Shane Wahl

I understand the Hicks-to-AAA view. At a certain point though, I think that ship sails. In the past I have been adamant about the necessity of AAA time for almost *all* prospects because I think there is value in that level. But when there is this struggle up in MLB after a risky (wild) promotion skipping AAA altogether, I don't like the idea of flopping back and forth between MLB and AAA, especially when there just isn't anyone else really better. Shane Robinson is not better. Maybe he is my Pelfrey for this year, or my Fryer for this year (I have to throw a fit about *somebody*), but I just don't see the value in having him around. I would rather see Santana in CF and Escobar at SS than see some horrific platoon between Schafer and Robinson. Robinson is 30 and in 452 MLB plate appearances has a .612 OPS and actually only 7 stolen bases. He also has over 1100 plate appearances in AAA . . . and a .708 OPS there and still only 39 steals, most of which were pre-2011. And he strangely doesn't really have a L/R split at all like one might expect. Schafer has been barely good beyond AA and last year with the Twins. Neither Schafer nor Robinson have any upside remaining. Schafer couples OF coverage defense with really good speed and stolen bases. Hicks did improve some last year. The biggest bit of weirdness really was the lack of power. But his entire career has been like that in the minors--he basically doesn't get it until the second year at his level. Well he had a very nice (not great) AA season and then two MLB seasons. I am very willing to start him out with the Twins at the bottom of the lineup with some significant platooning with Schafer.

Yeah, I just don't see him making it up in 2015. They are going to want to see something more from him in terms of contact. I guess there could be a remaining fire sale and September could mean a bunch of calls up for players.

I really agree with all of this, though Duffey seems more legit.

I will throw up if he is on the 40-man by then. You are right about primary catchers: the list really goes Suzuki-Fryer-Turner, whereas backup really would be Pinto-Herrmann-Rohlfing. That is why I made the Fryer remark. If it really comes down to adding either Fryer or Turner to the 40-man, I would hope they just skip over Fryer.

Though this hurts my most recent blog post (I just don't see Turner having a great season), the answer would be yes, unless somehow Fryer gets added to the 40-man roster before then.

I have Duffey the 10th ranked pitcher and Turner the 12th ranked position player.

Top 11-15 or in every other organization besides the Cubs and Pirates. Top 8-12 in most of them.

Assuming the Twins start the season with 13 position players and also assuming that there are no significant injuries to the leading 13 position players, it seems almost set in stone who is breaking camp for the Twins. Those players will be Kurt Suzuki, Josmil Pinto, Joe Mauer, Kennys Vargas, Brian Dozier, Danny Santana, Eduardo Escobar, Trevor Plouffe, Oswaldo Arcia, Aaron Hicks, Torii Hunter, Jordan Schafer, and Eduardo Nunez. Really only Hicks and Nunez leave any doubt, but it is hard to see the team going any other way (I don't really care for Nunez on the roster, but he is very cheap and at least runs well). I decided to go through the list of players both on and off the 40-man roster who could be next up for the Twins, whether it be for injury or performance reasons, and whether it be for prospect development or mere roster completion. The other position players on the 40-man roster besides these 13 are: SS/2B Jorge Polanco, 3B Miguel Sano, C/LF/RF Chris Herrmann, OF/2B Eddie Rosario, and OF/1B Max Kepler. Four of these players are prospects, and only one of those prospects has any time in MLB (Polanco). Polanco needs seasoning in AA and AAA before coming back to the Twins. After being very successful in A+ ball (.291/.364/.415), he definitely struggled at times in AA (.281/.323/.342). He did have 36 extra base hits (seven homers) and 17 steals for the year, while his 55/88 BB/K rate between the two levels is respectable. It is important to remember that Polanco is almost two months younger than Sano. Speaking of, Sano should join the Twins at some point this season, though it seems unlikely to be before the All-Star break. The Twins will want him to dominate AA (he may be asked to do the same in AAA too). I would expect Sano to simply replace Nunez on the roster, but obviously play almost every day. The Twins are going to have to figure something out with Plouffe, as I can't see the Twins moving Sano to any other position during the season. Sano boasts a career .940 OPS in 1606 plate appearances in the minors. Rosario needs AA seasoning as well, though he was very successful in the AFL. He might position himself to move up with Sano. I would expect him to replace Schafer on the roster, but play almost every day. Rosario managed only a .237/.277/.396 line at AA last season, but in the AFL his numbers improved to .330/.345/.410, with 10 steals. Max Kepler posted a .264/.333/.393 line at A+ last season, but had AFL success too (.307/.366/.440). He is the farthest from MLB of any of these prospects. He should spend a full season in Chattanooga. Chris Herrmann graduated from prospect status at some point in 2013. He provides another catching option while providing depth in the corner OF positions. The Twins like him and feel safe with adding him if they need a player while someone else goes on a DL stint. He has struggled in MLB, but finally started to pound AAA pitching with an .878 OPS in 228 plate appearances for Rochester in 2014. There are players not currently on the 40-man roster who would obviously need someone else off or someone placed on the DL to get a chance to play for the Twins. Eric Fryer and Dan Rohlfing are two catchers playing for Rochester who could get a chance with the Twins in 2015. Fryer spent significant time with the big league club last year (.578 OPS) and would be the most likely fill-in if Suzuki or Pinto are injured for any longer amount time. Rohlfing is a nice all-around player who needs to get his bat going in AAA to be taken seriously (.618 OPS in 2014 there). The infielders who could move up from Rochester are utility players James Beresford and Doug Bernier, and 1B/corner OFs Brock Peterson and Reynaldo Rodriguez. Beresford (.674 OPS, with 28 doubles for Rochester in 2014) just turned 26 and must be considered before the aging Bernier (.744 OPS in 2014 for Rochester). He is very consistent both offensively and defensively and would fill in nicely for as a utility player either for Escobar or to replace someone else if Escobar became the starter for a period of time. Peterson and Rodriguez have had ample minor league slugging success (Peterson has hit 40 homers in the past two years, and Rodriguez has hit 43). The path to the Twins for these two is pretty steep, though Rodriguez could be a nice bench bat as a RH guy with some power. The outfielders for Rochester are three aging players and Danny Ortiz, who is a marginal prospect at this point mainly because he simply does not take any walks. Eric Farris (.671 career AAA OPS), Shane Robinson (.708 career AAA OPS), and Wilkin Ramirez (.726 career AAA OPS) are not worthy of MLB consideration anymore, though Farris is speedy and can also play second base. Ortiz has put up solid enough numbers and finished 2014 with a .285/.308/.462 line and 12 homers between AA and AAA. Unfortunately, he struck out 85 times while walking only 13 times. He is able to play all three OF positions, though CF is a bit of a long shot. Last--but certainly not least--there is Byron Buxton, future CF for the Minnesota Twins. Buxton will start in a ridiculously loaded AA lineup in Chattanooga (with Sano, Rosario, Polanco, etc.). Buxton posted a .240/.313/.405 line with four homers and six steals in 134 plate appearances in A+ ball in 2014. Given the freak injuries of a year ago, Buxton's development has been stunted. I don't see him arriving in Minnesota before September this year. On top of the 13 players likely breaking camp with the Twins I have added 13 players who could see time with the club in the near future. Five of them are already on the 40-man roster and have the inside track to joining the Twins, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a few of the guys not currently on the 40-man roster to make an appearance, especially Fryer, Beresford, and Ortiz.

Yes, O'Rourke seems like a legit contender and the top left-handed serious reliever with Aaron Thompson. He is blocked though.

Precisely!! A lot depends on Santana and Polanco right now. Dozier might bring back some serious assets if he does well and is still so cheap. The Twins are going to get better and won't have these great draft picks anymore. Selling on Hunter, Dozier, and some pitcher might be quite helpful this year.

Great article, Nick. I think Hosmer is going to be very, very good this year. That said, I would not be surprised if they barely got to 80 wins this year. Too many things can happen.

Left-handed pitching is something that is an anomaly in professional sports. Well, it's an anomaly all the way down really to youth sports. When talking about straight up natural facts about one's person without any nurturing, only height for basketball seems to compare to the importance of left-handed pitching in baseball. With that in mind, I thought it would be appropriate to give a full Twins-system view of almost all of the viable left-handed pitchers and what they do across the various levels of the system for the Twins. Twins: There are three guaranteed lefties for the Twins out of the gates in April, and all three of them are in the bullpen. It isn't a totally common thing to have three lefties in a team's bullpen, but when one of them is the closer it changes the bullpen's dynamic. It is still a good idea to have two lefties for situations in innings 6-8. Glen Perkins is an all-star closer. Born 3-2-83, he is in his prime as a closer. Perkins has dominated as a closer or the most part and should be fine for 2015. Brian Duensing will be back with the Twins for some reason. Born 2-22-83, he is a middle reliever who should be a LOOGY. He will be paid $2.7 million to serve as a hopefully adequate MR or setup man. Duensing was good as a reliever in 2013, but that was not the case in 2014. He was quite lucky, with a ERA/FIP discrepancy of 3.31/4.51. He doesn't strike many out and walks way too many. Caleb Thielbar is a middle reliever. Born 1-31-87, he is clinging on to a spot in the Twins bullpen even though he seems to be better than Duensing. His FIP from 2014 was 3.40 and his ERA from 2015 was 3.40! His actual ERA from 2015 was 3.54. This is probably his ceiling. Twins/Rochester: Tommy Milone is likely going to be the fifth starter for the Twins in April. Born 2-16-87, he has the potential to fit quite nicely at the back end of the Twins rotation. He could also be traded. Logan Darnell will need to focus on being a relief pitcher. Born 2-2-89, it seems as though Darnell finally settled in to present himself as a legitimate pitcher. He does not really project to start, however. Time will tell here. Aaron Thompson has come around to have a nice shot at a spot in the short-term for the Twins. Born 2-28-87, he has worked his way into LOOGY contention. Rochester: Ryan O'Rourke had a breakout year. Born 4-30-88, he posted an 11.5 k/9 in AA in 2014. He was absolutely dominant against lefties. He is what the Twins should want as a LOOGY instead of Duensing or Thielbar. Taylor Rogers is ready to compete for the show. Born 12-17-90, his k/9 grew to 7.0 in 2014 upon advancement to AA. He will start and continue to develop his pitches. He probably could move to the bullpen and be the best lefty other than Perkins right now. Jason Wheeler has successfully advanced methodically through the system. Born 10-27-90, he is a poor man's Taylor Rogers, but that still might be good enough. Pat Dean has one shot to save his career and that is to move to the bullpen. Born 5-25-89, he is no longer a good starting option, but could find his groove as a reliever. Chattanooga: Mason Melotakis will be lost for the 2015 due to Tommy John surgery in October. Born 6-28-91, he still has a bright future as a reliever with good velocity. The prospects for starting are dimming. Steven Gruver still has a chance as a reliever. Born 6-30-89, he will need a good year to remain in contention. David Hurlbut had a down year in 2014. Born 11-24-89, he needs to get the strikeouts back up to respectability (career 6.8 K/9 after a low 4.8 in 2014). Brett Lee continues to succeed even though he doesn't really strike anybody out. He does very well with men on base. Born 9-20-90, he will keep getting a look as a starter for now. Corey Williams will return after injury looking to get his career back on track. Born 7-4-90, this is a huge year for Williams to re-insert himself as a top-5 lefty relief prospect in the system. Fort Myers: Mat Batts could be a breakout candidate for 2015. Born 7-6-91, the lefty has a career 9.57 k/bb ratio in 60+ innings. Brandon Bixler can be a strikeout machine. Born 12-31-91, he will need to get command and reduce the walks to succeed. Josue Montanez gained a lot by returning to Cedar Rapids in 2014. Born 1-15-92, he has proved that he should advance to A+ ball, but he needs to keep the walks down. Cedar Rapids: Stephen Gonsalves could move to Fort Myers at some point this season. Born 7-8-94, his velocity could continue to rise as he gets stronger. Lewis Thorpe has shown that he is ready for a full season of pitching, if he is healthy. Born 11-23-95, the Aussie should get more innings progressively over the next few years to build towards a shot at the Show. Randy Rosario will be pitching early in 2015 after undergoing Tommy John surgery last April. Born 5-18-94, he could fly up prospect lists with a solid season in A-ball. Cameron Booser has lights-out potential. Born 5-4-92, he could move quickly through the system. Sam Clay struck out 13.7 batters per 9 innings last year. Born 6-21-93, he also walked 5.3 per 9 as well. GCL/Elizabethon: Onas Farfan is a local guy drafted in the 21st round last year. Born 6-23-93, he will have to work on his command to succeed. Brandon Easton made big improvements in his second professional season. Born 9-21-92, he should be in Elizabethon working as a starter. Michael Theofanopoulos will face stiffer competition in 2015. Born 8-5-92, he should get work both in the rotation and out of the bullpen. Jadison Jimenez has spent the past three season in the DSL and will move forward to the GCL. Born 3-19-94, he has demonstrated consistent improvement. Other potential contributors are Wil Ledezma (AAA), Seth Wagner (GCL), and Reyson Zoquiel (GCL), but they might not perform well enough to remain in the organization. This makes for twenty-seven lefties in the organization. A lot of the best of them are down in Cedar Rapids, but there are some solid pitchers sprinkled up and down.

If I were the owner, I would just give him a nice little bonus for his performance thus far. The spend 2.7 million bucks on Brian Duensing for no reason, why not boost Dozier's salary to 1 million bucks for 2015?

This article doesn't really address the issue in much depth. It's been discussed quite wildly and thoroughly in discussion board threads on a few occasions. If the Twins actually do this right now, they are making a weird mistake.

Santana is not going to last as a CF. He might not at SS either, but he has a chance there. Schafer is a pretty dangerous bet. Robinson is not a major league player, and probably not even a AAA player right now. It's weird to even mention him in this conversation.

Hicks should and will be the starting CF. He can improve immensely both with BA and SLG. A .250/.370/.370 line is not out of the question. If he can then be a good defensive CF until Buxton arrives, the other options are done.

Sano and Rosario, to me, are the only real locks to do that. Polanco and Buxton might need to get some time in 2016 in AAA (even after appearing in September this year). If the latter two only get September looks, then I think they will start 2016 in AAA. Injuries to Hicks (Buxton) and either Santana or Dozier (Polanco) would change all of that. Strong seasons from Kepler, Michael, and Walker would mean interesting things for 2016 calls up. And in terms of system rankings, the Twins are still going to have the star power at the top for a few years yet (Minier, Diaz, and Gordon; Thorpe, Stewart, and Gonsalves) but perhaps not the depth. I haven't made much attention to other teams graduations this year, but I would think that the time is coming soon where Boston runs a little dry so that it's just the Astros and Cubs still with super strong systems.

Rosario is certainly very likely to be better than Aaron Hicks, overall, in his MLB career. But, that shouldn't mean a very Hicks-like treatment of Rosario by giving him the CF position out of Spring Training! That's a terrible idea. Adding Hunter, I thought, ended the possibility of seeing Rosario for at least three months. I think TR is just saying stuff again.

Here is the second half of the new--and I think improved--version of my prospect list. I am listing 25 players plus five honorable mentions. A brief about how the system has really improved: I have been ranking the prospects in the system since 2011 and always paid careful attention to inadequacies at certain positions and even handedness. It is finally the year to announce that the Twins are deep in absolutely everything. But, without further ado: 1. Byron Buxton: CF, 12-18-93 2015 start: Chattanooga. It's time for the top prospect to be healthy and dominate. Easy call for a September call-up at the latest. 2. Miguel Sano: 3B, 5-3-93 2015 start: Chattanooga. Everything should be aligned for a trip to Minnesota by July. 3. Jorge Polanco: SS/2B, 7-5-93 2015 start: Chattanooga. He will be up at some point in 2015 for the Twins. There are decisions that must be made. 4. Eddie Rosario: OF/2B, 9-28-91 2015 start: Chattanooga. Will show up with the Twins by September at the latest. This Chattanooga team is going to be quite interesting to start the season! 5. Nick Gordon: SS, 10-24-95 2015 start: Cedar Rapids. It's time to see the real deal. The Twins need to push him to full season ball. 6. Max Kepler: OF/1B, 2-10-93 2015: Chattanooga. No reason to move him down much on the list. Health is the only real concern, though there are still many things to work out before he is considered a good call-up. 7. Adam Walker: RF, 10-18-91 2015 start: Chattanooga. With Kepler, not ready or the majors yet at all. Power potential is significant. 8. Amaurys Minier: OF/1B, 1-30-96 2015 start: Elizabethon. He's ready to show off the power potential. The Twins will move slow here, but he could be in AA in two years. 9. Travis Harrison: LF/1B, 10-17-92 2015 start: Chattanooga. I have to think he will be primarily a 1B/DH with extra LF duties to keep that option open. 10. Levi Michael: SS/2B, 2-9-91 2015 start: Chattanooga. Michael has arrived, finally, and will be filling out the bottom of a potent Chattanooga lineup. 11. Lewis Diaz: 1B, 11-19-96 2015 start: GCL. Diaz is an offensive powerhouse. He will light up the GCL. 12. Stuart Turner: C, 12-27-91 2015 start: Chattanooga. 2016 Twins roster threat. 13. Max Murphy: OF, 11-17-92 2015 start: Cedar Rapids to begin, but could move to Fort Myers. 14. Niko Goodrum: SS/3B, 2-28-92 2015 start: Fort Myers for a bit. There is no room for him up in Chattanooga anyway. He needs to get everything together at the plate this year. 15. Mitch Garver: C, 1-15-91 2015 start: Fort Myers, but will move up to Chattanooga at some point. 16. Aderlin Mejia: IF, 5-12-92 2015 start: Chattanooga as a utility infielder. But he is strong in that role and should start after some of the top prospects move up. 17. Engelb Vielma: SS, 6-22-94 2015 start: Fort Myers. He is someone to really watch. If he can continue to develop offensively, he will make it to the big leagues without a doubt. 18. Tanner English: CF, 3-11-93 2015 start: Cedar Rapids. Pretty impressive all-around. 19. Zach Larson: OF, 10-8-93 2015 start: Cedar Rapids, but will likely move to Fort Myers as part of a wave of promotions in mid-season. 20. Dalton Hicks: 1B, 4-2-90 2015 start: Chattanooga, but the roster is pretty full there. He could move back and forth between Chattanooga and Rochester during the year. 21. Chad Christensen: Utility, 10-6-90 2015 start: Fort Myers, but will move to Chattanooga as a part of mid-season promotions. 22. Danny Ortiz: OF, 1-5-90 2015 start: Rochester. One of the first guys to be promoted to the Twins in case of injury this year. 23. Tyler Kuresa: 1B, 11-17-92 2015 start: Cedar Rapids. Could explode this year. 24. James Beresford: IF, 1-19-89 2015 start: Rochester. He will be among the first called up for the Twins in case of injury. 25. JD Williams: OF, 11-20-90 2015 start: Fort Myers, though he should move up to Chattanooga after some promotions. He still has excellent speed and can be a very good hitter. Honorable mention: Jorge Fernandez (C, 20), Alex Swim (C, 23), Rainis Silva (C, 18), Zach Granite (CF, 22), Trey Vavra (1B/OF, 23) Others who could have made the list include: Jack Barrie, Jason Kanzler, Pat Kelly, Brian Navarreto, and Rafael Valera. What is most interesting about this is just how dominant AA Chattanooga should be. The breakdown goes like this: Rochester will have a bunch of guys like Reynaldo Rodriguez, Nate Hanson, Chris Herrmann, Eric Fryer, and Dan Rohlfing filling out much of its lineup. James Beresford and Danny Ortiz will be in the top half of that lineup and will be interesting to watch. Rochester is most likely to benefit from a movement from Chattanooga of some top prospects by June or July. If I was the decision maker, I would probably favor a lineup of Beresford (SS)-Herrmann ©-Ortiz (LF)-Rodriguez (DH)-Hanson (1B)-Rohlfing (RF)-Robinson (CF)-Farris (2B)-Bernier (3B). Chattanooga will be full of top prospects. The OF should start Rosario, Buxton, and Walker. The infield will start with Sano, Polanco, Michael, and Hicks. Stuart Turner will be the main catcher (with Matthew Koch too). There will be a rotation between the OF, 1B, and DH that will get Max Kepler in the vast majority of games, but obviously there is Travis Harrison too. Aderlin Mejia will add utility depth. The lineup there might be something like: Buxton (CF)-Polanco (SS)-Sano (3B)-Walker (RF)-Rosario (LF)-Kepler (1B)-Harrison (DH)-Turner ©-Michael (2B). Fort Myers will feature an infield of Goodrum and Vielma on the left side. Garver will be catching and JD Williams will be in the outfield. Alex Swim will catch and get some OF time as well. Kanzler will be all over the OF as well. Cedar Rapids will be stocked. The OF will have Murphy, English, Larson, and Granite. Gordon, Trey Vavra, and Kuresa will be in the infield, as will Pat Kelly. Jorge Fernandez will be catching. Elizabethon will have Minier, Navaretto, and Valera, but will also be adding some top 2015 draft talent. Finally, the GCL Twins will have Diaz and Barrie, which could be explosive. Rainis Silva will be catching and this team will also be getting 2015 draftees and other players from the DSL. In sum, the Twins position player prospect situation is now a lot different than was pre-2014. The system is now top-heavy for the first time in ages (probably the Mauer-Morneau-Cuddyer days). There is both star potential and depth in AA, with mainly only star potential at the lower levels (for now). This concludes the two-part look at Twins prospects. I think there are a lot of names here to follow and readers can try to combine the two lists into one super one if they so desire!

Thanks and I agree that just the presentation makes it easier to see how pitchers match up in the system. This list is really stacked. I was pretty shocked when I was done. Someone like Cameron Booser, for instance, could be a top-10 pitching prospect in the vast majority of systems.

Gonsalves adding any velocity and he ends up being really scary. He is a top 6 or so prospect in 25 MLB organizations. I just don't know about Thorpe. I would hate for it to be an issue with his prep and performance this year and then have surgery in June or July, ruining most of 2016 with it.

I am doing something brand new with my prospect list for 2015. I am splitting the list into two parts, one for pitching and one for position players, with each list having 25 prospects and 5 honorable mentions named. These honorable mentions end up being 10 guys in the system to really watch this year for potential breakout seasons. I am providing only bare bones info for each of them because one really ought to check out the Prospect Handbook. The first part will focus in on the pitchers in the system. There is quite the mix here. 1. Jose Berrios: RHS, 5-27-94 2015 start: Chattanooga 2. Alex Meyer: RHS, 1-3-90 2015 start: Ought to be in Twins bullpen, but it looks likely that he will go to Rochester and start for no good reason. 3. Kohl Stewart: RHS, 10-7-94 2015 start: No real reason not to push Stewart to Fort Myers. 4. Nick Burdi: RHR, 1-19-93 2015 start: Chattanooga with some setup and closer duties. 5. Stephen Gonsalves: LHS, 7-8-94 2015 start: Cedar Rapids for half the season. 6. Trevor May: RHS, 9-23-89 2015 start: Looks like Rochester rotation, barring some injuries to Twins pitchers in ST. He suffers from the Santana signing, Ricky Nolasco being around, and the abomination that is Mike Pelfrey's situation. 7. Lewis Thorpe: LHS, 11-23-95 2015 start: either TJ surgery or Cedar Rapids. Might be best to shut him down with surgery early in ST in order to save his 2016 season. He would still be on pace for an early-20s appearance in the big leagues. If he gets through the elbow injury fine without surgery this year . . . wow. 8. Jake Reed: RHR, 9-29-92 2015 start: Closing in Fort Myers for first half of the season. Chattanooga with same role second half, likely. 9. Taylor Rogers: LHS, 12-17-90 2015 start: Rochester rotation without a doubt. 10. Tyler Duffey: RHS, 12-27-90 2015 start: Rochester rotation. 11. Michael Cederoth: RHP, 11-25-92 2015 start: Cedar Rapids rotation, though he should get some bullpen work due to innings limit. 12. Zach Jones: RHR, 12-4-90 2015 start: Setup and closer duties for Chattanooga. 13. Brandon Peterson: RHR, 9-23-91 2015 start: Setup in Chattanooga. 14. John Curtiss: RHP, 4-5-93 2015 start: Cedar Rapids rotation and bullpen. Maybe 100 innings or so. 15. Chih-wei Hu: RHS, 11-4-93 2015 start: Fort Myers rotation and bullpen. Maybe 100 innings or so. 16. Mason Melotakis: LHR, 6-28-91 2015 start: Underwent TJ surgery in October. 2016 in Chattanooga. Full-time bullpen. 17. Adrian Salcedo: RHR, 2-5-91 2015 start: Part of Chattanooga's dominant bullpen to work out some kinks. Then Rochester. 18. Fernando Romero: RHS, 12-24-94 2015 start: Underwent TJ surgery midseason. Maybe get some work in August. 2016 Cedar Rapids rotation. 19. Sam Clay: LHP, 6-21-93 2015 start: Cedar Rapids bullpen with some rotation time after other starters move to Fort Myers. 80 innings or so. 20. Felix Jorge: RHS, 1-2-94 2015 start: Was much higher on this list. Struggled in 2014 and I have to think there is a lurking injury has his velocity dropped significantly. If healthy, Cedar Rapids rotation and 130 innings. 21. Yorman Landa: RHP, 6-11-94 2015 start: Shoulder surgery last June. Should be fine early in the season to return and pitch for Cedar Rapids out of the bullpen and maybe later on in the rotation. 22. Randy Rosario: LHS, 5-18-94 2015 start: TJ surgery in April, so he will be ready early in the season for EST or by mid-season to start for Cedar Rapids. 23. Kuo-hua Lo: RHR, 10-28-92 2015 start: Cedar Rapids bullpen. Could move quickly to Fort Myers. 24. Cameron Booser: LHR, 5-4-92 2015 start: Cedar Rapids bullpen. 25. Ryan O'Rourke: LHR, 4-30-88 2015 start: Rochester bullpen Honorable mention (all "to watch" guys for potential breakouts): Mat Batts (LHS, 23), Aaron Slegers (RHS, 22), Brandon Poulson (RHR, 25), J.T. Chargois (RHR, 24), Todd Van Steensel (RHR, 24) (Note: I am moving to a 25 innings rule for relievers in the big leagues in terms of graduating out of prospect land. Thus, Michael Tonkin, who would be about 19 or 20 on this list, is not included. Lester Oliveros, who would be about 22 or 23, is not included either). With Romero and Melotakis being out for the season, or at least most of it, that leaves 28 pitchers to put somewhere. Disregarding the Twins mistake of ramming the bullpen from the top down by adding Stauffer (and maybe Graham), keeping Pelfrey around instead of ending that terrible relationship, and very likely keeping Duensing, those 28 breakdown into four different teams, in my view. Thus, the Rochester rotation would have No. 2 Meyer, No. 6 May, No. 9 Rogers, and No. 10 Duffey (good news for Rochester through May at least!), and No. 25 O'Rourke would be in the bullpen as a setup man for someone like Tonkin or Oliveros. In Chattanooga, No. 1 Berrios would be leading the rotation. The bullpen would feature No. 4 Burdi, No. 12 Z. Jones, No. 13 Peterson, No. 17 Salcedo and HM Van Steensel (add two lefties and this bullpen is lethal). The Fort Myers rotation would be loaded with No. 3 Stewart, No. 15 Hu, and HMs Batts and Slegers. The Miracle bullpen would have Reed and Chargois at the end, which would prove to be a lights-out combination for as long as they stay down in Fort Myers. Cedar Rapids would have a ridiculous rotation: No. 5 Gonsalves, No. 7 Thorpe (if healthy), No. 11. Cederoth, No. 14. Curtiss, No. 20 Jorge, and No. 22 Rosario. If all six of those guys are healthy, Cedar Rapids will dominate. And that doesn't even mention the bullpen: No. 19 Clay, No. 21. Landa, No. 23 Lo, No. 24 Booser, and HM Poulson. Undoubtedly, there are some players not included in these 30 who might deserve to be listed (Achter, Adam, Bixler, Gibbons, Irby, Mazza, Rodriguez, Steele, Wheeler, C. Williams, Lee, Wimmers, Tapia, and Eades come to mind, and were all under consideration.). I do think that this way of breaking down prospects has its advantages. First, there is no weird comparison of position players and pitchers in terms of ranking on a list. The two are just not the same and have different timetables and expectations. Also, this presents a clear picture of what is going on in the system with regard to pitching. I would claim now that the system is loaded up and down, and with a decent number of lefties thrown in. There are about a dozen pitchers like Darnell, Dean, Summers, and even Shibuya, who would have easily made this list if it were not for what the Twins have been able to do in this terrible losing stretch. I do get frustrated when the Twins don't trust their own system better--if they don't trust their players and their development, then what does that say about the people employed to be in charge of such things in the organization?--and instead add weird free agents like Tim Stauffer, and keep marginally good relievers like Brian Duensing. I would not like to be Michael Tonkin, Lester Oliveros, A.J. Achter, Cole Johnson, or Ryan O'Rourke, five pitchers who all really should be legitimately competing for about three bullpen slots . . . but in reality there are no spots available for them (at most one). And their window of opportunity is really shrinking, especially for the right-handed relievers. I do hope that this provides a good breakdown of the system with regard to pitching. I cannot stress enough the importance of looking deep into the system at any given time. Players jump up and fall down these kinds of lists quickly, so the honorable mention today could be an overall top 200 prospect within a year or two. Another positive that comes from looking deeper into the system is that you gain a greater appreciation for how good these guys really are at baseball even though they might never even reach AA. Share your comments about this list and the pros and cons of splitting the prospect list in this way.

Also, Hermann is still on the 40-man roster, so they do have three catchers. I doubt that Molitor is going to continue the inanity from Gardenhire and Steinbach about Pinto and Herrmann being catchers.

I agree with all of this. I didn't want to say too much about Herrmann given my history of liking him since 2011. I have been very confused about the treatment of the backup catching options. Herrmann and Pinto both caught at Rochester and were obviously good enough to keep catching. And they both really hit there too.

Does anyone look at Terry Steinbach and say "what the hell did you even do here?" For the Twins to almost shut down Pinto as a backup and to shutdown Herrmann as the third guy is quite troubling. Neither one has such bad defense. Pinto is likely below average but he REALLY likes to learn and get better. Herrmann was only slightly below average to begin with. Suzuki is going to return to his worst at the plate. He really fooled the Twins. And, of course, ultimately, his defense is nothing to write home about. He is a good backup. Pinto should be starting and should be made ready to start by now.