Article: COMING SOON: Twins Prospect Handbook

[Jeremy Nygaard]

It amazes me how much the Twins Prospect Handbook has evolved since Seth created it in the winter of 2008. I was just a guy who saw it on SethSpeaks.net, thought it was intriguing and figured purchasing one (or three) would be a small token of my appreciation for the work Seth did. Plus, I could use it to get autographs at TwinsFest.

 

Those 77 pages, almost entirely filled with player biographies, became reference material as my interest in the minor leagues intensified. I would look forward to the next installment each winter. I don’t remember how my involvement with the Twins Prospect Handbook began, though I feel like it had to do with writing a once-a-week Minor League Report at TwinsDaily.This is the 3rd year I’ve been involved in the creation of the Twins Prospect Handbook. Coincidentally, it’s also the 3rd year I’ve truly been amazed that Seth used to do it all by himself. To the many of you that have purchased a copy in the past, I want to thank you. It really is a “labor of love”, which sometimes feels like a lot of labor and a lot of frustration.

 

We’re going to be sending this year’s version to the printer sometime Thursday (hopefully). You see, the issue is that there never is an end date or a start date to minor-league roster moves. We’ve targeted the Rule 5 draft, though, because we know there will be some additions and subtractions and we’d like to cover those moves for you.

 

In addition to the bios that you’ll be able to read, you’ll also get the chance to read a lot of articles written by a slew of talented writers. I’m not going to ruin that for you – I’ll let them – but I’ll tell you about some of the contributions I made to the book.

 

My great interest is in the draft. So I’ve tried to tidy up the happenings of the 2014 draft into a neat, little story. Basically everything you need to know about the draft and the six months following it is covered. Want to know why the Twins assigned Nick Gordon to Elizabethton? It’s there. Interested in the business side of the draft, like the draft pool and revenue that the Twins received from MLB? That’s covered too.

 

Of course, I can’t begin to talk about the MLB Draft without talking about the next MLB draft, so the first Twins 2015 Draft Preview is also included. Who is Kyle Funkhouser and what do you need to know about him? He’s just one of nine players introduced to Twins fans as potential players that could be added to the system next June.

 

If you’re a normal reader of the Handbook, you probably know that I enjoy talking to scouts and getting some of their thoughts on (or off) the record. In the previous two installments, I’ve included interviews with area scouts. This year I stepped my game up and wrote an article about the world of International baseball. I tapped Twins International Scouting Coordinator, Howard Norsetter, to help me out. And since we only profile players that played in America, you’ll also get some “bonus bios” on some recent international signees.

 

Obviously, to sum up 200 pages of content in a few hundred words is impossible. But I’ll tell you this: I’m amazed at what Seth and Cody do. Seth’s network is larger than Verizon (and that’s why the man never sleeps) and Cody has a thing for statistics (even first basemen double plays) that is really unbelievable.

 

Soon it will be available. We really hope you purchase a copy. We think you’ll like it; we certainly do.

 

Click here to view the article

[Wookiee of the Year]

Awesome--looking forward to it. And plan on picking a couple up as Christmas gifts, too.

[Seth Stohs]

We appreciate that. Just putting the finishing touches on it tonight... Just give us a couple days, please!!

[Seth Stohs]

If anyone wants to order copy(ies) of the Prospect Handbook 2015 BEFORE it becomes available to the masses at 9:00 a.m. central time on Saturday morning, follow me on Twitter and RT this tweet. I'll contact you with details. Or, send me a PM through Twins Daily.