The Top 20 Minnesota Twins Assets: Part 3 (6-10)

10. Stephen Gonsalves, LHP (23)

He doesn't have the same spellbinding upside as Fernando Romero, but Gonsalves ranks a few spots ahead of his fellow top pitching prospect because at this point he seems considerably more likely to reach his ceiling. The left-hander is coming off yet another fantastic season that saw him graduate to Triple-A just one month after his 23rd birthday.

In five starts with Rochester, Gonsalves delivered three excellent outings and two clunkers, but this came on the heels of a brilliant 15-start stretch at Chattanooga (8-3, 2.68 ERA, 1.03 WHIP). While he lacks remarkable velocity or breaking stuff, the 6-foot-5 southpaw attacks the zone with a somewhat deceptive release and that's brought him success at pretty much every level. Most importantly, his strong 2017 campaign quieted shoulder concerns that caused him to get a late start to the season.

9. Ervin Santana, RHP (35)

Gonsalves might be the future. Santana is the now. He's 35 and only under contract for one or two years, but Erv was easily the best performer on the 2017 staff and has generally been a godsend for the Twins rotation since joining up in July of 2015. Heading into the new season, he's the most reliable and trusted commodity on the staff, although his age, career workload (2,400 innings and counting), and seemingly unsustainable formula (4.02 FIP in 2016/17) cast some doubt on his continued high-end effectiveness.

The Twins basically have Santana on a one-year deal for $13.5 million with a team option (automatically activated if he hits 200 innings in 2018). Any team would be beyond ecstatic to get him on such a contract if he were a free agent right now.

8. Brian Dozier, 2B (30)

Over the past two seasons – according to the player valuation algorithm at FanGraphs – Dozier has been worth $47 million and $40 million, respectively. The Twins have gotten him for $9 million, total. He's under control for one more year, and still at a huge bargain ($9 million). In retrospect, that spring 2015 contract extension looks pretty damn good, even though it didn't buy out any free agency.

The looming reality of FA limits Dozier's value as an asset, which is otherwise immense: top-tier slugging middle infielder, Gold Glove defender, clubhouse leader in every sense of the word. Minnesota might only have one year left with the reigning back-to-back Twins Daily MVP, but they're awfully glad to have that.

7. Max Kepler, OF (24)

In 2016, Kepler burst onto the scene with 17 home runs and a .734 OPS as a 23-year-old rookie. That's quite the accomplishment. With his lean and athletic physique, the sky appeared to be the limit, given his transcendent success in Chattanooga the previous season. But in 2017, Kepler stagnated. He posted nearly identical numbers overall and took a step backward against southpaws, going from ugly to unsightly.

But while his production didn't improve as we hoped, it was still perfectly solid. Now, he's heading into his third MLB season as a 25-year-old who has flashed glimpses of All-Star potential, while basically establishing his floor as an average MLB corner outfielder. The Twins control his rights through 2022.

6. Jorge Polanco, SS (24)

An outsider would glance at Polanco's progression from 2016 to 2017 and assume his stock dropped, with his OPS falling by 30 points. But the real story is a lot more complicated than that. He reached his all-time low point as a pro at the end of July, with his slash line sagging egregiously to .213/.265/.305. He took a few days off for a mental break and returned on August 2nd with a double – his first extra-base hit in a full month. From there, Polanco took off, raking to the tune of .316/.377/.553 with 10 homers and 42 RBI the rest of the way.

The amazing surge restored faith in his bat and then some. But perhaps even more importantly, Polanco showed himself to be a credible option at shortstop. His adequacy was very much in doubt following an erratic 2016 debut at the position, but in 2017 the 24-year-old was plenty serviceable, cutting down the mistakes while improving his range and occasionally making legitimately spectacular plays.

We'll need to see him sustain both at the plate and in the field before fully buying into his transformation, but right now he looks like a capable shortstop who can bat third in a very good lineup, and that's a hell of a quality asset with four years of control remaining.

RANKINGS THUS FAR

20. Alex Kirilloff, OF (20)

19. Trevor May, RHP (28)

18. Wander Javier, SS (18)

17. Jason Castro, C (30)

16. Tyler Duffey, RHP (27)

15. Taylor Rogers, LHP (27)

14. Adalberto Mejia, LHP (24)

13. Nick Gordon, SS (22)

12. Fernando Romero, RHP (23)

11. Trevor Hildenberger, RHP (27)

10. Stephen Gonsalves, LHP (23)

9. Ervin Santana, RHP (35)

8. Brian Dozier, 2B (30)

7. Max Kepler, OF (24)

6. Jorge Polanco, SS (24)