TRex

Wednesday night, the Cedar Rapids Kernels and their Major League partner, the Minnesota Twins, combined to put on a terrific program for eastern Iowa baseball fans as the Twins once again included a stop in Cedar Rapids for their annual Winter Caravan in conjunction with the Kernels' annual Hot Stove Banquet.
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Kris Atteberry (far left) tosses questions to Winter Caravan panelists (seated L to R) Brian Dinkelman, Toby Gardenhire, Jeremy Zoll, Zack Granite and Mitch Garver. (photo: SD Buhr)
 
The Eastbank Venue & Lounge, along the banks of the Cedar River in downtown Cedar Rapids, was a new venue for the event and was a great choice (despite the predominantly purplish lighting, which resulted in a heavy blue hue in virtually every photograph I took at the event, with or without a flash).
 
There was no shortage of both familiar and less familiar faces among the Winter Caravan panel the Twins sent to town for the evening.
 
The program was emceed by Twins radio broadcaster Kris Atteberry, who distributed questions to the panel.
 
Two new faces shared the stage with three that were more familiar to local fans.
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Twins farm director Jeremy Zoll (photo: SD Buhr)
 
New Kernels manager Toby Gardenhire (son of Ron Gardenhire, the longtime manager of the Twins who will be taking the reins in the Detroit Tigers dugout this season) was in attendance, as was his new boss, Jeremy Zoll. The 27-year-old Zoll enters his first season as the Twins' Director of Minor League Operations.
 
Atteberry may have had the best line of the night, telling the crowd that his first question for Zoll was going to be the same question the bartender had asked Zoll, "Can I see your ID?"
 
Kernels hitting coach Brian Dinkelman, who returns to the Kernels again in 2018, was joined by two other familiar faces: former Kernels Mitch Garver and Zack Granite. Both players have now made their big league debuts, finishing the 2017 season with the Twins, and will be going to spring training intent on earning spots on the Twins' opening day roster.
 
The featured guests were made available to the media for interviews for a few minutes before the event kicked off and I had the opportunity to speak to Garver and Granite about the paths their careers had taken since their days with the Kernels.
 
Garver played in 120 games for the 2014 version of the Kernels and hit for a .298 average. His career has steadily progressed each year since.
 
Granite's time in Cedar Rapids was cut short by injury in 2014, but he returned in 2015 and immediately hit so well that he earned a quick promotion to Class A Advanced Fort Myers.
 
Wanting to make the most of what time I had with each player, I asked them both the same question to kick off the interviews.
 
If you could go back in time, knowing what you know now, and give the Cedar Rapids Kernels version of yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?
 
"I would say relax," answered Garver.
 
"Because when I was at this level, I put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed. Being a senior sign, kind of having that rope get a little bit shorter as my age goes up. It's like, man, I need to get promoted. I need to prove well at every level. I need to do this and that and I need to do it quickly. And I think that kind of took a toll on me.
 
"I did have a really good learning process while I was (in Cedar Rapids), but if I could have just told myself, 'just trust the process, you're going to get there. Believe in yourself.' It would have gone a lot smoother."
 
But would he have been concerned that might have caused his younger self to relax too much?
 
"No, I don't think so. I've always been pedal to the metal. I want to do the best I can at everything I do.
 
"So if I'd have known all that back then, I'd have had the same thought process, going about my work and improving, but I could have gotten (to the Major Leagues) with a little more sleep maybe."
 
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Zack Granite and Mitch Garver (photo: SD Buhr)
 
And what would today's Zack Granite tell his younger self to do?
 
"Probably to grow up," he said.
 
"I was probably a little immature, took too many at-bats too seriously.
 
"It's a long season. I kind of didn't really know that yet. I'd never played a full season (of professional baseball) yet. There's so many at-bats in a season and if you get out or make a mistake, it's on to the next one. That's how you've got to be.
 
"I feel like that's the only way to be successful, to clear your mind. Every at-bat is different and don't take one at-bat into the next. I did that when I was younger. I've kind of grown out of that and that's helped me along the way."
 
Was that a tough adjustment for Granite to make, after years where you get so many fewer opportunities to bat in a season?
 
"It took some time for me to get used to that. Even when I was at Elizabethton, it's a short season. I never really played a full season until I got to here.
 
"My first season (in Cedar Rapids) I got hurt, so I didn't play too much. Then I came back and did pretty well and went to Fort Myers. But even in that short time I was here, I was kind of taking at-bats into the next one.
 
"I think if I would have done that at an earlier age, took every at-bat separately, I think I would have been more successful."
 
The Twins and Kernels will enter their sixth season as affiliates this spring. Seeing young players like Mitch Garver and Zack Granite realize the big league dream they were working so hard to achieve when they were busing around the Midwest League, then come back to town as Major Leaguers, has been one of the best aspects of the Kernels/Twins relationship.
 
-Steve
 
P.S. Once again, apologies for the "blue-tinted" photos. I suppose I could have spent a bunch of time editing the color out, but frankly, I just didn't feel like devoting the time necessary to do that. So let's just pretend I did it all on purpose, as an homage to the Vikings' playoff run.
 
(This article was originally posted at knuckleballsblog.com)

In what may be the only time I’m ever in the men’s restroom at CHS Field, I took in the world premiere of “Safe at Home” last night, Mixed Blood Theatre’s new show about baseball, race and immigration. The story takes place prior to game seven of the World Series and centers on whether a Dominican pitcher scheduled to start the biggest game of his career will instead use the platform to protest the game and take a political stand. The show is divided up into nine “scenes” (or shall we call them “innings”) scattered throughout the ballpark, each with their own story to tell: in one, an Irish and Latino vendor argue about the profitability of selling beer versus churros; in another, the owner of the team (and newspaper publisher) discusses the merits of “responsible journalism” with the reporter ready to break the story prior to the game. As a baseball fan, I thought the scene between the umpire and the MLB executive was particularly well acted and fascinating as they discussed exactly how this would play out if it actually happened in a game.
 
The story is definitely topical and the issues resonate, especially with the choice of using a baseball game as the backdrop to the simmering issues presented as opposed to, say, a football game – after all, baseball is the national pastime with a deep history inextricably linked with our struggles as a nation. The show itself is a technical achievement – groups of 25 are guided to different areas in the ballpark by an usher to watch separate seven minute scenes that run like clockwork throughout the evening. (At the performance I attended, our usher shared that he has learned a lot about baseball in working on this play, saying, “I’ve learned that the ball is round.” I think he was kidding.) It also takes theatre fans outside their comfort zone as you’re standing up in sometimes cramped quarters while the drama takes place right in front of you. Attendees seemed unsure as to whether they were supposed to clap at the end of each scene so we did what Minnesotans do – we just stood there awkwardly until the usher directed us to the next scene.
 
I have enjoyed many Saints games at CHS Field (and if you haven’t been there yet you really should check them out this season) so I knew I would appreciate my surroundings. As the show serves as a veritable tour of the ballpark, I caught myself a couple of times paying more attention to that than watching the show – during the scene in the clubhouse, my eyes drifted to the “Hall of Saints” pictures located above the lockers. “Oh yeah, I remember Rey Ordonez played for the Saints,” I caught myself thinking, and then, “wait a minute, there’s a show going on here. Focus!” I give credit to the writers and director that they kept the drama flowing even as you’re being shepherded periodically throughout the ballpark onto the next scene.
 
The acting is strong throughout and that may be the one regret I had about the show – at the end of the 90 minute performance you’re ushered into the Saints dugout and back through the stands to leave the ballpark without the chance for the actors to take a bow and show your appreciation for their work. But this is a minor quibble, if you’re a baseball fan this is a fantastic opportunity to see an entertaining new show in a beautiful setting. The pre-show gathering spot is in the Securian Club (the enclosed and heated space along right field) and while you’re outside briefly to travel from scene to scene, they all take place indoors. The show only runs through Sunday, so for more information about performance times and tickets, visit Mixed Blood’s website.

According to sources, Twins general manager Terry Ryan is getting more and more tired of having to dress up as former Indians executive Derek Falvey every morning at spring training, and is considering other options. Ryan, 63, hatched the deception last year as the Twins slid to the worst season in franchise history, but reportedly is tired of the extra work that the disguise involves.
 
Friends say that Ryan now grouses throughout his daily two-hour makeup session, which transforms him into a reasonable facsimile of Falvey, who until recently served as the general manager in Cleveland, where his partnership with manager Terry Francona helped return the woebegone franchise to the World Series in 2016. Ryan is also increasingly worried about the potential legal ramifications of kidnapping Falvey, former Rangers executive Thad Levine, and Minnesota director of baseball research Jack Goin, locking the three in a basement, and hiring actors to portray the latter two.
 
"Terry just wonders if he's doing the right thing here, what with the three counts of felony kidnapping he'll no doubt face," said a source. "Plus, the disguise is really starting to irritate his skin, especially the hairpiece."
 
Sources say that Twins president Dave St. Peter okayed the scheme midway through the 2016 season, allowing Ryan and company to keep control of the Twins' dealings for future seasons, while portraying a changing front office to disgruntled fans. St. Peter and others have been concerned about Ryan's offseason dealings, which were so Ryan-like as to raise questions from a fanbase that has long been used to the GM's over-cautious, cheap strategies.
 
Insiders say that Ryan is considering hiring a third actor to portray Falvey, while officially returning to the team as a "special advisor," thus removing the need for the morning disguise routine. Ryan has also toyed with the idea of "outing" himself by awarding a roster spot to a terrible veteran pitcher at the expense of a prospect, but - after signing Hector Santiago, Matt Belisle, and Ryan Vogelsong - is unsure how much more he could do.
 
"He's just getting tired," said the source. "If he signs Jason Bartlett again, then you'll know - he wants people to find him out. Until then, he'll have to keep going with the ruse."

I did something recently that I hadn’t done in probably 15 years.
 
It used to be a habit. In fact, in retrospect, it may have actually become my very first true habit – something I came to feel I needed. Whether it was a good habit or a bad habit is probably open to debate, depending on one’s perspective.
 
(This article was originally published at Knuckleballsblog.com)
 
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The habit had its roots in my youth. My dad was a baseball coach, so I spent most of my spring and summer playing or watching baseball. I spent a lot of time around the high school players that my dad coached and wanted to do pretty much anything that would make me feel connected to real ballplayers.
 
I turned five years old during the Minnesota Twins’ first season of existence in 1961 and it was at least indirectly because of the way my friends and I followed that team in the early to mid-60s that we eventually began to spend an increasing percentage of our weekly allowances to feed our mutual habit (remember when kids got allowances that they had to learn to live within each week?).
 
My parents seemed to understand. They were baseball fans, after all, and didn’t want to discourage me from being one, too. Of course, had they known how much money I would eventually spend (arguably, “throw away” might be a more appropriate term) on the habit, they might have more closely supervised or restricted my activities. Then again, people did a lot of things in the 60s that, it turns out, weren’t exactly good ideas.
 
By the late 1980s, I was more heavily involved with the habit and I could see that my own young son was also taking it up. I was even more of an enabler than my own father had been with me. I didn’t even make my son spend his own money to get started on the habit, I covered a significant portion of the financial commitment necessary to get him hooked.
 
By the mid 1990s, my son and I were both putting money into buying baseball cards.
 
He graduated from high school in 2001 and I’m not sure how much he has continued to spend on the habit, but I’m certain he hasn’t kept up with the levels we did when he was younger.
 
Personally, I have picked up a pack once in a great while, but I hadn’t bought a full multi-pack hobby box of cards for a very long time – until now.
 
I don’t know what made me backslide. I could probably blame it on the idleness that comes with having retired from my day-job, leading me to spend too many of my cold (and not-so-cold) winter days in bored hibernation. But the honest truth is, I just wanted to do it.
 
I wanted to buy a box of cards and spend some time opening every pack, looking to see what superstars might emerge as I tore open the packs and thumbed my way through the individual cards - just the way I did when I was eight years old and hoping to find a Harmon Killebrew or Tony Oliva, while I combed past the checklists and the inevitable Bill Monbouquette card that seemed to be present in every pack.
 
And it felt good. Very good. Maybe dangerously good, for a guy who’s facing a future of living on a relatively fixed (and potentially decreasing) retirement income.
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Nice card. Now if it had just been autographed by both of these guys...

I’m not sure what caused me to backslide. I think perhaps a couple pictures of new cards found their way into my Twitter timeline, triggering a previously buried subliminal command that forced me to spend time entering various baseball card-related phrases into my search engine of choice that day. At least I’ll blame it on Twitter. I blame a lot of things on Twitter, after all.
 
In the end, I decided to order a box of 2012 Panini Extra Edition Elite cards. Honestly, until the day I ordered them, I hadn’t heard of Panini baseball cards. It turns out, though, that they issue sets of prospect cards each year and the fact that they supposedly included six autographed cards in each hobby box (20 packs with 5 cards per pack) was a selling point.
 
I figured the 2012 set might include some of the first three classes of Twins-affiliated Cedar Rapids Kernels that I've gotten to know during the past three seasons.
 
The box arrived Thursday morning. It was smaller than I envisioned it being, but I got past that. Alas, many things from the days of our youth seemed bigger than they really were, in retrospect.
 
I opened the box and gave some thought about how I wanted to proceed with opening the packs. I considered opening just three or four packs a day, spreading out the fun of opening them over the course of at least a few days.
 
Yeah, that didn’t happen. I opened the first 10 packs in just minutes, coming across four autographs and a handful of other special “numbered series” cards in the process. I paused at that point to get a drink and look up the names of a couple of the unfamiliar guys I now had autographs of.
 
I’m not too proud to admit there were a couple of well-regarded prospects in 2012 that I had no recollection of ever hearing about (but I’m also not going to open myself up to public humiliation by admitting exactly who they were).
 
After acquainting myself with those players, I ripped into the remaining 10 packs.
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About the time this card was being released, Kyle Tucker was turning 15 years old. Three years later he became the Astros' 2015 first round draft choice (5th overall).

I ended up with seven autograph cards (one more than the promised six - bonus!) and my hopes concerning picking up a few former Kernels/Future Twins were also realized. Among them were Luke Bard, Adam (sans Brett) Walker, Mason Melotakis and J.O. (a.k.a. Jose) Berrios.
 
Twins pitching prospect J.T. Chargois showed up in a pack, as well, though he never had the honor of wearing a Kernels jersey.
 
None of the autograph cards were Twins prospects, but I did get a “Building Blocks” card featuring the Astros’ Carlos Correa and Twins uber-prospect Byron Buxton.
 
Maybe best of all, there wasn’t a Bill Monbouquette in the entire box. In fact, I only had a total of three duplicate cards. (if you're a particular fan of Joe DeCarlo, Brett Mooneyham or Matt Price, let me know and I'll hook you up with a card.)
 
As I write this, probably three hours or so after opening the last pack of the box, I’m left to wonder what this all means.
 
I want to convince myself that this was a one-time thing – that buying one box of cards doesn’t mean I’m destined to relapse into the full depths of another epoch of card-collecting. I’m just not sure that even I would believe that.
 
If you should hear that I’ve decided to take my 401(k) money in a single lump sum, please pray for me.

We’ve reached the end of the Dog Days of Summer, that period that stretches from 20 days before Sirius (the Dog Star) is precisely in conjunction with the sun until 20 days after those bodies are in alignment.
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Sam Gibbons (Photo: SD Buhr)

Those 40 or so days are typically the most cruelly hot of the summer and, coincidentally or not, the days when young professional baseball players often hit the proverbial “wall” during their first full season of pro ball. Players that are accustomed to playing anywhere from 40 to 70 games in a summer, find themselves having already eclipsed that mark by mid-June, with another 70 yet to play on the schedule.
 
It’s when bats become heavier in a hitter’s hands and pitchers often lose velocity or some sharpness to their breaking ball due to a “tired arm.”
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The Dog Days of Summer

Then again, the Dog Days of Summer really is a Northern Hemisphere phenomenon, so Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher Sam Gibbons, who hails from Geelong, Victoria, in Australia, may well be immune to the Dog Day effects.
 
(This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com)
 
After a shaky start to his season, the 21-year-old Aussie didn’t really begin to hit his stride until the second week of July.
 
As Gibbons toed the rubber in Kane County on July 12 to begin his seventh start after joining the Kernels at the end of May, he shouldered an unimpressive 5.34 ERA after giving up 21 runs (19 of them earned) in his first six starts for Cedar Rapids.
 
The righthander gave up one run in the fourth inning of what would become a no-decision start against the Cougars that night and, from there, ran his scoreless inning streak up to 28 consecutive innings before giving up a pair of runs (one earned) in an 8-2 win over Bowling Green on Saturday night before a near-capacity home crowd.
 
Included in that stretch was a nine inning complete game shutout on the road at Kane County on August 1. It has been the only complete game shutout twirled by a Kernels pitcher this season and only the Kernels’ second complete game this year. (Mat Batts lost a 1-0 decision despite throwing a complete seven-inning game in the nightcap of a doubleheader at Peoria in May.)
 
Finishing the complete game meant Gibbons threw a few more pitches than normal.
 
“Last year, we were generally around the 80-90 (pitches) mark,” Gibbons explained, “but very rarely would we go over 85. Throwing 110 pitches (in the complete game), I was feeling it the last inning, but there’s no way I was going to give in.”
 
After that extended outing, Gibbons knew he was destined for a shorter night in his next start on Saturday.
 
“I think I was on some sort of pitch count (Saturday), but I was cruising through the middle three through six innings pretty well and then got two outs in the seventh. Then things got a bit sticky. But, you know, things happen. It’s OK and we ended up winning, so that’s the main thing.”
 
How has Gibbons gotten stronger as the summer heat has been at its most oppressive?
 
“You know, I wish I could bottle it and pass it around to other guys,” said Kernels pitching coach Henry Bonilla.
 
For his part, Gibbons said he does feel like he’s getting stronger, but doesn’t think his workload this season has been all that unusually heavy.
 
“The thing is, I pitch in the ABL (Australian Baseball League) every year, so I have at least 30 innings before I get to spring training on my belt,” Gibbons explained.” So I’m pretty used to having a fairly deep workload.”
 
We may not know what to credit for Gibbons’ improvement through the past several weeks, but he knew exactly who to blame for the scoreless streak coming to an end on Saturday.
 
“I spoke to my mom (after the game) and I told her it was all her fault for making me aware of it,” Gibbons related, with a smile.
 
Blaming mom? Wow. That's harsh.
 
“I had to blame someone,” a laughing Gibbons reasoned.
 
Typically, Gibbons likes to take a bit of time off in the fall after the season winds up, but things didn’t work out that way for him this past offseason.
 
“My plan last year was to play after Christmas and the New Year,” he recounted. “Then I was asked to play on the under-23 Australian Team. so I went in November last year. That kind of interrupted things but any chance you get to play for your country is a great opportunity, so I definitely wanted to do that.”
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Sam Gibbons shows off his form, as well as Saturday's "Jimmy Buffet Night" Kernels jersey (Photo: SD Buhr)

Perhaps taking the extra off-season work into account, the parent Minnesota Twins held Gibbons back in Extended Spring Training when the Kernels came north to start the season, then promoted him to Cedar Rapids on May 28. He made his Kernels debut May 31. His first four starts after arriving were not pretty. surrendering 16 runs in 20 innings of work covering that initial stretch.
 
“Obviously, I had a bit of a shaky start, but things are coming good now,” Gibbons understated.
 
“I think after the first month, I was struggling with fastball command a bit, and not being able to throw off-speed pitches in fastball counts, where I have been now. I’ve been attacking guys, but attacking with my off-speed pitches, which is something I’ve never been able to do, really.
 
“So, having command and just having faith that if I make a bad pitch, that I’m going to come back and make a better pitch to get weak contact or a swing and a miss. I feel that fastball command, knowing I can throw a fastball wherever I want and when I want is something that is pretty big and that will progress you through the ranks.”
Bonilla, his pitching coach, agrees.
 
“He just came up and he’s been a strike thrower,” the coach observed. “He’s always been a strike thrower, he’s going to throw it over and I think that’s to his credit and also to his detriment. He didn’t really locate. He just said basically, ‘somebody’s going to hit a ball at a guy. If I throw a strike, I’ll be ok.’
 
“It worked for a while with some of the younger hitters that don’t really drive the ball, but some of these guys are prospects, they can hit the ball, or some of them are grown men. Some are 24- 25 year old men that can hit the ball far. He’s learned that the hard way.
 
“The first couple outings he got kind of hit around. To his credit, he’s allowed himself to change. He’s going to the corners a little bit more, he’s attacking down in the zone, being more aggressive by not throwing so many strikes. He’s throwing ‘quality misses,’ is what we call it.”
 
According to Bonilla, a lot of Gibbons improvement has come from his mentality, as much as any improvement he’s shown with his mechanics or pitch selection.
 
“He’s trusting it,” Bonilla said. “I think one of the biggest things for him is his confidence. He’s out there confident that he can make pitches. He does it and he does it with a purpose with all of his pitches.”
 
The coach also conceded that sometimes a little early failure greases the skids a bit for quicker improvement.
 
“It’s hard to go away from success on the field,” he explained. “If a (hitter) is hitting .300 and we’re telling him, ‘hey, it’s not going to work when you get to the big leagues,’ he’s going to be like, ‘well, I’m hitting .300.’ If a (pitcher) is getting outs here, he’s like, ‘what do you mean it’s not going to work?’
 
“So it’s hard for them to get themselves out of immediate success and look at four years down the future. To their credit, the ones that do are the ones that kind of take their lumps early, but you can see them kind of turn it around and stay with it and go good. And he’s one of those guys that’s been doing that. So he’s done a great job, I’m very happy with him.”
 
Gibbons was signed by the Twins as a 17-year-old in July, 2011, but continued to play in his home country for a while and didn’t make his first appearance for a Twins affiliate in the States until the following year.
 
“Our school (in Australia) works a bit differently, so I was actually halfway through my senior year of high school, so it was a bit different to how things are out here. It was a big thing for my mom to make sure that I finished high school.”
 
There’s that “blame mom” thing again. How dare she do something like wanting him to finish high school before moving thousands of miles away to play baseball for a living?
 
“I look back on it and I wanted to get over here as soon as possible,” Gibbons recalled, “but it was a slight decision, finishing high school at least.”
 
In the end, mom won out - as moms are prone to doing.
 
“So, I made sure I did that (finish high school) and then came over the following (extended spring training). The Twins don’t tend to like to bring Aussies over here for spring training their first year,” he explained. “Trying to wet their feet a bit, I guess, by just coming to extended and seeing how things work and then their second year, bring them over for spring training.”
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Sam Gibbons (Photo: SD Buhr)

Gibbons played two years for the Twins Gulf Coast League team in Fort Myers, then moved up to Elizabethton for the 2014 short season, where he teamed with many of the same guys he’s sharing the Kernels clubhouse with this season. That’s not an insignificant factor in his recent success, according to the pitcher.
 
“I feel that the (catchers) we have on our team, they really take notice of what pitches you have and what works well for the situation. Having (Brett) Doe, Navi (Brian Navarreto) and (Alex) Real behind there, it’s pretty good,” Gibbons offered. “All three of the catchers on this team now were in E-town last year and the majority of our pitching group is the same from last year, so everyone has a good idea of what we throw and when you want to throw it.”
 
All three Kernels catchers have been successful at controlling the opponents’ running games. Navarreto, for example, has thrown out over half of the runners attempting to steal off of him. That’s a factor Gibbons appreciates.
 
“Having Navi behind the plate the last couple of outings has been exceptional. We’ve played together for three years now, so he’s known me pretty well. I’m pretty lucky to have him behind there pitch calling and his defensive work is immaculate.”
 
Gibbons doesn’t appear to be exactly a high-maintenance pitcher for his catchers to have to deal with. If you find him sitting alone for a couple of hours before each start, he's probably watching a movie or listening to music, not focused on envisioning every pitch that's about to come out of his hand.
 
“No, no, not at all,” he admitted.” I don’t really do that until I’m out on the mound going, ‘ok, let’s go and see how this goes.’”
 
As the season winds down, Gibbons stands to play a critical role in the postseason for the Kernels. He’s thrown just over 64 innings since joining Cedar Rapids, so there shouldn’t be any concerns about the front office limiting his work just when the team needs him the most in the playoffs.
 
When his year in Cedar Rapids wraps up, Gibbons will be headed back “down under” for the off-season. For him, that means beach time.
 
“Back home, I live about 15 minutes from the beach,” he said. “I’m always going down there with buddies or just hanging out and kicking back. I play club ball sometimes or I practice and train with my brother. (Club ball) is like a mens’ league sort of thing that I just go down and I have some fun with my brother and my buddies that I grew up playing with.”
 
He’s going to take a bit more time off this year before starting the real training for his 2016 season.
 
“Definitely take off a fair chunk of the offseason and come back in mid-January at some point, I guess,” Gibbons said of his plans. “Play a bit of ABL and get a couple of starts before spring training.
 
“I have to be in contact with (Twins farm director Brad Steil). Henry (Bonilla) and I will sit down before the season finishes and see where the innings are at and see what they want - a pitch count or innings limit sort of restriction.”
Those limits will then be communicated to Gibbons’ ABL coaching staff.
 
“They’re happy to have me pitch whatever that is,” he added.
 
It’s good that the ABL coaches are so easy to work with. At least that’s one less thing Gibbons should have to blame his mom for.

There were two outs in the top of the tenth. Johnson City Cardinals relief pitching had allowed just one hit since the seventh and the momentum of the game over the previous few innings had the small gathering of Twins rooters sitting on the first base side of the tiny press box just waiting for the next out and for Johnson City to take the game as they had the previous two nights. Kamran Young stepped to the plate to face Harley Holt.
 
Young had struggled all night. He was 0-5, and had added a pair of strikeouts to his 43 previous on the year. But this at-bat was different, He singled, the E-Twins had a base runner but there were still two outs for LaMonte Wade.
It only took one pitch, LaMonte Wade turned on a fastball and pulled it over the right field wall, a no-doubter. Elizabethton led and Kuo Hua Lo trotted back out for another inning of work.
 
Lo struck out the side. Twins wins 4-2. It was the squad’s first win at Johnson City this season and the victory knotted the season series at five games a-piece. It also stopped Johnson City’s 5 game winning streak.
Tonight’s game was another in the series between the two rivals that was so well played on both sides that extra innings were almost expected instead of forced.
 
Several factors went into why tonight’s game was so important. But the fact that the rest of the division was idle because of rain that miraculously somehow missed the Baseball Grounds on Legion Street allowed the E-Twins to have a better appearance in the standings with the last place Bluefield Blue Jays coming to town tomorrow.
 
Pitching, Pitching, Pitching
 
Tonight’s contest was a good old-fashioned pitchers duel, fitting for a match-up between two of the longest continually affiliated clubs in minor league baseball. Sam Clay gets better each time he takes the mound for Elizabethton. He struck out eight, allowed Johnson City’s two runs but it was a quality start that kept the club in the game with Johnson City getting equally effective starting pitching.
 
C.K. Irby was a solid middle man, ironic because he went into the tenth. C.K. yielded just one hit, striking out four. His replacement with two out in the tenth was Kuo Hua Lo, and again the Taiwan native delivered.
 
Lo came in and got the final out of the tenth, fended off a Johnson City rally in the eleventh, and with a two run lead struck out the side to earn the win in the twelfth. Tonight was the first time I have seen Lo pitch with a radar gun displayed for all to see. Lo does not have overpowering stuff, but his off-speed selections are almost unhittable.
 
Lo has only surrendered two earned runs on the year in eleven appearances. He leads the league in opponent batting average for a reliever at .115, he gave up a single hit in 2.2 IP tonight. He earned player of the game honors on the broadcast tonight after he earned the win.
 
Timely Hitting
 
Elizabethton hitters have struggled hitting with men in scoring position and with the bases loaded all season. Looking at the box score tonight, one might assume that tonight was another example of that phenomenon. The fact of the matter tonight is that the Twins hitting was so scattered that the team scored in every inning that they strung together multiple hits.
 
The E-Twins created each of the four runs they scored. LaMonte Wade hit a one out double in the sixth, Chris Paul knocked him in from second. The team added a second run off a Jermaine Palacios single in the seventh, the team put Olsen into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt.
 
LaMonte Wade had a chance to hit his home run in the twelfth because Kamran Young got a two out single. The team took advantage of situations that Johnson City made mistakes, and while the box score says the team hit 2-10 with runners in scoring position the team made the most of the chances they got off Cardinal pitching. There just were not a lot of chances tonight.
 
The K-Kings
 
Despite the win, the team still struggled in one key statistic. The strikeout. Johnson City pitching was equally effective as the Betsy staff. Twins batters struck out ten times tonight, but the concerning part of that statistic is that Amaurys Minier and Kamran Young accounted for two each.
 
Young redeemed himself with the single that allowed Wade to blast the home run, but Minier finished the game 0-5 to move his average to .189. Minier and Young have combined to strike out 93 times. That stat is good enough for 27.51% of the team’s season total of 338 strikeouts.
 
Young has shown defensive worth, while Minier has showed the ability to blast the ball into next week. The problem is that Minier has not done it recently, and the team has other options. This will be a storyline for the remainder of the season, and I will be watching closely.
 
Returning Home in a Better Spot in the Standings
 
Elizabethton enters a three game series with Bluefield in a three-way tie for third in the division, 2.5 games back of Greeneville. This is largely because the remaining three teams in the division waited out rain tonight and never took the field.
 
Tomorrow the team opens a three game set with Bluefield, two of which we will have on the network. Elizabethton won opening night in Bluefield. They fell the following evening after the Twins closer took the ball and walked the winning run in. I left town before the third game of the set, but the E-Twins fell again.
 
The teams met in June, the calendar has turned to August. Elizabethton is a different club in many ways. Most of the faces from the starting line-up are either playing other roles or have moved on elsewhere.
 
I hope any new readers we have on the blog that will be henceforth posted on Twins Daily enjoy my takes. I am invested in this club and hope all those interested in information on the club can get it.
 
The Elizabethton Twins Radio Network will be on the air tomorrow from Joe O’Brien Field at 6:45 p.m. eastern with our Clubhouse Show followed by first pitch at sometime shortly after 7:00 p.m. eastern. We can be heard locally on WBEJ AM 1240, FM 107.9 and anywhere in the world online at WBEJ.com. There should be a link on MILB.com.
 
I love Twitter feedback and I can be reached @ETwinsonRadio and on my personal account @EvanCEllis. I appreciate all feedback via comment as well. Thank you for your time.
 
Until Tomorrow Night, Go Twins.

I like doing prospect lists sometime after the draft and after some rookie ball has been played. In part because it's a bit of a slow time of the year in the minor league forums and in the last few years, it's been relatively slow in the major league forums. This is a link to my top 25 from last season. Most of these guys are still in the system, and that has a lot to do with the fact that they were mostly excelling at the lower levels. That has changed with a lot of guys showing good results in AA/AAA, and I suspect Terry Ryan is going to have some interesting offseason choices to make this winter. First, let's start with the graduations:
 
Trevor May (6th) - I've been more of a believer in May then a lot of people. I still think that long term, he could profile as a 1/2 type, though likely more a 2 at this point. His major league season thus far has been pretty successful for his first full year campaign. I suspect over the next couple of season that he will improve on that significantly. Regardless, at this point, May is a nice asset in the rotation and would be coveted by a lot of teams if he was available.
 
Kennys Vargas (10) - I suppose the 1B/DH could still technically flirt with being listed, but after spending most of the second half and a part of this season in the majors, I'm removing him altogether. He definitely still has some work to do, but he's definitely still middle of the order potential. I suspect he will be a full time regular come 2016.
 
Eddie Rosario (11) - Rosario is still a work in progress at the plate, but he's a nice defensive OF and is making enough contact to stay with the club. He's likely to be this year's Danny Santana, and I half expect him to return to the minors at some point, but he's done a good job to remind us why he used to be so highly rated.
Also removed from last year's list was Sean Gilmartin who was released this spring. He was 16th on my list last season and is having a reasonably decent season in his rookie year as a relief pitcher for the Mets. Now for the good stuff:
 
_________________
1) Miguel Sano 3B (2) - Sano continues to be a work in progress at 3B, but his bat is probably pretty close to being ready. He got off to a slow start given the rust, but since the calendar turned to May, his OPS has been greater than .900 and he's hitting plenty of home runs and doubles to continue cementing him as one of the leagues better power hitting prospects. He has plenty of power and excellent plate discipline. He does strike out quite a bit, but he's good at laying off pitches out of the zone and generates quite a few walks as well. His brief trial has gone well enough to say that his bat is ready. His real problem right now is that he's blocked at the major league level. He can probably play some DH in the short term, but in the long term, the Twins need him in the field to make room for Vargas and/or Arcia. Trevor Plouffe is firmly entrenched at 3rd and has been very good. Joe Mauer is at first, and while Mauer hasn't been that good this year, I highly doubt the team moves him. Sano should however, be an immediate, middle of the order impact bat for this team at a position in the league where OPS is weak. In his prime, I suspect he may have a few MVP type seasons and I expect him to be long term fixture on a contending team.
 
2) Byron Buxton CF (1)- Buxton got off to a slow start after missing a season. His defense is pretty good, but he's struggled with breaking pitches. Starting in May, he really turned it on posting an OPS > .900 in AA ball and was called up to the Twins. He struggles more with major league pitching than Sano does, and as such his bat is definitely not ready at this point, but given that no one is really blocking him, he's going to get every opportunity to succeed. The reason why he's still on this list has more to do with a lengthy DL stay that has kept him off the field. That said, I fully expect to see him take a big step forward in 2016, though he may find himself spending some time in AAA at first. Long term, he's likely to be an elite bat and elite glove at a key defensive position. I see him more as a leadoff type, but if his power increases, I could see him becoming a 3 hitter. He could likely have some MVP seasons as well and should be a cornerstone player for a contending team.
 
 
3) Jose Berrios SP (5) - Berrios has done nothing but prove the naysayers wrong. He was a compensation pick out of high school whose biggest knock was size and a relatively flat fastball that kept him from going higher on the lists. He dominated rookie ball, which given his age is a good thing, though his first year in the MWL was nothing special (it wasn't bad, just not that great). In 2014 he really broke out, adding a few ticks to his fastball and even making it up for a brief AAA stint. He returned to AA in 2015 and has been every bit as good, and he was recently promoted to AAA. He has mid 90s speed on his fastball and has excellent control. He strikes out more than a batter per inning. I'm not quite sure he is an ACE, but I do think he will be a very good number 2 at the major league level. His problem at the moment is that the Twins have a bit of a glut in pitching. I know that seems rather odd given the org's history, but as it stands right now, we have too many starters at the major league level and a few decent ones in Rochester as well. I suspect that trades this offseason will free up some space there, but Berrios may have a problem on the ETA front. I'm guessing he ETAs in 2016 as an injury call up and will likely be in the rotation full time at some point in 2017 after the team manages to trade either Nolasco or Santana. This might be the main casualty of the FA spending the front office has done for pitchers as it's going to be hard to work in some of these younger pitchers when Hughes, Nolasco, and Santana are pretty much assured spots and Gibson and May are both pitching well themselves.
 
4) Max Kepler OF/1B (23) - I had soured quite a bit on Kepler because other than a nice stint in rookie ball, he really hadn't done much in terms of production. At this point last year, he had just started to turn a corner in FTM and that could easily be attributed to a small sample. He kept it up for the remainder of the year and has responded to one of the harder minor league jumps by putting on a show in AA all season long being one of their better hitters. While he hasn't been launching home runs all over the place like some of his counterparts, he has speed, some power, and can play all 3 OF positions (though he's probably not an ideal CF). He isn't a huge walk machine, but he also doesn't strike out much either. His K/BB ratio this season in Chattanooga is nearly a 1 to 1 ratio. Kepler has that high ceiling that people covet, and given that he won't be 23 until spring training next year, I think it's likely that he's going to have a very nice major league career. This is his second season on the 40 man, and he has 2 more before he's out of options. I suspect he's likely going to finish up in AAA at some point this season and have the ability to audition for a major league role in 2016. I expect him to see his first call up next year.
 
5) Tyler Jay (unrnk) SP - There's a lot to like from this kid, with his biggest question mark being how his velocity will hold up as a full time starter. He worked primarily as a relief pitcher in college, but this lefty has a 4 pitch mix that could all be plus pitches. He already has a pretty high workload for a college reliever and will finish this season in the relief role, possibly in AA at some point. I expect him to be sent back to FTM this spring and work there as a starter. Like the other pitchers in the top 10, the lefty has top of the rotation potential, especially if he can pitch in the mid 90s (he's currently upper 90s as a reliever). His pitches all leave from the same arm slot giving him a deceptive delivery and making it harder for opposing hitters to pick up on his off speed repertoire.
 
6) Alex Meyer (3) SP/RP - This season has been difficult for Meyer, and I'm willing to give him a pass this year given his potential, but to say it has been disappointing is an understatement. Meyer has high 90s stuff with a devastating off speed pitch and a change up that's a work in progress. His problem has been the dreaded 'consistency', as he's seen his walk rate climb as he moved up the ladder, with things falling a part this season in AAA. He moved to the pen, which I'm assuming is temporary, and has had a bit of a resurgence in Rochester, but he's yet to replicate his season last year, which is not good. I think this is probably worst of it and suspect he'll start to improve a bit, though I suspect he's going to spend a good chunk of 2016 at Rochester again. His biggest problem right now is that he doesn't throw enough strikes. Hopefully he can figure that out as that will be the difference between being an ace or having a major league career.
 
7) Stephen Gonsalves (13) SP - The hard throwing lefty was originally considered to be late first round type talent in the 2013 draft, but fell due to some minor off field issues as well as signability concerns. He's been rather good in the Minnesota system with a career WHIP today of just over 1.0 and a K/9 north of 10. He's a lefty with mid 90s stuff, so at this point, a floor in the pen seems very realistic. Ceiling wise, he has top of the rotation potential. He's just moved to high A, so he has a ways to go before he hits the majors, but he's likely looking at AA at some point next season.
 
8) Kohl Stewart (4) SP - Stewart was pretty good in his first career year in Cedar Rapids last season, though his K rate left a bit to be desired. He hasn't exactly stood out in high A this year, and that K rate has actually been worse this year (though it has been improving of late). That said, he has 4 pitches that are potential plus pitches, has mid 90s heat, and is 20 years old this year, much younger than his counterparts. He's also never really been a full time pitcher, so people need to be a bit more patient with him as he has more to learn than most prospects. But with that in mind, he has top of the rotation potential and should not be ignored. I do think at some point he's going to have to put things together, whether that is through repeating high A next season or continuing to aggressively push him, I'm not sure. I suspect he returns to high A and will be in line for a midseason promotion to AA if things go well. The Twins have another 3 seasons with him before he's a 40 man decision, so there's plenty of time. That said, there are a lot of guys who are succeeding at much higher levels, with similar potential. That's a good thing, and it's also a big reason for his drop. One thing that's been somewhat encouraging, is that he has been striking out more guys of late. Perhaps he's putting it together, who knows. Only time will tell there.
 
9) Chih-Wei Hu (14) SP - Hu was a pleasant surprise last year posting some fairly impressive results for Cedar Rapids, though at age 20, I ranked him a bit lower on the list. Not that 20 is a bad age for the Midwest league, but he there were several younger pitchers also doing quite well in the MWL. Hu responded to the FSL this season by nothing short of sheer dominance, continuing his breakout. He gets plenty of Ks (though he's seen a significant drop in his K rate as the season has worn on) and limits both walks and the long ball quite effectively. From what I've read, the righty throws in the mid 90s with a decent assortment of off speed offerings. High A is a bit of a pitchers haven, so his transition to AA will likely tell us where he's going to ultimately fit on the pecking order, but right now, I still think he can be a top half of the rotation arm, and he has done nothing to dissuade that opinion.
 
10) Jorge Polanco 2B/SS (6) - Perhaps I'm a bit cynical, but I'm not quite as high on Polanco as others. He does get the credit of doing this in an up the middle position, though his defense from what I understand still needs considerable work. To his credit, he's 21 in AAA. He's putting up decent numbers, but not much in terms of power or plate discipline. His OPS, however is nothing special. While that's pretty good for a SS, it's not stand out, high ceiling type and his defense is presently not good enough at the position to make it worthwhile. His other real problem is that he's burned 2 options already. I'm guessing he may be one of those guys eligible for four options, which means he won't be forcing a decision until 2018, at which point he should certainly be ready. He's received 2 very brief call ups, but those were more for emergency situations. I would probably have him finish out the season in AA and then start in AAA next year. I suspect he will receive another call up at some point in 2016, and hopefully for more than an emergency. He may be the SS of the future, but in all honesty, I could see him being dangled with someone else to pickup someone with a bit higher ceiling. While SS is not a strength of the organization, there are options in the high minors and the majors. Eduardo Escobar is putting up league average offensive numbers and playing average to better defense (though for some inexplicable reason, he's not getting as much playing time at SS one would like. Santana and Polanco should be competing for the role extensively, and both of the ability to break out and be an above average player there. From the Twins standpoint, patience may be a virtue as I suspect one of the two of them will eventually claim that role.
 
To summarize the top 10, I'm rather impressed with the fact that only 2 guys on this list do not play up the middle defensive positions. Technically, Sano at 3B still occupies a premium position, just not up the middle, and Kepler could play CF in a pinch, both of whom look like they could potentially play at an elite level at some point in their careers. There are also six pitchers listed, all of whom could slot in as 1-3 type pitchers to complement a young core that already holds two very promising pitchers in Gibson and May. While there is a bit of a glut in a few of these positions, the advantage here is that these guys could be used to net some premium talent at another position of need. With that in mind though, they already have a core of higher ceiling guys in Arcia, Rosario, Gibson, May, and Vargas to complement excellent production from Plouffe and Dozier. This team is likely going to win a lot of games over the next 5-10 seasons and will have both depth to whether injury as well as the ability to acquire help wherever they need it.
 
11) Nick Gordon (7) SS - Last year's number 1 pick has been aggressively moved just like the previous two picks in Buxton and Stewart. Gordon has not done as well. Granted, he's young for his league and has managed to hold his own, but he hasn't impressed much. He's likely to stick at SS, which elevates him quite a bit in the prospect world. To be fair though, he's 19 and in low A. Expecting him to do what Buxton did is probably unfair. Offensively, we saw a nice uptick in his numbers for June and so far in July his OPS is well over .800, so he may be figuring it out. He's probably not going to be the next coming of A-Rod, but an average to slightly above bat playing average to above average defense is still very valuable. His drop here has more to do with the ascension of other prospects and should not be considered an indictment on his play. Granted there's room to go here, but he'd be a very valuable prospect in a number of systems.
 
12) Travis Harrison (16) 3B/LF - Harrison, despite his age, gets little love in the prospect world. He was snubbed for the all star game in AA despite being a very good 3B this season. He's cooled off a bit of late, which is probably part of the reason he gets overlooked, but he's still been a very good performer. He's 22, in AA, holds a career minor league OPS over .750 and keeps his OBP more than .100 points above his average. He has some power to go with it. He's been overshadowed by the likes of Sano, Kepler, and Walker. He has the requisite skills needed to be a major leaguer. His ceiling is an above average major league regular. He probably won't be a star, but it's quite possible that he has an all star type season or two at some point in his career. Given the Twins depth presently, Harrison might find himself with another team at some point, as there really isn't a place to put him if his higher ceiling counter parts can establish themselves.
 
13) Adam Brett Walker (17) RF - Walker is one of the more polarizing prospects at Twins Daily as he has put up some rather gaudy numbers at each stop. He's on pace this year to club more than 30 home runs, which is pretty impressive for a minor leaguer, and he's led his league in home runs for the last couple of seasons. Bottom line, he has 80 raw power. The down side is his inability to take a walk and the fact that he strikes out a lot. Despite posting an OPS over .900 in AA, his peripherals have actually worsened, with a strikeout to walk ratio more than 5 to 1. On one end, AA doesn't seem to be challenging him, but on the other end, he's getting worse in the areas that he needs to be improving. He isn't a 40 man decision until the end of the 2016 season, which is good. I suspect he will remain in AA and start next season in Rochester. How that plays out is yet to be seen. Perhaps he can be that outlier that defies statistics, but I suspect major league pitchers will do a good job exposing those problems. His defense is pretty suspect as well, so carving out a role as a defensive OF won't be happening. Given that he's performing at AA, he likely has a floor as a late inning pinch hit all or nothing type bat, which isn't a bad person to bring in during a high leverage situation where pitchers have to be a bit more careful when they pitch. As a ceiling, there's no question that he can be a star if he figures out those contact issues, but time is not really on his side anymore, as he still is not learning plate discipline.
 
14) Lewis Thorpe (12) SP - Thorpe is another high ceiling prospect who would likely be quite a bit higher on this list had it not been for a UCL injury that required Tommy John surgery. He's out all year after putting together a fairly impressive start for a 17/18 year old in the MWL. His overall numbers weren't spectacular, but when you look at his month to month numbers, you can see improvement. His 18/19 season is lost and he'll start in the MWL again I assume next year. The lefty throws in the mid 90s and could be another top of the rotation arm.
 
15) Tyler Duffey (21) SP - Duffey continues to defy expectations as he moves up the ladder as well as improving on those peripheral stats that we tend to pay attention to. The converted closer probably profiles more as a #3 ceiling, but he's looking more and more to have a back of the rotation floor. These types of guys are pretty valuable. He does have some decent velocity, and has been able to raise his minor league career K rate to around 7.4. His walk rate is pretty miniscule as he's hovered around 2 this season and has a minor league career rate under that number. Now in Rochester, he's another arm that can be counted on for depth and possibly a spot in the rotation.
 
16) Josmil Pinto (8) C - Pinto is the first catcher on this list, and his play this season has been less than impressive. He was kept in AAA to work on his glove, but his bat this season has been pretty bad as well. Given he has a minor league career OPS of over .800, I'm hoping his offensive play this year is simply a victim of some bad luck, recovering from a concussion, and the fact that he's working hard on his glove. I had hoped he would have graduated from this list to be a counter part to Suzuki, but thus far, that hasn't been the plan. At 26, he's not really young anymore and his option status is going to force the Twins to find a spot for him shortly. He should be able to be part of a decent catching tandem, with an obvious bent towards his offense.
 
17) Wander Javier SS (unrnk) - Remember when the Twins signed Miguel Sano and he was instantaneously their top prospect? That alone was a testimony to how bad their farm system was at this point. The Twins made news on July 2nd signing Javier to a team international FA record of $4 million dollars, which will make Javier a very watched prospect. At age 16, there are lots of questions, particularly if he will stick at short, and there's some disagreeing opinions among scouts that have watched him. On the top side, he should be average to above with all of his tools with as many as 3 60 grade tools when he matures. That's pretty good as a SS, as he could be a middle order bat at a premium position. Of course, he's 16 and hasn't played professionally yet, so time tell.
 
18) Taylor Rogers (unrnk) SP - I haven't given Rogers a lot of love due to what I think is a relatively low ceiling (back of the rotation arm), but Rogers continues to perform and owns a career minor league ERA around 3 with a career K/9 around 7. The ERA is standout, which Rogers gets by minimizing hits and walks, essential for any pitcher, but he lacks the swing and miss stuff that makes me think it will play as anything more than a 4/5 type guy in the majors. That said, he's now in AAA and putting up numbers similar to his minor league numbers. At this point I'd say his ceiling is probably a #3, which isn't a bad thing, but he's still more likely to be a 4/5. That said, given his age and performance I think the chance of hitting the floor is pretty high. He's blocked by a lot of guys in the Twins system, so I wouldn't be surprised if his career really takes off with another team. He could also be moved into a relief role as his numbers against lefties stand out. It's possible that this would add a tick or two to his FB and he could be a dominant reliever.
 
19) Mitch Garver (15) C - He got off to a pretty bad start but has really turned it up since June. I'm glad given the fact that catching is pretty weak in the system right now. Garver looks to be a good defensive catcher but can swing the bat a bit. He's not a power guy, but he does keep the OBP up and hit a lot of doubles. That's pretty valuable given how bad ML catchers hit. His first two months were pretty bad, but he cracked an .836 OPS in June and his July OPS is over .700. He may be one of those guys who needs some time to adjust to new levels. AA will be the big test for his bat.
 
20) Nick Burdi (10) RP - Nick Burdi has lost the luster that he had last year in what has definitely been a difficult year for him. While his strike out numbers were good in AA, he was waking a batter every other inning on average and giving up way too many hits to make it work. He brings 100 MPH heat, but as well all know, major league hitters can hit a 100 MPH pitch. That doesn't mean that there's no hope for him. He's been very successful in Fort Meyers since his demotion, and given that the Twins are working on his mechanics he will likely be just fine. What it really means is that he's probably not going to be in the majors this year, and the soonest he will be auditioning for them will be next year. I hold out hope that Burdi will be promoted back to AA at some point this season and will be much better than what he was.
 
Last year, it was said that the 11-20 Twins list would be better than a lot of team's top 10 lists. With graduations (and expected graduations), I don't think this statement will hold true for many teams, except those with dreadful farm systems, but there is some really nice depth here, and this 11-20 list is still quite a bit better than most teams 11-20 lists. It's a nice mix with 4 pitchers, one of whom could be that coveted ace, 2 catchers, a SS, and some OF/3B help as well. A good number of these guys are high enough in the org to guarantee a major league look at some point when the need arises, or command enough value to be shipped away for something. Quite a few have higher ceilings as well, but at this level, there's lots of question marks. The highest ceiling of this section (Thorpe) underwent Tommy John this spring. Walker has impressive power, but his inability to lay off pitches limits the type of impact he will have in the majors. Harrison looks like a Trevor Plouffe type prospect: above average, may take some time to develop, and will likely put up some quietly decent numbers. I suspect some of these guys will take some big steps forward next year, and a couple might even crack some top 100 lists in the coming years.
 
21) JT Chargois (unrnk) RP - In the same mold as Burdi, Chargois can really dial up the heat to around triple digits. He's a tad older and is seeing his first taste of AA (and struggling a bit), but he's another reliever that could conceivably be in Minnesota in shorter order. His career has been thus far plague by injuries, which is largely what has kept him from moving up faster. He gets lots of Ks and keeps the home run rate low, allowing only 1 in 48 career major league innings. Chargois has potential to be a back of the bullpen stud. I expect him to restart in AA and likely be a mid-season promotion to Rochester in 2016.
 
22) Jermaine Palacios (unrnk) SS - During the lean years, a kid like this would be a top 10 prospect. He just turned 19 (July 19), and carries an OPS as a SS over .900 which is pretty impressive, even for a kid in the GCL. Rookie ball stats certainly can be taken with a grain of salt, but there's something to be said about a guy who is doing it when he's younger than his league. Recent examples in our history include Sano, Rosario, and Arcia, all of whom murdered opposing pitches in the GCL. Palacios hasn't been quite that good, but he's been significantly better than the league at an important defensive position. He might yet get a shot in Elizabethon, but will likely be there next year or possibly even the MWL next year.
 
23) Levi Michael (unrnk) 2B - After years of sub par performance, I had largely written the former first round pick off; however, Michael broke out last season and has continued his break out this year in AA posting an OPS over .800 with a keen eye for plate discipline. He doesn't need to be a great hitter to make the majors as a 2B, but he's blocked at the major league level by Dozier and has lots of competition as well. He's a 40 man decision this offseason, and I have a hard time believing he's going to be left exposed, though I could see him packaged as a means to acquire major league help or potentially international FA dollars as there's a bit of a glut at his position. That said, given his performance at AA, he's got a very real chance of making the majors in some capacity.
 
24) Luis Arraez (unrnk) 2B - Arraez is Palacios' double play partner on the GCL Twins. The slightly younger counterpart is also putting up good numbers in the GCL at an even younger age, as he won't turn 19 until next season. His OPS isn't quite as impressive, and his performance has tailed off of late, but he makes very good contact with a decent amount of speed. He too is a ways off, but is thus far out performing his much higher priced international FA counterparts.
 
25) Brandon Peterson (unrnk) RP - Peterson is finishing up his second full season with the Twins after being drafted in the 13th round in 2013. His minor league career to date has a K/9 of over 12, though he is not quite as stingy with the walks as some would like. He does induce a lot of weak contact as his career hits/9 sits at an absurd value UNDER 6. He's given up 1 home run in the last 2 seasons combined. His transition to AA hasn't come without bumps, but he's still putting up some very respectable numbers as a 23 year old in AA.
 
26) Mat Batts (unrnk) SP - The 2014 17th rounder is having an excellent season, one that has been a surprise given how far down he was drafted. He's maintained an ERA around 2 across both low A and high A and gets a fair amount of Ks to go with it. To go with that, he keeps the home runs down (2 HRs in 100 IP this season so far) and is stingy with the walks as well with a BB/9 of around 2 this season across both levels. He earned a mid season promotion to Fort Meyers and has adjusted seamlessly. The lefty should start in AA next season, which will be a very good test to indicate what his future might hold for the Twins. Given his age and draft status, you won't see him on many prospect lists this year, but if he continues dominating hitters, he's going to be a much more known name next year at this time.
 
27) Travis Blankenhorn (unrnk) 3B - The 2015 3rd rounder impressed right out of the gate posting pretty respectable numbers in a 14 game sample at the GCL. This earned him a promotion to E-town, where he's done even better. He's 18, and is forcing himself into the Cedar Rapids picture for the 2016 season, so there's a lot to like about this young 3B. His plate discipline has been respectable thus far and he has a modest amount of power to go with it. The ceiling seems fairly high for this kid.
 
28) Amaurys Minier (22) 1B/3B/OF - As a big bonus sign in the international market, Minier has shown occasional flashes to justify the signing. However, his overall result line has been less than impressive. He's young, so there's plenty of time/potential here, but he's going to remain lower on this list until he can start hitting more consistently. His batting average at E-town currently sits right around the Mendoza line. At 19, he has plenty of room for improvement.
 
29) Huascar Ynoa (unrnk) SP - Ynoa was another big bonus sign from last year and has been pretty decent in the DSL in his age 17 season. He's got to work a bit more on his control, but this is somewhat normal for a 17 year old kid. I like the upside, but at his current age he has a long long way to go before achieving that.
 
30) Lewin Diaz (unrnk) 1B - Diaz was another high priced international free agent signing for around 1.2 M during the 2013 international signing period. He impressed during his age 17 stint in the DSL, but his first taste of action in the states has been less than impressive. His average is low, though he has pretty good plate discipline maintaining an OBP .100 higher than his average. His power, however, has been non-existent. That could definitely be a small sample, as he's only 20 games into his season, and at his age it's not too much of a concern just yet.
 
 
HM: Aaron Sleegers, Jake Reed (20), Zach Jones, Jean Carlos Arias, Trey Cabbage, Miguel Gonzalez, Alex Swim, Jason Kanzler, Max Murphy, AJ Achter, Dallas Gallant, Trevor Hildenberger, Zach Granite, Niko Goodrum, Trey Vavra, Tanner English, Danny Ortiz, Engelb Vielma, and Cameron Boozer.
 
This is my 3rd prospect list, and I have to admit that the deeper I go, the harder this gets. There's lots of deserving guys who have been left off the list, and at the lower ranks, there really isn't much that distinguishes them. I try to find a nice balance between results and ceiling, though once you get into the lower ranks, ceiling tends to take precedence. While the reality says that many of these guys won't make it, what I really like is that the Twins system is pretty deep everywhere except catcher and the minor leagues should do a good job providing impact pieces either in trades or in call ups for the majors during their resurgence. As a team, the Twins look posed to be a force in the AL central as soon as next season and will likely remain there for a good 5-10 years given the depth they have in their minors.