Twins Daily Top 10 Twins Prospects Update

As you read, think about your own Top 20 Twins prospect list and think about how it might look now.

#10 – RH RP – Nick Burdi – Chattanooga Lookouts

It was a rough first five weeks for the hard-throwing reliever. Through his first ten games with the Lookouts, he has thrown 12 innings. He has given up 11 runs (10 earned) on 13 hits, 13 walks and struck out 13. He is 2-3 with a 7.50 ERA and a 2.17 WHIP. Many of us, myself included, thought he could move quickly up the ranks, and he still can, but baseball can often provide cruel reminders of just how difficult the game can be. It’s not easy to get to the big leagues. In his first three May appearances, he has given up just one run on three hits and one walk in four innings. There’s still little doubt that Burdi will be a dominant big league reliever. It just might take the 22-year-old a little bit longer.

Status: Slightly Down

#9 – RH SP – Trevor May – Minnesota Twins

Trevor May did not make the Opening Day roster for the Twins, but he has only pitched for the Twins this season. He was promoted when Ricky Nolasco was placed on the disabled list after his first start. May has remained in the rotation since. He came into the season with 45.2 big league innings, meaning he would still be a rookie in 2015. He has made six starts for the Twins so far and is 2-3 with a 5.40 ERA. In 30 innings, he has given up 39 hits, walked eight and struck out 24. He has shown flashes of his potential mixed in with some struggles. That is what you would expect from any young pitcher.

Status: No Longer “Rookie” or “Prospect” status

#8 – OF – Eddie Rosario – Rochester Red Wings/Minnesota Twins

Eddie Rosario made an impression on the Twins brass, specifically Paul Molitor in spring training. A week ago, when the Twins had to put Oswaldo Arcia on the disabled list, the team promoted Rosario despite the fact that he was hitting just .242/.280/.379 (.659) in 23 games in Rochester. And despite the fact that he hit just .237/.277/.396 (.672) in 79 games in New Britain (AA) last year. In fact, in 17 spring training games this year, he hit just .233/.227/.442 (.669). That isn’t to say that Rosario is not still a very good prospect. I believe he is. However, despite his grand big league entrance – a first-pitch home run in his first at-bat – he can use more time in the minor leagues. He’ll get that, most likely, when Shane Robinson returns from the family emergency list shortly. Since that dramatic home run Rosario has hit .160/.154/.160.

Status: Flat

#7 – SS – Jorge Polanco – Chattanooga Lookouts

Polanco debuted with the Minnesota Twins as a 20-year-old last June. He became the first 20-year-old to debut for the Twins since Joe Mauer in 2004. Circumstances made that possible, but Polanco had a nice showing in his debut. He went back to Ft. Myers and eventually was promoted to Double-A New Britain. He begins this season as the Chattanooga shortstop. In 30 games for the Lookouts, he is hitting .293/.328/.455 (.784) with six doubles, a triple and four home runs. He is also 6-8 in stolen base attempts. He has six errors so far, for a .945 fielding percentage. Polanco is very talented and I believe he can be a starter in the big leagues for many years.

Status: Slightly Up

#6 – SS – Nick Gordon – Cedar Rapids Kernels

The Twins top pick in 2014 out of high school handled his professional debut very well a year ago in Elizabethton. As you would expect from a 19-year-old, it has been a mixed bag in his full-season debut in Cedar Rapids this year. He began the season by hitting .417/.481/.583 (1.065) through the first six games. In 24 games since then, he has hit .216/.257/.237 (.494) with just two doubles. He’s held his own in a league in which he is more than two years younger than the average player and one of the youngest in the league. Defensively, he has been terrific. The shortstop has just three errors in 29 games for a .972 fielding percentage. He has been able to show off his glove and range.

I talked to Jake Mauer in early April about Gordon, and this is what he had to say:

“He’s extremely talented. I would say, you’re not going to see the explosiveness like you did with Buxton, but you’re seeing a kid that’s wiser or older than his years, similar to Buxton. You can tell Nick’s played a lot of ballgames, and sees different things and is able to comprehend different things. I mean, he worked with Barry Larkin and being exposed to Hall of Fame guys, and the wealth of knowledge that his father has is a big advantage too. That being said, he’s got to be his own player too and go out and develop. The way he handles the press and autograph people and different things like that, his makeup is right there with Buxton too. No doubt about that.”

Status: Flat

#5 – RH SP – Alex Meyer – Rochester Red Wings

The overall numbers aren’t pretty. At Rochester, Alex Meyer has posted a 2-2 record with a 7.01 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP in his first seven starts. He is striking out 8.8 batters per nine innings, but his walk rate is up to 5.5 per nine. He’s given up 44 hits in 34.2 innings. His “stuff” remains terrific. He still runs his fastball in at 97 to 99 mph consistently. His slider remains sharp, but at this point, he’s working on command in and out of the strike zone. It was a tough spring for Meyer on a personal level. His struggles have carried in to the season. But, still just 25, there is plenty of time for him to work things about. Remember, he was only added to the Twins 40-man roster last November, so the Twins can, and should be, very patient with this uber-talent.

Status: Down

#4 – RH SP – Kohl Stewart – Ft. Myer Miracle

Speaking of uber-talents with high upsides, Kohl Stewart began the 2015 season with the Ft. Myers Miracle. In his first start, he struck out five in six innings. In his second start, he struck out just three, but he was able to work eight innings. In his third start he struck out two but went 6.1 innings. That was April 21. He returned to the mound on Monday after missing three weeks with elbow inflammation. On a pitch limit, he went just 2.1 innings. Overall, he is 0-3 with a solid 3.18 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. In 22.2 innings, he has walked 10 and struck out 10. There are some reports of declining velocity. It will be an interesting summer for the still-just-20-year-old.

Status: Down

#3 – RH SP – JO Berrios – Chattanooga Lookouts

Coming off of a complete game shutout in his most recent outing, Berrios appears to be right where he was during his impressive 2014 season. The 20-year-old from Puerto Rico currently sports 4-1 record with a 2.60 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP in his first seven starts of the season. He had a very strong showing in big league camp and it’s carried into his season. In 45 innings, he has walked 15 and struck out 53. His combination of athleticism, confidence and work ethic, combined with a strong mix of pitches make him very intriguing.

Status: Slightly Up (there’s not far to go in that direction!)

#2 – 3B – Miguel Sano – Chattanooga Lookouts

Since signing with the Twins late in 2009, Miguel Sano has been ranked among the Twins top prospects and the top prospects in the game. Unfortunately, he missed the entire 2014 season due to Tommy John surgery. We all expected him to struggle early, shaking off the rust. He certainly did that. In 18 games in April, he hit .159/.303/.381 (.684) with two doubles and four home runs. He struck out in 29% of his plate appearances. He was taking walks and hitting with some power, but it wasn’t the same. Since the calendar changed to May, he has produced as we would expect Miguel Sano to produce with the bat. In 14 games, he has hit .286/.356/.510 (.866) with five doubles and two home runs. The month is just half over, but he has been much better. His strikeout rate in that time dropped to just 22% Defensively, it’s another story. In 30 games at third base, he has committed nine errors already and has a .875 fielding percentage. Before surgery, he was making about 93-94% of the chances he got. He has been making some great plays both directions, making diving plays and showing off his canon of an arm. His errors, to this point, have primarily been on more basic plays, which could also be about timing, chances and rust.

Status: Flat

#1 – OF – Byron Buxton – Chattanooga Lookouts

Although he didn’t miss all of 2014, Byron Buxton was never able to get into a groove. He fought multiple wrist injuries, a possible concussion and then a broken bone in his hand during the Arizona Fall League. He has been healthy this season, but again, as we expected, it was slow going for Buxton too. Overall, he is hitting .244/.306/.450 (.757) with three doubles, six triples and four home runs. He has 23 RBI after recently ending a ten-game stretch where he had at least one RBI per game.

It would be fair to call Buxton’s early season ‘Streaky.’

In his first 12 games, he hit .180/.241/.300 (.541) with one double, one triple and one home run. He struck out in 22% of his plate appearances.

At that point, manager Doug Mientkiewicz gave Buxton two consecutive games off to clear his mind. Buxton responded well. In his next ten games, he hit .415/.479/.805 (1.284) with two doubles, four triples and two home runs. He struck out just 10% of the time.

Now in his most recent ten games, he has hit .150/.200/.275 (.475) with a triple and a homer. He struck out in 20% of those plate appearances.

Defensively, Buxton is elite and has returned to form very quickly. He has great range, takes good routes most of the time and displays a very strong, accurate arm.

Status: Flat

Feel free to discuss these and other Twins prospects and their status below.

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