Bollinger: Led by Sano, Twins Improve on Top 100 lists

[Seth Stohs]

http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120905&content_id=37953352&vkey=news_min&c_id=min

 

MiLB.com ranked its Top 100 prospects. Miguel Sano (21), Byron Buxton (30), Aaron Hicks (67) and Eddie Rosario (88) were the four in the top 100.

 

They also ranked their Top 20 Twins prospects:

 

1.) Sano

2.) Buxton

3.) Hicks

4.) Rosario

5.) Arcia

 

Again, check out the link to see some of the crazy rankings!

[Rosterman]

Arcia must be 101.

[DaveW]

Gibson as the #16 prospect in the system? Give me a damn break. Salcedo at #7?

 

wow.

[Mark_RM]

Rosario at 88? They must've neglected to notice that he's been moved to 2B and has been competent in the field. He's worth a top 50 minimum.

[Thrylos]

Interesting.... Ben Badler (BA) was tweeting that Arcia might crack the top 50. That might mean at least 3, probably 4 Twins in a top 50

[Nick Nelson]

How in the world can you keep Arcia off the list when he puts up those numbers in Double-A as a 21-year-old? He certainly looks like a better prospect than Rosario right now (not a slight against Eddie).

[J-Dog Dungan]

Also in the article, Twins have moved up from the 23rd best system to the 14th, which I would imagine is quite the jump from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. I would like to see a list of the systems' rankings.

[Thrylos]

How in the world can you keep Arcia off the list when he puts up those numbers in Double-A as a 21-year-old? He certainly looks like a better prospect than Rosario right now (not a slight against Eddie).

 

If Rosario was an outfielder, absolutely... But as a second baseman Rosario makes it close. Just not that much middle infield talent

[Thrylos]

Again, check out the link to see some of the crazy rankings!

 

That is a thing to see indeed

 

The link to the Twins' top 20 rankings is here and it is nuts after the top 5. It is unsigned so it would be interesting to see who did that. The Morales and the Williams rankings are really curious, in light of a horrid season for the former and the signing of at least 3-4 better relievers this season for the latter...

[J-Dog Dungan]

I also believe that Arcia had a monster year, and, no offense to the Twins decision-makers, a call-up to the Bigs, while possibly booting him off this list, might have gotten him onto it, or at least this one. Also, I think Kepler did enough this year to rank higher than 18th, and I think Arcia should have been in front of Rosario, but only because Rosario missed time after getting hit in the face with a pitch. Also, I don't think Benson deserves to still be in the Top Ten after the year he had, not that I don't think that he could climb back there next year.

[Twins Twerp]

I don't have a huge problem with Arcia not being in the top 100. I don't understand the organization records. To have Kyle Gibson so low is understandable. But JO ranked behind Salcedo? Doesn't make any sense. And then to keep Herrmann out and put in Alex Wimmers, who hasn't done a darn tooten since he signed, is absurd.

 

I understnad he has to do a lot of teams and he actually did a pretty good job other than those few things I mentioned. Mayo is a legit minor league analyst and needs to be recognized. Hey Jon, nailed it bud.

[J-Dog Dungan]

I can really see Berrios shooting up the boards over the next year if he performs like he was in his season at Elizabethton.

[Twins Twerp]

1. Sano

2. Buxton

3. Hicks

4. Rosario

5. Arcia

6. BERRIOS

7. Harrisson

8. Gibson

9. Harrison

10. Max Kepler

 

This would be more like it.

[Thrylos]

1. Sano

2. Buxton

3. Hicks

4. Rosario

5. Arcia

6. BERRIOS

7. Harrisson

8. Gibson

9. Harrison

10. Max Kepler

 

This would be more like it.

 

One of these 2 Benson? Or George?

[PseudoSABR]

Arcia, Gibson, Kepler, and Goodrum all seem to get the shaft in this list. This article and list is likely just September fluff as the season winds down and their isn't much to write about in minor league ball. I imagine the top 100 as well as our own top 20 will change before April next year. This is just clickedy fodder.

[Shane Wahl]

Interesting. Clearly they don't really pay attention to detail. Kepler has climbed dramatically. I will say that giving props to higher level players makes sense so I can see how Kepler could be lower, but that doesn't explain Arcia's placement . . . I am probably going to put him ahead of Buxton for now (AA is a LONG way from Rookie ball).

 

If Rosario sticks as a second baseman, forget about it. He will be one of the top 3 second basemen in baseball by 2016.

[Cody Christie]

I would put Arcia over Rosario at this point.

[Vervehound]

which is more ludicrous: salcedo at no.7 or angel morales at no.10? asinine list.

 

also, their system ranking formula is much too simplistic as it only accounts for top 100 talent and places an equal value for each spot between the rankings so the difference between the 2nd and 3rd ranked prospects is one point and the difference between the 82nd and 83rd prospects is one point. boo.

[Twins Twerp]

The points system is not just flawed, it is wrong. The more I think about this ranking stuff, the more it makes me angry. But they wouldn't do it if we didn't read it, we have ourselves to blame. I am not going to lie, when I check that website at least 70 times during the baseball season. Everytime a trade rumor comes out, I go there and look at certain teams systems to see who we could get (Reds and Blue Jays especially). The website site up is super easy and very nice and Mayo updates frequently. I would like to know where the two new cats from Chicago would rank?

[YourHouseIsMyHouse]

Good site for statistics, but not for rankings. If Benson and Salcedo were performing, the Twins would have a top 10 system. Low on pitching, but TONS of good bats. Arcia should be in the rankings at 75 at least and Hicks should certainly be top 40. Hicks only looks like he could be the best leadoff man in the game, has all five tools+plate discipline, and exploded this year.

[nicksaviking]

Perhaps Arcia was an oversight. Perhaps after looking at his stats, MLB.com assumed the Twins had called him up long ago and his prospect status was terminated.

 

Or perhaps MLB.com said to themselves, "Something must be terribly wrong with this young man, because there is no other explanaion as to why he wasn't in AAA after the All-Star break."

[TwinsFanInPhilly]

never mind

[greengoblinrulz]

Many different prospect listings & always thought MLBs was a little (lot) off. Baseball America is my favorite & IMO, most accurate..

This listing is proof of that to myself

[Brock Beauchamp]

Perhaps Arcia was an oversight. Perhaps after looking at his stats, MLB.com assumed the Twins had called him up long ago and his prospect status was terminated.

 

Or perhaps MLB.com said to themselves, "Something must be terribly wrong with this young man, because there is no other explanaion as to why he wasn't in AAA after the All-Star break."

 

Arcia has all of 299 PAs in New Britain. The Twins didn't do anything wrong by keeping him in AA until the end of the season. He'll probably start the 2013 season in AAA.

 

As for this list, I don't like it much. On the upside, the Twins look like they might have a top 10 farm system if Gibson continues to pitch well in the AFL. There's an outside chance we'll see six Twins players on top 100 lists next spring.

[Steve Penz]

Perhaps Arcia was an oversight. Perhaps after looking at his stats, MLB.com assumed the Twins had called him up long ago and his prospect status was terminated.

 

Or perhaps MLB.com said to themselves, "Something must be terribly wrong with this young man, because there is no other explanaion as to why he wasn't in AAA after the All-Star break."

 

Arcia has all of 299 PAs in New Britain. The Twins didn't do anything wrong by keeping him in AA until the end of the season. He'll probably start the 2013 season in AAA.

 

As for this list, I don't like it much. On the upside, the Twins look like they might have a top 10 farm system if Gibson continues to pitch well in the AFL. There's an outside chance we'll see six Twins players on top 100 lists next spring.

 

 

I completely agree. Leaving Arcia (and Hicks) off the call-up list was correct. They are young guys. We need to be patient and let the process work. They will be in Target field soon enough.

 

Regarding Rosario vs Arcia, I feel Rosario is a better prospect. At 2nd base with the numbers he can put up I feel it makes him more exceptional than Arcia. Apply Rosarios numbers to a full season of at bats and you are looking at 100 RBIs and 18 HR from a skinny, 170lb guy. I can't wait to see how he fares in Ft. Myers next year.

[kab21]

First - that top 20 list just sucks but I've never thought that much of that site when it came to ranking prospects.

 

Second - I think people spend too much time debating the rankings of the 2nd-5th prospects (and even Sano) in this system. They are all really close and they are also completely different. It's easy to understand why someone would be lower/higher on any one of them.

 

Third - someone really needs to make an argument that Harrison is top 10. He has nice upside but he really didn't do anything in the appy league this year. An .844 OPS (with a .374 BAPIP) isn't that exciting from someone that will almost certainly be limited to 1B. Polanco who isn't even on MLB's top 20 list beat him in everything I look at including power and is supposed to have great defense.

 

I don't think goodrum was slighted at all. He was absolutely awful after his amazing June. He has upside but he is a big work in progress.

 

gibson still gets the shaft on that list (mentioned already). He is absolutely locked into the 6/7 spots with Berrios on my list with Kepler making the strongest case for #8. After that it's a lot more wide open.

[greengoblinrulz]

still laughing at Arcia's ranking as many (Keith Law had him @ 85 entering the yr) have had Arcia much higher during the season & his monster AA half season will get him to top 75 in the real rankings.

[Buck Nasty]

Meh. I think these type of prospect ranking lists are purely for entertainment and don't mean too much to me. What's the criteria? Based on what they've done in the minors up to now? Based on potential ceiling? If it's the latter, then it's pretty subjective. I'd rather just look at the top performers at each position by level.

 

Projecting guys in Rookie ball to be your "Top Prospects" seems to be a bit of an oxymoron. Those guys are the farthest away from the big leagues and you've had the least amount of time to evaluate them. A lot can happen on the way up the chain. Example: The last Twins pitcher to dominate Rookie ball like Berrios was Shooter Hunt.

 

I do like to look at the lists when they come out. But like most of you, I rarely agree with the rankings.

[kab21]

If you want to sound like you don't know what you're talking about then you're off to a good start. Hunt was a 22 yr old college pitcher and Berrios is an 18 yr old HS pitcher.

 

the problem that I have with the ranking is that they are still putting a guy like Angel Morales in the list. He hasn't done anything in 2.5 seasons and he'll probably be out of the org this offseason.

[Buck Nasty]

If you want to sound like you don't know what you're talking about then you're off to a good start. Hunt was a 22 yr old college pitcher and Berrios is an 18 yr old HS pitcher.

 

the problem that I have with the ranking is that they are still putting a guy like Angel Morales in the list. He hasn't done anything in 2.5 seasons and he'll probably be out of the org this offseason.

 

LOL - yeah.....because we all know that there has never been a case where an 18 year old dominated rookie ball and then flamed out at higher levels. That was the point - a lot can happen between Rookie Ball and AAA, so I personally don't get too excited about prospects until they move a little higher up the ladder. And for the record, Shooter was 21 not 22 when he was drafted - not that it matters to my point. But for someone who starts off posts accusing others of not knowing what they are talking about....you would think they'd get their own posts right - lol!