Seth Stohs

In 54 games in Rochester in 2016, he's struck out 38.6% of the time. In 41 games in Rochester in 2017, he's struck out 24.6% of the time.

Last week, I began review of my updated, midseason Top 40 Minnesota Twins prospects with Part 1 (31-40) and Part 2 (21-30). Yesterday, we entered the Top 20 with my selections for Twins Prospects 16-20. And today, in Part 4, I present my choices for Twins prospects 11 through 15. Below you’ll find brief profiles on those five prospects, and we certainly welcome your questions and discussion in the forum. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (L to R: Zack Granite, Mitch Garver, Jermaine Palacios, Daniel Palka, Felix Jorge) Last week, I began review of my updated, midseason Top 40 Minnesota Twins prospects with Part 1 (31-40) and Part 2 (21-30). Yesterday, we entered the Top 20 with my selections for Twins Prospects 16-20. And today, in Part 4, I present my choices for Twins prospects 11 through 15. Below you’ll find brief profiles on those five prospects, and we certainly welcome your questions and discussion in the forum. This group of prospects is a little more experienced than most you’ll find. Four of these five players are at least in AA, with three of them spending most of this season in AAA, one step away from the big leagues. So grab some coffee and check out who is in this section. 15. Jermaine Palacios, SS, 20 While he has cooled off from his torrid April in which he was the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month, Palacios has reclaimed his place as a top prospect in the organization. The Twins signed Palacios out of Venezuela in September of 2013. He burst on the scene in 2015 when he hit .421 in the GCL and .336 in Elizabethton as an 18-year-old. Last year, he went to Cedar Rapids and really struggled. Whether it was the adjustment to a full season or the weather in the Midwest League, Palacios hit just .222/.276/.287 (.564) in 71 games before being hit by a pitch ended his season. He is healthy and he returned to Iowa where he has put up strong numbers offensively while also playing a very solid defensive shortstop. Preseason Ranking: 32 Pre-2016 Ranking: 21 14. Zack Granite, OF, 24 It’s been an interesting year for Zack Granite. Consider he began the 2016 season in Chattanooga in large part due to an injury to Shannon Wilkerson. But, given that opportunity, he took off and had a terrific season, one commemorated by the Twins with their Minor League Player of the Year award. He hit .295/.347/.382 (.729) with 18 doubles, eight triples and four home runs. He also collected 56 stolen bases. The Twins 14th-round pick in 2013 out of Seton Hall, he was added to the Twins 40-man roster after last season. He made a great impression on teammates and his future manager during spring training. Unfortunately, he missed a little more than a month because of an oblique injury, but after a short rehab stint with the Miracle, he moved up to Rochester. He has hit .247 in his first 21 games since his return to the Red Wings. He has already stolen seven bases in AAA. Preseason Ranking: 25 13. Mitch Garver, C, 26 Since the Twins made him their ninth-round pick in 2013 after four years at the University of New Mexico, Garver has been a very good hitter. He was the Twins Daily choice for Minor League Hitter of the Year after a strong 2014 season in Cedar Rapids. He moved up to Ft. Myers in 2015. Last year he was a Southern League All- Star for the Lookouts in the first half, and he finished the season by hitting .329/.381/.434 (.815) in 22 games for the Red Wings. He was added to the Twins 40- man roster in the offseason and reported to his third big league spring training (first as a rostered participant). He was sent to Rochester where he had hit .256/.413/.463 (.877) with eight doubles and three homers in his first 26 games. His defense has steadily improved over the years to the point that he’s ready. Now it’s about opportunity as Jason Castro and Chris Gimenez are in the big leagues. He should see big league time in 2017. Preseason Ranking: 11 Pre-2016 Ranking: 24 Pre-2015 Ranking: 26 12. Felix Jorge, RHP, 23 Jorge signed with the Twins in February of 2011 out of the Dominican Republic. The Twins were able to sneak him past the Rule 5 draft following the 2015 season, but they didn’t try it again after a nice 2016 season. He started the season with Ft. Myers where he went 9-3 with a 1.55 ERA in 14 starts. He walked just 11 and struck out 77 in 93 innings. He moved up to Chattanooga where he went 3-5 with a 4.12 ERA in 11 starts. He has made nine starts this season with the Lookouts and gone 5-1 with a 3.48 ERA. Like Stewart, Jorge will need to figure out a way to miss more bats. He attacks the zone, sitting in the low-90s and touching 94 at times. He gets good movement on all of his pitches. He generally has thrown a lot of strikes. Ideally he can spend the full season at Chattanooga though a late season promotion to Rochester is possible. Preseason Ranking: 10 Pre-2016 Ranking: 22 Pre-2015 Ranking: NR Pre-2014 Ranking: 19 11. Daniel Palka, OF, 25 Palka came to the Twins from Arizona in the offseason following the 2015 season in exchange for catcher Chris Herrmann. He had a strong debut season in the Twins system and was named by Twins Daily as the Minor League Hitter of the Year. Between Chattanooga and Rochester, he hit .254/.327/.521 (.848) with 24 doubles and 34 home runs. He was added to the Twins 40-man roster in November and impressed the manager during his time in big league spring training. He is currently hitting .261/.316/.452 (.768) with six doubles and eight homers through 41 games. Unfortunately, he is now on the DL with a fractured left index finge and will be out for some time. He is another guy that we could see in 2017. Preseason Ranking: 15 Pre-2016 Ranking: 25 Starting soon, we’ll jump into the Top 10 Twins prospects. Feel free to discuss this group, your Top 10 or Top 20, and ask any questions you may have. View full article

I dig it... and I agree with it... 1.) Pressly was deemed able to pitch, so he pitched. 2.) Definitely agree on Wheeler. 3.) Definitely wonder why it was Rucinski over Boshers - neither is good, but Rucinski had thrown a bunch on Saturday.

Agreed... It'd be like the Twins taking Hunter Greene and he doesn't become an Ace, maybe not even an MLB pitcher. That's how the draft works, especially with high school pitchers.

What inflated projections? I think ranking him this low says a lot.

I'm glad they kept Dozier because De Leon was all they were offered... That's it... nothing more. Nothing to do with De Leon beyond that. I hope he goes on to become a solid #3 starter like most think he will... I don't wish him ill will.

Roy Smalley for me...

I never said that they aren't out there... just that it's not really possible to know which one(s) will be good and which one(s) will fail.

That's what I said... I still think I have him too low... But, let's get him into some real games and by the season-ending rankings, I have little doubt he'll be in the top ten.

Free agent relievers are a crap shoot. They obviously aren't going to get the Aroldis Chapman or Kenley Jansen or Mark Melancon types (though two of them have spent time on the DL already this year). Then there is that group of relievers each year that sign for between $2 and $6 million. Maybe 1/3 of them perform to hope... but figuring out which of them will be good or not good is impossible. As with most free agents, you're talking about 31-36 year olds, already on the downward plane of their careers... There are always a few good ones, but you never know which ones they'll be. Just my opinion... not claiming it's the right opinion. I know people can always find examples of free agents that were terrific. There are several of those. Maybe they should have brought back Anthony Swarzak this year? How would that have gone over with Twins fans this offseason? He's been remarkable for the White Sox.

Wheeler is just up (at least for now) for long relief right now. There really isn't a long reliever on the roster, so he could be it. Of course, he could get a start and Gibson could go to the bullpen too. After the 15-inning game, they needed some fresh arms. Of course, the assumption is that Santana and Berrios could give them some length to help, but you never know. Even the top aces occasionally don't get through 5 (or sometimes 2). Rucinski is just an arm. There's a reason he's 27-28, has had very little MLB time. He's filler. I would have gone to Busenitz or Hildenberger instead. I'd DFA Rucinski (and Boshers). I think both would clear, so they can stick in the organization.

I don't think that's Bryce Harper's job though...

Minor League Free Agents... not $3-6 million per year F/A.

I don't know what the answer is... he got hit in the hip... I get the immediate reaction and response... but somewhere you need to be thinking, "if I go out there and throw some punches, I'm hurting my team for an extended period.' I don't know what the answer is.

Yeah, it's pretty clear that Strickland was acting on his own there... But Harper's a hot head too... seriously, he's going to be suspended 5-10 games (probably would have been more if his aim wasn't so bad)... While the Nationals will be fine without him, that's a lot of games to miss. Strickland will likely get a similar amount of games. But as a reliever, that means he'll missed 3-6 innings? Smardzja will likely get some time. Maybe others.

Yeah, free agency isn't the way to build it... but unfortunately, pretty much all the relief pitcher prospects have been hurt and missed time with significant injury. Hildenberger and Busenitz are close. Belisle's been a mess and now two months into the season, they can make a decision on him, whatever that is; DL or DFA. He's going to be fine at some point - I think - but it isn't happening now. Breslow's actually been pretty good this year, before yesterday. Not too worried about him either. What Nick wrote about Pressly is exactly right. Too much there to give up on. Often can be dominant... but has these days too. Frustrating, but is what it is. Kintzler has been terrific. Say what you want about what a closer "should be," but he's gotten the job done most of the time (I think 2 blown saves), and that's not different from guys who are what closers should be. He's not the problem at all. Wheeler was up for long relief. He's there for emergency if the starter exits early and they need someone to eat some innings and throw 80-100 pitches. He's definitely not a guy you want pitching in the 8th inning.

Last week, I began a review of my updated, midseason Top 40 Minnesota Twins prospects. In Part 1, we reviewed prospects 31-40. In Part 2, we looked at prospects 21-30. As we jump into the Top 20, we will briefly profile five players at a time. Today’s grouping of five is rather interesting. Two upper-level relief pitcher prospects. Two very young, but immensely talented arms. A former top prospect who has really struggled yet still profiles well by several reports. This group illustrates so much about pitching prospects. There are lots of young arms with huge upsides, but there is a reason that TINSTAAPP (There Is No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect) is a thing in baseball circles. Some take off and become MLB starters. Some struggle with control, adding secondary pitches or injury and never reach their perceived potential. Some become relievers. Some relievers who throw really hard get hurt. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (L to R: Huascar Ynoa, Nick Burdi, Kohl Stewart, JT Chargois, Brusdar Graterol) Last week, I began a review of my updated, midseason Top 40 Minnesota Twins prospects. In Part 1, we reviewed prospects 31-40. In Part 2, we looked at prospects 21-30. As we jump into the Top 20, we will briefly profile five players at a time. Today’s grouping of five is rather interesting. Two upper-level relief pitcher prospects. Two very young, but immensely talented arms. A former top prospect who has really struggled yet still profiles well by several reports. This group illustrates so much about pitching prospects. There are lots of young arms with huge upsides, but there is a reason that TINSTAAPP (There Is No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect) is a thing in baseball circles. Some take off and become MLB starters. Some struggle with control, adding secondary pitches or injury and never reach their perceived potential. Some become relievers. Some relievers who throw really hard get hurt. Today’s group of prospects also illustrates why prospect rankings are so difficult. There is such a large range of talent, age, and potential. Some players are very young and have a lot of development to do. Others have pitched at the highest level. With that, I present Part 3 of my midseason Top 40 Prospect Rankings, prospects 16-20. 20. Huascar Ynoa, RHP, 19 Ynoa turned 19 years old on Memorial Day. He signed with the Twins in July of 2014 out of the Dominican Republic. His brother Michael is a reliever for the Chicago White Sox. After spending 2015 in the Dominican Summer League, he came to the States in 2016. He was the Twins Daily short-season minor league pitcher of the year. For the GCL Twins, he went 3-5 with a 3.18 ERA in 11 starts and 51 innings. He walked 12 and struck out 51. Ynoa throws hard, sitting 91-93 and touching 95. He’s got the makings of really good secondary pitches. He’ll likely pitch at Elizabethton this season. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zujYwEsJmFs 19. Nick Burdi, RH RP, 24 After a long 2016 season in which he missed most of the season with a bone bruise in his elbow, things were looking good for Nick Burdi in 2017… at least until last week. Burdi had pitched 17 innings in 14 outings for Chattanooga. He had four walks and 20 strikeouts. He had given up just one run, on a solo homer. His ERA was 0.53 ,and his WHIP was 0.77. There was talk of him being ready for a promotion to Rochester, if not even directly to the Twins. He was hitting 100 with regularly. And then news came late last week that he has a torn UCL and will need Tommy John surgery which will put him out for the rest of the season. The Twins second-round pick in 2014 out of Louisville. 18. JT Chargois, RH RP, 25 The Twins second-round pick in 2012 out of Rice University, Chargois missed the 2013 and 2014 seasons with an elbow injury and Tommy John surgery. He returned in 2015 and stayed healthy. Last year, he dominated the minor leagues and got a chance to pitch for the Twins. Early results were not good but he was terrific in September. His velocity (normally 95-98 on the fastball) was a little down this spring and he struggled, so he went down to Rochester. Unfortunately, he has pitched in just two games this year due to elbow concerns. Frankly, we haven’t heard anything on him in quite some time. But as we’ve seen, when he’s healthy, his fastball-slurvy thing-change up can be a late-inning threat for the Twins. 17. Kohl Stewart, RHP, 22 It’s been a difficult start to the 2017 season for Stewart, the Twins first-round pick in the 2013 draft. While he’s never been a big strikeout pitcher, he’s always done a good job of not giving up too many hits and not walking batters. He’s maintained low ERAs. However, he went 0-4 with a 5.62 ERA in six starts to begin the season. In just 24 innings, he walked 22 and struck out 14. He was placed on the disabled list with a ‘knee’ injury. Still just 22, there is no reason to give up on Stewart. He has great talent. He throws into the mid-90s. He’s got a good slider. He can have a good changeup. Let’s hope that he gets healthy and starts throwing strikes again, because if he’s got those things, he can still be a solid starter. 16. Brusdar Graterol, RHP, 18 When I posted a previous Top 40, I had Graterol ranked in the low-20s. I felt that might have been too low, but most readers told me I had him too high. I’m sticking to my thinking and have moved him up. While he hasn’t pitched in nearly two years, and that was just 11 innings over four starts in the DSL (also 1 walk, 17 strikeouts), Graterol is intriguing. The right-hander signed with the Twins in 2014, but after those 11 innings in 2015, he came to the States and had Tommy John. He missed all of 2016. but he was pitching (and hitting 100 mph) in Instructional League. Unfortunately, before spring training, he broke his hand and had to sit most of camp. But he’s back, and he’s often sitting 97-98 with his fastball. He’s also got some solid secondary pitches. Now he just needs to be healthy and start working some innings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NitwR1NtDVw So there you have my selections for Twins Prospects 16-20. Feel free to discuss, ask questions, debate, etc. View full article

It was at this time last year that Molitor gave Brian Dozier two games off in a row and he took off after that. In 2015 when he was returning from TJ surgery and in AA, he was really struggling, and Mientkiewicz gave him two straight games off. When he returned, he was on fire and a month or 6 weeks later, he was up with the Twins.

Wilk could still be added back to the 40-man roster within ten days of being DFAd, so he is a possibility.

It would fit very well in the Twins forum...

I saw him pitch in Cedar Rapids a few weeks ago. I was more impressed with him than I thought I would be. Sat 91-93. Had good movement. Has 3-4 decent pitches and good control. Made in-game adjustments. He's a prospect in my mind, though I think he was just outside (or just inside? I can't remember) my top 40 prospects.

I'm a big Garver fan, but I have no problem with Gimenez being there now... Having Garver (and Murphy) at AAA is a positive for the organization (not for those two). Until this team is out of things, which could be in mid-June or maybe it won't happen this year and they'll be in it right until the end, I have no problem with them going with two catchers who have been very good defensively. Catcher ERA is pretty meaningless. I think saying Garver would "definitely" be a better hitter than Gimenez, I wouldn't be so certain. I mean, I think he will be a solid MLB hitter, I really do, but we don't know that. Garver will be part of the future. They aren't going to keep Gimenez next year, if they think Garver can contribute. And he's ready in case there is an injury. Garver can play 1B as well, so in some way, maybe Garver would be in line to replace Adrianza (though I doubt it because it doesn't make sense).

After tonight's game, the Twins DFAd Adam Wilk as he's out of options and the Twins are going to call up Adalberto Mejia. They have ten days to put him on waivers or trade him.