Dman

I don't love going 3rd baseman high in the draft, but it is better than going after a 1st base\DH player. If taking one high I feel like they should be above average defensively and offensively. I can't say I love any of these guys, but Tommy Tanks is a cool name and he has the power the Twins love. My Favorite though would be Cam Smith as he has the defense to go along with the offense. Really hard to say who might work out best but that would be my pick with the info I have (which isn't much).

Ohl just keeps pitching well and gets no respect from top 30 lists. He has pitched the 2nd most innings in the Texas league. He is 4th in WHIP and top 10 in ERA. He probably is the best pitcher on the WindSurge that started the season there.. He doesn't get a lot of love because his K rate is low, but his stuff is still hard to square up. But when balls are finding holes he can have tough nights and when they are finding gloves he often goes deep into games. He's not totally pitch to contact, but since he is around the zone so much it seems likely there will always be some pitch to contact in his game unless he can refine some things. I think it is time to see what he has at AAA. HIs control is good enough for MLB, but can he keep the ball off the barrels? That will make or break him probably similar to Varland in that respect. I was surprised they started Soto in A ball. He likely is only going to pitch 50 innings to 60 tops. That's only 10 to 12 games at 5 innings an outing. Which is why short season ball made more sense to me. Still they must have felt he needed to go against better competition to learn the things he needed to learn. I know he teased us a bit with a game where he no hit the opponent for 5 innings, but there were always going to be growing pains IMO. He already has pitched 22 innings so I would expect to see shorter outings or skipping some starts so he can make it through the season within his pitch\innings limit this year. There is a lot for him to learn his first year. That being said he has pitched really, really well this year so far. Although his ERA is high a lot of that has to do with the defense behind him as his FIP is 3.72 much better than his ERA. His K rate is strong at 11.5/9 or 27% so his pitches have been affective. He needs work not too surprisingly on command and control. Too many walks and way too many hits are hurting him. Kid is only 18 with extremely limited experience and now in pro ball. I think he is doing great so far.

I'm still concerned with Rodriguez's contact rate. It's not as good as Lee and likely Jenkins. As mentioned above as he deals with elite pitching at the MLB level those walks will start to disappear or at least come down quite a ways. Like Jullien it feels like there are holes in his swing and they will find those spots in MLB. That being said I love Rodriguez's plate discipline, power, and clutch hitting. He seems solid defensively though I don't see him as an elite center fielder. Despite all the great things he is doing I still have the top three as Jenkins, Lee and E-Rod. He can feel free to prove me wrong when he gets to the Majors this year.

Yeah at AA they have six starters for sure and they have also used Rozak in a long relief role with technically starter innings generally piggy backing off of Raya. Still Ohl could be moved to AAA if needed and Adams feels more like a pen arm than starter to me so he could be moved as well. The one wild card would be Lewis. Not sure when he would be ready, but he will need a spot when he comes back. Another long shot move would be if Matthews continues to dominate AA they could move him to AAA earlier than normal. He shouldn't have much of an issue with the tighter zone there since he throws so many strikes and doesn't walk many batters. He has to continue to perform though and AA can be tough for pitchers so not a given that he would be ready for AAA early. So, I feel like they could make it work if needed, but to your point there is technically no room for him at AA right now or the near future unless other moves are made. If he continues to pitch this well though I am pretty sure they will find him a spot. Edit: If Culpepper were to make it to AA and Lewis came back they would have 5 top 30 pitchers in AA (Raya, Matthews, Morris, Lewis and Culpepper)

Man Culpepper was dealing. Only 66 pitches through 6 innings. If his arm was more stretched out they might have let him go all 9. I got to watch a decent portion of that game and he was just unbelievably good at least after the 3rd inning on. They knew he was going to throw strikes so they were swinging early in counts and if they decided not to swing he was hitting the zone as his 8 K's indicate. It is just one game but he looked better than Zebby to me in this one. Absolutely dialed in and they couldn't generate hard contact at all. To me the sign of an elite pitcher is the other team knows you are going to throw strikes and are ready to swing but they still can't touch your stuff. They were ready for him and he no hit and no walked them through 6 innings with 8 K's. This is only High A, but if he brings that up to AA man the Twins have some interesting options there right now. I am on the Keaschall bandwagon to get him to AA. He is just killing it at high A. Home runs, doubless, clutch hits for RBI's he is dialed in right now. I know they can wait a few weeks but they should move him up to get him acclimated to AA. He needs a greater challenge. Emmanual Rodriguez with a three hit night and another home run. I've run out of good things to say about this guy. Maybe give him a crack at AAA and some of the junk ball willy veteran arms they have there and see how he handles them? He seems to have AA conquered right now. Several people on the board have said he is going to get his chance at the MLB level and given what I am seeing I am inclined to agree. Nice to see Jenkins getting his groove back. Can't wait to see him in A ball. A ton of great performances tonight. I hope they keep this up as it is fun to watch.

While I agree the Minor's are all about development and an umpires call doesn't "really" matter. We all have competitive spirits and would like the rules applied evenly. That is why at least having the opportunity to have a few challenge calls per game would be nice. It can save the umpire and the players some angst while trying to get the call right. I also think the challenge system helps keep an umpires ego in check as he looks bad when the call is wrong versus unchecked he controls with no checks and balances.

Seth thanks for adding the 5 at the end to see what a top 25 might look like. I too would love to have another five spots on the prospect rankings but then again I would probably love to see a top 40. I get it though as after the first 20 the rankings generally gets even more subjective. For me though it is just nice to see who might be close to cracking the top 20. I like the list and I know I have my personal favorites that might not objectively stack up stat wise, but it takes time for things to even out in a season or seasons to see what players can really do as they move up levels. Another player to keep in mind would be Dameury Pena. He almost hit 400 last year in the DSL and is hitting well in the FCL this year as well. Oh and he only has one K this year to go with 6 walks. He might lack power right now, but with the good eye at the plate and great contact skills I think the Twins have something with this kid. Always fun to dream on prospect's. Thanks for the write up!

Nice to see Zebby not missing a beat at AA. As he moves up he is going to need to walk some guys. Can't be in the zone all the time. His walk rate even from last year is impressive. Zebby and Ohl should get along well at AA as they love to attack hitters. With Doncon at High A now I have to believe Keaschal will make the jump to AA fairly soon. While there doesn't appear to be much room at AA for him with both Ortega and Ross struggling at AA it seems like they could move one of them around to make room.

I've been keeping my eye on Mercedes and I too am thrilled with his hot start. Still if gameday can be believed he has been pretty aggressive at the plate. He swings at a lot of first pitches and has done well with that approach so far. Hard to argue with his .422 BA and 1.191 OPS, but his .486 BABIP means there will be some regression. It would be nice to see what he can do being more patient at the plate, but hey if they are throwing strikes and you are hitting them that's good too. It is just that when you move up levels having good plate discipline is usually a difference maker. While Dameury Pena's OPS is below Mercedes I still like him better as a hitter with only 1 K in 46 PA's and 6 walks already I feel like he controls the zone better. Haven't had an opportunity to see him in person but his stats have me excited about his bat.

Nice game by Morris for his AA debut. He gave up a few too many hits and of course no walks, but everything else looked pretty much the same. Nice to have him in AA to see just how good he is. He hasn't pitched a ton of innings, but Bengard has pitched really well at A ball. If Culpepper ever moves up to AA I wonder if it will be Bengard or Dunn that moves up to High A. Varland sure swings back and forth. He had a really nice line except for the Home Run. He is going to need to better suppress those to make it back in a starting role. As mentioned Schuffield saved the Kernals from losing with his big bat. Happy to see him have a dominant game. Don't look now, but Sobato the player I generally bash is hitting .300 and had a three for four night last night. It is a small sample size as he started the season late, but it is just nice to see him doing well and have something nice to say. Cossetti's OPS continues to climb, but you can tell he has had issues adjusting to the stuff at AA as his K rate has ballooned this year. Still it is nice to see him hanging in there against better pitching. Was a fun night to keep track of things at the MiLB level.

Walker Jenkins Haven't seen him this year. but still number 1 for me.Brooks Lee He looked good this spring. Being able to switch hit and have great position flexibility keeps him number 2 for me.Emmanuel Rodriguez You could argue he deserves the number one spot with the hot start he has had, but the swing and miss and lack of any kind of contact at times leaves him at three for me.Charlee Soto I like Soto more than most. He is holding his own and has been dominant at time at A ball. Doing that as an 18 year old is impressive.Marco Raya They haven't let him pitch many innings yet and I don't know if he can hold up as a starter but I like the way his stuff moves. I think he can he elite if he stays healthy.Luke Keaschall This might be high but I really like his well rounded batting profile and athleticism. He looks like a difference maker to me.David Festa Still struggling with command but he can miss bats and throw hard. Hoping he can find an extra something to get over the hump.Brandon Winokur He;s got power and K's too much but he really seems to be working on pitch recognition and he holding his own in A ball as a teenager. Not easily done.Simeon Woods Richardson The AAA numbers aren't good and the MLB numbers are excellent. I probably should have him higher but he won't be on this list long so leaving him here.Austin Martin He won't be on these lists much longer but he looks like he will be a solid utility player at the MLB level.Gabriel Gonzalez I haven't fallen in love with Gonzalez. He has been solid but not top 100 good IMO.Zebby Matthews Zebby could be higher. He could be top 5 for me but I am going to wait a little longer to make sure he stays dominant at the higher levels first.Andrew Morris He gives up too many hits but he can get K's and keep runs off the board. Maybe a sweeper or something to help him stay off barrels?Danny De Andrade I probably have Danny too low but he is off to a slow start. If he picks things up he will top 10 for me.CJ Culpepper He has a lot of pitches and good velocity. Just need to see him dominate a bit more to move him higher.Dameury Pena He has an exciting bat. He batted .400 most of last year in the DSL until he fell below that at the very end of the season. Off to a good start in FCL he could be A ball bound later this year.Noah Cardenas He has a great eye at the plate, is a good hitter and probably the best defensive catcher the in the system that can hit. Rubel Cespedes He was a non-prospect just last year, but he is hitting and hitting for power. Is one of the top bats in his league and the top bat on his team. We'll see if it holds but for now he is at 18 for me.Kala'i Rosario His number are similar to last year but a but below. AA is a tough jump. I still believe in the power bat but it might take time.Darren Bowen I think he has the stuff? Need to see more. I didn't rank Canterino and Prielipp who I haven't seen in two years. I also let Lewis slip but he probably should be top 10. Just hard when you don't see guys. Olivar could be right there with Cardenas but went with the player that is better defensively. Some tough decisions for a top 20. A fair number of my picks could be swapped for other players, but this is my gut feel right now.

I agree. I think most of the HS players mentioned would maybe be in line for the supplemental first round pick or second round pick.

I generally hate taking popup prospect's in the first round as they tend to get overrated IMO, but I do really like Kellon Lindsey. Love the speed, the quick hands and ability to make contact. Kind of reminds a little bit of Royce Lewis in some regards with his plethora of standout tools. I like Sanford as well but he seems a bit like a Miller clone and the Twins don't seem to hang onto guys with little to no power. Could be an elite defender at short though and the bat looks solid to me. Maybe he gains more strength as stated but the tools aren't as loud as Lindsey to me. Most oof the other players that might fall to us don't seem like Shortstops to me. More second or third basemen. I really like Gillen but with the arm issue's he seems limited defensively. Not sure that is a guy I take in round one. Bonemer seems like a Twinsy pick. Good athlete with big power potential. I don't love power over hit players though and he also is more of a third baseman than shortstop IMO

I was a little worried about Keaschall as his slugging was just a bit down. Looks like he has fixed that and now he, Cespedes and Oliver all have over .900 OPS's. Three guys in the top ten of the league looks real good. The nice thing about all three is they walk about as much they K and they K under 20%. I don't know how Minnesota does it, but they sure seem to find guys that know the zone.

For as much movement as Raya gets on his pitches guys sure are squaring him up. Some really hard contact he has been giving up at least when I have watched him. Not sure I would want to see him go much longer than three innings given what I am seeing. Still at 20 pitches per inning probably best to pull him when they did. Hopefully he can adjust to this level but I like other arms better than him right now.

Klein has been a bit up and down to start the year, but the numbers do look good. Don't know what to think about him just yet, but that Kernals rotations has been really good again this year. Keaschall needs to get it together on pick offs. Gifting the other team outs really hurts and kills rallies. Hopefully he is more mindful about from here on out. The AA bats are starting to heat up and the pitching has improved from the beginning of the year, but more work to be done there.

While I don't ever like getting swept to be dominated like that makes you feel like all hope is lost even if they do manage to make the playoffs.

I agree with you. They have been really good at finding offensive minded catchers outside the top 10 rounds. Cossetto, Cardenas and now Poncho Ruiz are all players with solid batting lines across the board (i.e. Fairly equal walk and K rates, Good BA and Slugging). So it seems like a position they wouldn't "need" to grab a catcher early as they have been having success finding those guys later in the draft. Unless of coarse they offered elite defense with solid offense. Ideally I would like to see them spend their first round picks on up the middle players if possible or elite offensive performers if still available. Tie breakers going to players with better speed or that can play multiple positions. Also wouldn't mind arms that look like they could be elite and there should be some decent arms available at 21 as well.

Given how the board falls the Twins could possibly have their choice of any of the top catchers at 21 if that is the way they want to go. Lomavita is only one that doesn't appear likely to be there when they pick though that could change. For me if the Twins are going to take a catcher in round one it should be a guy with potential for elite defense. They have a ton of offensive minded catchers in the system as it is in Cossetti, Cardenas and Olivar. I think Janek makes the most sense to me if they would decide to go catcher. His arm is rated at 60 with good pop times so he has the ability to control the run game. If they wanted to go catcher outside the first round then Bazzell makes some sense to me as well. I don't know much about him and maybe he would be worth it as a comp pick as well. As long as they go with strong defensive traits I would be OK with a catcher pick.

Really nice Report Seth not much to add. I know we all like Cossetti, Olivar and Cardenas at catcher and I think all three are in the top 30 om MLB.com.. And yet the forgotten catcher Morales has the highest OPS among all of them. We'll see how the year plays out but the Twins sure do seem to have a lot of catchers in the system who can hit. Even down at A ball they have Poncho Ruiz who looks like he might be the most well rounded catcher in the system.

Festa has definitely been trending up. His numbers have always been pretty solid I think his biggest questions mark has always been stamina. If he can not melt down as the game goes on he looks like a mid rotation arm to me. He has some really good pitches as his swing and miss indicates. I hope he puts it all together as he moves to the MLB level. Man how would our depth look like if we still had the lefty Povich? Gotta believe things would look quite a bit better.

Yeah it all comes down to injuries especially at the rotation level. If they can avoid setbacks there I like their odds.

I don't think the Twins hate him. They signed him for this year and next I believe so they obviously like his potential. It is a combination of options and mindset IMO. He failed to cover home in one of the games he pitched and he has allowed umps to get in his head on occasion as well. Can't do that at the pro level. You need to be dialed in 99.9% of the time. Don't want to lose games over things you can control. I still think it is mainly options though. I believe he had\has three left? So he is the easiest to send down as well.

From what I understand he is a pretty good fielder and they think he can stick at short but will have to wait and see how he fills out. I really like De Andrade as well.

That 3 homer game has McCusker on a tear. I like the idea of moving the mini giant to St. Paul. He is a big man with a big swing. I have really taken a liking to Poncho Ruiz. Walks and K's about equal and he has been hitting well since the start of the season. Hoping Keirsey keeps the bat hot and proves he can make it at the MLB level.