Is Levi Michael Becoming a Top Prospect in the Twins System Again?

[KirbyHawk75]

I was just wondering..He has been pretty impressive so far.

[Alex]

I was just wondering..He has been pretty impressive so far.

 

It's nice to see him doing well, but he's a 23 year old at High A, which is behind where you'd like to see him developmentally, even if he continues at this pace.

 

As a point of reference, Florimon has similarly successful seasons at that age in high A.

[Linus]

Don't see it. Best case scenario: a cup of coffee in the bigs as a utility guy.

[markos]

"Top Prospect" seems a little strong, but he has put himself back on the prospect map again.

 

A few thoughts:

1) He is old for the level now, which is usually the kiss of death for a minor league player.

2) Dozier didn't reach High A until he was 23, and repeated the level at 24 before finally getting promoted to AA. If Michael keeps hitting this month and gets promoted, he isn't too far off the normal prospect path.

3) If he is able to continue to refine his skillset (controls the strikezone, takes a walk, plays multiple infield positions), I wouldn't be surprised to see him carve out a niche in the AAA/MLB as a utility player somewhere along the Doug Brenier - Nick Punto continuum.

[Otto von Ballpark]

It's nice to see him doing well, but he's a 23 year old at High A, which is behind where you'd like to see him developmentally, even if he continues at this pace.

 

Also, Michael is repeating that level for the 3rd year.

 

On first glance it looks like BABIP spike, but his K rate is cut in half so far (although so is his BB rate).

[gunnarthor]

I guess I'll echo the other thoughts. He might now be a top 20ish Twins prospect which is a big improvement from where he was but he's not a top prospect. It looks like he's only playing second base now but, and I don't have a lot of defensive stats, it looks like he's playing it well enough to be good there defensively. Let's hope it continues.

[diehardtwinsfan]

On the map, yes... not a top prospect. I gave up on him last year, so I'll be happy if he can force the issue... but to be clear, I am not expecting it.

[Brock Beauchamp]

On the map, yes... not a top prospect. I gave up on him last year, so I'll be happy if he can force the issue... but to be clear, I am not expecting it.

 

Pretty much sums up my thoughts.

[Larsbars08]

He's still far from being a top prospect and you would normally hope to see his stats go up after a 3rd straight year in the same league. I do think that he will be promoted to AA in June with the first real wave of promotions. He's about league average age in the FSL and when promoted to the EL he will be a solid year younger than league average. We need to see whether this is a mirage brought on by familiarity or if he has truly figured something out.

[drock2190]

Does he play shortstop?

 

Any other place would be irrevelant because his numbers arent even that good.

[kab21]

Does he play shortstop?

 

Any other place would be irrevelant because his numbers arent even that good.

 

.322/.379/.432

 

His numbers are that good so far this season. Obviously that will decline but he has cut his K rate in half this year. The big question will be if can continue to hit and continue hitting when he gets promoted.

 

It's always good to have depth even if Dozier/Rosario are ahead of him.

[clutterheart]

No.

They don't play him at SS so he has to compete with a slew of potentially good guys at 2B.

He's hitting well after two years of playing poorly.

 

He needs at least 2 years of sustained goodness before he regains consideration in the top 40 Twins Prospects.

[cmathewson]

I wouldn't call him a top prospect, but he could be a useful piece, which is better than I thought in spring training--another washed-up former first rounder to add to the B.J. Garbe Memorial Bone Yard of Failed First Rounders , joining Adam Johnson, Matt Moses and (perhaps) Alex Wimmers.

 

Surprisingly, he's hitting a little. If he keeps hitting like this upon his return from the 7-day DL, he should get a call up to AA, where he wouldn't be too old for his level. At that point, if he continues to hit like this and play decent defense, he becomes more than just roster filler. But supposing he does all that (best case scenario), he's still a low teens/upper 20s prospect in this system after the June draft.

[Seth Stohs]

When they drafted him, I thought he profiled as a utility infielder. He can play 3 IF positions. He's finally healthy this year (until now) and he's come through. So, this is encouraging.

 

He's still not in my Top 30, but a utility infielder upside player won't be in a top 30 for me typically.

 

That said, I don't care about age-to-level-of-competition for non-stars. It just doesn't matter. And 23 isn't terribly old for Hi-A.

 

Top prospect? No. Future big leaguer? sure.

[clutterheart]

 

Top prospect? No. Future big leaguer? sure.

 

Really? You think of him as a future big leaguer? He is about to get passed again by Polanco and possibly Goodrum.

 

For me that title only fits if you include everyperson in the Minor League System