The Future Is Upon Us

However, despite some injuries and other unfortunate circumstances in 2014, timelines got delayed. Instead of some of these players making their debuts last year, Twins fans had to wait until this season to see these guys in big league uniforms.

12 players under the age of 26 have spent time with the Minnesota Twins in the first half. While the season started with a very veteran ball club, over the course of the season’s first three months, the average age has dropped.

As you would expect with young players in their first couple of seasons in the big leagues, there have been ups and downs. 24-year-olds Kennys Vargas and Danny Santana began the season with the Twins and both struggled to the point where they were sent down. Santana is back, but Vargas was sent back to Rochester, and then to Chattanooga.

Looking back at our preseason Top 10 Twins Prospects rankings, it’s clear that the future is here and that over the rest of this season and next, the future is going to get an opportunity to do some special things.

Consensus top prospect Byron Buxton (21) missed a lot of time last year with a variety of injuries. He was streaky to start the 2015 season at Chattanooga, but in mid-June, it was time. He was called up to the Twins. He played terrific defense, and despite not hitting well, his terrific tools were on full display. His first major league hit was a stand-up triple. He showed great range and a strong arm in center field. His ‘hit’ tool is the one that’s going to require some patience. He sprained a thumb and is likely to miss several more weeks.

Just two weeks ago, the Twins needed some offense. They summoned Miguel Sano (22) from AA Chattanooga and he immediately started to hit. Whereas Buxton provides speed and defense that Sano will not, Sano’s bat has never really been a question. His first big league hit was an infield single. In 11 games, he has hit .378/.489/.649 (1.138) with four doubles and two homers. As impressive as his hits have been, his plate approach and discipline have also been terrific. It’s been a very impressive debut for the Dominican slugger.

Speaking of impressive debuts, the Twins surprised everybody in early May when they promoted #8 prospect Eddie Rosario (23) from Rochester even though he hadn’t put up very good numbers. On the very first pitch he saw in the big leagues, Rosario hit a long home run off of Scott Kazmir. He’s certainly had some ups and downs at the plate and though he hasn’t walked much, he does have a good idea at the plate. Defensively, he has been terrific in the corner outfield spots.

Our #9 Twins prospect, you may recall, Trevor May (25) was not supposed to be on the Opening Day roster. Three days before the season started, Ervin Santana was suspended and May was added to the Twins roster. He has been much improved this year, reducing his walk total while still getting strikeouts.

#7 prospect Jorge Polanco (22) came up for one day and made one start. He was recalled from AA Chattanooga. Shortly after returning to the Lookouts, he was promoted to AAA Rochester.

Alex Meyer (25) had a terrible start to his 2015 season in Rochester. The Twins Daily preseason #5 prospect was moved to the bullpen where he was good through nine outings and then called up to the Twins. He made two appearances that didn’t go well and has been sent back to Rochester to continue to work on his control and pitches coming out of the bullpen.

The Twins Rule 5 draft pick JR Graham has held his own throughout the first half. The 25-year-old has even thrived at times out of the Twins bullpen. Sometimes he’s worked mop-up duties. Other times, he’s worked three innings. He even made one spot start. He is blessed with a big fastball, so his future is encouraging.

Michael Tonkin’s frequent-flyer miles between Rochester and Minneapolis continued accumulating in the first half. He’s been solid in AAA but struggled with consistency with his slider and fastball command in the big leagues. However, he still remains someone to be optimistic about being a late-inning relief option.

Oswaldo Arcia seemingly has been around forever and yet he only turned 24 during the season. He fought injury with the Twins and after a DL stint was optioned to Rochester. Two weeks ago, he was hitting just .185 there but the last two weeks he has dominated the International League, showing the type of power that made him a high prospect all along. He will come back up at some point and hopefully can show a level of maturity and put up improved numbers.

After starting as the Twins starting center fielder the previous two years, Aaron Hicks began 2015 in AAA Rochester. Instead of complaining, he went down and hit .330 and played great defense. By the end of May, he was back up with the Twins. After a short DL stint and a rehab assignment in Rochester, he came back up and has been a different ballplayer. Again, he’s been around a while, but he is still just 24-years-old.

The type of improvement that Hicks has shown in recent weeks is what the Twins hope for from Arcia as well as eventually Kennys Vargas. Danny Santana finished the first half strong, but he’ll have to continue to show improvement with the bat.

There are the 12 Twins players under the age of 26 who have spent time in the big leagues in 2015. They’re all going to take their lumps (probably even Sano!), but those are great learning opportunities as they go forward.

As Ron Popeil would say, “Just wait, there’s more!”

And the minor league cupboard is not bare after all of these promotions. There are more prospects that we could see in the second half of the 2015 season.

• Through eight starts in Chattanooga and nine starts in Rochester, Tyler Duffey (24) is 5-6 but has an ERA of just 2.51 in 111 innings. His AA ERA was 2.56 while his AAA ERA this year is just 2.47. He’s been solid and consistent. He is a guy that could help the Twins bullpen down the stretch.
  
• Lefty Taylor Rogers (24) has been steady throughout his minor league career. At AAA this year, he is 7-6 with a 3.19 ERA. A quick look at his splits shows that lefties are hitting .185/.203/.194 (.397) against him and he has a walk to strikeout ratio of two to 37 against same-sided hitters. Ryan O’Rourke (27) got his first big league promotion right before the All Star break, but if needed Rogers could fill a bullpen role down the stretch too.
  
• Right-hander JO Berrios turned 21 in May. On Sunday, he started his second straight Futures Game for the World Team. He went 8-3 with a 3.08 ERA in 15 starts at Double-A before being promoted to AAA Rochester recently. He’s struggled in his two starts there so far, but he remains one of the top pitching prospects in the game. Could we see him in September?
  
• Max Kepler (22) was supposed to play in the Futures Game as well, but he has a sore shoulder and is currently on the DL. Hopefully it won’t be a long stint as he has been one of the hottest hitters in minor league baseball for two months. He is hitting .335/.410/.534 (.944) in 65 games for the Lookouts. Signed in 2009 (same year as Polanco and Sano), Sano is just coming into his own in 2015 and if healthy should be up in September after a Lookouts playoff run.
  
• At Chattanooga, Adam Brett Walker (23) is hitting .266/.321/.578 and leads minor league baseball with 24 home runs and 74 RBI. He’s got the strikeouts, but his power is elite. He’s a possible September call up.
  
• One more name to watch in the second half is Minnesota-native Brandon Peterson. The 23-year-old began the season by dominating the Florida State League. He just ended a streak of 26 scoreless innings this weekend. Overall, he has a 1.05 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP and 12.1 K/9 in 43 innings this season. Maybe a long shot to get to the Twins this year, but certainly a name to know. While Nick Burdi, Jake Reed and Zack Jones have struggled in AA, they remain top bullpen prospects and will pitch in Minnesota sometime. Meanwhile Peterson continues to pitch great.
  

The future is now with the Twins. There are a lot of quality veterans on this 2015 Minnesota Twins team. Guys like Torii Hunter, Trevor Plouffe and all-stars Glen Perkins and Brian Dozier are all examples of players who struggled mightily in their adjustment to the big leagues and have thrived since. Not all prospects make that adjustment. They’re not all going to stick. But the Twins farm system is strong and deep.

It is going to be an interesting second half of the Twins. And for the fans!

Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!