As has seemed to be the case throughout this series, this group provides a range of prospects. There are a couple of long-time minor leaguers who have worked up to the highest levels of the minor leagues. There is a guy who has recently made his major-league debut. And there is a recent draft pick who has a ton of potential. And, could there be a Mitch Garver clone?Continue reading, and then discussing, the Twins Daily choices for the 11th through 15th ranked Twins prospects of the Minnesota Twins below.
15. Matt Wallner - OF
Age: 21
ETA: 2022
2019 Stats (College): .323/.446/.681 (1.127 OPS), 12 2B, 0 3B 23 HR, 50 K, 48 BB.
2019 Stats (Rookie-Adv): .286/.400/.286 (.686 OPS), 0 2B, 0 3B 0 HR, 8 K, 1 BB.
2019 Preseason Ranking: NR
Seth: 18 | Tom: 8 | Cody: 22 | Ted: 12 | Steve: 16
Wallner grew up in Forest Lake (MN) which is where he went to high school. As a prep, he was Mr. Baseball and the Twins drafted him in the 32nd round three years ago. He was set to go to the University of North Dakota, but when the school dropped baseball, Wallner went to Southern Mississippi where he became a two-way star. Matching incredible power with an upper-90s fastball, his name was on the map. So when the Twins were able to get him with the 39th overall pick, they were thrilled. He fits the mold of recent draft picks like Brent Rooker and Trevor Larnach, an advanced bat with good power potential.
14. Luis Arraez - IF
Age: 22
ETA: 2019
2019 Stats (MLB): .452/.538/.595 (1.134), 3 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 9 BB, 2 K
2019 MILB Stats (AA/AAA): .344/.409/.401 (.810), 10 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 24 BB, 15 K
2019 Ranking: NR
Seth: 14 | Tom: 20 | Cody: 11 | Ted: 16 | Steve: 19
Luis Arraez can flat-out hit. He’s done it ever since signing as illustrated by a career minor league batting average over .330. But as we have seen from his brief time in the big leagues, Arraez has the things you look for in a strong top of the order hitter. Arraez knows the strike zone and doesn’t often swing at pitches outside of it. In fact, if it’s not a strike, he will shake his had from side to side to let us all know it’s not a strike. And when he does see a strike, he has incredible bat control and does a great job of hitting line drives all over the field. He is still very young, but he would appear to be the leader in the current race for Twins starting second baseman in 2020.
13. Ryan Jeffers - C
Age: 22
ETA: 2021
2019 Stats (A+):.272/.339/.447 (.786), 9 2B, 0 3B, 9 HR, 47 K, 20 BB
2019 Preseason Ranking: 13
Seth: 10 | Tom: 18 | Cody: 13 | Ted: 22 | Steve: 21
The Twins surprised many when they made Ryan Jeffers their second-round draft pick in 2018 out of UNC-Wilmington. And ever since, he has put up big numbers with the bat. After a slow start in Ft. Myers, Jeffers has hit for average and power for the Miracle. There are mixed reports on his defense. Some point out solid pitch framing numbers. Others point out that they wonder if Jeffers can continue to be a catcher moving forward. It’s a wide range in opinions. To be honest, it’s pretty similar to what was said about Mitch Garver as he was working his way up the organizational ladder. It will be Jeffers' bat, however, that propels him to the big leagues.
12. Nick Gordon - SS
Age: 23
ETA: 2020
2019 Stats (AAA): .271/.310/.426 (.735 OPS), 14 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 38 K, 9 BB.
2019 Preseason Ranking: 11
Seth: 16 | Tom: 12 | Cody: 19 | Ted: 13 | Steve: 12
Gordon has been talked about since even before the Twins made him the fifth overall pick in the 2014 draft out of high school in Orlando. He kept moving up, one year at a time until 2018 when he started where he left off in 2017, in Chattanooga. He increased his power production and moved up to AAA Rochester where he really struggled for an extended period for the first time in his career. This spring, he started the season on the IL with a stomach ailment. But he has hit well since returning to the Red Wings lineup. Questions remain about his ability to play shortstop, though with all of the shifting done in the organization, it is probably less important now than it may have been in the past.
11. Lewis Thorpe - LHP
ETA: 2019
Age: 23
2019 Stats (Low-A): 5.71 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 11.4 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 4.2 K/BB
2019 Ranking: 8
Seth: 15 | Tom: 11 | Cody: 12 | Ted: 9 | Steve: 9
2019 has been an up-and-down season for the Australian left-hander. In his first six starts, he posted an 8.19 ERA and opponents hit .287 off of him with an OPS of .851. His next six starts were much better. He had an era of 2.87 and opponents hit just .223 off him with a .634 OPS. The entire time he has shown the ability to miss bats while throwing a lot of strikes. Signed in 2011 out of Melbourne, he quickly reached prospect status with an impressive showing in the GCL. Unfortunately, he missed two seasons after needing Tommy John surgery and dealing with an illness. Once back on the mound, however, he regained his prospect status. He is in his second option year and at Triple-A, and that puts him just one call away.
That's it for now. Next week we will jump into our 2019 Midseason Top Ten Twins Prospects! Feel free to ask questions and leave comments below.
Twins Daily 2019 Midseason Prospect Rankings
Prospects 36-40
Prospects 31-35
Prospects 26-30
Prospects 21-25
Prospects 16-20
Prospects 11-15
Prospects 6-10 (Coming Next Week!)
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