Twins Daily 2019 Midseason Top 40 Prospects: Recap

Balazovic is still underrated. 

I am having a difficult time remembering a worse half a season for MN prospects.

Injuries and poor performances have taken their toll.

I am having a difficult time remembering a worse half a season for MN prospects.

Injuries and poor performances have taken their toll.

Geez, how old are you, ten? 

Heck, I remember a time when Doug Deeds made the top 10 and the best we could do was WISH he was abysmal due to injury.

Geez, how old are you, ten? 

 

Heck, I remember a time when Doug Deeds made the top 10 and the best we could do was WISH he was abysmal due to injury.

When Doug Deeds was a prospect the org had some great performances from prospects like a pre-injury Jason Kubel, Baker, Liriano, Jesse Crain, Bartlett.

Those were the salad days

When Doug Deeds was a prospect the org had some great performances from prospects like a pre-injury Jason Kubel, Baker, Liriano, Jesse Crain, Bartlett.

 

Those were the salad days

Really?

When I look down this current list, I see a dozen or so who are having absolutely stellar years. And Doug Deeds wouldn't make this list if you doubled the number of top prospects, wouldn't you agree?

The TD staff has put together a fine list. The prospect depth is remarkable.

For me, the most surprising story of the first half has been the AAA prospects.

• The 40th prospect, Sean Poppen, has two major league pitches. He'll get plenty of MLB chances as a RP before his career is over.
• JDavis is having a breakout type of year for a lower-ranked prospect. He could be a viable backup OF next season. He could be AAAA too, but his outlook is a lot brighter than it was in April.
• Littell can throw 96 out of the bullpen. Didn't see that coming.
• Arraez could end up an everyday 2B before his career is done (50 FV). 
• Thorpe looked good in his first start. Not a lot of power but he can pitch.
• Rooker has scary power and he's getting to it.

That's a lot of positive results from what is arguably the weakest part of the Twins system.

I'd point out too that while we started the articles two weeks ago, we did the vote closer to 4 weeks ago. A lot has happened even since then that could alter the vote if we did it right now. You''d like to think not too much shifting, but there could be some. 

I think the list holds up quite well! 

I'll admit that watching the very top of this list, so far this year, has been a little like watching paint dry. But that's why I love the top-20 and the top-40 lists that the staff puts together. It's always easy to find several examples of guys over-performing to get excited about. To that end...

Happy 25th birthday to Jaylin Davis! I love seeing guys like this...getting a little long in the tooth (prospect-wise)...taking significant steps, and starting to knock on the door of realizing their dream...if not with the Twins, maybe as a minor-league FA with another team, etc.

wasn't he a surprise high ranking prospect in Keith Laws preseason listing?

Yes, I'm not a big Klaw fan but he nailed that one. 

I would be happy if 12-15 of these names actually played a game with the Twins in the majors. Maybe another 10 or so will play elsewhere in the majors (overlapping with those the Twins bring up). That leaves a good portion of guys to identify as being depth and tradable as assets to the team in the next couple of years. 

That is what is so difficult about running a major league organization. Who to advance. Who gets delayed. What are the weaknesses. How to exploit those weaknesses for curent needs.

But overall, this is one wonderful batch of 40 names, with at least two depth at every position and twice as many pitching prospects as the Twins will ever need to call from the minors in the next three seasons.

Jordan Balazovic obviously gets this years' "Meteoric Rise Award".

Next year at this time?   I'm going Cole Sands.   Top-15 at least.  Like his future a lot (health permitting).

A ninth-rounder from 2002 is a benchmark for anything?

 

I literally did not remember the name. He wasn't touted, was he?

 

If you're doing some kind of RandBall's Stu satire, ya got me.

Oh, Deeds was a thing, but I prolly should have referenced David Winfree instead to refute the notion of salad days of the past compared to this list. Winfree checked in at #7 on Seth's list in 2007. And probably earned his spot! On second thought, maybe Trent Oeltjen at #9 and Winnie should have swapped spots. 

Geez, how old are you, ten? 

 

Heck, I remember a time when Doug Deeds made the top 10 and the best we could do was WISH he was abysmal due to injury.

The experts did not put Deeds  in a top 10 http://www.startribune.com/a-look-back-prospect-lists/111022994/

The experts did not put Deeds in a top 10 http://www.startribune.com/a-look-back-prospect-lists/111022994/

Oh man I remember really think Alexander Smit would be special. And was intrigued by Juan Portes. A few of the other guys I don’t remember. Brings me back though

Wow, I had forgotten both those names. Thought Winfree would hit his way on to the club and maybe develop a little more power. Wasn't Oeltjen comparable to Rich Becker? The memory sometimes fades.

Yeah, I get a kick out of looking back at the names.

My original "Deeds" response was mostly meant to inject some fun nostalgia into things, but secondarily to question any thoughts of a time where Kubel, Bartlett, Baker, Crain, et al could be thought of as the "salad days" of the system.

There may be an equal number of flame-outs on this 2019 list as we can count on lists from 2005-6-7, but the difference is where comparable names show up in the rankings.

To illustrate a point, let's theoretically equate some names:

Garrett Jones, our 5th best prospect in 2005? Was he that much of a better prospect than 2019's #39 guy Zander Wiel?

Alex Romero at #7 in 2006. Higher ceiling than #26 Celestino?

#7 David Winfree versus #35 Jaylin Davis?

#9 Trent Oeltjen compared to #36 Gabriel Maciel?

#20 Juan Portes and #27 Luke Raley?

2019 may or may not be the salad days, I don't know, but two things seem evident to me. The first is that even if all the 2019 guys listed above fail, a better prospect is occupying the slots at #5, #7, #9, and #20 here in 2019. And second, I'm quite confident that the NEXT 40 names we could mention here in 2019 are more promising than what we'd be looking at in a similar list of names from 2007.

Oh, and Doug Deeds? If you go out to B-Ref and read his Wiki profile, you'll see that Seth had him on the radar for good reason. It's also instructive, because we tend to get overly excited with stats like what Deeds put up. 

It really is an impressively deep system.

First, thank you all for the time and thought you put into this list.

Yes, there is zero doubt that the Twins have the best A+ and below minor league system.  Arguably, the best AA and below system.

But, I think, and this very moment, we are looking at the apex of the system for the foreseeable future.  I think we all expect to lose 2 or 3 top prospects between now nd July 31st.  And (hopefully) The Twins will not have high draft picks over the next few years.

So, let's put this Top 30 in the vault.

Yeah this... This system is scary deep.. It's also why I'm looking forward to the deadline. The team broke out at the right time b/c there's going to be a lot of guys needing to hit the 40 man over the next season or two... May as well trade some of them and get some upgrades on the 25 man.