Twins Top 15 Prospects: #14
By Fetch
Every so often Twinkie Talk will be counting down our top 15 prospects (Hey, two days in a row!) Today’s prospect is #14 BJ Hermsen
Who: BJ Hermsen
Position: RHP
How Acquired: 6th round, 2008 draft
Highest level in 2009: Rookie Ball
Hermsen was a surprise signing by the Twins in 2008, given that he was committed to Oregon State to play baseball. Hermsen is a good combination of athleticism and, surprise surprise, pitchability. He got good marks for his maturity and command coming out of high school, and he has continued that professionally. This year he threw 53.1 innings in rookie ball, and walked just 4 hitters. He had a 10.5 K/BB. Hermsen is pretty advanced for his age, and combines nice polish that you expect to see from the Twins, but at 6’6″, 230 lbs he has a very projectable frame that will allow him to hold his stamina longer, and throw harder.
Fun fact: Hermsen was also recruited to play college football as a quarterback. The Twins gave him 650,000 coming out of high school, and so far it looks like it paid off.