Seth's Preliminary Top 50 Twins Prospects: Part 6 (11-15)

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 11-15

#15 – Nick Burdi - 23 – RH RP – Chattanooga Lookouts

Burdi was the Twins second-round pick in 2014 out of Louisville. That summer, he pitched in Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers. He began 2015 in Chattanooga but struggled enough to be sent back to Ft. Myers. He walked three and struck out 29 in 20 innings for the Miracle before moving back up to the Lookouts where he and JT Chargois shut the door in the late innings of their Southern League championship run. He went to the Arizona Fall League where he walked one and struck out 11 in eight scoreless innings. Burdi was invited to big league spring training and really impressed the coaching staff. He went to minor league camp and was shut down with some forearm soreness. He returned and threw in three games for the Lookouts before being shut down with a bone bruise near his elbow. He didn’t return. But the 23-year-old remains a top relief pitching prospect because of a big, upper-90s fastball and a terrific slider. With health, we should see him in a Twins uniform in 2017.

#14 – LaMonte Wade - 23 – OF – Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle

Wade was the Twins ninth-round pick in 2015 out of the University of Maryland. After signing, he went to Elizabethton where he hit .312/.428/.506 (.934) with eight doubles, five triples and nine home runs. What stood out is that he walked 46 times and struck out just 34 times. He ended the season with four games in Cedar Rapids, which is where he started the 2016 season. He was a Midwest League All-Star after hitting .280/.410/.396 (.806) with 13 extra base hits. He walked 44 times with just 27 strikeouts. After the game, he was promoted to the Miracle. In the Florida State League, he hit .318/.386/.518 (.904) before his season came to an end with an injury. While he played center field throughout most of the 2016, he likely profiles more as a left fielder. Wade has an extremely professional approach at the plate. He’s solid all-around and people are most impressed with his makeup. He can hit and has gap-to-gap power that could develop more into home run power. He’s got average outfield speed and runs the bases well. None of his tools jump out when you watch him once, but over time, one can notice that he really doesn’t have a weakness in his game.

#13 – Huascar Ynoa - 18 – RHP – GCL Twins

Ynoa was the Twins biggest international signing in July of 2014, signing for about $800,000. He made his professional debut in 2015 in the DSL where he went 2-5 but posted a 2.70 ERA in 56.2 innings. He came to the States for the 2016 season and pitched for the GCL Twins. He went 3-5 with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. In 51 innings, he walked 12 and struck out 51. Ynoa’s brother, Michael, was originally signed by the A’s for $4.25 million but debuted in the White Sox bullpen in 2016. Michael is 6-7 and 210 pounds. Huascar is 6-3 and about 215 pounds. Huascar throws 90 to 95 mph with movement. He’s still working on his secondary pitches. He has the ability to be nasty, but as you would expect of an 18-year-old, he’ll need to be more consistent.

#12 – Felix Jorge - 22 – RHP – Ft. Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts

Jorge signed with the Twins in 2010 as a 16-year-old from the Dominican Republic. He spent a season in the DSL. He came to the States in 2012 and pitched in the GCL. He moved up to Elizabethton in 2013. He began the 2014 season in Cedar Rapids, but after a month of struggling, he went back to EST. He pitched for the E-Twins again and was the Appy League Pitcher of the Year. He returned to Cedar Rapids in 2015 as a different pitcher. He went 6-7 with a 2.79 ERA. He began 2016 in the vaunted Miracle starting rotation. According to some reports, he was the best of the group in Ft. Myers. He went 9-3 with a 1.55 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP in 93 innings. He moved up to AA Chattanooga where he experienced some issues. In 11 starts, he went 3-5 with a 4.12 and a 1.28 WHIP. Overall, he walked just 1.2 per nine innings. In Ft. Myers, he struck out 7.5 per nine, but that dropped to just 3.9 per nine over his 74.1 innings in AA. He ended the season with a complete game, one-run game against Jackson. And in reality, he gave up more than three runs in just two of his 11 starts for the Lookouts. He also worked five or more innings in all 11 starts, and he worked into the seventh inning in seven of 11 starts because he keeps the pitch count down. Jorge attacks the zone with a fastball that touches the 94-95 range at times. He throws a ton of strikes, generally keeping the ball on the ground. Jorge could have been selected in the Rule 5 draft last offseason. Will the Twins add him this November?

#11 – Daniel Palka - 24 – OF – Chattanooga Lookouts/Rochester Red Wings

Last November, Terry Ryan traded Chris Herrmann to the Arizona Diamondbacks. In return, the team received OF/1B Daniel Palka. Until then, few Twins fans knew of Palka. However, we all checked out his stats and found that last year in High-A Visalia, he hit .280/.352/.532 (.885) with 36 doubles, three triples, 29 home runs, 90 RBI and 24 stolen bases. This for Chris Herrmann, who was out of options and not likely to stick with the Twins in 2016. Palka reported to Twins minor league spring training. He got an opportunity to play in a big league game, and he hit home runs in his first two at-bats. He added another two days later in a big league game. It was a sign of things to come for Palka in 2016. He began the season in Chattanooga where he hit .270/.348/.547 (.894) with 12 doubles, four triples, 21 homers and 65 RBI in 79 games. He was a Southern League All-Star and later was promoted to AAA Rochester. In 54 games with the Miracle, he hit .232/.296/.483 (.779) with 12 doubles, 13 homers and 25 home runs. In AA, he struck out 29% of the time. In AAA, he struck out 39% of the time. Palka has Sano and Walker power. Like Walker, he’ll have to cut down his strikeout rate to have big league success, but sometime in 2017, he will get an opportunity. He has to be added to the Twins 40-man roster in November or risk losing him in the Rule 5 draft.

So there you have it, my choices for Twins prospects 11-15. We’ll be back tomorrow with Part 7, Prospects 6-10.