Seth Stohs

Certainly one to consider... It's impossible to predict big league success for Top 5 (or even #1 prospects), so predicting how these guys will do is even more impossible... There is a chance some won't get to AA, and there could be an All Star in the bunch. That's part of the fun of it.

He remains about potential. But he does have a solid and developing curveball and changeup that were improved this year. Obviously that improvement will need to continue as he goes forward and moves up.

I would tend to think the Zander Wiel will be the primary 1B for the Kernels in 2016, at least to start the year. Reed has only been in the bullpen since signing, and that's where he'll stay.

Or just go with what they've got and give opportunities to Duffey, May and Berrios.

Not a ton of difference, but 1.) he's a year younger, 2.) he got to ET quicker, 3.) he showed more power. Both are very young, and I think Minier will hit and hit for power. Both will have to make more adjustments. They have a long way to go. But I think Diaz has a bit more power potential.

That is definitely something to watch with him going forward. BB rate and K rate are important in evaluation, but not everything.

He won't be the highest pitcher on the list that didn't pitch last year. I try not to "punish" in the rankings for injury, even Tommy John. He's still very young and throws in the upper 90s with a chance to start. He was at 25 last year, so he shouldn't be down much further.

Just in spring training, and he was playing a lot of 3B then, but I've been told that he could play short. He had a lot of errors this year at short, but that's not unusual at the level.

What's encouraging about his performance, particularly in Elizabethton was his young age. It's not like he was a 21 year old putting up great numbers against other 20 and 21 year olds in the league. He definitely put himself in the One To Watch category.

Today, my preliminary Top 50 Minnesota Twins prospect countdown continues with prospects 21 through 25. This is an interesting group in which the word “potential” is the key. The average age of these five players is just 20, and that is with a 23-year-old in the group. Three of these players began the season at extended spring training and one missed the entire season. The similarity among the group is a lot of talent.Previous installments of this prospect ranking: · Part 1 (41-50) · Part 2 (31-40) · Part 3 (26-30) As a quick reminder, players eligible to be on this list include players who remain eligible for Rookie of the Year voting in 2016. 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 2016 - which Cody Christie, Jeremy Nygaard and I are working on - I’ll provide my final Top 30 prospects list.) Top Prospects 21-25 #25 – Fernando Romero - 20 – RHP – Did Not Pitch Signed out of the Dominican in November of 2011, Romero debuted in the Dominican Summer League in 2012. In 2013, he came to the States and posted a 1.60 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 45 innings. After beginning 2014 in extended pring training, Romero came up to Cedar Rapids where he made three starts before experiencing elbow pain. Soon after, he was shut down and had Tommy John surgery. He missed the entire 2015 season, though he returned for Instructional League. He was again throwing in the mid-to-upper-90s as he had before surgery. He has a couple of different breaking pitches at varying speeds and a changeup, though they are works-in-progress. It will be interesting to see if Romero starts the season in Cedar Rapids, or it they keep him in Florida until the weather warms up. Previous Top 30 Rankings: 2015 (25), 2014 (28) #24 – Jermaine Palacios - 19 – SS – GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins It seems like every minor league season, there is a player or two who jumps from relative obscurity in the lower levels of the minors to an intriguing prospect that people are talking about. Jermaine Palacios fits that category. Signed by the Twins in 2013, he spent the 2014 season in the Dominican Summer League. He came to the States for spring training and began his season in the GCL. In 26 games, he hit a robust .421/.472/.589 (1.061) with nine doubles, two triples and a homer. He was promoted to Elizabethton where he hit .336/.345/.507 (.852) with 14 doubles, two triples and two home runs in 31 games. Palacios can play all three infield positions though he primarily played shortstop in 2015. After having just four errors in 202 innings at shortstop in the GCL, he had 16 errors in 263 innings at Elizabethton. He’s got a lot of developing to do, but he will go into 2016 – likely heading to Cedar Rapids – as one of the more intriguing prospects to watch. Previous Top 30 Rankings: N/A #23 – Jake Reed - 23 – RHP – Chattanooga Lookouts/Ft. Myers Miracle Reed, the Twins fifth-round pick in 2014 out of the University of Oregon, set the expectation bar really high after his debut season of professional baseball. After signing, he posted a 3-0 record with a 0.29 ERA (1 earned run) in 31 innings. He gave up just 11 hits and three walks while striking out 39 batters. He went to the Arizona Fall League where he was again very good. In 2015, he skipped Ft. Myers entirely, starting the season in AA Chattanooga. However, he really struggled and a week into August, he had a 5.56 ERA and a WHIP of 1.54. He was sent down to Ft. Myers for a month and gave up no earned runs in 12.1 innings. He returned to the Lookouts for a couple of games and their playoff run. Blessed with a mid-90s fastball and a bunch of movement on this pitches, Reed can use the 2015 season as a learning opportunity that will hopefully take him to the next level. He will likely return to Chattanooga to start the 2016 season. Previous Top 30 Rankings: 2015 (18) #22 – Sam Gibbons – 21 – RHP – Cedar Rapids Kernels Signed in 2011 out of Australia, Gibbons went 4-1 with a 2.29 ERA as an 18-year-old in 2012. For some reason, he returned to the GCL in 2013 and went 3-3 with a 1.91 ERA. He moved up to Elizabethton in 2014 and was 4-5 with a 3.88 ERA. After beginning the 2015 in extended spring training, he moved up to Cedar Rapids at the end of May. In his first six starts, he was 3-2 but posted a 5.34 ERA. Then in his final nine starts, he was 4-2 with a 1.54 ERA. The keys were that he dropped his walk rate by nearly a walk per nine innings and increased his strikeouts by about 1.5 per nine innings. He has very good mechanics and touches 93 with his fastball. He also has a curve ball and a changeup. Previous Top 30 Rankings: N/A #21 – Lewin Diaz – 18 – 1B – GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins Diaz was the Twins' big international signing in July of 2013. He stands 6-3 and is often compared to David Ortiz. He had been an outfielder, but the Twins immediately moved him to first base. He is big and very powerful with the potential to hit a lot of home runs. He spent the 2014 season in the Dominican Summer League and hit .257/.385/.451 (.836) with 13 doubles and five homers. Though he didn’t come to the States for spring training, he did arrive for extended spring training. He began with 33 games in the GCL where he hit .261/.354/.369 (.724) with seven doubles, a triple and a home run. He was promoted to the Elizabethton Twins for their final 14 games. He hit just .167 but three of his eight hits left the park. Diaz is a candidate to start the season in Cedar Rapids, though it’s also very possible that he will report to extended spring training. Previous Top 30 Rankings: N/A So, what do you think of Part 4, Prospects 21-25? We'll be back tomorrow with Part 5. Click here to view the article

Right after I posted the above, I saw this... Mat Batts wrote a quick article about his decision for The Dispatch in Lexington.

There is a reason that Alex Meyer hasn't appeared in these reports yet.

I don't know the whole story. I do know that minor leaguers basically lose money to play, especially in those early years. He got a very nice job, near his home, in the field that he wants to cover. He's getting married and maybe just realizes the odds of him reaching the big leagues are very small (like most minor leaguers)... maybe he thought this was the right opportunity at the right time. And, there is life beyond baseball for a lot of people. Batts is a very smart guy and he'll be alright.

Except he throws about 5-7 mph faster than Young. It's why we should never 'give up' on anyone because of age, height, velocity, etc. You just never know which pitchers will take off and succeed. Chris Young is a back-of-the-rotation type and has been for a long time.

Correct... and hopefully when we get to our Top 5, we'll see some of you post Blogs showing your Top 30, Top 40, Top 50, Top 150... will be fun to discuss those as well.

The combination of these two comments tells me I just might have him in about the right spot. I am a big fan of Travis Harrison's. Really good person. Very hard worker. Very smart. Still quite young. I'd like to see him repeat in Chattanooga at least the first half of 2016. I think that makes a ton of sense and would be good for his development. I definitely believe he can be a big leaguer.

I would think so. He's pretty dominant out of the bullpen.

Last week, we began my preliminary Top 50 Minnesota Twins Prospect countdown with Part 1 (41-50) and Part 2 (31-40). Today the countdown continues with Part 3. We’ll run down prospects 26 through 30. This group today starts with a couple of very young, high potential bats and ends with two pitchers who are very different.As a quick reminder, players eligible to be on this list include players who remain eligible for Rookie of the Year voting in 2016. 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 2016 - which Cody Christie, Jeremy Nygaard and I are working on - I’ll provide my final Top 30 prospects list.) Part 3: Top Prospects 26-30 #30 – Trey Cabbage - 18 – 3B – GCL Twins Cabbage was the Twins fourth-round draft pick in 2015 out of high school in Rutledge, Tennessee. He gave up a commitment to the University of Tennessee to sign with the Twins. He is a terrific athlete. At 6-3 and about 190 pounds, he is best known for his bat. He primarily played third base, but he also got time in the two corner outfield positions as well as a few games at shortstop. In his professional debut with the GCL Twins, he hit .252/.302/.269 (.571) with two doubles in 129 plate appearances. His season was cut short by a couple of weeks when he strained his back. He will likely begin the 2016 season in Extended Spring Training. Most likely he’ll play in Elizabethton, but if a need came up in Cedar Rapids, it is possible he could spend time there as well. Previous Top 30 Rankings: N/A #29 – Amaurys Minier - 19 – 1B – GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins Minier signed a seven-digit signing bonus with the Twins in July of 2012. He played for the GCL Twins in 2013 and 2014, showing big improvement the second year. Hopes were high for Minier heading into this season. Unfortunately, toward the end of spring training, he was hit by a pitch and broke his hand. He rehabbed the injury throughout Extended Spring Training and played in two rehab games in the GCL. He moved up to Elizabethton, but he really struggled offensively. In 50 games, he hit .184/.279/.280 with nine doubles and two homers. He struck out 66 times in 201 plate appearances. Signed as a third baseman, he moved quickly to the outfield and when that didn’t go well, he was moved to first base. It will be interesting to see if he moves up to Cedar Rapids to start the 2016 season, or if he returns to Extended Spring Training and spends a fourth season in the rookie leagues. Previous Top 30 Rankings: 2015 (22), 2014 (16) #28 – Travis Harrison - 23 – OF – Chattanooga Lookouts Harrison was the Twins second supplemental first round pick in 2011 out of high school in California. At 6-1 and 220 pounds, he is very strong. He played outfield in high school and then moved to third base for his first two seasons as a pro. In 2014, he moved back to the outfield which is where he played in 2015 (though he played left field in 2014 and right field in 2015). In 115 games with the Lookouts, he hit .240/.363/.356 (.719) with 23 doubles, four triples and five home runs. After hitting 15 homers for Cedar Rapids in 2013, he has hit just eight over the last two seasons. He has an advanced approach at the plate, and if patient, the power will come. Previous Top 30 Rankings: 2015 (23), 2014 (14), 2013 (14), 2012 (12) #27 – Yorman Landa - 21 – RHP – Cedar Rapids Kernels The Twins signed Landa from Venezuela in 2010. He spent a year in the DSL, a year in the GCL, and then a year in the Appy League. He began the 2014 season with the Kernels and was named to the league’s All Star game. However, he missed the second half of the season after having shoulder surgery. He returned to the Kernels on May 19th and pitched an inning. However, he returned to Florida. A month later, he began a rehab assignment in the GCL which lasted eight games over three weeks. In mid-July he returned to the Kernels and was terrific the rest of the way. In 26 innings, he walked 14 and struck out 30 while allowing opponents to hit just .191. He was frequently hitting 98 and 99 on the radar guy. Like others, it was most important for Landa to get through the season healthy. He did and is pitching in Venezuela this winter. He should start 2016 in Ft. Myers with the Miracle. Previous Top 30 Rankings: 2014 (30) #26 – Aaron Slegers - 23 – RHP – Ft. Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts Slegers was the Big 10 Pitcher of the Year while at Indiana in 2013. The Twins made him their fifth round pick. At 6-10 and 250 pounds, the lanky right-hander has impeccable control. He ended his 2014 season with three starts with the Miracle. That’s where he began the 2015 season. In 19 starts, he was 8-6 with a 2.87 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. In 119.1 innings, he walked just 21 and struck out 80. He earned a late-season promotion to Chattanooga where he went 1-4 with a 4.91 ERA in six starts. That’s where he’ll begin the 2016 season as well with the possibility of a promotion to Rochester at some point. He doesn’t throw real hard, but he has three pitches and a sense of how to pitch. Previous Top 30 Rankings: N/A So, what do you think of Part 3, Prospects 26-30? Later this week, we’ll continue the countdown. Feel free to share your thoughts on these prospects. Who is too high or too low on this list? Click here to view the article

This is a good opportunity for them to get 6 more weeks of playing time. Of course, the catchers will catch just twice per week over that time, and the relievers will appear in maybe 2 games per week. Taylor Rogers will start once a week. It's a very small sample so it's important not to make too much of it, but it's good exposure and opportunity. I'm guessing the Twins know where they both will start next year.

Ah semantics! :-)

I like it... And, I do believe Turner and Garver will catch in the big leagues.

Yup, when guys have had Tommy John or other major surgeries, age is less important in the rankings. When a college draft pick misses two years and is 24 in A-Ball, it's not going to affect me a lot. The hope is that, now fully recovered, they can move quickly.

Mat Batts announced his retirement this morning... So, I guess Quezada moves up, and I believe Dalton Hicks was next in line.