Minnesota Twins: minor league players to watch in 2018

Brusdar Graterol, RHP

Along with Javier, the other young Twins prospect getting a ton of love this offseason is Graterol. Just as Moran hails from a Twins focus in Puerto Rico, Graterol hails from the other Twins Latin focus in Venezuela, a signee in 2014 for $150,000.

Graterol had a raw arm with potential before he popped his elbow after just four 2015 appearances, and the Twins allowed him a slow rehab to come back. Topping out just under 90 before his surgery, Graterol was pounding out triple digit pitches in spring training.

That was just a sign of things to come, as Graterol had really worked on his physical development, going from a skinny, undeveloped kid to a hulking 18 year-old when he showed up for spring in 2017.

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The Twins gave him time between starts and kept his arm to a low load in 2018, but he was able to show incredibly well with 10 appearances, 7 of them starts, throwing 40 innings. He totaled a 2.70 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and a 13/45 BB/K ratio over that time across GCL and Elizabethton.

Graterol works with his double-plus fastball, a hard slider that can run up to 90 MPH, a hard curve around 80, and a change that works in the mid-80s. Having four distinct velocity ranges in his pitches allows for four looks for Graterol on the mound.

He’ll likely open 2018 on the hill for Cedar Rapids, but he’s likely to have an innings progression plan from the organization to ensure arm health. Graterol is certainly the highest-upside pitching prospect in the Twins system, and by the end of the season, he could be a sure-fire top 100 pick – likely he’ll make a couple lists even this offseason!

Next: Molitor's 2018 resolutions

While not all of these guys will contribute at the major league level for the Twins in 2018, they each could hold a piece of the future, so they’re worth keeping an eye out this coming season!