Seth Stohs

I chatted with JJ last night for awhile. He doesn't get to a lot of games, but this was a good time. Saw the Kernels and Albert Almora the last couple of days. Today, he'll see the Kernels and Lance McCullers and Carlos Correa and Rio Ruiz.

Just awesome!! What an opportunity!

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1874-Beyond-Buxton

For all who watched The Byron Buxton Show on Fox Sports North on Monday, there is no question who the top prospect on the Cedar Rapids roster is. Buxton was the clear-cut focus of the broadcast, and for good reason. Not only was he 3-4 with a single, bases-clearing double and triple, but he made one of the best catches you will see all year. He is also hitting a robust .350/.444/.578 (1.022) with 14 doubles, eight triples, seven home runs 60 runs scored, 47 RBI and 26 stolen bases. He has earned all of the attention. However, this is much more than a one-man team. I like to see the other guys get some attention as well. This Kernels team is stacked right now. Within days, they will claim a playoff spot for the season’s first half and they have eight players on their current roster who were named All Stars. That doesn’t include Tyler Duffey, who was promoted last week after being named to the team. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4399[/ATTACH] Today, I am going to give a little bit more information on some non-Buxton players that you may want to keep on your radar. Here are eight other Kernels that ranked in my Top 52 Twins Prospects last week (my organization ranking in parentheses). JO Berrios (5) – The righthander from Puerto Rico was the Twins supplemental first round pick just one year ago. He signed pretty quickly for $1.55 million and pitched great at both the GCL and Elizabethton. Combined, he walked four batters and struck out 49. He is young, but he was chosen to play for Puerto Rico in the WBC this spring. Because of that, his regular season was delayed as he built arm strength. However, he earned a spot on the Midwest League All Star team. In eight starts, he is 4-3 with a 3.61 ERA. He had a bad start his most recent start. It was the first time that he had given up more than three runs (something he did just once as well). In 47.1 innings, he was walked just 12 and struck out 50. He throws a fastball that touches 94. He also has a very good curveball and changeup and knows how to pitch. He just turned 19 at the end of May. Jorge Polanco (9) – Polanco signed with the Twins in July of 2009 as a 16-year-old free agent from the Dominican Republic and is still just 19. He was small, and skinny. He was known for tremendous defense, and that has proven true in his time with the Twins. However, he spent two years in the GCL and hit .233 and 250. He had an offensive breakout season last year in Elizabethton, but how would it transfer to a full-season league? Well, since Opening Night when he batted second, he has been the Kernels number three hitter all season. He has hit .291/.342/.447 (.789) with 17 doubles, seven triples, two home runs and 44 RBI all while playing very well at second base. He will continue to get some time at shortstop throughout the year. Travis Harrison (10) – When the Twins drafted Harrison out of his California high school as their first supplemental first round pick in 2011, there was a thought that he would be a very difficult sign. He had a strong commitment to USC, but in the end, he decided he wanted to sign and play. The $1.05 million signing bonus may have factored in as well. Harrison has tremendous power potential. He is very strong. He also has a good approach at the plate, making him potentially more than just a home run hitter. So far this year, he is hitting .265/.347/.470 (.817) with 17 doubles, nine homers and 32 RBI. He actually had a tenth hit that went over the fence, but he was only given a walk-off single rather than a walk-off grand slam. His glove at third base is a work-in-progress. He works really hard at it and has improved greatly in 2012. It’s important to remember that he too is still young. He won’t turn 21 until after the season. Adam Brett Walker (12) – Walker’s father (Adam) was a replacement player for the Minnesota Vikings in 1987. He was a great athlete and so is his son. Walker grew up in Milwaukee and chose to go south for college, playing at Jacksonville University. The Twins made him their third round pick a year ago. As the 97th overall pick, he signed for slot value of $490,400. He went to Elizabethton where he hit 14 home runs before hitting some huge homers in the Appalachian League playoffs. Although he doesn’t like to walk and strikes out quite a bit, he has shown great power for the Kernels. He is hitting .272/.325/.525 (.850) with 15 doubles, five triples, ten home runs and 51 RBI. He is a big man at 6-4 and 230 pounds, but he has good speed and plays a solid defense in right field. Niko Goodrum (15) – Goodrum was unable to play in the game yesterday because has been on the Disabled List with a concussion. He has resumed baseball activities and hopes to return just before the Midwest League All Star game so that he can play in the game. He has had a very solid season. He is hitting .270/.382/.388 (.770) with 12 doubles, three triples, a homer and 28 RBI. He is very patient at the plate and has good, solid swings from both sides of the plate. He also plays a very good shortstop and has a strong arm. Drafted in the 2nd round of the 2010 draft, Goodrum signed quickly for $514,800. He was a long, lanky kid. He was proud this spring to have reached 200 pounds and has been able to hit the ball with more authority. Mason Melotakis (23) – The left-hander from Northeastern State was one of the Twins 2nd round picks last June. He signed for $750,000, about $68,500 below slot. The left-hander was clocked as high as 97 on the radar gun as a reliever in college. He will get an opportunity to start, and has done a pretty good job so far in Cedar Rapids. Following his seven shutout innings on Monday, Melotakis is now 6-2 with a 3.24 ERA. In 58.1 innings, he has allowed 57 hits, walked 28 and struck out 44. So, he is walking too many, to be sure. He also is not accumulating a lot of strikeouts. As a starter, his fastball is sitting 90-93 so as to be able to go six or seven innings. He likely has the potential to be a solid #4 starter or a potentially dominant left-handed, late-game reliever. Hudson Boyd (31) – Boyd was the Twins 2nd supplemental first round pick in 2011. He pitched his high school ball in Ft. Myers and signed at the deadline for $1 million. Through 11 starts this season, Boyd is just 1-3 with a 6.02 ERA. In 55 innings, he has given up 58 hits, 27 walks and 43 strikeouts. So again, too many walks, but not enough strikeouts. Boyd will be 20 years old throughout the season, and I think there’s a chance he could be back in Cedar Rapids in 2014 for more development. However, he has a fastball in the low-90s. He has a very good changeup and a very good curveball, just not all the time. He has the pitches to be successful, but needs to be more consistent. Dalton (DJ) Hicks (41) – If you saw the game on FSN, you saw that Hicks is a big man. He has a big, long, powerful swing. He has used it to hit .288/.363/.493 (.856) with 20 doubles, nine homers and 51 RBI. He was the Twins 17th round pick a year ago out of Central Florida. It was his walk-off grand slam that won the Appalachian League championship for Elizabethton a year ago. He has already turned 23, so I would guess that he will be moved up to Ft. Myers (with Buxton) after the Kernels clinch the first half title. JD Williams (NR) – JD Williams is a guy that shows that repeating a level can be good. He was drafted in the 10th round as a great athlete out of high school in Florida. He was pushed to Beloit a year ago and struggled. This season, he has been an on-base machine. Despite hitting just .252, he gets on base 39% of the time and has hit 10 doubles, two triples, five home runs and driven in 31 runs. He has also stolen 12 bases. There are nine “other” names to know in Cedar Rapids. That doesn’t even include right-handed pitcher Tyler Duffey or left-handed starter Taylor Rogers, who has a sub-2 ERA since joining the Miracle roster as well. Also, hopefully in the next month, the Kernels will be joined by German outfielder Max Kepler. Luke Bard will hopefully heel up and be make starts for the team soon. In other words, that four hour drive from the Twin Cities to Cedar Rapids will still be completely with it, even if Byron Buxton is promoted to Ft. Myers.

I definitely wish they would talk about more players than just Buxton. I get that he's the top guy. We all understand. I am enjoying some of the dialogue (when accurate), but I would like the other guys to get recognized as well. They deserve. That team is loaded and they're unfortunately focusing on pretty much one player.

What a catch.

That was as good of a catch as we're going to see. That was incredible!

Don't give up on Hudson Boyd. He has some velocity, and when they're on, his Curveball and Changeup are quite good... but he isn't very consistent even from inning to inning yet. But, he's worth following.

He'll continue to play there all the way up, but a lot will depend on Niko Goodrum who has a very strong arm. The question about Polanco is his arm.

Lineup: Byron Buxton 8 (Enjoy!) JD Williams 7 (affable, great athlete, tons of walks) Jorge Polanco 6 (surprised me with how good he is. Plays 2B when Goodrum healthy) DJ Hicks 3 (power, think Dunn when you look at him - just dont' get your hopes up quite that hi!) Adam BrettWalker 9 (tons of power, good athlete) Travis Harrison 5 (tons of power and more potential. Solid all-around hitter Glove much better this year!) Tyler Grimes 2 (first year of catching, earlier in the year, he told me that he was just adjusting to the various movements behind the plate, stretching, etc. He can hit) Michael Quesada DH (another catching option, he can hit) Candido Pimentel 4 (Appy League Player of the Year last year, middle infield backup, great speed, little guy) LHP Mason Melotakis (2nd rounder last year, moved to starter after relieving mostly in college)

The Kernels are on FSN, pregame started already... Let's discuss the game here. Please feel free to discuss, ask questions, etc.

To be fair though, it also depends on the definition of 'rising star.' To 'casual fans', he had no star. Now he's come up and performed well... in 15 plate appearance... so his 'star' has certainly risen... but it's all about perspective.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1870-PODCAST-Sunday-Minor-League-Report-and-Draft-Thoughts

On Sunday night, Twins Daily's draft expert and myself put together a 35 minute podcast in which we dove into several topics. First, we discussed all that happened in the Twins minor league system on Sunday. You may have heard that a certain 3B prospect was promoted to New Britain, as were Eddie Rosario and Angel Morales, but Kyle Gibson and DJ Baxendale also were on the mound. Cedar Rapids moved one game closer to clinching a spot in the Midwest League playoffs which likely would signal yet another promotion of a player in the system. We then asked Jeremy about several topics from the three days of the draft including potential strategies, sleeper picks, and much, much more. It's only about 35 minutes long, so after you watch the Cedar Rapids Kernels play on Fox Sports North at noon today, be sure to listen to this informative podcast. Also, we at Twins Daily want to sincerely thank Jeremy Nygaard for all of his draft coverage the past couple of months. I know he's already excited about the 2014 draft, but please take a moment to thank him for his time and his expertise. I know we at Twins Daily certainly appreciate it! Listen to podcast here. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4392[/ATTACH] Photo by The Gazette

There's two sides of it though... there's the big picture side, where we have our Top 5 or 10 prospects that we really like (as fans), but where do they fit in the national perspective? I always kind of look at it like this: Top 2 prospects should be impact players 3-6 prospects should be solid regulars and quality starting pitchers. 7-12 prospects are guy that can be OK regulars or 4-5 starter types. 13-20 prospects, you're hoping they can come up and be part-time, role player types, decent bullpen arms, etc. 21-50 prospects, they either have too small a sample to get too excited about yet, or they're guys with a chance to get a cup of coffee, and anything more, we should be happy about. Obviously how that lines up depends on the strength of the organization's minor leagues at a given time. Our hopes for this crop of prospects is a little higher and moves the scale a little bit.

Or, it could just be a sore shoulder...

That would be my guesses as well.

Assuming Plouffe is healthy (soon), I just can't imagine a scenerio where Romero comes up. Maybe if he wouldn't have missed his opportunity in spring training and through the first 5-6 months of the season with the visa issues. That said, if Plouffe is out even longer (for whatever reason), then Romero makes a lot of sense.

Buxton will move up the day or day after Cedar Rapids clinches a playoff spot (or 1st place in the division). Jeremy and I were talking about Vargas as well. Vargas could play in the All Star game and then move up to New Britain At that time, Dalton Hicks could move up to Ft. Myers. In that case, the Twins could move Rory Rhodes up to Cedar Rapids. Rhodes has already played in the rookie years the past four years which means he can't play for Elizabethton (or GCL) again in 2013. He could move up at that time. Butera won't (and shouldn't) be DFAd at this time, and Pinto can stay in AA. Maybe later in the season. But Butera has value and once he's had some time to show his health, the Twins might be able to trade him. His glove/arm means the Twins could get something for him.

Correct. I think the kernels magic number is 5 with 6 games to play.

I think it's fair to expect a starter to be able to throw more than 75 pitches. This is definitely not one to put on Gardy.