mnfanforlife

Twins were 17th in the league in bullpen ERA

The Giants were so entertaining with their pitching staff of interesting characters.

I have absolutely no faith in what Joe Saunders brings to the table. He is just as likely to regress hard, as he is to reproduce his Baltimore numbers next year. But he is a Twins-style pitcher, in that he throws a lot of strikes. Would be a solid #4 or 5 starter on an average MLB team. So, why not make him our highest paid pitcher and anoint him our ace?

What is the meaning of life? Why are we all here? When looking for meaning in life, it is important to stay away from the “meaningless” list of Twins top prospects on MLB.com. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3099[/ATTACH] (Kennys Vargas) In my opinion, a top prospect list should be a “fluid” collection of players with the highest perceived upside. If a player is not producing up to moderate expectations, then he should be dropped from the list and a productive player with high upside should be added in his place. Because MLB.com had so many glaring issues, I boldly predicted what the top-10 should look like following the 2013 season. I will stick with this theme for my #11-20 Twins' prospects. 11. Nate Roberts – LF 12. Zachary Jones – RHP 13. Mason Melotakis – LHP 14. Josmil Pinto – C 15. Daniel Santana – SS 16. DJ Baxendale – RHP 17. A.J. Achter – RHP 18. Michael Tonkin - RHP 19. Kennys Vargas – 1B 20. Chris Colabello – 1B Okay, here goes… 11. Nate Roberts – This guy is easily a top-20 prospect after tearing the AFL a new “one” last fall. He is the guy with the dirtiest jersey after most games. He is not a “toolsy” prospect. He relies on intelligence and proper execution of offensive fundamentals. I recently posted a blog entry predicting trade winds that could land Roberts in Minnesota by 2014. He is going to be a Lenny Dykstra-type of player (tough as nails). 12. Zachary Jones – Watch your lips when you step into the box vs. this right-hander. He isn’t a big, intimidating figure on the mound at 6’1”, but take a look at what Willihammer posted here concerning a pitcher’s height and effectiveness. Jones averaged 15.3 K’s per nine innings during his professional debut. He is going to be reeeeally good…may pitch in the Eastern League at the end of 2013. 13. Mason Melotakis – Here is another arm that could move multiple levels next summer. He sat hitters down nicely with Beloit, and could prove to be Minnesota-worthy quickly since our closer is a lefty and Duensing appears to be crappin’ out. He might cruise right up to Double-A this summer with the kind of stuff he possesses. 14. Josmil Pinto – We are starving for a catcher that can hit. We are starving for a catcher that can catch! Heck, we are just plain starving in Minnesota. Hopefully Pinto is the answer to this problem by 2014-15. He was impressive at A+ and AA, and should be making Hermann and Butera sweat following the 2013 season. 15. Daniel Santana – We are starving for a shortstop too! This kid is still a few years away, but he showed great speed the last two years in low-A and Ft. Myers. He hit .286 last summer with a little pop, and I really like his fielding percentage at SS (.950). This could be the guy that puts a stop in that revolving door we got in Minnesota. 16. DJ Baxendale – This ranking is based solely on what DJ did last summer during his rookie minor league season. The kid allowed hardly anyone to get on base, let alone score a run. He is said to be starting next year, and I cannot wait to find out what he can do in that role. He’s another college hurler with a chance to move up fast. 17. A.J. Achter – This dude was the minor league “Pitcher of the Year” for our favorite organization. Yet, he was absent from MLB’s list (as are a huge chunk of my top-20). Go figure, and then take a look at Achter’s stats. He belongs on this list, and he might even make it to Triple-A this next summer. He certainly dominated the FSL hitters last year. 18. Micahel Tonkin – Stud. Big, tall stud. How in the heck does he not make the top-20 after his stingy numbers on the mound in 2012. He struck out 12.6 per nine last year between low-A and Ft. Myers. He wasn’t giving up many hits or walks either. His appearance in the Arizona Fall League wasn’t bad. Tonkin can handle AA hitters, and should be within reach of Minnesota by the end of 2014. 19. Kennys Vargas – Whoa! Where did this guy come from? The island of Puerto Rico! I am not really sure what is going on with Vargas’ “games played” totals during his pro career. Maybe one of my readers can fill me in on that? But, I am scared when I watch him swing. And that is a great feeling! He hit 11 homers and walked 28 times in 41 games with Beloit in 2012. He bettered his numbers from Rookie ball to low-A. I see Big Papi when he swings. His short year in Beloit was so good he may need to be ranked much higher on this list. This 22-yr-old may be top-10 material right now. You can brush up on your Español while Kennys scares you here: 20. Chris Colabello – If you are not rooting for this guy, shame on you! He is an un-drafted, NCAA Division-II corner infielder that can really hit. He plays for peanuts during a seven-year Independent League career, and finally gets a shot by being placed directly in AA with the Twins organization in 2012. He snaps off an eye-popping stat line during his first year with an MLB affiliate, then goes to the Mexican League and devours fastballs like fajitas. He earns a spot on my top-20. He and Vargas are reasons why a trade of Morneau and/or Parmelee wouldn’t be so bad. Colabello could be the bridge to 2015-’16 for the Twins at first-base starting in 2014. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3100[/ATTACH] (Vargas & Sano: they are big) If your favorite prospect is not on this list, perhaps he will be losing his prospect status in 2013. Or...he may not be producing up to normal expectations, and does not belong in the top-20. As you can see, I dropped anyone that has been under-performing in the minor leagues. I also dropped players that I feel do not have a high enough ceiling to be a considered a top-20 prospect.

Check out the two trades I proposed here. I suggested they bring pitching back in trade...

Sho' 'Nuff Willihammer! Thank you for posting!!

An all-out gutting was in order, and it finally happened with Span AND Revere getting moved. Great moves, even if it cost us another awful season.

Its like the FO didnt want to admit they needed to rebuild following 2011

Gutsy and I love it

Yep, the twins are going to suck next year. Maybe in 2014 too. Doesn't matter if people agree with this approach or not. Its really the only way to ensure long-term success. You could spend all the millions you want on veteran pitchers, but those dollars wont get you into the post-season, just ask Boston.

Yes and now I have to post this video of Walker in E town.

Yes, I admit its not fair to berrios or timmy. But they are quite similar in body-type and pitching "stuff"..beyond that they do not compare favorably since their paths to the bigs will be so different. berrios will probably not skip a single level on his way to MN, while Timmy was already seasoned when the Giants got him at #10 overall.

Dreamers become bosses of those that contain their thoughts to practicality.

Completely agree. He has reproduced his numbers from ELZ to Beloit, and showed serious promise in the AFL. We can count on Nate.

Lol..I want to be right too! And I apologize if my prediction was "just going too far." HAHAH! Was fun reading your post. I think Nate will continue to produce in AA and beyond because he turned a corner at the end of last year and hit the crap out of the AFL. I know, I know. It is a small sample, but it is also a sample of talent that is above the low-A level. And Nate gets an A+ on that test. Maybe that's why he will be skipping Ft. Myers (A+)? How can we predict he will NOT produce in AA? He will be skipping a level, but I think his game relies on intelligence rather than tools. And that means he understands how to produce at any level. He doesn;t need elite speed to steal bases, or an outstanding physique to get on base. His game is all about doing little things right. We will see.....

Right. I am sure crazier proposals have been offered by GM's...maybe Sano could bring us back a real SS in trade?

I am guilty of player comp's...its how I discuss prospects. Comparing minor leaguers to established guys is really not fair to both players. But it is a good way to describe a player that has not been exposed on a national level. And yes, they can look silly down the road. Berrios resembles Lincecum in my mind because they are both about the same height/weight. Both have fastballs that tail in to right-handed hitter, and when Lincecum was younger he was mid-90's like Berrios is now. Both feature two solid off-speed offerings (Lincecum the split and curve, Berrios the slurve and change). Timmy was a high-expectations college draftee while Berrios was simply an exceptional high school arm. At 22 years old, Lincecum dominated A+ and the giants elected to skip him up to AAA to begin the next season. After 5 starts in AAA as a 23-yr-old, Lincecum was promoted and won two Cy-Youngs. I am NOT saying Berrios is going to win a Cy Young award. What I am saying is that time will tell us all what we should expect from him. He is slightly ahead of the Tim Lincecum schedule if he starts in low-A, since Timmy went to college. So, we will have to be very patient while berrios works his way up to A+...that level of play will tell us alot about what we have. Hopefully he starts in Cedar Rapids right away this spring and we get a look at him in the FSL (a real league) in 2013.

We will all see

Yes, but the Twins have been decent at loading up on "the best players available" regardless of what position they play and then flipping a few near the top for organizational weaknesses. I guess my point is: our total value of all players is more important than making sure we have minor league depth at ALL positions.

In particular, help yourself to the statistics of last season's Arizona Fall League. Just be careful of one stat line near the top, and make sure you're sitting down when you read it. Of course, I'm talking about Nate Roberts, the mysterious and intriguing on-base machine from High Point. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3093[/ATTACH] Mysterious, as in exactly when do the Twins trade Josh Willingham (a #4 hitter) for ______________ and start the 1-2 hitter-type (Roberts) in left-field? He is intriguing in his projection to re-produce his on-base numbers vs. better competition, like he did in the AFL. His gaudy numbers rely on getting beaned, a lot. When the start of the 2014 season rolls around, Willingham will be in the final year of his Twins-friendly contract. This is a excellent chance for the organization to pull more pitching out of the sea of minor league talent, and give Willingham up to the wolves. Let us all hope for Josh to keep pinging balls off the upper-deck in Target Field throughout the course of 2013. That way our return in trade will be maximal, and the arrival of Oswaldo Arcia will make fans forget the powerful and undervalued Willingham. Perhaps, Morneau will not be around in 2014 either. That would allow Chris Parmelee to play 1B and free up an outfield spot for Nate! Okay, now that I've predicted two enormous trades that will allow Roberts to start in Minnesota in 2014, let's look at Nate's numbers during full-season ball. He couldn't stay healthy in Beloit in 2011 and 2012. So, he only totaled 144 games over the two-year span. However, he was absolutely frustrating for the opposition by posting a .437 on-base percentage when healthy enough to play. He also stole 27 bases during his fraction of 2012 (76 games). These numbers, coupled with the small sample of 2012's Arizona Fall League stats makes me think that Nate has exactly what it takes to put up similar numbers in Double-A this year. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3094[/ATTACH] Can we expect to be handed novelty mustaches as we enter the gates of Target Field in 2014? A Nate Roberts promotional night could be in your future. Are you man-enough to put that fake mustache on your upper lip? [ATTACH=CONFIG]3096[/ATTACH] Nate Roberts would make a great milk salesman, if he makes the majors.

What if we draft a 3B at $4?

Yeah I guess he could be linked rather with Vargas at 1B? as far as promotion timing....

Maybe Baxendale makes it up quickly by 2015? to round out the rotation...