Twins Daily 2018 Top 20 Prospect Countdown: 16-20

Rortvedt seems too high, but will need to see the rest of the list to be sure.  Depends on where a lot of the relievers fall,  seems like many of them have fallen off the map in the last year (Burdi, Bard gone), (Reed ,Chaigos, Melentakos, and several others who were projected here two years ago are no longer on the list). 

It may just be that relievers are hard to read, and until they make it not all that valuable.

I too am disappointed with Rortvedt's progress.  It is nice to see that we got a good player from Atlanta's screw up.  First I have really read about him so it will be good to follow.  I really expected Jorge to be higher on the list and I hope Jay really steps forward now that he is healthy (I hope) and makes the moves that have been expected.

For a team already built around youth, this is a good start for our prospects.

Think they will move Severino to the outfield?  That infield at CR is already stacked. 

Toby is going to have to get creative.   

Think they will move Severino to the outfield?  That infield at CR is already stacked. 

Toby is going to have to get creative.   

I would think Severino is an EST/Elizabethton assignment at 18/19 yo and just GCL exp so far.

I actually thought Rortvedt would be slightly higher.  He almost tripled his games and PAs, then adjusted and improved at the plate while doing so. Being a secound round pick, the scouting department must have seen a lot they liked.  At 19, he had at least one good showing that he has the make-up to handle adversity (slow start at the plate) and handle a pitching staff over a full season.

It will be interesting to see if he's assigned to CR to build more confidence, or if that isn't a worry, and his make-up is further tested in the FSL.

Seems like every time a prospect list comes out on here, Rortvedt always get push back from people.  I being one of them.  Now, I'm confident enough to say I know baseball pretty well, but what I see doesn't even come close to what scouts and pros can see.  They must see something.  Watching him play and reading about him have helped understand a bit more on the kid.  He does call a good game, looks like he's turning a corner at the plate, and can throw people out.  He's got age on his side.  So that being said, he has the potential to be good, which is what Tom's ranking here.

All that being said, I think there are better players in our system that won't crack this list.

I'm excited to see what Rortvedt can do this summer though.

Hate to see Tyler Jay dropping like that, injury and all.  Drafted to be a starter, they really need him to at least be a good reliever.  Really never understood the gamble with I believe was the 6th overall pick, hoping he could develop into a starter when he'd never done it.  

With the exception of Jorge, who has a pretty good floor, IMO, any of those other 4 guys could have the sort of season, that when combined with their pedigrees, could shoot them up the rankings--or in Jay's case, into the Major Leagues.

Every time I see a "Rortveldt is too high" comment, it makes me think about the various backup catchers the Twins have traded and traded for, and how hard it is to judge catchers, especially relative to other players.  I have no idea if this is a fair ranking for Ben.  

It was a risk... Hasn't paid off, in large part due to injury, but there are a lot of smart people, including the likes of Keith Law (from this interview, http://twinsdaily.com/articles.html/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/keith-law-on-the-twins-minor-leagues-r5600 ). 

Thanks for digging this up, Seth. This might be the reason I'm more excited about Jay than the others on the list, although Rortvedt is also intriguing to me.

I have a distant recollection of opinions on this board that Butera was ranked too high when he made it all the way to, like, #23 in a much thinner system. Butera's the poster boy for why we should remember that a catcher's value doesn't get reflected very conclusively by his slash line. A lot of commenters ripped the FO and Gardy about Butera for years because of his atrocious bat (it WAS painful, wasn't it?), and he somehow managed to eek out a nice, long career on the strength of whatever value he delivered that I for one was unable to detect.

I think if they start Rortvedt in A+, that'll be another indication of his promise.

I think this is about right for Rortvedt; let's see how he progresses with the bat this season. If he can hit like the second half over the course of a full season, I'll be very encouraged. I think the team can afford to show some patience with him, and he looks like a C+ range prospect (to use a sickels grade) that could easily get himself into B range territory with only modest improvement at the plate.

I might have ranked Jay a little higher, because he should progress quickly now that he's back in a bullpen role but this seems fine. I was hoping he could transition to a starting role because I also thought he had the pitches to do it, but it's time to move on. I wonder: will his brief time working as a starter help him function in a multi-inning capacity in the bullpen? Wouldn't it be wonderful if he became the sort of pitcher who could come in as a fireman in the 5th-6th inning and finish off 1-2 batters and then still stay hot to go in the 6th-7th? Clearly his drop has more to do with the change in role and the injury history than his ability, so seeing him fall so far on the prospect chart doesn't bother me as much.

IMO it's easy to see what some see in Rortverdt...he's an extremely athletic catcher, with very high defensive upside, and a chance to hit half-way decently.  The key words in all that being the word 'catcher' and 'defensive'.  And, while I'm not much of a "he was young for his level" guy when it comes to prospects we are speculating might have actual value in the majors some day....he was REALLY young/inexperienced for his level last year.

I also think he will at least start in CR, with the hope that he will settle in early and earn a promotion relatively early during the season.

And Butera is still providing value for this team, in a way:
Butera -> Sulbaran -> Nunez -> Mejia

Good point. Also a great example of how a strategy of trading from MLB surplus for high-value prospects can pay off.

Nice start to the list. I think Jay is probably closer to 10 than 20 but there's probably not a lot of difference between 12 and 19 on this years list. It's a deep system. Rortvedt is a sleeper. I like him a lot. He's not the next Joe Mauer but I think he can be a solid ML starting catcher, which is hard to find.

 

I forgot about Sevirino but he could be fun to watch develop. The scouting reports on him were mixed but if the Twins can fix the concern some have in his swing maybe he can become a poor man's Willie Calhoun? I'm blah on Jorge. He'll probably get some time in the majors this year but I think he's a AAAA type. Hope I'm wrong. This is a big year for Blankenhorn. He'll be 22. Time to see him put up better numbers. 

Agree with your takes on Rortvedt and Jorge.

Rortvedt will be just fine.  Already a stud receiver and a leader.  The offense will take awhile transitioning from Wisconsin HS ball to the pros.  Like him much better than Banuelos or Navarreto.

With Jorge, yeah...hard to see him cracking a playoff caliber rotation on a regular basis.  Probably a guy that gets called up occasionally for a spot start or a 26th man for a double-header.

Oh, i agree, it was more a "if they think he's really got a shot there" comment.....I have no idea if he does or not.

Yeah...I don't think they're saying that clubs are going to simply start taking their 4th and 5th best starters and automatically plug them into the late-inning role.  Instead, I took the comment to mean that clubs are starting to feel or starting to find that the ability to command one great pitch is more rare than the ability to command 2-3 average pitches.  At the same time, 4th and 5th guys get skipped so much, don't have a post-season role, etc., etc.  I'm oversimplifying, but this is how I interpret the FG comment.