Minor Leagues

Last month, Twins Daily ranked infielder Jose Miranda as the Twins #20 prospect. Last week, he arrived in Ft. Myers for his fourth spring training. Twins Daily caught up with the slugger to discuss several topics including being drafted, his strengths, what he’s working on, and his world-famous cousin.

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.

Earlier in the week, I looked at Minnesota’s depth across the board and it makes it tough not to be excited about the club’s chances in 2020. That being said, one group of players might be being held back because of the team’s loaded big-league roster. For better or for worse, Minnesota’s top prospects aren’t going to get a long look this season because the club has big goals and depth at nearly every position

After the Minnesota Twins made him their ninth-round pick in the 2018 draft, Willie Joe Garry Jr. struggled in his professional debut. Since then, he’s literally been one of the first to the ballpark and his work started to pay off for him in 2019. After another offseason of work, he hopes to take his game to another level in 2020.

Josh Donaldson was brought to Minnesota because of his MVP-level play on the field, but his impact off the field might be even more important to the organization. Minnesota hasn’t had an MVP since 2009 when Joe Mauer took home the hardware. Now the Twins have signed a former MVP and Josh Donaldson seems to be doing everything in his power to help Minnesota’s top prospects reach their full potential.

We've spent the past couple weeks profiling our picks for the Top 20 (and beyond) prospects in the Minnesota Twins organization. Now, as spring training gets underway in earnest, these exciting young talents will bring the team's minor-league complex to life.

Let's step back and take stock of the Twins' system as it stands entering the 2020 season.

Over the past two weeks, we have been counting down our Top 20 Minnesota Twins prospects. The system is remarkably deep but also contains some elite, high-ceiling talent. You've seen that the last few days, but today we announce that shortstop Royce Lewis is again the choice for the organization's Number 1 prospect.

At this point last season, Alex Kirilloff was coming off one of the strongest seasons in the entire minor leagues. Unfortunately, injuries hampered him throughout the 2019 season as he played the entire year at Double-A. Now healthy, Kirilloff will try to get back to the player he was in 2018 and continue to get closer to Target Field.

Brusdar Graterol is a Dodger, of course, but we passed the point of no return in terms of adjusting our list. Instead of our usual breakdown of what’s to like, what’s left to work on and what’s next, I thought it would be more interesting to have a conversation about ranking prospects in general.

Who is the best pitching prospect in the Twins system? That answer has changed several times over the past few years as promising arms have jockeyed for top billing on this list and others. From Jose Berrios to Fernando Romero to Brusdar Graterol...

Now, a new contender emerges.

Brusdar Graterol is no longer part of the Twins organization, but the club still has a triple-digit flame thrower in the minor leagues. Jhoan Duran came to the Twins from the Diamondbacks as part of the Eduardo Escobar trade. Since that time, he has continued to move up prospect rankings and he could be a top-100 prospect at this time next season.

Ryan Jeffers epitomizes the depth of Minnesota's system. To have a player of this caliber – a two-way standout at catcher who's done nothing but perform as a pro, reaching Double-A within two years of being drafted – ranked seventh?!

Well, it's much more a credit to the guys above him than a knock on Jeffers, who beams with promise at a premium position.