Friday,
October 23, 2009
SethSpeaks.net
Top 50
Minnesota Twins
Prospects
Part 4: Prospects 1-10
On Monday, I posted my choices
for Twins Prospects
36-50. Wednesday, Twins prospects 21-35 were presented. Yesterday, I
found that I had completely forgotten one of my top 20 prospects, so he had to
be added, and that means that I presented Twins prospects 11-21. That brings us to the topic
that Im sure most of you look forward to in any prospect lists. Here are the SethSpeaks.net Top 10 Minnesota Twins Prospects. Youve
done a great job in the comments section throughout the week, so be sure to Click
Here to leave your Comments or Questions.
But first, here are prospects
11-51:
#51 Shooter Hunt
RHP 23 (8/16/86)
#50 Joe Testa LH RP 23 (12/18/85)
#49 Reggie
Williams IF 21 (11/5/88)
#48 Brad Tippett RHP 21 (2/11/88)
#47 Winston
Marquez LHP 22 (8/19/87)
#46 James
Beresford SS 20 (1/19/89)
#45 Deibinson Romero 3B 23 (9/24/86)
#44 Evan Bigley OF 21 (3/9/87)
#43 Derek
McCallum 2B 21 (3/22/88)
#42 Liam Hendriks RHP 20 (2/10/89)
#41 Brian Dozier
SS 22 (5/15/87)
#40 Chris
Herrmann OF/C 22 (11/24/87)
#39 Steve Hirschfeld RHP 24 (9/8/85)
#38 Ramon
Santana 3B/SS 23 (6/20/86)
#37 Rob Delaney
RH RP 25 (9/8/84)
#36 David Winfree OF 24 (8/5/85)
#35 Andrei Lobanov LHP 19 (1/25/90)
#34 Michael
Tonkin RHP 20 (11/19/89)
#33 Santos Arias
RHP 22 (3/17/87)
#32 Steve Tolleson IF/OF 26 (11/1/83)
#31 Billy
Bullock RH RP 21 (2/27/88)
#30 Tom Stuifbergen RHP 21 (9/26/88)
#29 Max Kepler-Rozycki C/OF 16 (2/10/93)
#28 Brian Dinkelman 2B 26 (11/10/83)
#27 Oswaldo Arcia OF 18
(5/1/91)
#26 Josmil Pinto C/DH 20 (3/31/89)
#25 Michael McCardell RHP 24 (4/13/85)
#24 Steve
Singleton 2B 24 (9/12/85)
#23 Carlos
Gutierrez RHP 22 (9/22/86)
#22 Anthony Slama RH RP 25 (1/6/84)
#21 Alex Burnett
RH RP 22 (7/26/87)
#20 Luke Hughes
3B 25 (8/2/84)
#19 Blayne Weller RHP 19 (1/30/90)
#18 Tyler
Robertson LHP 21 (12/23/87)
#17 Danny Rams
C/DH 20 (12/19/88)
#16 Trevor Plouffe SS 23 (6/15/86)
#15 Jeff Manship RHP 24 (1/16/85)
#14 Deolis Guerra RHP 20 (4/17/89)
#13 BJ Hermsen RHP 19 (12/1/89)
#12 Chris
Parmelee 1B/RF 21 (2/24/88)
#11 Joe Benson
OF 21 (3/5/88)
The SethSpeaks.net Top Ten
Minnesota Twins Prospects
#10 Adrian Salcedo RHP 18 (4/24/91)
2009 Team: GCL Twins
Acquired: Signed by Twins in December
2007 as non-drafted free agent from the Dominican Republic
If you purchased a copy of my Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook
2009, I had a section with my Top 5 Prospects from the Dominican Summer League
in 2008. Salcedo was my choice for #1 prospect. He
had gone 4-4 with a 1.65 ERA in 12 starts at the age of 17. He came to the
States and was the top starter in a very impressive young GCL Twins rotation.
In 10 starts, he went 3-2 with a 1.46 ERA. In 61.2 innings, he struck out 58
and walked just three! A couple of people have told me that his stuff is nasty.
2010 Projection: Extended Spring Training, but could go to Beloit when the weather warms.
Potential: #1 or #2 starter
Could be in Minnesota in: 2014
#9 Rene Tosoni OF 23 (7/2/86)
2009 Teams: New Britain Rockcats
Acquired: Twins 36th
round pick in 2005 out of Chipola College
Although Tosoni played for just one
Twins affiliate in 2009, he played for a bunch of different teams. That doesnt
make sense, does it? Bear with me. Primarily, he played in the OF for the Rockcats. After a slow start, he came on strong. On the
year, he hit .271/.360/.454 with 15 homers, four triples and 15 home runs. He
played in the Eastern League All-Star game two days after being named the MVP
of the Futures Game where he represented the Twins and Canada on the World
team. Tosoni missed the last week and the playoffs
for the Rockcats because he played on Team Canadas
team in the World Cup. Shortly after he got back from Europe, he left for
Arizona where he is playing for the Mesa Solar Sox. Still needs to strike out
less. And he really cant hit left-handed pitching. But he is close. He could
probably play in the big leagues now, against right-handed pitching.
2010 Projection: could play all three OF positions in Rochester, hopefully mainly in LF
Potential: big league starting OF
Could be in Minnesota in: 2010
#8 Miguel Sano SS 16 (5/1/93)
2009 Team: Youth Leagues of the Dominican Republic
Acquired: Signed with Twins as non-drafted free agent from Dominican Republic in September 2009
Miguel
Angel Sano was the most talked about 16 year old from
the Dominican Republic this year. He was most talked about, in part, because
there was some question about whether he was 16 years old or 18 years old.
There was some belief that he was actually 18 and claiming to be a 16 year old
deceased brother, but that was proven untrue. The other reason he was so talked
about? Sano is an incredible talent. Though just 16, he is an impressive
specimen at 6-3 and 210 pounds. He can hit. He is said to have incredibly quick
hands. Unfair comparisons are already being made to Alex Rodriguez and Hanley
Ramirez. His ceiling appears to be the sky. The Twins gave him 3.15 million
reasons to sign with them. Twins scouts and front office deserve a ton of
credit for this signing. It will be interesting to watch him progress.
2010 Projection: playing the left side of the infield for GCL Twins
Potential: All-Star caliber hitter, probably at 3B or OF.
Could be in Minnesota in: 2014
#7 Ben Revere OF 21 (5/3/88)
2009 Teams: Ft. Myers Miracle
Acquired: Twins 1st round pick in 2007 out of high school in Kentucky
Revere had another very good year in 2009. After hitting
.379/.433/.497 with 28 extra base hits in 2008, he finished second in the
Florida State League with a .311 batting average in 2009. He was on base 37% of
the time, and hit just 19 extra base hits. I suppose you could argue that his
13 doubles could be supplemented by the old saying, if Revere hits a single,
its really a double. Revere stole 45 bases (but in 62 attempts). He is a very
good singles hitter. I also like that he had 40 walks to 34 strikeouts. Twins
officials are intent that he will add some power. I am not so certain at this
point. For the second straight season, Revere was named the Twins minor league
hitter of the year.
2010 Projection: leading off and playing LF and CF in New Britain
Potential: leadoff or #2 hitter, a Juan Pierre or Joey Gathright type
Could
be in Minnesota in:
2011
#6 David Bromberg RHP 22 (9/14/87)
2009 Teams: Ft. Myers Miracle
Acquired: Twins 32nd round pick in 2005 out of high school in California
Bromberg was named the Twins minor league pitcher of the year, and
it was an easy choice. Bromberg had a terrific 2009 season with the Miracle. In
26 starts, he went 13-4 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. In 153.1 innings, he
walked 63 and struck out a Twins minor league leading 148 batters. In 2008, he
led all of minor league baseball with 177 strikeouts. Bromberg is a bulldog. He
is a very competitive. He has consistently moved up this list. He was also
named the Florida State Leagues top pitching prospect. David Bromberg has a
chance to be a very good pitcher if he continues to work hard and improve.
2010 Projection: New Britain Rockcats
Potential: middle of the rotation starter
Could
be in Minnesota in:
2011
#5 Kyle Gibson RHP 22 (10/23/87)
2009 Teams: Did Not Play
Acquired: Twins 1st round pick in 2009 out of U. of Missouri
Coming
into the 2009 college season, Gibson was projected to be a Top 10 pick, maybe
even a Top 5 pick. He had a lot of success with Team USA teams. He has a good
fastball (touches 92-93) and very good control. He has good secondary pitches. Late
in the season, he struggled some and it was found out that he had an injury to
his right forearm. Because of it, there was some concern before the draft. That
was fortunate for the Twins as Gibson fell to them with the 22nd
overall pick. On the signing deadline, the Twins and Gibson each gave ground
from their contract offers and agreed to a $1.85 million signing bonus. Gibson
rehabbed and did not pitch until the Twins Instructional League. He was not
planning on throwing until then regardless of when he signed. His arm injury
was not to his elbow and was not to his shoulder, so he should be just fine. Gibson
appeared on the SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota
Twins podcast three teams between the draft and the
night of the deadline, just an hour and a half before the deadline. Gibson,
who will be on an upcoming podcast as well, has a chance to move up real
quickly.
2010 Projection: starting at Ft. Myers, but get to New Britain, maybe even Rochester
Potential: #1 or #2 starter
Could be in Minnesota in: 2011
#4 Danny Valencia 3B 25 (9/19/84)
2009 Teams: New Britain Rockcats/Rochester Red Wings
Acquired: Twins 19th round pick in 2006 out of U. of Miami
Danny Valencia put together another very
solid season in the minors for the Twins. He began the season by hitting
.284/.373/.482 with 14 doubles and seven homers at New Britain. He was promoted
to Rochester for the seasons second half. He got off to a fast start before
slumping. In 71 games, he hit .286/.305/.454 with 24 doubles and seven homers.
So yes, the walk rate at Rochester dropped drastically, but in his 3+ minor
league seasons, his Isolated Discipline has been 0.054, so that is decent. How
he was not promoted to the Twins for Sepember is
inexplicable? Was he completely ready? Maybe not. Was
he a better 3B option for the Twins than Matt Tolbert (who, by the way, did not
play any 3B in Rochester)? Was he not a better bench option down the stretch
than the likes of Alexi Casilla or Brian Buscher or Mike Redmond? Valencia will be playing Winter
Ball in December and get an opportunity to win the teams starting 3B job in
2010. Valencia provides both power and batting average, mixed with very solid
defense and a strong arm.
2010 Projection: half season at 3B for Rochester, then to the Twins
Potential: average or better than average regular 3B
Could
be in Minnesota in:
2010
#3 Wilson Ramos C 22 (8/10/87)
2009 Teams: New Britain Rockcats
Acquired: Signed by Twins as non-drafted free agent in July 2004, from Venezuela
Ramos
spent two significant stints on the Disabled List this year (broken finger and
a hamstring injury), and yet, he still moved up this list after a very
impressive showing in the 54 games he did play in. His batting practice prowess
is already becoming legendary, and although there are still holes in his swing,
he is becoming a very good overall hitter. In his first go round in AA, he hit
.317/.341/.454 with 20 extra base hits in 205 at bats. It would be nice to see
him walk more, and like many young players, figuring out the slider down and
away will be a big step, but he is very exciting at the plate. Behind the
plate, reports indicate that he has a strong and accurate arm and although his
focus is more on offense, he is getting much better at calling games and other
aspects of the defensive game. I think Ramos has a chance to be very good, and
the Twins are best off to keep him even after signing Joe Mauer
long-term.
2010
Projection:
starting catcher and DH at Rochester
Potential: middle of the Rochester order catcher and DH with power
Could be in Minnesota in: 2010
#2 Angel Morales OF 19 (11/24/89)
2009 Teams: Beloit Snappers/New Britain Rockcats
Acquired: Twins 3rd round pick in 2007 out of high school in Puerto Rico
As you would expect from a 19 year old kid (turns 20 tomorrow)
from Puerto Rico, Morales really struggled with the adjustment to full season
ball in Wisconsins April. But Morales turned things on the second half of the
season and earned his spot near the top of the Twins prospects charts. Overall,
he hit .266/.329/.455 with 22 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs and 62 RBI.
He was names, along with James Beresford, the Snappers team MVP. He also stole
19 bases in 25 attempts. He struck out 104 times in 406 plate appearances,
which can be an area of improvement. Defensively he has enough speed to play CF
and enough arm to play RF. Morales has a chance to be
a very good four or maybe five tool player in time.
2010 Projection: full season likely at Ft. Myers
Potential: big league OF with 30 HR power
Could be in Minnesota in: 2012
#1 Aaron Hicks OF 21 (10/2/89)
2009 Teams: Beloit Snappers
Acquired: Twins 1st round pick in 2008 out of high school in California
Twins fans were frustrated that Hicks spent so much time at
Extended Spring Training, looking back to the performance of Ben Revere a year
earlier. But Ben Revere and Aaron Hicks are two different types of prospects.
Revere is a polished hitter. Hicks has incredible
talent, will hit gaps and eventually have terrific power. He also has very good
speed. But the term Raw certainly applies to Hicks. So when he did finally
get moved up to Beloit, he did struggle. He hit .251/.353/.382 with 15 doubles,
three triples and four home runs. You have to love that Isolated Discipline at
.102! He has work to do, and keeping him back at EST was probably the best
thing for him. Much like keeping him in Beloit to start 2010 will be the best
thing for him. He stole ten bases and yet he was caught eight times.
Defensively, he has tremendous speed, and that upper-90s fastball means he has
one of the stronger outfield arms in the game. Hicks has
a long ways to go, but when he gets there, he has a chance to be a very special
player.
2010
Projection:
should start back in Beloit and hopefully get to Ft. Myers after the All Star
break
Potential: five-tool caliber OF
Could be in Minnesota in: 2013
So there you have it, the
SethSpeaks.net Top Ten Twins Prospects. If you have any feedback, comments,
opinions or suggestions, please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave
your questions or comments here.