The Minnesota Twins farm system has continued to gain attention and that is the case as four prospects landed on the Baseball Prospectus midseason top 50.
The Minnesota Twins have continued to do a good job on the minor league side of the organization. Not too long ago the Twins owned one of the top farm systems in the league. They then graduated the likes of Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Jose Berrios, Jorge Polanco, and others to the major leagues.
After that group formed the core for a playoff berth in 2017 the Twins front office has somehow already restocked the system and it is beginning to gain national attention once again. Most recently Baseball Prospectus released their midseason top 50. Four of those spots went to Twins prospects including Royce Lewis, Nick Gordon, Alex Kirilloff, and Brusdar Graterol.
No. 16 Royce Lewis
This season Royce Lewis has continued to develop and perform like a number one overall selection. He has also consistently been featured by several different outlets for his performances throughout the season. Lewis overall this season is slashing .316/.370/.488 with a .858 OPS. He has also added 9 home runs, 23 doubles, and 20 stolen bases.
Baseball Prospectus mentions that Lewis has a very high floor and there is a good chance that he develops all five of his tools as he progresses towards the majors. As BP tries to predict a worst case scenario for Lewis they point to remaining question marks on whether he will stick at shortstop as he matures. If he continues to hit the way he is, his bat will play at many positions.
No. 33 Nick Gordon
Nick Gordon has been a lightning rod for attention from fans on many social media platforms. As Brian Dozier struggled early on in the season and now with both Dozier and Eduardo Escobar on the trade block, fans are waiting to see if he will make his major league debut. Gordon began the season by taking the Double-A Southern League by storm and slashed .333/.381/.525 in 42 games before being promoted to Triple-A Rochester.
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Since his promotion, he has struggled a bit now slashing .240/.259/.355 in 46 games while being almost 5 years younger than the rest of the competition at 22 years old. Baseball Prospectus names Gordon’s ability to be pretty good at all facets of the game as a strength, but within that also lies his potential to fail. If any of those facets falls off considerably Gordon’s value to a baseball team quickly deteriorates. The Twins may be hoping that Gordon is no longer eligible for prospect lists this time next year.
No. 43 Alex Kirilloff
Alex Kirilloff is another Twins prospect that has already been promoted a level in 2018. His bat is also gaining him a lot of attention. In 65 games at Single-A Cedar Rapids, Kirilloff hit .333/.391/.607 and a .999 OPS. In his 21 games since being promoted to Advanced Single-A Fort Myers, Kirilloff has slashed .287/.308/.391.
Kirilloff looks very comfortable at the plate as he hits. The Twins will hope that he continues to develop his hit tool even more along the way. As Baseball Prospectus points out, he will need to continue to hit well as he is destined for a corner position in the majors.
No. 46 Brusdar Graterol
Brusdar Graterol has seemingly come out of nowhere this season as he is now climbing up prospect rankings. He can throw some serious heat as his fastball touches triple digits. Before earning a promotion to Fort Myers, Graterol made 8 starts for Cedar Rapids. He held a 2.18 ERA, recorded 51 strikeouts and 9 walks and held an 11.1 K/9 rate.
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Even with some struggles since being promoted to Fort Myers Graterol looks like a promising pitching prospect. In his two starts since being promoted, Graterol has a 7.71 ERA. As the concern is with any high-velocity starting pitching prospect there is always the chance that Graterol will need to transition to the bullpen.