SethSpeaks.net Top 50 Minnesota Twins Prospects

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Normally I like to post my Top 50 Twins prospect lists before the draft and then following the minor league season in September. I then have updated my top 30 or 40 for the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. Life, writing, kid, work and other things have been crazier this year than ever before. No surprise, but it definitely has affected blogging. Of course, I do encourage people to listen to the four half-hour podcasts that I’m involved in each week to get the most recent information if I don’t blog it.

Typically I have done a four or five part announcement of my Top 50 prospect list, but due to time, here it is today, in one installment. It also has a little different look. The below chart provides the ranking, position, age, team(s) and then some brief comments on the players.

Summary – to be honest, this is the most difficult time I have had putting together a prospect ranking for the Twins. This year, it was pretty easy to rank the top eight to ten, but beyond that, it was quite difficult. I think that the top of the Twins prospect list is very good, with some future all-stars and several big-league regulars. Beyond that, there are a bunch of prospects that I can see coming up and being back-of-the-rotation starters, bullpen types, solid big leaguers who can help the team. However, overall, I don’t think that this top 50 is necessarily as strong as it has been in year’s past.

Here are a couple of quick notes before we get started. First, Ben Revere (probably would rank 7th) and Luke Hughes (probably would be in the late teens) are now beyond rookie status (130 at bats), so they not in this list. I also did not include any of the 2011 draft picks. 2^nd round pick Madison Boer is the highest selection to sign. Their three first-round picks have not signed yet. I know the question will come up, so I will answer it now. Where would I rank top pick Levi Michael on this list? Sadly, I would probably rank him somewhere between 13 and 17 on this list. Travis Harrison would probably be in the high-20s, and Hudson Boyd would be in the low-20s. I would probably rank Madison Boer in the mid-30s.

The purpose of these lists is really twofold. First, I think that minor leaguers deserve to be recognized for the work they’re doing without notoriety for the most part. Second, for discussion on these prospects.

Yes, I did flip-flop at the top again. With what Aaron Hicks has done over the last two weeks, I am again really excited about his future. He’s always been about the tools, but having seen him work in person for a few days and to see the numbers, I hope that we are seeing those tools turn into skills. It is in no way a knock on Kyle Gibson who continues to be a great prospect who will certainly contribute to the Twins for years. I’ve been touting Liam Hendriks as a top prospect considerable as well, and I will stand by that. I think he can be a Twins starter for years as well. Miguel Sano has a ton of talent and the comparisons to the likes of A-Rod and Miguel Cabrera are exciting. I don’t question the bat, I’m just curious about a few things. Will he be able to play defense adequately anywhere? Can he cut down the strikeouts? That’s why I now have Oswaldo Arcia up at #3. I think that he can be very solid defensively, but he can also hit for average and power. I am intrigued by his promotion to Ft. Myers after his elbow surgery and am very interested in how he does.

My  Twins Minor League Weekly co-host, Travis Aune posted his Top 50 Twins prospects the other day, and I definitely encourage everyone to check that out as well. He and I both love following the Twins minor league system and see most of the same information. We then generate our own thoughts on the players and you will notice that there are many similarities and many differences. Some of the differing opinions mean a big difference in where we rank the players. The reality is neither of us know for sure what these minor leaguers’ careers will amount to. No one does. And that’s the fun of these lists. We can all have different opinions on the various prospects, generate our own opinions, and then over the next several years, we’ll see how it goes.

With all that introduction, I present to you, the SethSpeaks.net Top 50 Twins Prospects for mid-season 2011. I definitely welcome any questions, comments or opinions on my rankings. I also encourage you to post your Top 5, 10, 20 prospect list as well. Feel free to post any comments here. (Note – See www.SethSpeaks.net for the Comments)

Rank	Player	Pos	Age	Team	Comments
1	Aaron Hicks	OF	22	Ft. Myers	Hicks is now turning his tools into skills. Future All-Star.
2	Kyle Gibson	RHP	23	Rochester	Great K rate, GB rate, K:BB rate, so ignore that 3-7 W-L, Future All-Star.
3	Oswaldo Arcia	OF	20	Bel/FM	Missed a month and still promoted, impressive bat!
4	Liam Hendriks	RHP	22	New Britain	pushed to AA, has been terrific. 7-2, 2.81 ERA. Good K rate.
5	Miguel Sano	IF	18	Elizabethton	No question about the bat potential. Bad D, need to be patient.
6	Joe Benson	OF	23	New Britain	Streaky hitter, but great D, arm, speed, power, competitive
7	Trevor Plouffe	IF	25	Roch/Minnesota	How is his bat not in the big leagues right now??
8	Adrian Salcedo	RHP	20	Beloit	Long and lanky, and pitching well for Beloit!
9	Angel Morales	OF	21	Has Not Played	Hasn’t played this year, still ranks in top 10. Good power/speed.
10	Rene Tosoni	OF	24	Roch/Minnesota	Kubel-Lite has been pushed too fast this year, but terrific talent.
11	Chris Parmelee	1B	23	New Britain	Solid all-around hitter, improving 1B. Needs to keep improving.
12	Eddie Rosario	OF	19	Elizabethton	Complete package, line drives, HR power, great glove and arm.
13	Carlos Gutierrez	RHP	24	Rochester	throws 97, good ERA, too many walks, not enough Ks.
14	David Bromberg	RHP	23	New Britain	broken ulna cost him time, but he’s young and has the pitches
15	Danny Ortiz	OF	21	Beloit	April Hitter of Month, small guy, but huge power, good D
16	Tom Stuifbergen	RHP	22	Ft. Myers	4 ER in last 43+ IP. Touching 94, great changeup, good SL & CB
17	Pat Dean	LHP	22	Bel/FM	missed first six weeks, 7 Beloit starts, now to Ft. Myers.
18	Manuel Soliman	RHP	21	Beloit	Still learning to pitch, but he can get some strikeouts. Throws hard!
19	Bobby Lanigan	RHP	24	New Britain	Overshadowed in New Britain rotation. Has a great slider!
20	Niko Goodrum	SS	19	Elizabethton	Still very raw, but immensely talented, strong, fast.
21	Max Kepler	OF	18	Elizabethton	Still very raw, but immensely talented, strong, fast.
22	BJ Hermsen	RHP	21	Beloit	has improved since the beginning of season.
23	Brian Dozier	SS	24	FM/NB	Overlooked by me, he is a very steady, solid hitter and fielder.
24	Chris Herrmann	C/OF	23	FM/NB	Great approach at plate, catcher versatility, very good outfielder.
25	Yangervis Solarte	IF/OF	23	New Britain	Hit .350 most of year with pop, would like to see more walks.
26	Steve Singleton	IF	25	NB/Rochester	lots of doubles again this season, would like to see more walks.
27	Nate Roberts	OF	22	Beloit	On-Base machine. Little power, but a very good, line drive hitter.
28	Danny Rams	C	22	Ft. Myers	Approach at plate has improved, still lots of Ks and power potential.
29	Rory Rhodes	3B	19	Elizabethton	6-7 Australian will put up big numbers in E-Town, all-around hitter.
30	Logan Darnell	LHP	22	Bel/FM	Lefty with great stuff has pitched well at two levels.
31	Bruce Pugh	RHP	22	FM/NB	Rough 1st outing in NB, dominant since. Big fastball!
32	Anderson Hidalgo	3B	22	Ft. Myers	Just hits .300 everywhere, probably overlooked prospect.
33	Deolis Guerra	RHP	22	New Britain	Terrible as a starter, but so far, so good in the BP! Still young!
34	Lance Ray	OF	21	Beloit	Horrible April, steadily improve since. Good all-around  bat.
35	Nick Lockwood	2B	20	Elizabethton	Line Drive after line drive. Good 2B, will hit for gap power too.
36	Evan Bigley	OF	24	New Britain	Another overlooked prospect, very good all-around.
37	Alex Wimmers	RHP	22	Ft. Myers	1 outing, 6 batters, 6 walks… shut down. We can hope!
38	Scott Diamond	LHP	24	Rochester	After being tremendous in ATL system, pretty bad with Red Wings
39	Dakota Watts	RHP	23	Ft. Myers	Throws really, really hard.
40	Miguel Munoz	RHP	22	Ft. Myers	1 start, rehabbing elbow since. He has good stuff. Hope for health!
41	Michael Gonzales	1B	23	Beloit	Repeating Beloit, lost weight, quicker bat, great power, good AVG
42	James Beresford	IF	22	Ft. Myers	2-time Beloit MVP hit well early. Struggled of late. Great glove!
43	Ryan O’Rourke	LHP	23	Beloit	Lefty has pitched well out of BP and now as a starter too!
44	Anthony Slama	RHP	27	Roch/Minnesota	Can’t do any more in minors, needs a chance, with someone!
45	Angel Mata	RHP	18	GCL	Very young, very talented Dominican.
46	Danny Santana	SS	20	Beloit	Speed. Swings hard for little guy. Lots of Es. Did I mention Speed?
47	Brett Jacobson	RHP	24	New Britain	When he throws strikes, he can be really good. Not enough strikes.
48	Steve Hirschfeld	RHP	25	New Britain	My April and May Twins Min. Lg Pitcher of the Month!
49	Dan Rohlfing	C	22	FM/NB	Keeps getting pushed, much improved behind plate and at bat!
50	Matt Bashore	LHP	23	Elizabethton	He’s now healthy and can begin the slow trek up the system.

Any other thoughts or questions on the Twins minor leaguers? Feel free to comment here.

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