rgvtwinstalk

The NFL draft is over this weekend and I have a lot of takes on Baseball topics as the reason I joined in the first place was because of my love for baseball. In the future I plan on writing some baseball articles. However, right now I am focused on the NFL draft if you don't like it read something else no big deal.

I did not copy and paste and TD when it was started was place for everyone to have a place their interests and have substantant discussion. I love the Twins and baseball, but I also love Football and the draft. If it is not your cup of tea you have every right to pass on it. I enjoy it and am continuing to do some Vikings draft buzz as I enjoy it.

1. Carolina- CJ Stroud Qb Ohio State 2. Houston- Bryce Young Qb Alabama 3. Arizona- Will Anderson DE Alabama 4. Indianapolis- Anthony Richardson QB Florida 5. Seattle- Tyree Wilson DE Texas Tech 6. Detroit- Jalen Carter DT Georgia 7. Las Vegas- Will Levis QB Kentucky 8. Atlanta- Christian Gonzalez CB Oregon 9. Chicago- Peter Skoronski OT Northwestern 10. Philadelphia- Nolan Smith LB Georgia 11. Tennessee- Broderick Jones OT Georgia 12. Houston- Quentin Johnston WR TCU 13. New York Jets- Paris Johnson OT Ohio State 14. New England- Devon Witherspoon CB Illinois 15. Green Bay- Myles Murphy DE Clemson 16. Washington- Joey Porter Jr. CB Penn State 17. Pittsburgh- Deonte Banks CB Maryland 18. Detroit- Jaxon Smith-Njigba WR Ohio State 19. Tampa Bay- Darnell Wright OT Tennessee 20. Seattle- Lukas Van Ness DE Iowa 21. Los Angeles Chargers- Michael Mayer TE Notre Dame 22. Baltimore- Zay Flowers WR Boston College 23. Minnesota- Emmanuel Forbes CB Mississippi State 24. Jacksonville- Will Mcdonald IV DE Iowa State 25. New York Giants- Dalton Kinkaid TE Utah 26. Dallas- Adetomiwa Adebawore DE Northwestern 27. Buffalo- Bijan Robinson RB Texas 28. Cincinnati- Darnell Washington TE Georgia 29. New Orleans- Bryan Bresee DT Clemson 30. Philadelphia- Jordan Addison WR USC 31. Kansas City- Jalin Hyatt WR Tennessee A couple notes about 1.0, I did not do any trades and in future ones I will. Will Levis will go 3 in my opinion, but the question is what teams move up for him? Could it be our Vikings which likely would take their 2023, 2024, and possibly 2025. More likely Indianapolis or Las Vegas. I am 90% positive the top 4 will be Stroud, Young, Anderson, and Richardson in some order and their is a scenario where quarterbacks go 1, 2, 3, and 4 which has never happened. The other thing i am positive about is Hendon Hooker will be a 1st round pick. Most likely at the end of the round teams like Philadelphia and Kansas City will trade out of the first to a quarterback needy team. That is the most likely scenario for the Vikings if they are going to get a quarterback as they only have 5 picks as I write this. To get more picks the likelist scenario is trade down unil say 31 pick up some picks and take Hooker at 31. We shall see that is my NFL mock draft 1.0

I can't see Anderson making the team just can't. I also think they go 13/13 instead of 12/14. I have Kirilloff making the team with Cave becoming 4th outfielder and Rooker as a bench bat.

1. Houston- Blake Bortles QB Central Florida 2. St. Louis- Greg Robinson OT Auburn 3. Jacksonville- Jadeveon Clowney DE South Carolina 4. Cleveland- Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville 5. Oakland- Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M 6. Atlanta- Jake Matthews OT Texas A&M 7. Tampa Bay- Khalil Mack LB Buffalo 8. Minnesota- CJ Mosely LB Alabama 9. Buffalo- Taylor Lewan OT Michigan 10. Detroit- Sammy Watkins WR Texas A&M 11. Tennessee- Darqueeze DennardCB Michigan State 12. New York Giants- Eric Ebron TE North Carolina 13. St. Louis- Mike Evans WR Texas A&M 14. Chicago- Timmy Jernigan DT Florida State 15. Pittsburgh- Justin Gilbert CB Oklahoma St. 16. Dallas- Aaron Donald DT Pittsburgh 17. Baltimore- Marqise Lee WR USC 18. New York Jets- Marcus Roberson CB Florida 19. Miami- Zack Martin OT Notre Dame 20. Arizona- Derek Carr QB Fresno State 21. Green Bay- Ra’shede HagemanDT Minnesota 22. Philadelphia- Kelvin BenjaminWR Florida State 23. Kansas City- Brandin Cooks WR Oregon State 24. Cincinnati- Dee Ford DE Auburn 25. San Diego- Bradley Roby CB Ohio State 26. Cleveland- Cyrus Kouandjio OT Alabama 27. New Orleans- Ryan Shazier LB Ohio State 28. Carolina- Stephon Tuitt DE Notre Dame 29. New England- Davante AdamsWR Fresno State 30. San Francisco- Jason Verrett CB TCU 31. Denver- Chris Borland LB Wisconsin 32. Seattle- Louis Nix III DT Notre Dame

i have a guy that many would not have going 8 to Vikings, but if the vikings truly take the best player available I can truly see the Vikings taking Wide Receiver Sammy Watkins. I know the Vikings have Greg Jennings, Patterson, Jarius Wright, and possibly Simpson. However, Simpson is a free agent who likely will not be resigned. The real reason though is Watkins is a stud who is compared to AJ Green and Julio Jones. I have him going 7 to Tampa Bay, but receivers rarely go in top 10 and I think he would be a rare ocurance. I know he is not a big need but if the 3 qb's are gone i think he is definately worth considering. What does everybody else think.

i could see the vikings do what they normally do and trade back into 1st round and take a qb. But i don't project trades. A couple names to think about is AJ Mccarron, Aaron Murray, and Zack Mettenberger. I see Mccarron as a 2nd round talent but someone will take him in the first round. Murray and Mettenberger are 3rd/4th round picks that could be targets. You have Vick as Vikings 2014 starter and I think it will be Matt Schaub.

1. Houston- Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville 2. St. Louis- Jadeveon Clowney DE South Carolina 3. Jacksonville- Blake Bortles QB Central Florida 4. Cleveland- Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M 5. Oakland- Jake Matthews OT Texas A&M 6. Atlanta- Greg Robinson OT Auburn 7. Tampa Bay- Sammy Watkins WR Clemson 8. Minnesota- Khalil Mack LB Buffalo 9. Buffalo- Anthony Barr LB UCLA 10. Detroit- Darqueeze Denard CB Michigan State 11. Tennessee- CJ Mosely LB Alabama 12. New York Giants- Taylor Lewan OT Michigan 13. St. Louis- Ha Ha Clinton-Dix S Alabama 14. Chicago- Kony Ealy DE Missouri 15. Pittsburgh- Louis Nix III DT Notre Dame 16. Dallas- Timmy Jernigan DT Florida State 17. Baltimore- Mike Evans WR Texas A&M 18. New York Jets- Eric Ebron TE North Carolina 19. Miami- Cyrus Kouandjio OT Alabama 20. Arizona- Derek Carr QB Fresno State 21. Green Bay- Justin Gilbert CB Oklahoma State 22. Philadelphia- Ra’Shede Hageman DT Minnesota 23. Kansas City- Marqise Lee WR USC 24. Cincinnati- Aaron Donald DT Pittsburgh 25. San Diego- Marcus Roberson CB Florida 26. Cleveland- Kelvin Benjamin WR Florida State 27. New Orleans- Ryan Shazier LB Ohio State 28. Carolina- Stephon Tuitt DE Notre Dame 29. New England- Jace Amaro TE Texas Tech 30. San Francisco- Bradley Roby CB Ohio State 31. Denver- Dee Ford LB Auburn 32. Seattle- David Yankey OG Stanford

thank you i appreciate you reading my work it makes me want to write more and have you let me know what you like and what you dont like so thank you.

Shane- Thanks for reading but i still believe he has room to grow physically as 215 is not that heavy for that height so i expect him to end up in that 230 range. When it comes to meyer he throws a pretty straight fastball when he doesn't get on top of it and with his height that will always be a challenge for him. I am so excited about his potential, but like I wrote there are questions about him that he needs to answer.

Here is part 10 and final installment of my prospect list I hope you enjoyed the earlier parts. Today I will be bringing you prospects 5-1. I brought you 5 a day until we got all the way to number one. This took awhile so I hope you kept checking back here for daily looks at who I had in certain spots and what I think of them. I am sure you disagreed with some and if so by all means leave me a comment in the comment section. If you prefer you can also shoot me an email at travis.aune@gmail.com. Also if you prefer you can hit me up on twitter @texastwinsfan so whichever way you prefer let me know what you think of my list. List can also be seen at rgvtwinsfan@blogspot.com 5. Lewis Thorpe LHP 11/23/95 18 Signed as a Free Agent in 2012 out of Australia 2013 stats: 4-1 2.05 era 12 games 8 starts 44 inn 32 hits 6bb 64k 2013 team: Gulf Coast League Twins 2014 team: Elizabethton ETA: 2017 The left handed fireballer from Australia really came out of nowhere in 2013 after being signed as a free agent for 500,000 in July of 2012. The Twins have had some really good luck out of Australia as they got major leaguers in Luke Hughes and Liam Hendriks from the land down under. If you just look at pure upside he is best player ever signed out of Australia. The problem with projecting someone this high is he is so far away as he would likely need five promotions to make it to the Twins. He also has so young and so limited experience that we don’t know if 2013 was a fluke or if it was just the tip of the iceberg because he only pitched in 44 innings so far as a professional. The reason I don’t have a problem projecting him this high is because of all the experience he has in the Australian Baseball League which he has a ton of experience in. The other reason I don’t have a problem with it is prospect lists are all about projections and his upside is that of an ace and as Twins fans well know that is hard to find. In 2013 Thorpe went 4-1 with a 2.05 era in 44 innings in which he just gave up 32 hits. The most impressive thing was he had just the six walks in those 44 innings while striking out an impressive 64 guys. Thorpe is young and continues to grow as he is 6’1 and a razor thin 160 pounds so he needs to get stronger. He has picked up velocity on his fastball as he normally hits 92-93 and touches 95. He has a really good changeup and also throws a curve ball and a slider. Right now he is getting by with his fastball that he can blow guys away with. This year and especially when he gets to full season he is going to need to improve that curveball and slider as starting pitchers can’t get by only having two pitches. The curve and slider show potential and is something he needs to work on. I look for him to throw 95-96 consistantly as he gets stronger and stronger and if he can develop those breaking pitches he has the chance to be special. Being he is so far away it is a work in process as he has a ton of things he needs to improve on. One thing I love about him is his control as he only walked six batters in those 44 innings which is unheard of. I don’t expect the walk totals to be that low going forward, but if he can limit it to 2-3 walks per nine innings he will have much success. I have not been this excited about a pitching prospect in a long time. If Twins fans can be patient with him they won’t be sorry as I view he is the future for Twins pitching as I feel he is an ace in the making and Twins fans should keep an eye on the stud pitcher. 4. Kohl Stewart RHP 10/7/94 19 1st round pick in 2012 out of HS in Texas 2013 stats: 0-0 1.35 era 7 games 4 starts 20 innings 13 hits 4bb 24k 2013 teams: GCL Twins, Elizabethton 2014 team: Cedar Rapids ETA: 2017 When the Twins drafted Kohl Stewart with the fourth pick in the 2013 draft there was excitement about his upside, but there was a question of signablity as he had a full ride playing quarterback at Texas A&M. The questions about signing him disapated on draft night when in an interview the Houston native stated how excited he was to be part of the Twins organization and how he planned on signing. That took a lot of the pressure off both sides and they were able to come up with a figure that worked for both sides. The two sides ended up coming up with a figure of just over 4.5 million or just about slot to get the big right hander signed with the Twins. He did not pitch much in 2013 due to protecting his arm and also have a freak accident where he just his foot on a rock that cost him some time. He started out in the GCL and in 16 innings he gave up three runs on twelve hits along with three walks and sixteen strikeouts for a 1.69 era. Late in the season he got a callup to Elizabethton where he got one start and pitched four shutout innings on just one hit with a walk and eight strikeouts. Overall, he worked just 20 innings for the Twins after work 40 during the high school season. The Twins are going to be very careful with him as they are going to watch his innings very aggresively. I think he likely starts the season in extended spring training and then when the weather warms up he goes up to Cedar Rapids. He might start the year in Cedar Rapids, but what i am sure about is I don’t expect to see him pitch much more than 100 innings in 2014 and will probably skip him from time to time to save his arm. Stewart’s best quality in my opinion is his atheticism as he can do everything you want out of a pitcher. Stewart has a cockiness about him that scouts love because he believes no body can get a hit off of him and me personally I love that about him. He throws his fastball in the 92-94 range, but keep in mind he has never worked soley on baseball before so when he works on mechanics and he gets stronger I expect his velocity to get up to the 96-97 range. His best pitch is his slider that can be nasty at times. He also throws a changeup and a curve ball that have some work to be done on. He is also experimenting with a sinker that if he can perfect can create more ground balls. Stewart is so young, but also so talented that has the ability to be a top of the line starter. The problem is he is so far away that things can happen so there is really no way to know how good he can be. I am really excited to see how he does in Cedar Rapids this year to see how he responds to some tribulations for the first time. I really think barring injury that Kohl Stewart has big time starter written all over him and it will be exciting to see him develop for the Twins. 3. Alex Meyer RHP 1/3/90 24 1st round pick by Wash in 2011 draft from Kentucky. Acquired by Twins in 2012 for Denard Span 2013 stats: 4-3 2.99 era 16 starts 78.1 inn 67 hits 32bb 100k 2013 teams: GCL Twins, New Britain 2014 team: New Britain ETA: 2014 When the Twins traded Denard Span to the Nationals after the 2012 season most people when they heard the return for Span they were like Alex who? Well a year later just about every Twins fan knows exactly who Alex Meyer is. I can tell you exactly who Alex Myer is in two words I would say the future. That is exactly what Alex Meyer is for the Twins as he is the future for what the Twins want to become. If the Twins are going to remain competitive with the Tigers they need to be able to compete in the pitching staff. Alex Meyer has it all and is turning the tools into skills and figuring out what it takes to become a top of the line starter. When the Twins acquired Meyer there were some questions if he could throw enough strikes in order to be effective. Even though he missed a couple months due to a shoulder injury, but he showed in Arizona that he has figured everything out. In 2013 he went 4-3 with a 2.99 era in 78.1 innings. In just over 78 innings he gave up just 67 hits so that is a good indication that he does something that not many Twins starters have done since Johan Santana left and that is miss bats. He did walk 32 guys in 2013, which needs to improve to be successful. Being 6’9 it can be hard sometimes to repeat his motion so that will always be a problem, but if he can limit his walks to 2-3 walks per nine innings then he will be fine. In a word Alex Meyer throws gas as he generally sits between 95-98 with an occasional 100. He throws a nasty slider that can be at times unhittable. He also throws a nice curve ball that is very good and a change up that is ever improving. He has four above average pitches and he is gaining more and more control over those pitches which will only help him. As much as those other pitches are important his fastball is his bread and butter pitch and there are a lot of hitters that will be blown away by it. However, once he gets to the majors a straight fastball will not be enough for him. That is why those breaking pitches are so important in order to get guys off his fastball. If he can develop his change up it will make his fastball look like 110. At 6’9 he has long arms and legs that fly at you when he is in his delivery which can be overwhelming. Alex Meyer has to keep up with what he is doing and continue to work hard. I look for Meyer to be up with the Twins by mid season and don’t look for him to leave Minnesota again and that is exciting to think about. The future for Alex Meyer is so bright and it won’t be long till Twins fans won’t have to dream about it as it will happen period. 2. Miguel Sano 3b 5/11/93 20 Signed as a Free Agent in 2009 from DR 2013 stats:.280 avg 35hr 103rbi 30doub 5trip 11sb 86 runs 65bb 142k .382/.610/.992 2013 teams: Fort Myers, New Britain 2014 team: New Britain ETA: 2014 Miguel Sano was going to be one or two on just about everybody’s list and would be number one on just about every other organizations top ten. There was a prediction of greatness even before the Twins signed him for 3.15 million in 2009. He is probably the most powerful hitter prospect in all of minor league baseball. He is very athletic and has quietly started to quiet his critics about his defense through hard work. He has started to get more selective as pitchers quit pitching to him. In the past he would chase pitches out of the strike zone and help out the pitchers, but he is starting to stop chasing those pitches. He still strikes out at an alarming rate, but he has developed an eye to go with it. After signed after the 2009 season he split the 2010 season between the DSL Twins and the GCL Twins and hit .307 with seven homeruns and a .870 OPS. In 2011 he moved on to Elizabethton and put up huge numbers. He hit .292 with 20 home runs with a impressive .988 OPS. He moved on to Beloit in 2012 and hit 28 homeruns with 100 rbi’s and a .893 OPS. Then he ramped that up in 2013, but he struggled a bit in New Britain after dominating in Fort Myers. At Fort Myers he hit .330 with 16 homeruns and a 1.079 OPS. He moved up to New Britain and continued to hit for power but his average suffered. The 142 strikeouts that he had in 2013 was a problem, but the 65 walks was similiar to what he did in 2012. Sano is a big guy at 6’4 and 250 pounds so he is not going to be the most nimble guy defensively. I saw him live when he was in Beloit in 2012 and was impressed with the athleticism he showed for a guy his size. Most of the errors are mental not physical because he would make plays that are difficult and then will boot an easy one. He also has a very strong arm and is finally being able to control it as most of his errors were throwing errors compared to the fielding variety. For a guy his size he runs pretty good and can hit some triples that you don’t expect of someone his size. Earlier in his career he had problems with maturity and even last year he was benched in New Britain for a week for showing up a former teammate. However, Sano is going to always be a little cocky the thing is he needs to respect his opponents a little bit better. Sano will always hit for power as he hit 19 homeruns in New Britain while only hitting .236. He needs to cutdown on his strikeouts, but because of the type of swings he makes he will always strikeout atleast 100 times, but the key is getting close to 100 walks a year to go with that. There is no denying that Sano has superstar written all over him and will in all likelyhood be a future All-Star. Sano will likely start 2014 in New Britain and by July I expect him to be back in Minnesota looking to make an impact. I can’t be more excited about a prospect than I am about him as I see Miguel Cabera type of power without the hitting abilities that Cabrera has. I think he will be a perrenial 30-35 homerun guy who will a few times hit in the 40’s. Twins fans should be really excited about him as we have been waiting for him for years it seems and finally the future appears to be arriving. 1. Byron Buxton CF 12/18/93 20 1st round pick in 2012 draft out of HS in GA 2013 stats:.334 avg 12hr 77rbi 19doub 18trip 109runs 55sb 76bb 105k .424/.520/.944 2013 teams: Cedar Rapids, Fort Myers 2014 team: New Britain ETA: 2015 When the Twins had the number two overall selection in the 2012 draft the smart money was that the Twins should take a pitcher with Denard Span and Ben Revere in their 20’s and controlling center field and uber prospect Aaron Hicks knocking on the door. However, the Twins have always taken who they feel is the best player available and they did that again when they selected Buxton out of a small high school in Georgia. Things got interesting when Houston passed on Buxton to take Carlos Correa due to saving money for later even though most felt Buxton was the most talented player in this draft. The Twins had no problem taking Buxton as they said it will all work itself out. Well less than two years later Span and Revere are no longer in the organization and Hicks is not a sure thing and if he makes it he will be a corner outfielder. The reason for that is because of Buxton who is pretty much the number one prospect in all of baseball no matter what list you read. He is a true five tool player as he can hit for average, steal bases, good arm, good defense, and developing power. There was no way to know how quickly he would pick it up as he did not face a ton of bigtime competition in high school. After signing in 2012 he split the season between the GCL Twins and Elizabethton and was not that exciting. He hit .248 wiht a .344 obp which is nothing to sneeze about, but nothing to get incredibly excited about. Then 2013 happened and Byron Buxton took how like a rocket and dominated minor league baseball unlike anything I have ever seen. In between Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers he hit .334 with 59 xtra base hits including 12 homeruns. He also stole 55 bases to boot and had a slash line of .424/.520/.944. With that performance he rose like nothing anyone had ever seen and became the clear cut number one prospect in all of baseball. He does everything really well and has a good head on his shoulders so when i critique I feel like i am nitpicking as he is so good already and he is just 20 years old. A couple things I would like to see him improve on is although he walks a ton and has a great eye at the plate he also strikes out more than I would like as he struck out 105 times in 2013. As a likely leadoff man you would like to see his strikeouts go down 25 percent from what it was in 2013 and I believe it will. The other thing is for him to become a better basestealer and that seems like crazy talk for someone that stole 55 bases last year, but he did get caught 19 times. Just as important to a basestealer as stolen bases is his success rate as you don’t want to ruin too many innings by getting thrown out. Those are minor fixes that I think he will make. I expect him to start 2014 in New Britain and regardless if he gets up to Minnesota this year or not I expect him to begin 2015 as the Twins opening day center fielder. He has all the tools to be special and the drive to acheive it. I really have very little doubt that Buxton is going to be a superstar at the major league level. Twins fans should get used to seeing him at Target Field as he is going to be patrolling center field for a long time and help bring back a World Series title to Minnesota. I hope everyone enjoyed my look back from 50 until 1 and I don’t expect you to agree with me on all the picks but i hope you leave me a comment what you thought of the list overall or shoot me an email at travis_aune@gmail.com or tweet me at @texastwinsfan Thanks for reading and have a great day.

The thing about my mocks is i don't include trades and i expect either houston or st. louis is going to trade out of their spots so it will change depends on who is in spots. The vikings have needs on defense as well so i don't see them trading up if anything I could see the Vikings trading down to get more picks.

Manziel is going to be a stud i would put my reputation on the line on that.

1. Houston- Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M 2. St. Louis- Jadeveon Clowney DE South Carolina 3. Jacksonville- Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville 4. Cleveland- Blake Bortles QB Central Florida 5. Oakland- Derek Carr QB Fresno State 6. Atlanta- Jake Matthews OT Texas A&M 7. Tampa Bay- Greg Robinson OT Auburn 8. Minnesota- Sammy Watkins WR Clemson Vikings stay with their plan and take Best Player Available 9. Buffalo- Anthony Barr LB UCLA 10. Detroit- Darqueeze Dennard CB Michigan State 11. Tennessee- CJ Mosely LB Alabama 12. NY Giants- Eric Ebron TE North Carolina 13. St. Louis- Taylor Lewin OT Michigan 14. Chicago- Justin Gilbert CB Oklahoma State 15. Pittsburgh- Khalil Mack LB Buffalo 16. Baltimore- Mike Evans WR Texas A&M 17. Dallas- Louis Nix III DT Notre Dame 18. NY Jets- Marqise Lee WR USC 19. Miami- Cyrus Kouandijo OT Alabama 20. Arizona- Kony Ealy DE Missouri 21. Green Bay- Ha Ha Clinton Dix S Alabama 22. Philadelphia- Ra’Shede Hageman DT Minnesota 23. Kansas City- Ifo Ekpre Olumu CB Oregon 24. Cincinnati- Bradley Roby CB Ohio State 25. San Diego- Marcus Roberson CB Florida 26. Cleveland- Kelvin Benjamin WR Florida State 27. New Orleans- Ryan Shazier LB Ohio State 28. Carolina- Brandin Cooks WR Oregon State 29. New England- Jace Amaro TE Texas Tech 30. San Francisco- Davante Adams WR Fresno State 31. Seattle- Timmy Jernigan DT Florida State 32. Denver- Cyril Richardson G Baylor

Here is part 9 of my prospect list I hope you enjoyed the earlier parts. Today I will be bringing you prospects 10-6. I will be bringing you 5 a day until we get all the way to number one. This will take awhile so keep checking back here for daily looks at who I have in certain spots and what I think of them. I am sure you will disagree with some and if so by all means leave me a comment in the comment section. If you prefer you can also shoot me an email at travis.aune@gmail.com. Also if you prefer you can hit me up on twitter @texastwinsfan so whichever way you prefer let me know what you think of my list. 10. Max Kepler OF/1b 2/10/93 20 Signed as a free agent in 2009 from Germany 2013 stats:.237 avg 9 hr 40 rbi 11 doub 3 trip 61 games 24bb 43k 2sb .312/.424/.736 2013 team: Cedar Rapids 2014 team: Cedar Rapids ETA: 2016 When the Twins inked Max Kepler in 2009 out of Germany he was thought of as the biggest prospect ever signed out of Europe when the Twins gave him 800,000. When the Twins signed him at age 16 they knew he would be a project as he was not as far along as fellow 2009 free agent Miguel Sano. He has been a bit of a project not only because of taking a while to find his stroke, but he has struggled through injuries. Most recently he missed the first half of the 2013 season because of an elbow injury. So staying on the field has been a bit of a problem for the left handed outfielder. He is definately the kind of toolsy outfielder that the Twins crave. When he is on he has a power to all fields, can hit for average, has got speed, can play all three outfield spots and really do just about everything on the baseball thing. The big thing with him just like most toolsy outfielders is turning these tools into skills and not being able to stay on the field has not helped him. In 2010 he had a very good .346 obp at the GCL. Then in 2011 he moved up to Elizabethton where he had a very good .347 obp. The decision was made to have him repeat E-town and for the first time he dominated. In 59 games he hit .297 with 10 homeruns and a OPS of .925. There was tremendous excitement about Kepler after the 2012 season and was the reason why most had him a top 10 prospect after that big 2012 season. That is why the elbow injury disappointed Twins fans as they were not able to see the real Max Kepler in 2013. Even after he came back they did not see the hitter that people that saw him were raving about. He hit just .237 with a .312 obp and a .736 OPS. He still showed the power that Twins fans were so excited about as he hit nine homeruns along with eleven doubles and three triples for 23 extra base hits. Kepler is a big guy at 6’4 and between 200-220 pounds who is growing into his body. Kepler played some 1st base and there are some that believe as he continues to grow that he eventually will be a 1st baseman. The biggest thing with Kepler is he needs time to adjust and basically just needs to play after being injured in 2013. I am looking for a breakout year from Kepler both in power, but I expect him to start to hit left handed pitchers better after struggling with them in 2013. I expect Max Kepler to be a top 5 prospect a year from now because he has all the tools and I fully expect some of those tools will start to turn into skills. 9. Jorge Polanco 2b/SS 7/5/93 20 Signed as a Free Agent in 2009 from DR 2013 stats: .308 avg 5 hr 78 rbi 32 doub 10 tri 76 runs 4 sb 42bb 59k .362/.452/.813 2013 team: Cedar Rapids 2014 team: Fort Myers ETA: 2016 When Jorge Polanco signed for 800,000 in 2009 there was much expected out of middle infielder from the Dominican Republic. It took him a little while to figure out how to hit, but when he figured it out he flourished. He repeated the GCL in 2010 and 2011 and did not show much offense. In 2010 he split the year between the Dominican Summer League and the GCL and hit just .233 in 52 games. He spent the whole 2011 season in the United States and hit .250 for the GCL. He moved up to Elizabethton in 2012 and exploded offensively as he hit .318 with a .388 obp. He then moved up to Cedar Rapids for the 2013 season and kept it going offensively by hitting .308 with a .362 obp. So he has improved offensively every season since he has been a pro. He has always been really good defensively, but the big question was is he a shortstop or is he a 2nd baseman. Well that answer is still unanswered, but my opinion he doesn’t have the range to play shortstop on a every day basis. I think he fits way better at 2nd base. Some will want to force him to fit into shortstop even though he has a much better chance to make it at second. He played mostly second in 2013 when Niko Goodrum was not injured. Polanco continues to fill out on his 5’11 frame and close to 170 lbs right now. He has power potential and is not a slap hitter as he makes really good cotact with the bat. I don’t think he will ever hit many homeruns, but I think he has the chance to be a doubles machine as he continues to get stronger and bulks up. What I really like about him is he is aggressive, but makes contact doesn’t strike out a ton as he knows the strike zone so well. He walks some, but I would like to see him walk more because for someone with such a keen knowledge of the strike zone he doesn’t walk enough. He had a .362 obp, but I think he can do better than that if he walked more. I know Brian Dozier is there right now and some think of others as the 2nd baseman of the future, but for my money I think Polanco will eventually be that guy and someone Twins fans can start getting excited about as he will be playing at Target Field soon enough. 8. Josmil Pinto C 3/31/89 24 Signed as Free Agent in 2006 out of VZ 2013 stats: minors .309 avg 15 hr 74 rbi 32 doub 1tri 65 runs 66bb 83k .400/.482/.882 majors: .342avg 4hr 12rbi 21games 5doub 10 runs 6bb 22k .398/.566/.963 2013 teams: New Britain, Rochester, Minnesota 2014 team: Minnesota ETA: 2013 Josmil Pinto has come a long ways from when the Twins signed him 2006 out of Venezuela to likely being the Twins opening day starting catcher in 2014. He was signed for his bat and for quite a bit of time in his minor league career he was a DH. Therefore his defense is not where the Twins want it to be. Therefore, if he struggles in spring training don’t be shocked if he starts back in Rochester with Eric Fryer backing up Kurt Suzuki. With that said with Joe Mauer moving to first base Josmil Pinto is the future behind the plate for the Twins. Whether it is in March or in July the thing is Pinto is the catcher of the future and the future is bright. After signing with the Twins in 2006 he did not come over to the United States till the 2008 season in the GCL. In 2008 he hit .329 with a .935 OPS in just 24 games. He moved up to Elizabethton in 2009 where he tore the Appalacian League up by hitting .332 with 13 homeruns and 55 rbis with a .997 OPS in 53 games. After that season everyone was excited about his potential and thought he would skyrocket up prospect charts. However, like most prospects do he ran into trouble in 2010 and 2011. In 2010 he hit just .225 with a .672 OPS in 100 games. However, he did show a bit of power as he hit 10 homeruns and had 32 xtra base hits in those 100 games. In 2011 he started the season back in Beloit, but only appeared in nine games before he moved up to Fort Myers. He hit .261 with a .697 OPS in just 73 games between the two stops. Therefore, Josmil Pinto was at a crossroads in his career as he played as a backup. He needed to improve and do it then if he wanted to be the guy that the Twins wanted him to. He split 2012 between Fort Myers and New Britain and had a big bounceback year. He hit .295 with 14 homeruns and 60 rbi’s with a much better .844 OPS. Then he obliterated those numbers in 2013 and even got a few at bats with the Twins in September. Josmil Pinto has the ability to be an every day catcher in my opinion the thing is he needs to improve his defense. He doesn’t frame pitches well, his throwing can be erratic, and he can be lazy behind the plate. He needs to improve each of those as I truly believe he is going to hit at the major league level, but I don’t think he can hit well enough to be a DH so his value is that of a catcher. So it is up to him to improve his catching skills which I think he will. Josmil Pinto in my opinion will start opening day behind the plate for the Twins and will be a fixture for years to come so Twins fans should get used to seeing him behind the plate. 7. Eddie Rosario 2b/OF 9/28/91 22 4th round pick in 2010 draft from PR 2013 stats: .302 avg 10 hr 73 rbi 32 doub 8 trip 10 sb 38bb 96k .350/.460/.810 2013 teams: Fort Myers, New Britain 2014 team: New Britain ETA: 2015 When the Twins selected Eddie Rosario in the 4th round out of Puerto Rico in 2010 the Twins really did not know what they had in Rosario. He has proven through the first four years that he is talented and that he can hit. However, he also has shown a brashness and cockiness that has gotten him benched for games in the minor leagues. Now add to that a 50 game suspension that he will have to serve to start the 2014 season for a second violation of the MLB drug policy and there is some risk to it. Less because it is not believed to be PED’s and recreational drugs are not tested once you are added to the 40 man roster which should happen next winter at the latest. I am not saying that Rosario’s suspension is not a concern, because it is, but I think he will learn from this to become more mature. After Rosario was drafted in 2010 he signed quickly and hit .294 with a .343 obp and 22 stolen bases in 51 games with the GCL Twins. He moved on to Elizabethton for the 2011 season and exploded and put up one of the greatest individual seasons in E-Town history. He hit .337 with 21 homeruns and 39 xtra base hits. He also stole 21 bases with a 1.068 OPS to put the icing on the cake. He moved up to Beloit for the 2012 season and battled injuries where he was hit in the face that limited him to just 95 games. In those games he hit .299 with 13 hr and 74 rbi along with an impressive 52 xtra base hits and a .846 OPS. He moved up to Fort Myers and ended up in New Britain and did very well in Fort Myers before suffering growing pains in New Britain. Overall, he hit .302 with 10 hr and 73 rbi with a .810 OPS even though he hit just a .742 OPS in New Britain compared to .903 in Fort Myers. Rosario has proven that he can hit as he has compiled three straight years of a .800 OPS. Rosario has quick hands that leads to good line drive power as he is more of a doubles hitter than a home run hitter. He does not walk at all which is a problem and he doesn’t strike out a ton, but considering that he doesn’t walk its hard to have a high obp when you don’t walk. Before the 2012 season the Twins decided to move Rosario to 2nd base and it has been hit and miss. With Brian Dozier seemingly coming along there is some thought of moving him back to the outfield as he is ok at 2nd but he is a much better outfielder. I look for him to eventually be the Twins left fielder as he has quickness in the outfield and a strong arm. I think he could be an ok 2nd baseman, but I think he can be a quality outfielder. Either way I think he will be known for his offense as he can hit to all fields and hit for power and average. He has speed, but does not steal a ton of bases. Rosario seems to have a chip on his shoulder so it will be very interesting to see if he can put this suspension behind him and make the most of his talent. I think he goes back to New Britain when his suspension is over and possibly get up late in 2014 or early 2015, but make no mistake he is a big part of the Twins future. 6. Jose Berrios RHP 5/27/94 19 1st round pick in 2012 draft from PR 2013 stats: 7-7 3.99 era 19 starts 103.2 inn 105 hits 40bb 100k 2013 team: Cedar Rapids 2014 team: Fort Myers ETA: 2016 When the Twins tabbed Berrios with a supplemental 1st round pick in the 2012 draft there was some excitement especially with his high upside and the Twins luck from Puerto Rico. He is a high upside starting pitcher who will pitch the first couple months at just 19 years old so there is excitement about his upside. That is not to say he is a finished product because he is not as he gets hit more than he should based on the stuff he has. After signing quickly, Berrios split the season between the GCL Twins and Elizabethton where he went 3-0 with a 1.17 era in eleven games including four starts. He pitched 30.2 innings and gave up just 15 hits including a mind boggling 4 walks and 49 strikeouts. He moved on to full season in 2013 with Cedar Rapids and had his struggles as he gave up more hits than innings pitched and walked four ever 10 innings. The split is that he got off to a great start in April and May going a 2.31 and 2.63 era’s respectively in those two months. He struggled awfully in June and July with era’s of 4.41 and in July he was really bad at 5.68. Berrios is so young that it is hard to judge how he is doing based on how young he is. He throws a fastball in the 93-95 range although it is very straight. If he can develop his cutter that could really help him as he needs to get some movement on his pitches. His best pitch right now is his fastball, but his change up has the abilty to be big time. He throws a curve ball that is ok, but he needs to improve it if he is going to be the starter we hope he can be. If he can develop that cutter and the curve ball into quality pitches he has the chance to be special. I view him as a solid number two pitcher going forward if he can develop those pitches. He also needs to show better control as he has a tendency of not being aggressive which makes him walk more guys than he should. I really like Berrios and think he has potential to be quite good, but the key is developing those other pitches and getting more aggressive. I view him as one of the highest upside guys in the organization and has potential to be a big time pitcher for the Twins. It will take a few years for him to figure it out, but he definately is worth the patience that Twins fans are going to need him to follow. Twins Prospects 50-46 Twins Prospects 45-41 Twins Prospects 40-36 Twins Prospects 35-31 Twins Prospects 30-26 Twins Prospects 25-21 Twins Prospects 20-16 Twins Prospects 15-11