Monday, January 20, 2014

Twins Prospects: 15-11

Here is part 8 of my prospect list I hope you enjoyed the earlier parts.  Today I will be bringing you prospects 15-10.  I will be bringing you 5 a day until we get all the way to number one.  This will take awhile so keep checking back here for daily looks at who I have in certain spots and what I think of them.  I am sure you will disagree with some and if so by all means leave me a comment in the comment section.  If you prefer you can also shoot me an email at travis.aune@gmail.com.  Also if you prefer you can hit me up on twitter @texastwinsfan so whichever way you prefer let me know what you think of my list.

15. Danny Santana SS 11/7/90   23 Signed as Free Agent in 2007 out of DR
2013 stats:  .297 avg  2 hr  45 rbi  22 doubles  10 triples  24bb  94k  30sb  .333/.386/.719
2013 team: New Britain
2014 team: Rochester
ETA: 2014

Danny Santana has slowly, but surely made his way through the Twins organization.  It is hard to believe that he was signed as a free agent back in 2007 out of the Dominican Republic at 17 years old.  The 5’11 173 pound shortstop has slowly made his way onto the Twins 40 man roster and many are calling him the Twins shortstop of the future, which may occur as early as 2014.  With the Twins not set at shortstop it is fair to consider him as an option at argubably the most important position on the field.  There is one huge elephant in the room that is keeping him from taking that next step and that is his defense.  To put it bluntly, Santana has not been a very good defensive shortstop at any stop.  The thing about Pedro Florimon is although he can’t hit a lick he is excellent defensively and most teams can look past bad offense at shortstop if you play good defense.  Santana committed 32 errors in 2013 in New Britain, 26 errors in 2012 in Fort Myers, and 28 errors in 2011 in Beloit.  That is a combined 86 errors in the last three years.  That is something you just can’t look past and the reason he will be held back.  Santana is very talented and smooth at shortstop so I can’t figure out why he committs so many errors.  He has great range and a very strong arm which is the positives, but he continually makes errors on the routine balls.  Therefore it is not physical, but mental which are things you would think are correctable.  You can’t overcome lack of range or a weak arm, but there is hope you can overcome mental lapses.  Thats the thing for him to become the guy the Twins really need him to be, he needs to overcome these mental lapses.  Offensively he is immensely talented with extra base power and excellent speed.  The problem is he refuses to take a walk and he strikeouts too much.  There is definatly some hope that Santana can be the shortstop of the future for the Twins.  However, there is a lot of things he needs to improve if he wants to make it with the Twins.  He is just not good enough yet and the Twins will need to see immense improvement if they are going to give him the job.  With that said when you have a guy as talented as Santana you continue to be patient with him hoping that he eventually will figure it oiut and be the shortstop of the future.
14. Adam Brett Walker II OF 10/18/91 22 3rd rounder in 2012 draft from Jacksonville
2013 stats: .278 avg  27hr  109rbi  31doub  7tri  83runs  10sb  31bb 115k .319/.526/.844
2013 team: Cedar Rapids
2014 team: Fort Myers
ETA: 2016

When the Twins drafted Adam Brett Walker in the 3rd round of the 2012 draft out of Jacksonville University there was not a lot known about him.  They knew he was a big powerful guy who they thought could produce some power numbers and boy they were right.  If he develops the way the Twins are hoping he will then he will be a steal for the 3rd round.  In just 187 professional games for the Twins, Walker already has 41 homeruns.  He started his career in 2012 in Elizabethton and hit 14 homeruns with an OPS of .805.  He then moved up to Cedar Rapids for the 2013 season and bettered those numbers.  In 129 games he hit 27 homeruns and drove in 109 runs.  He also had an incredible 65 xtra base hits in those 129 games for an OPS of .844 and just as incredible a .526 slugging percentage.  To put that in perspective Miguel Sano who is thought of as the best power hitter in the game had a slugging percentage of .521 at Beloit in 2012.  So Walker has Miguel Sano type of power.  The problem is that Walker has an aversion to walking as he only walked 31 times in 508 at bats.  Something also troubling is Walker along with not walking also struck out 115 times.  There is no denying that Walker has the power to be a big time prospect, but unless he cuts down his strikeouts and walks a little more he will have a hard time progressing.  He is a mostly pull hitter who has the power to hit it out of the ball park to all fields.  He is very athletic who will be able to stay in right field going forward.  The thing that is keeping him from being a top 5 guy for right now is his lacks of walks and too many strikeouts.  Right now he is Miguel Sano lite as he has the 2nd most power in the organization and puts up similar numbers as Sano.  If he can walk a little bit more and cut down on his strikeouts he will skyrocket up the rankings.

13. Travis Harrison   3b 10/17/92   21 1st round pick in 2011 draft from HS in Cal
2013 stats: .253 avg  15 hr  59 rbi  28 doubles  66 runs  68bb  125k  2sb  .366/.416/.782  

The much talked about 1st round pick out of high school in Aliso Viejo, California in the 2012 draft has started to reach his promise.  When the Twins drafted Harrison there was talk he was one of the best power bats in the draft, but that he was a little raw.  There was also talk that even though he has great athleticism there were questions whether he could stay at third base.  Those questions about him are still very much a factor, but he was much improved in 2013 and began to answer some of those questions.  The biggest question I was asked about Harrison is his defense which in a word in 2012 was awful.  In 2012 he committed 24 errors in just 59 games for a fielding percentage of just .832.  In all honesty that is one of the worst defensive years I have ever seen.  However, in 2013 he came back strong and although not great defensively it was very much improved.  In 2013, Harrison committed 26 errors only two more in 112 games for a fielding percentage of .915.  That is quite an improvement over 2012 and left me with a little more confidence that he can stay at third base.  You need to remember that Miguel Sano was just about as bad in his first two years defensively.  Do I know for sure that he will be able to remain at third base, but he has earned more time to keep working on it.  I am more hopeful that he can stay at third than I was a year ago at this time, so lets just wait and see how 2014 goes before passing judgement.  Offensively, there was never much concern about his power and that continues to be the case.  After not showing much power in 2012 at E-town he bounced back and had an outstanding 2013 year at Cedar Rapids.  After having just five homeruns in 2012, he bounced back to have 15 in 2013.  What made his power numbers more impressive is you can’t just look at homeruns look at the 28 doubles that he also added for a extra base hit total of 43.  However, his most impressive stat during 2013 is his 68 walks and his Isod of .113 which is awesome.  To have a .366 OBP is quite impressive for someone who just hit .253.  Offensively, the one thing that he needs to improve is his strikeout total as he struck out 125 times in his 450 at bats.  That is like one strikeout for every four at bats and if he is going to move forward he needs to cut that down.  However, he is a power guy and power guys are power guys because they take big cuts and he will always strike out more than a Joe Mauer type.  Travis Harrison is incredibly exciting to think about because he has huge power potential and the potential to be a huge prospect if he keeps improving.  I expect Harrison to be a top 10 prospect a year from now and actually closer to a top five prospect as he has all the tools and seems to be putting it together.

12. Ryan Eades RHP 12/15/91   22 2nd round pick in 2013 draft out of LSU
2013 stats:  0-0  4.60 era  10 games  15.2 innings  13 hits  12bb  13k
2013 team: Elizabethton
2014 team: Fort Myers
ETA: 2015

When the Twins drafted Ryan Eades in the 2nd round of the 2013 draft out of LSU there was some head scratching.  Eades had tommy john surgery in high school and was not really that dominant at LSU.  He was the number two pitcher at LSU, which is a college baseball hotbed pitching in the talent rich SEC.  He pitched a lot of baseball during the SEC season so it is not surprising he struggled a bit with Elizabethton.  He only pitched in 15.2 innings so it is not enough to make any judgements either good or bad.  He has mid rotation stuff that could be a fast mover for the Twins.  I expect him to go to Fort Myers to start year and if he has a good first half could see him get up to New Britain.  He started and relieved at LSU, but I view him as starting stuff, but if he struggles as a starter there is the option of moving to the bullpen.  To be honest the big thing with Eades is he just needs to pitch and get some innings under him before we can judge what kind of stuff he has.  Eades struggled with his mechanics when he was in Elizabethton, but after a winter of rest I think he will get those mechanics back.  He throws in the 91-92 range who topped out at 94 which is plenty fast enough if he can control the fastball.  His control was off in E-town, but he was a strike thrower in college so I don’t expect that to be a problem.  He does a very good job changing speeds especially with his curveball as he can throw a slow curveball and a tighter one that is a little bit harder.  He also throws a changeup that is a work in progress.  If he can improve that changeup and control his fastball more consistantly I see him as a 2-3 in a solid rotation.  What I like too is he has the pedigree after pitching in big games at LSU to move through the system quickly.  I could easily see him up with the Twins by September 2015.  He doesn’t have the huge upside that some have, but his consistancy is big for the Twins as he has the stuff, the makeup, and the presence to be a Twins starting pitcher for the next ten years.

11. Trevor May RHP 9/23/89   24 Traded by Phillies to Twins in December, 2012
2013 stats: 9-9  4.51 era  27 starts 2CG  2 shutouts  151.2 inn  149 hits  67bb  159k
2013 team: New Britain
2014 team: Rochester
ETA: 2014

When the Twins made the trade on December 6, 2012 that sent outfielder Ben Revere to the Phillies for Vance Worley and pitching prospect Trevor May there were questions about why the Phillies would trade May.  As early as 2011, May was a big prospect for the Phillies and a year later they were willing to trade him.  So when the trade happened I was hesitant to jump on board with him as I wondered why the Phillies traded him.  So 2013 was about evaluating what May had and after 2013 I am just as confused as ever.  He showed the dominance that created over nine strikeouts per nine innings.  On the other side he walked 67 guys in those almost 152 innings.  He also gave up 149 hits which is way too many for a guy with May’s stuff and his 4.51 is way too high.  He has proven durable as he make 27 starts for New Britain and has blow away stuff when he can find the strikezone.  All too often though he would fall behind in the count and have to come back with the fastball and get hurt as AA hitters can hit a fastball when they know its coming.  I think eventually he will be a shutdown reliever as he has overpowering stuff in short bursts.  The Twins will continue to try to start him and the big thing is if he can control the fastball because if he can do a better job of that he definately can be a top of the rotation starter.  May is a big guy at 6’5 215 so it is important for him to get that downward plane to keep the ball down in the strike zone.  May has a big time fastball as he throws 93-95 as a starter, which could go up to 97-98 as a reliever.  He throws a slider and a slurve along with a cutter, but his best pitch is his changeup.  He can throw it at any count.  The big thing is if May can control his pitches because he has the stuff to be a top of the rotation starter or a dominant reliever.  2014 is a big year for May who likely will make his debut with the Twins as they try to determine if he is a starter or a reliever.  I thin his future is as a dominant reliever where he could feature a high 90’s fastball with his dominant changeup.  The key for any role is his control so that will be definately interesting if he can gain command of his fastball.
Twins Prospects 50-46
Twins Prospects 45-41
Twins Prospects 40-36
Twins Prospects 35-31
Twins Prospects 30-26
Twins Prospects 25-21
Twins Prospects 20-16

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