August 2023 Top Prospect Voting Results

[TwinsAce]

1. Brooks Lee
   What's not to love??
2. Walker Jenkins
   Could easily switch with Lee due to higher upside, but Lee's AA and AAA success makes him #1 still.
3. Emmanuel Rodriguez
   Still super young and doing better after a rough start to the year.
4. Marco Raya
   Slightly worried, but still so young at such a high level.
5. Charlee Soto
6. Brandon Winokur
   I'm drinking the Kool-Aid after his hot start and potential ability to also play the infield.
7. Austin Martin
   Starting to look solid again and has the speed and contact tools.
8. David Festa
9. Tanner Schobel
10. Connor Prielipp
    Might seem high for someone with so few innings, but hopefully can avoid the Matt Canterino path.
11. Danny De Andrade
12. Cory Lewis
    Who doesn't love a pitcher who also can throw a knuckleball successfully.
13. Luke Keaschall
14. Kala'i Rosario
15. Yunior Severino
    Seems similar to CEH in some ways where the power potential is there. I think it will all come down to adjustments at the MLB level and who he gets the opportunity with.
16. CJ Culpepper
    CJ and Cory Lewis are similar in my mind and also close to several I couldn't quite make room for in the rankings (Zebby Matthews, Tanner Hall, Headrick, Nowlin, etc.) Really curious how he will do at AA and AAA down the road.
17. Yasser Mercedes
    Jose and Yasser are similar to me. Both are high upside, but right now, the floor is lower than someone like Kala'i or Severino.
18. Jose Rodriguez
    See above for Yasser, except more power and less 5 tools.
19. Simeon Woods Richardson
    Still hopeful, but fastball seems hittable.
20. Jair Camargo
    Seems like hitting has clicked the last 2 years and is at AAA, so surprised he doesn't get more love in top 20 and top 30 lists.

[Steve Lein]

1. Walker Jenkins
2. Brooks Lee
3. Emmanuel Rodriguez
4. Marco Raya
5. David Festa
6. Charlee Soto
7. Austin Martin
8. Connor Prielipp
9. Tanner Schobel
10. Luke Keaschall
11. Brandon Winokur
12. Yasser Mercedes
13. Simeon Woods Richardson
14. Jordan Balazovic
15. Brent Headrick
16. Kala'i Rosario
17. Yunior Severino
18. Cory Lewis
19. Matt Canterino
20. Noah Miller

[Jeremy Nygaard]

1. Walker Jenkins
2. Brooks Lee
3. Emmanuel Rodriguez
4. Marco Raya
5. Charlee Soto
6. Tanner Schobel
7. Brandon Winokur
8. Yasser Mercedes
9. Danny De Andrade
10. David Festa
11. Luke Keaschall
12. Blayne Enlow
13. Austin Martin
14. Jose Rodriguez
15. Connor Prielipp
16. Simeon Woods Richardson
17. Bryan Acuna
18. Cory Lewis
19. Kala'i Rosario
20. Jordan Balazovic

[FlyingFinn]

Wow, most everyone has given up on Noah Miller as a top 20 prospect. He is our best fielding SS in the minors, very young, and has begun to hit with some power (5 homers since July 8) at Cedar Rapids.

[Seth Stohs]

5 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

1. Walker Jenkins
2. Brooks Lee
3. Emmanuel Rodriguez
4. Charlee Soto
5. Marco Raya
6. David Festa
7. Austin Martin
8. Danny De Andrade
9. Kala'i Rosario
10. Yasser Mercedes
11. Matt Canterino
12. Connor Prielipp
13. Brandon Winokur
14. Tanner Schobel
15. Cory Lewis
16. Yunior Severino
17. Ben Ross
18. Zebby Matthews
19. DaShawn Keirsey Jr
20. Jose Rodriguez

If anyone has any questions on my rankings, please feel free to ask. 

For me, Jenkins is the easy #1 prospect. It's more about him than Lee. I think Jenkins is much, much more athletic and has more power potential. 

I think most would agree that there is a big cutoff after the top three prospects. I think the next three pitchers are tied to each other, and I have them ranked solely on upside. 

Danny De Andrade is a stud. He's so young for the level and he's more than holding his own, and he can play SS. Rosario's another guy who has risen a ton. He didn't put up great numbers last year in Ft. Myers, which is no surprise. But of the group of very young, talented players with the Kernels, he's continued to show power. I know he's slumped of late a bit, but that's not surprising for a 20-year-old. 

I TRY not to let injuries affect my judgment on players, even pitchers with Tommy John. I sometimes forget that is my thought, but that's why Canterino and Prielipp are just outside the top 10 but close. Yasser's had injuries this year. He's been out for 2+ weeks now with a shoulder issue. But his potential is immense. And Winokur's is just as high. Long ways to go for both, but athleticism is crazy! 

After that, there's probably another break in terms of prospect level. At this point, how do we distinguish between and/or differentiate the 2022-drafted pitchers. How do we rank Kyle Jones, Cory Lewis, CJ Culpepper, Andrew Morris, and even Ben Ethridge to some degree. I'd probably lump Christian MacLeod into the same grouping. Yeah, he was a 2021 draft pick but missed 2022 with Tommy John. He's got serious potential. Which ones will rise and rise quickly? Which ones will not be able to stay healthy? Which end up in the bullpen? 

I know many really like Ben Ross, and it's easy to see why? Good size, great athlete, versatile. And he's got plenty of potential having not faced top competition in college. I had Schobel behind Ross at the start of the year. That looks silly now with what Schobel has done, but I'm still high on Ross. 

And, I think Keirsey is underrated. Should he be a top 20? I don't know. He's a little older, but an incredible athlete with an all-around game. 

But, several others have to be considered. Jair Camargo. Noah Cardenas. Andrew Cossetti. Ricardo Olivar, Nate Baez. There are four really solid prospects, but only Camargo probably would be considered for Top 20. Alex Isola isn't catching as much but he's got power too. 

Jorel Ortega deserves consideration. How do we account for the numbers Anthony Prato has put up in St. Paul while considering the numbers he had in Wichita. What does that mean?

The further from the big leagues, the more it is about tools instead of stats. That's why I still think Bryan Acuna, Byron Chourio, Ariel Castro, Hendry Chivilli and their potential should be considered, maybe in the next 10. Then guys like Jayson Bass, Moises Lopez, and Dameury Pena have put up strong numbers at young ages in the DSL. Guys like Rafael Cruz, Gregory Duran have talent and youth. 

All that is to say, while the Twins only have three guys that come near the Top 100 prospect threshold, there is a lot of depth and there are a lot of very talented players that do have high ceilings. 

[weitz41]

For me it felt like there were around 15 guys deserving of a top 10 spot and another 10-15 deserving of a top 10-20 spot. Alot of depth in the system. I probably was a little hard on injured players but wanted to put the guys with good 2023 seasons on my list over players who barely of haven't played at all. I was surprised how few had C.J. Culpepper on their top 20.

[Mike Sixel]

Given the massive failure rate of HS pitchers, I just couldn't rate Soto highly....

[JD-TWINS]

Good news is Festa/Raya are 3-4 or 4-5 or 5-6 on a bunch of lists, nearly all lists! Encouraging.

Glad there is still some others that see potential in Headrick going forward.

[Dman]

On 8/15/2023 at 9:45 PM, FlyingFinn said:

Wow, most everyone has given up on Noah Miller as a top 20 prospect. He is our best fielding SS in the minors, very young, and has begun to hit with some power (5 homers since July 8) at Cedar Rapids.

He probably comes in just outside the top 20.  It has been two years of pro ball and he hasn't had an OPS over .700 in any month that I can see since May of 2022.  Doesn't matter how good a fielder you are if the bat isn't good enough the shine is off IMO.  He is still very young for the level at only 20 years old and August might be the first month he shows he can have a month with a .700 OPS which isn't exactly a high bar.  He has plenty of time to move back up but I think he is where he belongs for now.

[Mike Sixel]

20 minutes ago, Dman said:

He probably comes in just outside the top 20.  It has been two years of pro ball and he hasn't had an OPS over .700 in any month that I can see since May of 2022.  Doesn't matter how good a fielder you are if the bat isn't good enough the shine is off IMO.  He is still very young for the level at only 20 years old and August might be the first month he shows he can have a month with a .700 OPS which isn't exactly a high bar.  He has plenty of time to move back up but I think he is where he belongs for now.

This

[TwinsAce]

On 8/16/2023 at 12:56 PM, Mike Sixel said:

Given the massive failure rate of HS pitchers, I just couldn't rate Soto highly....

I'm not sure there is much difference between 4-10 on some of these lists.  My lists probably has a tier 2 that breaks at 9. 

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, TwinsAce said:

I'm not sure there is much difference between 4-10 on some of these lists.  My lists probably has a tier 2 that breaks at 9. 

Oh, agreed....as much as I love his stuff though....