With voting wrapped up and the season underway, now is a good time to browse our finalized community prospect list. We posted similar material on our Top 10 when that was finished a couple of months ago, so some of that may seem familiar. Enjoy!
|1||Miguel Sano||3B||2009 (DR)||n/a||n/a||20||2015||Sano ranks at the top of every Twins prospect list I've seen, and both MLB and Baseball America think he's among the most promising young players in the game.|
|2||Oswaldo Arcia||RF||2007 (VEN)||n/a||n/a||22||2014||Arcia doesn't get enough love from some of the bigger baseball institutions, but I think we all know exactly how special Arcia could turn out to be. I do think he'll be one more year in the minors before we see him take over in right field. Then: look out.|
|3||Byron Buxton||CF||2012||1||2||19||2016||I'm cautiosly optimistic about Buxton, but I think this is the right spot for him. He's talented, but years away.|
|4||Alex Meyer||RHP||2011||1||23||23||2014||People expect Meyer to move quickly, and he has the potential to be a front-line starter. I can see why he's a Top 3 prospect on a lot of Twins lists.|
|5||Aaron Hicks||CF||2008||1||14||23||2013||Hicks still has something to prove this year, but with the starting center field job all his he'll disappear off this list next season.|
|6||Eddie Rosario||2B||2010||4||135||21||2015||I didn't expect Rosario to go this high, but that's not a shot at Rosario or his potential. If he continues to hit, he'll be a star. The end.|
|7||Kyle Gibson||RHP||2009||1||22||25||2013||Gibson dropped a bit lower than I thought he might. I'm curious to see what he looks like this season. He's talented enough to be Minnesota's best starter in 2013, in spite of his lack of experience.|
|8||Max Kepler||CF||2009 (GER)||n/a||n/a||20||2015||Kepler came in one or two spots higher than I thought he'd land, but it's not like this is "too high" for the German prospect. He's extremely talented, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the Twins' Top 5 at this time next year.|
|9||Jose Berrios||RHP||2012||1||32||19||2015||One more year on the same trajectory as everyone seems to think he's on, and he'll make a big jump on next year's lists.|
|10||Trevor May||RHP||2008||4||136||23||2013||I actually expect us to see May make his debut later this summer as a reliever for the Twins, if he does as well as I think he will.|
|11||Joe Benson||CF||2006||2||64||25||2013||Benson came higher on our list than I think he deserves, but to be fair once we get to this point the next handful of names are all interchangeable. Talented but needs to find some consistency.|
|12||J.T. Chargois||RHP||2012||2||72||22||2015||The second of five pitchers from the 2012 draft class, he seems destined to become a reliever. Seems to be interchangeable with Bard and Melotakis depending on whose list you read. Could move quickly.|
|13||Jorge Polanco||SS||2009 (DR)||n/a||n/a||19||2017||Polanco broke out with a massive 2012 campaign as an 18-year old. An intriguing prospect who could shoot up or drop next season depending on his bat.|
|14||Travis Harrison||3B||2011||1||50||20||2017||An incredible introductory season to the Twins system. Can his bat maintain as he climbs the ladder? Some question whether he'll stick at third base.|
|15||Daniel Santana||SS||2007 (DR)||n/a||n/a||22||2015||Baseball America likes Santana to be Minnesota's starting shortstop in 2016. Added to the 40-man roster this season.|
|16||Mason Melotakis||LHP||2012||2||63||22||2016||Blew through rookie and low-A affiliates last season. Could move quickly.|
|17||Luke Bard||RHP||2012||1||42||22||2016||Threw just seven innings last season. Not as popular as his 2012 draftmate pitchers in some circles.|
|18||Hudson Boyd||RHP||2011||1||55||20||2016||Detractors point to fringe strikeout rates and wonder how that will translate up the ladder. Believers like his stamina and polish, even if he's not a finished product.|
|19||Michael Tonkin||RHP||2008||30||906||23||2015||Could be the top relief prospect in the system. Needs to pitch well at Double-A this season and hopefully advance to Triple-A.|
|20||Niko Goodrum||SS||2010||2||71||21||2016||Some like Goodrum better than Santana, but Goodrum needs to prove his defense is strong enough to make up for his lack of a bat.|
|21||Chris Herrmann||C||2009||6||192||25||2013||Herrmann is close to the majors. Decent contact skills and plate discipline. Basically ready. Probably a backup catcher.|
|22||Alex Wimmers||RHP||2010||1||21||24||2015||Scheduled to pitch games in late June or early July. Needs to show he can pitch, and pitch effectively. A bad year will cost him his status as a prospect.|
|23||D.J. Baxendale||RHP||2012||10||310||22||2015||May be "fast tracked" along with Berrios. Could surpass Melotakis and Bard on next year's list. Numbers were great across the board in debut season.|
|24||Levi Michael||2B||2011||1||30||22||2015||Disappointing debut, although was dropped right into Advanced-A. Staying there to start 2013. May not be as polished as originally thought.|
|25||Adam Walker||RF||2012||3||97||21||2016||Big power, lots of strikeouts. Needs to control the strike zone better, focus on making contact. Prospects with this profile disappear quickly.|
Just a few observations about our Top 25 this season.
- Of our Top 25, five are international signings. Sano, Polanco and Santana were signed out of the Dominican Republic, Oswaldo Arcia was signed out of Venezuela, and Max Kepler was signed out of Germany.
- Ten of the 20 prospects who were drafted are former first round draft picks.
- Only five players were drafted later than the second round, and just one of those was taken after the tenth round. It's time to cheer for Michael Tonkin, folks.
- Alex Meyer and Trevor May are the only two players in our Top 25 who were not drafted by the Twins.
- Players who are likely to drop off this list next season due to graduation to the Majors: Aaron Hicks, Kyle Gibson, Joe Benson, and Chris Herrmann. Some think Oswaldo Arcia has a chance (and he does). While I do think Trevor May has the chance to appear for the Twins this season I don't think it would constitute so much time that he'd lose his status as a prospect.
- Jorge Polanco was 48th on our list last season. He gets "biggest jump", up 35 places.
- Our biggest drop is Adrian Salcedo, who was 13th last season and didn't make our Top 25 this year. He wouldn't have made the Top 30.
- Last year's Top 10: Sano, Rosario, Arcia, Hicks, Benson, Gibson, Parmelee, Hendriks, Dozier, Herrmann. We don't even need to mention how this year's Top 10 is light years better.
- This is the best collection of position players that the Twins have had on a prospect list since Mauer, Morneau, and Kubel graced lists in pre-2003.