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The AL Central was expected to be among the weaker divisions in baseball and so far that’s been accurate. With Minnesota the current favorite and Chicago trying to hold serve, everyone else has gone backwards. Only the top two teams have a winning record across their last ten games. The Standings: Minnesota 27-18 Chicago 22-22 Cleveland 18-23 Detroit 16-28 Kansas City 15-28 This week we saw the Tigers rip off a few wins and they’ve jumped the Royals to get out of the cellar in the division. Chicago is still treading water despite adding consistently to their negative run differential. Although the Twins have a lead in the division, they’ve dropped back-to-back games against Detroit and Kansas City rather than adding on. The Stories: Chicago signed reliever Joe Kelly this offseason to help bolster their relief corps. They moved on from Craig Kimbrel and having another high leverage arm to pair with Liam Hendriks sounded like a good idea. Unfortunately, he’s been injured and on Thursday Chicago placed him back on the IL with a left hamstring strain. Dallas Keuchel was brutalized against the Red Sox this week, and with an ERA over 7.00, it’s worth wondering how long they’ll continue to trot him out there. Tim Anderson had another consistent week at the dish and again looks zeroed in on a batting title. Obviously, there were disappointing storylines this week involving Anderson and former Twins third basemen Josh Donaldson. The Yankees' third baseman uttered disrespectful comments in what he called an inside joke, but no one seemed to get it but him. After dealing with Covid issues last week the Guardians were happy to have manager Terry Francona back in the dugout. Their coaching staff had been riddled with the virus having only pitching coach Carl Willis available to the team. On Thursday the club placed slugger Franmil Reyes on the injured list with right hamstring tightness. It’s unfortunate to see Cleveland struggle so mightily with much of it coming on the mound. Shane Bieber has regressed, Cal Quantrill looks uninspiring, and Triston McKenzie is spotty at best. Although things are bleak at the big league level, top prospect George Valera has been on a tear in May. He’s still at Double-A, but there’s no reason to rule out a 2022 debut. The Tigers are beginning to look at bit better and while Miguel Cabrera is once again batting .300, Javier Baez continues to provide little of substance. Manager A.J. Hinch was hoping to see big performances from his young players, and rookie Spencer Torkelson is starting to turn a corner. Going 7-for-22 during a recent road trip, Torkelson contributed three doubles and a homer. The batting average isn’t where you’d like to see it, but there are definitely positives to be seen here. Tarik Skubal continues to be the best arm in Detroit and his latest outing has his ERA sitting at a shiny 2.44. There’s a real reason to believe he could make the All-Star team this year, and his emergence as a staff ace is exciting for Tigers fans. Mike Matheny has seen his club trend backward the past week. They’ve gone just 3-7 over their last ten and the ugliest outing was giving up a six-run lead to the divisional rival Twins. Brewer Hicklen, a 7th-round pick from UAB, made his Major League debut on Thursday night against Minnesota. Top prospect M.J. Melendez had a nice game earlier in the week against Arizona and continues to fill in nicely for Salvador Perez. Regarded as Kansas City’s top prospect, his bat has played very well. Similar to Detroit, Kansas City is heavily reliant on youth right now and they’re going to take their lumps. Although Bobby Witt Jr. still isn’t hitting exceptionally well, he made an outstanding diving play at shortstop against the Twins on Thursday night. The Week Ahead: Minnesota continues to play through the AL Central for the rest of the month and during the first week of June. Three games remain at home against the Royals before heading to Detroit. The Twins play the Tigers five times in four days. The scheduled doubleheader was originally set to take place after the All-Star game but is now slated for Tuesday to close out the month. With a pair of off-days sprinkled in, Chicago gets a crosstown series with the Cubs before going north of the border to play the Blue Jays. They’ll eventually get an easier swing playing some of the Central opposition, but the beginning of June is brutal for them with matchups against the Rays and Dodgers. Cleveland flip flops with Minnesota as they finish playing in Detroit over the weekend and then welcome Kansas City for a three-game tilt next week. View full article

Only the St. Paul Saints are still in action for the Twins minor leaguers, but when Jose Miranda is playing baseball it’s worth tuning in. Before jumping into the details of the Saints game, if you missed any of our minor league awards articles, you can read them here: Minor League Hitter of the Year: Jose Miranda Minor League Starting PItcher of the Year: Louie Varland Minor League Relief PItcher of the Year: Jovani Moran TRANSACTIONS Twins reinstated Joe Ryan from bereavement list, Charlie Barnes optioned to Triple-A St. Paul SAINTS SENTINEL Toledo 4, St. Paul 3 Box Score Jason Garcia made the start tonight for Saint Paul and he turned in 5 2/3 innings of scoreless work. Garcia gave up just two hits while punching out six and walking only two batters. He did plunk one of the top prospects in baseball, however. The Saints recorded 11 hits on the evening but were able to push across just three runs. Mark Contreras kicked off the scoring with a 1st inning single to score Jose Miranda (who had doubled). St. Paul then added two more in the 2nd inning on a Drew Stankiewicz liner and Miranda's second double. Toledo’s talented roster made things interesting late with top prospects Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson both contributing. Ian Gibault allowed a 9th inning double that plated the tying Mud Hens run before the next batter walked St. Paul off with a single up the middle. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Jason Garcia (St. Paul) - 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 4-5, R, RBI, 2 2B PROSPECT SUMMARY #6 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 4-5, R, RBI, 2 2B #7 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - Did not pitch #13 - Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) - 0-4 #16 - Brent Rooker (Minnesota) - Did not play THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Toledo (5:35 PM CST) - RHP Derek Law (1-1, 2.84 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the Saints game on Wednesday or any other minor league topics you would like! View full article

We close out the 2020 MLB Draft Prospect Rankings with the cream of the crop, the best of the best, the pick of the litter, the crème de la crème, okay I’m done. While it is unlikely that these guys fall to the Minnesota Twins at pick 27, they are still important names to follow, as they represent the most likely candidates to be the future stars of the sport. Also, with the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox holding the 1st, 4th and 11th overall picks in the draft, it is likely that three names on this list could be future divisional foes for the Twins.10. Max Meyer, Minnesota Pos: RHP | Height: 6’0” | Weight: 185 | Age: 21 Previously Drafted: 34th Round, 2017 (MIN) Scouting Grades Fastball: 65 Slider: 75 Changeup: 50 Control: 55 Overall: 55 Checking in at number 10 in the prospect rankings is Minnesota’s own Max Meyer. Meyer graduated from Woodbury High School in 2017, and was taken in the 34th round by the Minnesota Twins in the draft that year. That was the first draft under the current Twins regime, who has shown an affinity for taking Minnesota prep players around that point in the draft, as a way to recognize some of the state’s young baseball talent before they head off to college. Meyer was lights out in his three seasons pitching for the Gophers, putting up a career 2.07 ERA, with 187 strikeouts and 41 walks in 148 innings pitched. After serving as the team’s closer his freshman season, he made the transition to starting during his sophomore season. After coming into this spring with a shot at being a back end of the first-round talent, he vaulted himself up into Top 10 consideration with four dominating starts, all coming against Power 5 schools in Non-Conference play. On the mound, Meyer has lights out stuff. His fastball frequently touches upper 90s, and sits in the mid 90s with ease. However, Meyer’s best pitch is his slider, which is without question the best pitch in this year’s draft. He also features an okay changeup, that has a chance to improve with more use. Despite his lack of commanding size, Meyer holds his velocity well late into starts, thanks to his lower effort delivery that not a lot of pitchers who can pump it up as high as he does with his size have. 9. Mick Abel, Jesuit HS, Portland, OR Pos: RHP | Height: 6’5” | Weight: 190 | Age: 18 Commitment: Oregon State Scouting Grades Fastball: 60 Slider: 60 Changeup: 55 Control: 60 Overall: 55 The stigma around high school pitchers is real, which has a lot to do with the top high school arm in the country coming in at number nine in my rankings for the second year in a row, there is just too much risk, especially for the high price tag they demand. That being said, the potential of Mick Abel is a rare commodity and deserves to go high in this year’s draft. Abel is a presence on the mound, not only with his height, but also his stuff. Last summer, Abel typically sat in the low-to-mid 90s with his stuff, but when he reared back he could get into the upper 90s. There are also reports that Abel has been showing increased velocity in bullpen sessions this spring. Abel’s slider isn’t a big swooping breaker by any means, but it has nice and tight rotation with some downward break. He also mixes in a strong changeup, that he has shown more wiliness to throw than most high school pitchers. Despite being a prep pitcher, Abel’s game is developed well beyond his years. He has three above average or better pitches, and he can command all three exceptionally well. With still some room to grow in his frame, it is not out of the question for Abel to add even more velocity as he matures. 8. Garrett Mitchell, UCLA Pos: OF | B/T: L/R | Height: 6' 3" | Weight: 215 | Age: 21 Previously Drafted: 14th Round, 2017 (OAK) Scouting Grades Hit: 60 Power: 45 Run: 70 Throw: 55 Field: 60 Overall: 55 Garrett Mitchell has the all-around tool set that will give him a very high floor as a potential top 10 pick. This is what scouts saw, and loved about Mitchell coming out of high school back in 2017. However, Mitchell fell due to sign ability concerns, and made his way onto campus at UCLA where he has done nothing be elevate his draft stock even further. In three seasons for the Bruins, Mitchell had a slash line of .327/.393/.478 in 121 career games. His best season was his sophomore year in 2019, where Mitchell hit .349 with an OPS of .984. While Mitchell doesn’t have much for home run power, having hit just six in his entire college career, he does show plenty of extra base power. In that sophomore season alone, Mitchell hit 14 doubles and lead the nation with 12 triples. What gives Mitchell his incredibly high floor, is the defensive ability he displays in center field. With his speed and ball tracking ability, Mitchell has the potential to one day be a gold glove caliber center fielder. The speed that Mitchell displays is easily the best trait for a player that has a lot of tools. In his career at UCLA, Mitchell was successful on 28 of 37 stolen base attempts. 7. Zac Veen, Spruce Creek HS, Port Orange, FL Pos: OF | B/T: L/R | Height: 6' 4" | Weight: 190 | Age: 18 Commitment: Florida Scouting Grades Hit: 55 Power: 60 Run: 50 Throw: 55 Field: 50 Overall: 55 During the summer showcase circuit last summer, one of the players that stood out the most was Florida prep outfielder Zac Veen. While his tools might not be as loud as many of the other high caliber players, Veen has just as much potential as them. With his long and tall frame, Veen is able to generate power with ease, as he leverages his body well. Veen has tremendous plate discipline for someone his age, and has a knack for waiting for his pitch, and then attacking it. His powerful uppercut swing already helps him generate plus power, but that could develop even further as Veen continues to fill out his body. As an outfielder, Veen currently plays a lot of center field, but will need to move to a corner position as a pro, where he has average or better defensive potential. The arm strength is there for a team to try Veen at right field. 6. Austin Hendrick, West Allegheny HS, Imperial, PA Pos: OF | B/T: L/R | Height: 6' 1" | Weight: 195 | Age: 18 Commitment: Mississippi State Scouting Grades Hit: 55 Power: 70 Run: 55 Throw: 60 Field: 50 Overall: 55 When you watch Austin Hendrick swing, it is evident how explosive of an athlete he is. It is this athletic ability that has me so excited about Hendrick as a prospect. While there are certainly still a couple holes in his game, it is nothing that can’t be fixed with good coaching and development as a prospect. Hendrick has a great feel at the plate, and exceptional bat speed that helps him generate as much or more power than any other prospect in this year's class. At the Perfect Game national showcase last summer, Hendrick topped out with an exit velocity of 105 MPH, which is very impressive for high schooler. In the field, Hendrick has the ability to be an average to slightly above-average defensive right fielder. While Hendrick is a much riskier prospect than most taken this early in the draft, his high ceiling, due to his power potential, is why I am so high on Hendrick as a prospect. 5. Nick Gonzales, New Mexico State Pos: 2B | B/T: R/R | Height: 5' 10" | Weight: 190 | Age: 21 Previously Drafted: Never Scouting Grades Hit: 65 Power: 55 Run: 55 Throw: 50 Field: 55 Overall: 60 Nick Gonzalez has been dominating on the baseball field ever since he first got to campus at New Mexico State in 2018. After posting a 1.021 OPS as a freshman, Gonzales blasted onto scouts’ radars when he put up 1.305 OPS as a sophomore in 2019, and was taking yet another step forward this spring with a 1.765 OPS in 16 games before the season was cut short. For his career, Gonzales put up a .399/.500 /.747 slash line with 37 home runs in 128 games played. Gonzalez finished his career on an 82-consecutive game on base streak, which dates all the way back to his freshman season. It might be easy to dismiss those numbers, as Gonzales was putting them up against lower level competition in the WAC, in what is an extremely hitter friendly environment. However, Gonzales proved that his numbers were legit last summer in the Cape Cod League, where he finished second in batting average (.351) and first in both OBP (.451) and SLG (.630). Despite some of his recent efforts to play shortstop in the field, Gonzales is a clear cut second base prospect for the pro game. He has decent range and fielding ability, but he lacks the elite range and plus arm strength that are required at the shortstop position. 4. Emerson Hancock, Georgia Pos: RHP | Height: 6’4” | Weight: 215 | Age: 21 Previously Drafted: 38th Round, 2017 (ARI) Scouting Grades Fastball: 60 Slider: 55 Curveball: 50 Changeup: 60 Control: 65 Overall: 60 After showing a lot of promise, in what was a statistically down freshman campaign, Emerson Hancock proved all of his believers right in a big way in 2019, lighting up the competition on his way to a 1.99 ERA in 90 and 1/3 innings pitched. Hancock wasn’t off to an amazing start to his 2020 campaign, from a run prevention perspective, but his 34 to 3 strikeout to walk ratio was still quite impressive, and that is something a lot of teams care more about than just ERA. In the MLB Draft, you get a lot of pitchers who are more throwers than pitchers at this stage of their careers. Hancock is not one of them, as he is a well refined pitching prospect. He has a great four-pitch mix, which includes a fastball that sits easily in the mid 90s, but doesn’t have a lot of movement, a sharp low 80s slider, a plus changeup and a decent curveball that he can break off from time to time. However, Hancock’s best trait is the command that he has with them. Over his past two seasons at Georgia, Hancock has walked just 4.8 percent of batters that he faced. For reference, that would have been tied with Max Scherzer for the 7th lowest walk rate among qualified starting pitchers in the MLB last season. As a pitcher, Hancock checks all of the boxes that scouts want to see in a potential top of the rotation ace. He has the prototypical size of a frontline starter, he has a low-effort delivery that is easily repeatable, he has four pitches that are average or better, with three of them having the potential to be plus pitches, and he can control all four of his pitches in and out of the strike zone. Really, what more could you ask from a possible top five pick. 3. Austin Martin, UCLA Pos: UTL | B/T: R/R | Height: 6' 0" | Weight: 185 | Age: 21 Previously Drafted: 37th Round, 2017 (CLE) Scouting Grades Hit: 70 Power: 55 Run: 55 Throw: 50 Field: 55 Overall: 60 What position Austin Martin eventually settles in at defensively is still up in the air, and it might change depending on which organization selects him. In his career at Vanderbilt, Martin his played primarily second and third base, but he has also showcased his talents in center field. If I saw a future for Martin as a shortstop, he most likely would be my number one player on the board, but I just don’t see Martin having the arm strength to play the position. Where there are no questions with Martin is with the bat in his hands. Martin is considered by many to be the best hitter in this class, and I would have to agree with that assessment. In three seasons as a full-time starter for the Commodores, Martin has an eye-popping .368/.474/.532 slash line, which is even more impressive when you consider that he is going up against many of the best arms in the country, playing in the SEC. Between he plus-plus hitting ability, his good eye at the plate, and his excellent base running ability, Martin has all the makings of a leadoff hitter at the professional level. Martin didn’t display a ton of power in his college career, just 14 home runs in 140 games played, but with his exceptional bat speed, Martin should be able to produce above-average power down the line. 2. Asa Lacy, Texas A&M Pos: LHP | Height: 6’4” | Weight: 215 | Age: 21 Previously Drafted: 31st Round, 2017 (CLE) Scouting Grades Fastball: 60 Slider: 65 Curveball: 55 Changeup: 55 Control: 50 Overall: 60 I had the opportunity to see what Asa Lacy could do up close last spring, when he put on a show against the LSU Tigers. In that start, Lacy absolutely shut down the Tigers bats, holding them scoreless over 6 innings, which included striking out 11 of the final 17 batters that he faced. However, it is not just one great start that makes Lacy so impressive, but instead the overall body of work that he has displayed. After a successful freshman season coming out of the bullpen, Lacy transitioned to the starting rotation over the last two seasons, where he put up a 1.84 ERA in 112 and 2/3 innings pitched across 19 starts and accumulating 176 strikeouts and 51 walks. While a number of pitchers at the top of draft have four pitches that all grade out at average or better, Lacy is a rare pitcher that has all four of his pitches graded out at above-average or better. His best pitch is a hard slider, with some downward bite, that is his go to swing and miss pitch. He pairs that up well with a bigger breaking curveball that is upper 70s to low 80s, which helps keep hitters off balance. Lacy’s fastball is too overpowering, but he can maintain his mid 90s velocity deep into his pitch count. He rounds out his repertoire with a changeup that he uses well versus opposing right-handed hitters. One potential holdup on Lacy is he has a tendency to walk his fair share of batters. However, it is not a glaring problem, and with some fine tuning of his mechanics, Lacy should be able to bring his walk total back down a little bit. With the combination of high strikeouts and a decent number of walks, Lacy doesn’t go very deep into ballgames, having thrown more than seven innings just once in his career, and averaging just 5.75 innings pitched in his 21 career starts for the Aggies. 1. Spencer Torkelson, Arizona State Pos: 1B | B/T: R/R | Height: 6' 1" | Weight: 220 | Age: 20 Previously Drafted: Never Scouting Grades Hit: 60 Power: 70 Run: 40 Throw: 50 Field: 55 Overall: 60 While there is not a lot of separation between Spencer Torkelson and the rest of the field, it seems to be a consensus by many that he will be the player that the Detroit Tigers select with the first overall pick in this year’s draft. After putting up impressive power numbers in both his freshman and sophomore seasons, 25 and 23 home runs in 2018 and 2019 respectively, and was well on his way to repeating those numbers again this spring. It is not too often that first basemen are considered for the top overall pick in the draft, then again it is not every year that a hitter with Torkelson’s ability is available. While many want to compare Torkelson to last year’s third overall pick Andrew Vaughn, however, that wouldn’t do Torkelson justice. While Vaughn was a more polished hitter, he doesn’t nearly have the power that Torkelson does, and that is what takes Torkelson to the next level. In addition to Torkelson’s bat, he is also a good defender at first base. That being said, as a first baseman his overall upside is still limited. Additionally, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of room to grow to continue developing, so he likely won’t add much more power than he has now. However, Torkelson’s rare combination of hitting ability and power will make him too tough to pass up with the first overall pick. Rest of the 2020 MLB Draft Top 50 Prospects 2020 MLB Draft Top 50 Prospect: 11-20 2020 MLB Draft Top 50 Prospect: 21-30 2020 MLB Draft Top 50 Prospect: 31-40 2020 MLB Draft Top 50 Prospect: 41-50 MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article