2wins87

That's a great article Seth, thanks for the link. In other news from the diamond, Goodrum went 4 for 4 tonight with a double and a walk. He drove in 3 runs, scored once, and also swiped 2 bags. Fantastic game for Niko.

In the third week of the season Niko went 5 for 20 with 2 triples. He walked twice and struck out 5 times. He committed another two errors, but his range factor per game (a crude measure of fielding range, but about as good as we can get for minor leaguers) is one of the best in the league at 3.26. He's showing off a good combination of gap power and speed, which has netted him a total of 5 doubles and 3 triples, and a respectable .172 ISO. I wouldn't expect an explosion of home runs in a league where they are very tough to come by, so for now this is encouraging. His walk rate ticked down to 7.2% and his strikeout rate ticked up to 20.3%.

In the second week of the season, Goodrum cooled off a bit from his hot start. In 6 games he went 6 for 24 with two doubles. He struck out 7 times and didn't walk at all. He also committed his third error on the season. Overall his line still looks pretty good: .298 / .353 / .447 with a 7.8% BB rate and 19.6% K rate. The walk rate is a bit low for him but if he can maintain a strikeout rate below 20% it would be a career best and a nice step in the right direction. Also, since I failed to mention it in the intro, you can follow Niko on twitter @NikoGoodrumTC, if you like to check up on the minor league guys that way.

Goodrum is off to a hot start at the plate this year. In his first 7 games he's 8 for 25 (.381) with 4 walks and only 3 strikeouts. Most encouraging, he seems to be driving the ball well as half of his hits have gone for extra bases (3 doubles and a triple). He's played all of his games at 3B so far this year as Jorge Polanco gets a shot to prove himself at short. He's already committed two errors (one throwing and one fielding), though he's only played 26 games at 3B in his professional career so we'll have to wait to see if he can improve with experience.

Surprised no one has taken Fernando Romero yet. I'll take him.

Full Name: Cartier Niko Goodrum Born: 02/28/1992 (22 years old) in Fayetteville, GA Height: 6' 3" (listed) ~6' 4" (actual) Weight: 170 (listed) ~190 (actual) Bats: Switch Throws: Right Niko Goodrum was selected out of high school with the Twins second pick (71st overall) in the 2010 draft. In high school, he was a toolsy infielder with a lot of projection, though most observers didn't expect him to stick at shortstop, some expecting him to move to centerfield. So far, the Twins have been patient with him at short stop where he's played the majority of his games as a professional. His arm is at least plus, but his foot and glove work have been a bit shaky in the past. He's managed to cut down on his errors at short a bit the last two seasons and showed enough potential for the Twins to keep him there. While he's put on at least an inch and 20 lbs since being drafted, he's yet to fully grow into all of the potential that was seen in him when he was drafted. He's shown a good approach at the plate walking at 14% and 13% rates over the last two seasons. However his hit tool is still a question, as he's struck out at rates north of 20% in every season of professional ball and only managed averages in the mid .200s. While he's still got above average speed his power still hasn't developed. He sported a .109 ISO last year after posting a career best .179 ISO in his second year at Elizabethton. So while the results haven't been stellar so far for a second round pick he's shown an ability to get on base, and has held his own in the field. He'll be starting at high-A Fort Myers this year having just turned 22 at the end of February which put's him just a tad under the average age for the Florida State league (which tends to average somewhere between 22.5 to 23 for hitters). This will be a big year for Goodrum. If he can take a few steps forward he could be one of the top prospects in the system. If he continues to post solid but unspectacular numbers he may be destined to be a switch hitting utility guy, which could still make him reasonably valuable. We'll have to see what happens this year.

I'll take Niko Goodrum, please

Turner is new to being a SS (he was at 3B his Freshman year) so I think a lot of the reports will be a bit conservative, but I've read a few that say he should be at least an above average defender. He's one of the most all-around athletic players in the draft.

Great info, I've been looking forward to this. Luke Weaver is definitely the most surprising name on the list, but was ranked 5th by Big League Futures back in September, so he hasn't gone completely without notice. He reportedly hit 97 over the summer (I don't remember where that was reported but it was reputable), though most reports have had him as a low 90s fastball guy. If that bumps into the mid 90s with plus command I can see him being ranked that high.

By the way, at least one person has already posted a mock draft through the second round. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2014-mlb-draft-2/40753 The Twins take Marcus Wilson in this mock. He's another athletic HS outfielder like Monte Harrison; both have plus arms and plus speed. Harrison's probably got the more advanced bat but Wilson has got a lot of projection and there would probably be no problem signing him.

There are a lot of possibilities, but I'll throw out one possible name - Monte Harrison He'd be a trademarked Twins toolsy HS outfield pick. But he might not be there if he has a good spring, and he might also be a tough sign if he falls to the second round since he is committed to Nebraska to play football & baseball.

For the record, I only posted because I thought it was an interesting note on a prospect that most people have never heard of, not because I wanted to discuss the tenure of Radcliff or make anagrams, but it's a forum so it'll go where it goes. live gene balm

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/vielmas-slick-shortstop-play-dazzles-twins/ He speaks really glowingly on Vielma's defense. Of course his bat needs a lot of work which is why he's not really on too many people's radar. Radcliffe says he's got a good approach but has trouble generating any kind of bat speed. It's possible that this changes as he matures. Interesting guy to keep an eye on.

I seem to be in a minority here but so far I'm much more excited about Turner than Gatewood. We'll have to see how things shake out between now and the draft, but Gatewood seems to have too high of a probability of busting for me. Several evaluators have raised questions about his hit tool in games. Watching videos it looks like he's got a really pretty (and long) batting practice swing, but he rarely makes swings like it when facing live pitching, which makes me wonder how much of his raw power he'll be able to use. He'll have to make a lot of adjustments just to make it to the majors. I also don't think he'll stick at SS. I think lots of people are dismissing Turner just based off of a lack of power potential. He doesn't have tons of raw power potential, but that doesn't mean he isn't incredibly athletic. Obviously he's got incredible speed, but I've also read really good reports on his bat speed, and general athleticism. I'm really impressed by the good reviews he's getting defensively despite switching to the position just a year ago and the fact that he wasn't heavily scouted going into college but immediately became a star, and has only continued to improve. To me that just speaks of natural athleticism and an incredibly quick learning curve.

Rogers does get a lot of groundballs (55% last year) which gives him a chance of being a valuable pitcher without getting tons of strikeouts. Probably 5th starter, LOOGY, or long reliever, but he's not a non-prospect.

Considering the Red Wings franchise is older than 70% of the current MLB clubs I'd say that's a pretty safe bet.

Turner is more in the Jose Reyes mold than Tulowitzki. Gap power with great speed and good defensive instincts. Considering short stop is arguably a greater area of need in the minors than pitcher is now I'd be very happy with Turner. I'd also be very happy with one of the top pitchers or Alex Jackson.

Gonsalves might end up being the biggest steal of the draft coming out of the 4th round. If I remember correctly it was mainly a lack of command and consistency that dropped him down the boards before the draft, and his command didn't seem to be egregious in the small statistical sample last summer, certainly no worse than Eades' was. I'd rank him ahead of both Eades and Turner.

Thorpe pitched the first inning in the Futuretronics 2013 ABL All-Star Game presented by Be the Influence: Tackling Binge Drinking (yep that's the official name) this morning. He struck out 1 and only allowed one baserunner on a harmless two-out walk. He's been gradually built up from around 60 pitches in his first start to 100 in his 4th start before the All-Star Game, so I would imagine we can expect him to throw about 100 pitches in each of the 6 remaining weekend series. If the Aces don't make the playoffs this would give him a couple weeks off before Pitchers and Catchers report in February. The Aces are currently tied for the third playoff spot, and I'm not sure how long the playoffs last.

I could definitely debate a lot of these, but the one I am going to bring up is Gonsalves at 10 and Thorpe at 18. I like Gonsalves quite a bit, probably top 15, but at this point they've got very similar repertoires, and Thorpe has shown a much better ability to control it. Gonsalves got a touch of experience at a slightly higher level, but is also a year older, and has less of a track record in pro ball right now.

Just a quick note that Thorpe was selected to play for Australia in the ABL All-Star game. The Aces page page says he will be the starter. This is a pretty great honor, especially for a kid that just recently turned 18. He also made a start earlier today (or yesterday? timezones...), pitching very well again. The box is here.

Thorpe has now made two more starts for the Melbourne Aces. On November 30 he started the second game of the Saturday double-header. It wasn't his sharpest outing, only making it through 3 and 2/3 innings while giving up 5 runs. Only one run was earned, as 4 scored in the second inning after a fielding error by the Aces left fielder, but Thorpe allowed 6 hits and an uncharacteristic 3 walks while only striking out 2, so it wasn't a good outing, and he was pulled with two outs in the 4th with runners on 2nd and 3rd. His next start last Sunday, however, was brilliant. He went seven innings on an efficient 82 pitches, giving up only 1 hit (an infield hit) and no walks while striking out 8. He's now gone a total of 15.2 innings in three starts in the ABL with a 13K/4BB and a 1.72 ERA and 4.14 RA/9.

Most definitely projects to stay at SS. He's a pretty polished college guy whos best tool is his speed. Though a few have questioned if he's going to have enough bat.

I like Jackson a lot if he sticks at catcher. The Twins are likely to give him every shot to stick there, so I'd be happy if they end up with him.

Yeah Lofton was a borderline HOF candidate (should have at least gotten more consideration). If there was any reasonable expectation for Ellsbury to play like Lofton this would be fine contract. Ellsbury's age 27 and 29 seasons might resemble Lofton's. But you can't fill in all the years with injuries and mediocre hitting with Lofton like years and think you have Kenny Lofton.