Seth Stohs

Yesterday, we began our look at my Top 50 Twins Prospects, starting with Prospects 46-50. In Part 2 today, we continue by learning a little about my selections for prospects 41-45. There are three outfielders at various points in their career. A left-handed starter who appeared to have stalled until he was promoted to AAA. There are also two former first-round picks who find themselves at this stage of the rankings. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Yesterday I wrote about some of the things that go into my thinking when I'm ranking prospects, so check that if you have questions. #45 – Mike Kvasnicka – Ft. Myers – OF (24) The Lakeville native and former Minnesota Gopher came to the Twins in spring training in exchange for rookie-leaguer Gonzalo Sanudo. It was a great move for a guy who was a first-round pick just three years ago. As the season began, he broke his hamate bone and had surgery. He played in 69 games for the Miracle and had 24 extra base hits, including nine home runs. He has real power, but he needs to stay healthy and get at bats. His father played in the Twins farm system from 1989 to 1992. #44 – Levi Michael – Ft. Myers – 2B (22) The Twins 2011 top pick struggled in his pro debut in Ft. Myers in 2012. He returned in 2013, but he missed the first three weeks of the season with an arm issue. His batting average was lower. His on base percentage was lower. His slugging percentage was a little higher. If you’re looking for the positive, he was 21 or 23 in stolen base attempts (and now 27-29 in his career). He played more at shortstop in 2013, but down the stretch he moved back to second base. 2014 will be a big year for Michael. Can he be a starter, or will his ceiling be that of a utility player? #43 – Pat Dean - New Britain/Rochester – LH SP (24) The Twins 3rd round pick in 2010 out of Boston College, Dean quickly moved up and made a start at New Britain at the end of the 2011 season. He spent all of 2012 with the Rock Cats as well. He went 6-11 with a 4.68 ERA in 22 starts for the Rock Cats to start the 2013 season. He was promoted to Rochester where he made a great impression. He threw seven shutout innings in his debut and went 3-2 with a 2.02 ERA. He is left-handed and has pitches similar to Brian Duensing’s. However, he does not like to miss bats. #42 – Zach Larson - GCL Twins/Elizabethton – OF (20) Larson was the Twins 20th round pick in 2012 out of high school in Florida. The Twins used some of their extra bonus allotment to sign him. He began this year in the GCL and hit .317. He moved up to Elizabethton and hit .301. His hit tool is definitely his best tool. He should develop some power, which is good because he is not fleet of foot. He’s an adequate defensive outfielder. He is certainly one to watch as he moves up to see if he develops. #41 – Danny Ortiz - New Britain – OF (23) Ortiz is kind of lost among Twins outfield prospects because they have always had some top outfield prospects, but he has been solid all-around. He’s not a large man, listed at 5-11 (but he’s not) put has good extra base pop. He had 43 extra base hits including 12 home runs at AA. He is a solid defender in all three outfield spots. He doesn't have one tool that jumps out as great, but he is solid across the board. His future is fourth outfielder. ---------------------------------------------------- So, what do you think? Like yesterday, these are guys that could potentially be role players with the Twins; pinch hitters, fourth outfielders, and utility infielders. Larson is the one here who has a chance for his Power tool to really develop over time. Kvasnicka's power is legit. He could move up if he can just stay healthy. Part 1: Prospects 46-50

As the World Series is about to start, and the Minnesota Twins are not particularly close to that, I thought it would be a good time to talk about Twins minor leaguers. Today, I will be beginning a series showing my top 50 Twins prospects. People often ask why fifty? To that I say, well, why not 60 or 75 or 30? For me, it's always about giving recognition to players who worked hard throughout the 2013 season and deserve to be noticed. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Prospect rankings are obviously a very subjective thing. As a disclaimer, this prospect ranking is mine and is based on my thinking at this time based on information such as statistics, scouting reports, video, some in-person watching and, frankly, opinion. I would certainly welcome you taking the time to list out the Twins minor league prospects and rank your top fifty. Before we get to the list and the series, a quick reminder of my definition of a prospect. First, I follow the guidelines that Major League Baseball uses for rookie of the year eligibility. That is, 130 big league at-bats for hitters and 50 innings pitched for pitchers. There is also a service time piece so that relievers that spend 2/3 of the season with the big league club yet only rack up 40 innings do not quality as a prospect any longer. I consider a lot of factors in my rankings. I consider Age-To-Level-Of-Competition. I consider the tools of the player. I look at the numbers, but scouting reports mean more sometimes, especially when the player is further from the big leagues. I welcome your feedback as we trek through this series of prospects five at a time. Feel free to ask questions. This ranking will almost certainly change as I continue to get more reports. By the time my sixth annual Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook comes out, I'll have a more official Top 30 list in the book. Enjoy the series. Part 1: Prospects 46-50 Part 1 starts with three relief pitchers, a very intriguing, big upside starter from the 2013 draft, and a highly-drafted defensive-minded catcher. As you would expect, these are not the glamour prospects by any means, but the relievers have a chance to contribute and catchers always have value and if the starter's stuff measures up, well, you never know. #50 – Adrian Salcedo – Ft. Myers – RH RP (22) Adrian Salcedo was a Top 10 Twins prospect in my rankings as recently as two years ago. Unfortunately, 2012 was a lost year for him because of injuries to his elbow and shoulder. He avoided surgery and returned to the mound in the Miracle bullpen. He remains intriguing because of a mid-90s fastball, a low-90s sinker and a terrific changeup. It will be interesting to see if he gets another shot at a starting spot in the Twins system. #49 – Josue Montanez – Cedar Rapids – LH SP (21) The left-hander was the Twins 15th round pick in 2011 out of community college. He was impressive in the GCL, though he fought injury and missed time. He has a sturdy frame and a solid, three-pitch mix. He fought consistency in Cedar Rapids, but has shown flashes of potential. #48 – Aaron Slegers – Indiana/Elizabethton – RH SP (21) Slegers certainly has a lot of mound presence, including a big shadow. The 6-10 righty was a fixture in the Indiana starting rotation that went to the College World Series in June. He hadn’t pitched much due to injury before 2013, his junior season as a Hoosier, but he went 9-1 with 1.93 ERA and hit 93 mph with his fastball. He gave up just one earned run in 19 innings out of the bullpen in Elizabethton. Finding a consistent release point and mechanics could lead to even more velocity. One could say, if one wanted, the sky is the limit. #47 – Stuart Turner – Mississippi/Elizabethton/New Britain – C (21) With their third-round pick this year this June, the Twins took the best college catcher available. Turner, from Ole Miss, won the 2013 Johnny Bench Award given to the top catcher in college. Known for his defense, Turner hit .264 at Elizabethton before going 2-4 in one game at the end of the season for New Britain. How much will he hit? That is the big question, but his role in the organization is pretty important as he'll be working with some very impressive young pitchers. #46 – AJ Achter – New Britain/Rochester – RH RP (25) Achter was the Twins 46th round pick in 2010 out of Michigan State. He made the move to the bullpen in 2012 and was my choice for Twins minor league relief pitcher of the year when he posted a 1.70 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP and 10.4 K/9 between Beloit and Ft. Myers. In 2013, he split the season between New Britain and Rochester and earned an opportunity in the Arizona Fall League. He may not be as flashy as Michael Tonkin, but he has put up equivalent numbers without as much acclaim. He'll be considered for a 40-man roster spot this fall and is certainly worth watching. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tomorrow, we'll be back with Part 2, prospects 41-45. Please feel free to leave your thoughts and questions below.

It's been several months since we updated fans on which Minnesota Twins, front office, minor leaguers, etc., are on Twitter. The one question I get most often when posting this is how the Ft. Myers Miracle pitching coach has about 85,000 followers. It's actually quite interesting. He has been coaching at various levels in the Twins system for over a decade. In 2012, he was the pitching coach at Elizabethton and in 2013, he was with the Miracle. However, in his offseasons, he has been a color commentator for the Venezuelan Winter League through most of the previous decade. The last two seasons, he has been the Player Personnel Director for the Bravos de Margarita. Take a look at which people are on Twitter, and if you're interested, follow them. If I'm missing someone, please let me know! [TABLE=width: 416] First Name Last Name Twitter 10/20 Followers AJ Achter @ajachter35 662 Bo Altobelli @BoAltobelli 200 Oswaldo Arcia @arciaoswaldo 1,429 Ivan Arteaga @IvanArteaga 84,852 Tim Atherton @TimAtherton89 243 Luke Bard @Luke_Bard 1,029 DJ Baxendale @DBax24 4,448 James Beresford @JamesBeresford2 1,197 Doug Bernier @dougbernier 752 J.O. Berrios @JOlaMaquina 1,137 Evan Bigley @Bigley3 696 Brandon Bixler @BrandonBixler 357 Hudson Boyd @boyd_hudson 549 Joshua Burris @Josh_Burris_ 229 Drew Butera @DrewButera 16,677 Byron Buxton @OfficialBuck103 8,092 Chris Colabello @CC20rake 3,424 Logan Darnell @ldarnell15 352 Pat Dean @PDean15 472 Scott Diamond @Scott_Diamond58 16,048 Lewin Diaz @lewin_diaz 37 Brian Dinkelman @BrDink 1,846 Brian Dozier @BrianDozier 15,388 Brian Duensing @BrianDuensing52 16,693 Tyler Duffey @TheDoof13 271 Ryan Eades @R_Eades37 4,956 Eduardo Escobar @escobarmaracay 1,691 Eric Farris @eRoc86 2,991 Andrew Ferreira @Get_Meaty 4,147 Pedro Florimon @DroFlo25 56 Dallas Gallant @DGallant18 514 Mitchell Garver @MitchGarver 777 Sam Gibbons @gibboo25 98 Kyle Gibson @KGib44 1,031 Brian Gilbert @BGilly1s 145 Jhonathan Goncalves @jhong1305 132 Stephen Gonsalves @TheSGonsalves 647 Niko Goodrum @NikoGoodrumTC 1,085 Zach Granite @Zgranite 268 Steven Gruver @sgruv30 134 Deolis Guerra @deolisguerra 3,101 Bryan Haar @BryanHaar24 194 Nate Hanson @NHans12 480 Matt Hauser @mhauser_17 338 BJ Hermsen @BJHermsen12 1,701 Pedro Hernandez @Hernandezp89 106 DJ Hicks @DHicksMTB 1,127 Aaron Hicks @AaronHicks31 15,685 Kent Hrbek @Hrbie14 3,124 David Hurlbut @leftydh1989 201 Will Hurt @Will_Hurt 679 CK Irby @ckirbythe3 716 Tyler Jones @TmfJones 34 Zack Jones @Jack_Zones04 485 Jason Kanzler @JasonKanzler 152 Max Kepler @kepleroni 694 Kyle Knudson @KKnudson6 529 Matt Koch @M_Koch4 83 Zack Larson @ZackLarson24 355 Brett Lee @BLee092090 108 Andy Leer @andyleer12 148 Austin Malinowski @AJMalinowski24 430 Trevor May @TrevMay54 6,487 Trevor May (MAZR) @TrevorMAZR 226 Chris Mazza @ChrisMazza10 332 Tanner Mendonca @TanTheMan13 470 Kaleb Merck @KalebMerckin 320 Alex Meyer @Meyer17A 5,756 Levi Michael @LeviMichael9 346 Ethan Mildren @EMildren4040 455 Jermaine Mitchell @jtrane24 844 Angel Morales @AngelMorales24 399 Miguel Munoz @mikemunoz59 169 Jonathan Murphy @JMurph6 289 Brian Navarretto @Brian_Navarrero 78 Lester Oliveros @lesteroliveros 2,148 Ryan O'Rourke @RyanO_Rourke 651 Chris Parmelee @CParms27 8,692 Derrick Penilla @leftywayz 23 Glen Perkins @glen_perkins 23,933 Brandon Peterson @Bpeterson_12 351 AJ Pettersen @apettersen1 866 Josmil Pinto @JosmilPinto 340 Trevor Plouffe @TPlouffe24 28,245 Jorge Polanco @Jorge_Polanco1 231 Christian Powell @BooPowell20 488 Ryan Pressly @pressly_ryan 1,959 Jake Proctor @JProc23 1,228 Michael Quesada @KSada55 251 Antoan Richardson @ARichardson242 417 Chad Rodgers @CMRodg 260 Dereck Rodriguez @DereckRodRF3 333 Taylor Rogers @trogers34 351 Dan Rohlfing @DanRohlfing 1,080 Miguel Sano @SanoMiguel 5,999 Danny Santana @bigmen07 167 Bryan Santy @BKSanty41 229 Aaron Slegers @Aslegers 898 Manuel Soliman @Soliman30 598 Kohl Stewart @KohlStewart1 6,012 Tom Stuifbergen @TomStuifbergen 815 Miguel Sulburan @054_miguel 170 Anthony Swarzak @ASwarzak51 9,553 Lewis Thorpe @LewisT18 314 Matt Tomshaw @matthewJTomshaw 268 Michael Tonkin @mtonkin37 618 Stuart Turner @sturn26 1,408 Daniel Turpen @DdTuRpEn 152 Kennys Vargas @kennysvargas 37 Tanner Vavra @tannervavra 465 Ruar Verkerk @ruarverkerk 410 Adam Walker @walkoff28 1,029 Ryan Walker @RyanWalker25 137 PJ Walters @PJWalters39 3,080 Tommy Watkins @TommyWatkins 1,679 Dakota Watts @watts_22 1,046 Duke Welker @The5thWelker 3,791 Jason Wheeler @Lil_Wheels 206 Stephen Wickens @wicks1221 142 Corey Williams @coreyw24 346 Jared Wilson @DubsDeuces 127 Alex Wimmers @AlexWimmers21 1,462 Vance Worley @VANIMAL_49 52,184 FRONT OFFICE First Name Last Name Twitter 10/20 Update Minnesota Twins @twins 173,921 Dave St. Peter @TwinsPrez 18,103 Dustin Morse @Twins_morsecode 11,836 Mike Herman @HermTT 2,374 Mitch Hestad @mitchhestad 162 Jack Goin @jdgoin 414 Bryan Donaldson @MNCommunityGuy 1,604 Andrew Heydt @AndrewHeydt 524 Mike Kennedy @TwinsPRMachine 591 Brace Hemmelgarn @bracehemmelgarn 1,512 TC Bear @TC_00 11,480 Twins Daily 10/20 Update Twins Daily @TwinsDaily 2,981 John Bonnes @TwinsGeek 6,064 Seth Stohs @SethTweets 5,547 Nick Nelson @Nnelson9 2,935 Parker Hageman @OverTheBaggy 3,838 Brock Beauchamp @rocketpig76 79 Jeremy Nygaard @JeremyNygaard 758 Cody Christie @NoDakTwinsFan 911 Minor Leagues 10/20 Update Rochester Red Wings @RocRedWings 7,203 Josh Whetzel @JoshWhetzel 1,149 Morrie Silver @MorrieSilver8 355 Jim Mandelaro @JMand1 1,260 Christopher Fee @CJFee 208 New Britain Rock Cats @RockCats 6,355 Ken Lipshez @KenLip1 126 Jeff Dooley @Jdooleysports 433 Andrew Walter @Mnfanfromafar 682 Ft. Myers Miracle @MiracleBaseball 6,644 Bryce Zimmerman @ZimMiracle 573 Steve Gliner @stevieGFTM 462 Adam MacDonald @AdamMacMiracle 100 David Dorsey @DavidADorsey 1,301 Cedar Rapids Kernels @CRKernels 5,129 Mister Shucks @CRMrShucks 80 Morgan Hawk @Morgan_Hawk 386 Matt Cozzi @matt_cozzi 1,045 Steve Buhr @JimCrikket 519 Jeff Johnson @jeje66 1,322 Metro Sports Report @metrosportsrept 985 Andrew Pantini @stadium65 116 Elizabethton Twins @ETownTwins 1,017 [/TABLE]