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It's getting to that point in the season where minor league teams need to decide if they are contenders or pretenders. Players get promoted and demoted but each team has the goal of reaching the playoffs and finding success in the post-season tournament. Twins minor league squads have fared well in recent years. Can this year's crop of teams live up to those that have come before them? Read on to see which teams are trending in the right direction.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Durham 7 (10 Innings) Box Score It was Christmas in July night in Rochester but the Red Wings took a while to open their gifts to their fans. Darin Mastroianni led off the first inning with a triple and was driven in by a James Beresford sacrifice fly to put Rochester up 1-0 before the offense went into a Christmas freeze. Things picked up again in the eighth inning with Rochester trailing 6-1. After Wildfredo Tovar reached on a single and Logan Schafter walked, Darin Mastroianni was hit by a pitch to load the bases. James Beresford, who is in the midst of an eight-game hitting streak, drove in another pair of runs with a single. Jorge Polanco cleared the bases with his ninth home run. Pat Dean started for Rochester and allowed four runs on eight hits in six innings of work. Marcus Walden took over for Dean and gave up a pair of runs (one earned) in two frames. J.T. Chargois took the loss as he was asked to come out for a second inning of work and he couldn't make it out of the tenth. After getting the first batter to fly out, the next two men reached and he exited. Sean Burnett was on the mound when the go-ahead run was scored but it was charged to Chargois. Rochester remains 4.5 games behind first place Scranton/WB, which also lost on Tuesday night. It was the second straight extra-innings affair between these two teams with Durham winning both contests. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Lakeland 5 Box Score Keaton Steele got off to a rough start in this one as the Flying Tigers pounced on him for two first inning runs. He would recover for a few innings before surrendering three more runs in the fifth inning. Steele went five frames and scattered seven hits while striking out six and walking three. His nine losses are tied for the second most in the Florida State League. The bullpen did well to keep the Miracle within striking distance. John Curtiss, Michael Theofanopoulos, and Nick Anderson combined to toss four shutout innings on three hits. None of the relief arms allowed a batter to get further than second base. It took a while for the Fort Myers offense to wake up in this one but the team tried to mount a comeback in the late innings. Alex Perez led off the eighth inning with a single in front of a TJ White walk. Following a ground out and a pop out, the runners were still in scoring position. LaMonte Wade brought them home with a three-run home run. It was the second straight loss for the Miracle after winning three straight over the weekend. The club currently sits at three games over .500 for the entire season. In the second half standings, they are 15-11 and are near the top of the Florida State League South. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 9, Kingsport 8 Box Score If you are a fan of offense, there were plenty of fireworks in Elizabethton on Tuesday night. The E-Twins pounded out 13 hits but it took multiple comebacks for the squad to end up the victors. Elizabethton entered the sixth frame trailing 7-2 as starter Tyler Beardsley couldn't make it out of the fifth frame. He was charged with five earned runs (seven total runs) in 4.2 innings while striking out three and walking one. Quin Grogan and Johan Quezada allowed one unearned run the rest of the way to set the stage for what was to come. The E-Twins scored three runs in the sixth inning but only managed one hit in the frame, an RBI single from Alex Kirilloff. Before Kirilloff's hit, the first two batters reached with walks. Then a force attempt coaxed a throwing error by the second baseman to load the bases. A wild pitch and a ground out scored two runs before Kirilloff drove in the third run of the frame. In the next inning, the club continued their comeback. Mitchell Kranson singled and moved to second on a Caleb Hamilton walk. Andre Jernigan cracked his third double to drive in both runners and the score was now tied at 7-7. After allowing an unearned run in the top of the ninth, the E-Twins needed to find one more comeback. With one out, Jernigan reached on a fielding error to put some pressure on the pitcher. Luis Martinez flew out for the second out of the inning but Ariel Montesino walked to put the game-winning runner on base. After a pitching change, Shane Carrier ripped a double to score both runners and send the fans home happy. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 2 Box Score After giving up a first inning run, Bo Hellquist settled in nicely for the GCL Twins. He scattered six hits over five innings while striking out seven and walking none. His season ERA dropped to 2.08 and this was his first professional victory. Hellquist, a Minnesota-Duluth product, set career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts. Garret Kelly picked up his second hold in relief of Hellquist by limiting the Rays to one base runner in two shutout innings. Callan Pearce got in a little trouble in the later innings but not enough to surrender the lead. He allowed one run, an unearned run, while striking out three and walking two in two innings. It was his second save and he has yet to allow an earned run this season. Jean Carlos Arias came up with the first big hit for the Twins. He drove in a pair of runs after Jhon Alvarez walked, Gorge Munoz was hit by a pitch and Heiker Meneses singled. This put the GCL Twins up 2-1 in the third frame. Things got a little wild in the sixth frame. Joe Cronin was hit by a pitch with one out in the inning. This was followed by a pair of wild pitches that allowed Cronin to move all the way around to third. Zach Featherstone drove him in with a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 3-1. Tyree Davis didn't want the scoring to end there. He singled and stole second before advancing to third on a throwing error by the catcher. He would come in to score on a wild pitch to cap the GCL Twins scoring for the day. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Bo Hellquist, GCL Twins (5 IP, 1 ER, 7 K, first professional win) Hitter of the Day – Tyree Davis, GCL Twins (3-for-4, 2 doubles) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Durham @ Rochester (10:05 AM CST) – TBD Chattanooga @ Jackson (7:05 PM CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (3-4, 3.78 ERA) Lakeland @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Randy Rosario (5-6, 3.73 ERA) Bowling Green @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells (2-1, 1.27 ERA) Kingsport @ Elizabethton (6:00 PM CST) – LHP Domenick Carlini (1-3, 4.71 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Tuesday’s games. Click here to view the article

Once again, the Twins and Red Sox took to the diamonds for Instructional League ball. Yet there was a new giddiness in the air as the League is done as of Tuesday and a good deal of these players will head home for the winter. Everyone already has their plans set and everyone has something different in store. Still for now there was baseball to be played and talent to be evaluated. This weekend the Twins front office were visible in the stands with GM Terry Ryan, Special Assistant Bill Smith, Scouting Director Deron Johnson, and head of Player Personnel Mike Radcliffe. The Red Sox top brass was also in the stands with GM Dave Dombrowski being the most noticeable. On the rubber for the Twins Friday was Williams Ramirez who was facing one of the Red Sox's top pitching prospects in Michael Kopech. The two matched each other pitch for pitch in the first two innings before Ramirez gave up a couple hits and a run. For the duration of Instructs, the Twins have either let their starter go two or four innings dependent upon their seasonal workload. Ramirez went 4 IP and was relieved by Logan Lombana (1 IP), John Curtiss (2 IP), and Yorman Landa (1 IP). Landa once again was 93-95 mph spotting his fastball on both corners while breaking off a couple decent sliders. So I know this might sound like a broken record but Nick "Flash Jr" Gordon is really good not only in the field but at the plate. In the field, he showed slick fielding going far into the hole jumping and showing off a strong accurate throw to first. Later in the game, he charged a soft grounder barehanded and threw out the runner while never getting his feet under him. At the plate, he hit the ball hard and up the middle with a compact stroke that is designed to take advantage of his speed. Additionally, he worked on his bunting skills. This wasn't a sacrifice style bunt yet rather a run and tap ala Otis Nixon/Brett Butler style. After the game, I asked Gordon about his bunt earlier, he said that's part of his game that he really wants to improve and feels it adds another part to his game. He plans on working on it this offseason with his brother who's one of the better bunters in baseball today and has been coached by some of the best. Another hitter, I'm continually pleased to see is Lamonte Wade with his beautiful lefthanded swing and advanced approach at the plate. He really has some good at bats. Apparently, Gonsalves last outing was Thursday where he went two innings and he said he felt good but was excited to shut it down for the rest of the year. As he said this was the most he's ever threw and by the end of the regular season he was tiring, throwing in Instructs just added even more fuel to the fire. Also throwing on Thursday was Fernando Romero who went two innings hitting 93-95 mph. In side notes, 2015 draftee and reliever Rich Condeelis was sidelined with several stitches in his chin as he was hit by a ball thrown by fellow pitcher Zach Tillery. Unlike most of the pitchers in camp, Condeelis is going to continue to throw for another month or so to stretch out his arm. Unbeknowst to me, Rich has only been pitching for the last 6-7 months as he spent much of his career as a first baseman. The organization is supportive of his sidearm delivery and will let him continue to throw in that fashion. As it turns out, the player I've been sitting and talking Spanglish with over the entire summer was Fernando Romero (he would never give his name other than "Paul"), he saved me a front row seat next to Deron Johnson and Mike Radcliff so that was nice of him. He absolutely hates his picture taken and thought I was a scout for the beginning of the GCL season. On Saturday, lefty Sam Clay started for the Twins going 4 innings, his fastball was continually 89-91 mph maxing out at 92 mph with a slider around 76-78 mph. I was sitting next to two AL East Scouts (one amateur, one pro), and they were comparing notes on Clay. Last year, Clay's fastball was continually 92-95 mph when he first joined the Twins. They jokingly said that's the Twin's for you, I asked them what they meant and they said happens alot with Twins pitchers. Clay was relieved by an inning of Wilfredy Liranzo and Brandon Poulson for an inning before the game was called due to rain. Poulson threw one slider, the rest were fastballs at 90-95 mph averaging 93. In the box, Tyree Davis got some of his first game action of the 2015 season. Tyree has really bulked up, adding 20 lbs of muscle over the year as he's been regulated to much of the weight room due to his elbow injury. He luckily avoided surgery and is said that it feels 100%. He wants to continue his season in the Caribbean but is unsure if the team will give the okay. Also getting some at bats was former first rounder Levi Michael, who looked very rusty out on the field. Levi's a great guy and I'll always root for him but his baseball career is looking bleek. Overall, it was a great summer of the GCL and Instructs, the Twins wrap up their season hosting the Orioles on Monday and visiting the Red Sox on Tuesday. Til February!! In the meantime, I'll be getting my baseball fix and a foothold on the 2016 draft with all the showcases in South Florida.

We hear the term "five tools" a lot, but few true five-tool talents exist in baseball. Byron Buxton certainly fits that category at this time. Nick Gordon is in that category. By the time those players get to the big leagues, will they still be considered five-tool guys, or four… maybe three? That is to be determined, of course. Today, I’m going to write about three young players who impressed me with their athleticism and talent. They aren’t household names, but who knows, maybe one or more of them will take a step forward in 2015.TYREE DAVIS Though he played shortstop through his career at Centennial High School in Compton, California, Tyree Davis moved to centerfield during his professional debut in 2014. Davis was the Twins 37th round pick in 2014. His high school team had serious potential and talent. According to Davis, one of his teammates “finished with a .600 batting average last year and stole 40 to 50 bases” and didn’t get drafted. Standing 6-2 and 185 pounds, Davis’s best tools are “my speed and defense are very strong right now.” He was clocked at 4.27 seconds from home to first a year ago. He is a switch hitter with a good approach at the plate and a smooth swing from both sides of the plate. In batting practice, he hit line drive after line drive from gap to gap, but he also has potential to add some power. His brother, Johnny Davis, is a minor leaguer in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system. In 2014, he played for the Wisconsin TimberRattlers in the Midwest League. Davis is young, and he is a raw athlete, learning more each day about the game of baseball. After signing in 2014, he played in the Gulf Coast League and hit just .087/.210/.146 with two doubles and two triples. Regarding his hopes for the 2015 season, the 19-year-old said, “This season I just want to show people that I can play better than I have in the past. Basically I want to make more contact than what I’ve recently made.” He will likely spend another summer with the Gulf Coast League Twins. ROBERTO GONZALEZ The Twins used their first-round pick in 2014 on Orlando’s Olympia High School shortstop Nick Gordon. They did not draft another high school player until the 15th round when then took another hitter from Orlando, outfielder Roberto Gonzalez from University High School. The two prep stars played against each other. When I talked to Gordon at Twins Fest, he said that Gonzalez was “a really great athlete.” When I asked if Gonzalez could be a five-tool talent, Gordon didn’t hesitate at all. He said, “Oh yeah! Oh yeah!” Like Davis and Gordon, Gonzalez has family ties in baseball. His cousin, on his father’s side, was Cardinals’ outfielder Oscar Tavares. Gonzalez was able to attend a few of Tavares’s games last year with the Cardinals, including some playoff games. He said that when he started hearing rumors about Tavares’s car accident, he called Oscar but got no answer. The family was devastated, and you can see that it is something that still affects Gonzalez. Gonzalez began his career with the GCL Twins. In just 13 games, he hit .233/.313/.302 (.615) with three doubles. He also stole four bases. Unfortunately, on a headfirst slide into second base, the shortstop landed on the back of his leg. His kneecap detached and had to be reconnected surgically with an OCD Repair. This spring, the just-turned-20-year-old is excited about spring training. Like Davis, he is likely to return to the GCL Twins after extended spring training. At 6-0 and about 200 pounds, Gonzalez runs well, though he’ll continue to gain speed as he gets further removed from his surgery. He has a strong left-handed swing and could develop more power in time. Whether he’ll hit for average will likely depend on whether he can develop a quicker swing. Defensively, he’s got good range and a very, very strong arm. In high school, he was clocked as high as 94 mph. As with Davis, Twins fans will need to be patient with Gonzalez. He has the tools that we all hope can become skills in time. EDGAR CORCINO The third possible five-tool athletic player is a little bit older than Davis and Gonzalez. Edgar Corcino is already 22-years-old. He was a 26th round draft pick in 2009 out of Puerto Rico by the Detroit Tigers. After spending three seasons in the Gulf Coast League, Corcino played all over for the Tigers in 2012. He played mostly for West Michigan (Midwest League) and Lakeland (Florida State League), but also got time in AAA Toledo. He didn’t hit much (.198/.271/.329) that year and was released. He has spent the last two seasons playing for Rockford of the independent Frontier League – the league from which the Twins have also signed RHP DJ Johnson and LHP Jose Velez in the last nine months. In 186 games over two seasons, he hit .294/.355/.452 (.807) with 30 doubles, 12 triples and 19 home runs. He also stole 19 bases. Watching him in minor league spring training, you can see his extreme athleticism. He was primarily playing left field, though he could certainly play center field too. In the past, he has played most of the infield positions as well. He is a switch-hitter with a good swing from each side. Though he is more of a speed guy, he’s got good strength and can definitely hit for extra base power. Speaking of the speed, from my observations, he was one of the fastest players in the system. In the offseason, he worked out in the same group as his good friend, JO Berrios. The Twins pitching prospect said that Corcino is a “very good athlete, very fast and strong. He works really, really hard.” Berrios continued, “He is an even better person than baseball player.” Corcino will likely need to make the Cedar Rapids roster to stick around, but with his work ethic and athleticism, it’s worth taking the chance. Tyree Davis, Roberto Gonzalez and Edgar Corcino were three great athletes I saw at Twins minor league spring training. Each has tremendous talent and athleticism, but they will need a lot of time and patience. That said, athleticism is a good place to start. Hopefully over time their great tools will become great baseball skills. Click here to view the article

The Twins were on the road again on Saturday. They made the trip to Bradenton to play the Pirates and got a win. I spent the full day over at the minor league practice. In fact, if you follow Twins Daily on Twitter or “Like” Twins Daily on Facebook, you can see that a LOT of pictures (probably 500) were taken of minor league players whom you have seen in box scores or the Twins Daily minor league reports each day through the season, but now you can put a face to them. I’ve been asked on numerous occasions what happens in a day at minor league camp. They definitely put in some work. Here is an approximation of a daily schedule as well as some of my observations. I included a few minor league notes at the end as well.There are 55 rooms in the new dormitory at the Twins complex, with two players in each room. Most of the younger players stay there. Some of the more veteran players or some of the guys who think they’ll play for the Miracle this season will find a place to live off-site. At the dorms, they are able to eat breakfast. At about 9 a.m., they will generally have a meeting to discuss the day’s practice. Before Friday’s first official practice, all of the minor leaguers and staff met in the new auditorium to go through things they would need to know. At around 9:30, the players will come out onto the fields. The pitchers will all go to one field and the hitters will go to the area that includes Perry’s Hill. The strength and conditioning coordinators go through a series of stretching exercises as well as some short jogging, just to loosen up. They have weights and stretchy bands as well as some devices that are essentially shake weights. They definitely get a full body stretch and a small workout to get everything ready for a full day of practice. When they’re done, the players split into four work groups. Work Group 1 is the most veteran group with a lot of players who will spend the season at AA or AAA. Work Group 4 is a lot of the guy who will likely begin the season in extended spring training. The hitters go to a field and usually start with some base running work. They’ll run from home to first, through the bag. They’ll start at first and work on their cross-over steps to steal second. They’ll go first to third. Finally they’ll go second to home. They’ll maybe do each thing a couple of times. At that point, the infielders break into ground ball drills. They put them through every situation imaginable, throwing to first and throwing to second. They’ll spend 10 minutes just working on backhands. The middle infielders will work with each other on flips, or giving each other a good target for a double play. You will see a coach with a fungo standing by third base, hitting line drives and one or two hoppers at the first basemen so that they can work on stretching and scooping baseballs. Pitchers will get ground balls shot out of a pitching machine to work on their reactions and hands. They make it a competition to keep it enjoyable. On their days, pitchers will throw their bullpens. They’ll work from the windup and from the stretch. As the spring wears on, those bullpen sessions will likely become more intense and pitchers will be working on more things. At the end of each pitcher’s bullpen, he and his catcher will meet in the middle, shake hands and talk for a minute about what they saw. Outfielders may be in the batting cages taking swings. At some point in the morning, they get that pitching machine and launch fly balls from it positioned near the left field line to the outfielders who are standing in centerfield. They will make them come forward or go backwards. It’s all about repetition and getting to see the ball in the air. Pitchers fielding practice (PFP) is something that we hear about all of the time. On Friday, the pitchers worked on it on all three fields. Infielders will help with it as well. The pitchers need to do a variety of things in preparation for what could happen during the season: Covering first base on a grounder to the first baseman.Fielding a bunt to each the first or third base line.Fielding grounders straight back to them.Communicating with the first baseman on grounders that way that maybe the pitcher can field.Finding a ball that is near the mound and calmly throwing to first base.Getting a ground ball and throwing to second base for a force out, or maybe even a double play.Fielding a bunt down the third base line and throwing to third.Pick off throws to first, second or even third base. I’m certain that I left out some of the scenarios. They go through some I hadn’t even thought of and yet that scenario may come up during the course of the season. In fact, on Saturday, they worked on where to go to back up a play if they have picked off a runner from one of the bases, starting with how to run toward them and make the runner commit to a base. It’s really amazing to watch the precision of a minor league practice with four work groups on five fields. They have stations. They have certain things that they need to do and they get them done. On Saturday before lunch, all of the pitchers had to do the shuttle run. Mini-cones were placed 25 yards from each other. A group of six to eight pitchers will get on the line and do six down and backs, about 300 yards. They are timed and the times are recorded. Most finish between 53 and 60 seconds. A few get between 61 and 65. And then after each of the groups does it once, they get to do it a second time. A few of them maintain their mid-50s time, but most are closer to 60 the second time and a few more trickle to just above 60 seconds. It’s actually kind of impressive. The players generally have lunch for about 30 to 45 minutes. At that point, the hitters come out and they take batting practice on three fields. They get a lot of swings. There was even a bunting station on each field where three or four guys would rotate just to work on bunting. It is an impressive showing of efficient use of the field. Pitchers generally will be shagging fly balls throughout this time. On Friday, they hit until about 2:00. At that point, the hitters went over to the area to do their two shuttle runs. You can tell the catchers, but again, the times were typically between 55 and 60 seconds. There were several that trickled over 60 seconds, but for the most part, they did well. When you watch it, the players are generally doing something. However, in the Florida heat, I also think they do a good job of mixing coaching with executing. In other words, not only do they take ground balls or work on different plays, but they will spend a lot of time huddling in a group to discuss what they will be doing and why. If a coach sees something that a guy should work on, he'll work with him right away, or hit him another ground ball so that he can continue to learn. They are encouraged to get water frequently. The players are on the field from basically 9:30 until 2:30 with a 30 to 45 minute lunch, but they are well taken care of and each field has one athletic trainer around in case there is a need. If you get a chance to spend a day watching a full Twins minor league practice during spring training, I would encourage it. Again, I am amazed by the efficiency. They are able to keep somewhere around 140 baseball players busy, but more important, they are coaching them up at every opportunity. I'm certain that I didn't cover it all. There is so much going on. Here are a couple of quick notes: I talked to Luke Bard for a little while. As you know, he had surgery last May and it is expected to be a 12 month recovery. As I’ve written before, once they found the issue, they were amazed that he was able to throw at all. As he said, a lot of really good doctors missed it. Bard said he feels good and is on track to this point. He’s such a good person that you want to see him get healthy and see what he can do. Reports from teammates when he was able to pitch were that he had some really nasty stuff.I also talked to David Hurlbut, a left-handed starting pitcher who was named to the Florida State League All-Star team in 2014. He didn’t pitch from that point forward and was rehabbing throughout the offseason. He told me that he kept having bullpens and thinking he was good and then he wouldn’t be able to pitch again for a couple of weeks. He did say that the last couple of weeks, he has felt very good. He’s now doing bullpens and involved in all activities with the hope to be ready for opening day.Jason Kanzler shaved the mustache for photo day. I actually felt bad. I was chatting with outfielder Zach Granite between fields, and Kanzler walked by on his way to another field. I had to do a double take. We chatted later and Kanzler said, “Yeah, didn’t think you knew it was me.” I agreed and said that I had to do a double-take just to believe that it was him.There is a belief that flame-thrower Brandon Poulson has a chance to be really good, dominating someday as a pitcher. Though he is 25 years old, he hasn’t played a lot of baseball. He’s 6-4, 240 pounds and as Tom Powers of the Pioneer Press wrote today, he has just 8% body fat. Right now, he has trouble with this control, and the Twins will be patient with him. Why? Because he has little problem hitting 98 mph with his fastball. If it takes him a couple of years to gather his control and maybe a second or third pitch, and he could get to the big leagues at 28 years old with a 98 to 101 mph fastball, then it’s all worth it. I know you were wondering the same thing I was, but they were able to get THEOFANOPOULUS on the back of a Twins jersey. Three guys to keep an eye on for years down the road, possibly, are outfielders Roberto Gonzalez, Tyree Davis and Edgar Corcino. All three fit the profile of athlete. They are all very fast. They all have good strength and they’re all baseball guys. Obviously they’re all young and a long way from big league ready, but if you’re looking for some names of sleepers in the low levels, those guys could be very interesting.One thing I’ve noticed in watching so many bullpens the last couple of days: The Twins have a lot of pitchers that throw pretty hard. I know they’re not completely airing it out in the first bullpen sessions, and I’m not necessarily seeing their best secondary pitches either, but it’s very clear that there is more velocity.On Saturday, the Twins are on the road again, this time across the state in Jupiter, so I’ll be at the minor league facilities again. As you can see, I really enjoy this and I hope that passion comes through when you read me write about the Twins minor league system and the players in it. There really is a lot of talent. Then consider that some of their top prospects are still over in the major league camp and that talent pool just continues to grow. Nick Nelson will be arriving in Ft. Myers later this afternoon, so look forward to his terrific writing the next week or so. He and I will both cover the Twins on Sunday, so be sure to check back often. Click here to view the article

After a busy week last week with the Minnesota Twins naming their new manager, we are returning to our look at the Twins organizational depth chart. This week, we’ll be reviewing the outfielders throughout the system. Since there are nearly fifty outfielders, I am going to split it into two parts. Today, I’ll look at that outfield depth in the Twins four lowest affiliates; Dominican League Twins, GCL Twins, Elizabethton Twins and the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Later this week, I’ll discuss the players in the upper levels.Coming Soon - The Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2015 will be available soon here at Twins Daily. In it, there will be much more detailed prospect profiles and much more.> Dominican Summer League Down in the DSL, there were six players that got significant time in the outfield. Looking at the statistics in the lowest levels can be quite fruitless, but it’s always interesting to get to know the names. A couple of these players could wind up coming to the States and playing in the GCL or even Elizabethton in 2015 or beyond. Francisco Hernandez led the DSL team with 31 games in centerfield. He was 18-years-old this year and in 42 games he hit .210/.369/.210. At 5-10 and 160 pounds he has very little power (no extra-base hits) and had just seven stolen bases. 18-year-old Antonio Tovar spent his second season in the DSL in 2014. The 6-0, 195 pounder was the leader in games played in left field with 32, though he played 26 games in centerfield as well. He hit .253/.381/.335 (.716) with six doubles and five triples. After going 12-13 in stolen base attempts in 2013, he went just 9-20 in 2014. He walked 41 times and struck out 35 times. Junior Amarante turned 19 before the 2014 season started. It was his third season with the DSL Twins and by far his best. He played 31 games in right field and eight games in left. He hit .287/.383/.337 (.720) with five doubles and two triples. He was also 22 of 24 in stolen base attempts. He is 5-11 and 185 pounds. Edgar Herrera is a 17-year-old from Venezuela. He played 26 games in right field and 13 games in left field. At 6-0 and 170 pounds, he hit .259/.361/.302 with two doubles and two triples. He walked 23 times and struck out 23 times, as well. Jorge Parra is 6-0 and 176 pounds. In his second DSL season, he played in 52 games and hit .260/.356/.345 (.700). He added nine doubles and three home runs. He played 19 games in left field and 15 more in right field. Luis Martinez was an 18-year-old in his first DSL season. He played in 23 games and hit .328/.443/.414 (.857) with three doubles and a home run. He also stole 14 bases and walked as much as he struck out. He played 15 games in centerfield and one in right. Gulf Coast League Tyree Davis was the Twins 37th round draft pick in 2014. The now-19-year-old played 36 games in centerfield for the GCL Twins. In 38 total games, he hit just .087/.210/.146 (.356). He went 9-103, but he had two doubles and two triples. He is a great athlete, a five-tool athlete. The graduate of Centennial High School in Compton, California, is looking to become the school’s 11th major league player and the first since Lonnie Smith retired in 1994. At 6-3 he has a lot of power potential. Amaurys Minier was the Twins top international signing in 2012. He debuted in the GCL in 2013 and went back to the GCL in 2014. He had offseason shoulder surgery, and he moved from third base to left field where he started 34 games. In 53 games, he hit .292/.405/.520 (.925) with 11 doubles, two triples and eight home runs. At 6-2 and 190 pounds, he has terrific power. He also spent a lot of time at first base. Frank Encarnacion led the GCL in games played at right field with 16, though he also played seven in left field. After a year in the DSL, he moved to the States where he played in 26 games and hit .198/.244/.235 (.479) with three doubles. 19-year-old Roberto Gonzalez is another five-tool outfielder whom the Twins drafted in 2014 (15th round) out of Orlando. He played in just 13 games due to knee surgery. In 43 at-bats, he hit .233/.313/.302 (.615) with three doubles. At 6-0 and 195 pounds, he has very good speed and a lot of power potential. He stole four bases in five attempts. He will need to be able to make more contact. Rafael Valera came to the States in 2014 after two seasons in the DSL. He played in 47 games for the GCL Twins, but he also had a couple of stints (and three games played) in Ft. Myers. With the GCL, he played eight games in right field solely and three games in right and left. He also played around the infield. He hit .254/.370/.341 (.710) with eight doubles and two triples. After four seasons in the Dominican Summer League, 21-year-old Dubal Baez finally got to move to the States. He played 40 games in the GCL and hit .281/.351/.331 (.681) with six doubles. He played 18 games in centerfield, 11 games in right field and nine games in right field. After a season in the DSL, Ariel Montesino hit .165/.233/.220 (.454) with four doubles and a triple. He also stole 10 bases. He played 13 games in left field and 10 games in right. He turned 19 since the end of the season. Elizabethton Twins Max Murphy was the Twins ninth round pick in 2014 out of Bradley. The 21-year-old Minnesotan was the Appalachian League Player of the Year and spent only 35 games with the E-Twins, but he hit .378/.483/.723 (1.206) with seven doubles, two triples and ten home runs. He then played 32 more games with the Cedar Rapids Kernels where he hit .242/.314/.395 (.709) with seven doubles and four home runs. Combined, he played 35 games in centerfield, 20 games in left field and six games in right. Tanner English was the Twins 11th round pick in 2014 out of South Carolina. He played in 32 games for the E-Twins and hit .316/.439/.474 (.913) with five doubles, two triples and three homers. He was also five for six in stolen base attempts. Despite being just 5-10 and 160 pounds, he is far from a slap-hitter. All 26 games he played defense, he played in centerfield. Austin Diemer was the Twins 26th round out of Cal State Fullerton. He played 37 games in centerfield for Elizabethton and another 18 games in left field. In 55 games, he hit .227/.305/.286 (.591) with six doubles and two homers. He stole ten bases. Jeremias Pineda spent most of the 2013 season with the Cedar Rapids Kernels, minus his 50-game suspension. He began 2014 in Cedar Rapids, but he was sent back down to Elizabethton where he played 58 of his 73 games. In all, he hit .224/.301/.295 (.597) with six doubles, four triples and two homers. He has good speed and stole 27 bases in 34 attempts. Trey Vavra was the Twins 33rd round pick in 2014 out of Florida Southern. He primarily played first base for the E-Twins, but he also played 13 games in left field. He hit .319/.392/.454 (.846) with 20 doubles, a triple and a home run. Cedar Rapids Kernels JD Williams advanced to Ft. Myers in the second half of 2013, but a spring training broken thumb and rehab sent him back to the Kernels. He played 52 games in left field. In 75 games total, he hit .245/.330/.383 (.713) with 19 doubles, four triples and three homers. The 23-year-old will need to get to Ft. Myers to start 2015. Zach Granite began the season in Cedar Rapids, but unfortunately the centerfielder missed time with two injuries and played in just 21 games with the Kernels. The 21-year-old hit .291/.321/.367 (.689) with two doubles and two triples for the Kernels. He is very fast and has the skill set to be a good leadoff hitter. Zach Larson began the season as the Kernels right fielder. The 20-year-old hit .265/.325/.358 (.683) with 11 doubles and a homer. Unfortunately, he dealt with a hamstring issue most of the rest of the season. Despite being a 20th round draft pick out of high school in 2012, he is a very good hitting prospect. Chad Christensen primarily played first base for the Kernels, but the versatile athlete also played 20 games in left field, ten games in right field and six games in center. The 24-year-old was the Twins 25th round pick in 2013 out of the University of Nebraska. In 127 games total with the Kernels, he hit .272/.339/.404 (.744) with 24 doubles, seven triples, nine home runs, 73 RBI, 84 runs scored and 30 stolen bases. Alex Swim had almost solely been a catcher until mid-June when he came up to the Kernels. He went on a hot streak and then he was moved out to right field to keep his bat in the lineup. He played 46 games in right field. In 63 total games, he hit .311/.352/.349 with nine doubles. SUMMARY In Part 2 of the outfield depth chart later this week, we’ll discuss players who are closer to the big leagues. However, Part 1 does show a lot of players with some big-time potential. A few have the potential to be great. Of course, at the low levels, the odds are markedly against them. Amaurys Minier and Zach Larson are arguably the two top prospects in this list. Players like Max Murphy, Chad Christensen and Tanner English have the opportunity to advance after strong showings. Players like Tyree Davis and Roberto Gonzalez have a long way to go, but they are two players that legitimately have five tools. Click here to view the article