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 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.
No. 34 Ernie De La Trinidad, OF, Fort Myers Miracle
Nate’s Rank: 34, Gary’s Rank: 35
19-year-old Ernie De La Trinidad is generally considered the “third guy” the Minnesota Twins received in the July deadline trade that sent Eduardo Escobar to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Twins also acquired OF Gabriel Maciel and RHP Jhoan Duran. Early reports suggest that the left-handed hitting corner outfielder may be more than the “throw-in” on that deal.
The D-Backs took a home-town kid with their 19th round pick in the 2017 draft. De La Trinidad, a native of Phoenix played for UNLV in 2017, producing a .361/.465/.559 slash line with five triples, seven homers and 30 RBI’s. He transferred from Central Arizona College following a 2016 season where he slashed .399/.497/.622 in 49 games.
De La Trinidad spent his 2017 summer in Missoula of the Rookie League. There he hit a very respectable .297/.385/.510 in 92 at-bats, with 36 K’s and 21 walks. He earned a 2018 promotion to Lower Class A Kane County of the Midwest League where he produced a 311/.403/.402 slash line with 8 home runs, 56 RBI’s, 46 K’s and 45 walks in 312 at-bats before the trade.
The Twins chose to assign De La Trinidad to advanced Single-A Fort Myers. He has excelled against competition averaging a half a year older than himself. In 39 at-bats, he has put together a line of .359/.435/.462, with 6 K’s and 6 walks for the Miracle. At only 5′ 9″, 165 pounds, De La Trinidad has a career slugging percentage of .468. And at age 19, there should be more power coming as he matures. On defense this season, mostly right field, he has 9 outfield assists and 4 errors for a .974 fielding percentage. 72 walks in 543 at-bats are also promising at this stage in his development. De La Trinidad could climb quickly if he can carry those power numbers with him through future advances up the ladder.
No. 33 Tyler Wells, RHP, Chattanooga Lookouts
Nate’s Rank: 35, Gary’s Rank: 33
23-year-old Tyler Wells continues to advance smoothly in his third season in the Twins organization. Drafted in the 15th round of the 2016 draft, he has been promoted four times, beginning in 2016 at Elizabethton, both the GCL Twins and Cedar Rapids in 2017, and starting this season at Advanced A Fort Myers before his jump to Class AA Chattanooga at the end of July.
Wells was the Twins 15th round selection in the 2016 draft from Cal State San Bernardino, signing after his junior year for $90,000. He had a shaky time in two college seasons racking up 52 walks to go with 102 strikeouts in 111.2 innings. At 6′ 8″, 265 pounds today, one inch shorter and ten pounds lighter in school, it’s not surprising that the uber long right-hander would face some difficulties in controlling his delivery.
An imposing figure on the mound, Wells is not a typical power pitcher. He carries a lot of tools and he uses them effectively. His breakthrough in Fort Myers this season was his command. He struck out 82 batters and only walked 17 in 86.2 innings. He went 8-4 as a Miracle, with a 2.80 ERA and a WHIP of 0.90. He held the opposition to a .191 batting average.
Since his promotion to Chattanooga, Wells has walked five batters in his ten innings of work but has only given up one run on four hits to go along with 14 strikeouts. A 0.90 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, with the opposition hitting only .121 against him. Over his career, Wells has an 18-12 win-loss record, 2,90 ERA, 177 hits, 263 K’s, and 66 walks in 233 innings. Add to that an impressive 1.04 WHIP and .206 opponents batting average.
Coming into this season, Wells was one of 32 Twins prospect to merit a C+ or higher grade from Minor League Ball. We have Tyler Wells ranked #33 with the arrow pointed up.
No. 32 Tyler Jay, LHP, Chattanooga Lookouts
Nate’s Rank: 25, Gary’s Rank: 42
Tyler Jay was the sixth player taken in the 2015 MLB draft after a very successful three-year stint at the University of Illinois. A standout closer, he was the highest drafted player from the Illini ever. Various outlets had Jay ranked between the 6th and 12th ranked prospect in the draft. The Twins signed the left-hander at the full-slot bonus of $3,889,500 with the intent to use him as a reliever in his first pro season before transitioning him to a starter
At 6’1″ and 185 pounds, the 24-year-old packs more power than his lanky stature would indicate. MLB.com rates Jay’s fastball a 60 on the 40-70 scale, with a 55 on his hard slider. His changeup is a below average 45, with an overall rating of 45. After starting at #16 on their Twins preseason prospect list, Jay dropped to #22 at mid-season.
Jay did indeed start off his pro career in the bullpen. Playing against competition at Class A+ Fort Myers that averaged two years his senior in 2015, he put up a 3.93 ERA in 18.1 innings, giving up 18 hits, striking out 22 batters while walking eight.
As planned, Jay began the 2016 campaign at Fort Myers as a starter. In 13 starts, he compiled a 2.84 ERA in 69.2 innings, allowing 64 hits, striking out 68 and walking 21. His string of injuries began after his promotion to AA Chattanooga. He managed to pitch just 14 innings over 5 appearances, including two starts before a neck strain ended his season and as well the likelihood of his future as a starting pitcher.
2017 was somewhat of a lost year in Jay’s development. Injuries limited him to 11.2 innings combined between the Gulf Coast Twins, Fort Myers, and Chattanooga. After avoiding thoracic outlet surgery with rest and treatment, he did pitch 9.2 innings in the Arizona Fall League.
The Twins are cautiously optimistic that Jay is starting to find the pitcher he was before the injuries hit. When Jay first got to the AFL, he seemed tentative and afraid to let it fly, with a fastball that was touching the low 90s. In his final outing of the fall, however, he was up to 94-96 mph and felt great about how he wrapped up a lost season.
This season back with the Lookouts, Jay has a 4.17 ERA in 49.2 innings in 31 appearances. Eight of his 23 earned runs have been rung up in two of his last four outings covering just 2.1 innings. Overall, Jay has been strong in relief this season.
Durability and consistency are the keys to Jay’s future success.
No. 31 Kohl Stewart, RHP, Minnesota Twins
Nate’s Rank: 29, Gary’s Rank: 36
Kohl Stewart was the fourth overall pick in the 2013 MLB draft. He was a highly recruited pitcher and quarterback that opted to sign on with the Twins for the slotted bonus of $4,544,400. While the Houston born right-hander hasn’t lived up to the lofty expectations of such a high pick yet, he has put up fairly decent numbers over his six seasons in the Twins minor league system.
That said, Stewart went unclaimed when left unprotected in last winter’s Rule 5 draft. Stewart was coming off his worst statistical season surrendering a 4.09 ERA through 71 innings at AA Chattanooga, and surrendering four earned runs over five innings in his lone start for AAA Rochester.
After being added to the 40-man roster, the 23-year-old made his Major League debut this past Sunday giving up three earned runs in 4.1 innings. Stewart’s performance may be a sample of what to expect from him as a big league pitcher. On the negative side, he gave up eight hits and a walk while striking out one. He also hit a batter and threw a wild pitch. Of 74 thrown pitches, only two were swung at and missed.
On the positive side of Stewart’s first outing, he was able to keep any damage to a minimum. Of the 19 official logged at-bats, he induced 14 ground balls and two pop-ups to go along with that lone strikeout. No deep fly balls, just two line drives. He held the Tigers to four singles through his first four scoreless innings. The wheels sort of fell off in the fifth inning when after getting the first out, Stewart gave up four consecutive singles before walking the final batter he faced. But if not for a bonehead misplay by the usually reliable Ehire Adrianza, that was ruled a single, Stewart may well have gotten through five innings with only one run allowed. Stewart’s fastball topped out at 95 MPH.
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In short, Kohl Stewart is just 23-years-old. He is a groundball pitcher that relies on consistency and quality defensive play by his infielders. While his bright star may have faded, he could develop into a reliable back-end starter.
