BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 20: A Minnesota Twins cap and glove in the dug out before a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards at on August 20, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – AUGUST 20: A Minnesota Twins cap and glove in the dug out before a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards at on August 20, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
The Minnesota Twins have an exciting farm system. Here is our top 40 ranking of the Twins prospects starting with prospects numbers 36-40.
The Minnesota Twins have had a disappointing 2018 season. Out of survival, we as fans have to find something to root for when our teams are not performing well. Which causes us to often then turn our attention to what is next for our favorite team, for baseball that means the prospects in the minors. That special attention gives added intrigue to this series which takes a unique look at the Twins current crop of prospects as we at Puckett’s Pond put on our talent evaluating caps to rank the Twins prospects.
What else makes this not only an intriguing but also an exciting group to rank is that the Twins have made several additions to their prospect ranks during their sell-off at the trade deadline. All those new faces are players we haven’t gotten much of a look and learning about those new players can always be a fun exercise as well.
This list is a group effort by several writers here at Puckett’s Pond. Know that we each have our own opinion on players but have put our rankings together to compile this list. Some or all of us will have ranked certain players in a much different place than where they will land on this ranking. That is just how this sort of exercise works.
With that here is the first instalment of our rankings as we look at what is now often regarded as a top-10 farm system in baseball. Here are numbers 36-40 of the Puckett’s Pond prospect rankings.
No. 40 Deshawn Kiersey, OF, 21 years old
To kick things off on our top-40 prospect list is the Twins 2018 fourth round draft selection outfielder DeShawn Keirsey, Jr. The Twins drafted Keirsey out of Utah where he was recognized as an impact player for the Utes and in the Pac-12. Keirsey left Utah with several honors including Pac-12 All-Conference and All-Defensive team selections and as a freshman he was the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2016.
The Twins had to be excited about Keirsey falling to their pick in the fourth round. Keirsey is a very athletic player. Keirsey has good speed which helps him as he patrols the outfield where he is regarded as a good defender. Before the draft, 2080 baseball described Keirsey’s ability to hit by saying, “Keirsey has feel for the barrel with a contact-oriented approach, though it pushes his power more to the gaps than over-the-fence pop.”
Since becoming a professional baseball player, Keirsey has been assigned to the Elizabethton Twins where he now has logged 20 games and 82 at-bats. While it is very early to make too many evaluations on his performance the results have been very positive to this point. Keirsey is slashing .317/.374/.463 with an .873 OPS and has collected six doubles and three triples. He also has a 13/8 K/BB ratio and is 3-3 in stolen base attempts. If he keeps that type of performance up the 21-year-old could begin to move quickly through the Twins system.
No. 39 Andrew Bechtold, 3B, 22-years-old
Andrew Bechtold is in his second season with the Twins minor league system after being drafted in the 5th round of the 2017 MLB Draft. Bechtold was originally drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 37th round of the 2014 draft. Bechtold instead of signing with the Rangers chose to honor his commitment to Maryland. After struggling for Maryland, Bechtold transferred to Chipola Junior College and was then a commit to LSU before the Twins drafted him.
The third baseman spent his first taste of professional baseball as a member of the Elizabethton Twins where he played 43 games for the E-Twins. Bechtold excelled as he hit .299/.406/.424 with a .829 OPS, 10 doubles, and two home runs. That set Bechtold up for his promotion which resulted in his 2018 start in Cedar Rapids.
His 2017 performance also led to Bechtold being included on Benjamin Chase’s “10 under the radar players to watch” at the beginning of the season over at Call to the Pen. Chase explained Bechtold as having shown good gap-to-gap power and showing the ability to develop over the fence power as he continues to develop. Unfortunately, Bechtold has hit a rough stretch as he has played through 2018.
Bechtold’s overall line reads .216/.315/.286, .601 OPS, 17 doubles, and two home runs. That is clearly disappointing, but his season hasn’t been a complete disaster but instead more of a rollercoaster. For instance, in June Bechtold played in 23 games and hit .303/.426/.434 with seven doubles and a home run. The Kernels, and the Twins, will be looking for Bechtold to finish 2018 strong and regain consistency at the plate.
No. 38 Devin Smeltzer, LHP, 22-years-old
Devin Smeltzer is one of those new guys joining the Twins system. The Twins acquired Smeltzer at the trade deadline in the deal that sent second baseman Brian Dozier to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Smeltzer was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 5th round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of San Jacinto Junior College.
The left-handed Smeltzer comes to the Twins system with quite the arsenal of pitches. He throws both a four and two-seam fastball which both sit in the low 90’s with the four-seamer topping out at 93 mph. He also throws a cutter and a slider, but it is Smeltzer’s changeup that has caught scouts’ attention.
Bobby DeMuro wrote the following about Smeltzer’s changeup at Baseball Census,
“Tunnels it extremely well; it looks identical to his two-seam fastball both out of his and with late arm-side movement, only several miles per hour slower.”
Prospect writers across the board agree with DeMuro’s assessment of Smeltzer’s changeup and most also agree that while Smeltzer has very good command it may actually be his achilles heel as he hangs around the zone just a little too much.
In 2017, Smeltzer operated mainly as a starter and combined across two different leagues of Single-A and made 25 starts (26 games total), held a 4.17 ERA and a 10.1 K/9. Since being drafted there have been questions about Smeltzer sticking as a starter while he waswith the Dodgers. Now with the Twins, his new team has moved Smeltzer to a relief role. His strikeout rate is down in 2018, but Smeltzer still looks like he could become a quality major league bullpen arm as early as 2019.
No. 37 Andrew Vasquez, LHP, 24-years-old
The Twins drafted left-handed reliever Andrew Vasquez in the 32nd round of the 2015 MLB draft. Vasquez was really a bit of a flier as a college senior from the small Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA. Taking that chance has paid off for the Twins as Vasquez has pitched well as he has advanced through the Twins minor league system.
After pitching well in 2017 for the Twins two Single-A affiliates, Vasquez earned a spot in the Arizona Fall League. While pitching for Surprise, the southpaw appeared in 11 games, held a 1.42 ERA, and a 9.9 K/9. Vasquez then started 2018 again in Fort Myers where he tossed 32.2 innings with a 1.38 ERA, 10.2 K/9, and recorded five saves. After earning a promotion to Double-A he has only continued his dominance where he now has a 1.33 ERA and a 16.7 K/9 over 27.0 innings for Chattanooga.
Vasquez’s best pitch is his curveball which comes in at 74-77 mph. It keeps batters off balance and contributes to his high strikeout rate even though he doesn’t have an overpowering fastball at only 88-91 mph. Vasquez also has a changeup that he will mix in as well which sits around 75-78 mph. (All pitch and velocity numbers credit Baseball Census)
We can add Vasquez to the line of potential bullpen arms that the Twins have scattered across their farm system. While his velocity isn’t where most impact bullpen arms clock in he has continued to get the job done even against good Southern League competition this season. If he can continue to mix his fastball and curveball well Vasquez could be a good left-handed arm out of the bullpen for the Twins in the not too distant future.
No. 36 Jordan Balazovic, RHP, 19-years-old
The Twins drafted Jordan Balazovic as a teenager out of Mississauga, Ontario. The Canadian came to the Twins in the 5th round of the 2016 MLB Draft. In 2016, Balazovic was committed to Auburn University but when the Twins came with a strong over-slot offer he chose to turn pro and forgo his college career.
Balazovic spent his first two seasons with the GCL Twins turning in a very impressive first season. In 2016 the right-hander tossed 32.0 innings in eight games (six starts) and only allowed seven runs turning in a 1.97 ERA. Into 2017 his numbers dipped a bit that could also be because his body matured in noticeable ways as he added muscle to his frame.
So while his numbers didn’t look as good in 2017 as his ERA rose to 4.91 with the GCL Twins and still sits with a 4.13 ERA in 2018 with Single-A Cedar Rapids, the extra muscle resulted in more consistent and even improved velocity from Balazovic. His K/9 rate has also continued to improve from his first season in professional baseball. In 2016 it was a mere 4.5 and has progressed to a 6.5 K/9 in 2017 and now in 2018 Balazovic is sporting a healthy 11.6 K/9 in 10 starts.
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Balazovic is young as a 19-year-old playing at almost three years younger than his competition in Single-A. He has plenty of time to develop before he will see a major league mound allowing him freedom to not feel rushed as he matures and improves his approach. All signs point to the Twins sticking with Balazovic’s development as a starter.
