From AJ Achter to Alex Wimmers and Bo Altobelli to JD Williams, the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbooks gives you a ton of information on the entire Twins farm system.

If you are even remotely interested in the Twins farm system this book is a must own, Seth and fellow authors have gone to great lengths to provide prospect analysis for each and every prospect in the Twins organization. If you’re headed down to Spring Training this is a must have for your trip, or if you’re just looking to learn a little bit about the guys you’ll be seeing this season and beyond pick up a copy as well. Without a doubt this is the go-to handbook for anyone interested in the Twins farm system, get your copy today!

To get your copy, just follow the link. Once again, I cannot stress again what a great handbook this is, whether you’re headed to Twins Fest, Spring Training, minor league games or just want to know more, this book is for you. You can follow Seth Stohs on twitter, @SethTweets or read his writing at Twins Daily.
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Twins related news and notes from the minor leagues

20. Adrian Salcedo. Salcedo was limited to just 9 games this past season after he suffered a broken nose when a line-drive came back and caught him in the face. In 2011 Salcedo posted a nice 2.93 ERA in low-A Beloit but only struck out 92 batters in 135 innings after having struck out 81 in 93 innings the year before. I look for Salcedo to return to the Miracle in 2013 where his K rate will hopefully return and his ability to keep the ball in the park will remain.

19. Daniel Santana. Santana is switch hitting short-stop who spent 2012 with the Miracle. After hitting .247/.298/.373  (AVG/OBP/SLG) in Beloit in 2011 he made the jump up to high-A and improved his slash line to .286/.329/.410 in 2012. Santana was the Miracle’s primary SS, but also spent some time at second base. Santana committed 27 errors at SS in 2011 but reduced that to 16 in as many chances in 2012, unfortunately he committed another in limited duty at second base. Has Santana done enough to start the season in AA?

Mason Melotakis was a relief ace in college, what is his future with the Twins?

18. Mason Melotakis. Melotakis was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2012 draft out of Northwestern State University of Louisiana, signed and started his professional career with the Elizabethan Twins where he appeared in 7 games out of the pen before getting called up to Beloit to join the Snappers. He pitched in 20 games across both leagues, striking out 34 batters in just 24 innings. As a college tested power arm from the left side Melotakis could be up with the big league ball club sooner than later. I don’t like to put relief pitchers too high, as I think even a bad started could move to the pen and find new value, it’s hard not to dream big about Melotakis at the back end of a big league ball club.

17. B.J. Hermsen. Pitched 162.2 innings in 2012, all but 23 of those innings with the AA Rock Cats. He struck out only 81 batters (4.8K/9innings), but was very stingy with the walks, surrendering only 30 free passes. Hermsen is the A-typical Twinsian pitcher, his stuff is not over powering (high-80′s, low-90′s stuff), and he throws a lot of strikes keeping the walks to a minimum. Hermsen was selected as the Twins minor league pitcher of the year in 2012 and looks to build upon that momentum in 2013.

16. Jorge Polanco. Polanco has been in the Twins organization since 2009 when he signed out of the Dominican Republic and spent 2012 with the Appalachian League Champions Elizabethan Twins. 2012 was by far the most impressive season for the young middle-infield prospect. Polanco saw most of his action this season at 2nd base while Niko Goodrum played SS. Polanco appeared in 51 games last season and hit .318/.388/.514 in 204 plate appearances, including 22 extra base hits and only 26 strikeouts to go along with only 8 errors in 233 chances. If Polanco can continue to get on base at a high clip, and develop the power that appeared in 2012 he could move quickly through a Twins system that is lacking middle-infield depth, and he’s only 19.

Stop back next Thursday and we’ll take a look at the next 5 prospects in my top-20 list.

With the off-season slowing down a bit around the holidays prospect lists are popping up all over, and here at Puckett’s Pond is no exception. Make sure to check out Brad’s Top 25 primer and Michael’s Bright Futures series.

And if you really want to dive into the world of Twins prospects, make sure to check out Seth Stohs 2013 Twins Prospect Handbook when it comes out later this off-season. It is, without a doubt, the best guide for Twins prospects throughout the system, and has been an essential part of my off-season reading for the last couple years.

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Twins related news and notes from the minor leagues

10. Brian Dozier. Dozier started 2012 in AAA and got off to a hot start before cooling off, but was still called up to join the Twins early in the season. Things didn’t go well for Dozier in 2012 and he was sent back down to AAA before the season was over. Once back in AAA Dozier continued to struggle and ended the season on quite a slump. In 84 games with the Twins Dozier put up a slash line (AVG/OBP/SLG) of .234/.271/.332, good enough for an OPS+ score of 67 to go with 15 errors and a .964 fielding %.

Twins shortstop Brian Dozier stretches out for a ground ball. Photo Credit: Jesse Johnson-US PRESSWIRE

Twins fans were hoping to find a serviceable SS in Dozier, but 2012 was a disappointment. I expected him to struggle in his first taste of the big leagues, but Dozier looked over matched at the plate and took some of that into the field with him. For Dozier to be successful with the Twins he will need to hit as the Twins have plenty of guys who can flash the leather at shortstop much better than him with similar offensive production. He will need to work on improving his K/BB ratio which was 58/16 in 2012.

9. Alex Wimmers. Some people thought it a bit strange for me to have Wimmers in my top 10 going into 2012, and it looks as if the naysayers were right! An elbow injury limited Wimmers to just 5.0 total innings in 2012 and he eventually underwent Tommy John surgery on the 2nd of August. The late season surgery will mean that Wimmers will miss most of, if not all of 2013. Like Kyle Gibson did this past year, Wimmers will need to work hard through recovery to come back to be the prospect the Twins had hoped for when they drafted him in the first round in 2010.

September 25, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins outfielder Chris Parmelee (27) during the game against the New York Yankees at Target Field. The Twins deafeated the Yankees 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

8. Chris Parmelee. Parmelee started the season with the Twins and he struggled mightily and was sent back down to AAA. Something must have clicked when he got back down to AAA, and many Twins fans, myself included, give a lot of that credit to recently promoted Twins hitting coach Tom Brunansky. Parmelee went on a tear down in AAA to the tune of .338/.457/.645 which included 17 HR in 64 games and was called back up to the big leagues. Parmelee played a total of 64 games with the big league club, and although he was better after coming his stint in AAA he only hit to the tune of .253/.296/.453 in September/October and finished the season with a line of .229/.290/.380 and struck out 4 times as often as he walked. Parm split time between right field and first base in 2012 and if the Twins do not move Justin Morneau this off-season it is likely that RF will be his primary position in 2013.

7. Kyle Gibson. Gibson, as mentioned earlier, spent most of 2012 recovering from Tommy John surgery and saw limited action before the season ended. Gibson started off the Arizona Fall League on a hot streak but has not been very good during his last couple outings. Twins fans are excited about Gibson’s return from surgery, and they have good reason to be. The trip down to the AFL has given Gibson a chance to log some innings on his surgically reconstructed elbow and he has flashed the dominance that the Twins organization and fans have been waiting for since before the injury. With Scott Baker leaving the organization to sign with the Chicago Cubs the only spot locked down for the Twins rotation in 2013 is Scott Diamond. How long before we see Gibson up with the Twins this coming season?

Sept 24, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA: Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Liam Hendriks (62) delivers a pitch in the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field Credit: Jesse Johnson-US PRESSWIRE

6. Liam Hendriks. Hendriks started 16 games for Rochester and another 16 games for the Twins. In AAA he was lights out and posted a 2.20 ERA in 106+ innings and had 82 K’s and only 28 walks. His numbers in the show were much less impressive and he was up and down from the big league team for most of the season finishing with a 5.59 ERA and only struck out 50 in 86+ innings while walking 26. Hendriks struggled early in games and often, but also had several gems, including a complete game duel against Felix Hernandez that Liam would take the loss in a 1-0 game. Hendriks gave up 3 or fewer runs in 4 of his starts and 4 or less in another 5, but ended the season with a disappointing 1 win to go with 8 losses. Many Twins fans were hoping Hendriks would establish himself in the big leagues and be a contributing member to the Twins pitching staff. All of the Twins starters struggled in 2012, and hopefully Liam can turn things around in 2013. Scott Baker has left for greener pastures and only Scott Diamond has a spot in next season’s rotation, so there is plenty of opportunity and room for Hendriks to get back on track this spring and garner himself a spot in the rotation.

5. Aaron Hicks. Hicks finally put things together in 2012 and will almost assuridly find himself back on the Baseball America top 100 prospect list this season after falling off after 2011. Hicks found his power stroke in AA and hit 13 HR, 11 triples and 21 doubles to go with 79 walks and 116 K’s, good enough for a line of .286/.384/.460, very impressive numbers for his first year in AA.

4. Oswaldo Arcia. Arcia went into BEAST MODE in 2012 lighting up high-A Ft Myers and then getting even better after a promotion to AA New Britain totaling 17 HR and 36 doubles. Arcia had an impressive .309/376/.517 line in A+ and improved upon all of those numbers after his promotion hitting to the tune of .328/.398/.557 in 69 games for the Rock Cats. I could keep on singing the praises of Arcia for considerable length, so many things went right for him in 2012, but I’ve written about him before and Twins fans should already be looking to see his name called in the not-so-distant future.

3. Eddie Rosario. Like Arcia, Rosario also had a very nice season in 2012, unfortunately his season was shorter than expected as he had to deal with a mid-season injury that limited him to only 95 games with low-A Beloit, but that’s still considerably more than he played last season in Rookie ball (65). Rosario did great things with the time he had hitting .296/.345/.490 with 48 extra-base hits, including 12 home runs. This season saw Rosario move to second-base from the outfield and he struggled defensively, but continued to make progress as the season went on. It will be interesting to see if Rosario can stick at second base or if he is destined to join the surplus of outfield players in the Twins organization.

2. Joe Benson. 2012 is a season that Joe Benson would like to forget. Benson played for the Twins in 2011 as a September call-up and started 2012 in AAA where he got off to an icy cold start hitting sub-.200 to start the season. He was demoted to AA and his struggles continued and eventually suffered a hamate bone injury that would require surgery. Benson played in 76 games, including rehab starts and had a combined line of .202/.288/.336, woof, not a great showing for the player Baseball America had rated in the top 100 in back-to-back seasons (100 pre-2011, 99 pre-2012). With the outfield depth the Twins have at AA and above, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for Benson; has his time in Minnesota come to an end?

Miguel Sano is the brightest prospect in the Twins system

1. Miguel Sano. After a monster season with the Elizabethon Twins in 2011 Sano was moved up to low-A Beloit for the 2012 season. His bat did not disappoint and Sano led the Midwest League in HR (100, 2nd place had 19), RBI (100, 2nd place had 86), Total Bases (238, 20 more than 2nd place), and was in the top 10 in the league in just about every offensive category. The big knock on Sano is that he’s trying to hit the ball out of the park with every swing, and that showed with his 144 K’s, but he also took 80 walks. Defensively Sano has some work to do at third base where he committed 42 errors and had a sub .900 fielding percentage. Like Rosario, Sano definitely made improvements as the season went on but there are questions to whether he will be able to stick at the hot corner. Even if Sano has to move to the OF his bat will carry him, but he is young and I expect his defense to improve. The Twins will be patient with his defensive skills as he progresses through their system.

Some of the guys definitely improved their ranking, and a couple of the guys even made their debut with the Twins. Come back Down on the Pond later this off-season for a look at how the prospects rankings have changed as we progress towards the 2013 season.

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