My Top Ten Twins for CTTP

[biggentleben]

As some of you know, I write for two places, one a Braves site, Tomahawk Take, the other a general baseball site, Call To The Pen. I'm currently doing top 10 reports for every organization, which is a major undertaking in and of itself, but the Twins one was fun because I could use stuff from here along with stuff I got from guys around the league.

 

Here's the list.

 

Comments, questions, etc. are welcome!

[gunnarthor]

Nicely done.  You and I are both bullish on the top two guys.  I think many would put the pitchers there but I agree with you.  Javier and Diaz are fun guys to watch, too, but they are still far away.

[Vanimal46]

 

Nicely done.  You and I are both bullish on the top two guys.  I think many would put the pitchers there but I agree with you.  Javier and Diaz are fun guys to watch, too, but they are still far away.

I feel the same way. Agree with the names on the list.... Just disappointed that a majority of them are multiple years away.

[markos]

I'm really surprised by the Diaz ranking, though I'm pretty skeptical that the bat will end up being good enough to play at 1B/DH. 

[biggentleben]

 

I'm really surprised by the Diaz ranking, though I'm pretty skeptical that the bat will end up being good enough to play at 1B/DH. 

 

I wasn't even considering him until I talked with guys who'd seen him and couldn't stop raving about him. He's a definite boom or bust sort of guy.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Very impressive write-ups. Particularly like the Romero description "next year we may all feel foolish for having him this low..."

[biggentleben]

 

Very impressive write-ups. Particularly like the Romero description "next year we may all feel foolish for having him this low..."

 

Yeah, he's impressive to watch. He just needs a full season of it, but his 2016 was impressive.

[Mike Sixel]

Is this one of those slide show sites? .....oh well.

 

As for Diaz, he is a DH for life, right? It just seems so unlikely he can add as much value a players who can play defense also...

[biggentleben]

 

Is this one of those slide show sites? .....oh well.

 

As for Diaz, he is a DH for life, right? It just seems so unlikely he can add as much value a players who can play defense also...

 

Yes, slide shows. I don't prefer it, but it's the nature of the beast, and you work within the system that you're given.

 

I heard good things about how he handled first base, and he does have a solid arm, but basically nowhere he could use that arm as he won't have the athleticism to play anywhere but first defensively.

[Bob Sacamento]

Nice videos on Diaz and Romero...they seem familiar, oh yeah I shot them 

 

Diaz has a world of power, it's the contact that has been his problem.  That and he's not the most athletic guy already at this age so you know it's not going to improve and is regulated to 1B/DH.

 

I just absolutely love Romero and I'm probably biased due to seeing him on a weekly basis the past three years and being apart of his off field shenanigans during his rehab.  Still the kid has high velo up to 98 mph with late movement and plus control.  His slider has sharp break up to 91mph with good control.  He needs to develop his change further but he has a world of potential.  Romero has the ceiling of a #2 starter with a floor as a good 7th/8th reliever, he just has to keep that elbow healthy and not push it too much.

 

 Which is a problem he has, he loves to throw hard, after every ST, EXST, Instruct start he came back and asked the players charting if he hit 98 in the start.  The days he topped at 97, he wasn't happy.  Before the MiLB clubs broke camp, Fernando threw a great game against the High A BoSox with 45 pitches and up to 98 mph yet he was still held back and didn't get his first official competition start until May 20th; he wasn't happy but understood the process.  He then proceeded to destroy Low A then High A before the club shut him down.  In Instructs, El Toro held nothing back but was tempered to 50 pitches per start before getting the hook.  In his last game action, he faced Pablo Sandoval three times and struck him out twice; I've never seen a pitcher so happy when recounting it.  "I threw a fastball 97 he couldn't touch it. I threw a 98 and he hit it foul, then I threw a another 98 right by him BAMM!!"  

 

Side note, Romero has been leading and advising Brusador (Brusdar) Graterol through his rehab process as they had the same procedure of taking a portion of the infrapatellar tendon to replace the damaged ulnar collateral ligament (Tommy John).

[biggentleben]

Thanks for the vids, Bob! YouTube makes the life of a writer of minor leagues much more pleasant.

[glunn]

What a great article. I loved the writing and the videos, and the slide show format kept me in suspense.  Great work, Ben!

[Thrylos]

Great stuff.  Not sure that I would agree with those being the top 2, even though after the AFL, I am thinking more of Gordon, but overall a good list.  I am doing my preliminary work for my off-season top 40 (waiting for trades etc until January-February) and the only ones in your list that might not be on my top 10 are Kirilloff and Blackenhorn (and Mejia, because I don't list players who have been in the majors.)  Just refuse to buy in the Kirilloff hype, esp. since I need to see him play.  I have a few problems with him, the least of which is that his glove is not there yet but any means.  Blackenhorn has been atrocious with the glove and he has a teammate same age bit better with the glove and much better with the stick (who is not on your top 10) so I have that guy (and probably a couple more) ahead of him.

[ashbury]

I'm confused about your writeup for Blankenhorn. At the top of his page you list him at 2B, which corresponds to the vast majority of the innings he played in 2016. But you have this paragraph:

 

He has a plus arm that allowed him to make the transition from short to third without a glitch this season, getting high marks for his smooth hands and excellent reactions at the hot corner.

 

I don't think he played but a handful of innings at short in 2015, and the comment doesn't read like a simple typo to read and move past. Is it recycled from a year ago?

[biggentleben]

 

I'm confused about your writeup for Blankenhorn. At the top of his page you list him at 2B, which corresponds to the vast majority of the innings he played in 2016. But you have this paragraph:

 

He has a plus arm that allowed him to make the transition from short to third without a glitch this season, getting high marks for his smooth hands and excellent reactions at the hot corner.

 

I don't think he played but a handful of innings at short in 2015, and the comment doesn't read like a simple typo to read and move past. Is it recycled from a year ago?

 

It's a combination of a few things. First, I had Blankenhorn as a 2B on my original list based on his position this year. Then I got into reviews, which really made me look back more. The report that I was citing was that he was a utility type that played up the middle, but his arm allowed him to transition well full-time to third in 2015, and that could be an eventual home for his bat. I honestly did not translate that well as the big thing that I was trying to impress was how impressive the bat was.

[biggentleben]

 

Great stuff.  Not sure that I would agree with those being the top 2, even though after the AFL, I am thinking more of Gordon, but overall a good list.  I am doing my preliminary work for my off-season top 40 (waiting for trades etc until January-February) and the only ones in your list that might not be on my top 10 are Kirilloff and Blackenhorn (and Mejia, because I don't list players who have been in the majors.)  Just refuse to buy in the Kirilloff hype, esp. since I need to see him play.  I have a few problems with him, the least of which is that his glove is not there yet but any means.  Blackenhorn has been atrocious with the glove and he has a teammate same age bit better with the glove and much better with the stick (who is not on your top 10) so I have that guy (and probably a couple more) ahead of him.

 

Kiriloff I got to see a lot of video on from high school, so I'll gladly admit to being still high on him from there, and he showed very good instincts in any outfield spot in the showcase circuit last year. He won't ever be a plus fielder, but his arm should allow him to be solid in either corner.

 

Gordon got a ton of praise and a ton of worry, but there's just so much to like in the ceiling still considering he's advanced up the system as far as he has. Typically the ceiling comes down significantly as a guy climbs the ladder and his floor becomes more secured, but really, Gordon's floor is still a question to some degree, and his ceiling really hasn't been dented much, if at all. It's the part of really not fulfilling any of it at any point that gets some worried that he'll never get there.