TD Mac

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Pretty sure Arizona would put him in the majors! You're kind of a two trick pony eh? No one moves fast enough and the Twins can't develop talent. It is either that or GGRulz is calling me a moron but wants to do it on the DL so Brock does not reprimand him. (.347/.439/.669) with 8 homers with 19 walks v 25 Ks those are legit numbers that Im afraid wont be developed correctly....already seems with Buxton, Keplar & Walker in BEL next year that he is possibly bein passed over The tough thing for Jimenez will just be to stay healthy. Despite his age, he's played a very limited number of games in 2011 & 2012. Experience/ABs is probably more important than age in moving forward

Agree that Michael is certainly "on people's radar" as a recent 1st round pick. It is interesting to me that he has fallen off the map when it comes to top prospect lists after just one full season in which it clearly took him half a season to adjust to wood bats and quality of competition. The nice thing is that one could make the argument that it is the increase in high achieving/high ceiling prospects that make it easy for a player like Michael to drop. A couple years ago, Hicks didn't fall as far, but that was probably as much a result of a lack of quality prospects as it was his high potential.

I considered Mejia as well. It was a lot of fun to make the list, and there really are so many to consider that I felt obligated to include some as "honorable mentions". Mejia, along with players like Williams, Dallas Gallant, Drew Leachman, Pat Dean and Nate Roberts were others I struggled with. Totally missed on Morales, though not sure if he's on his way up or down the list. Adrian Salcedo and Manuel Soliman are another couple names, like Morales that fell off this year (though in their cases, mostly due to injuries) that could yet shoot up lists (or in Salcedo's case, get back on lists). Next year will be an interesting one for a lot of those power arms the Twins went after in this June's draft. Due to innings pitched in college, I can understand why they were so careful with innings, but next year we'll almost certainly see Baxendale in someone's rotation. I know we heard that they might try Bard, Duffey and Jones in that role as well.

Its obviously fun to look at and compare lists of top prospects, but over the 20+ years I've been following Twins prospects, I'm always amazed at how many "top" prospects don't make it, and how many that never showed up on any lists, do.For every Jesse Crain, there's a Matt Guerrier, for every Francisco Liriano, there's a Scott Diamond. Under the radar prospects like Drew Butera, Danny Valencia and further back AJ Pierzynski, Eddie G and Jason Bartlett eventually overtook the blue chippers like Matt Moses, Jay Rainville, "Real Deal" JD Durbin and the like. So with that, I offer my 2012 Top 10 "Under the Radar" prospects that we might see moving up lists over the next year or two. Honrable Mention: Dereck Rodriguez - tons of physical tools and dominate GCL early this year, but injury issues brought him back to the pack. Still young and lots of upside. DJ Baxendale - One of a number of 2012 picks who put up great numbers (along with Duffey, Chargois and Melotakis), Baxendale not only struck out 31 in 18.2 innings, but also walked only 2 while holding batters to a .194 ave. Will almost certainly be back to starting in 2013 after the Twins limited his innings after the college season. Bruce Pugh - Hard throwing reliever hits the mid-90s. 1.94era between Hi-A and AA this year with 72Ks vs 31BBs in 69.2 IP Dakota Watts - Another flamethrower who split time between Fort Myers and New Britain, Watts held batteres to a .217 ave. Spent time in the Arizona Fall League in 2011. Matt Hauser - Continues trend of hard-throwers who moved from Fort Myers to New Britain in 2012. Hauser was stretched out a little this year, being given a chance to start a few games after working exclusively as a reliever the past two years. Will be interesting to see if Twins continue the starting experiment or move him back to the pen. 10. Argenis Silva (P, DSL) - diehards are already familiar with this hard thrower who signed as a 16 year old out of Venezuela. though he struggled with control in his first season in the DSL, Silva did finish 4-0. w 9. Romy Jimenez (OF, Elizabethton)) - as a 21 year old, Jimenez was a little old for the Appy League, but did put up big numbers (.347/.439/.669) with 8 homers with 19 walks v 25 Ks despite missing a third of the season with injury. Coming off an injury plagued 2011, Jimenez needs to show he can stay healthy if he hopes to make the jump. 8. Zack Jones (P, Elizabethton/Beloit) - barely "under the radar", this young man might be the hardest thrower in the organization, regularily hitting the mid-to-upper 90s. Only a lack of history keeps Zack from getting more recognition. Jones put up video-game like numbers in a limited sample size this year, striking out 34 in 20IP while keeping opponents BA at .159. Be intersting to see what he does in a full 2013. 7. Stephen Wickens (SS, Elizabethton/Beloit) - Wickens has now walked more than he has struck out two straight years. Though not as athletic as top SS prospect Niko Goodrum, Wickens seems to have the intangibles to continue to climb this list. Though he doesn't have a ton of pop, he gets on base (.307/.425) and can swipe an occassional bag as well. 6. Levi Michael (SS, Fort Myers) - Had some humbling stats at the plate in the pitcher friendly Florida State League, but he did hit .272 in the 2nd half and drew 56 walks on the year. Still expect him to man a spot in the middle infield for the Twins by 2015. 5. Matt Summers (P, Beloit/Ft. Myers) - Had almost identical numbers in 2011 to Zack Jones' this year before being moved to the rotation this season. Went 11-7 with a 3.88era between his two teams this year. Strikeout numbers dropped dramatically (97 in 148.1IP) along with his velocity after pitching an inning a game in 2011, but still impressed in his first year as a starter. 4. Adam Walker (OF, Elizabethton), - We've seen others put up impressive power numbers in the Appy League before, but this 6'4, 225lb son of a former football player certainly looks to be a legitimate power threat in a system in need of them. 3. Jorge Polanco (SS, Elizabethton) - The lesser known of the two big money Dominican signees from 2009, the twins had hoped Polanco's bat would allow him to progress with Sano, but Polanco batted justi .223 his 1st go round with the GCL Twins in 2010. Polanco returned to the GCL in 2011, improving to .250, while continuing to display a solid glove a short. Polanco took a big step up in 2012, batting .318 (good for 6th in the Appy League) and his OPS+SLG of .903 ranked him third in the league (one behind his more recognized teammate, Max Kepler). Look for Polanco to move to Beloit in 2013, where his bat will determine whether he continues to move up the rankings. 2. Kuo Hua Lo (P, GCL) - This 19 year-old was the top prospect out of Taiwan in 2011. Though I haven't had the chance to see him in person, I've heard he hits up to 95 on the gun despite standing just 5'10. In his debut season, he ptched in teh GCL, putting in 39.2IP with 33Ks vs 7BB and held batters to just .171 A 1. Tyler Jones (P, Beloit) - Arguably the best power arm of any starter in the Twins system, this 2011 draftee pitched in a handful of games at Elizabethon in 2011 before moving up to Beloit for all of 2012. His era was a pedestrian 4.67 while going 5-5, but he did strike out 102 hitters in 86.2 IP with only 35 walks. His fastball sits in the low-to-mid 90s, occassionally hitting 96. His slider is a little inconsistent, though a potential plus pitch. The changeup is probably the key pitch for him in his hopes (and/or my hopes!) that he stays in the rotation, as it must become a more reliabel offering. So there's my two cents on under the radar prospects. I look forward to discussion and other nominees.

I definitely like what Ive seen from Morneau in the 2nd half. In order to consider trading him, however, the return would have to be staggering. Justin is a legitimate MVP candidate when healthy and the idea of handing over that kind of production to A basically untested Parmalee is scary. With little history of successful big money FA signings, can we afford to let a bat like Justin's go? I completely agree about dealing Span or Revere, because OF is an area that we have some depth and Hicks/Arcia certainly seem to be on the cusp of earning an opportunity. We've got to find a way to add some pitching. This year's staff, as hard as it might be to believe based on our record, has actually overachieved! No way can we expect Diamond to continue to perform at this high a level and anyone who has seen Walters, Devries, and Deduno pitch this season knows they cannot be relied on to fill the rotation of a legitimate major league contender. The Twins will need to be aggressive in the FA market for pitching, but there just isn't enough out there to fill the staff. Hoping and praying for Baker and to a lesser degree, Gibson isn't much of a strategy and the rest of the legitimate starting pitching prospects are a minimum of a year or two out. The only alternative is through trades and Revere and/or Span seem to be our best options.

Drew Butera is the most maligned backup catcher ever!! Twins fans loved Chunky LeCroy, who was listed a s a catcher, but couldn't catch, yet hate Butera who is apparently beloved by all who throw to him. Mauer's injury, which forced us to use Butera WAAAAAY more often than he should've been in 2011 certainly exposed him as someone who'll never be a #1 catcher (at least as much as someone can be exposed who was never thought of as being such), but he is what he is, a dependable backup catcher who works well with the staff, throws out runners at a good clip and allows the Twins to not only keep Mauer from overworking his delicate body behind the plate (and thus keeping his .320 in the lineup), but also allows the incredibly versatile Doumit to be...well, versatile! I don't get it.

Throwing hard isn't enough. And it's also a lot easier out of the bullpen. Boer has only average velocity as a starter, Summers below average, etc. The Twins lag in every respect behind almost all other organizations. It is a complete disaster zone and no one should think otherwise. I agree that based on the sample we've seen from Boer, he would appear to be better suited to the pen (as might Summers - though I'd like to continue to see him worked as a starter as I don't think he's pitched himself out of a rotation possibility yet). However, I don't think that Boer getting the extra innings this year will stunt his growth as a reliever, so I don't think the Twins lost anything by working him as a starter Id like to continue to see them move some of those power arms into starting assignments if they have the complimentary pitches to support starting

Excellent point and one I think the Twins have really tried to address the last few drafts. Though we've certainly been unfortunate in running into medical issues with Bashore, Tootle, Gibson and Hunt (brain?), I like that they've tried to add some top of the order and back of the bullpen type arms. Boyd, Jones, Boer, Summers, and this year adding another 5-6 power arms is what really has me excited. Obviously they won't all make it, but we need to develop a few #1 and #2 pitchers as I don't ever see us being legitimate players in the FA market. Also glad to see we are looking to stretch some of those projectable arms into starting roles rather than relegating them to bullpen prospects as such an early stage of their careers. Despite Boer's difficulties this season, I think it's a sound philosophy, and one which allows a return to the pen if they aren't able to develop the pitches or psyche to be a starter.

Projecting young pitching can be a tricky business. For example, Is Tyler Jones at Beloit a higher rated prospect than Zachary Wheeler? He has the projectable power arm to potentially be a top of the rotation starter, whereas Wheeler clearly has performed better at their current level. Berrios is dominating rookie ball, though is unlikely to dramatically improve his physical skills. That being said, his current stuff is pretty major league ready. So despite the fact that his ceiling may not be much higher, he still projects to be a top of the rotation talent. In fact, I would argue that his advanced control and mechanics puts him much closer to reaching that "ceiling". Have only seen him on film, but wouldn't be surprised at all to see a Baker-esque type accession for Berrios. Certainly he has the best chance of any pitcher we've seen in years to make the bigs by age 21.

Looks like Steven Gruver, playing at Beloit

Reason for rehabbing in the GCL is twofold. First, rehab is designated as just that. The lower caliber player allows for rehabbing player to focus more on the process and not get as caught up in the results (human nature). 2nd, gametimes being earlier in the day allow for easier postgame rehab (including add'l exercises and treament).