Minnesota Twins top 10 prospects for 2019
One of the sites that I edited for 7 months, 4 of which were record pageview months, was a Minnesota Twins blog
System Overview
When the Minnesota Twins hired Thad Levine and Derek Falvey before the 2017 season, they inherited a farm system that had just graduated some very exciting young talent to the major leagues and had the #1 pick in the upcoming draft, but there was some significant concern about the long-term value left on the farm.
Just two years later, the Twins have utilized the draft, smart international signings, and shrewd trades to build what is a fairly-consensus top-10 farm system in all of baseball, and even a top-5 farm system in many rankings. The system, like it had before Levine/Falvey, is based around two elite studs, but there are also waves of young players coming with the talent to also be impact players as well, meaning the success or failure of the system will not be completely based on the success or failure of the two guys who are in the top 15-25 of all top prospect lists this year.
Newcomer to watch: Ryan Jeffers, C
Birthday: 6/3/1997 (21)
2018 level(s) played: advanced rookie Elizabeth, low-A Cedar Rapids
2018 stats: .344/.444/.502, 64 G, 284 PA, 17 2B, 7 HR, 12% BB, 16.2% K
The Minnesota Twins drafted Ryan Jeffers from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington in the 2nd round in 2018. While many saw him as one of the better available catchers on the market, most believed that he would last until multiple rounds later in the draft, and there were some who ripped the Twins for “
After his first pro season, those doubters certainly have been silenced. If nothing else, Jeffers bat is absolutely legit, and he showed not just that he had excellent power, but that he had better control of the zone than most expected as he pushed through two levels and was able to keep his strikeout rate low while still pounding out big hits.
Jeffers is a big guy at 6’4″ and 230ish pounds behind the plate, and while he showed good blocking skills and framing skills, there are some concerns about how Jeffers will age behind the plate, but if he can continue to hit, he will get plenty of opportunities to stick with the tools of ignorance.
10. Nick Gordon, IF
Birthday: 10/24/1995 (23)
2018 level(s) played: AA Chattanooga, AAA Rochester
2018 stats: .248/.298/.355, 141 G, 591 PA, 23 2B, 7 3B, 7 HR, 20 SB, 5.8% BB, 18.4% K
Minnesota Twins fans have been waiting on the prospect star of Nick Gordon to make an appearance in Minneapolis long enough that he’s seemingly developed prospect fatigue. A former 5th overall selection by the Twins in the 2014 draft out of high school, Gordon comes with plenty of family background, and many know that Nick’s father Tom Gordon was a very productive pitcher in the 1990s while his brother Dee Gordon is an incredibly fast infielder that’s bounced around the majors for 8 seasons.
The prospect fatigue isn’t just with Minnesota Twins fans either. For the first time since he was drafted, Gordon did not appear on the top 100 prospect list in the offseason for any of Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, or Baseball Prospectus. Incredibly, that means that Gordon dropped from #35 overall with BP coming into 2018 to completely off the list in 2019.
What’s happened is that Gordon has become what he really was expected to be all along. He’s going to be a steady, consistent middle infielder who won’t be an elite defender or hitter most likely at either shortstop or second base. While he has fringe-plus speed, he won’t be blowing anyone away for sure on the basepaths. He can spray gap hits, but he won’t hit 20 home runs. He has an average hit tool, but he’s been inconsistent in his approach at the plate.
At 23, Gordon doesn’t have a lot of time left to be a legit prospect. He likely will get some major league time in 2019, but he very well may still be rookie-eligible in 2020. However, while I chose to highlight him in this spot for this list, there were a half-dozen players that were really worthy of this spot that could push their way onto to the top 10 with clarity by the end of 2019. The Minnesota Twins will hope to see Gordon step forward and assert his role within the system, whether that is a future long-term role, or if that’s better served as a trade chip.
9. Lewis Thorpe, LHP
Birthday: 11/23/1995 (23)
2018 level(s) played: AA Chattanooga, AAA Rochester
2018 stats: 8-7, 26 G, 25 GS, 129 2/3 IP, 3.54 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 6.6% BB, 28.9% K
In his first full season back from missing two full seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery and other issues that slowed his recovery, Lewis Thorpe established himself within the Minnesota Twins farm system. Now, the challenge will be pushing his way past a glut of pitchers at the top of the farm system.
Working from the left side should serve Thorpe well, as should his mix of four average-or-better pitches. His fastball is plus, something that he has lost a bit of top-end velocity on since surgery, but he still sits comfortably in the low-90s and can reach 95-96. His curve in April would have been graded average, at best, but by the end of the season, he’d gotten the feel back for the pitch to the point where I saw multiple games where he certainly showed a plus curve all game long. Leading his profile with two plus pitches would definitely be a huge positive.
Thorpe is part of the Minnesota Twins big dip into Australia,
8. Wander Javier, SS
Birthday: 12/29/1998 (20)
2018 level(s) played: none
2018 stats: none
It was the moment that many felt was the first shattering blow of the 2018 season for the Minnesota Twins. After making an incredible late-season run in 2017 to make the Wild Card with a young roster, the Twins were primed to take the next step with their team and potentially challenge what was showing to be a shallow Indians team.
An injury to shortstop prospect Wander Javier at the end of 2017 season was re-aggravated in Spring Training 2018, and he ended up eventually requiring surgery. The news came in early May, and the Twins opened that day 1/2 game out of first place in the division. More bad news began to follow about other players that collapsed the Minnesota Twins 2018 season.
Javier has legit 5-tool skills on the field that were incredible to watch in 2017 with Elizabethton, where he smacked 18 extra base hits in just 180 plate appearances, also showing incredible ability defensively at shortstop. In spite of higher strikeout rate than you’d like, Javier showed plenty of ability that could translate to big offensive production along with at least a league-average shortstop, if not an above-average defender.
Now 20, Javier will likely open 2019 in full-season ball, but he could end up moving quickly, though with one of the team’s top prospects ahead of him now at the same position, he’ll have to show out big in order to jump too much in 2019.
7. Stephen Gonsalves, LHP
Birthday: 7/8/1994 (24)
2018 level(s) played: AA Chattanooga, AAA Rochester, MLB Minnesota Twins
2018 stats: Majors: 2-2, 7 G, 4 GS, 24 2/3 IP, 6.57 ERA, 2.03 WHIP, 18% BB, 13.1% K; Minors: 12-3, 23 G, 22 GS, 120 2/3 IP, 2.76 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 13.3% BB, 24.6% K
The Minnesota Twins drafted a long, lanky lefty from high school in San Diego in the 4th round of the 2013 draft. Many thought Stephen Gonsalves would be a difficult player to sign, and even
Gonsalves has progressed as he’s filled out to 6’5″ and 210-220 pounds of
The presence of new Minnesota Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson has really impacted Gonsalves already this spring, seeing added velocity and more drive from his legs that could allow him to maintain his velocity deeper into games. He’ll likely open in AAA, but if the adjustments to his delivery and using his legs can hold, he could move up to the bigs quickly.
6. Akil Baddoo, OF
Birthday: 8/16/1998 (20)
2018 level(s) played: low-A Cedar Rapids
2018 stats: .243/.351/.419, 113 G, 517 PA, 22 2B, 11 3B, 11 HR, 24 SB, 14.3% BB, 24% K
An elite raw athlete, Akil Baddoo was a player who entered the 2016 draft with a wide variety of projections for where he could end up selected. His raw talent, along with being one of the youngest players in the 2016 draft class, would speak to him being a lower first-round selection. Instead, the Minnesota Twins selected him with their 2nd round selection, and after he hit .178/.299/.271 in his pro debut, many thought the Twins may have missed the mark with this selection.
Instead, the Minnesota Twins outfielder exploded in 2017 with a big season, posting a .323/.436/.527 line and flashing power and speed both. He then struggled out of the gate in 2018, and many felt that he may have had a flash-in-the-pan sort of season, but he really seemed to only struggle in April when the season line is reviewed.
Baddoo has the future look of a top of the order hitter with very good center field defense or elite defense in a corner. The Minnesota Twins will give Baddoo the chance to face Florida State League pitching in 2019.
5. Brent Rooker, 1B/OF
Birthday: 11/1/1994 (24)
2018 level(s) played: AA Chattanooga
2018 stats: .254/.333/.465, 130 G, 568 PA, 32 2B, 4 3B, 22 HR, 6 SB, 9.9% BB, 26.4% K
After originally drafting Brent Rooker late in the 2016 draft, the Minnesota Twins watched Rooker return to college and put up an incredible senior season for Mississippi State. They were overjoyed to see Rooker still on the board for their second selection of the first round at #35 overall.
Rooker has an incredible power stroke from the right side. He’s also surprisingly adept on the bases and athletic, though that doesn’t seem to translate once he puts on a glove, and that’s the biggest issue for Rooker right now.
Most likely Rooker will open in Rochester in 2019, splitting time between left field and first base again, hoping to establish himself defensively as at least adequate as one or the other before likely making a big push for the Minnesota Twins lineup in 2020.
4. Trevor Larnach, OF
Birthday: 2/26/1997 (22)
2018 level(s) played: advanced rookie Elizabethton, low-A Cedar Rapids
2018 stats: .303/.390/.500, 42 G, 177 PA, 13 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 3 SB, 11.9% BB, 15.8% K
There were a host of reasons that scouts initially wanted to track the 2018 Oregon State team that eventually won the NCAA College World Series title. It wasn’t long into the 2018 season that the top reason for the 2018 draft emerged as Trevor Larnach and his development as a power hitter.
Larnach had an explosive College World Series performance in Omaha, collecting 15 hits, none bigger than a home run in game 2 of the championship series against Arkansas that allowed Oregon State to even things and eventually come back to win the title the next night.
An excellent defender in right field, Larnach has an excellent arm and tracks the ball well on top of his exploits at the plate. It will be interesting to see how hard the Minnesota Twins push Larnach in 2019. He could be a candidate to move straight to AA with his polish at the plate.
3. Brusdar Graterol, RHP
Birthday: 8/26/1998 (20)
2018 level(s) played: low-A Cedar Rapids, high-A Fort Myers
2018 stats: 8-4, 19 GS, 102 IP, 2.74
There are times that the listed size on Baseball Reference makes me absolutely laugh. A great example right now is the listed size on
Graterol returned very well from Tommy John surgery in 2017, firing absolute bullets from his right arm, topping triple digits with minimal effort in his delivery. He also has a pair of breaking pitches, his slider definitely the better of the two, but both at least average pitches, though I’d personally grade the slider as a definite plus pitch and the curve as above-average in my views.
While control is not a huge issue for Graterol, as evidenced by his sub-7% walk rate, he tends to finish upright and stay tall through his delivery a lot more than I would like with the obvious strength in his legs. He pounds the zone, but that taller finish tends to make him much more
Graterol had a very good showing over 60+ innings in high-A, so it’s very feasible that the Minnesota Twins will push the strong righty to AA in 2019. He’s likely not going to push all the way to the major leagues in 2019, but with positive developments, he could push his trajectory to being part of the 2020 rotation.
2. Royce Lewis, SS
Birthday: 6/5/1999 (19)
2018 level(s) played: low-A Cedar Rapids, high-A Fort Myers
2018 stats: .292/.352/.451, 121 G, 535 PA, 29 2B, 3 3B, 14 HR, 28 SB, 8% BB, 15.7% K
In all seriousness, I can understand any discussion on the ordering of the top two guys in the system for the Minnesota Twins, and that’s what’s absolutely incredible. Royce Lewis was the #1 overall selection by the Twins in 2017, and he’s done absolutely nothing to disappoint. He’s just been passed, in my own eyes, by a teammate, through no fault of his own.
Lewis had some questions coming out of high school in California about his ability to stick at shortstop, but one of the things that
With a bat in his hands, Lewis has one of the most elite contact abilities in all the minor leagues with above-average power, plus to double-plus speed, and improving instincts on the bases.
Lewis will be an interesting assignment for the Minnesota Twins in 2019. He did struggle to a .726 OPS in the Florida State League in 46 games in 2018, so the team could have him open the season back in Fort Myers, working his way up to AA.
1. Alex Kirilloff, OF
Birthday: 11/7/1997 (21)
2018 level(s) played: low-A Cedar Rapids, high-A Fort Myers
2018 stats
The son of a hitting instructor, Alex Kirilloff was a very attractive player in the 2016 draft, and the Minnesota Twins were overjoyed to have him still on the board at the 15th selection. After having a very positive pro debut, Kirilloff had Tommy John surgery in spring of 2017 and missed all of the 2017
Returning to the field in 2018, Kirilloff split his 2018 season evenly between low-A and high-A, and he really did not seem to get phased at all by the promotion to one of the tougher tests in the minor leagues in the Florida State League.
Kirilloff is quite simply one of the elite hitting prospects that I have had the privilege of ever seeing. There are
Alex has one of the sweetest swings you will ever see on a baseball field, and he is able to generate natural incredible burst off the head of the bat with an effortless swing, which is why I do believe you will see him be a big-time doubles hitter throughout his career as pounding the gaps will simply come
After his success in 2018, the Minnesota Twins very well may assign Kirilloff to AA to open 2019, and should he show that he can handle the assignment, he could factor into the starting lineup decisions for 2020 with the big league club.
Benjamin Chase
After 6 years of writing for FanSided on various sites and offering contributions to various other websites, family changes have encouraged me to start this site. I spend a ton of time watching baseball at all levels, but I love watching minor league baseball on milb.tv as I'm hours away from the closest minor league team. This is an effort of all those games I enjoy on a daily basis!
