeated the AA Southern League level. Unfortunately, it was a difficult season. His batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage all dipped. He moved from left field to right field in 2016. In mid-July, he was hit in the head with a pitch and missed about two weeks with a concussion. He hit just .191 in 37 more games for the rest of the season. He’s got a strong work ethic, and 2017 will be a big year as he could become a free agent at the end of the season.

#47 – Michael Cederoth - 23 – RHP – Cedar Rapids Kernels

Cederoth was the Twins 3rd round pick in 2014 out of San Diego State. He was tried as a starter that season and at the start of the 2015 season. After missing the second half of the 2015 season with an illness, he began 2016 on the DL with an oblique strain. Once he came back to the Kernels, he was very good. He went 4-0 with a 2.45 ERA. In 47.2 innings, he gave up 35 hits, walked 33 and struck out 62 batters. Cederoth throws real hard and now that he’s healthy, he could move up quickly in 2016.

#46 – Williams Ramirez - 24 – RHP – Cedar Rapids Kernels

Ramirez is already a little bit older, but he’s still worth watching. He signed at an older age and debuted in the DSL at age 20. He spent two seasons there transitioning from infielder to pitcher. He was our choice for Twins Daily short-season pitcher of the year in 2015 when he went 4-2 with a 1.14 ERA and 0.91 WHIp and 10.3 K/9 in the GCL last year. After starting the 2016 season in Extended Spring Training, but by mid-June, he was up with the Kernels. As Jake Mauer told me in late May, his first night game with the Kernels was the first time he had ever pitched under the lights. Ramirez is a max-effort pitcher who works in the mid-90s. He’s also got a very sharp slider. He’s likely going to be a bullpen arm at this point.

#45 – Miguel De Jesus - 21 – RHP – GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins

De Jesus signed with the Twins in 2014 from the Dominican Republic. He pitched there in 2015 before coming to the States this year. He began in the GCL where he made seven starts and went 3-1 with a 2.06 ERA. In 35 innings, he walked 11 and struck out 34. He was moved up to Elizabethton where he went 0-2 in four starts with a 3.00 ERA. He turned 21 just last week. He sits 92-96 with a fastball that gets a lot of movement. At 6-2 and a wiry 175 pounds, he has room for growth.

#44 – Yorman Landa - 22 – RHP – Ft. Myers Miracle

The Twins signed Landa as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela. He slowly works his way up the system, continuing to develop. He missed some time in 2014 and again in 2015 with a shoulder injury, but when he came back in the second half of 2015 in Cedar Rapids, he showed an upper-90s fastball with secondary pitches with big potential. Following the season, he was added to the Twins 40-man roster. He moved up to Ft. Myers this year. He made the Florida State League All Star team and hit 100 mph with three pitches in his inning. He went on the DL in July with more shoulder issues. Injury has been the one thing that has held him back, and keeps him from being higher on this list, but when healthy, he has potential to be a terrific late-inning reliever.

#43 – Dereck Rodriguez - 24 – RHP – Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle

Rodriguez is the son of soon-to-be Hall of Famer Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez. The Twins drafted him in the 6th round of the 2011 draft as an outfielder. He spent three seasons in the rookie leagues trying to hit. Starting in 2014, he made the transition to the mound. In 2015, he was the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year in Elizabethton. He began the 2016 season in the Cedar Rapids rotation. Through his first nine starts, he was 1-7 with a 7.71 ERA. At that point, things started getting better. In his final nine starts with the Kernels, he went 3-4 with a 3.02 ERA and went at least six innings in each of those starts. He moved up to Ft. Myers where he went 1-2 but posted a 2.56 ERA. So while his overall numbers in 2016 don’t look great a deeper look shows that he started figuring things out over the final three months of the season.

#42 – Aaron Whitefield - 20 – IF/OF – GCL Twins

Signed out of Australia in the summer of 2015, Whitefield is an intriguing prospect. He hadn’t really played much baseball until shortly below that time. He had played for Team Australia in international softball competitions. However, he has great speed and some power potential. He can play all over the diamond. He was one of just a couple of GCL players who played nearly every day. He was the team’s leadoff hitter and hit .298/.370/.366 (.737) with seven doubles and two homers. He also stole 31 bases in 40 attempts. He was encouraged to run and had the green light. He played 1B and 3B and all three outfield positions. He just turned 20 at the start of September.

#41 – Zander Wiel - 24 – 1B – Cedar Rapids Kernels

Wiel was the Twins’ 12th round pick in 2015 out of Vanderbilt. His debut summer was shortened when he was hit in the wrist with a pitch. He struggled early in 2016 in Cedar Rapids, but as Parker pointed out in a recent article, he made some adjustments and his numbers in the second half were terrific. In July, he posted a .310/.407/.660 (1.067) with nine doubles, a triple and eight home runs. He ended the season strong too. He had nine hits over his final four games including four home runs and 11 RBI. He ended the season with 86 RBI which led the Midwest League. The first baseman had 17 errors at first base during the season.

So what do you think of Part 1, Prospects 41-50? Next up will be prospects 31-40.