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Following their first postseason appearance since the inaugural season of Target Field, the Minnesota Twins found themselves in an unfamiliar position, as they didn’t have their first selection until the 20th pick of the 2018 MLB Draft. Factor that in with it being the first draft following the Twins taking Royce Lewis with the first overall selection in 2017, and it makes sense that not a lot of Twins fans were overly excited for this draft. However, that doesn’t mean that the Twins weren’t able to acquire some quality talent and now a season and a half later it appears that the Twins did just that.Now that the Twins 2018 Draft Class has had a chance to play their first full season of professional baseball, we are starting to get a clearer picture of how the they are shaping up. While some of these players haven’t had a number of opportunities to show what they can do, the ones that have had the opportunity have really impressed. Let’s take a look at some of the more notable players from this class. Trevor Larnach With their first-round pick, the Twins took soon to be national champion outfielder Trevor Larnach out of Oregon State University. After a strong professional debut in 2018, Larnach began the 2019 season in High-A Fort Myers. In 84 games with the Miracle, Larnach hit .316, with and .842 OPS, both of which were easily league highs among qualified hitters in the very pitcher-friendly Florida State League in 2019. This performance led to Larnach’s call up to AA Pensacola mid-season, where he continued to hit the ball well over the final couple months of the season. This helped Larnach secure the ranking as Twins Daily’s 3rd highest ranked prospect in the Twins farm system. Ryan Jeffers In the second round, the Twins turned some heads when they supposedly reached on UNC Wilmington catcher Ryan Jeffers. Jeffers was thought of by many scouts as a great hitting college catcher, who would have a tough time staying behind the plate as a professional. However, the Twins scouts thought differently, and have since been proven dead right. Not only has Jeffers mashed in his 698 career professional plate appearances, but he has also proven to be more than capable enough to hold his own as a catcher defensively, all of this leading to Jeffers being ranked the 7th best Twins prospect here at Twins Daily. Look for Jeffers to knock on the MLB door in the near future and give the Twins a dynamic duo behind the plate with Jeffers and Mitch Garver. Cole Sands The first pitcher that the Twins took in this draft didn’t come until the fifth round, when they took Florida State right-hander Cole Sands. After not pitching professionally in 2018, Sand made his professional debut at Cedar Rapids in 2019, and quickly moved his way up to make one start at AA Pensacola before the end of the season. Among the 545 pitchers who threw at least 90 innings in affiliated minor league baseball in 2019, Cole Sands’ 2.45 FIP was the 5th lowest. This was due in large part to his tremendous 5.68 strikeout to walk ratio. This is a number that even the great Johan Santana couldn’t top during his time with the Twins. I expect great things from Sands again in 2020, which could vault him way up the Twins prospect ranking leader board by seasons end. Josh Winder The second pitcher that the Twins took in the 2018 MLB draft was Josh Winder out of the Virginia Military Institute. After a solid pro debut in Elizabethton in 2018, Winder was one of the best pitchers in the Midwest League in 2019. In 21 starts for the Cedar Rapids Kernels, Winder tossed 125 2/3 innings to the tune of a 2.65 ERA, which was the fourth lowest mark among Midwest League pitchers with at least 100 innings pitching in 2019. In 164 1/3 combined professional innings, Winder has struck out 160 batters, while allowing just 36 walks and 11 home runs. Chris Williams Taken as a college senior in the eighth round of the 2018 MLB draft, Clemson 1B/C Chris Williams signed with the Twins for just $10,000, which was well below the $162,100 slot value for that pick. However, Williams hasn’t played like just some random-pick-to save-money, as he quickly established himself as a legit power threat at the professional level, belting 26 home runs in just 545 pro plate appearances. While Williams didn’t spend anytime behind the plate in 2018, he almost exclusively caught in 2019. If he can stay behind the plate, he has potential to make a splash, with his rare power behind the plate. Willie Joe Garry Jr. It has been a bit of a slow start from a production standpoint for the Twins ninth-round pick in the 2018 MLB draft, but Willie Joe Garry Jr. did show signs of improvement in 2019, and with his raw athletic ability the ceiling is very high for this young high school prospect out of Mississippi. Seth Stohs did a great piece on Willie Joe Garry Jr. earlier this week, if you want to learn more about this young Twins prospect. Other Notable Prospects - 15th-round pick Kody Funderburk struck out 9.9 batter per nine innings and had a 3.25 FIP in 50 innings pitched for Cedar Rapids in 2019. - 17th-round pick Erik Cha has a 2.21 ERA, with 65 strikeouts and 21 walks in 61 innings pitched out of the bullpen, pitching mostly for the GCL Twins and in Elizabethton. - 18th-round pick Andrew Cabezas has made 31 starts in his two seasons of pro ball, accumulating a 3.31 ERA in 160 1/3 innings pitched. - 19th-round pick Austin Schulfer has made 41 appearances (20 starts) in his two seasons at the professional level. In that time, Schulfer has posted a 3.27 ERA and has struck out an impressive 158 batters in 137 2/3 innings pitched. - 21st-round pick Gabe Snyder blasted 19 home runs for Cedar Rapids in 2019. That was good for second most among all Mid-West league hitters last season. - 31st-round pick Zach Neff pitched 39 innings for Cedar Rapids in 2019, before getting called up to Fort Myers, where he threw another 33 2/3 innings. Neff’s 2.11 FIP for Cedar Rapids was the fifth lowest among the 251 Midwest league pitchers who threw at least 30 innings pitched last season, while his 2.27 FIP for Fort Myers was the 17th lowest among the 178 Florida State League pitchers who threw at least 30 innings in 2019. As you can see, there are a number of good prospects in the Twins farm system that came from that 2018 Draft Class, even though the Twins weren’t blessed with a number of high-end selections. This upcoming season will be a great year to follow these guys, as they are now mostly settled into the professional ranks and are looking to move their way up the Twins minor league system. 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http://www.twinstakes.com/wp-content/uploads/Miguel-Sano-Career-Stats1.png Miguel Sano’s Career Stats from MiLB.com The Minnesota Twins have called up their #2 prospect Miguel Sano from their Double-A affiliate Chattanooga Lookouts. Add Miguel to the list of top 10 prospects* already called up this season by the Twins, Eddie Rosario(#8), Jorge Polanco(#4), Alex Meyer(#10) and Byron Buxton(#1.) Although he’s listed as the #2 prospect, he might be the most anticipated prospect to come up for the Twins in a very long time and maybe ever because of what he can do with the bat in his hands. *Rankings from TwinsDaily.com Miguel Sano is one of those prospects that changes a franchise, a player a team can build around because he changes the game. The stats will show it a little bit but there’s nothing like actually seeing it happen. Most of us have not had the pleasure of seeing him play other than on the highlight videos. Now we should be able to watch him every day on live television and at Target Field. That should bring even more fans out to see these Twins. Unfortunately, in order to keep track of your favorite organization's minor league teams and prospects, you really have to rely mostly on the stats. We do have many options of what we can look at though. You actually can tell a lot from the stats, especially if you dig into the splits and game logs of any player. Just looking at the total stats might not paint the full picture. This season is a good example of why just looking at the total stats doesn’t tell you the whole picture. Unless you’ve been paying attention to Miguel Sano the whole season, you wouldn’t know how he struggled early and how he’s recovered from those struggles and developed into a better hitter and player. Looking at the monthly splits is a good start but digging into the game logs can provide a better look into his season and see where he may have started getting on a roll. The Sano Splits* http://www.twinstakes.com/wp-content/uploads/Sano-Stats-Sheet.png Spreadsheet with some split stats of Miguel Sano’s AA season in 2015 After missing the entire 2014 season to repair his right arm with Tommy John surgery, it took Miguel a while to get back in the swing of things (Pardon the pun.) He hit .159/.303/.381 (AVG/OBP/SLG)* in April going 10-for-63 with 2 doubles, 4 home runs, 9 RBIs with 12 walks and 22 strikeouts in 18 games. He had more than one hit in only one of those games. A year off is sure to mess with your swing, your timing, your eye at the plate and just about anything to do with playing the game. *Average/On-Base Percentage/Slugging Percentage also known as a player's triple slash. And then the calendar turned. Miguel was 3-for-17 in the first 5 games of May with one double and one home run but “on the 7th day…”, Miguel Sano went 3-for-5 for his 1st multi-hit game in 15 games and only 2nd of the season. All three hits were singles but 2 games later he would go 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and a walk. Next game, 2 hits, a double and 4 RBIs. That turned into an 11-game stretch where he hit .385/.458/.718. He was 15-for-39 with 4 doubles, 3 home runs, 8 RBIs with 7 walks & 8 strikeouts. He would go 0-for-8 with 6 strikeouts in the next two games but that didn’t stop him from Sano-ing the ball. From May 7th until June 29th, Miguel Sano slashed .329/.413/.621 going 53-for-161 with 15 doubles, 1 triple, 10 HRs and 36 RBIs scoring 41 runs while drawing 23 walks and striking out 40 times. That raised his season triple slash from .163/.299/.388 to .274/.374/.544. That’s a good run, huh? On June 10th, Jorge Polanco was called up for one game with the Twins and on June 14th, Byron Buxton was called up. It’s safe to say Miguel Sano seeing his teammates called up before him might have served as some motivation to turn it up even more. In 16 games from June 10th to June 29th he went 21-for-61 with 8 doubles, 5 HRs and 13 RBIs with 10 walks and 16 strikeouts. He also scored 17 runs. That’s an average of .344, an on-base percentage of .438 and a slugging percentage of .721. Not hard to figure out why the Twins promoted him, right? Are there any reasons for concern with Miguel Sano, things that could cause him to struggle in the Majors? There’s always something, right? The high number of strikeouts is an easy target to zero in on and, of course, you can’t talk about strikeouts without bringing up walks. He has improved in both areas so far this season, increasing his walk percentage and lowering his strikeout percentage. How ‘bout the glove? He’s had a lot of errors while playing at 3rd base in the minors, 15 in 2015 while playing 3rd base for 63 games in Chattanooga. This may be why the Twins are bringing him up to replace Kennys Vargas as the Designated Hitter. That way he can concentrate on his at-bats and not have to worry about his defense. I’m sure he’ll get some chances at the hot corner though. He’s a 3rd baseman, not a DH. Trevor Plouffe had to work on his defense for a few years to become the solid 3rd baseman he is now. Thanks for reading our ‘Takes on the Twins! We’d love to hear your ‘Takes on Miguel Sano’s call-up so let us know in the comments, on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ after all, it is... Our ‘Takes, Your ‘Takes, TwinsTakes.com! P.S. Do yourself a favor and watch Pelotero, the documentary about what Dominican baseball players go through to become ballplayers. It follows the signing of Miguel Sano and what he went through to achieve his Big-League dream. It's very good and it's on Netflix. *Doing the splits in the snow is very dangerous! It’s slippery and IT’S THE SPLITS! Why would you even want to do that? Don’t try it at home or anywhere really! I don’t even like thinking about it!