Dman

My Bad on Larnach.  I thought he was under 800 for OPS.  I must have read that wrong. I don't know why but he hasn't gotten much love in the top 100 or top 150 lists.  Must not be as well rounded as some but given his numbers so far the bat looks legit.

Regarding Larnach...  a .297/.373/.505 slash line at Cedar Rapids was pretty solid.  The thing with Trevor is that he doesn't have that one or two elite tools that some of the other top prospects in baseball have.    I guess I'd still have him in the top 5 prospects for the Twins.though.

Nice to see Bowden give Thorpe some love.  Thorpe's K9 has been real good and his WHIP OK.  Seems like he should be up there.
 
I am not surprised that he didn't include Larnach as he hasn't been around long and didn't completely dominate while at A ball.
 
Javier didn't play last year so not surprised he isn't on the list.
 
Rooker still has contact issue's and his only real skill is his power. So kind of one dimensional and with his age and the K rate not really someone who would be on my list.
 
The only glaring omission from TD that I see is Balazovic.  I think the group underestimated how good of a year the young man had in A ball.  He was quite young for the level and seemed to kind of dominate most of the time.

Prospect ranking are subjective so not too surprised there would be variance.  I would guess we would only have 3 to 4 players tops in the top 100.  They would be Lewis, Kiriloff and Graterol,  Possibly Larnach but with such limited at bats it is hard to say how he is viewed.  
 
I think about a dozen of our guys that could be in the top 200 need to have seasons where they prove their skills are translating.  Some of those dozen players will fail to drastically improve, some will be injured and some will move up.  Just have to wait and see what happens but I predict more Twins players in the top 200 next year.

I agree Wade is a little high, but he has shown he can hit and get on base at every level. I don't like the Grossman COMP because Wade could play CF if needed. 
 
I like the list, the only thing I'd do differently would be swapping Javier and Wade. The system is just so strong it is tough to keep a guy like Javier up there, but he's my breakout candidate to jump into the top 4 next year. 
 
 

This is a really good article.  Agree on pretty much everyone you have on this list and even the honorable mentions. Well Done!!  Thanks for sharing your thoughts they confirm what I was thinking as well.

They might not finish second. So, F
 
I hope we can look back on this as a year of mistakes, and I hope the front office learns from those mistakes. 

This is a really good article.  Agree on pretty much everyone you have on this list and even the honorable mentions. Well Done!!  Thanks for sharing your thoughts they confirm what I was thinking as well.

This is a really good article.  Agree on pretty much everyone you have on this list and even the honorable mentions. Well Done!!  Thanks for sharing your thoughts they confirm what I was thinking as well.

what you said.... I'd rather have JT (who made the Dodgers and is doing well in the show) or Burdi than a guy Molly won't even send out until all is lost. 

Not protecting Luke Bard in the rule 5 draft made sense. The decisions on Burdi and Chargois are more concerning. To me it would have been a significantly better move to add Burdi to the 40-man roster and option Chargois to the minors. The Twins could currently have Burdi on the 60-day DL (opening up his 40-man roster spot) and have Chargois at AAA. In addition the Twins would have been able to utilize the last 25-man roster spot for a player that could actually contribute. Basically, the Twins could have had 2 high upside relievers (Burdi and Chargois) still in the organization while freeing an additional 25-man roster spot, instead they chose Kinley.

IMO this is already an "egg on the face," situation and the best thing to do is to clean it up as quickly as possible. You're spot on Ted; Molitor has no desire to use Kinley, nor should he, as Kinley hasn't shown anything to suggest he can trusted. He's eating up a 25 man spot, the importance of which is magnified given Molitor's history of bullpen usage, the early struggles of some relievers, and the unpredictability of the starting staff. 
 
For me, cutting ties with Kinley won't be hard to stomach, it'll be a relief. However Bard and Chargois are performing now has nothing to do with what's best for the Twins. I get that the optics of cutting Kinley loose this early, or while Bard and Chargois are pitching well may make it seem worse in the eyes of some, but in reality are harming themselves by holding onto a guy that can't get into games. 

I think Romero starts in AA, mid-season promotion to AAA, and if the numbers are there he's pitching in the MLB bullpen around August/September as he approaches an inning limit.
 
I don't necessarily think he makes an MLB start this year unless he's otherworldly given the names and depth in front of him in the pecking order. But a continued strong spring might shuffle that list a bit.

I am not typically on anyone's side in these arguments but if that is the stated goal of revenue sharing then I think he actually has a point.  To create a more level playing field to acquire players you are penalizing teams that would be willing to spend more on player salaries and giving money to teams that cannot generate the same level of revenue as those clubs to give them a greater chance to acquire said players.
 
If a team decides to tank their season and not spend that money on player salaries then why should they get that money?  Technically they are saying they don't need it to be competitive.  I think there is an argument to made there.

I agree with nytwinsfan.  Love your lists because they are very different and they include the international players at a much earlier level than most prospect evaluaters.  you had Graterol on your lists long before I saw him on others.  
 
Not sure that I agree with all your takes but odds are you know much more about these players than I do.  Thanks for sharing the list!

I agree with nytwinsfan.  Love your lists because they are very different and they include the international players at a much earlier level than most prospect evaluaters.  you had Graterol on your lists long before I saw him on others.  
 
Not sure that I agree with all your takes but odds are you know much more about these players than I do.  Thanks for sharing the list!

As alwasy Thrylos, I don't always agree with you, but you always have interesting takes on the prospects, and I epecially appreciate that you are not just regurgitating what other prospect writers say, but actually develop and explain your own views.

I like that you have international players in your lists.  No one else seems to give them much thought.  I am a box score watcher and Nunez caught my eye early in the season and late in the season.  the DSL had some real talent this year and GSL did as well.  I am happy to see you put some of these guys on lists.   Thank you!

I was thinking about this group right after MiLB was done for the year.  It looks like an all-star lineup to me.  Not sure what they come up with for pitching at least to start the year but they have the bats to be a very, very tough team to beat.
 
It can be a big jump from the Appy league to Cedar Rapids so no guarantee everyone starts out well but pretty much everyone in that lineup has the potential to be an impressive hitter.  
 
I can't get to Cedar Rapids to see them but maybe when the play in Beloit I can get there.
 
I am just as excited as you are.  I expect a lot of these guys to end up in Fort Meyers by the mid point so not sure about your championship aspirations.

We just need to keep in mind the word from which fan is derived.  We should not expect that a certain percentage of fans are not going to exhibit cold rational thinking.  
 
Along with a few other posters, I posted the reported odds of the Twins making the playoffs shortly after the deadline.  Most people have played a little poker in their life. You just don't keep betting on a very low probability hand.  Yet, a few people insisted the Twins should have bet on winning even when presented with those odds.   I would not be too concerned that you can't make everyone understand the rationale of the FO.  

Great read.  I like the metaphysical implications of all this re: Lewis' arrival being a catalyst or simply a synchronous event in a pattern of positivity.

Rochester has a decent record but they are not loaded with prospects. With only about 5 weeks left in the minor league season, I think it's time to start moving players up to the level we want them to start at next year. Give them some adjustment time and get players ready for the next step. 

Appreciate the idea. It's sound. Personally, I'm not convinced Granite can't be a full time starter, AVG/OB/SB leadoff guy with good defense. He understands and embraces his role. Further, he's showing continued improvement which is always a good sign.
 
And he probably deserves to be up. (So does Garver probably). But it's not just that simple as he then takes AB from others, or sits too much. Would Vargas really deserve to be send down again? He's been slumping a bit lately, but guys do sometimes. And then they work out of it. And if I'm not mistaken, his AVG against LHP has actually come up a bit lately. And he recently hit his first RH homerun. More opportunity as of late? Things just equalizing? Hard to say. But while a fan of Granite, I'm still not certain it's time yet.

I can see shopping Dozier and Grossman. I don't see Rosario being moved yet even with Mr. Granite doing so well in Triple A. I love Escobar and feel he brings alot to the team with both his glove and his bat. But if the FO can get some very good pitching (doesn't need to be an "Ace") for him I will smile through my tears.

What's really needed is a new rule in Major League Baseball to accommodate rookies that could use a cuppa coffee in the bigs. 
 
The Coffee rule would allow a team to call up five separate non-40 guys per year, but only one at a time, while putting a guy on the 40 into a temporary pool of players that cannot play with the club, but are not off the official 40-man roster. A Limbo guy could play in the minors while the Coffee guy is up. 
 
The limit for a cuppa coffee would be three starts for a minor league pitcher, or ten games for non-pitcher. At the end of that time, the Coffee guy can either return to the minors, or swap places with the Limbo guy on the 40-man. Otherwise, the Limbo guy simply returns to the 40, with no other changes in status. 
 
A rule like this would allow Jorge to replace Mejia for a few games, or Garver to replace Gimenez for ten games, with no worries about messing up the 40. This would allow rebuilding teams like the Twins to experiment more, give a veteran a rest, etc.