Article: Twins Daily 2019 Top Prospects: #2 Alex Kirilloff

[puckstopper1]

Not that they were seriously considering it, but I feel that Kirilloff's potential is a reason (there are several others) that the Twins would not pursue Bryce Harper.

[clutterheart]

Id like to see him play a few games at 1B this year. His bat will force him in the lineup at some point it would be nice if he gets some positional flexibility

[caninatl04]

Kirilloff doesn't have to be added to the 40-man roster yet after the 2019 season. My thought is that if the Twins are in contention in July, and Kirilloff is playing well, he comes up directly from AA. If they are out of contention, there is no reason to call him up in 2019, and they can call him up 3 weeks into the 2020 season.

 

And I think the performances of Kepler and especially Bux will be factors as well.

 

But let’s not put the cart before the horse. Even thought, as nater 79a pointed out, his numbers were insane in the pitcher friendly FSL, the jump to AA is usually the most difficult.

 

Finally, close inspection of the spray chart shows a number of doubles that weren’t gapers but fell close to the wall. I’m guessing these were in the larger FSL parks. Perhaps some of the will become homers in Pensacola.

[caninatl04]

Well, there won't be much drama as to who the #1 TwinsDaily prospect will be.

I guess the only intrigue is who will get to write up the story....Tom, Cody, Seth or Nick?

It’s got to be Willie Joe (Garry) for the name alone!

[ashbury]

It’s got to be Willie Joe (Garry) for the name alone!

I too am hoping for an under-the-radar pick at #1. I mean, how strong a minor league system would you have, if Royce Lewis is ranked #21 or lower?

[nicksaviking]

 

Thinking back to 2015 we had a few top prospects that got yanked from double A and slammed into he daily lineup. Most of these guys unfortunately we are still waiting on. Having them learn at the big league level hasn't worked out too well.

 

For the Twins sake (and mine as a fan) I hope we don't drag the next crop out of the field too early. I would prefer to see a ready to go Kiriloff in 2020 then watch him come up in 2019 and flounder for 2-3 years. The same applies to others.

 

Most guys struggle coming out to AAA too. They're going to have to learn at the MLB level no matter what route they take to get there.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

 

So does he get to wear #47, or is that just too obvious?

He can wear any number he wants that no one else already has. He will be a lowly rookie.

[DocBauer]

Most guys struggle coming out to AAA too. They're going to have to learn at the MLB level no matter what route they take to get there.

 

Absolutely! Why I still preach patience at times.

 

I believe in promotions for top talent. And I think thjs FO has been, and will be aggressive. But you also have to knkw when jts prudent to pull the reigns back a bit. For example, they were aggressive with Romero. But he's still a work in progress, especially for his 3rd pitch. But he's also one of the best arms we have. Can we be smart enough to utilize him properly in 2019 and still develop him?

 

Khirilloff is a NATURAL. That doesn't mean he doesn't have things to learn and adjustments to be made. But I think he's ready right now for AA. To rake like he did in a pitcher friendly league tells me he is ready for the next level. Personally, despite his talent and potential, I wouldn't care if he didn't debut until 2020 for various reasons.

 

But I wouldn't be surprised if he forces the issue this year.

 

What a wonderful conundrum it would be to place Khirilloff, Rosario, Buxton, Kepler, Cron, Cruz all in the same lineup with Cave saying....wait a minute, what about me?

 

But I'm OK with stacking talent, end of 2019 and beyond.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Absolutely! Why I still preach patience at times.I believe in promotions for top talent. And I think thjs FO has been, and will be aggressive. But you also have to knkw when jts prudent to pull the reigns back a bit. For example, they were aggressive with Romero. But he's still a work in progress, especially for his 3rd pitch. But he's also one of the best arms we have. Can we be smart enough to utilize him properly in 2019 and still develop him? Khirilloff is a NATURAL. That doesn't mean he doesn't have things to learn and adjustments to be made. But I think he's ready right now for AA. To rake like he did in a pitcher friendly league tells me he is ready for the next level. Personally, despite his talent and potential, I wouldn't care if he didn't debut until 2020 for various reasons. But I wouldn't be surprised if he forces the issue this year.What a wonderful conundrum it would be to place Khirilloff, Rosario, Buxton, Kepler, Cron, Cruz all in the same lineup with Cave saying....wait a minute, what about me? But I'm OK with stacking talent, end of 2019 and beyond.

Ok, I’ll bite. Why do you insist on the “h” in Kiriloff?

[gil4]

 

 

And to bring the conversation back to Kiriloff, as this is in the Kiriloff forum, let me point out the glaringly obvious fact that Kiriloff went from last year being unranked nationally but “he’s a great pure hitter” to this year, after an amazing statistical season, ranked in the top 20 nationally.

To me, it looks like it was his stats over the past year that made up 95% of those ranking changes. (94.8%, to be exact.) 

 

If he had hit .280/.330/.420, the stats would be part of the puzzle. If he puts up another .348/.392/.578 when he moves up to AA, I'm not sure how significant the other pieces will be.

 

 

[Cornholio]

Oh okay. Thanks for the clarification.

[RatherBeGolfing]

Our Christian Yelich? Please!