The Minnesota Twins have one of the best farm systems in all of baseball right now and I am going to cover it over a handful of posts to give you guys a sneak peek at the talent that will be coming to Target Field as soon as this season. I will cover top 5 prospects at the position groups of middle infielders, corner infielders, catchers, outfielders, and pitchers.
I will start with the middle infielders from 5 to 1:
5- Levi Michael SS/2B (High-A Fort Myers)
Levi played the entire last season at High-A ball with the Fort Myers Miracle. He was a first round pick who has moved a little bit slower then most had hoped when he was drafted, but we did see some good things out of him this season. He continued to play well above average defense, mainly at second base. While he did only hit .229, he had an on base of .331, that's a 100 points above his batting average. What does that mean? He gets on base frequently, and that is highly valuable at a middle infield spot. He drew 49 walks in just over 400 total plate appearances, which is very good at the major league level. If he can continue to get on base at a high clip and play great defense he will continue to rise and could be at the majors as soon as mid season of 2015.
4- Danny Santana SS (Double-A New Britain)
Danny was named the Rock Cats player of the year after spending the entire season at Double-A. He had 160 hits in 131 games with 30 stolen bases. He had a great average of .297, but only drew 24 walks and struck out 94 strikeouts. He also struggled defensively with 32 errors this season. He did slug nearly .400 with 34 extra base hits and has great potential offensively. The only thing that will keep Santana from being in the majors this season at some point is his approach at the plate. He needs to learn to take more pitches and get on base more to utilize his blazing speed. His defense is a question mark, but with such a high upside offensively if he can cut back the strikeouts and increase the walks, he will replace Florimon at short come this August.
3- Niko Goodrum SS (Low-A Cedar Rapids)
Niko was an absolute on base machine this season for Cedar Rapids. He had an on base of .364, and drew 60 walks in just over 400 at bats. That's double what Santana drew in almost 150 fewer at bats. His average was only .260, but he did have 30 extra base hits and stole 20 bases. If your SS/2B can hit around .260 and get on base at a clip of .360 and play solid defense, he is an all-star. He was hurt for a few weeks and could have put up even better numbers with more at bats, and may have ended up higher on this list. Some scouts say he'll end up in the outfield at some point, but if he can stay solid on defense at short and continue to get on base at each level, he will stay at short and could be a better long term answer at short than both Michael and Santana. If he stays on this path there is no reason he couldn't be a September call up in 2015 and be a huge part of the Twins turnaround.
2- Jorge Polanco 2B (Low-A Cedar Rapids)
I went back and forth between Jorge Polanco and highly touted second base prospect Eddie Rosario on who should be number 1 on this list, and I gave the edge to Rosario only due to he will be up sooner and has a bit higher upside power wise. Polanco was signed as a shortstop, but has found a home at second base. He has become a very good defensive second baseman, and a force at the plate. He hit .308 with an on base of .362 and slugged .452 with 47 extra base hits. He had 42 walks, which isn't a ton, but above average for a player at Low-A. The biggest thing that makes him such an offensive force is that he only struck out 59 times in about 500 at bats. Santana, Goodrum, and Rosario all struck out well over 90 times in just as many at bats. At age 20, he is showing a fantastic eye at the plate, and if it continues he could easily bump Rosario out of second base come 2016.
1- Eddie Rosario 2B (Double-A New Britain) (Pictured Above)
Eddie Rosario started at High-A Fort Myers, and tore it up and forced a mid season promotion and now may force the Twins to either move him back to the outfield or move Dozier to make room for his bat. Rosario was an outfielder who has been converted to a second basemen and has become just a solid defender with little upside to become an elite defender. His upside is an elite bat at a mainly defensive position in second base. Between the two levels he played at he posted a slashline of .302/.350/.460 with an ops of .810 and 50 extra base hits. Those numbers usually come from the power positions of corner outfielders and corner infielders and he did that while playing second base. He does need to cut down on the strike outs and increase his walks to become elite at the major league level. He struck out 96 times and only walked 38 times in about 500 at bats. Now, today there was a story released that Eddie Rosario will have to serve a 50 game suspension for violating the league's drug policy. If this is true and he does have to do this, this will set him back tremendously. Instead of being up as early as June this year, he won't play until sometime in June this year. This means at the earliest he will be up as a September call up. He needs to prove himself at the Triple-A level before coming up. He has a huge upside, but now may not see Target Field until 2015.
In the middle infield the Twins do have depth throughout the organization, it's unfortunately not at the highest levels. It could be until 2016 before we see the best middle infield prospects up, but if the prospects move at the same pace it could be perfect timing for the Minnesota Twins.
Keep an eye out for my next post on the corner infielders. It is pretty obvious who will be number 1, but the other 4 could be valuable pieces that the Twins move this offseason or next to land a very good starting pitcher that they so desperately need.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987
I will start with the middle infielders from 5 to 1:
5- Levi Michael SS/2B (High-A Fort Myers)
Levi played the entire last season at High-A ball with the Fort Myers Miracle. He was a first round pick who has moved a little bit slower then most had hoped when he was drafted, but we did see some good things out of him this season. He continued to play well above average defense, mainly at second base. While he did only hit .229, he had an on base of .331, that's a 100 points above his batting average. What does that mean? He gets on base frequently, and that is highly valuable at a middle infield spot. He drew 49 walks in just over 400 total plate appearances, which is very good at the major league level. If he can continue to get on base at a high clip and play great defense he will continue to rise and could be at the majors as soon as mid season of 2015.
4- Danny Santana SS (Double-A New Britain)
Danny was named the Rock Cats player of the year after spending the entire season at Double-A. He had 160 hits in 131 games with 30 stolen bases. He had a great average of .297, but only drew 24 walks and struck out 94 strikeouts. He also struggled defensively with 32 errors this season. He did slug nearly .400 with 34 extra base hits and has great potential offensively. The only thing that will keep Santana from being in the majors this season at some point is his approach at the plate. He needs to learn to take more pitches and get on base more to utilize his blazing speed. His defense is a question mark, but with such a high upside offensively if he can cut back the strikeouts and increase the walks, he will replace Florimon at short come this August.
3- Niko Goodrum SS (Low-A Cedar Rapids)
Niko was an absolute on base machine this season for Cedar Rapids. He had an on base of .364, and drew 60 walks in just over 400 at bats. That's double what Santana drew in almost 150 fewer at bats. His average was only .260, but he did have 30 extra base hits and stole 20 bases. If your SS/2B can hit around .260 and get on base at a clip of .360 and play solid defense, he is an all-star. He was hurt for a few weeks and could have put up even better numbers with more at bats, and may have ended up higher on this list. Some scouts say he'll end up in the outfield at some point, but if he can stay solid on defense at short and continue to get on base at each level, he will stay at short and could be a better long term answer at short than both Michael and Santana. If he stays on this path there is no reason he couldn't be a September call up in 2015 and be a huge part of the Twins turnaround.
2- Jorge Polanco 2B (Low-A Cedar Rapids)
I went back and forth between Jorge Polanco and highly touted second base prospect Eddie Rosario on who should be number 1 on this list, and I gave the edge to Rosario only due to he will be up sooner and has a bit higher upside power wise. Polanco was signed as a shortstop, but has found a home at second base. He has become a very good defensive second baseman, and a force at the plate. He hit .308 with an on base of .362 and slugged .452 with 47 extra base hits. He had 42 walks, which isn't a ton, but above average for a player at Low-A. The biggest thing that makes him such an offensive force is that he only struck out 59 times in about 500 at bats. Santana, Goodrum, and Rosario all struck out well over 90 times in just as many at bats. At age 20, he is showing a fantastic eye at the plate, and if it continues he could easily bump Rosario out of second base come 2016.
1- Eddie Rosario 2B (Double-A New Britain) (Pictured Above)
Eddie Rosario started at High-A Fort Myers, and tore it up and forced a mid season promotion and now may force the Twins to either move him back to the outfield or move Dozier to make room for his bat. Rosario was an outfielder who has been converted to a second basemen and has become just a solid defender with little upside to become an elite defender. His upside is an elite bat at a mainly defensive position in second base. Between the two levels he played at he posted a slashline of .302/.350/.460 with an ops of .810 and 50 extra base hits. Those numbers usually come from the power positions of corner outfielders and corner infielders and he did that while playing second base. He does need to cut down on the strike outs and increase his walks to become elite at the major league level. He struck out 96 times and only walked 38 times in about 500 at bats. Now, today there was a story released that Eddie Rosario will have to serve a 50 game suspension for violating the league's drug policy. If this is true and he does have to do this, this will set him back tremendously. Instead of being up as early as June this year, he won't play until sometime in June this year. This means at the earliest he will be up as a September call up. He needs to prove himself at the Triple-A level before coming up. He has a huge upside, but now may not see Target Field until 2015.
In the middle infield the Twins do have depth throughout the organization, it's unfortunately not at the highest levels. It could be until 2016 before we see the best middle infield prospects up, but if the prospects move at the same pace it could be perfect timing for the Minnesota Twins.
Keep an eye out for my next post on the corner infielders. It is pretty obvious who will be number 1, but the other 4 could be valuable pieces that the Twins move this offseason or next to land a very good starting pitcher that they so desperately need.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987