Seth Stohs

I understand what you're saying, but with the draft, it's different. Because of the slotting of the first ten rounds, teams often strategize in the 7-10 rounds, senior signs, etc. That's one possibility. Another possibility is that the Twins were the one team willing to pay 3rd round money. They obviously really liked him to go over slot by 4x. I really like this signing for upside. Fits the strategy in drafting Kirilloff, Rortvedt, Miranda, Bolazovic and Benninghoff. Upside!

Correct... this happens quite a bit now. Lucas Giolito was still a 1st round pick out of high school after having TJ. Brady Aiken had TJ before the draft, knowing he wasn't going to pitch for a year. Cleveland took him in the 1st round.

Today, I’m excited to post another Q&A with a Minnesota Twins prospect. Tyler Benninghoff was the Twins 11th-round draft pick in June out of high school in Kansas. He signed fairly quickly for well over slot. You see, many projected him to be drafted in the top three rounds, if healthy. When the Twins announced the signing, they also announced that he was going to have Tommy John surgery. He had the surgery in late June with Dr. James Andrews performing the procedure. Benninghoff got to spend a little time at home after surgery but soon went to Ft. Myers to begin his rehab. He’ll be spending a lot of time in Ft. Myers the next 12-18 months.Recently, Seth was able to catch up with the talented right-hander. Below you will find his responses. Seth Stohs (SS): Growing up in Kansas, which was your favorite team to follow? Who were some of your favorite players? Tyler Benninghoff (TB): My favorite team to watch growing up was the Royals, and my favorite player has to be Alex Gordon. SS: What were some of the better memories of your high school baseball career? Did you play other sports or were you involved in other activities? TB: Some of the better memories from high school ball would include playing with my brother sophomore year. I did play football all four years and played basketball as well. SS: What was the recruitment process like for you in high school? Was it a process you enjoyed? TB: The recruitment process was definitely enjoyable, getting to go on visits to great schools like Oklahoma, Mississippi State, and Arkansas. SS: You committed to Arkansas. How difficult was the decision to sign with the Twins as opposed to going to college? What were some of the determining factors? TB: The decision was a difficult one especially having my brother at Arkansas. However, the opportunity at hand was too great to pass up and the decision was made between my family and I based on the fact I had the best opportunity to rehab and develop as a baseball player with the Twins. SS: Did you have the chance to speak with many scouts before the draft? What was your interaction with the Twins? TB: I had been in contact with Mr. Mike Ruth and he was fully aware of my situation and had said the Twins were still interested and after some negotiations we came to terms we all agreed on. SS: The Twins took you in the 11th round. What was your draft-following experience? How did you find out that you had been drafted? How busy was your phone at that moment? TB: My draft-following experience was very interesting considering I found out I had been drafted while at Premier Baseball doing some work on my arm. Following that, I received a bunch of congratulatory texts and phone calls from friends and family. SS: What has the adjustment like for you, from the high school game to the professional game, both on and off the field? TB: The biggest adjustment I have had to make so far is figuring out how to keep my body healthy and ready to work out or condition every day. SS:At what point during your season did you realize that something wasn’t right with your elbow? How difficult were the discussions and your eventual decision to have Tommy John surgery? TB: I had injured my arm throwing before the season. I had known immediately something was wrong with my arm, but I wanted to exhaust every possibility before getting Tommy John. Eventually that's what it came to, and I was at peace with that. SS: What have the last few months been like for you in terms of getting to Ft. Myers and your rehab process? TB: The last few month have been exactly what I expected and wanted, I get to do my rehab and work out every day and so far it's been great. SS: How would you describe yourself as a pitcher? What pitches do you throw? TB: I would say my best ability is my pitch ability. I throw a fastball, curveball, and a change-up. SS: What are the areas of your game that you would like to spend time working to improve? TB: Areas I want to work on are increasing my velocity and developing a true slider. SS: What do you have planned for the offseason? Are you going to spend most of your time in Ft. Myers? TB: I am going to be here rehabbing in Ft. Myers and will be here most of the time, but get to go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. SS: Who are some of the people who have helped you get to this point in your career? TB: There have been many people especially my family most importantly, and other important people like Jeremy Jones, Mark Goodwin, Casey Shaw, Keith Picht, Rob Jackson and many more. SS: Favorite Baseball movie? TB: Bull Durham. Thank you very much to Tyler Benninghoff for taking time to answer our questions. Feel free to send in your questions and comments. Click here to view the article

They are going to be a blast to follow this year!

If Berrios was still a "prospect" he'd certainly still be the Twins #1 prospect.. I assume Ted would agree?

Unless he dominates, I'd give him the full season in AA. There's absolutely no rush, and it'd be wise not to rush him (in my opinion). He doesn't even have to be added to the 40 man roster until after 2017, and he's already at AA. He can develop at AA in 2017, and then he's got three option years, so even starting in 2018, there's no rush. He's too talented and they need to do what's best for him (which in turn is what's best for him), and I think that's not pushing too quickly.

In February of 2012, we merged four prominent Twins blogs into one. It was the start of Twins Daily. We are quite proud of the community of Twins fans that we have established here at Twins Daily. Our forums are busy, filled with generally intelligent, civilized discussion on Twins topics, positive, negative or informative. We encourage you to create your own blog on our site for more discussion. If you’re like us, you’re not just a Minnesota Twins fan. Many of you, presumably, are Minnesota sports fans. We have Monday morning quarterback tendencies and have all had our moments of Vikings disappointment. That’s true even if we were born since the last time the team lost a Super Bowl. Names like Herschel Walker, Mike Lynn, and Gary Anderson cause a reaction inside us. It is the same reaction many Minnesotans still get when they hear the names of Norm Green or Nick Leddy. Minnesota fans love Minnesota sports, at least a couple of them.Tonight, the Minnesota Wild will take the ice in St. Louis for their first game of the 2016-17 season. This should be an exciting season for the Wild. Last spring they fired Mike Yeo. He was replaced by Bruce Boudreau. The 2016-17 roster is a nice combination of veterans like Zach Parise, Ryan Suter and newcomer Eric Staal. They also have a group of 25-and-unders that remain exciting. Names like Mikael Granlund, Jason Zucker, Charlie Coyle, Erik Haula and Nino Neiderreiter need to take a step forward. Two years ago, we launched Wild Xtra with the same goals and the same mission as we have here at Twins Daily. We look to provide quality articles that provoke thought and discussion. We would love to have a intelligent, civil discussion. We want to encourage independent writers to create their own blogs on the site to share their thoughts on the club. The Minnesota Vikings are the NFL’s lone undefeated team as they enter their bye weekend. Even with injuries to their quarterback, future Hall of Fame running back, several offensive linemen and others, the team has played very well. The offense has been all right. The Vikings defense is elite, one of the best in the game. Vikings fans have had reason for optimism in various years over the last decade or so. This year is something different. There is a feeling that this defense can carry the team to the Super Bowl. There is a lot of season remaining for that to be the case, but the team and its players are certainly deserving of its accolades to this point. We launched Vikings Journal a little over two years ago. It has undergone several changes but there is a core of writers each week that provide content. As important, there is a community in the forums that civilly discuss the goings-on with the Vikings and the NFL. Twins Daily, Vikings Journal and Wild Xtra are tied together under the MinnCentric family. If you are registered at Twins Daily, you can use the same Username and Password on the Wild Xtra and Vikings Journal sites. That makes it easy to go from site to site and comment or blog. We would really like to help build those communities. Obviously we appreciate you spending some of your time each day reading and commenting at Twins Daily. But today we want to encourage you to take a couple of minutes of your time to visit Wild Xtra and Vikings Journal. Register your username and spend a few minutes reading the content, and commenting in the forums. Also, if you would like to express your thoughts on the Wild or the purple, start your own blogs. You can follow the MinnCentric sites on social media: Follow Twins Daily, Wild Xtra and Vikings Journalon Twitter. Like Twins Daily, Wild Xtra and Vikings Journal on Facebook. Give these sites a chance. We really appreciate all of your support despite the losing we have seen from the Twins over the last half-dozen seasons. The Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Vikings both have a good chance to make the playoffs and an opportunity to do some special things this season. Hop on the bandwagons and help us grow. Click here to view the article

https://twitter.com/SethTweets/status/785969532829446144

In my opinion... Mauer shouldn't play more than 2 days in a row in 2017. They have to keep him as strong as they can, so more time off is what should happen. Molitor played him almost every day the first 2+ months of the season. He was performing, but then his legs left him... So yeah, I'd play Vargas at 1B against all left-handed pitching, and also against the occasional right-hander when the Twins see RHP often. The issue becomes Park. What if he's actually healthy this year coming out of spring training and can hit like most think he will. He should be playing a lot and fits into the 1B/DH situation.

What are we to make of the 2016 season of Kennys Vargas? In 47 games, he hit .230/.333/.500 (.833) with 11 doubles and ten home runs. The slugging first baseman/designated hitter will be out of options in 2017. Can he be an everyday big league player or will he need to fit into a role of some type? Let’s dig into some of his minor league and big league numbers to see what they might tell us. Let’s start by looking back a bit.The Twins signed the hefty slugger from Puerto Rico in 2009. He had not been selected in the first-year players draft, but the Twins had enough interest to sign him as a non-drafted free agent. He spent his 18- and 19-year-old seasons in the Gulf Coast League. He then spent a season in Elizabethton. Unfortunately, while playing for the E-Twins, he was suspended 50 games for using a performance enhancing drug. By the rules at the time, his fifty games only counted during the Elizabethton season. That meant in 2012, his season didn’t start until very late. He played just 44 games in Beloit. He spent 2013 in Ft. Myers and 2014 in New Britain, at least until the Twins called him up. He debuted August 1st, on his 24th birthday. He provided power that year and was the team’s Opening Day starter in 2015 but things went poorly. He was optioned twice, once to Rochester, and then once to Chattanooga where he was able to find his offense again. He spent most of 2016 in AAA, though he came up in early July and provided offense for a month. He struggled and a numbers situation (re: pitching issues) had him sent back to the Red Wings. He returned for September and the struggles continued. However, he did make a couple of significant improvements in his game in 2016 that are intriguing as we go forward. Let’s take a look at his numbers at each level of the minor leagues as well as each of his three big league seasons. Low A - 41 G, 186 PA - .318/.419/.610 (1.030) with 10 doubles, 11 homers High A - 125 G, 520 PA - .267/.344/.468 (.813) with 31 doubles, 19 homers AA - 132 G, 556 PA - .282/.376/.483 (.859) with 20 doubles, 24 homers AAA - 134 G, 553 PA - .246/.374/.438 (.812) with 22 doubles, 21 homers MLB - 158 G, 595 PA - .251/.309/.434 (.743) with 25 doubles, 24 homers While Vargas was never considered a prospect, he has always put up some intriguing numbers, He had 20-25 home runs potential. He took quality plate appearances and was willing to take walks. Some of the concerns were that he never really had a good glove at first base. He was very much one-dimensional and that one dimension wasn’t elite. Low A - BB% - 15.0%, K% - 22.0%, XBH% - 11.8% High A - BB% - 9.6%, K% - 20.2%, XBH% - 10.2% AA - BB% - 12.4%, K% - 18.0%, XBH% - 8.3% AAA - BB% - 16.6%, K% - 23.1%, XBH% - 8.0% MLB - BB% - 7.6%, K% - 29.2%, XBH% - 8.2% As you can see above, he has walked at every level, until he got to the big leagues. But the following chart will maybe shed some light on this. MLB Time Only 2014 - BB% - 5.1%, K% - 26.9%, XBH - 8.5% 2015 - BB% - 4.9%, K% - 29.3%, XBH - 4.9% 2016 - BB% - 13.6%, K% - 32.2%, XBH - 11.8% While the 2016 MLB sample size was smaller, he improved two things. First, he greatly improved his approach at the plate and willingness to walk. Over those first two big league seasons, he walked 21 times and struck out 117 times. While he struck out at a greater percentage in 2016, he showed much more power as well. Consider this: Vargas’ 11.8% extra-base hit percentage falls just behind Brian Dozier’s 11.9% in 2016. So clearly maintaining a nearly 12% extra base hit rate doesn’t seem realistic, but the 8% average that he’s had in the upper levels of the minor leagues would mean 40 extra base hits over 500 plate appearances. And if he can even walk 10% of his plate appearances, that would be 50 walks. I think a realistic season for Vargas, playing four to five games each week, would be .250/.325/.400 (.725) with about 22 doubles and 20 homers. It’s a solid season, but it’s certainly not what a team would want from a DH and part-time first baseman. So, let’s consider another set of details, his lefty-righty splits. In 2016: Vs RHP - 125 PA - .168/.280/.374 (.654) Vs LHP - 52 PA - .378/.462/.800 (1.262) Career: Vs RHP - 384 PA - .223/.281/.411 (.693) Vs LHP - 211 PA - .302/.360/.474 (.834) In other words, Kennys Vargas mashes against left-handed pitchers. The Twins have a left-handed hitting first baseman who needs days off. We saw that the last couple of the months of the season. Paul Molitor did not play Joe Mauer often against left-handed pitching. It’s a strategy that makes sense for all involved, for Mauer, for Vargas and for the team. Just a short paragraph on Vargas’s defense. It’s OK. It’s below average, but it’s OK enough to put out there a couple of times a week. It’s a clear step, or six, down from Joe Mauer’s first base defense, but again, it’s acceptable. Vargas had an encouraging 2016 season after a very disappointing 2015 in Minnesota and Rochester. He did in 2016 what he was asked to do when the Twins sent him down to the minors in 2015. He had a better approach at the plate, and hit for much more power. It was a big year for him, knowing he would be out of options in 2017. Vargas showed enough to be in the plans to get some playing time next year. Click here to view the article

I didn't put them all in the same category of MLB player... I put them in a sentence of Twins HS hitting draft picks that have had solid MLB careers. And I should have put Plouffe in there. Revere's got 5-6 years of MLB service time. He fits the "had a solid MLB career" status. Waldrop, Rainville and Boyd were HS pitchers, and I noted that they haven't had much success in that type of draft pick. I certainly don't expect anything draft-related to be perfect...

I would say that Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Jose Berrios, Max Kepler... those are the guys with the 'star potential.' They are no longer on these lists, which automatically drops the overall rankings down. I believe Nick Gordon can be a potential All Star. Fernando Romero, Alex Kirilloff, Lewin Diaz, and Wander Javier have huge potential. They're just a ways off. Jay and Gonsalves can be 2/3 starters and there's a ton of value in that. Jay could be an elite reliever, and there's value in that. The Twins have done best when drafting high school athletes in the 1st round. Examples include Joe Mauer, Torii Hunter, Michael Cuddyer, Ben Revere, Denard Span, and hopefully Byron Buxton is in that category. (So, as you can imagine, I really liked the Kirilloff, Rortvedt, Baddoo and Miranda picks in 2016!) The college pitcher route hasn't gone as well, though outside of Adam Johnson, they haven't drafted any real high in the draft. Kyle Gibson and Alex Wimmers were drafted in the 20s. They haven't drafted many college hitters in the first round either. Levi Michael was drafted like 30th overall. It hasn't worked but it doesn't make it a bad strategy and the sample size is way too small. High school pitchers... Stewart is certainly a question mark at this point. But I think we all still believe in Berrios and he was a late first-round pick.

Very good point and question... I would think we'd be thrilled. Someone whose opinion I trust a ton on this kind of stuff told me that I ranked two guys took low... 1.) Kohl Stewart. 2.) Brusdar Graterol.

It's what I think most try to do. Consider ceiling and likelihood of reaching that ceiling and come up with the list.

I would say he's out of the Top 50... or I just missed his name and he maybe should be in the low 30s range probably.

Most of his errors came early, and he had a really bad week or two stretch right after the announcement of his brother's 50-game suspension. I don't want to say that this is the reason with certainty, but it has to have an effect. They're very close. Romero has the highest ceiling. Jay is very close... if he can be a starter., but there are questions there. Gonsalves has very good stuff... I don't want to minimize that at all.

No way does Ortiz win it... that would be sad... But yeah, I don't think Dozier is a given for the Silver Slugger... Altuve and Cano were both terrific too.

Jay (if throwing out of the bullpen) can be 95-98, with a great slider. OK, maybe not Andrew Miller... how about Glen Perkins. I'd say that would be great too. And, there are plenty who don' think that Gordon will stick at shortstop, and there are as many who think he will, probably more. Some of that will depend on others as well.

I'm with you on the Gordon stuff. The AFL will be a good challenge him. He'll be very young there, so it'll not be easy. I also think he'll have another good offseason and in the Southern League, I think he's capable of 8-10 homers, which would be a nice bump. He's stronger than his numbers may say. As for Jay... if they do send him to the bullpen, the comp is Andrew Miller... Obviously that's pretty elite, but if he's anywhere close to that, it's quite valuable. But your concerns about him are why I have him 5. Most rankings will likely have him in the 1-3 range.

I think it's just that the strike zone gets smaller as players move up the ladder. Some maybe literally, in terms of what is called. But more important, as hitters advance, a lot of it can be due to better command of the strike zone. They don't expand the zone for the pitcher. That's an adjustment they all have to make. I don't think the command issues are a concern at this time.

Yeah, I can't explain that one... It's been correct. You all know me. I'm such a Negative person... I think "Terrific" yet my fingers type "Terrible." I truly can't explain that. I need more sleep.

Over the past two weeks, we have been recognizing many Minnesota Twins prospects. We've already discussed many Twins prospects six through fifty. Today, we are finally to the final segment of this series. Today, we share the Top Five Twins prospects. Prospects 6-50 all have a chance to make it to the big leagues. Some will rise of the rankings. Others will fall down the rankings. Some will be role players or get a cup of coffee in the big leagues, a couple could become big league regulars. Others, of course, will not advance to their ultimate goal. However, when you get to an organization’s top five prospects, the stakes are a bit higher. These are the guys that build hope for an organization. These are the guys who have a chance to rank in the Top 100 nationally. These are the guy where hope of building cornerstone pieces lie. It’s important to remember that in recent years, Twins top prospects have included graduates such as Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, Jose Berrios and JT Chargois. All have been top ten prospects in these rankings in the last couple of years (five of the six last year), and each of them has an opportunity to be a cornerstone guy going forward. These five players also have that opportunity. If the Twins are going to get back to year-after-year competitiveness, they are going to have to hit on at least a couple of these five players and some from the previous reports. Of the five names to follow, I will say that ranking them was difficult (as have been all 50 in these lists). I feel that I could make a decent case for any of them to be the Number One overall prospect. If you've missed any of the previous installments, check them out here: Part 1 (41-50) Part 2 (31-40) Part 3 (26-30) Part 4 (21-25) Part 5 (16-20) Part 6 (11-15) Part 7 (6-10) And then feel free to join the conversation. Ask questions, start thinking about your personal Top 30 or Top 50 list. Now that this list is complete, hopefully you’ll share and post yours, either in the comments, or in a Blog post.Players eligible to be on this list include players who remain eligible for Rookie of the Year voting in 2017. That is to say, hitters with less than 130 at-bats and pitchers with less than 50 innings. (The list is preliminary. Following research for the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2017 - which Cody Christie, Jeremy Nygaard and I are working on - I’ll provide my final Top 30 prospects list.) Top Prospects 1-5 #5 – Tyler Jay - 23 – LHP – Ft. Myers Miracle 2016 was Jay’s first season as a full-time starter. He opened the year in the Miracle rotation. He went 5-5 with a 2.84 ERA in 18 games (15 starts). In his 69.2 innings, he walked just 21 and struck out 68. Late in the year, he moved up to Chattanooga where he pitched in five games (two starts). He posted a 5.79 ERA in 14 innings. His season came to an end a little early with a strained neck . Jay was the Twins top draft pick, sixth overall, in 2015 out of the University of Illinois. As a junior, he worked over 80 innings, primarily out of the bullpen. He was 5-1 with 14 saves and a 0.60 ERA and a 0.61 WHIP. Because of his build, makeup and four-pitch mix, most scouts believed that he could make the transition to starter. Jay has a fastball that sits 92-94 pretty consistently. He has touched 97 regularly, usually out of the bullpen. He has a plus-plus slider. He has a strong curveball. He also has an improving change-up. Most believe that he can be a solid #3 starter with room to be a little better. As a bullpen arm, his comps (in terms of stuff) are Andrew Miller and Billy Wagner. He pitched in the Florida State League All-Star Game at Hammond Stadium. In May, Jay went 3-2 with a 0.84 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. In 32.1 innings, he struck out 38. He had an up and down season, but that month showed what he is capable of as a starter. #4 – Nick Gordon - 20 – SS – Ft. Myers Miracle Gordon will turn 21 years old later this month as he prepares for his fourth MiLB season. The Twins drafted Gordon with the fourth overall pick in the 2014 draft out of high school in Orlando. He jumped straight to the Appalachian League where he hit .294/.333/.366 (.699) for Elizabethton. He moved up to Cedar Rapids for the 2015 season. There he hit .277/.336/.360 (.696). In 2016, he hit .291/.335/.386 (.721). He got off to a fast start. He hit .333 in April. In July, he hit .330. He had his ups and downs, but it was another good step forward for Gordon. Gordon was named to the Florida State League All-Star Game. He did miss some time during the season with a concussion. Gordon gained 15 pounds last offseason in an attempt to add some pop and to help him through an exhausting season in Ft. Myers. Gordon has gap-to-gap, doubles power. He uses the entire field very well with a smooth left-handed swing. Gordon has above average speed, though he is not a burner by any means. At shortstop, he has good range and a very strong arm. Most believe that he can play shortstop as he goes forward, but he could eventually move to second base depending on other shortstop options. #3 – Alex Kirilloff - 18 – OF – Elizabethton Twins Kirilloff was the Twins top pick in 2016, the 15th overall selection in the draft. He led his Plum High School team to the Pennsylvania championship game this year after hitting well over .500 for the season. In high school, he primarily played center field, but he has also been a good first baseman when he has played there. Kirilloff is an advanced hitter relative to most coming out of high school. His father, David, was once a scout and has held several baseball-related jobs. He currently runs a training program for hitters and has helped Alex immensely. Like Gordon, after signing, Kirilloff went directly to Elizabethton. He started off great. In July, he hit .373. Overall, he hit .306/.341/.454 (.794) with nine doubles, a triple and seven home runs. His season ended a week or so early with a shoulder injury. While he didn’t walk much with the E-Twins, he hit for average and some power. He has the potential to add a lot of power. At Elizabethton, he played mostly right field with a dozen games played in center field. He has average to slightly above average speed. One more interesting note, all 232 plate appearances for KIrilloff in 2016 came against players older than him. #2 – Fernando Romero - 21 – RHP – Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle If I’m being honest, I went back and forth many times over the last few weeks. Romero or Gonsalves. Gonsalves or Romero. In the end, I decided to put Fernando Romero at number two. Romero was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2011. He spent a season pitching in the Dominican Summer League. He entered the prospect map in 2013 when he pitched very well in the GCL and showed a big fastball. In 2014, he was called up to Cedar Rapids in early June. He made three starts as a 19-year-old before being shut down. He had Tommy John surgery soon after. He missed all of 2015 rehabbing. He also had knee surgery that year which delayed his return. Last year, he returned for Instructs where he was throwing in the mid-90s. He was doing the same in spring training. In mid-May, he was promoted to Cedar Rapids where he made just three starts before advancing to Ft. Myers. With the Miracle, he went 5-2 with a 1.88 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. Overall, he struck out well more than a batter per inning. Romero is a sturdy pitcher. He is listed at 6-1 and about 215 pounds. His fastball typically will sit 93-94 and has hit 99 on a few occasions. He has a plus cutter in the low 90s. He has both a slider and a curveball. He also have a change-up. He needs time. He was shut down at 90 innings this year (doesn’t include all of his extended spring innings) which got taken into account in the team’s decision to shut him down. He appears to be quite the fun-loving teammate as well. He won’t turn 22 until Christmas Eve. Let’s hope for some health and see just how good he can be. #1 – Stephen Gonsalves - 23 – LHP – Ft. Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts What a year 2016 has been for Stephen Gonsalves. Baseball America and MLB Pipeline both named him the left-handed starting pitching prospect of the year. He was Twins Daily’s choice for 2016 Starting Pitcher of the Year after winning the monthly award twice. His prospect status has risen in the Twins organization but also from a national perspective as well. He should be a consensus Top 100 prospect in all of baseball. Gonsalves was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2013 and has pitched well each stop and each year since. He split that first summer between the GCL and Elizabethton and went 2-1 with a 0.95 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He had 3.5 BB/9 and 12.4 K/9. In 2014, he split time in Elizabethton and Cedar Rapids. He went 4-3 with a 3.02 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9 and 9.6 K/9. He split time in 2015 between Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers. He went 13-3 with a 2.01 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, 3.6 BB/9 and 8.8 K/9. In 2016, he was the Opening Night starter in Ft. Myers and shortly after pitching in the Florida State League All Star game, he was promoted to Chattanooga. Combined, he was 13-5 with a 2.06 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP, 3.7 BB/9 and 10.0 K/9. Simply put, he has pitched very well. He has produced on the field, enough to where now he’s finally being considered a prospect by people outside of the Twins fandom. . Gonsalves looks the part of a starting pitcher. He stands 6-5 and a little over 200 pounds. He has a strong mound presence. His fastball sits between 90 and 94 most of the time, though he can pump it up a couple ticks when he wants to. He has a good change-up. His curveball made some strides in 2016, but last offseason, he added a slider/cutter to his pitch repertoire and it helped him tremendously during the season. He also has a very high baseball and pitching IQ. He knows how to set up hitters. He knows how to add and subtract from his pitches to help keep hitters off balance. In Ft. Myers, Gonsalves was the Opening Night starting pitcher. He gave up a three-run homer in the first inning of that game. He then gave up three more runs combined in his next 38 innings. With the Miracle, he went 5-4 with a 2.33 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9 and 9.0 K/9. With the Lookouts, he went 8-1 with a 1.82 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP despite 4.5 BB/9, and he was helped with 10.8 K/9. Overall, opponents hit just .179/.269/.258 (.527) against him. It was a terrific 2016 season for Gonsalves. He now heads to the Arizona Fall League to put in some more innings. He’s put himself in such a position that he could debut with the Twins sometime in 2017. So there you have it, my choices for the Top Five Twins Prospects. I’d love to hear your thoughts. The decision between Stephen Gonsalves and Fernando Romero was very difficult, more difficult than you may guess. When considering age, level of competition, ceiling, production and all of the “prospect factors,” I came out with Stephen Gonsalves edging out Romero. But if asked, I could make an argument for all five of these guys. And maybe you can to. Thank you for all the feedback throughout this series, and keep the comments and questions coming. Click here to view the article