Seth Stohs

Yes, it's because of the strikeouts... and Sano is about a year-and-a-half younger. Sano walks a lot more. But I would argue that Walker is ranked too low in prospect rankings.

Minnesota Twins Minor League Player of the Week: Week 1: Tyler Duffey, Chattanooga Lookouts Week 2: Stephen Gonsalves, Cedar Rapids Kernels Week 3: Byron Buxton, Chattanooga Lookouts Week 4: Trey Vavra, Cedar Rapids Lookouts Week 5: Miguel Sano, Chattanooga Lookouts Week 6: Max Kepler, Chattanooga Lookouts Week 7: Aaron Slegers, Ft. Myers Miracle Week 8: Brandon Peterson, Ft. Myers Miracle Week 9: David Hurlbut, Chattanooga Lookouts Week 10: Alex Wimmers, Chattanooga Lookouts Week 11: Engelb Vielma, Ft. Myers Miracle Single-A Ft. Myers infielder Engelb Vielma is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week... Vielma played four games for the Miracle, hitting .467 (7-for-15) with one double, two RBI, two walks and two runs scored...Vielma was signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent from Venezuela on September 8, 2011...he was named the 22nd best prospect and best defensive infielder in the Twins system by Baseball America entering 2015

It's amazing that Walker is putting up the productive numbers that he is, and the Lookouts have had a lot of weekly award winners, and Walker hasn't won one yet.

Tyler Duffey was named the International League Pitcher of the Week. Miguel Sano was named the Southern League Hitter of the Week.

That's right. I missed that. Great catch.

It is inexplicable to me how Trevor Hildeberger is still in the Midwest League.

Could have been a scheduled day off. I'm sure some will speculate that it means he's on his way to Milwaukee to join the Twins.

I had the chance to edit this for Jeremy, and I think it's fantastic. He is able to provide a lot of very interesting details on all 40 Twins draft picks. Whether they sign or not, it's interesting to read about them. Jeremy spent a lot of time on the phone the last few weeks talking to people on all sides, and it shows in here!

Today we conclude our series ranking the Minnesota Twins first-round draft picks. (At the bottom of this list, you’ll find the previous articles) The major league draft is one way for teams to add talent to their organization. However, it is not a perfect science. Unlike other sports, the trek to the big leagues can be a long and winding road. With that, let’s look at the Top Ten Minnesota Twins First-Round draft picks: Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson - USA TODAY Sports Today we conclude our series ranking the Minnesota Twins first-round draft picks. (At the bottom of this list, you’ll find the previous articles) The major league draft is one way for teams to add talent to their organization. However, it is not a perfect science. Unlike other sports, the trek to the big leagues can be a long and winding road. With that, let’s look at the Top Ten Minnesota Twins First-Round draft picks: #10 – 1972 – Dick Ruthven – RHP With the eighth overall pick, the Twins selected Ruthven out of Cal. St.-Fullerton. He chose not to sign. He was then selected by the Phillies with the first overall pick in the January draft of 1973. He signed and made his debut that April. In his career, he played for the Phillies, the Braves, the Phillies again and the Cubs. He combined to go 123-127 with a 4.14 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He won 15 or more games twice in his career and was twice named an all-star. MLB WAR: 18.6. #9 – 1983 – Tim Belcher – RHP Twins fans will have to try their best as they read this to look past the fact that the #1 overall pick of the 1983 draft chose not to sign with the Twins. In the 1984 January draft, the Yankees took him in the first round and signed him. He was traded to the Dodgers and in September of 1987, he made his big league debut. He went on to play 14 years in the big leagues. Besides the Dodgers, he pitched for the Reds, the White Sox, the Tigers, the Mariners, the Royals and the Angels. In other words, he played for everyone in the AL Central except the Twins (and Cleveland). In his career, he went 146-140 with a 4.16 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Nine times he won ten or more games in his career, with three 15-win seasons. MLB WAR: 26.2. #8 – 2002 – Denard Span – OF With the 20th overall pick in the 2002 draft, the Minnesota Twins selected an outfielder from Tampa, Denard Span. He signed with the Twins, though he had a football scholarship offer too. Span was raw and it took him some time to work his way up the system. In 2008, he had a big spring training but the decision was made that Carlos Gomez would be the team’s center fielder. Less than a week later, Span was in the big leagues. As a 24 year old, he hit .294/.387/.432 (.819) and finished sixth in rookie of the year voting. The next season, he hit .311/.392/.415 (.807). The next season, his production fell and in 2011, a concussion cost him most of his season. He returned solid in 2012, but after the season, he was traded to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Alex Meyer. In 2013, he hit .279 and led the league – for the second time in his career – in triples. In 2014, he led the National League with 184 hits and batted .302. He is currently hitting .308 for the Nationals. In his eight-year career, he has hit .287/.352/.395 (.747) with 186 doubles, 55 triples and 37 homers. He has also stolen 149 bases. MLB WAR: 23.7. #7 – 1997 – Michael Cuddyer – SS With the ninth overall pick in the 1997 draft, the Twins drafted a high school shortstop from Virginia named Michael Cuddyer. He debuted with the Twins late in the 2001 season as an outfielder. For the first few years of his big league career, he played all over: third base, second base, first base, left and right field. Almost everywhere but the position he was drafted. In 2006, he was moved to right field and he took off. That season, he hit 41 doubles, 24 homers and drove in 109 runs. In the Twins late-season run to the playoffs in 2009, Cuddyer led the way. He hit .276 with 34 doubles, seven triples, 32 homers and 94 RBI. A lot of that production came late in the season. He made his first All- Star Game appearance in 2011. Following the season, he signed a three-year deal with the Rockies. He was an All -Star in 2013 and won the Silver Slugger. He led the league with a .331 batting average. This past offseason, he signed a two-year deal with the Mets. In his 15-year big league career, he has hit .277/.345/.462 (.807) with 326 doubles, 42 triples, 193 home run. MLB WAR: 16.5. #6 – 1993 – Jason Varitek – C The Twins used the 20th pick in the 1993 draft on Torii Hunter. One pick later, the Twins selected Jason Varitek, a highly-touted catcher from Georgia Tech. As you know, Varitek did not sign and went back to school. A year later, the Red Sox drafted him with the 14th overall pick. He debuted with the team with one at-bat (a hit) in 1997. He stayed up for good in 1998 and was the team’s primary catcher through the 2008 season. He was credited with being one of the team’s big leaders as they won a couple of World Series titles. He was an all-star three times and won one Gold Glove and one Silver Slugger award. In 15 seasons with the Red Sox, he hit .256/.341/.435 (.776) with 306 doubles and 193 home runs. MLB WAR: 24.3. #5 – 2004 – Glen Perkins – LHP Two picks after taking Trevor Plouffe with the 20th overall pick in 2004, the Twins kept it local, selecting Stillwater grad and University of Minnesota alum Glen Perkins. He had been the Big Ten’s Pitcher of the Year that season. He worked very quickly up the Twins minor league system and debuted in September of 2006. He split time between the big leagues and Triple-A in 2007, pitching 19 games out of the bullpen for the Twins. In 2008, he made 26 starts for the Twins and went 12-4 despite a 4.41 ERA. He struggled in 2009 and spent a significant amount of 2010 in the minor leagues. Out of options, Perkins moved to the bullpen full-time and has been one of baseball’s best relievers ever since. Since that time, he has posted a 2.61 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP and struck out 314 batters in 286.2 innings. He has been an all-star the last two years and was on the mound to record the save for the American League team at Target Field in the 2014 game. He is certainly on his way to another All-Star appearance in 2015 as he is 23-23 in save opportunities. MLB WAR: 9.3. #4 – 1984 – Jay Bell – SS With the eighth overall pick in the 1984 draft, the Minnesota Twins went with a prep shortstop from Pensacola, Florida. They signed Jay Bell and he spent that summer in Elizabethton. He played the 1985 season at Visalia before he was traded to Cleveland with three other players in exchange for Bert Blyleven. On September 29, 1986, a 20-year-old Bell made his major league debut, ironically against the Twins. More ironic, his first major league hit was also his first major league home run… hit off of Bert Blyleven (who would likely tell you that he was the winning pitcher in a Twins 6-5 win that day). Bell was a part-timer with Cleveland for a couple of years before being traded to Pittsburgh where his career took off. From 1990 through 1996, he was a leader and stabilizing force for some very strong Pirates teams. He spent 1997 with the Royals before spending five seasons with the Diamondbacks. He ended his career with 72 games in 2003 with the Mets. His best season was 1993. He hit .310/.392/.437 (.830) with 32 doubles, nine triples and nine home runs. He was an all-star and won the Gold Glove and the Silver Slugger. He went to his second and final All-Star Game in 1999 for Arizona. MLB WAR: 36.9. #3 – 1989 – Chuck Knoblauch – SS The Twins used the 25th overall pick in the 1989 draft to select Chuck Knoblauch, a shortstop from Texas A&M. He moved very quickly and was the Twins Opening Day second baseman in 1991. That was a great year for “Knobby” and the Twins. He won the AL Rookie of the Year and was an instigator near the top of the Twins World Series championship lineup. He spent seven seasons with the Twins. He was an all-star four times. He won two Silver Slugger Awards. Despite being an excellent fielder, he won just one Gold Glove because he played in the same league as Roberto Alomar. In his time with the Twins, he hit a combined .304/.391/.416 (.807) with 210 doubles, 51 triples and 43 home runs. He also stole 276 bases. He played great, but the Twins were really bad. He requested a trade and following the 1997 the Twins traded him to the Yankees in exchange for Eric Milton, Cristian Guzman, Brian Buchanan and Danny Mota. In his four years with the Yankees, he developed the inability to throw the ball accurately from second base to first base. He DH'd some and played in the outfield. In those four years, he went to four World Series and the team won three titles. He spent one season with the Royals before his career ended. In his 12 year career, he hit .289/.378/.406 (.783) with 322 doubles, 64 triples and 98 home runs. He also stole 407 bases. His post-career has been filled with turmoil. Despite being one of the greatest Twins players ever, he is not in the Twins Hall of Fame, though he was supposed to be added in 2014. MLB WAR: 44.6. #2 – 1993 – Torii Hunter – OF With the 20th overall pick in the 1993 draft, the Twins drafted Hunter out of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He was very athletic and toolsy, but very raw. He debuted with a pinch-running appearance in August of 1997, just after he turned 22. He got into six games in 1998. In 1999, he played 135 games for the Twins and posted a .689 OPS. It has been well documented that he was sent back down to Triple-A in 2000 because of his struggles. It’s also used as an example of not giving up on prospectswhen they struggle because when he came back, he came back strong and has been up ever since. He won his first Gold Glove in 2001. He went on to win seven straight with the Twins. He became famous when he robbed Barry Bonds of a home run during the 2002 All-Star Game. Following the 2007 season, he signed a five-year, $90 million deal with the Angels. He played in two All-Star games and won two more Gold Gloves and his first Silver Slugger. He spent 2013 and 2014 with Detroit. He played in the All-Star Game in 2013 and won a Silver Slugger Award again. In the offseason, Hunter returned to the Twins on a one-year contract. He will turn 40 next month. In parts of 12 seasons with the Twins, he has hit .271/.324/.466 (.790). In his 19 big league seasons, he has hit .279/.334/.463 (.797). MLB WAR: 50.7. #1 – 2001 – Joe Mauer – C The Twins earned the first overall pick in the 2001 draft by being the worst major league team in 2000. They had a difficult decision to make. Would they take the sure-fire, top-of-the-rotation Mark Prior from USC, or the local, prep catcher? The Twins went with Cretin-Derham Hall star Joe Mauer. Mauer gave up a football scholarship to Florida State to sign with the Twins. He moved quickly up the Twins farm system and debuted with the Twins on Opening Day 2004 as a 20-year-old. He hurt his knee in the opening home series and played in just 35 games that season. He hit .294/.372/.411 (.783) in 2005, his first full season. And then he took off. He won his first of three batting titles in 2006 when he hit .347. He won his second in 2008 (.328) and 2009 (.365). He went to his first of six All- Star games in 2006. He won his first of five Silver Slugger Awards in 2006. It was also the first of four times in which he finished in the top eight in MVP voting. 2009 was his greatest year, and frankly, one of the greatest seasons in Twins history. He hit .365/.444/.587 (1.031) with 30 doubles, 28 homers and 96 RBI. Along with future Hall of Famers Mike Piazza and Ivan Rodriguez, Mauer put up offensive numbers from a catcher that had not been seen in a couple of generations. Not only that, but he was also very good behind the plate. He won three Gold Glove awards. And, though advanced stats for catchers may not have been available at the time, he's been proven to be a terrific pitch framer. Concussions forced a move to first base before the 2014 season. His production has dropped precipitously in the last season-and-a-half. However, in his nearly 12 years with the Twins, he has hit .316/.397/.455 (.853, 131 OPS+). He has 323 doubles, 24 triples and 726 RBIs. MLB WAR: 46.4. So there you have it, a ranking of the top Minnesota Twins first-round draft picks since the Rule 4 draft began in 1965. It is an interesting list on its own. It would be interesting to compare the Twins list to the first-round draft picks of the other Major League organizations. My assumption is that it would look pretty similar. Please feel free to discuss. Part 1: 31-53 Part 2: 21-30 Part 3: 11-20 View full article

Interesting name, I'd think. First thought I had was Zach Granite. I know Jeremy's got an intriguing name/comp for him too.

You'll just have to come back and check...

We may have too, if we would have decided our rankings 2 weeks later than we did.

Johnny Ard?

Two Twins affiliates had players representing the Twins in their league All-Star games. Adam Brett Walker won the Southern League home run derby before the game with 13 home runs. Four Lookouts batters played and three of their pitchers got into the game. The Cedar Rapids Kernels had three pitchers work in the Midwest League All-Star Game. A day after the GCL Twins played their first game of 2015, the Elizabethton Twins made their season debut. They had a couple of big, powerful performances in the game. Continue on to read everything that happened in a busy day in the Minnesota Twins farm system. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (photo of Austin Diemer) Two Twins affiliates had players representing the Twins in their league All-Star games. Adam Brett Walker won the Southern League home run derby before the game with 13 home runs. Four Lookouts batters played and three of their pitchers got into the game. The Cedar Rapids Kernels had three pitchers work in the Midwest League All-Star Game. A day after the GCL Twins played their first game of 2015, the Elizabethton Twins made their season debut. They had a couple of big, powerful performances in the game. Continue on to read everything that happened in a busy day in the Minnesota Twins farm system. TRANSACTIONS Following the Midwest League All Star game, Jeff Johnson (The Gazette, Cedar Rapids) announced that the Kernels were to be receiving LHP Brandon Bixler who has been out all year with a hand injury. Also, they will be receiving LHP Luke Westphal from the Miracle. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Pawtucket 5 Box Score The Red Wings managed just four hits and a walk against Pawtucket on Tuesday night and yet still remained in the game. Greg Peavey made his Red Wings debut. He gave up four runs on nine hits in 6.1 innings. He struck out five without allowing a walk. Ryan O’Rourke came on and walked the one batter he faced. Lester Oliveros came on and gave up a hit to the batter he faced. Caleb Thielbar came in and got out the batter he faced. However, with two outs in the seventh and the bases loaded, the rain came. Just over an hour later, the teams returned to action. Cole Johnson came on and got a line out for the third out of that inning. He gave up two hits and a walk over the final 1.1 innings, striking out one. Wilkin Ramirez and Doug Bernier each hit his sixth double of the season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Southern League All Star Game Box Score The Chattanooga Lookouts were well-represented on the Southern League North Division team, which toppled the South Division All Stars by a score of 9-0. Before the game, Adam Brett Walker won the Home Run Derby, launching 13 home runs. Here is how the Twins/Lookouts players did in the game: Jose Berrios struck out two in a scoreless second inning. He gave up one hit. He was credited with the win. DJ Baxendale pitched a perfect sixth inning. Zack Jones got the final two outs of the game, one on a strikeout. Miguel Sano batted fourth and played third base. He went 2-5 with a double. Adam Brett Walker batted fifth and played left field. He went 1-5. Max Kepler batted sixth and played in right field for the first half of the game. He went 0-2 with a walk. Jorge Polanco entered the game late as a shortstop. He went 2-2. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Palm Beach 0 Box Score The Miracle managed just seven hits and two runs in this game, but on this day, it was enough thanks to a strong start from Kohl Stewart and nice work by the bullpen. Ryan Walker went 2-4 with his second double and one of the two RBIs. Engelb Vielma, a day after getting three hits on his 21st birthday, went 2-3 with his fourth double and the other RBI. Kohl Stewart improved to 3-4 and a 3.62 ERA with six shutout innings. He gave up five hits, walked three and struck out five. Corey Williams came on and got four outs, giving up just one hit. DJ Johnson came on and got the final five outs for his first save of the season for the Miracle. He struck out two. KERNELS NUGGETS Midwest League All-Star Game Box Score The West Division lost 5-0 to the East Division in the Midwest League All-Star Game. Three Twins/Kernels pitchers got into the game. Felix Jorge – pitched a perfect third inning, with one strikeout. Jared Wilson - recorded the first two outs of the 8th inning. One on a strikeout. Trevor Hildenberger – got the final out of the 8th inning on a strikeout. Cameron Booser – Got the first out of the 9th inning, but he left with the bases loaded. The next pitcher allowed all three runs to score, credited to Booser. Trey Vavra was also named to the team, but he was unable to play. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 9, Bluefield 5 Box Score Elizabethton opened its season on Tuesday night against the Bluefield Blue Jays. They opened with their first win of the season. Austin Diemer was drafted late in the 2014 draft. He starred in this game, going 3-5 with two home runs and four RBI. Tyler Kuresa went 1-2 with three walks; the one hit was a home run, his first since the first week of the Cedar Rapids season. Rainis Silva went 2-4 with a walk. LaMonte Wade was 2-4 with a walk, a triple and two RBIs. Sean Miller hit a triple in his pro debut. Dereck Rodriguez was given the start for the E-Twins. The right-hander went 5.1 innings and gave up just two runs despite ten hits. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out four. C.K. Irby went the next 1.2 innings. He gave up three unearned runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out two. Jose Abreu walked one and struck out one in two scoreless innings. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 5, GCL Orioles 1 Box Score In their second game of the season, the GCL Twins picked up a win and a lot of pitchers made their first appearances of the season. Randy Rosario, who had Tommy John surgery last April, started and gave up two hits over three shutout innings. He walked none and struck out five. Callan Pearce came on. He gave up four runs on no hits. Of course, he walked four batters. Hector Lujan walked one and struck out one in his pro debut. Williams Ramirez struck out four over two scoreless innings. Moises Gomez struck out one in a perfect inning. Johan Quezada gave up a hit and a walk, but no runs, in a scoreless ninth inning. Luis Arraez went 3-4 with a double and two RBI. He stole a base as well. Brian Olson went 2-2 with a walk and a double. Roni Tapia was 2-4 with a stolen base. A day after his first pro hit, a triple, Travis Blankenhorn recorded his first double. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Kohl Stewart, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Austin Diemer, Elizabethton Twins WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (6:05 CST) – LHP Taylor Rogers Chattanooga – All Star Break Palm Beach @ Ft. Myers (10:35 CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids – All Star Break Elizabethton @ Bluefield (6:05 CST) - TBD GCL O’s @ GCL Twins (11:00 CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Tuesday games. View full article

Thank you to everyone for participating and continuing to update your Adopt-A-Prospects. At this point, you can now start adopting Twins 2015 draftees. Of course, you can continue to select other players int he Twins system who have not yet been adopted and brag them up. Thank you!

Yeah, he just got the cast off his hand from a broken hand within the last 2 weeks, I think. They're getting him some ABs before he moves up to ET.

Glen Perkins just tweeted it. Very good stuff.

To be fair, results and process are two different things. Results have not been good, though he's been better again in the last week. We can't see the process. he was pretty messed up when he was sent down, so no surprise it's taking awhile. Still has the world of potential, and there have always been attitude concerns, but we should definitely not give up on him.

Kepler replaced Buxton on the Southern League All Star roster. He was also named Southern League Player of the Week for the 2nd time this year (we have a thread in the minor league forum with the awards). Batts has been really impressive. He's got a bunch of deception in his delivery that he could keep guys off balance.

He was very good last year, but he has definitely made some big strides, in my opinion, in 2015. He's taken that next step. He's a legit starting pitching prospect at this point, mid-to-back end of the rotation type.

I know, right... didn't work for Griffey, or McCullers, or so many others.