Nice list. The Twins handle all of their prospects with kid gloves, guaranteeing at least one extra year in the minors, and a lost year for the MLB team. If they had run the team this way in the 80s, they may never have won a single world series.
They have two decisions on Hicks, hitter vs pitcher, and switch hitter or not. At some point, if you want him to be a hitter, you may need to get rid of the switch hitting. It isn’t working now, it didn’t work the last couple of years. I have no idea why the change hasn’t already been made.
LOVE the comments from the scout about Goodrum. We see comments about prospects all the time grading them, comparing them to major league players, etc. We almost never see a practical assessment of current abilities as relates to raw talent, and above all, the description of what it will take him to reach his potential. So much of prospect coverage makes it look like talented HS players are just a few tweaks away from MLB stardom. In the case of so many of them, they dominated every level since they were 5 based on freakish raw ability that far exceeded the competition.
Your Benson ranking seems very, very low. He does have some swing-and-miss but he’s MLB ready and has a very good chance to profile as a .770 OPS that offers good defense at a premium position. May well have some 4 WAR years.
Many of the players you listed ahead of him don’t even have much more upside in their peak years and are far away from actualization of skills.
I cannot believe they left off Brian Dozier, SS (currently tearing it up in the Arizona Fall League and put up some nice numbers at A and AA this year) and Chris Herrmann, C (also, doing quite well in the Arizona Fall League with nice OBP at A and AA). Maybe these guys are nothing special in the field, or they aren’t the “toolsy” guys that scouts love, but each of them gets on base, and both could have an impact with the big club in 2012. Half the guys on this list won’t be ready for the show until 2016.
Here’s the Dozier report if you missed it… it ran as part of the preview of the Top 15s.
•Minnesota Twins: Brian Dozier, INF
BORN: May 15, 1987
EXPERIENCE: 3 seasons (Reached AA in ’11)
ACQUIRED: 2009 8th round (U of Southern Mississippi)
2010-11 TOP 10 RANKING: Off the list
SCOUTING REPORT: Dozier doesn’t have any one standout tool or skill but if you talk prospects with people in and around the Twins organization his name comes up again and again. He does a little bit of everything with the bat. Defensively, Dozier doesn’t have the best range at shortstop but he has good hands and when he gets to the ball he makes the play. He can also man both second and third base competently.
YEAR IN REVIEW: The infielder made short work of his 2011 opening assigning to high-A and was promoted to double-A after just 49 games. At the senior level he hit .318/.384/.502 in 311 at-bats. On the downside, he benefited from a BABIP of .357. Dozier showed some pop with an ISO rate of .183 and he struck out just 13% of the time. On the season, he nabbed 24 bases and hit 12 triples, but his speed is just average; he’s a smart base runner.
YEAR AHEAD: Dozier has a lot of supporters in the organization and he’s a cheap asset with the ability to play multiple roles on a big league ball club. His lack of arm strength will keep him from playing every day on the left side of the infield, but he could start to shed the ‘future utility player’ label with a strong showing in triple-A. Truth be told, he might be ready for the Majors already but the club may not want him to spend the ’12 season riding the pine.
CAREER OUTLOOK: If Dozier’s power increase in 2011 was for real he could eventually see time as an everyday second baseman. The job is by no means locked up in Minnesota so look for Dozier to receive a strong look in spring training, as he’s likely to be added to the 40-man roster in November to protect him against the Rule 5 draft. I wouldn’t be shocked if Dozier ended up accumulating more career WAR than the higher-profile Trevor Plouffe or Chris Parmelee.
Yeah, for a guy who’s developing so slowly, complicating things with switch hitting seems like a mistake.
As for slow minors movement, you don’t have a “lost year” at the major-league level, you just have your MLB team control start one year later. It seems like a smart–if sort of shady–move to get the player to a really fully developed point in the minors before moving him up, in order to make your 6 years of team control run straight through the player’s prime.
It never occurred to me that Sano might shift to first base. I know it was sure fun to watch Parmalee at Target Field end of this season. First base for the Twins certainly will be interesting the next 5-6 years or so.
mike wants wins says:
November 11, 2011 at 11:04 am
Nice list. The Twins handle all of their prospects with kid gloves, guaranteeing at least one extra year in the minors, and a lost year for the MLB team. If they had run the team this way in the 80s, they may never have won a single world series.
They have two decisions on Hicks, hitter vs pitcher, and switch hitter or not. At some point, if you want him to be a hitter, you may need to get rid of the switch hitting. It isn’t working now, it didn’t work the last couple of years. I have no idea why the change hasn’t already been made.
Killer says:
November 11, 2011 at 11:11 am
How does the twins top 10 rank among other mlb clubs?
Paul says:
November 11, 2011 at 11:27 am
LOVE the comments from the scout about Goodrum. We see comments about prospects all the time grading them, comparing them to major league players, etc. We almost never see a practical assessment of current abilities as relates to raw talent, and above all, the description of what it will take him to reach his potential. So much of prospect coverage makes it look like talented HS players are just a few tweaks away from MLB stardom. In the case of so many of them, they dominated every level since they were 5 based on freakish raw ability that far exceeded the competition.
nickmirto says:
November 11, 2011 at 1:18 pm
Your Benson ranking seems very, very low. He does have some swing-and-miss but he’s MLB ready and has a very good chance to profile as a .770 OPS that offers good defense at a premium position. May well have some 4 WAR years.
Many of the players you listed ahead of him don’t even have much more upside in their peak years and are far away from actualization of skills.
miked says:
November 11, 2011 at 4:31 pm
I cannot believe they left off Brian Dozier, SS (currently tearing it up in the Arizona Fall League and put up some nice numbers at A and AA this year) and Chris Herrmann, C (also, doing quite well in the Arizona Fall League with nice OBP at A and AA). Maybe these guys are nothing special in the field, or they aren’t the “toolsy” guys that scouts love, but each of them gets on base, and both could have an impact with the big club in 2012. Half the guys on this list won’t be ready for the show until 2016.
Tim says:
November 12, 2011 at 6:05 am
Looks like a very good year to be a Ft. Myers Miracle fan.
Marc Hulet says:
November 12, 2011 at 4:33 pm
Here’s the Dozier report if you missed it… it ran as part of the preview of the Top 15s.
•Minnesota Twins: Brian Dozier, INF
BORN: May 15, 1987
EXPERIENCE: 3 seasons (Reached AA in ’11)
ACQUIRED: 2009 8th round (U of Southern Mississippi)
2010-11 TOP 10 RANKING: Off the list
SCOUTING REPORT: Dozier doesn’t have any one standout tool or skill but if you talk prospects with people in and around the Twins organization his name comes up again and again. He does a little bit of everything with the bat. Defensively, Dozier doesn’t have the best range at shortstop but he has good hands and when he gets to the ball he makes the play. He can also man both second and third base competently.
YEAR IN REVIEW: The infielder made short work of his 2011 opening assigning to high-A and was promoted to double-A after just 49 games. At the senior level he hit .318/.384/.502 in 311 at-bats. On the downside, he benefited from a BABIP of .357. Dozier showed some pop with an ISO rate of .183 and he struck out just 13% of the time. On the season, he nabbed 24 bases and hit 12 triples, but his speed is just average; he’s a smart base runner.
YEAR AHEAD: Dozier has a lot of supporters in the organization and he’s a cheap asset with the ability to play multiple roles on a big league ball club. His lack of arm strength will keep him from playing every day on the left side of the infield, but he could start to shed the ‘future utility player’ label with a strong showing in triple-A. Truth be told, he might be ready for the Majors already but the club may not want him to spend the ’12 season riding the pine.
CAREER OUTLOOK: If Dozier’s power increase in 2011 was for real he could eventually see time as an everyday second baseman. The job is by no means locked up in Minnesota so look for Dozier to receive a strong look in spring training, as he’s likely to be added to the 40-man roster in November to protect him against the Rule 5 draft. I wouldn’t be shocked if Dozier ended up accumulating more career WAR than the higher-profile Trevor Plouffe or Chris Parmelee.
Luke in MN says:
November 13, 2011 at 1:12 pm
Yeah, for a guy who’s developing so slowly, complicating things with switch hitting seems like a mistake.
As for slow minors movement, you don’t have a “lost year” at the major-league level, you just have your MLB team control start one year later. It seems like a smart–if sort of shady–move to get the player to a really fully developed point in the minors before moving him up, in order to make your 6 years of team control run straight through the player’s prime.
clave says:
November 13, 2011 at 3:43 pm
It never occurred to me that Sano might shift to first base. I know it was sure fun to watch Parmalee at Target Field end of this season. First base for the Twins certainly will be interesting the next 5-6 years or so.
Jake says:
November 15, 2012 at 11:41 am
Where do you see BJ Hermsen?