The draft is over, who are the Twins top prospects?

So, the MLB draft wrapped itself up on June 6th and given the new draft pick rules, many of the Twins picks are already signed, including most of their top picks. Since I just finished my top off-season prospect countdown at OntheroadwithShawn, I figured it was a good time to re-rank the top 20.

With apologies to nice starts to the season by Deolis Guerra, Michael Tonkin & Caleb Theilbar, I present to you the top 20 on June 15th.

20. Max Kepler Outfield Preseason Rank 21 Age 19. About to start his season back in Elizabethtown next week.

19. Jairo Perez Third Base Preseason Rank 19 Age 24. Hitting .254/.344/.397 for Fort Myers. Power is down a little in a tougher hitting league.

18. Lester Oliveros Relief Pitcher Preseason Rank 43 Age 24. 2-2 2.70 ERA for New Britain and Rochester with 38 strikeouts and 12 walks in 36.2 innings. Recently called up, future closer.

17. Madison Boer Starting Pitcher Preseason Rank 20 Age 22. 4-8 6.68 ERA for Beloit and Fort Myers. Moved to the starting rotation, struggled since promotion to Fort Myers.

16. Chris Herrmann Catcher Preseason Rank 14 Age 24. Hitting .264/.333/.403 for New Britain. His on-base is down will repeating AA. He’s looking like a backup catcher with a little pop.

15. Luke Bard Starter/Reliever Preseason Rank N/A Age 21. 1st round supplemental pick. May still be injured and still unsigned.

14. Alex Wimmers Starting Pitcher Preseason Rank 13 Age 23. Started once for New Britain. Elbow injury, may have Tommy John surgery.

13. Mason Melotakis Left Handed Starter/Reliever Preseason Rank N/A Age 21. 2nd round pick. Will start his professional career next week. Wants to be a starter as a pro. Can reach 97 with fastball.

12. David Bromberg Starting Pitcher Preseason Rank 12 Age 24. 1-3 3.89 ERA between New Britain and Rochester with 42 K’s and 20 walks in 44 innings. He’s back on track after a tough 2011.

11. Levi Michael Shortstop/2B Preseason Rank 11 Age 21. Hitting .216/.306/.291 for Fort Myers. Michael is struggling in his first taste of pro ball but is only 21 in High A.

10. Adrian Salcedo Starting Pitcher Preseason Rank 6 Age 21. 0-1 5.64 ERA for Fort Myers with 13 strikeouts and 15 walks in 22.1 innings. Having a hard time with his control and allowing too many base-runners. Still young for High-A.

9. Kyle Gibson Starting Pitcher Preseason Rank 8 Age 24. Had Tommy John surgery last September. His rehab seems to be going well. Look forward to him back on the mound end of 2012 or beginning 2013.

8. Aaron Hicks Center Field Preseason Rank 7 Age 22. Hitting .244/.342/.389 with 15 steals in 20 attempts for New Britain. Similar numbers to 2011 in Fort Myers. Five tool talent with a ways to go. Still pretty young for AA.

7. J.O. Berrios Starting Pitcher Preseason Rank N/A Age 18. Supplemental 1st round pick. Will start pro career next week. Cool reaction to being drafted. Hard throwing righty that would have been ranked higher if he wasn’t so small (Pedro Martinez?).

6. Joe Benson Outfield Preseason Rank 3 Age 24. Hitting .173/.264/.299 with 6 steals for New Britain and Rochester when he went down with an injury in late May. He will be out a few weeks. It’s been a tough 2012, but he is still young and has all of the tools.

5. Eddie Rosario 2nd Base/OF Preseason Rank 5 Age 20. Hitting .293/.362/.473 for Beloit. His HR power has become more doubles power in A ball. Will miss 6 weeks with facial surgery.

4. Liam Hendriks Starting Pitcher Preseason Rank 4 Age 23. 5-0 1.94 ERA for Rochester with 42 strikeouts and 13 walks in 46.1 innings & 0-2 9.00 ERA for the Twins. Hendriks will try his luck with the Twins today, having little success in his first two stints with the big club.

3. Oswaldo Arcia Outfield Preseason Rank 2 Age 21. Hitting .309/.376/.517 for Fort Myers. Decent power, improved walk rate and strikeout rate. Should see a mid-season promotion to New Britain.

2. Byron Buxton Center Field Preseason Rank N/A Age 18. Considered the best prospect by most analysts in the 2012 draft. The Twins drafted him #2 overall and gave him a Twins record $6 million bonus. A five tool talent, Buxton will start his pro career next week for the GCL Twins.

1. Miguel Sano Third Base Preseason Rank 1 Age 19. hitting .239/.353/.504 for Beloit. He started the season on fire and I advocated a promotion. It was not to be and he has cooled off a little. His raw power is awesome and even at A ball, he is an almost sure thing to be a hitter in the MLB someday. Who knows where he will play in the field by then.

With Brian Dozier and Chris Parmelee off the list due to graduating (or almost) graduating from prospect status, the top 20 is made of mostly lower minors guys or injured upper level guys. There is talent here, but a positive impact on the major league club will be awhile in the making.