The Minnesota Twins have an exciting farm system. Here is our top 40 ranking of the Twins prospects as we continue onto prospects numbers 31-35.
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. We have already covered prospects numbers 36-40. Here are numbers 31-35 of the Puckett’s Pond prospect rankings.
No. 35 Michael Helman, 2B, Cedar Rapids Kernels
Nate’s Rank: 43, Gary’s Rank: 29
Michael Helman adds yet another intriguing candidate to the list of Twins prospects at second base. His history makes it clear that he can hit, but The Baseball Draft Report also rated him with above-average speed and an above-average defender. With 8 stolen bases in 10 attempts and a .985 fielding percentage at second base, Helman has continued to display these qualities since becoming a professional.
Drafted in the 11th round as a junior out of Texas A&M, Helman came to terms with the Twins in the last hours before the signing deadline. It took an over-slot bonus of $220,000 to rein him in. The 22-year-old was the Aggies Player of the Year this past spring, hitting .369, with 6 home runs and 12 stolen bases. Helman was the Junior College Player at Hutchison Community College in 2017 when he led the nation with 111 hits, 103 runs scored, 189 total bases and a .487 batting average.
Helman was originally assigned to the Elizabethton Twins in mid-June. There he put up a slash line of .375/.435/.575 and an OPS of 1.010, a triple and 2 home runs to go with 4 K’s and 3 walks in 40 at-bats. His mastery of the rookie league dictated his early August promotion to Class A Cedar Rapids where his skills are being tested against players in his age group. In 25 at-bats over 6 games with the Kernels, the 6’1″, 190 pounder is hitting .480/.519/.520 with an OPS of 1.039, 5 K’s, and 2 walks, in 25 at-bats. Helman is batting in the clean-up position behind highly prized prospects Akil Baddoo, Ryan Jeffers, and Trevor Larnach.
Defense is always a key for middle infielders. Helman has only committed one error at second base in 67 total chances. He played one game at short and another in left, committing an error in each game over only 7 chances, but second base is where it counts for him. In short, to date, Helman seems to have all the bases covered.