Shane Wahl

I really disliked the pick and basically shut down following the draft at all. I think he could be good, certainly, but I found it odd to pick him there. And lo and behold, something is up with his elbow or shoulder . . .

You are right to question this. I really fear for his performance as soon as he hits AA . . . as in he won't hit. Fewer hits and more strikeouts are going to destroy that offensive value. BUT, hopefully I am very wrong about that. I do wonder why they haven't moved him to AA already given how bad the outlook is behind the plate in the system. He is 24, after all.

Yep, it's pretty dubious. I think Walker will make it and it will be interesting to see how it goes. But there are some issues with the system just around the corner, unless Minier, Diaz, and Javier *all* show real promise as top prospects.

Kepler is on it. Goodrum, Michael, and Turner could easily be 2017. Walker, Harrison, Ortiz, and Beresford could all be traded. Many combinations of possible outcomes could lower this from 9 to under 5, even. That said, there is going to be 40-man room soon.

Babe Ruth. Far and away. Mays and Johnson are honorable mentions. Williams is too because of his career taking the WWII hit.

Reposting from my blog: It is time for part 2 of my mid-season prospect list. Here are the top 30 position player prospects in the Twins system: 1. Byron Buxton (1): CF, 12-18-93 2015 status: Buxton is basically done with minor league baseball. He got injured again, but should be back with the Twins in September. ETA: already arrived. 2. Miguel Sano (2): 3B, 5-3-93 2015 status: Has obliterated the baseball after his promotion to the Twins. He is also done with minor league baseball. Sano will be used as the DH primarily for the rest of this year, but the Twins should be shopping Trevor Plouffe in the offseason. ETA: already arrived. 3. Jorge Polanco (3): SS/2B, 7-5-93 2015 status: Promoted to the Twins for one game and then moved to Rochester from Chattanooga. His bat is ready, not he just needs to get his SS defense up to acceptable standards. ETA: 2015. 4. Max Kepler (6): OF/1B, 2-10-93 2015 status: In the midst of a breakout season that is really pushing the envelope for the Twins. I would like to see a move up to AAA and then a September call up. Outstanding to see Kepler develop in this way this year. Could be trade bait. ETA: September 2015, or 2016 after Twins roster shakeup in offseason. 5. Nick Gordon (5): SS, 10-24-95 2015 status: The youngster struggled offensively initially at Cedar Rapids, but is really hitting his stride. Defense is great. ETA: 2019 6. Adam Walker (7): RF, 10-18-91 2015 status: He is having a great season. Homers and strikeouts abound, but he is also hitting a bit better overall and has an .899 OPS. Also trade bait. ETA: September 2015 for some fun homers, or else 2016 after some AAA time. 7. Amaurys Minier (8): OF/1B, 1-30-96 2015 status: Getting moved to Elizabethon will be a bit of a challenge initially, but he should be fine. He could have a monster season. ETA: 2020. 8. Lewis Diaz (11): 1B, 11-19-96 2015 status: Getting used to playing in the States. Born on the day I got my driver's license. Taking it slow, obviously, but Diaz is about as fun as any prospect to watch in anticipation for the rest of the year. ETA: 2021. 9. Wandy Javier (NR): SS, 12-29-98 2015 status: Just signed by the Twins to a $4 million bonus, the SS could top this list within two years. Looks like a good all-around player, both offensively and defensively. ETA: 2022. 10. Travis Harrison (9): LF/RF, 10-17-92 2015 status: Harrison is a good all-around hitter, who is fully in the OF this year. The power still has not come, however, and this is going to force him down the list. Harrison is definitely someone the Twins should try to shop in some package in the offseason, or if they really want to trade for a bullpen arm for the stretch run in 2015. ETA: September 2016. 11. Levi Michael (10): 2B, 2-9-91 2015 status: Michael has battled an injury again this season. When actually healthy, he is good. He has an .807 OPS for Chattanooga this year and is back to stealing bases. He is slugging substantially more this year, which is interesting. Given everyone above him, Michael is in Harrison's camp as trade material. ETA: September 2016. 12. Travis Blankenhorn (NR): 3B, 8-3-96 2015 status: Drafted in the third round, the Twins sent Blankenhorn to the GCL. Nice pick, good bat. ETA: 2020. 13. Niko Goodrum (14): SS/3B/CF, 2-28-92 2015 status: Promoted to Chattanooga after an OK start in Fort Myers. He always threatens to push that OPS over .700 . . . time will tell. Great speed. Adding CF to his resume is interesting. Good end up being a more athletic and bigger version of Eduardo Escobar. Still relatively young. ETA: September 2016. 14. Dalton Hicks (20): 1B, 4-2-90 2015 status: Hicks was smashing the ball in Chattanooga before getting injured. He has been up and down my lists over the past few years now. ETA: September 2016. 15. Tanner English (18): CF, 3-11-93 2015 status: Has hit a bit of a snag with his first full season, but the steals and defense are intriguing enough. He also draws a good amount of walks. Only grounded into one double play all year, which is crazy. ETA: 2018. 16. Engelb Vielma (17): SS, 6-22-94 2015 status: Slow to develop bat at Fort Myers, but that should be expected. He is inching toward similar offensive numbers in 2015 as he had in Cedar Rapids in 2014, but the stolen bases have exploded. ETA: 2017 if the Twins want a defensive shortstop, otherwise 2018. 17. Stuart Turner (12): C, 12-27-91 2015 status: As expected, the bat is bad in AA. He is a very good defensive catcher, however. A .566 OPS in AA is a bit scary and the Twins have an immediate hole at the catcher position. ETA: September 2016. 18. Mitch Garver (15): C, 1-15-91 2015 status: Started very slowly offensively, but is now coming around. Would like to see him pushed to AA in August to test his bat a little bit and get him ready for a full season of AA in 2016. ETA: 2017. 19. Danny Ortiz (22): OF, 1-5-90 2015 status: Ortiz was hitting really well to start the year in AAA, then cooled off as he was moved to CF. Maybe the two are unrelated, but I think that it is a good thing for Ortiz to add CF to his resume. The Twins should definitely be interested in his 4th OF capability if they are going to be trading some of their OF depth (Kepler, Walker, Harrison). Otherwise, Ortiz is trade bait to add in a package. ETA: would be September 2015 in about any other organization. Here, 2016. 20. James Beresford (24): 2B/IF, 1-19-89 2015 status: Beresford is totally consistent. There is basically no steadier a bat in the system. The Twins know how Beresford will produce offensively in the big leagues if they want him there. The issue for him is that he needs to move beyond being a second baseman. His future anywhere is going to be as a utility infielder, much like Ortiz's future is as a 4th OF. ETA: September 2015 wouldn't be totally out of the question if the Twins have 40-man space. Otherwise 2016 somewhere in MLB. 21. Jermaine Palacios (NR): SS/IF, 7-19-96 2015 status: Palacios is pounding GCL pitching right now after a very solid 2014 season in the DSL. Currently, he is quite slight, measuring six feet tall while being listed at under 150 pounds. He might not outgrow SS, so there is a decent chance that he sticks there. Big sleeper prospect right now. ETA: 2021. 22. Zach Granite (NR): CF/LF, 9-17-92 2015 status: Granite dominated in Cedar Rapids and was quickly promoted to Fort Myers. He is struggling some there, but should get his 2015 A+ numbers to match his 2014 A numbers. He has very good speed and some decent plate discipline. ETA: 2018 23. Rafael Valera (NR): 2B/3B/SS, 8-15-94 2015 status: Valera is another sleeper prospect. The Twins sent Valera to Cedar Rapids this year after a decent season in the GCL in 2014. Good plate discipline and speed. ETA: 2019. 24. Max Murphy (13): OF, 11-17-92 2015 status: After dominating in Elizabethon in 2014, Murphy struggled some in Cedar Rapids last year. Those struggles have continued and that is why he has fallen dramatically on this list. Still can rebound. ETA 2019. 25. Trey Vavra (HM): 1B/LF, 9-17-91 2015 status: Vavra got off to a torrid start this year before getting injured. His performance has been a pleasant surprise. When healthy he has hit and hit for power. ETA: 2018. 26. Brian Navarreto (HM): C, 12-29-94 2015 status: Navarreto got off to a terrible start at the plate, then was injured, and now has been better since returning. His defense is good to very good, but the bat is really lagging. He will certainly be in Cedar Rapids for much of 2016. ETA: 2019. 27. Zach Larson (19): OF, 10-8-93 2015 status: Really going backwards this year, not even really close to his 2014 numbers in Cedar Rapids. He is still young, though, so there is time for him there to work it out. ETA: 2019. 28. Trey Cabbage (NR): 3B, 5-3-97 2015 status: Drafted in the 4th round, Cabbage could be a bit of a steal in the draft. He is starting out for the GCL. ETA: 2022. 29. Tyler Kuresa (HM): 1B, 11-17-92 2015 status: I had high hopes of a breakthrough season for Kuresa, but Cedar Rapids was very rough for him. He was then demoted to Elizabethon where he immediately started hammering the ball. After only 63 plate appearances there, the Twins have promoted him back to Cedar Rapids for round two. ETA: 2019. 30. LaMonte Wade (NR): CF, 1-1-94 2015 status: Drafted in the 9th round, the Twins sent wade to Elizabethon where he is off to a very impressive start. ETA: 2020 Honorable Mentions: Kolton Kendrick (1B), Jorge Fernandez (1B/C), Rainis Silva © Overview: This list doesn't compare to the pitching prospects list in terms of depth, though the high-end talent is probably better overall. You can see where it really starts to breakdown with Mitch Garver at 18 as a kind of "hope he doesn't fizzle" status and then the minor league veterans in limbo at AAA in Ortiz and Beresford. Palacios and Valera are two guys to watch. The rest at the end have real questions about either performance or the lack thereof (2015 draftees). Wade is another fun guy to see develop this year. Breakdown by ETA: 2015: 1. Buxton, 2. Sano, 3. Polanco. 2016: 4. Kepler, 6. Walker, 10. Harrison, 11. Michael, 13. Goodrum, 14. Hicks, 17. Turner, 19. Ortiz, 20. Beresford. 2017: 18. Garver. 2018: 15. English, 16. Vielma, 22. Granite, 25. Vavra, 2019: 5. Gordon, 23. Valera, 24. Murphy, 26. Navarreto, 27. Larson, 29. Kuresa. 2020: 7. Minier, 12. Blankenhorn, 30. Wade 2021: 8. Diaz, 21. Palacios, 2022: 9. Javier, 28. Cabbage Part 3 will be a combined list of pitchers and position players

In other words, I would do it.

They would demand Kepler, Gordon, and Stewart.

Buxton is going to be an elite player with Sano. Buxton adds tremendous defensive capability. That is overall the difference to me (the speed of Buxton and the power of Sano cancel each other out, in my view). I expected some complaint about Javier, but in the opposite direction! He might be in the top 3 signed this year from the DR.

Yeah there are a lot of guys who bottle-necking in the system right now. I think the Twins do need to make some trades that will end up getting them younger guys, especially since one would think that the era of top 10 picks is very much over. We don't want a system getting bare in 2018 regardless of what the big league club is able to accomplish.

More marginal guys likely feel this way. Danny Ortiz and James Beresford are clear examples. Those two are guys who would actually fit nicely in a package with some major leaguer in a deal (like Plouffe or Milone, for instance). Vargas, Meyer, Oliveros, and Achter are definite examples.

I don't remember the FSL being so anemic other years. Swim should probably move up very soon to pair with Turner.

Buxton-Mauer-Dozier-Sano

It is time for part 2 of my mid-season prospect list. Here are the top 30 position player prospects in the Twins system: 1. Byron Buxton (1): CF, 12-18-93 2015 status: Buxton is basically done with minor league baseball. He got injured again, but should be back with the Twins in September. ETA: already arrived. 2. Miguel Sano (2): 3B, 5-3-93 2015 status: Has obliterated the baseball after his promotion to the Twins. He is also done with minor league baseball. Sano will be used as the DH primarily for the rest of this year, but the Twins should be shopping Trevor Plouffe in the offseason. ETA: already arrived. 3. Jorge Polanco (3): SS/2B, 7-5-93 2015 status: Promoted to the Twins for one game and then moved to Rochester from Chattanooga. His bat is ready, not he just needs to get his SS defense up to acceptable standards. ETA: 2015. 4. Max Kepler (6): OF/1B, 2-10-93 2015 status: In the midst of a breakout season that is really pushing the envelope for the Twins. I would like to see a move up to AAA and then a September call up. Outstanding to see Kepler develop in this way this year. Could be trade bait. ETA: September 2015, or 2016 after Twins roster shakeup in offseason. 5. Nick Gordon (5): SS, 10-24-95 2015 status: The youngster struggled offensively initially at Cedar Rapids, but is really hitting his stride. Defense is great. ETA: 2019 6. Adam Walker (7): RF, 10-18-91 2015 status: He is having a great season. Homers and strikeouts abound, but he is also hitting a bit better overall and has an .899 OPS. Also trade bait. ETA: September 2015 for some fun homers, or else 2016 after some AAA time. 7. Amaurys Minier (8): OF/1B, 1-30-96 2015 status: Getting moved to Elizabethon will be a bit of a challenge initially, but he should be fine. He could have a monster season. ETA: 2020. 8. Lewis Diaz (11): 1B, 11-19-96 2015 status: Getting used to playing in the States. Born on the day I got my driver's license. Taking it slow, obviously, but Diaz is about as fun as any prospect to watch in anticipation for the rest of the year. ETA: 2021. 9. Wandy Javier (NR): SS, 12-29-98 2015 status: Just signed by the Twins to a $4 million bonus, the SS could top this list within two years. Looks like a good all-around player, both offensively and defensively. ETA: 2022. 10. Travis Harrison (9): LF/RF, 10-17-92 2015 status: Harrison is a good all-around hitter, who is fully in the OF this year. The power still has not come, however, and this is going to force him down the list. Harrison is definitely someone the Twins should try to shop in some package in the offseason, or if they really want to trade for a bullpen arm for the stretch run in 2015. ETA: September 2016. 11. Levi Michael (10): 2B, 2-9-91 2015 status: Michael has battled an injury again this season. When actually healthy, he is good. He has an .807 OPS for Chattanooga this year and is back to stealing bases. He is slugging substantially more this year, which is interesting. Given everyone above him, Michael is in Harrison's camp as trade material. ETA: September 2016. 12. Travis Blankenhorn (NR): 3B, 8-3-96 2015 status: Drafted in the third round, the Twins sent Blankenhorn to the GCL. Nice pick, good bat. ETA: 2020. 13. Niko Goodrum (14): SS/3B/CF, 2-28-92 2015 status: Promoted to Chattanooga after an OK start in Fort Myers. He always threatens to push that OPS over .700 . . . time will tell. Great speed. Adding CF to his resume is interesting. Good end up being a more athletic and bigger version of Eduardo Escobar. Still relatively young. ETA: September 2016. 14. Dalton Hicks (20): 1B, 4-2-90 2015 status: Hicks was smashing the ball in Chattanooga before getting injured. He has been up and down my lists over the past few years now. ETA: September 2016. 15. Tanner English (18): CF, 3-11-93 2015 status: Has hit a bit of a snag with his first full season, but the steals and defense are intriguing enough. He also draws a good amount of walks. Only grounded into one double play all year, which is crazy. ETA: 2018. 16. Engelb Vielma (17): SS, 6-22-94 2015 status: Slow to develop bat at Fort Myers, but that should be expected. He is inching toward similar offensive numbers in 2015 as he had in Cedar Rapids in 2014, but the stolen bases have exploded. ETA: 2017 if the Twins want a defensive shortstop, otherwise 2018. 17. Stuart Turner (12): C, 12-27-91 2015 status: As expected, the bat is bad in AA. He is a very good defensive catcher, however. A .566 OPS in AA is a bit scary and the Twins have an immediate hole at the catcher position. ETA: September 2016. 18. Mitch Garver (15): C, 1-15-91 2015 status: Started very slowly offensively, but is now coming around. Would like to see him pushed to AA in August to test his bat a little bit and get him ready for a full season of AA in 2016. ETA: 2017. 19. Danny Ortiz (22): OF, 1-5-90 2015 status: Ortiz was hitting really well to start the year in AAA, then cooled off as he was moved to CF. Maybe the two are unrelated, but I think that it is a good thing for Ortiz to add CF to his resume. The Twins should definitely be interested in his 4th OF capability if they are going to be trading some of their OF depth (Kepler, Walker, Harrison). Otherwise, Ortiz is trade bait to add in a package. ETA: would be September 2015 in about any other organization. Here, 2016. 20. James Beresford (24): 2B/IF, 1-19-89 2015 status: Beresford is totally consistent. There is basically no steadier a bat in the system. The Twins know how Beresford will produce offensively in the big leagues if they want him there. The issue for him is that he needs to move beyond being a second baseman. His future anywhere is going to be as a utility infielder, much like Ortiz's future is as a 4th OF. ETA: September 2015 wouldn't be totally out of the question if the Twins have 40-man space. Otherwise 2016 somewhere in MLB. 21. Jermaine Palacios (NR): SS/IF, 7-19-96 2015 status: Palacios is pounding GCL pitching right now after a very solid 2014 season in the DSL. Currently, he is quite slight, measuring six feet tall while being listed at under 150 pounds. He might not outgrow SS, so there is a decent chance that he sticks there. Big sleeper prospect right now. ETA: 2021. 22. Zach Granite (NR): CF/LF, 9-17-92 2015 status: Granite dominated in Cedar Rapids and was quickly promoted to Fort Myers. He is struggling some there, but should get his 2015 A+ numbers to match his 2014 A numbers. He has very good speed and some decent plate discipline. ETA: 2018 23. Rafael Valera (NR): 2B/3B/SS, 8-15-94 2015 status: Valera is another sleeper prospect. The Twins sent Valera to Cedar Rapids this year after a decent season in the GCL in 2014. Good plate discipline and speed. ETA: 2019. 24. Max Murphy (13): OF, 11-17-92 2015 status: After dominating in Elizabethon in 2014, Murphy struggled some in Cedar Rapids last year. Those struggles have continued and that is why he has fallen dramatically on this list. Still can rebound. ETA 2019. 25. Trey Vavra (HM): 1B/LF, 9-17-91 2015 status: Vavra got off to a torrid start this year before getting injured. His performance has been a pleasant surprise. When healthy he has hit and hit for power. ETA: 2018. 26. Brian Navarreto (HM): C, 12-29-94 2015 status: Navarreto got off to a terrible start at the plate, then was injured, and now has been better since returning. His defense is good to very good, but the bat is really lagging. He will certainly be in Cedar Rapids for much of 2016. ETA: 2019. 27. Zach Larson (19): OF, 10-8-93 2015 status: Really going backwards this year, not even really close to his 2014 numbers in Cedar Rapids. He is still young, though, so there is time for him there to work it out. ETA: 2019. 28. Trey Cabbage (NR): 3B, 5-3-97 2015 status: Drafted in the 4th round, Cabbage could be a bit of a steal in the draft. He is starting out for the GCL. ETA: 2022. 29. Tyler Kuresa (HM): 1B, 11-17-92 2015 status: I had high hopes of a breakthrough season for Kuresa, but Cedar Rapids was very rough for him. He was then demoted to Elizabethon where he immediately started hammering the ball. After only 63 plate appearances there, the Twins have promoted him back to Cedar Rapids for round two. ETA: 2019. 30. LaMonte Wade (NR): CF, 1-1-94 2015 status: Drafted in the 9th round, the Twins sent wade to Elizabethon where he is off to a very impressive start. ETA: 2020 Honorable Mentions: Kolton Kendrick (1B), Jorge Fernandez (1B/C), Rainis Silva © Overview: This list doesn't compare to the pitching prospects list in terms of depth, though the high-end talent is probably better overall. You can see where it really starts to breakdown with Mitch Garver at 18 as a kind of "hope he doesn't fizzle" status and then the minor league veterans in limbo at AAA in Ortiz and Beresford. Palacios and Valera are two guys to watch. The rest at the end have real questions about either performance or the lack thereof (2015 draftees). Wade is another fun guy to see develop this year. Breakdown by ETA: 2015: 1. Buxton, 2. Sano, 3. Polanco. 2016: 4. Kepler, 6. Walker, 10. Harrison, 11. Michael, 13. Goodrum, 14. Hicks, 17. Turner, 19. Ortiz, 20. Beresford. 2017: 18. Garver. 2018: 15. English, 16. Vielma, 22. Granite, 25. Vavra, 2019: 5. Gordon, 23. Valera, 24. Murphy, 26. Navarreto, 27. Larson, 29. Kuresa. 2020: 7. Minier, 12. Blankenhorn, 30. Wade 2021: 8. Diaz, 21. Palacios, 2022: 9. Javier, 28. Cabbage Part 3 will be a combined list of pitchers and position players

I would take Graham over Achter Anyway, yes the playoff roster is different . . . but Graham has to be on the 25-man roster on August 31st and thus would be one of the 25 guys eligible (plus already DLed guys, other various lists, etc.). However, this would likely mean 12 pitchers, which is one too many for the playoffs, in my view. So some kind of injury to one of these pitchers will happen at the end of the season, right? Suzuki, Mauer, Dozier, Polanco, Plouffe, Sano, Rosario, Buxton, Hicks, Hunter, Arcia, Escobar, Pinto/AJ, and Nunez or Santana would be my 14.

I feel like I have said this a dozen times in the past week: there is room for everybody at least until Buxton comes back. Even after Buxton, it would be nice to actually have good players to fill the roster. Imagine the Twins actually having not one, but two legitimate bench players! Oh, the humanity!

Jesus that was a lot to digest. Bad about Jorge Fernandez! Also, Vargas is on a downward spiral.

Also, no one is "pretending" anything. What I actually wrote was that the move to LF couldn't have helped him any. Good god.

Really? At Target Field are you sure this is the case given the amount of ground to cover? Also, you know that it was all because of Hunter, right? Also, Arcia had played RF almost exclusively in the minors and in the majors up until this year.

In other words, Graham either will be on the playoff roster or will "get an injury" at playoff time.

I think all guys on the 25-man on August 31 are eligible, not the 40-man. Injuries and whatnot can affect that later.

Let's keep in mind that the Twins moved Arcia to left field for really no good reason this year. That couldn't have helped any potential improvement he might have had defensively this season.

Also, I actually dislike everything like this from the HOF to this kind of all-time great stuff. I can't get into it in any sport anymore.

Yikes. I thought no, but maybe I am wrong.

I am not sure about trades and how it would work out. For the playoffs, though, 11 pitchers seems quite realistic, right? Assuming that, then I wouldn't mess around with Duensing, Achter, and maybe even Pressly. Pelfrey Rogers Boyer O'Rourke Meyer Fien/Benoit or equivalent Perkins There needs to be gas-throwers. AJ would be a fine addition for the bench.