Cody’s Top-20 Twins Prospects: 6-10

Nice to see 3 solid pitchers that appear to have four solid pitches and decent velocity to go with them.  It feels like it has been a long time since I could get excited about so many pitchers in the top 10.  

That being said Enlow has been far from dominant in most of his time with the Twins.  Granted he has been young for every level and bumped his number to respectable in A ball for half the year.  I am a little nervous about him as a starter but since he will only be 22 to start the year he has time to refine things.  Here's to hoping the time off helped him get ready for 2021

Been hearing some good things about Canterino although scouts still don't love his delivery or his body type for starting.  Floor should elite reliever though.  If he can stay healthy he looks like mid rotation starter.  Haven't seen one of those in the system since Berrios so that's nice.

Balazovich has pretty much been a stud the past two years(2018,19).  K rate has been there as he has been a K machine during that time.  He hasn't been all that streched out though so hard to say if he would hold up during a full season or not.  His numbers look absolutely dominant though.  If he keeps this up he has to be a top of the rotation arm just has to be.

Cavaco was a high risk pick.  He is a tooled up player with the possibility to be a 5 tools player, but his hit tool was his weakest tool and that is not a good tool to be weak.  The Twins had to be believers that they can develop him with the coaches they have and the skill Cavaco has.  Time will tell if that was good decision or not.

Sabato was a good pick for where they got him and he has most all the traits the Twins love in hitters.  Hard hit rate, check.  Good eye at the plate, check.  HR in game power, check.  Good swing, check.  The tough thing is he likely is a defensive liability anywhere you play him, check.  He could be a fast mover but to where with Kirilloff and Larnach likely already in the outfield and Sano and Rooker at 1st base someone is going to have get traded to fit him in.

Twins do have a nice top 10 though.

As we wait for Cody to reveal is 1 - 5 and there has been debate about Kiriloff v Lewis I was fascinated today to see what Keith Law had to say.  Kiriloff is ranked 7 in Law's top 100 and he has this to say about him:

 

"Kirilloff is now on the very short list of players who made their major-league debuts in the postseason, also known as the Mark Kiger All-Stars, but unlike Kiger, Kirilloff will be back. He’s among the very best hitting prospects in baseball, thanks to a beautiful left-handed swing, an advanced approach to the strike zone, and all-fields power. Kirilloff was a pitcher and outfielder in high school and missed the 2017 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but he returned without a trace of rust and has continued to make hard contact at a high rate. His power was down in 2019 after he injured his wrist that spring, so look for a big power spike from him in 2021, whether he does so in Triple A or in the majors."

 

Lewis who has been at the top of the rating in the past is now number 46:

 

"Lewis was the first overall pick in the 2017 draft but hit a bump in his ascent to the majors in 2019 after some offseason workouts led to a breakdown in his mechanics at the plate. Lewis is a plus-plus runner who projected to hit for average without a ton of power, but before the 2019 season, he adopted a high leg kick and big hand movement, but instead of driving the ball more he would bail out more often and make weak contact on stuff away. The Twins have worked with him to get him more online so he can work toward the middle of the field, making better quality contact and letting him use his legs more often. Lewis is rough at shortstop, with all of the athleticism and speed to play there but well below-average actions and instincts; the Twins have tried Lewis a little in center but plan to continue to work him at shortstop, which I think is smart from a value perspective but an uphill battle on the field. There’s a ton of natural ability here, and just restoring Lewis’ swing from 2018 would go a long way to demonstrating the type of player he can be. I see Lewis as a leadoff hitter with huge speed and plus defense in center, different from the player he was in high school but still a valuable player on both sides of the ball."

 

Balazovic is number 63!  Great:

 

"Balazovic has always shown really good feel to pitch, working well to all sides of the plate with advanced command for his age, and his physical projection has started to come out in the last two years, giving him at least mid-rotation potential. Balazovic, the Twins’ fifth-round pick in 2015, now sits 93-95 and can flash better, with an above-average hybrid breaking ball and a solid-average changeup. He’s a strike-thrower who has already shown a willingness to pitch in to hitters, and gets good deception from his delivery thanks to where he holds his glove. There’s still some more projection left here, and he worked in the weight room last summer to continue filling out. If he picks up more velocity or turns either of those secondary pitches into plus offerings, he could end up a No. 2 or better."

 

Duran is 83:

 

"Duran is best known for his unusual out pitch, a splitter-sinker hybrid that carries the awkward “splinker” moniker, but he’s got enough of a complete arsenal that he’s more than just a one-pitch guy who’ll have to go to the bullpen. He’s 95-99 with his four-seamer and his curveball can be plus, although he doesn’t land the breaking ball as often as he will probably need to do in the majors. He has starter size, listed at 6-5, 230, and his delivery should allow him to start as long as he maintains his tempo and avoids rushing through it, especially the way he gets on top of the ball to take advantage of his height. He has less probability to start than his Twins teammate Jordan Balazovic, but has the better swing-and-miss pitch in that splinker, and might be closer to helping in the majors because that pitch can carry him as he works on the breaking ball and on improving his control and command."

 

No Larnach so I guess he is not equivalent to Kiriloff.  Also no Rooker and I suspect that Jeffers played enough to not be a rookie anymore, but if not he should have been on the list.

I am surprised he has Lewis that low.  I guess everybody is down on his hit tool.  I bet if Balazovic had pitched more innings he would be even higher on the list.

Law never gave any love to Rooker as he felt he was too old to be a real prospect IIRC.  He also was the low man on Larnach as well.  Fangraphs is the big believer in Larnach. I think Law will be proven wrong there though.  He was also low on Berrios  not coming around until much later than other boards.  He was one of the only guys to come out low on Gonsalves early and it appears he was right on that one.  

He always has an interesting take and is willing to step outside the box on players which is refreshing.

Agreed. If there's one prospect I'm worrying about right now, it's Cavaco. Lot of question marks when this guy was drafted, and zero doubts have been silenced after his poor initial season. He's got a lot of ground to make up.

 

That said, the kid's just 19 still, which is crazy. I think if he's personally the type of guy who is ready to prove people wrong, he could very well jump off the page this year and be back in the top 10 next season. Way to early to consider giving up on this guy, I hope the Twins coaches are focusing on him this upcoming year.

 

If it was possible to simply decide one day to be able to deal with breaking pitches in the dirt, more players would do so.

(No, I haven't scouted Cavaco in person or on video, it's just my guess. Also it's my hope - if he is instead swinging through quality fastballs, the problem is worse.)