Seth Stohs

Over this past weekend, about 24,000 Twins fans made the trek to the Metrodome for Twins Fest. The annual event is a tremendous fund raiser for the Twins Community Fund, but it is also an opportunity for Twins fans to start getting themselves ready and excited about the upcoming season. It’s been a long offseason for Twins fans, so being able to enter the Dome and see many of their favorite current, former or future Twins can be a great experience for those that collect autographs or for those that just want to be surrounded by baseball. It is also an opportunity for players in the Twins organization to see their teammates from last year and meet players new to the organization. One of the new guys was hard-throwing Trevor May who came to the Twins organization in December from the Phillies in the Ben Revere trade. “It’s going to take me awhile to remember some names, but it’ll come, I guess.” May made the trip on Friday from Seattle, where he grew up a Mariners fan. When the 2008 fourth-round draft pick, it wasn’t an easy decision to sign with the Phillies. He was the valedictorian at his high school (Kelso HS in Kelso, Washington) and had a scholarship to Stanford. But after consulting with his family, he decided to sign. He quickly became one of the best prospects in the Phillies organization. Before the 2012 season, he was the team’s top prospect, according to Baseball America. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3152[/ATTACH] In 2012, he struggled some in his first season at AA Reading. He went 10-13 with a 4.87 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP in 28 starts that covered 149.2 innings. However, he was inconsistent. In April, he went 5-0 with a 2.40 ERA. However, over the next three months, he went 3-8 with a 6.19 ERA. He ended the season by posting a 3.53 ERA in six August starts. How does he evaluate his season? “I started great. I stumbled a little bit. I look back at it as growing pains, and I thought I was a much better pitcher the end of the year. Even with the numbers at the beginning of the year, much better at the end than the beginning. All in all, it was a success. It might not have seemed that way on paper because the stumbling lasted a little longer than I would have liked. But I feel like I’m definitely closer to my goal than I was going into last year.” How did he feel about being traded? “It’s a cool thing, but it’s always a double-sided coin. Being traded, you have to leave all the guys you’ve played with for five years in the organization that drafted you. The game is a business. It’s kind of an honor to be traded for because someone must think highly of you and I’m excited to start in a Twins uniform.” May was added to the 40 man roster of the Phillies an offseason ago. That means that he will be going to Twins spring training in a couple of weeks in Ft. Myers. There, he will join (and be roommates with) Alex Meyer, the hard-throwing righty that the Twins acquired from the Nationals in the Denard Span trade. Regarding spring training, manager Ron Gardenhire will deliver a clear message to the two newcomers: “I just don’t want them to do too much. I really just want those young men to come in and grab the ball. That’s the first thing my pitching coach is going to tell them and I’m going to tell them, ‘You throw 95. Don’t try to throw 105. Come out. Relax. Do the work. Watch. Keep your eyes open. Keep your ears open. Keep your mouth shut. Pay attention to the veterans. Let them do their thing and learn.’ And then we’ll see at the end of spring training when I’m knocking on Terry (Ryan’s) door trying to keep both of them.” Clarity will be good as May isn’t quite sure what to expect from Twins training camp. “I don’t really know what to expect. I am kind of going in a bit blind, but I plan on being in the best shape I’ve ever been in and game-ready from day one. (I want to) show where I’m at, and all the progress I’ve made this offseason. I want to compete for a spot because that is what you’re there for. See where it goes from there.” Those of you that follow May on Twitter know that he also keeps himself busy in his free time by producing some of his own music and DJing under the name DJ Hey Beef. So, I had to ask him what turned out to be a simple question. Are you a baseball player who plays music, or are you a music guy who plays baseball? May left no question with his answer. “I’m a baseball guys that play music, let me make that very clear. People confuse that line a little bit. NO, I play music for pure fun. I’m not going on tour, or releasing an album or anything. I’d always been into music. I had obnoxious amounts of music on my ipod.” He has been able to turn a passion of his into a little side-job, “When you play ball and you’re not at the field, you have a lot of down time. I started to mess around with some programs and taught myself the last couple of years. Then I bought myself some equipment and then some more equipment. Then I got some gigs. Now I have some stuff I do very regularly in Seattle, just to make a little cash on the side. It’s fun.” He has changed his stage name to MAZR (a combination word combining his name with the word laser and then used some creative spelling). But make no mistake, May is a baseball player with the stuff to be very good at baseball. He throws a sinking four-seam fastball and a sinker. He also has a sharp 12-6 curveball and has made the circle changeup a strong part of his pitch repertoire. He is now working on a hard slider, as well. Who does he try to emulate as a pitcher? “I kind of emulate or think of myself similar to, and if I were as good as this person, I’d be doing pretty well, Matt Cain. Similar stuff. Similar velocities. Similar movement. I throw a big curveball. He doesn’t. But we’re pretty similar in kind of how we approach games. All I’ve got to do is get his command and I think I’ll be OK.” What does he know about the Twins? “(The) Twins have always been a great organization with a winning tradition. Maybe down a little the last couple of years, but I know that all the guys in the clubhouse have won, and are going to do it again. It’s definitely a great organization to be a part of.” He changed his stage name to get a fresh start. He also is getting a fresh start with the Twins and this spring he will be looking to make a name for himself. Twins Daily’s Seth Stohs was reporting from Twins Fest and able to talk to several players as well as the manager. Check back to Twins Daily throughout the week for more reports from Twins Fest.

When the Twins announced that they were going to KTWN, they also announced an agreement with 1500ESPN to get interviews and other thins.

Not likely. If he gets to the GCL in 2013, he'll play for ET in 2014. Midwest League in 2015. Florida State league in 2016... he could be debuting in 2018, but who knows where.

His surgery was in August of 2012. Gibson's was in September of 2011. So, best case scenario, he'll be doing what Gibson did this year, but maybe a month earlier. That is, he could be throwing off a mound in early May. He could pitch some rehab in the GCL when their season starts in late June. When his rehab stint is done, he will likely stay in Ft. Myers with the Miracle as he's building up strength. Maybe he ends the year in New Britain for a couple of starts.

Ben Revere played a lot of RF for the Twins the last year or two... I'd say that Oswaldo Arcia's arm isn't an issue. LF could happen too, but he hasn't played there much. Not that he couldn't. I mean, Rene Tosoni played only RF and some CF in the minors and the Twins put him in LF up here. Frankly, it just doesn't matter to me as long as his bat is in the lineup and he's in the OF.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1329-For-Better-or-Worse-Oswaldo-Arcia

Tonight, Oswaldo Arcia will be presented with a Diamond Award tonight as the Sherry Robertson Award winner as the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year. The talented outfielder had a tremendous 2012 season and is moving up prospect rankings. More important, he is putting himself in position to be part of the Minnesota Twins big league roster sometime in 2014. Arcia is prominently featured in the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook (paperback or e-book). Like 150 other Twins prospects, he is profiled, but because he was also our choice for minor league hitter of the year, there is a feature story on him with quotes from teammates. Quotes like, “He was the guy we wanted up when we needed a big hit.” Or, “He just always finds a way to get the good part of the bat on the ball.” But the question for today is: Following a tremendous 2012, will Oswaldo Arcia be Better or Worse in 2013? He will head to his second big league spring training in mid-February and that is when we will start to find out. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3119[/ATTACH] 2012 Recap I guess when you are named the Twins minor league hitter of the year (in a year with several very strong candidates!), the assumption can be that the season was quite good. For Arcia, it certainly was. He had moved up to Ft. Myers for the second half of the 2011 season following elbow surgery, and he struggled a little bit. He hit .263/.300/.460 (.760) with 24 extra base hits, including a team-leading eight home runs. So, he returned to Ft. Myers to start 2012 where, as a 20 year old, he hit .309/.376/.517 with 16 doubles, three triples and seven home runs. He did cut out his strikeout rate (23% to 19%), while significantly increasing his walk rate (4% to 10%). After 55 games, he was promoted to AA New Britain, which is supposed to be more difficult. However, Arcia made a mockery of the Eastern League, fully solidifying himself as a top prospect in more than just the Twins system. In 69 games, he hit .328/.398/.557 (.955) and hit 20 doubles, five triples and ten home runs. His strikeout rate increased by about 1.6% from where it was in Ft. Myers, but his walk rate dropped less than half of a percent. Overall, he hit .320/.388/.539 (.928) with 36 doubles, eight triples, 17 home runs and 98 RBI. He played in the Futures Game where he was 1-2 with a double off of Pirates pitching prospect Jameson Taillon. Baseball America ranked him as the Twins #3 prospect (as did I) and John Manuel commented that there are several teams where he would be the easy choice as #1 prospect. Arcia has been hitting since probably long before the Twins signed him out of Venezuela in 2007. He posted a .775 OPS in 2008 in the Dominican Summer League. His OPS was .792 in 2008 with the GCL Twins. His status was certainly heightened in 2010 when he was the Appy League player of the year. He hit .375/.424/.672 (1.096 OPS) with 21 doubles, seven triples and 14 home runs. He moved up to Beloit in 2011 where, in a month, he hit .352/.420/.704 (1.124 OPS) with eight doubles, a triple and five home runs. In a month. He ended that 2011 in Ft. Myers, where I said he struggled, but ‘struggled’ was still posting a .760 OPS. Why He’ll Be Worse It will be a very important spring training for Arcia. Where he breaks camp will be quite interesting, and frankly, could send him any of three directions. Due to numbers and the fact that he can be called up from AA as well as AAA, he could return to New Britain for a couple of months. Most would say that he should just start the season at Rochester. There is also an outside chance that he could start the season with the Twins, however, that is quite unlikely. The Twins have Josh Willingham and Chris Parmelee that should start the season in the corners, and Ryan Doumit can (kind of) play those positions as well. Arcia is just 21 years old, so he needs to play and there is no reason to rush him. There are still things that are, at least to some level, that he has to work on. We have already talked about his strikeout rate which has been pretty consistently between 19% and 23% throughout his young career. For the type of production he has put up, those numbers are far from alarming, but could it become an issue as he moves up? Potentially. Although his overall numbers hardly indicate it, Arcia has struggled at times against left-handed pitchers. In fact, in the season’s first month, his lefty-righty splits were quite different, as was the case in 2011 at Ft. Myers. He made some adjustments during the 2012 season to greatly improve his performance against southpaws. He’s a very smart baseball player already considering his youth, but he can certainly improve his base running as well. Why He’ll Be Better Frankly, it is going to be hard for Arcia to move up a level and put up the kinds of video game numbers he put up in 2012 again, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t continue to keep his prospect status just as high or higher. However, Arcia is a natural hitter. He has tremendous power to all fields, and those things you hear from his teammates about always being able to get the good part on the bat really matter. It speaks to his ability to make adjustments, not only over the course of a season but even on the level of a single at bat. He can turn on a fastball inside, but he knows best to take those pitches on the outside corner to the opposite field. He will not turn 22 years old until May. The sky is the limit for him. The experience he has had this offseason in the Venezuelan Winter League, particularly in the playoffs where he more consistently is playing against top talent, has been very encouraging. He has displayed his power potential. Can he put the ball in play a little more often? If so, that would help some. 2013 should be a fun season to follow Oswaldo Arcia. If he goes back to New Britain, the hope would be that he would rake for a month and prove that his 2012 was not just a fluke. Against the much-older pitchers in AAA, he will have to show patience and that he can make adjustments. Arcia is a good defensive outfielder. He is a right-fielder primarily because he has a very strong arm. He has about average speed, so he is a better fit in the corners, especially when you have speed guys like Aaron Hicks and Joe Benson for centerfield. He did play a handful of games in center in 2012, and played there primarily in Elizabethton. He has not played left field since his GCL days. Seth Projected ETA for Arcia – I think that the Twins will trade Justin Morneau in July. At that time, Chris Parmelee will move back in to first base, and Arcia will take over in right field. So, which will it be? Will (or can) Oswaldo Arcia get (any) better or worse in 2013? Let us know what you think. Meet Twins Daily! If you are interested, come to Huberts (by the Metrodome) on Saturday night from 6-9 p.m., following Twins Fest. The Twins Daily guys will be there, as will Aaron Gleeman and many of your favorite writers. It should be a lot of fun!

Tonight, Oswaldo Arcia will be presented with a Diamond Award tonight as the Sherry Robertson Award winner as the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year. The talented outfielder had a tremendous 2012 season and is moving up prospect rankings. More important, he is putting himself in position to be part of the Minnesota Twins big league roster sometime in 2014. Arcia is prominently featured in the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook (paperback or e-book). Like 150 other Twins prospects, he is profiled, but because he was also our choice for minor league hitter of the year, there is a feature story on him with quotes from teammates. Quotes like, “He was the guy we wanted up when we needed a big hit.” Or, “He just always finds a way to get the good part of the bat on the ball.” But the question for today is: Following a tremendous 2012, will Oswaldo Arcia be Better or Worse in 2013? He will head to his second big league spring training in mid-February and that is when we will start to find out. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3119[/ATTACH] 2012 Recap I guess when you are named the Twins minor league hitter of the year (in a year with several very strong candidates!), the assumption can be that the season was quite good. For Arcia, it certainly was. He had moved up to Ft. Myers for the second half of the 2011 season following elbow surgery, and he struggled a little bit. He hit .263/.300/.460 (.760) with 24 extra base hits, including a team-leading eight home runs. So, he returned to Ft. Myers to start 2012 where, as a 20 year old, he hit .309/.376/.517 with 16 doubles, three triples and seven home runs. He did cut out his strikeout rate (23% to 19%), while significantly increasing his walk rate (4% to 10%). After 55 games, he was promoted to AA New Britain, which is supposed to be more difficult. However, Arcia made a mockery of the Eastern League, fully solidifying himself as a top prospect in more than just the Twins system. In 69 games, he hit .328/.398/.557 (.955) and hit 20 doubles, five triples and ten home runs. His strikeout rate increased by about 1.6% from where it was in Ft. Myers, but his walk rate dropped less than half of a percent. Overall, he hit .320/.388/.539 (.928) with 36 doubles, eight triples, 17 home runs and 98 RBI. He played in the Futures Game where he was 1-2 with a double off of Pirates pitching prospect Jameson Taillon. Baseball America ranked him as the Twins #3 prospect (as did I) and John Manuel commented that there are several teams where he would be the easy choice as #1 prospect. Arcia has been hitting since probably long before the Twins signed him out of Venezuela in 2007. He posted a .775 OPS in 2008 in the Dominican Summer League. His OPS was .792 in 2008 with the GCL Twins. His status was certainly heightened in 2010 when he was the Appy League player of the year. He hit .375/.424/.672 (1.096 OPS) with 21 doubles, seven triples and 14 home runs. He moved up to Beloit in 2011 where, in a month, he hit .352/.420/.704 (1.124 OPS) with eight doubles, a triple and five home runs. In a month. He ended that 2011 in Ft. Myers, where I said he struggled, but ‘struggled’ was still posting a .760 OPS. Why He’ll Be Worse It will be a very important spring training for Arcia. Where he breaks camp will be quite interesting, and frankly, could send him any of three directions. Due to numbers and the fact that he can be called up from AA as well as AAA, he could return to New Britain for a couple of months. Most would say that he should just start the season at Rochester. There is also an outside chance that he could start the season with the Twins, however, that is quite unlikely. The Twins have Josh Willingham and Chris Parmelee that should start the season in the corners, and Ryan Doumit can (kind of) play those positions as well. Arcia is just 21 years old, so he needs to play and there is no reason to rush him. There are still things that are, at least to some level, that he has to work on. We have already talked about his strikeout rate which has been pretty consistently between 19% and 23% throughout his young career. For the type of production he has put up, those numbers are far from alarming, but could it become an issue as he moves up? Potentially. Although his overall numbers hardly indicate it, Arcia has struggled at times against left-handed pitchers. In fact, in the season’s first month, his lefty-righty splits were quite different, as was the case in 2011 at Ft. Myers. He made some adjustments during the 2012 season to greatly improve his performance against southpaws. He’s a very smart baseball player already considering his youth, but he can certainly improve his base running as well. Why He’ll Be Better Frankly, it is going to be hard for Arcia to move up a level and put up the kinds of video game numbers he put up in 2012 again, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t continue to keep his prospect status just as high or higher. However, Arcia is a natural hitter. He has tremendous power to all fields, and those things you hear from his teammates about always being able to get the good part on the bat really matter. It speaks to his ability to make adjustments, not only over the course of a season but even on the level of a single at bat. He can turn on a fastball inside, but he knows best to take those pitches on the outside corner to the opposite field. He will not turn 22 years old until May. The sky is the limit for him. The experience he has had this offseason in the Venezuelan Winter League, particularly in the playoffs where he more consistently is playing against top talent, has been very encouraging. He has displayed his power potential. Can he put the ball in play a little more often? If so, that would help some. 2013 should be a fun season to follow Oswaldo Arcia. If he goes back to New Britain, the hope would be that he would rake for a month and prove that his 2012 was not just a fluke. Against the much-older pitchers in AAA, he will have to show patience and that he can make adjustments. Arcia is a good defensive outfielder. He is a right-fielder primarily because he has a very strong arm. He has about average speed, so he is a better fit in the corners, especially when you have speed guys like Aaron Hicks and Joe Benson for centerfield. He did play a handful of games in center in 2012, and played there primarily in Elizabethton. He has not played left field since his GCL days. Seth Projected ETA for Arcia – I think that the Twins will trade Justin Morneau in July. At that time, Chris Parmelee will move back in to first base, and Arcia will take over in right field. So, which will it be? Will (or can) Oswaldo Arcia get (any) better or worse in 2013? Let us know what you think. Meet Twins Daily! If you are interested, come to Huberts (by the Metrodome) on Saturday night from 6-9 p.m., following Twins Fest. The Twins Daily guys will be there, as will Aaron Gleeman and many of your favorite writers. It should be a lot of fun!

Tonight, Oswaldo Arcia will be presented with a Diamond Award tonight as the Sherry Robertson Award winner as the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year. The talented outfielder had a tremendous 2012 season and is moving up prospect rankings. More important, he is putting himself in position to be part of the Minnesota Twins big league roster sometime in 2014. Arcia is prominently featured in the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook (paperback or e-book). Like 150 other Twins prospects, he is profiled, but because he was also our choice for minor league hitter of the year, there is a feature story on him with quotes from teammates. Quotes like, “He was the guy we wanted up when we needed a big hit.” Or, “He just always finds a way to get the good part of the bat on the ball.” But the question for today is: Following a tremendous 2012, will Oswaldo Arcia be Better or Worse in 2013? He will head to his second big league spring training in mid-February and that is when we will start to find out. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3119[/ATTACH] 2012 Recap I guess when you are named the Twins minor league hitter of the year (in a year with several very strong candidates!), the assumption can be that the season was quite good. For Arcia, it certainly was. He had moved up to Ft. Myers for the second half of the 2011 season following elbow surgery, and he struggled a little bit. He hit .263/.300/.460 (.760) with 24 extra base hits, including a team-leading eight home runs. So, he returned to Ft. Myers to start 2012 where, as a 20 year old, he hit .309/.376/.517 with 16 doubles, three triples and seven home runs. He did cut out his strikeout rate (23% to 19%), while significantly increasing his walk rate (4% to 10%). After 55 games, he was promoted to AA New Britain, which is supposed to be more difficult. However, Arcia made a mockery of the Eastern League, fully solidifying himself as a top prospect in more than just the Twins system. In 69 games, he hit .328/.398/.557 (.955) and hit 20 doubles, five triples and ten home runs. His strikeout rate increased by about 1.6% from where it was in Ft. Myers, but his walk rate dropped less than half of a percent. Overall, he hit .320/.388/.539 (.928) with 36 doubles, eight triples, 17 home runs and 98 RBI. He played in the Futures Game where he was 1-2 with a double off of Pirates pitching prospect Jameson Taillon. Baseball America ranked him as the Twins #3 prospect (as did I) and John Manuel commented that there are several teams where he would be the easy choice as #1 prospect. Arcia has been hitting since probably long before the Twins signed him out of Venezuela in 2007. He posted a .775 OPS in 2008 in the Dominican Summer League. His OPS was .792 in 2008 with the GCL Twins. His status was certainly heightened in 2010 when he was the Appy League player of the year. He hit .375/.424/.672 (1.096 OPS) with 21 doubles, seven triples and 14 home runs. He moved up to Beloit in 2011 where, in a month, he hit .352/.420/.704 (1.124 OPS) with eight doubles, a triple and five home runs. In a month. He ended that 2011 in Ft. Myers, where I said he struggled, but ‘struggled’ was still posting a .760 OPS. Why He’ll Be Worse It will be a very important spring training for Arcia. Where he breaks camp will be quite interesting, and frankly, could send him any of three directions. Due to numbers and the fact that he can be called up from AA as well as AAA, he could return to New Britain for a couple of months. Most would say that he should just start the season at Rochester. There is also an outside chance that he could start the season with the Twins, however, that is quite unlikely. The Twins have Josh Willingham and Chris Parmelee that should start the season in the corners, and Ryan Doumit can (kind of) play those positions as well. Arcia is just 21 years old, so he needs to play and there is no reason to rush him. There are still things that are, at least to some level, that he has to work on. We have already talked about his strikeout rate which has been pretty consistently between 19% and 23% throughout his young career. For the type of production he has put up, those numbers are far from alarming, but could it become an issue as he moves up? Potentially. Although his overall numbers hardly indicate it, Arcia has struggled at times against left-handed pitchers. In fact, in the season’s first month, his lefty-righty splits were quite different, as was the case in 2011 at Ft. Myers. He made some adjustments during the 2012 season to greatly improve his performance against southpaws. He’s a very smart baseball player already considering his youth, but he can certainly improve his base running as well. Why He’ll Be Better Frankly, it is going to be hard for Arcia to move up a level and put up the kinds of video game numbers he put up in 2012 again, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t continue to keep his prospect status just as high or higher. However, Arcia is a natural hitter. He has tremendous power to all fields, and those things you hear from his teammates about always being able to get the good part on the bat really matter. It speaks to his ability to make adjustments, not only over the course of a season but even on the level of a single at bat. He can turn on a fastball inside, but he knows best to take those pitches on the outside corner to the opposite field. He will not turn 22 years old until May. The sky is the limit for him. The experience he has had this offseason in the Venezuelan Winter League, particularly in the playoffs where he more consistently is playing against top talent, has been very encouraging. He has displayed his power potential. Can he put the ball in play a little more often? If so, that would help some. 2013 should be a fun season to follow Oswaldo Arcia. If he goes back to New Britain, the hope would be that he would rake for a month and prove that his 2012 was not just a fluke. Against the much-older pitchers in AAA, he will have to show patience and that he can make adjustments. Arcia is a good defensive outfielder. He is a right-fielder primarily because he has a very strong arm. He has about average speed, so he is a better fit in the corners, especially when you have speed guys like Aaron Hicks and Joe Benson for centerfield. He did play a handful of games in center in 2012, and played there primarily in Elizabethton. He has not played left field since his GCL days. Seth Projected ETA for Arcia – I think that the Twins will trade Justin Morneau in July. At that time, Chris Parmelee will move back in to first base, and Arcia will take over in right field. So, which will it be? Will (or can) Oswaldo Arcia get (any) better or worse in 2013? Let us know what you think. Meet Twins Daily! If you are interested, come to Huberts (by the Metrodome) on Saturday night from 6-9 p.m., following Twins Fest. The Twins Daily guys will be there, as will Aaron Gleeman and many of your favorite writers. It should be a lot of fun!

I like Roberts, and it's a tough comparison because 1.) the Twins farm system is much better now than it was when I had Tosoni ranked around #10. They have different skill sets. Defensively, I think that Tosoni is much better. Offensively, I think Tosoni has much more power, enough to overcome the 2% difference in walk rate. Also note that it wasn't long after I ranked Tosoni at #10 (after he skipped Low A and was pretty decent in High A), he dropped down to the later teens, which again, factoring in that the Twins farm system is much better, would put them in a similar spot. Roberts is a great leadoff hitter. No question, and I really like him in that role. I just don't know that you want a DH as a leadoff hitter, which kind of puts him in that 4th OF mode in my mind today. Again, that's kind of what Tosoni became (or could become with the right opportunity), but at the time I ranked him highly, I thought he could be a solid (not an All Star, but a guy you don't mind in your lineup every day) outfielder.

Regarding Zack Jones... then why was he taken in the 4th round instead of the 1st or 2nd round, like several other Twins picks like Luke Bard (who will start), Mason Melotakis (who will likely get an opportunity to start), and JT Chargois? Also, Bruce Pugh and Dakota Watts touch those velocities as well, so why not ask for them in the top 30? And, Baxendale was a 10th round pick this past year... Nothing against him, and he dominated out of the bullpen in the low levels, but for him to be Top 30, shouldn't he have been higher than a 10th round pick? (I think he'll succeed until AA and then we'll find out how good he can be) Roberts never hit as well as Tosoni. Tosoni skipped Low A ball and Roberts spent two years in Low A ball. Tosoni was a better outfielder with a much better arm. Roberts gets on base very well as a leadoff hitter, but Tosoni took good at bats and plenty of walks, so I'm very comfortable with where I ranked Tosoni, and where I have Roberts. Regarding Hernandez, his ranking and prospect status have nothing to do with May and Meyer. This may sound dumb, but I frankly don't really care where people rank the Twins comparable to other teams. It's nice to be considered in that top quarter or third or teams, but I don't care about prospects for other teams. I may know their names and a little about them, but I just focus on the Twins, and I feel good about the Twins farm system and direction, and that matters more to me than where someone thinks they rank.

Regarding Minier, I generally don't rank players until they are at least in the GCL, but his signing bonus indicates that he must have some upside to be a Top 10 type of guy. IF you read the prospect handbook, the profile of Slama talks about his stats versus his scouting report. Last year, he rarely touched 88 mph. It's hard to get too excited about a guy who doesn't throw hard, doesn't have a great second pitch, and is already 29 years old, from a prospect status. That said, he's a great guy who I believe deserves a real opportunity. Stuifbergen needs to stay healthy. I don't think anyone's given up on him, but he's been eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 twice without being taken. Thielbar, they obviously love, and for good reason based on scouting I've received, but at most, he'll throw about 50-60 innings in a season as the #2 bullpen lefty probably. Chargois is also a reliever, but he could move up quite quickly but let's let him get beyond rookie league ball before getting too excited. Pineda - I don't think I'd have him in my top 50, but he's intriguing in the outfield planning up above.

Benson's upside one year ago was higher than Hicks. I don't know that it still is. He's got a lot to prove. His ranking for people will be dependent upon how much the ranker believes he was hurt throughout the 2012 season. Polanco's little. He's not going to hit for power, and he isn't one to walk a ton, so I don't see a lot of offensive upside. He'll have to hit .300 to have a lot of value, unless he's amazing defensively. I've also never read a scouting report that talks terribly much or terribly highly of his bat.

Ha!! Nope...

So... I shouldn't have had Gibson in my Top 7 or 8 last offseason because he had Tommy John surgery and the last month or so of his pitcher, he struggled? No, you have to factor in the injury and drop a player appropriate to the likelihood of his return, but if you believe the guy can get back to where he was before the surgery/injury, then why wouldn't you keep him on the list?? (no, I'm not putting Salcedo in Gibson's category. Gibson went from 1 to 6. Salcedo went from about 9 to 20ish.)

As we've talked about before, there is a combination of talent, production, age and likelihood to get to the big leagues in any person's prospect rankings. I like the pitchers in the GCL, but couldn't put them ahead of any of my top 30... I really like Rosario. He touches 95 already. I like Lo. Malinowski has a chance to be good. Those guys are top 50 types.

I have heard and understand both, but I also think he's got room to improve. If he does, he should be higher than 12. If he isn't able to catch up to the good fastballs, then he'll fall off the list.

He is considered a "prospect" by my definition, which is basically "eligible for Rookie of the Year in the big leagues." But age is certainly a factor in prospect rankings, and he isn't close to the Top 30 for me, but that doesn't mean he can't come up and be a solid bench bat for a couple of years. I'd love to see that!

Well, he was a clear Top 10-12 prospect coming into the year, so after a year full of injury, I don't think I should have dropped him as far as I did. He's got a chance to be good, but I'm alarmed more that he didn't have surgery in 2012 than if he would have.

Obviously any prospect ranking is going to be an individual thing, so I encourage people to do their Top 30s as well. I like Ortiz. I think he can hit well. I think he gets lost behind some of the bigger prospects, but I think he is quite talented. How he fits into the future of the Twins doesn't affect my ranking. He's behind quite a few other OF prospects, so who knwos what will happen. Let's see how Duffey and Baxendale do when they make the move to the starter role in 2013. Hopefully they're terrific. Achter had a tremendous season as a 24 year old in Beloit and Ft. Myers, and we'll see how he does as he moves forward. Corey Williams has good stuff, but if performance is what you look at, he didn't exactly have a strong year in Beloit.

Regarding Polanco, and well, every prospect, it is just my opinion. ET stats are always interesting. He could move up a lot on this list if he hits in the Midwest League. Regarding Jones, I really like him. I think that if he gains some control, he could move up. I have always admitted that I tend to rank relievers lower than starters. Reasoning? Because a #3 or #4 starter is going to potentially work 170-200 innings. A top 7th inning reliever is going to pitch 65-70 innings a year. Also, why would I rank Jones ahead of Chargois? If the Twins drafted Chargois in the 2nd round and Jones in the 4th round, do we have enough information yet to put Jones ahead? I really, really like Jones and his 100 mph fastball, but let's see how he does in 2013.