Puckett’s Pond’s Minnesota Twins 2018 Top-40 Prospects: #21-25

The Minnesota Twins have an exciting farm system. Here is our top 40 ranking of the Twins prospects as we continue onto prospects numbers 21-25.

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 26-30, 31-35 and 36-40. Here are numbers 21-25 of the Puckett’s Pond prospect rankings.

#25 Jacob Pearson, LF, Cedar Rapids Kernels

Nate’s Rank: 26,  Gary’s Rank: 22

Jacob Pearson came to the Twins thanks to the Seattle Mariners/Los Angeles Angels battle last winter over the rights to Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani. Minnesota leveraged the West Coast bidding war to their advantage by sending $1 million dollars of their international bonus pool to each of the contenders to acquire Pearson from L.A: and current Cedar Rapids catching prospect  David Banuelos from Seattle.

Pearson was drafted by the Angels out of high school in the third round of the 2017 MLB draft, signing above-slot for $1 million dollars and foregoing his commitment to LSU.  In his rookie league debut with the Arizona League Angels, the left side hitter slashed .226/302/.284, including seven doubles and a triple, with 37 strikeouts and 15 walks in 155 at-bats. Those pedestrian numbers don’t reflect the positive regard evaluators have for 2017 Gatorade Louisiana Player of the Year. At the time of the trade, MLB.com had Pearson ranked #5 in the Angels system and moved him to #22 on the Twins’ list.

Athlon Sports ranked Pearson #39 in their list of top 40 high school 2017 draft prospects. Royce Lewis and Blayne Enlow were ranked 2nd and 7th, respectively. Athlon Sports had this to say about Pearson:

Pearson is one of the best pure hitters scouts saw last summer. In addition, he is an above-average runner

MLB.com slotted Pearson at #26 this spring and upgraded him to #25 in their mid-season update. He rates a 60 run tool and grades out at 45. Notably, Pearson’s arm is rated at 30, an extremely low number for a serious prospect. That grade should improve to some degree as the 20-year-old gradually regains strength following surgery a torn labrum on his right shoulder during high school. At least for now, his projected major league position would be limited to left field.

The Twins assigned Pearson to Class A Cedar Rapids for 2018., where he has a slash line of .252/.333/389 and an OPS of .722, 11 doubles, three triples and five home runs, 55 strikeouts, 27 walks in 234 at-bats. He is 1.3 years younger than his average Midwest League competitor.

The key for Pearson is to gain power as he develops. His plus speed won’t be enough to hold down a future spot in left field. The 6’1″, 185 pounder has youth on his side, and his endurance will grow. He is now showing signs of wearing down in his first full season of professional baseball. He has fallen into a slump over the last month seeing his batting average drop from .297 to where it sits today at .257. It will be interesting to see how well Pearson adjusts physically as he matures.

#24 Luke Raley, OF/1B, Chattanooga Lookouts

Nate’s Rank: 21,  Gary’s Rank: 27

Luke Raley came to the Twins from the Dodgers at the July 31 trade deadline along with Logan Forsythe and our #37 prospect Devin Smeltzer in return for Brian Dozier. Raley was generally considered the key Dodger in the transaction. The 23-year-old left-handed swinger projects as a corner outfielder with the ability to play at first base.

Raley was taken by the Dodgers in the seventh round of the 2016 draft. Not being offered a single Division I scholarship, he attended Division II Lake Erie College. Raley’s name was not to be found in Baseball America’s Top 500 prospect rankings, much less MLB.com’s list of Top 200 draft prospects.

Raley earned an all-star berth last season for Class A+ Rancho Cucamonga and saw his numbers rise post-break. The 6′ 3″, 220 pounder finished 2017 with a slash line of .295/.375/.473, with 21 doubles, 11 triples, 14 homes runs, and 62 RBI’s, collecting 124 strikeouts and 43 walks in 478 at-bats.

MLB.com ranked Raley 29th in the Dodgers system coming into the 2018 season and was moved up to 19th in their mid-season assessment. He was slotted in the same 19th spot on the Twins list after the trade. Raley has an overall 45 rating scoring above average 55 in arm and field tools. His 45 hit rating is the only tool on the 20-80 scale that falls below average.

Prospects 1500 had ranked Raley #22 on their top-50 list, citing him as one of the more underrated prospects in the Dodgers farm system.

Last Word on Baseball ranked Raley #27 in their list of 30. They had this to say:

The big, powerful young hitter is not afraid to use his strength, and as a result, he uses the entire ballpark. At times, those deep fly balls are caught by a speedy centerfielder, and Raley had lots of hard, line-drive outs that don’t show up in the box score.

Fangraphs, on the other hand, is not so impressed giving Raley a 35 rating in their recap of prospects traded at the deadline. He is described simply as a “Stiff, power-hitting first baseman performing at Double-A.”

After being promoted to Class AA Tulsa to start the 2018 season, Raley made it to the Texas League All-Star game.  He has put up similar numbers since his arrival in Class AA Chattanooga following the trade. Raley has a combined slash line of .286/.364/.470, with 18 doubles, seven triples, and 19 home runs in 438 at-bats.  He continues to strike out at a disturbing rate, 120 times, with only 34 walks. A very good hitter when making contact, Raley needs to develop more plate discipline as he moves up the ladder.

#23 Lewin Diaz, 1B, Fort Myers Miracle (Injured)

Nate’s Rank: 18,  Gary’s Rank: 30

Lewin Diaz fractured his right thumb in late July and required season-ending surgery. He signed with the Twins in 2014 at the age of 17 for a $1.4 million dollar bonus and stayed home in Santo Domingo that season playing in the Dominican Summer League. Now still only 21 years of age through five seasons, his career has had its ups and downs as the average age of his opponents have been older than him by a range of 1.3 to 2.5 years.

Diaz started producing in 2016 with the rookie league Elizabethton Twins. He hit 9 home runs, with a slash line of .310/.353/.575 in 174 at-bats. Advancing to A-level Cedar Rapids in 2017, he earned a spot on the Midwest League All-Star team, finishing the season with 12 home runs and a line of .329/.444/.773.

Diaz came into the 2018 season solidly ranked among the top-25 Twins prospects. Minor League Ball ranked him #9 on the club.  MLB.com has him ranked 19th, with an overall future value rating of 45 on the 20-80 scale. They have this to say about the left-hander:

…Over the past two seasons, he’s shown an ability to make consistent contact and drive the ball to all fields. He has tremendous raw power that he is still learning to tap into and it has been really encouraging that he has kept his strikeouts low and hasn’t sold out to try to hit the ball over the fence…

FanGraphs ranks Diaz 34th, with a future value of 40. They note this:

He’s had plus raw power most of that time but has chosen not to sell out for power in his swing, instead focusing on working as a more well-rounded hitter. Diaz has above-average bat control, so there are the tools here for above-average offense

Diaz was left unprotected last winter in the 2017 Rule-5 draft. Though considered a valuable prospect, the combination of his young age, lower level A status, and defensive limitation to first base made it unlikely that another team would attempt to carry him on a major league team for a full season.

Things went south for Diaz in 2018 as he got his first taste of advanced A-level baseball in Fort Myers. He finished the season with a slash line of .224/.255/.344. and an OPS of .598. He hit for extra bases only 20 times in 294 at-bats, including six home runs and 35 RBI’s. Diaz struck out 56 times, drawing just ten walks.  He finished his season in a slump, hitting just .161/.194/.232 in July.

Lewin Diaz will most likely be back at Fort Myers to start the 2019 season. It’s important to remember that he will only be 22 years old, still younger than his average competitor at the advanced-A level. 2018 was rough, but he had put together two very solid seasons previously after struggling through his first stint at Elizabethton in 2015. There is a lot of untapped potential here. Patience is the key.

#22 Jhoan Duran, RHP, Cedar Rapids Kernels

Nate’s Rank: 23,  Gary’s Rank: 24

Right-handed pitcher Jhoan Duran, along with fellow prospects Gabriel Maciel and Ernie De La Trinidad joined the Minnesota Twins in the July 27th trade that sent Eduardo Escobar to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 20-year-old Dominican signed with the D-Backs way back in December of 2014 for just $65,000 and started his pro career in the Dominican Summer League at 17.

Duran’s first three seasons from the DSL to low-level ball against competition averaging 1.7 to 3.4 years his senior were unremarkable. He put together an ERA of 4.19, with 115 K’s,  and 53 walks in 158.2 innings over 19  starts.

Duran was promoted to Advanced Level A Kane County to start this season. While his ERA was an unimpressive 4.73 in with 28 walks and 69 hits given up over 64.2 innings, he did garner 71 strikeouts.

In five starts at Cedar Rapids since the trade, the 6′ 5″, 175-pound right-hander has an ERA of 2.88, giving up eight earned runs on 15 hits, striking out 31 and walking only four batters in 25.1 Innings. A small sample, but this is what Duran promises in the future if he can develop consistent control to exploit his overpowering mid-90’s fastball.

Mark Hulet at FanGraphs put it well:

If you’re looking for a deep-ish sleeper to keep an eye on, Duran is a name to know. He has a great pitcher’s frame but room to continue to get stronger and perhaps pick up even more velo. He’s already in the 94-98 mph range with his fastball, though, and it’s really the secondary offerings (breaking ball, change) that need the most focus.

It’s that fastball that makes Duran an exciting prospect. MLB.com rates it a 65 on the 20-80 scale. They have him ranked 23rd among Twins prospects with an overall rating of 45. Duran has a higher floor because he has potential as a late-inning stopper if he flames out as a starter.

More so than with other young pitchers, the main key to Duran’s future success rides on his control and consistency.  There will likely be many rough patches as he advances to higher levels. How he adjusts to his likely promotion to Advanced-A Fort Myers next season will give a much clearer idea of his future chances as a professional baseball player.