Seth Stohs

Most 22 year olds are just coming into pro ball and playing at Low A, or maybe High A.

Yet he was drafted on the same day as Kirilloff, Rortvedt and Baddoo... He's 22 in AA, even with the missing season. That's pretty good!

From Do Hyoung Park's article on this:

Our votes: #20: Bailey Ober: Seth (21), Nick (16), Tom (20), Cody (30) #19: Jose Miranda: Seth (18), Nick (24), Tom (19), Cody (19) #18: Alerick Soularie: Seth (29), Nick (18), Tom (14), Cody (17) #17: Ben Rortvedt: Seth (28), Nick (14), Tom (11), Cody (21) #16: Edwar Colina: Seth (16), Nick (19), Tom (24), Cody (14)

On Tuesday, I got to participate in a really cool event showcasing the Twins Virtual Hall of Fame. Minneapolis-based REM5 Studios have been working for months on this fun, interactive site that Twins fans will truly enjoy.I'll be the first to acknowledge that I'm not a video game guy anymore. I have very little experience with virtual reality or interactions. However, when I got to participate in yesterday's VIP/media event showcasing the Twins virtual-reality Hall of Fame experience, I was extremely impressed. In conjunction with the folks at REM5 Studios, the Twins have worked to put together this great opportunity. It launches today (Wednesday, February 10th). To participate, simply register at www.twinsbaseball.com/xr. Twins senior director of brand experience and innovation Chris Iles pointed out to the group that this project has been in the works for six months. He noted that it will likely continue to be updated including a midseason refresh. And, just think of the possibilities of this technology! I truly enjoyed the opportunity to see this site. I don't know if I would have signed up for it on my own. But once I did, I have to admit. I think I will be in there often. I can see us having small Twins Daily events in a TwinsXR room sometime. Again, the possibilities really are endless. Again, head to www.TwinsBaseball.com/xr to register and you'll get an e-mail when it becomes available today. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments below. Click here to view the article

Yeah, been disappointing, and injured, but both are still so young and so talented. No reason to give up on 21 or 22 year olds.

In 2019 in Cedar Rapids, he was clocked at 96. His average fastball was obviously less than that, but he's young, and he's a big dude, so yes, it will be interesting to see where he is at in 2021!

JT Riddle, Tzu-Wei Lin, Rob Refsnyder...

For Winder: Seth - #22 Nick - #29 Tom - #21 Cody - #22 For Rijo: Seth - 25 Nick - 28 Tom - 23 Cody - NR (not in top 30)

Prospect rankings have little to do with performance... it's just one small part of a ranking. It's much more about tools and upside and potential... Of course, to move up levels, performance has to be there to some level.

Blankenhorn is a prospect. He needs to play. He should split most of the season between AA and AAA (mostly AAA, maybe) and play most every day. He shouldn't be playing one or two games a week in MLB. Astudillo can sit on the bench and be depth and rarely play and that's fine.

Yeah, I would put Thorpe over Hamilton for now because 1.) they need a long-man, and 2.) he's out of options... not necessarily in that order. 2020 was a lost season for him, but he's got talent.

For sure. It's fun to see 5 Twins minor league pitchers in the Honorable Mentions that hit 95-98 mph is very encouraging.

Because Blankenhorn needs to play most every day and can do that in AA or AAA (or likely both) in 2021 rather than sitting on the bench for the Twins and playing once or twice a week.

I like these picks... Gotta like a guy who was clocked at 97 at Instructs, has good size, a military work ethic... I think he could be a 2or even 3 level pitcher in 2021. Holland is certainly intriguing. He's not a big guy. With his power numbers, I thought he'd be bigger. He's very athletic and swings hard. It'll be interesting to see how he develops, but he's got a ton of talent and certainly could move up!

Midseason rankings tend to look fairly different under normal situations, and now we have to consider a missed season and players working to develop at home... Will be an interesting season to follow, for sure.

Over the next couple of weeks, Twins Daily will be counting down our Top 20 Minnesota Twins Prospects. We start today by discussing several Honorable Mentions, guys who received votes but finished outside the Top 20. Today’s list of players illustrates the depth that is developing in the organization.Two years ago, our 2019 Honorable Mentions included Luis Arraez who went on to be the team’s top rookie that season. It also included Jordan Balazovic who jumped into the top five the next season. In last year’s Honorable Mentions, you’ll find Jorge Alcala who had just been shifted from starting pitcher to a reliever. We saw his impressive rookie season in 2020. So which players who received votes this year will climb the prospect ladder in 2021 and maybe even contribute to the big league club this year? This year’s prospect rankings are difficult. Because of the pandemic, there wasn’t a 2020 minor league season. Some of the top prospects spent the summer at the Twins alternate site in St. Paul. Some even made their MLB debuts. The minor leaguers did report to spring training, several had been there for weeks before being sent home. Some players went to Instructional League and there were some reports from there. Before we start, the following players are no longer “prospects” according to Baseball-Reference: Jorge Alcala, Randy Dobnak, Lewis Thorpe, Cody Stashak and Devin Smeltzer. HARD-THROWING PITCHERS The Twins’ player development group has done a nice job in recent years developing arms in the minor leagues. The next step will be seeing those pitchers work their way to the big leagues. There are some strong pitchers in the top 20, but there are a few impressive arms in our honorable mentions as well. Josh Winder was the talk of the Twins Instructional League after the missed 2020 season. He is a big, strong kid whose fastball jumped up to 97 mph this past fall. Chris Vallimont throws just as hard. He came to the Twins in the Sergio Romo trade late in 2019. Luis Rijo is the youngest of the group, and he too is reaching into the mid-to-upper 90s with his fastball. When the Twins acquired him from the Yankees in the Lance Lynn deal, he was touted as an advanced pitcher. He still has a good mix, but now with the increased velocity too. Dakota Chalmers came to the Twins in the Fernando Rodney deal with the A’s. He was coming off of Tommy John and completed his rehab in 2019. He was added to the 40 man roster and spent his 2020 summer at the Twins alternate site in St. Paul. ALREADY DEBUTED Travis Blankenhorn made his MLB debut in September with one game played. His role will likely be a versatile utility player with some power. We will likely see him some in 2021, but he will see most of his time in St. Paul. COMEBACK KIDS? Wander Javier was once a top ten, and even a top five prospect for many in the Twins system. Unfortunately, he has missed about three of the past five seasons due to injury and then last year’s lost season. He struggled at Cedar Rapids in 2019. Despite that, he is ultra-talented and just turned 22 years old in late December. Yunior Severino was set to return in 2020 after breaking his thumb early in the 2019 season. He was twice a seven-figure international free agent, and he will be just 21 throughout the 2021 season. He likely is a second baseman, but he has a lot of offensive potential. WE HARDLY KNOW YE Spencer Steer was the Twins 3rd round pick in 2019 out of the University of Oregon. He had an impressive pro debut that summer but didn’t get the opportunity to back that up in 2020. That year, the Twins also selected shortstop Will Holland in the fifth round. In 36 games at E-Town, he hit seven homers and stole eight bases. His college teammate at Auburn was Edouard Julien, an infielder that the Twins took in the 18th round. Unfortunately, he was hurt during the Pan Am Games and had Tommy John surgery and hasn’t yet made his pro debut. Seth Gray is a very talented third baseman that was the Twins fourth round pick in 2019. He’s got a lot of power potential. In the 2020 draft, the Twins took right-handed pitcher Marco Raya in the fourth round. He’s got an impressive pitch mix and can throw hard. He’ll need to gain strength, but he’s certainly got some potential to move up this list. Then in the fifth round, the team took outfielder Kala’i Rosario. The Hawaii native has as much power as any prep player in last year’s draft. Emmanuel Rodriguezsigned a seven-digit bonus with the Twins in 2019. He was set to begin his professional career in the DSL in 2020, but instead we will begin in 2021. It was just last month that the Twins signed 16-year-old shortstop Danny De Andrade for $2.2 million. The Venezuelan was one of this year’s top international prospects. For each of these players, 2021 will be their first opportunity to make a real impression. Some may move up this list next year. Some may find themselves outside of this list. That is a lot of talent, and those are guys who rank outside of the Twins Daily Top 20 prospects. Check back over the next two weeks to see who our 2021 Top 20 Twins Prospects are. Click here to view the article

That is a very good point. I could see them bringing in another veteran catcher on a minor league deal who is known for his defense to work with pitchers. Rortvedt presumably starts at Wichita this year.

I don't want Blankenhorn or Larnach only playing once or twice a week. They need to play almost every day in the minors to get them ready for the big leagues. Telis is a far better catcher and hitter than Astudillo, but Astudillo being versatile (even if not good at any of those spots) is probably more valuable as the 26th man.

I don't mind him on the 40 man roster, kind of in the mix for 26th-28th man, the #3 catcher (preferably #4 behind Telis), able to play 3B, 2B, 1B, LF, RF, and occasionally pinch hit. He's not good defensively at any of those positions, and his offensive approach is awful. Yup, it works out from time to time. It's nice that he's got one more option left and hopefully the Twins front office will have a solid group of guys going back and forth to St. Paul. Astudillo can be part of that.

I think, with Tomas Telis on his team in Venezuela, the only position that he played in the VWL this year (and last year) was left field. Out there, you can get great diving catches like this: https://twitter.com/ElExtrabase/status/1349484033563123715

With Price and Bauer likely just there for the year, and Gonsolin and May having options, I don't think those two would be available. Maybe Price, and I don't think he would cost much even if the Dodgers ate a lot of the contract. If nothing else, it's worth the phone call.

This... Is... Awesome!!! Can't wait for future installments!!