Seth Stohs

I don't want to invalidate those successes, but we always have to be careful about making too much out of college pitchers putting up insane numbers in E-town. However, 5 guys from this year's draft moved up to Beloit and still did well. But some will move into starting roles (Rogers, Baxendale, Bard, etc.) and that will be an adjustment. The relievers could move quickly to New Britain and that's when they should start getting challenged.

Felix Jorge was a 'miss' for me, for sure. I think they'll keep Boyd pitching as a starter as long as they can.

It's the beauty of the game of baseball, in my opinion. Stars only get you so far. hey, the Twins have stars (Mauer, Morneau, Willingham), but it's those other players playing well at the right time. It's so many things. It's combining talent with teamwork. I know that we like to mock things like sac bunts (OK, I love mocking it), but if you're playing for one run, being able to do that (and then following up with a sac fly or something) is vital. The Giants aren't the most talented team out there, but they have strong starting pitching and a strong bullpen, and good defense and enough offense. That's why they don't play baseball on paper... they play the games on TV!!

John Sickels posted his Top 20 Twins prospects this morning (actually Top 21)... http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/10/29/3568278/minnesota-twins-top-20-prospects-for-2013

At this stage, yes... do you think that Piazza was instantly a top prospect when he was a 62nd round pick? No, but he played great and moved up lists quickly. We've got like 20 innings on all of these college relievers, at low levels, so we know pretty much nothing yet. And, they took the best player available (Buxton), so they couldn't get Gausman or Zimmer.

All fair points which is why the title of the blog includes my name. I definitely encourage people to post their own blogs with their Top 20s or Top 50s or whatever. I try not to let injuries factor into my rankings too much. Kyle Gibson missed a year with Tommy John and I don't think I ever had him lower than #7. Wimmers was hurt last year and had Tommy John. Salcedo rehabbed a shoulder injury most of last year. Benson had about 3 different injuries last year. It is difficult to determine how much a guy should fall due to injury. Benson moved down 6 spots for me. Salcedo and Wimmers each dropped a few as well. Also, Matt Summers threw 148.1 innings last year. Low K total, but having seen him pitch, he's got the stuff. I can't believe he won't strike more out. I fully admit that I'm a Danny Santana believer. I've seen him play a few times and (maybe that clouds my judgment some) I think he's going to be good. Don't get me wrong... I had Dozier ranked #11 last year. To me, that was a spot where he could be a solid every day big leaguer, not an all-star, but a contributor. Likewise, I'm not saying that Santana will be an All-Star, but his tools are incredible and I think he can stick at SS. And if he puts together another solid year next year in New Britain, he could move up a few more spots. Or, if he doesn't post a .300 OBP again, he could drop precipitously. I definitely acknowledge I'm out on a limb on Santana. Regarding the college relievers, you're probably right... It's actually unusual for me to include this many relief pitchers in my rankings. Not that I don't respect the position. I just have a hard time ranking guys that will pitch 60-70 innings ahead of guys that will throw 170+ innings. But the Twins definitely have some power arms in their system now.

Of course, this is correct. However, I would (or at least could) argue that the more good prospects a team has, the more likely that one or two will turn out. Also, I'm not looking for superstars (although I think the first 7 on this list could potentially be), and it's important to realize that those in the 30s could be valuable big league relievers, and that utility infielders have good careers. And also, these guys work hard and deserve to be recognized.

The short answer is "Yes!" A few years ago, I ranked him #3 in the organization, and I kept him in the Top 10 for awhile. The guy is an incredible athlete with great talent, but last year was a mess. He had a great first 2 weeks and then struggled like crazy the rest of the year. HE is terrific defensively. He has great speed and a strong arm. That said, I believe that he can be a guy that goes up to AA and does better. We'll see.

Goodrum probably has the highest upside offensively. I've never been real high on Michael. Polanco finally did something this year, and he's so young. In reality, I think the main point about the three of these guys is they're all in the same range. As of right now, I rank them Polanco, Michael, Goodrum, but of course, that's subject to change.

His draft status means that he's thought of more highly than those other guys. When healthy, he can be very good. He will likely get the opportunity to start which (in my opinion) is more valuable than relieving. Also, it's hard to make much of anything that happens in 15-20 games (especially remember that a couple of those relievers will move to starters next spring and we'll learn a lot more about them then).

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?1125-Seth-s-Preliminary-Top-50-Twins-Prospects

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2573[/ATTACH] Now that the TwinsCentric Offseason Handbook is available, it’s time for me to hunker down and dive head-first into the 2013 version of the Twins Prospect Handbook. It’s hard to believe that this will be the 5th annual prospect book already. I enjoy doing the research and the writing, for sure. As I did last year, I want to welcome your feedback. To encourage that, I am sharing my early, preliminary Top 50 Twins Prospect list. As I research and write over the next two months, it is not only subject to change, but likely to change. So, here is my preliminary Top 50 list without much comment. Please feel free to discuss, disagree, ask questions, mention players that I didn’t, and generally just chat away. Seth’s Preliminary Top 50 [TABLE=width: 217] Rank Player POS 1 Miguel Sano 3B 2 Byron Buxton OF 3 Aaron Hicks OF 4 Oswaldo Arcia OF 5 Eddie Rosario 2B 6 Kyle Gibson RHP 7 Jose (JO) Berrios RHP 8 Max Kepler OF 9 Kennys Vargas 1B 10 Joe Benson OF 11 Travis Harrison 3B 12 Adrian Salcedo RHP 13 Danny Santana SS 14 Chris Herrmann C/OF 15 BJ Hermsen RHP 16 Alex Wimmers RHP 17 Adam Walker OF 18 Mason Melotakis LHP 19 Jorge Polanco IF 20 Pedro Hernandez LHP 21 Danny Ortiz OF 22 Matt Summers RHP 23 Luke Bard RHP 24 Levi Michael 2B 25 Hudson Boyd RHP 26 Nate Roberts OF 27 Niko Goodrum SS 28 Kuo-Hu Lo RHP 29 Michael Tonkin RHP 30 Madison Boer RHP 31 Bruce Pugh RHP 32 JD Williams OF 33 Angel Mata RHP 34 DJ Baxendale RHP 35 Tyler Duffey RHP 36 JT Chargois RHP 37 Zach Jones RHP 38 Randy Rosario LHP 39 Jason Wheeler LHP 40 Josh Burris RHP 41 Matt Hauser RHP 42 Josue Montanez LHP 43 Tom Stuifbergen RHP 44 Dereck Rodriguez OF 45 Corey Williams LHP 46 Romy Jimenez OF 47 Austin Malinowski LHP 48 Tyler Jones RHP 49 Brett Lee LHP 50 Jeremias Pineda OF [/TABLE] There you have it, 1-50. There are some names that I’m sure we all think have been left off. Guys like Pat Dean and Lance Ray and Evan Bigley have been on the list before. Left-handers who pitched incredibly well in Beloit (like David Hurlbut, Matt Tomshaw and 2012 draft pick Taylor Rogers) could be on this list. Minnesota native and former Gophers infielder Nate Hanson did a terrific job for the Rock Cats this year, especially after moving to second base. Fellow Rock Cat James Beresford would be on this list, but at this point, he has not re-signed with the Twins. Aderlin Mejia was an All-GCL choice this year. Candido Pimentel was the Appy League MVP. To come up with a Top 10 list of Twins prospects this year is really easy. However, I have not had this much trouble starting at about 16 or so in my 7-8 years of making these types of lists. It’s not that there isn’t some really good talent. There are a lot of players who were just recently drafted. There are some really talented, potentially impact relievers. Injuries have had some effect on this list, no question. I feel like Kyle Gibson, who I ranked #6, should be several places higher. However, I just can’t get myself to move him in front of the top 5. But that’s a great place to start the discussion. I think most would agree with who is in the top seven on this list, but what order would you have them in? Again, feel free to discuss, ask questions, make cases for players, whatever you like.

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Mackey_Twins_search_for_SPs_might_mean_another_stab_at_Mark_Buehrle102812 1500espn's Phil Mackey writes that the Twins may take another stab at LHP Mark Buehrle this offseason. He has a couple of years left on the free agent contract he signed with the Miami Marlins last offseason, and I would think that the Twins would insist that the Marlins pick up some of the contract. And then it would be a matter of which prospect(s) the Twins would have to give up as well. Left-handed. He's been a given for 200 innings for years. What do you think?

Seems to be a basic premise missing with some of these comments. When I say "The playoffs are a crapshoot," I'm starting with the assumption that all 8 (or 10) playoff teams are good baseball teams. I believe that, in the playoffs, bullpens paly a huge role, but it obviously starts with starting pitching. The Twins have no starting ptiching, so I don't know if there is any Twins discussion in this thread (regarding good, playoff teams). The question of, "Can the Twins get there?" is legit... The answer? Sure, if they can find a couple of strong #2s, Gibson and Hendriks take a step forward, and they find a diamond in the rough, like Vogelsong. And that's certainly not predictable.

I've always said that Twins fans got really spoiled there for awhile with top talent coming up each year. Baker, Morneau, Mauer, Kubel, Liriano, Span and that was on the heels of the Hunter, Jones, Mientkiewicz, years. Hopefully another run is coming here starting within the next year or so with Hicks, Arcia, Benson, Parmelee, maybe Plouffe can catapult up to a solid player, and then will come Rosario, Sano, and some of that tier... Likely there will be a name or two that will surprise us. I guess I just choose to be hopeful rather than dwell on the lack the last 2-3 years.

According to Baseball America, the Twins have also resigned RHP Shairon Martis and LHP Aaron Thompson.

Tweet from Twins President Dave St. Peter:

http://www.news-press.com/article/20121026/NEWS01/121026008/Details-agreement-keep-Twins-Lee-County-released?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home According to the News Press, the Twins and Lee County have an agreement on a deal that will potentially keep the Twins in Ft. Myers for the next 30-50 years. The Twins were able to submit a wish list for improvements that can be agreed upon. The vote will take place November 6. Dave St. Peter and Bill Smith have been in Ft. Myers in meetings the last two days. Check out the wish list. There are a lot of things there to make the fan experience there better. But also the plan is to adjust the field to match the dimensions of Target Field.

Kwak... starters in the AFL rarely go more than 5 innings in any game, so I don't think that it's because he can't... and certainly has no indication on what he'll be able to do next spring.

Basically there is the 40 man MLB roster. There is a 38 man AAA roster, and a 37 man AA roster. If a player is eligible, but not put on the 40 man roster, he can still be put on the AAA roster. Who is eligible for the AAA reserve list? Take the MLB rules for eligibility and subtract a year. Do the same for the AA roster. So, Alex Wimmers doesn't have to be added to the 40 man roster this year for the Twins, but he would have to be next year. That means he has to be added to the AAA roster this year. if a player is taken in the minor league portion, he stays with the other organization. None of the have-to-be-offered-back stuff. It's more difficult to know because the AAA and AA reserve lists are not made public (to my knowledge).

It's all I seem to hear!! Ha!

He hit .296/.358/.454 (.811) with 8 doubles, 3 homers and 22 RBI in 26 games in the AFL last year. Not exactly tearing it up (for the AFL)

You are correct... this would be out of the realm for Ryan's doing.