Minnesota Twins: Updated top 100 rookie-eligible prospects for 2018

The updated list

• 1. Royce Lewis, SS
• 2. Stephen Gonsalves, LHP
• 3. Nick Gordon, SS
• 4. Fernando Romero, RHP
• 5. Wander Javier, SS
• 6. Brusdar Graterol, RHP
• 7. Brent Rooker, 1B/OF
• 8. Alex Kirilloff, OF
• 9. Akil Baddoo, OF
• 10. Lewin Diaz, 1B

Only one player is in the top 10 that was not before, and that is Akil Baddoo. He is a guy who I liked a lot in the fall, but the more I see of him, the more I like. Baddoo was a guy who was incredibly athletic coming into the 2016 draft, but he was seen as a project. The way he showed in 2017, he may move much quicker than thought.

• 11. Blayne Enlow, RHP
• 12. Lewis Thorpe, LHP
• 13. Mitch Garver, C
• 14. Zack Littell, RHP
• 15. LaMonte Wade, OF
• 16. Yunior Severino, 2B
• 17. Tyler Jay, LHP
• 18. Jermaine Palacios, SS
• 19. Jacob Pearson, OF
• 20. Andrew Bechtold, 3B

The first two new players in the system on this list are Yunior Severino and Jacob Pearson. Severino has a very bright future, coming over from the Atlanta Braves after he was removed from their system during sanctions. Pearson was one of the more athletic players in the 2017 draft and fell to the Angels. The Twins acquired him for international spending money.

• 21. Felix Jorge, RHP
• 22. Travis Blankenhorn, IF
• 23. Zack Granite, OF
• 24. Jose Miranda, 3B
• 25. John Curtiss, RHP
• 26. Kohl Stewart, RHP
• 27. Landon Leach, RHP
• 28. Tyler Watson, LHP
• 29. Luis Arraez, 2B
• 30. Gabriel Moya, LHP

Back to back in this spot are Landon Leach and Tyler Watson, both of whom are pitchers that are new to the Minnesota Twins system in 2017. Watson isn’t a frontline upside guy, but he has a nice feel for his pitch set. Leach has a good collection of pitches and a lot of room to grow in both feel and physicality.

• 31. Ben Rortvedt, C
• 32. Aaron Whitefield, OF
• 33. Aaron Slegers, RHP
• 34. Lachlan Wells, LHP
• 35. Emmanuel Morel, 2B
• 36. Jovani Moran, LHP
• 37. Griffin Jax, RHP
• 38. Jaylin Davis, OF
• 39. J.T. Chargois, RHP
• 40. Jean Carlos Arias, OF

A good mix of upside in the low minors and upper minors ability as well in this list. If J.T. Chargois could stay healthy in 2018, he could have a big impact on the bullpen with his big velocity arm.

• 41. David Banuelos, C
• 42. Andrew Vasquez, LHP
• 43. Tyler Wells, RHP
• 44. Nick Anderson, RHP
• 45. Charlie Barnes, LHP
• 46. Chris Paul, 3B
• 47. Jake Reed, RHP
• 48. Tyler Kinley, RHP
• 49. Wander Valdez, 3B
• 50. Max Murphy, OF

David Banuelos was one of the players the Twins acquired with international money, and he could turn into a quality backup or low-end starter down the road behind the plate. Back to back are Jake Reed and Tyler Kinley in this batch, two pitchers who have similar big arms but similar risk to succeed for different reasons.

• 51. Eduardo Del Rosario, RHP
• 52. Shane Carrier, OF
• 53. T.J. White, 3B
• 54. Jordan Balazovic, RHP
• 55. Edgar Corcino, OF
• 56. Estamy Urena, IF
• 57. Yancarlos Baez, RHP
• 58. Mason Melotakis, LHP
• 59. Sam Clay, LHP
• 60. Dietrich Enns, LHP

The highest guy to appear on the list that was not on the list in the fall and was in the system at the time is T.J. White, who hit quite well in AA. Even though he’s 26, he has excellent power and handles the hot corner well. I was informed that he would be a minor league free agent erroneously, which is the reason he was off of the October list.

• 61. Hector Lujan, RHP
• 62. Sean Poppen, RHP
• 63. Ricky De La Torre, IF
• 64. Bryan Sammons, LHP
• 65. Carlos Aguiar, OF
• 66. Mitchell Kranson, C
• 67. Alex Robinson, LHP
• 68. Edwar Colina, RHP
• 69. Michael Theofanopoulos, LHP
• 70. Colton Burns, OF

No one new in this group, but Carlos Aguiar jumped way up the list after some big-time reports from those who saw him in showcases. This is a guy who could end up showing out in his first professional exposure next season.

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• 71. Ryley Widell, LHP
• 72. Tom Hackimer, RHP
• 73. Sean Miller, IF
• 74. Carlos Suniaga, RHP
• 75. Cody Stashak, RHP
• 76. Carson Crites, 2B
• 77. Ryan Eades, RHP
• 78. Derek Molina, RHP
• 79. Alex Muren, RHP
• 80. Alberoni Nunez, OF

Three of the team’s six representatives in the Arizona Fall League are in this bunch. The one that was not in October’s top 100 is reliever Ryan Eades, who really showed well in the AFL using his multiple-pitch repertoire. He could find himself in a new role as a short reliever with that stuff rather than the swingman role he served in 2017’s regular season.

• 81. Randy Dobnak, RHP
• 82. Alex Robles, 1B/OF
• 83. Michael Montero, RHP
• 84. Lean Marrero, OF
• 85. Bailey Ober, RHP
• 86. Zander Wiel, 1B
• 87. Patrick McGuff, RHP
• 88. Tanner English, OF
• 89. Ryan Mason, RHP
• 90. Yeltsin Encarnacion, IF

A lot of upside guys in this group. Michael Montero is the one added that did not make the top 100 previously. He was added due to very high praise from guys that saw him in the Dominican.

• 91. Matt Albanese, OF
• 92. Mark Contreras, OF
• 93. Nelson Molina, IF
• 94. Clark Beeker, RHP
• 95. Kai-Wei Teng, RHP
• 96. Todd Van Steensel, RHP
• 97. Colton Davis, RHP
• 98. Kolton Kendrick, 1B
• 99. D.J. Baxendale, RHP
• 100. Rainis Silva, C

The one new addition in this group is Kai-Wei Teng. He’s a very talented pitcher from Taiwan that the Twins officially signed in December. Rainis Silva is a catcher to watch as a guy who has progressed with the glove, but had a breakthrough with his bat in 2017 in Elizabethton.

Next: Who next goes into the Twins team HOF?

The Twins have a tremendous amount of depth in their system, such that this was not an easy task to take out to 100, as multiple players with a shot to make it at the major league level were left off of this list. That’s a very positive progression for the system for Minnesota Twins fans!