Seth Stohs

Our Top 50 series continues today with a look at my choices for Minnesota Twins Prospects 16-20. There are certainly a few intriguing names on today's list. Again, at the bottom of today's segment, you will find links to the first six parts of this series. In the first part, I talked a bit about some of the things I look at in determining my prospect list. Enjoy today's installment of the Twins Top 50 prospect list, and be sure to start formulating your top 10, or top 20 or top whatever you like. Part 7: 16-20 In today's set of five prospects, you'll find some prospect that, if they take another step forward could become regulars in a lineup or in the middle of a big league staff. We have a shortstop who takes good at-bats and plays very solid defense. We have a couple right-handers that can hit 94-95 with their fastballs. We have a David Ortiz-clone (to some degree), and we have another one of my 2013 minor league award winners. -------------------------------------------------------------------- #20 – Niko Goodrum – SS (21) Goodrum was the Twins 2nd round pick in 2009, one of the many players in recent years to be drafted from a Georgia high school. Goodrum was long and lanky when the Twins drafted him. He’s listed at 6-3, but hard work last offseason put him over 200 pounds. Defensively, he is pretty smooth up the middle and has a good, accurate arm. Offensively, he puts together good at-bats. In 103 games for the Kernels, he hit .260/.364/.369 (.732), showing a very impressive walk rate. He had 22 doubled, four triples and four home runs, but he has the strength and frame to continue to add power. #19 – Taylor Rogers – LH SP (22) Rogers was the Twins 12th round pick in 2012 out of the University of Kentucky. He signed quickly and spent a short time in Elizabethton before finishing the season in Beloit. He was the Cedar Rapids Kernels opening night starter this year, but three starts later, he was promoted to Ft. Myers where he was terrific. There, the lefty went 11-6 with a 2.55 ERA. Rogers works quickly and efficiently, getting quick outs and eating a lot of innings. He had three complete games (2 shutouts) for the Miracle. That doesn’t count his nine shutout innings in his Miracle playoff start. He has a low 90s fastball and a good slider. He has good command. He was my choice for Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. #18 – Fernando Romero – RH SP (18) Another GCL kid with a mid-90s fastball. Signed late in 2011 out of the Dominican Republic, Romero came to the States in 2013 and did well in the GCL. Overall, he went 2-0 with a 1.60 ERA in 45 innings split between six starts and six relief appearances. Most impressive, in his final four outings, he gave up just one earned run over 23.2 innings. Romero throws very hard, but he will need to work on secondary pitches. Another positive, when he debuted in the Dominican Summer league in 2012, he struck out 8.1 per nine, but he walked 4.1 per nine (in 31 innings). In 2013, he struck out 9.4 per nine and dropped his walk rate to 2.6 per nine. Hopefully those are numbers we can see more of as he moves forward. #17 – Ryan Eades – RH SP (21) If Eades weren’t a 2nd round pick, you might choose to look at his debut numbers in Elizabethton and be alarmed. In 10 relief appearances, he threw 15.2 innings and gave up 13 hits, walked 12 while striking out 13. Definitely not a typical top college pick debut in the rookie league. But consider, he went 8-1 with a 2.79 ERA over 17 starts at powerhouse LSU. He has the type of stuff that could develop into a front of the rotation starter. At 6-3 and 205 pounds, he throws a fastball that sits 91-93 but hits 95 at times. He has a very good breaking ball and a changeup that has a chance to be very good as well. Typically, he has shown very good control. He has a chance to be pretty good. And, if you’re looking for bonus reason for optimism, he is represented by Scott Boras, which means he must be pretty good, right? #16 – Kennys Vargas – 1B (23) Vargas is a big, happy-go-lucky individual who seems to really enjoy life and enjoy playing some ball. At 6-5, he is listed at 215 pounds, but my guess is you can add 40 to 50 pounds to that number. After seeing him in Beloit for a long series a year ago, the similarities between Vargas and his friend David Ortiz are stunning. They look alike, they have monster power, their walk/strut is the same, and Vargas points to the sky after touching home plate after home runs the same way that Ortiz does. I guess the negatives of that comparison are that they share similar foot speed and have similar amounts of “grace” around first base. Vargas put together a very solid season in Ft. Myers, really his first full season as a professional. In 125 games, he hit .267/.344/.468 (.813) with 33 doubles, one triple, 19 home runs and 93 RBI. He hits pretty well from both sides of the plate as well. Don’t get carried away. Don’t expect Vargas to become the next David Ortiz. But, I think he can get to the big leagues as a DH with some pop in his bat. ------------------------------------------------------------------ There was Part 7 of what will be a ten part series with my Top 50 Twins Prospects. Next week, we'll work through the Top 15 Twins prospects (in my opinion). In case you missed any of the previous installments, here are those links: Part 1: 46-50 Part 2: 41-45 Part 3: 36-40 Part 4: 31-35 Part 5: 26-30 Part 6: 21-25

I'd guess it is fair to assume that the name of Lewis Thorpe snuck up on most Twins fans. The lefty from Australia signed with the Minnesota Twins as a 16-year-old in July of 2012. Most talked about Amaurys Minier, the Twins top international signing that year at $1.5 million, but in 2013, Thorpe made his US and GCL debut and put together a fantastic season. With the GCL Twins, he went 4-1 with a 2.05 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. In 44 innings, he walked just six and struck out 66. He won't turn 18 until the end of November, and yet it's been reported that he already is able to touch 95 mph with a fastball. That's going to get you noticed, and recognized, as he was when Baseball America named him the #7 prospect in the Gulf Coast League.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Twins Daily was able to ask him a few questions recently and he was gracious enough to respond. Get to know a little bit more about Lewis Thorpe below, and feel free to ask questions and discuss in the comments. (Note I'll be back tomorrow to continue the Top 50 prospect series with prospects 16-20.) -------------------------------------------------------------- Twins Daily: As an amateur, how much contact did you have with MLB teams and what was it that caused you to decide to sign with the Twins? Lewis Thorpe: At about 15 is when all the scouts started chatting to me. The Twins have a lot of Australians, and I wanted to feel comfortable, and I did. TD: What was the adjustment like for you last spring moving from Australia to Florida? What were the biggest challenges? LT: The biggest challenges were the weather change and humidity. That was tough, as was getting homesick a couple times. TD: You had a successful first professional season with the GCL Twins. What were your keys to your success? LT: My keys were cutting down the walks. If I had a bad outing, I had 1 or 2 walks, if I had a good outing, 0 walks. Location was a big thing. TD: What pitches do you throw? What is your best pitch, and what is the pitch that you really want to improve? LT: Fastball, Curveball, Change up and Slider. Really need to improve on curveball and slider. Need more control with those 2 pitches. TD: After the GCL season, you were impressive while representing Australia in an international tournament. What's it like to pitch for your country? LT: (It’s the) best feeling pitching for your country, listening to the National Anthem when you line up before the game, knowing everyone back home is supporting and cheering for you to succeed. TD: Away from baseball, what do you enjoy doing in your free time? LT: Round of 18 holes on the links, movies, putt-putt and fishing. TD: Are there certain areas of your game or preparation that you'd like to focus on during this offseason, looking to 2014? LT: I really need to work on the curveball and slider. I think if I get those two pitches going, it will help me a lot. Getting fitter to make sure I don't get lazy and get out of bed and work on something every day. TD: Growing up, who were some of your role models in the game of baseball? LT: My role model was Mark Ellis. If it wasn't for him and his son, Mitch Ellis, I wouldn't be where I am today. They told me to come and try baseball which I did really enjoy and haven't stopped playing since that day at age 6. When I started growing up and knowing the game, Graeme Lloyd was a big role model too. Hearing his stories of how he got to the big leagues really touched me. TD: What are some of your goals for the 2014 season? Are there certain statistics that you focus on? LT: Certain goals are to cut down the walks again this year, to be more consistent with the slider and curveball, and hopefully end up in Low A. That will be awesome. TD: What would it mean to you and your family to be able to reach the major leagues and put that uniform on for the first time? LT: It would mean the world to my family and I. They have done so much for me already like driving me places, putting food on the table, putting a roof over my head. I just have to make sure I don't stop working hard and hopefully one day my dream will come true. TD: What was the highlight of your 2013 season, your first year in the Twins organization? LT: It was probably making the Baseball America Top 20 in GCL prospects list, or probably going to instructional ball. That was really good, helped me learn a lot! ---------------------------------------------------------- Thank you very much to Twins minor league pitcher Lewis Thorpe for taking time to answer our questions. Feel free to discuss below.