Thrylos

All it matters: Sano's MLB career line: 359 wOBA, 124 wRC+ and that's with him battling injuries and he still is a few season's off his prime. Mauer's career line: .361 wOBA, 124 wRC+ Eeriliy similar, yet the same people who seemingly want to crucify Sano based on his genetics want to send Mauer to Cooperstown. Sano is already answering his critics with really long fly balls at Fort Myers. I hope he continues throughout the season, overweight or not. Babe Ruth should be happy that the BMI police was not around then...

Putting Romero in the pen will be shooting themselves in the foot. He is the only SP they have with top of the rotation potential (save Graterol who is 3 seasons or so away). His only issue is endurance right now. He needs to be stretched in order to improve that, and placing him to the pen will sabotage that.

His arm as an outfielder has been rated at 50-55 out of 80 at high school by scouts. Arm is not the only issue. Range and surehandedness is an issue at OF for him as well. He had a .940 fielding percentage in his first pro season as a right fielder. For comparison's sake, Rooker who is not thought much of an OF was error free there last season, and Sano had a .962 FP as an OF Also he has bulked up considerably. I feel that it will be hard for him to play there.

One way of improving pitching is that. Better defense. This Front Office decided that Sano is not an outfielder and improved in the catcher position. That went long ways. Also better intelligence about how to place defenders based on individual pitchers. That went another long ways. Really excited to see what a new pitching coach will bring to the team.

Kirilloff is still a question mark to me. I think he needs a lot of work to stay at the outfield and even then, I am not sure that his arm is suited to the OF, so first base might be his final resting place. Add to the fact the uncertainty of coming back from surgery and I think the ranking reflects this. He might shoot up next season if his performance warrants that. I think that Jay might have to force the Twins hand. If he has a 1.50 ERA and 10-12 K/9 come mid-season, I don't see him lasting in the minors for long. But as I indicated, he needs to get healthy. Will be definitely interesting to see what Baddoo does in full season ball. Cedar Rapids will have a killer squad this Spring into Summer.

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- This is the next segment in the 2018 Twins top 60 prospect list. You can find the introductory segment that discusses qualifications to be on this list and presents the players who were on the 2017 list but are not in this list here. You can find the list of the previous rankings here: 56-60, 55-51, 46-50 , 41-45, 36-40, 31-35, 26-30, 21-25, 16-20. You can find all segments in this series here. Here are players 11-15 in reverse order with their 2017 ranking in parenthesis. Players not in the 2017 top 60 list are indicated by (--) 15. Michael Montero (--) DOB: 1/6/2000; Age: 18 Positions:RHP Bats: R, Throws: R Height: 6'3", Weight: 190 lbs Acquired: Signed as an international free agent in July 2, 2016 Professional Experience: 1; Highest level: DSL (2017) ETA: 2021 Montero was signed as an international free agent by the Twins in July 2, 2016 from Valencia Venezuela for a bonus of about $150,000. 2017 was his first professional season and he pitched in the DSL as a 17 year old. He started 13 games (58-1/3 IP), struck out 64 (9.9 K/9, 27.7 K%), walked 12 (1.9 BB/9, 22.5 K-BB%) and finished with a 2.78 ERA, 2.61 FIP, and 0.96 WHIP (.279 BABIP). He has three above average pitches: low 90s fastball, slider, and change up and he commands all three well. Has a projectable frame, already at 6-3 and 190 lbs, very good feel for the game and is not afraid to attack the strike zone. Great composure on the mount. He should add 3-4 ticks to his fastball as he grows and sharpen the rest of his pitches. Flashes of top of the rotation potential; a prospect worth following. Likely 2018 path: Extended Spring Training and then at the GCL rotation. 14. Luis Arraez IF (11), 2019 DOB: 4/9/1997; Age: 20 Positions: 2B Bats: L, Throws: R Height: 5'10", Weight: 155 lbs Acquired: International Free Agent signing 2013 Professional Experience: 4; Highest level: A+ (2017) ETA: 2019 Luis Arraez was signed by the Twins as an international free agent from the Venezuela on November 3rd, 2013. The San Felipe native opened some eyes in his first professional season in the DSL hitting .348/.433/.400 (147 wRC+) in 31 games (135 PA). The next season he moved to the GCL where he continued his success hitting .309/.377/.391 (133 wRC+) in 57 games (233 PA). Last season he played for class A Cedar Rapids where he was the fifth youngest player in the Midwest League. He hit .347/.386/.444 (146 wRC+) in 114 games (514 PA). He continued the season in the Venezuelan Winter League where he hit .335/.382/.445 with 15 BB and 15 K this in 45 games (182 AB.) He started 2017 at Fort Myers and he was on fire hitting .385/.385/.538 with a.418 wOB and 168 wRC+ in the first 3 games (13 PA) of the season before he tore his ACL after awkwardly tripping over first base, and spend the rest of the season recuperating from surgery. Other than Cedar Rapids where he was 31:51, Arraez has had at least equal strikeouts to walks, and his K% was never higher than 9.9%. His splits last season was pretty equal for the lefty hitting Arraez: .333/.378/.422 vs LHP and .351/.388/.450 vs RHPs. He finished the season with a .374/.398/.457 slash line the second half that included a very impressive .425/.444/.487 performance in August. His swing is compact with great bat control and plus bat speed, quick wrists and the ability to hit the opposite way. His power has been improving (0.052 to 0.082 to 0.097 isoP), his contact has remained fairly high (.374, .323, and .382 BABIP) and he has decent speed but not good base stealing instincts (career 21/37 SB). His play at second base has been improving every season and he was +13 DRS in Cedar Rapids. Arraez is starting to look more and more like a two way player with All-Star bat potential, but he is still very young. Speed has not been much of his game but the ACL tear might affect his future, thus the drop in the rankings. Arraez has likely the best hit tool in the Twins' system. Likely 2018 path: Starting 2B at Fort Myers or even Chattanooga depending on his Spring Training. 13. Alex Kirilloff (8) OF, 2020 DOB: 11/9/1997; Age: 20 Positions: OF Bats: L, Throws: L Height: 6'2", Weight: 195 lbs Acquired: Drafted in the 1st round in 2016 Professional Experience: 1; Highest level: Rookie/Elizabethton (2016) ETA: 2020 Alex Kirilloff was drafted by the Twins in the 1st round (15th overall) of the 2016 draft from Plum High School in the Pittsburgh area, where he played baseball while being homeschooled. His father who used to be in the Pirates' organization as a scout and coach, is a professional hitting coach, offering both facilities and instruction to amateurs, including his son. In High School Alex Kirilloff was a two way player. As a pitcher he has a 89-92 mph fastball that was good enough to go 5-1 in limited competition, but was not going to get him to the next level. Power and arm strength are Kirilloff's best tools and he projects as a rightfielder. The transition to wood bat was seamless for him, hitting .306/.341/.454 in 55 games (232 PAs) in Elizabethton. He has 9 2Bs, 1 3B, and 7 HRs, walking 11 (4.7%) and striking out 13.8%. He was 0/1 in stolen bases. He was named the Appalachian League’s player of the year. Unfortunately, he had Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow and missed all the 2017 season recovering. There is definitely some power potential with his .148 isoP likely doubling at some point. He has good judgement of the strike zone and makes contact that is successful (.328 BABIP.) His swing is a bit complicated both with leg and shoulder action, but so far it works. It will be interesting to see how this will translate in the next levels when he will be looking at more off-speed and breaking balls. It might require some rework to quieten it up and shorten it. The Tommy John surgery is not usually an issue for a position player, but Kirilloff's arm was not elite before it, and he might be relegated to left field or first base in the long run. 2018 Likely path: Starting the season in single A Cedar Rapids 12. Tyler Jay (2) DOB: 4/19/1994; Age: 23 Positions: LHP Bats: L, Throws: L Height: 6'1", Weight: 180 lbs Acquired: Drafted in the 1st round in 2015 Professional Experience: 3; Highest level: AA (2016,2017) ETA: 2018 Tyler Jay was drafted by the Twins 6th overall in 2015 from University of Illinois. The Lemont, IL native was mainly the closer in College appearing in 30 games (2 starts) in his Junior season pitching for 66.7 innings, walking 7 (0.9 BB/9) and striking out 77 (10.3 K/9) with a 1.08 ERA and 0.70 WHIP. He moved on to the Fort Myers' bullpen with the Twins to appear in an additional 19 games (18.2 IP) where he walked 8 (3.9 BB/9, 17.3 K-BB%) and struck out 22 (10.8 K/9, 27.2 K%) for a 3.93 ERA (2.07 FIP) and 1.42 WHIP (.353 BABIP). The Twins view Jay as a starter and he made the transition to the Miracle rotation this season where he started 13 games (69-2/3 IP) struck out 68 (8.8 K/9, 23.6 K%), walked 21 (2.7 BB/9, 16.3 K-BB%) and finished with a 2.84 ERA, 3.31 FIP, and 1.22 WHIP (.311 BABIP). He moved to Chattanooga in July, where he pitched in 5 games (2 starts) before ending his season on the disabled list because of a sore neck. He pitched only 14 innings (9 K, 5.8 K/9, 5 BB, 3.2 BB/9, 6.9 K-BB%, 5.79 ERA, 4.96 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, .262 BABIP). After the 2016 season the Twins Front Office decided to stop the Jay as a starter experiment and relegated him full time to the pen. The 2017 season was practically lost for Jay due to injuries that limited him to 11-2/3 innings, including rehab. Those injuries started with bicep tendonitis, right after spring day and a Left shoulder impingement on the beginning of July that ended his season. It was thought that he might require Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery, but he did not. He pitched 9-2/3 innings at the Arizona Fall League. When Jay is healthy, and in the pen, he has a plus to plus plus fastball that sits at 93-95 and peaks and 97-98 (not bad at all for a lefty) which he complements with a plus slider, an average curve ball and an average changeup that has flashed some potential. As a reliever he is likely to be a fastball/slider pitcher with occasionally throwing his lesser offerings, unless the change up improves to plus quality, being useful against RHBs. He dropped several points from the number 2 ranking last season, because of his health issues and the move to the pen. Jay, if healthy can help the Twins this season. He was not invited to the major league camp this spring. Likely 2018 path: Likely starting the season at Rochester health allowing, and moving to the Twins' pen some time during the season. 11. Akil Baddoo (24) OF , 2020 DOB: 8/16/1992; Age: 19 Positions: OF Bats: L, Throws: L Height: 5'11", Weight: 185 lbs Acquired: Drafted in the 2nd round in 2016 Professional Experience: 2; Highest level: ELZ (2017) ETA: 2020 Akil Baddoo was drafted by the Twins in the 2nd round of the 2016 draft from Salem (GA) High School. Baddoo did not turn 18 until after his first professional season at GLC. He had a very hard time making the transition to a wooden bat (.178/.299/.271, 36 K for 28.3 K%, and 18 BB in 128 PA.) His bat came alive in 2017, when he repeated the GCL (.267/.360/.440, .381 wOBA, 130 wRC+, 10.5 BB%, 15.1 K% in 20 games, 86 PA) and sizzled at Elizabethton (.357/.478/.579,.476 wOBA, 183 wRC+, 17.2 BB%, 12.1 K%, in 33 games, 157 PA) He flashed speed both on the bases (9/13 SB and 5 triples) and on the field where he is fast as a centerfielder, and this season he improved his routes considerably. He has a quick bat and soft hands, and his eye at the plate has matured to a major asset. He is a potential 5 tool player, with his throwing arm power arrived last season and home run power expected to arrive soon. He is still growing and has an impressive physique. Makeup and workout ethic are off the charts. If he does well against full season competition, expect a rise into the top 5 prospects, and national media recognition. Likely 2018 path: Starting CF at Cedar Rapids. Next: 6-10

Based on the evidence we have: 2016 Twins' pitching: 5.08 ERA, 1.453 WHIP, 7.4 K/9, 3 BB/9 2017 Twins' pitching: 4.59 ERA, 1.372 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 3 BB/9 The new FO, with pretty much the same pitchers and the same raw numbers (K/9, BB/9) was able to chip half a run and about a hit per game. And that with the old pitching coach who, based on the fact that was fired, I suspect was not on board with their methods. If they strip another half a run and another hit a game this season, that will put the Twins at 4.09 team ERA and 1.272 team WHIP. In 2017 those numbers would have been 5th in the AL, just ahead of the Astros', last season. So far so good, what they are doing is working and I hope that it continues to work. Might not be enlightened enough to make people who do not want to come to Minnesota, like Otani and Darvish, to do so, but even Dalai Lama cannot do that...

Wasn't straight up. Was D'Arnaud + Syndergaard. I'd still do that trade.

I specifically indicated Berardino's opinion in the 8th ranking, not the others'. If anyone wants to see my baseball-based argument regarding my opinion on Gordon (whom I ranked 16th in my list) they are here with his ranking. From there: Gordon's glove is about average at SS but the footwork and lateral movement is not there to believe that he can be a first tier major league shortstop. His bat still projects as a major league average, however he was again neutralized against LHPs (.174/.273/.240 in 121 AB in AA last season.) He had good speed, but not great base stealing instincts that need a lot of work. This season was his greatest work load with 578 PA and Gordon showed that his his 6-0/160 lb frame might just not be durable enough for a full season. He hit a robust .315/.376/.504 in the first half, and he followed by a lackluster .221/.304/.305 the second half. His last two seasons overall are promising, but the ones who were hoping for a star with the 5th overall pick would be disappointed at Gordon, because he does not project as one. In addition, there seem to be make up issues, because instead of focusing on working on his baseball weaknesses this off-season, Gordon chose to produce music videos I'd love to hear baseball-based counter arguments about the value of Gordon or whether the above is accurate or not based on data. Saying BA said so, or KL said so, are not baseball-based...

That was his brother's jersey. I have less problem with that because it was his brother's, but if you are a professional player for a team is a bit tacky (to say the least) to wear another team's in the same sport jersey.

Every opinion by definition, including those of the ones who are high on Gordon, is subjective. And I am not the only one. Check out Berardino's rating at the BA this offseason

Lombardozzi was the Twins' 10th best prospect according to BA in 1983 ,and their 3rd best in 1986 (same link). Gordon was their 8th this season. More similarities among the 2 than you may think...

At this point Gordon's floor is Ehire Adrianza/Pedro Florimon without the glove and in a platoon situation. Unfortunately I am not convinced that his ceiling is higher than a (let's say) Steve Lombardozzi. Having him at number 3 over players with both higher floor and ceiling makes zero sense.

BABIP is Batting Average of Balls In Play. Homers are not in play, thus excluded. Balls in play are balls hit fair and stay in the park.

He had back and hamstring issues. Back issues started at Spring Training. That made him make mechanical adjustments that hurt his pitching. He went to the DL, rested his back and then returned. Took him about another month to fix his mechanics. Check his September numbers.

yes. The Twins official Twitter confirmed

Looks like it was an 1 for 1 trade and Palacios was it. He was number 20 in my Twins' prospect list. I think that the Twins are not done dealing, since their 40-man roster is now up to 42. They could put Hughes and Pineda on the 60 day DL, but not sure that they will do that for Hughes. Great 1-1 deal for the Twins

And now a moot point because he was traded to the Rays

Data: In 2017 among first basemen with >400 PA in the majors, Mauer was: 17th in WAR, 21st in wOBA, and 21st in wRC+ in other words he was on the bottom half of starting first basemen in all these categories. Minnesota boy and the ghost of the past and all of that, the Twins need to make a decision based on baseball, especially when they are competing. These numbers would not be good enough for any world series contender and should not be good enough for the Twins. If he is among the top 5-10 first basemen in the game this season, then they should think about extending him, otherwise they should not. Every good thing has its end.

I think that it might make sense for him to be in Chattanooga, Lewis at Fort Myers and Javier at Cedar Rapids. On the other hand, not sure if that would not be "rushing" him. Alternatively, the Twins might drop all these guys a level until the season starts, so you can have him at Fort Myers, Lewis at CR and Javier at EST to start the season. Thus the Fort Myers or Chattanooga prediction... Definitely, Palacios, Lewis and Javier will be in different levels. As far as other positions go, maybe second base, but Arraez is there at that level. Palacios is listed at 145 lbs, unless he gets some meat on him, I just cannot see him change to a corner position. And he is fine at SS.

The likeness to the actual players in these bobbleheads is amazing

Signing Sanchez has zero risk, thus is not bad. This being their only SP move (i.e not singing a top of the rotation pitcher, yet) is can be bad, if it is still the case by opening day. The two things are unrelated.

There is a difference between good and not bad...

Well, if he pitches just well enough not to be cut, he would not be a train wreck, no?

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- This is the next segment in the 2018 Twins top 60 prospect list. You can find the introductory segment that discusses qualifications to be on this list and presents the players who were on the 2017 list but are not in this list here. You can find the list of the previous rankings here: 56-60, 55-51, 46-50 , 41-45, 36-40, 31-35, 26-30, 21-25. You can find all segments in this series here. Here are players 16-20 in reverse order with their 2017 ranking in parenthesis. Players not in the 2017 top 60 list are indicated by (--) 20. Jermaine Palacios (31) SS/3B, 2020 DOB: 7/19/1996; Age: 21 Positions: SS Bats: R, Throws: R Height: 6'0", Weight: 145 lbs Acquired: International Free Agent signing 2013 Professional Experience: 4; Highest level: A+ (2017) ETA: 2019 Jermaine Palacios was signed by the Twins as an international free agent from Barquisimeto, Venezuela on July 7, 2013. In 2014, as a 17 year old he hit .270/.404/.399 in 225 PAs in the DSL (league average OPS: .671), as an 18 year old the first half of 2015 he hit .421/.472/.589 in 106 PAs in the GCL (league average OPS: .649) and .336/.345/.507 in 149 PAs as 2.5 year younger than the average Appalachian League Player (league average OPS: .731). In 2016 he was promoted to Cedar Rapids, started very cold (.471 OPS in April and .514 OPS in May) and started warming up (.613 OPS in June and .714 OPS in July) as the weather did, before his season ended on July 17 with a fractured left (glove) hand. His overall slash line was .222/.276/.287 and .306/.346/.367 for July. He does not walk much or strikeout much, but for some reason in addition not to making much contact early in the season, his isoP dropped from .171 and .168 in his two 2015 stops to 0.065, and his BABIP took an about 200 point tumble to .253 from the .375 and .464 in his 2015 stops (it was .333 in 2014.) He repeated Cedar Rapids in 2016 where he excelled in 62 games (276 PA) hitting .320/.362/.544 with a .404 wOBA and 154 wRC+. His BABIP moved up to .356. Mid-season he moved to Fort Myers as a 20 year old and he cooled up considerably. He hit .269/.303/.359 with a .306 wOBA and 92 wRC+, but he was close to 3 years younger than the league. Palacios had wrist issues in 2016 that seem behind him, based on the Cedar Rapids performance. His BABIP at Fort Myers was at .322, which is where he has been when good. His K% rose to 20.2 from the 16.7 in Cedar Rapids and his BB% dropped to a career low 3.8 from 4.3 at Cedar Rapids. He was 20/35 at stolen bases between both stops. Hard to tell the root cause of his problems at Fort Myers, but he had reverse splits, hitting righties at a respectable .280/.316/.390 rate and lefties at only .238/.265/.270. It could be pitch recognition. Palacios will likely stay as a short stop, since his glove plays at the position and he has improved. It would be beneficiary for the 21-year old to repeat Fort Myers starting in the season, but he might be pushed up because of the numbers: Twins top prospects Royce Lewis and Wander Javier are both shortstops, in need of a full-season ball home and likely will start at Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids, respectively, which will push Palacios to Chattanooga, ready or not. Likely 2018 path: Starting shortstop at Fort Myers or Chattanooga, depending on his and other players' health. 19. Jean Carlos Arias (36) DOB: 1/14/1998; Age: 20 Positions: CF Bats: L, Throws: L Height: 5'11", Weight: 170 lbs Acquired: International Free Agent 7/2/2014 Professional Experience: 3; Highest level: GCL (2016, 2017) ETA: 2020 Jean Carlos Arias was signed by the Twins as an International Free Agent from Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic the summer of 2014. In his first professional season in the DSL he hit .311/.378/.537 with 18 BB, 30 K, 13 2B, 9 3B and 2 HRs in 189 PAs. He was 11/17 in stolen bases. That .914 OPS is not quite at Miguel Sano level (Sano hit .344/.463/.547 at age 17 in the DSL), but cannot be ignored in a league where the average OPS is .680. His wOBA was .425 and wRC+ 151, which are also on the ridiculous level. Arias destroyed RHPs at the rate of .330/.390/.568. Reports from the Dominican have the 17 year old Arias, who batted at the number 3 spot for the DSL Twins, is a true 5-tool Centerfielder. In 2016 he moved to the United States for Extended Spring Training and later to the GCL where he played an error-less OF in all 3 outfield positions and struggled with the bat hitting .202/.265/.266 with 10 BB and 28 K, stealing 7/10 bases and only 6 xBH / 25 H in 45 games (124 AB.) He repeated the GCL last season with much better results: .298/.359/.476, .393 wOBA and 138 wRC+ in 185 AB in 48 games. His IsoP increased to .179 and BABIP to .372, close to his first professional season in the Dominican. The strikeouts were a tad high at 22.7% compared to 7.6 BB%. He made the Post-season GCL All Star team. Arias has a plus glove at centerfield with excellent range and sure-handedness. As far his bat goes, he still needs a bit of work against LHP (.255/.345/.255) but he destroys RHP (.316/.365/.573). Likely 2018 path: Extended Spring Training and the Elizabethton starting centerfielder. Outside chance of moving to Cedar Rapids, depending on the Twins' draft and his Spring Training. 18. Jose Miranda (--) DOB: 6/29/1998; Age: 20 Positions: IF Bats: R, Throws: R Height: 6'2", Weight: 180 lbs Acquired: Drafted in the second supplementary round of 2016 Professional Experience: 2; Highest level: ELZ (2017) ETA: 2021 Jose Miranda was drafted by the Twins in the second supplementary round of 2016 from Leadership Christian High School at Guaynobo, PR. His hit tool was his best tool, but in his first season as a pro in 2016 in the GCL, Miranda struggled. He hit .227/.308/.292 with a .291 wOBA and a 83 wRC+. Upon moving to Elizabethton last season, he showed why he was a 2nd round pick. He hit .283/.340/.484 with a .367 wOBA and a 117 wRC+. He had a .202 IsoP, 6.5 BB% and only 9.7 K%, in 55 games (247 PA). He played mostly second base in 2017, and a mix of second, short, and third in 2016. His footwork and instincts are below average at this point, and his arm is just average, which indicates that second, first, or left field might be his future home. He utilizes all fields and was tied for the lead in HRs in the Appalachian League with 11. He was a post season Appy League All-Star and received the MiLB.com organization All Star Award, both last season. Miranda hit .299/.344/.521 off RHP and .232/.32/.375 off LHP, which might indicate a slight difficulty in off-speed ball recognition from lefties. His bat is ahead of his glove, but his glove is not horrible. Likely 2018 path: Somewhere in the Cedar Rapids outfield. 17. Tyler Wells (54), RHP 2020 DOB: 8/26/1994; Age: 23 Positions: RHP Bats: R, Throws: R Height: 6'8", Weight: 265 lbs Acquired: Drafted in the 15th round in 2016 Professional Experience: 2; Highest level: A (2017) ETA: 2020 Tyler Wells was drafted by the Twins in the 15th round of the 2016 draft from California State San Bernandino. The Oklahoma native was a starter there for 3 seasons, pitching in 38 games (35 starts) for a total of 204 innings, striking out 191 (8.4 K/9), walking 90 (4.0 K/9), with a 3.84 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. His last (junior) season he had better results (2.84 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 15 games, 92 IP) while his peripherals remained pretty much constant (8.7 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9) which indicates that he got a better feel in pitching. He continued as a pro to Elizabethton where he started 10 games (47-1/3 IP), striking out 59 (11.2 K/9, 29.2 K%) and walking 17 (3.2 BB/9, 20.8% K-BB%) finishing with a 3.23 ERA, 2.50 FIP, 1.20 WHIP (.328 BABIP). In total 2016 has been a good year for Wells, starting 25 games for 149-1/3 IP between college and rookie league. In the 2017 season Wells made 14 starts for Cedar Rapids, pitching 75-1/3 innings, striking out 92 (11.0 K/9, 29.6 K%) and walking 22 (2.6 BB/9, 22.5 K-BB%). He had a 3.11 ERA, 3.05 FIP, and 1.13 WHIP (.302 BABIP.) He missed some time last season with elbow strain, and also played in 4 rehab games in the GCL. Wells is a very durable starter and has the physique of a football tight end. As a high school senior he was listed at 6'7" and 212 lbs. At San Bernandino he grew an inch and filled up his frame to 265 lbs, without being overweight. As a collegiate his strikeouts were in bursts. He had games where his strike outs were in double digits and games where there were few. His results as a pro show hope that he can consistently keep his strikeout high by getting a better feel for his stuff from start to start. Wells throws an above average fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup. His plus slider is a true out pitch. His mechanics are very good and consistent for his size and there is a lot of potential for improvement of his pitches, which in combination with his durability, makes Wells an interesting prospect Likely 2018 Path: In the Fort Myers rotation. 16. Nick Gordon (5) DOB: 10/14/1995; Age: 21 Positions: IF Bats: L, Throws: R Height: 6'0", Weight: 160 lbs Acquired: Drafted in the 1st round in 2014 Professional Experience: 4; Highest level: AA (2017) ETA: 2018 Nick Gordon was drafted by the Twins as the 5th overall player in the 2014 draft from Olympia High School in Orlando, FL. He started his pro career in 2014 playing for Elizabethton hitting .294/.333/.366 (101 wRC+) with 11 BB and 45 K (17.6 %), and 11/18 SB (61%). In 2015 for Cedar Rapids, he hit .277/.336/.360 (104 wRC+) with 39 BB and 88 K (16.5 %), 25/33 SB (76%). There was incremental improvement on the base paths, but in general similar results. At this point he exhibited some gap power (23 doubles, 7 triples and 1 HRs in 535 PAs, 0.083 isoP), but it does get neutralized against LHPs (.264/.325/.291; only extra base hits were 3 doubles in 110 PAs against LHPs.) He started the 2016 season in Fort Myers, where he made a leap forward hitting .291/.335/.386 (112 wRC+) in 116 games (493 PAs), with 17,6 K% and 0.095 isoP, stealing 19/32 bases. His BABIP (.353) was close to his .333 and .352 of the previous 2 seasons, which means that a BABIP around .350s is not out of question. He continued in the Arizona Fall League, where he hit a very impressive .346/.418/.444 (144 wRC+) in 21 games (91 PA), but inflated due to an unsustainable .475 BABIP. Last season he played at Chattanooga, where he hit a career best .270/.341/.408 with a .344 wOBA and 117 wRC+. He also had career bests with 9.2 BB% and .139 IsoP as well as career worst 23.2 K%. Gordon's glove is about average at SS but the footwork and lateral movement is not there to believe that he can be a first tier major league shortstop. His bat still projects as a major league average, however he was again neutralized against LHPs (.174/.273/.240 in 121 AB in AA last season.) He had good speed, but not great base stealing instincts that need a lot of work. This season was his greatest work load with 578 PA and Gordon showed that his his 6-0/160 lb frame might just not be durable enough for a full season. He hit a robust .315/.376/.504 in the first half, and he followed by a lackluster .221/.304/.305 the second half. His last two seasons overall are promising, but the ones who were hoping for a star with the 5th overall pick would be disappointed at Gordon, because he does not project as one. In addition, there seem to be make up issues, because instead of focusing on working on his baseball weaknesses this off-season, Gordon chose to produce music videos, including one in which he was wearing clothing with another MLB team's insignia. With Polanco as the Twins SS of the present, and Palacios, Lewis, and Javier right behind Gordon, at shortstop and Arraez and Miranda at second base, maybe the Twins' best way of dealing with Gordon is to use him as a center piece for a trade for pitching, as long as he still is highly ranked in the National prospect lists. Likely 2018 path: Starting AAA Rochester shortstop Next: 11-15