Seth Stohs

I'm willing to let it play out. In other words, they left four open spots on the 40 man roster by leaving Burdi, Reed, Stewart, Bard, etc. off of the 40 man roster. They used one spot on Michael Pineda. Let's see how they fill the 40. But, I tend to agree... If you're looking for arms, Burdi at least feels like a big one, though we know the injury risk. And Reed hasn't put up the numbers to match his 'stuff.' So, I also understand taking the risk of leaving them off.

See updates below...The Twins lost two players in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 draft and added a right-handed pitcher. In the minor league Rule 5, they added two players without losing anyone. On Thursday morning, the 2017 Winter Meetings will come to a close with the annual Rule 5 draft. Last month, the Minnesota added three players to their 40-man roster, but they left several very talented players unprotected. The Twins could potentially lose a couple of players (at least tentatively) to the Rule 5. However, they currently have just 37 players on their 40-man roster, so in theory, they could make a Rule 5 pick (or three!). Below you'll find a brief preview of the 2017 Rule 5 Draft, but as the draft takes place, this article will continue to be updated if the Twins lose or gain players. So be sure to check back often. The draft starts at 8:00 a.m. central time.8:15 Update: A computer glitch delayed the inevitable, but with the 3rd overall pick in the Rule 5 draft, the Phillies selected Nick Burdi from the Twins. It was expected. Reports from Orlando indicate that he will be traded. 8:18 Update: Angels selected Luke Bard. 8:19 Update: The Twins selected right-handed pitcher Tyler Kinley from the Miami Marlins (more to come after draft). Tyler Kinley was the 16th round pick of the Miami Marlins in the 2013 draft out of Barry Universityl in Miami Shores, Florida. He spent the 2017 between High-A Jupiter and AA Jacksonville. Combined, he threw 53.1 innings in 50 outings. He walked 22 and struck out 72. He had a 1.98 ERA in High-A, and a 5.19 ERA in AA. He will turn 27 in January. The Major League portion of the Rule 5 draft is complete. The Twins add Tyler Kinley and lose Nick Burdi and Luke Bard. The Minor League portion of the draft is starting. 8:51 Update: The Phillies traded Nick Burdi to the Pirates for international slot money. 8:37 Update: The Twins select RH Yancarlos Baez from the Yankees roster in the AAA Rule 5. Baez was signed by the Yankees as a shortstop, but in 2017, he transitioned to pitching in the GCL. Interesting gamble. 8:43 Update: The Twins selected Sandy Lugo, a 22-year-old RHP from the Dominican, and from the Reds organization. In 2017, he split the year before Low-A Dayton (2 games) and High-A Daytona (4-6, 5.32 ERA in 42 relief games). In 64 innings, he had 40 walks but he struck out 82. 8:51 Update: Nick Burdi was traded to the Pirates in exchange for international bonus pool money. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Below we're going to start with the basics. Who is eligible for the Rule 5 draft? Who could the Twins lose in the Rule 5 draft, and who could they select if they do make a pick? Also, check back often during the 8:00 hour as I'll be updating this article if (or when) they lose a player or add a pick. The Basics Let's start with who is eligible. Players who were 18-years-old when they signed as an international free agent or draft pick signed in 2013. This group includes players such as Kohl Stewart and Lewin Diaz.College players selected in the 2014 Draft. This category includes the likes of Nick Burdi and Jake Reed.Players who are not yet minor league free agents and have been eligible in previous seasons. Luke Bard and Ryan Eades are two from this group.For much more on the players who are eligible for the Rule 5 draft, with the exception of the three players added to the 40-man roster, click here. To make an MLB selection, a team must pay $100,000. That player needs to be on the drafting team’s 25-man roster all season or be offered back to the original team for $50,000. The other option is that the teams can work out a trade. The Twins have examples of what can happen with their five most recent picks. Scott Diamond – Twins selected him from the Braves. He did not make the opening day roster, but the Twins and Braves were able to work out a trade. Diamond was taken off of the 40-man roster and the Twins sent RHP Billy Bullock to Atlanta.Terry Doyle – The Twins selected Doyle from the White Sox organization. He was returned to Chicago late in spring training.Ryan Pressly – The Twins drafted Pressly from the Red Sox organization. He remained on the Twins roster the entire 2013 season. He was able to be sent back to AAA during the 2014 season and pitched well enough to be called up during the season’s second half.JR Graham - The Twins selected Graham from the Atlanta organization. He spent an entire season on the Twins roster in 2015 only to be DFAd less than two months into the 2016 season.Justin Haley - The Twins selected Miguel Diaz from the Brewers organization with the top pick in the 2016 Rule 5. They traded down and got starter Justin Haley. He made the roster and made a few appearances. He spent a couple of stints on the DL before the Twins sent him back to the Red Sox.Who The Twins Could Lose Throughout the week, we have heard from several sources that Nick Burdi is very likely be be selected. The flame-thrower had Tommy John surgery in June and will likely miss much of the 2018 season. If he does, the requirement of staying on a team's active roster will carry into the 2019 season.Jake Reed and Luke Bard are two other relievers that I feel have a chance at least to be selected. They are both hard-throwing relievers who finished 2017 in AAA. They both get a lot of movement. They could be stashed on an MLB roster, but they are also guys who could contribute in 2018.Lewin Diaz is less likely to be selected due to his proximity and his lack of position flexibility.Ryan Eades had a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League and did have a couple of appearances in AAA late in the season.Kohl Stewart was the Twins top pick in 2014 out of high school in Houston. He's put up strong ERAs (until 2017), but he's never put up the strikeout numbers that the front office might hope for.Who The Twins Could Pick I don't know if the Twins will make a pick. My general theory is that a team should almost always take a Rule 5 pick and see how it goes. The Twins have three open spots on the roster, so they could take three players. They won't, but they could take one. Here are two good sources for lists of who might be available. Baseball America- 91 namesMLB.comThe Twins have the 20th pick in the Rule 5 draft (as they will next June in the Rule 4 draft). However, several teams ahead of them have full 40-man rosters so they won't be able to make a pick. Some teams may pass. Minor League Rule 5 Draft Shortly after the Major League Rule 5 draft, the Minor League (AAA) portion will start. We'll also update you on any players the Twins gain or lose in that draft. Feel free to discuss the Rule 5 draft before, during and after... Click here to view the article

The Twins announced this morning that they have signed right-handed pitcher Michael Pineda to a two-year, $10 million deal. The former Mariners and Yankees starter had Tommy John surgery July 18, so he is likely to miss the entire 2018 season.Pineda stands 6-7 and about 260 pounds. He is a flame-thrower, when healthy. The Twins deal with Pineda is such that he will make $2 million in 2018 and then $8 million in 2019. The move is very similar to the transaction the Cubs made earlier this week when they signed lefty Drew Smyly for two years and $10 million. While Pineda is unlikely to pitch in the big leagues in 2018 (14 month recovery would be late September), this move is a push for 2019 when he will be over 20 months post-surgery and the Twins should be making another playoff push. It's another creative move for the Twins brass, and it doesn't necessarily stop them from doing anything else. What do you think of the move? Click here to view the article

you are correct.

The Winter Meetings are an interesting event, particularly for fans. There are a multitude of rumors, and we need to sift through them to find out which are real and which are just talk. Monday was fairly quiet on the Twins rumor front, but maybe Tuesday will get things going. If nothing else, an early-morning tweet got my mind running. It's no secret that the Twins are going to have a lot of discussions in Orlando this week with teams and agents in a search for an upper echelon pitcher. What are the options and what could a trade cost the Twins in terms of prospects?The Twins have two options if they would like to acquire a top-level starting pitcher. They can give up money, a lot of money, to acquire a top free agent starter. It would likely also cost a draft pick. The other option to acquire a starting pitcher is via trade which, of course, costs a number of top prospects. FREE AGENTS Yu Darvish is the big name on the free agent market. He's clearly the top starting pitcher available. The cost for Darvish would be either five or six years at somewhere around $23-26 million per year. Jake Arrieta has won a Cy Young, and he's been good, but there are several question marks surrounding him this offseason after a "tough" year with the Cubs in 2017. Regardless, he's going to get three or four years and at least $20 million per season, probably more. Those are the top two free agent starting pitchers, but two others are getting a lot of talk and a lot of interest. Lance Lynn is going to get three or four years and $18-20 million per season. Alex Cobb is also going to get three to five years, and he will get between $17-21 million. The fact that the Cubs are interested in Cobb will likely push those dollars to the upper end of that range. All four of them would cost the Twins a draft pick. THE TRADE MARKET We've heard some of the same trade candidates mentioned since the trade deadline. Chris Archer and Gerrit Cole are, well, if they're not Aces, they're upper tier starters, guys we would be happy to have at the top of the Twins rotation. But what might the cost be? Early on Tuesday morning, a tweet from Pirates Breakdown caught my attention. I don't know much about the site, though a quick glimpse and it looks great. And I don't know whether or not this 'source' is legit of not. What I do know is that it does make sense for a conversation starter. Whether it is for Gerrit Cole, or a similar trade for Chris Archer, it's enough to keep the trade talks going. As much as I hate seeing prospects traded, I think even I would make that trade for Gerrit Cole. Nick Gordon is a top three Twins prospect regardless of the ranking source. I had him ranked as the Twins #3 prospect last week. To acquire a pitcher of Gerrit Cole's caliber will require a top prospect. As much as I like Gordon and believe in his future, there are still some question marks about his offensive potential and whether he can stay at shortstop. Likewise, Tyler Jay can be a star bullpen arm if healthy. But again, if his role is going to be out of the bullpen, the Twins can replace those 65 innings per year with other internal options or on the free agent market. Zack Granite can be a solid starter in the outfield and can definitely roam center field for a team. With the Twins current roster, he would be the fourth outfielder, capable of playing all three outfield spots, taking quality at-bats, etc. I don't know if this package would be enough to get the Pirates to pull the trigger, but this is a deal that I would make. What do you think? I generally have this assumption that if I personally would be willing to make a theoretical trade then the other team (the Pirates in this case) would probably want more. For instance, I would think they might want a top pitching prospect (Stephen Gonsalves or Fernando Romero) to go with their current crop of young, talented pitchers (Jameson Taillon, Tyler Glasnow, Chad Kuhl, Ivan Nova, Trevor Williams, etc.). But maybe they like that young core of pitchers and want to build up their lineup with two guys who could, in time, hit at the top of their lineup. Cole is a Boras client who made $3.75 million in 2017, his first year of arbitration. He will likely make $7-8 million in 2018, and maybe $10-12 million in 2019 before becoming a free agent. So, the Twins would likely need to pay him $17-20 million over two years. Chris Archer will make $6.25 million in 2018 and $7.5 million in 2019. There is a club option for 2020 at $9.0 million ($1.75 million buyout) and a second club option for 2021 at $11.0 million ($0.25 million buyout). The Twins would likely end up paying him $33.75 million over four years. The Twins need pitching and need starting pitching. What direction would you prefer to go, free agency or the trade route? Besides Chris Archer and Gerrit Cole, what other pitchers would you like to see the Twins contemplate acquiring? Click here to view the article

Luke Gregorson to the Cardinals...

Jeff Passan says Brandon Morrow to the Cubs for two years...

It's Gone-Saul-Viss...

I'm thinking he'd be just outside the top 10, similar ranking to Pearson, probably just ahead of him...

While most of the official Winter Meetings meetings don't start until Monday, baseball people from major league, minor leagues and independent leagues are traveling to Orlando, Florida today. It's been a fairly quiet offseason so far, but the two big puzzle pieces that were holding things up have been resolved in the last 72 hours, so it should be a very busy Winter Meetings. Please feel free to check this article out all day, and post any rumors that you may see or read or hear. There will be plenty of rumors, I'm sure. If the Twins make any moves, Twins Daily will have an article on it within moments.Until the last couple of days, it's fair to say that the Hot Stove has been lukewarm at best. Then Shohei Otani made his decision to sign with the Angels. And on Saturday, the Marlins and Yankees agreed to a deal in which reigning National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton will join Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez in The Bronx. So now, the Hot Stove is preheating. Things are lined up for this to be the busiest Winter Meetings in recent years. Or, we could be set up for disappointment and have to wait even longer. Let's not forget that the Winter Meetings are set up to actually hold a lot of meetings. Many are with league officials. Some are to determine new rules, or to discuss topics like pace of game and more. While we as fans only want to hear about the meetings between GMs or between teams and agents, the Winter Meetings are much bigger than that. The Twins offseason has been quiet in terms of transactions. Here's the quick rundown: 40-man roster decisions - Several players have been removed from the 40-man roster, and when they were, most were claimed. Niko Goodrum was outrighted, but he became a free agent and left to join the Tigers.In the last couple of weeks, the Twins have signed six or seven players to minor league contracts. The most exciting minor league signing to this point is catcher Bobby Wilson.Probably the most exciting additions to the organization have been more additions to the front office. 27-year-old Jeremy Zoll comes to the Twins as their new minor league director. He's made several hires including a new minor league pitching coordinator (Paul Maki replacing Eric Rasmussen). They added Tanner Swanson as a minor league catching coordinator. Brad Steil became the pro scouting director .He hired John Manuel from Baseball America. Former reliever Wesley Wright retired to join the Twins as a scout. There have been changes in the international scouting department. And they have added several more front office types. Some we have read about. Some have gone under the radar. And some more positions will continue to be added. The Winter Meetings also is a place where people can go to interview with teams for prospective jobs. Don't be surprised if we keep hearing about additions to the front office. Also, we learned that Tommy Watkins will be the Chattanooga Lookouts manager in 2018. Toby Gardenhire will take over as the manager of the Cedar Rapids Kernels where coaches Brian Dinkelman will remain hitting coach and JP Martinez will remain pitching coach. At a minimum, they still need to hire a manager for the Rochester Red Wings (Mike Quade is taking a roving instructor position) and the Ft. Myers Miracle. But let's be honest, we want to hear about player acquisitions, right? The Twins made one of the biggest turnarounds in MLB history in 2017. They went from 59 wins in 2016 to 85 wins in 2017. Now the challenge is to find a way to bump that win total up to 92 or so in 2018. So here's a quick reminder of what the Twins need... 1.) Starting Pitching 2.) Relief Pitching 3.) Pitching ... ... ... 8.) Maybe a right-handed bench bat Will the Twins be active in the free agent market? Will they be more active in the trade market? Likely the answer is Yes in both cases. I tend to think they'll be more active in the trade market as it relates to starting pitching, and I expect they'll be fairly active on the free agent market with relievers. The asking prices at this point for starting pitchers, at least those top four options (Darvish, Arrieta, Lynn and Cobb) are pretty much silly. But that's just money and a draft pick whereas a trade would cost multiple players. As for the relievers, there are probably a dozen or more guys who will get three or four years at $7-9 million per year. Plenty of options. So, will it be disappointing if the Twins don't make a couple of moves this week? Yes. But I think they will. Will it mean they were not an active participant at the Winter Meetings if they don't finalize a deal? Not at all. I would suspect that they'll be one of the busier teams there in terms of meetings held. As always, the Winter Meetings presents an opportunity for the meetings, while the actual transactions can take place in the coming weeks. AL Central The Royals are likely to lose free agents Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas, or at least a couple of them. There are rumors that Danny Duffy is available. You' have to assume that Alex Gordon and probably Ian Kennedy are guys they'd love to trade, but there likely won't be much market for them. The Royals may be in full rebuild mode. The White Sox acknowledged that they were rebuilding a year ago when they traded Adam Eaton and Chris Sale for a huge supply of top-end prospects. They continued that in-season with trades of David Robertson, Todd Frazier and Jose Quintana for more prospects. Is Jose Abreu on the market? Probably, and anyone else on that roster who costs more than a couple million dollars might be too. The Tigers are an interesting group. They made some trades during the 2017 season, including getting rid of JD Martinez and Justin Verlander. Rumors are that teams are calling on Ian Kinsler. They likely want to continue to push a rebuild. Ron Gardenhire was hired as their manager. He stole Joe Vavra from the Twins and named him their quality control coach. Steve Liddle (bench coach) and Rick Anderson (bullpen coach) are also on his staff. Cleveland got to Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. In 2017, they lost to the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs. They have good starting pitchers. They have a strong bullpen. They've got a good offense. But Carlos Santana and Bryan Shaw are free agents, and I would think they would want both back. They will likely remain busy. Rule 5 Draft Finally, the Rule 5 draft will take place on Thursday morning. The Twins have the potential to lose a couple of players. Nick Burdi and Jake Reed would seem most likely candidates to be lost while Luke Bard and Kohl Stewart could also be lost. The Twins 40-man roster is still at 36, so they could add a player in the Rule 5 draftif they choose to. Enjoy the week. Click refresh here at Twins Daily often. As noted, we'll be sure to post articles of any moves that the Twins make. Later, you can expect to learn more about any players and/or prospects that the Twins may acquire. If you haven't already registered, be sure to do so and add your thoughts to these articles and rumors. Click here to view the article

While Thrylos and I often disagree... when it comes to prospect rankings, that's the beauty of them. I don't expect anyone to agree 100% with my rankings. I've seen players in Cedar Rapids every year. I've been at spring training and hung out a lot on the minor league fields something like 4 of the last 5 years or something. Thrylos gets to Red Wings games in Lehigh Valley. And, I know he's been in Ft. Myers for spring training too. I think he and I have both been on the minor league side at the same time... He may see Player X do something and start paying more and more attention to him. I may be over on another field at that time and see another player do something and my opinion of him goes up or down a little. To me, that's what makes these lists fun.He really likes Rainis Silva, has for years. I am higher on Kirilloff than he is. There are (gasp) probably a lot more players that we have similar opinions on. It's all good.

12 feels a little bit high, but I'd have to go back and look. I mean, this was a really good draft for the Twins... The international money deals were unusual to this year because of the Braves situation. There were several other trades... And there were a few guys who really stepped up. But like I said somewhere... the difference between, say, 41 and 70 is all about opinion.

I would guess he'd get a deal where he'll make around $1 million in MLB and something like $250,000 while in the minors (pro-rated, of course)... I don't know about limitations.

I definitely agree... He's legit!

I think McIver can definitely be more than an org arm. He's got good stuff. He's left-handed. He's pitched in short relief, in long-relief, in spot starts. He has a chance... He's just a notch below Vasquez and Moran in my opinion... But I need to also reiterate. The difference between prospect 40 and prospect 85 is not huge. McIver has put himself by continuing to move up and now having success late in the year in AA. That means he's got a shot.

We're all getting to know them, and we'll learn more about them the next two years. As I've mentioned, this is preliminary. Landon Leach is likely to move up this quite a bit. I do think he's got a chance to be more of a reliever (whereas most believe that Enlow will be a starter). So that's why I have him a little lower. But you make a good point. I've said elsewhere that I thought Pearson could be anywhere between 12 and 20, and Banuelos could be anywhere from 18-25 or so.

LHP, came from the Yankees... could pitch for the Twins... wonder if he'll move to the bullpen?

I think they'll always get the best available, but they have talked about developing waves too so that as players go or injuries happen, you can keep the train rolling.

They signed veteran Bobby Wilson to a minor league deal, so he'll likely be one of their catchers.

Over the past month, I wrote up quick profiles for my preliminary Top 50 Twins Prospects rankings. It’s preliminary because over the last two months, I have been working on profiles, backgrounds and scouting reports for about 170 Twins minor leaguers for the soon-to-be-released 2018 Twins Prospect Handbook. Along with Cody Christie and Tom Froemming, we’ve been putting in a lot of hours to produce the 10th annual handbook. More information will be coming to Twins Daily around Christmas.But I thought it would be good to take a look at the Top 50 rankings in its totality to see what it is showing us. Are there any themes? Positions of strength, weakness, etc? With that, here is the full list of my preliminary Top 50 Twins prospects. Please note that this is not necessarily my final rankings. Those will appear in the prospect handbook. (last year's rankings in parentheses, or how acquired) Here are a few themes from this prospect ranking: The New Guys On Wednesday night, the Twins traded $1 million in international bonus pool money to the Angels and the Mariners. In return, they acquired the Mariners fifth-round pick in 2017, catcher David Banuelos. From the Angels, the Twins acquired their third- round pick in 2017, outfielder Jacob Pearson. Immediately, I was getting asked where these two prospects would fit into my rankings. Well, I haven’t had a lot of time yet to research or talk to people, so these are subject to change. As you can see, I ranked Pearson #13, two spots below the Twins third- round pick, Blayne Enlow. Both players competed in Louisiana high schools before the draft. Pearson was the state’s player of the year. I ranked Banuelos #21. The Twins fifth-round pick this year was Andrew Bechtold, and he’s ranked a little further down the list, at #30 for now. Banuelos is a valuable prospect for a team in that really strong defensive catchers have a lot of value. The fact that there are question marks with his bat keep me from ranking him too much higher than this. The 2017 Draft It’s no surprise to see several Twins 2017 draft picks in a Top 50, but it is really nice to see the high impact prospects that show up at the top of the list. Royce Lewis is the new #1. Brent Rooker and Blayne Enlow are also in my Top 10. That’s some quality talent brought in. But second-round pick Landon Leach probably should be higher than where I have him. Charlie Barnes is a high-floor player who could move up quickly. And, Bechtold is a guy who gets on base a ton, could hit for average and could develop some power. I’m also quite high on sixth-round pick Ricky De La Torre, who made the list. And, frankly, the more I research a guy like Derek Molina (14th round), the more I consider the idea of putting him near the back of this list. Then add in the acquisitions of Pearson and Banuelos, two guys that were in Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects in the 2017 draft, and that’s a great job of bringing in talent! Relievers Too Low Those that have been following me for years know that I tend to rank relievers lower on prospect rankings than their potential value in the big leagues might be. Consider that I ranked Trevor Hildenberger #42 a year ago, knowing he had the ability to be a good MLB reliever, and my point is illustrated. I really struggled this year with ranking relievers. You see a bunch at the end because those are are guys that I think could get to the big leagues and be quality relievers. But, as we’ve watched Nick Burdi and JT Chargois and Mason Melotakis need Tommy John surgery and struggle to be healthy, it’s such a challenging job. So, John Curtiss is the highest ranked prospect for me this year. I believe he has the stuff to be a closer in time. Tyler Jay is next. When he was considered a potential starter, I had him in the Top 10 prospects. Now that he’s been moved to the bullpen (and fought injuries all year), he drops. Youth is Served It’s not unusual to see prospect rankings have a lot of very young, toolsy players ranked high. If you look at my prospects, particularly the #4 through #11 range, you see just that. They are easy to get excited about while at the same time understanding that they have a long way to go, and with that, a lot of development. Some will take those necessary strides forward. Some won’t. That’s the nature of player development. But with guys like Akil Baddoo and Brusdar Graterol in the mix, fans should start getting excited about what they could be. Experience is Served While tools and ceiling are important, floor should be factored in as well. For instance, Mitch Garver’s floor is major league backup catcher. I mean, he’s basically there already. His ceiling is quality starting catcher. He’s coming off of a terrific 2017 season in the highest level of the minors. There needs to be value in having played at the higher level. I subscribe to the thought that once a guy experiences good success in AA and/or AAA, he is pretty close. Luke Bard put up some crazy numbers in AA and then in AAA this year. Sure, he’s 27 and hasn’t played in the big leagues, but I still think he could become a solid MLB reliever. A Combination of Both There’s a reason that guys like Stephen Gonsalves, Fernando Romero and Felix Jorge rank where they do. They’ve overcome the struggles of taking their talent and working hard and experiencing success and finding themselves putting up good numbers in the upper levels. They all have the potential to be quality major league starters, but they have worked up such that their floor is higher too. Trades Help Too While the Twins were surprising everyone with their turnaround success in 2017, Derek Falvey and Thad Levine never really wavered from their comments about continuing to build and continuing to look for talent, particularly pitching, everywhere. Since they’ve taken over, they have traded for Zack Littell, Dietrich Enns, Gabriel Moya and Tyler Watson. (as well as the two players this week) Two of those pitchers pitched in the big leagues in 2017. Moya jumped straight to the Twins after completing the Southern League playoffs. Littell went 19-1 and won the MiLBY for the best starting pitcher in the minor leagues this year. They also talked about being able to provide pitching in waves, and that’s where Tyler Watson fits in. He’s just 20 and pitched in low A. He isn’t a top prospect, but he’s got the size and the pitches to move up these rankings significantly. Injuries The Twins system is deep with talent, but there were a lot of injuries (several significant) in 2017. Alex Kirilloff had Tommy John surgery in spring training. Nick Burdi had surgery in June. JT Chargois missed most of the season with more elbow issues. Jake Reed and Stephen Gonsalves missed time early in the season with minor injuries. Luis Arraez tore his ACL in his third game of the season and missed the rest of the year. Kohl Stewart was on the DL a couple of times with knee problems. Tyler Jay missed most of the season with shoulder/neck/biceps injury. On the positive, Lewis Thorpe and Brusdar Graterol made their returns from Tommy John surgery and both appear to be back to their old selves. Tyler Benninghoff just returned from Tommy John late in the season. Depth While I don’t think the Twins farm system will rank near the top of the rankings that will come out in February, I do think this is a very exciting group of prospects right now. While aside from Royce Lewis, there may not be any Buxton/Sano/Berrios caliber prospects, there are a lot of very good prospects, guys who can play a significant role in the big leagues. There are quite a few players (including some pitchers) who have high-level ceilings, but obviously further development will be required to reach it. Who Could We See in 2018? Here are guys that have a legit chance to contribute in the big leagues in 2018: Stephen Gonsalves, Nick Gordon, Fernando Romero, LaMonte Wade, Mitch Garver, Zack Littell, John Curtiss, Felix Jorge, Zack Granite, Kohl Stewart, Tyler Jay, Gabriel Moya, Aaron Slegers Jake Reed, Luke Bard, JT Chargois, Tom Hackimer. Obviously, there needs to be opportunity. Not all of these guys will play in the big leagues, but they could. But as you look at that list, you see a lot of pitching, both starters and relievers, Who will be this year’s Trevor Hildenberger? Will any of these starters have a major impact on the Twins this year. Please feel free to ask questions or find your own story lines or trends within these rankings. Please ask questions and discuss whatever it is you’d like. I’ll try to answer questions throughout the day and throughout the weekend. And please, support the Twins minor league coverage at Twins Daily by purchasing the Twins Prospect Handbook 2018 in a couple of weeks. As has been the case in past years, it’ll be available in paperback (in time for Twins Fest) and electronically. Oh, and just for fun… wanna know who prospects 51-60 were for me? Here’s some exclusive bonus information for Twins Daily readers… Here you go: 51. Jordan Balazovic, 52. Mitchell Kranson, 53. Shane Carrier, 54. Hector Lujan, 55. Cody Stashak, 56. Victor Tademo, 57. Chris Paul, 58. Sean Poppen, 59. Edwar Colina, 60. TJ White Click here to view the article