BOSTON, MA - JULY 28: A Minnesota Twins ballbag on the field before the game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on July 28, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JULY 28: A Minnesota Twins ballbag on the field before the game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on July 28, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/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 11-15.
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 16-20, 21-25, 26-30, 31-35 and 36-40. Here are numbers 11-15 of the Puckett’s Pond prospect rankings.
No. 15 Gilberto Celestino, CF, Elizabethton Twins
Nate’s Rank: 16, Gary’s Rank: 17
Gilberto Celestino was acquired from the Houston Astros along with pitcher Jorge Alcala in the July 37 Ryan Pressly trade. The Dominican signed with the Astros for a $2.5 million dollar bonus and stayed home in the capital city Santo Domingo starting the 2016 season playing in the Dominican Summer League.
Celestino has represented the Dominican Republic at international tournaments since he was 11 in 2010. The 6-1 1/2 , 175-pound left-handed batter first made a name for himself as an 11-year-old in August 2010 when he was named Most Valuable Player of the 12 and-under Serie International de Béisbol. A year later, he was named to the Rawlings All-Defensive Team at the 12U Cal Ripken Tournament in Aberdeen, Maryland.
The speedy center fielder performed well enough in the DSL to earn a promotion to the rookie league GCL Astros to finish the 2016 season. Celestino spent all of 2017 in Greenville of the Appalachian League posting a line of .268/.331/.379 for an OPS of .709 striking out 59 times and drawing 22 walks in 235 at-bats. He picked up eight assists and committed two errors in the outfield playing against competition averaging 2.3 years his senior.
Oddly, following a mediocre rookie league performance, Houston bumped Celestino up to AA Corpus Christi to start the 2018 campaign. The 19-year-old appeared in three games going hitless in eight at-bats including five strikeouts. Reassigned to lower level Class A Tri-City, still to years younger his average opponent, Celestino found his groove with a slash line of .323/387/.480 with an OPS of .868. He collected eight doubles, four home runs, struck out 25 times, and drew eight walks in 127 at-bats. He also stole 14 bases without being caught.
Celestino was assigned to rookie league Elizabethton following the Pressly trade. In 22 games he has a line of .267/.315/.326, an OPS of .641, with three doubles, a triple, 14 strikeouts, and five walks. He has also been successful on eight of nine attempted steals.
Baseball Prospectus had Celestino ranked #7 in the Astros’ system and said about the center fielder:
With his shorter swing and quality approach, scouts who have seen Celestino this year continue to suggest he looks more and more like an above-average hitter down the line. He’s continuing to gain strength as he reaches physical maturity, leading to him driving the ball more consistently…
The Role: OFP 55—First-division starting center fielder, top of order Likely 45—Second-division starting center fielder The Risks: The bat. There’s tantalizing potential given Celestino’s toolset and age, but until I see better pitch recognition in full-season ball, I question future impact. Nonetheless, the speed and defense raise the floor.
MLB.com ranks the six-foot, 170 pounder #14 in the Twins system with an overall rating of 45. He was ranked #23 in the Houston system coming into the season.
Fangraphs assigned Celestino a future value of 42. He is rated highly for his speed, with the same potential as a fielder, with an above average arm, and potential above average hitting tool. While they see his power developing, it will max out as well below average.
There are two items that keep popping up in my research of Celestino. First is the comparison to Chicago Cubs 24-year-old center fielder Albert Almora. If not put to bed entirely, that analogy needs to take a nap. While both are good hitters and quality center fielders, they have important differences, most notably Almora’s larger frame. Almora often bats fifth in the Cubs line-up, a slot that will never be a fit for Celestino. The second is the references to the rarity and apparent liability of Celestino’s hits-right/throws-left profile. I’m not impressed with either view regarding Celestino’s status as a prospect.
Gilberto Celestino could grow into an electric producer both offensively and certainly on defense. With 46 stolen bases in 52 career attempts, he can make things happen when he gets on base. Better plate discipline and extra pop in the bat are the keys to becoming more than a solid fourth outfielder at the Major League level.
21-year-old Venezuelan Luis Arraez signed as an international free-agent way back in 2013. He started his pro career in 2014 with Twins team in the Dominican Summer League where he hit .348 /.433/.400, striking out nine times while drawing 16 walks in 115 at-bats. He started out of the gate hitting and has moved up quickly in the organization despite missing all but three games of the 2017 season requiring surgery for a torn ACL in his right knee.
Bumped up to the rookie league GCL Twins in 2015, Arraez hit .309, with ten strikeouts and 19 walks in 208 at-bats. That winter he got his first taste of Venezuelan Winter League baseball, hitting .286 for Magallanes where league position players are over nine years older on average.
Next stop, 2016 Class A Cedar Rapids at age 19. Arraez slashed a line of .347/.386/.444, winning the Midwest League batting title, becoming the first teenager to do so in either lower Class A league since 2006. He spent the following winter raking the Venezuelan Winter League with a line of .335/.382/.445. Martin Schlegel identified Arraez as an unnoticed up-and-comer in a summer of 2006 Puckett’s Pond article:
It’s worth the reminder that he is still 19. He’s the youngest player on the Kernels roster and he’s arguably the team’s best player. At such a young age, the season Arraez is having comes at a surprise to most. When Arraez is hitting above .300 in 2017 it won’t be anymore and he won’t be as unknown and overlooked as he has been this year.
As Schlegel predicted, Arraez did hit .385 in 2016, but the ACL injury occurred on just his 13th and final at-bat of the year with advanced A Level Fort Myers.
Last season’s knee injury was a setback, but Arraez has come back strong. Returning to Fort Myers to start 2018 was the first snag in his quick rise up the ladder. The question was how well and how quickly he would rebound. The 5′ 10″, 155-pound left side swinger hit .320/.373/.421 in 228 at-bats, earning himself a well-deserved promotion to AA Chattanooga.
Arraez has played very well for the Lookouts. He is carrying a slash line of .303/.359/.361, with 13 strikeouts and 13 walks in 155 at-bats against position players averaging three years his senior. Born April 9, 1997, the 20-year-old is not just the youngest player on the Chattanooga roster, he is over 1.5 years younger than next youngest Lookouts, recently acquired pitchers Devin Smeltzer (our #38 prospect) and Jorge Alcala. He is also the fourth-youngest position player in the Southern League, and the only one of the four experiencing marked success.
MLB.com has Arraez ranked #15 on the Twins mid-season prospect list, up from #24 on their preseason evaluation. Hit: 55 | Power: 35 | Run: 45 | Arm: 50 | Field: 45 | Overall: 45
Luiz Arraez has been moved a bit around the infield this season, but his place is at second base. He has a very reliable glove, a career .981 fielding percentage at the position. Not ever considered fast on his feet, his range may have taken a bit of a hit with the knee injury. His biggest drawback is the lack of power, current and projectable. The key to the future rides heavily on Arraez getting on base with his natural hitting ability and strong plate discipline as he continues to face tougher competition at the rate of at least one level a season.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – APRIL 27: General view of a ball on the mound before the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Cincinnati Reds at Target Field on April 27, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /
No. 13 Jorge Alcala, RHP, Chattanooga Lookouts
Nate’s Rank: 12, Gary’s Rank: 16
23-year-old Jorge Alcala was acquired from the Houston Astros along with our #15 prospect Gilberto Celestino in the July 27 Ryan Pressly trade. After signing with the Astros for a $10,000 bonus, he played his first season, 2015, in the Dominican Summer League.
Alcala quickly ran through both rookie league levels in 2016 earning a promotion to lower Class A Tri-City where in three starts he gave up eight runs in 13.2 innings. The Dominican finished the season with a 2.41 ERA in 56 innings, surrendering 46 hit, striking out 70, and allowing 17 walks.
In 2017, Alcala moved up early from Single-A Quad Cities to Advanced-A Level Buies Creek. He finished the season with a 3.05 ERA over 109.1 innings, with 61 hits, 95 K’s, 45 walks, for an impressive 1.061 WHIP.
MLB.com ranked Alcala the #7 Houston prospect coming into the 2018 season, and he is currently #11 the Twins system. The 6′ 3′, 180-pound right-hander has a 70 rated fastball combined with a 55 slider and an overall rating of 50. They praise his 95-98 MPH fastball and have this to say about the rest of his arsenal:
His upper-80s slider and low-80s curveball are more notable for their velocity than their bite and can get slurvy at times, while his changeup can get too firm.”….If he does wind up in the bullpen, he has closer potential and could regularly hit 100 mph in shorter stints.
Alcala returned to Buies Creek to start this season compiling a 3.03 ERA in 38.2 innings before being promoted to AA Corpus Christi where he had posted a strong ERA of 3.54 over 40.2 innings before being traded.
Shortly after becoming a Twin, Alcala was placed on the 7-day disabled list with a reported right trapezius strain. The trapezoid is the major muscle of the upper back and shoulder. He has had some troubles in his first three starts at AA Chattanooga, compiling an ERA of 6.97, with eight walks in just 10.3 innings. The injury may be behind those problems.
Alcala’s overall stats for 2018 now sit at 3 wins and 10 losses, with an ERA of 3.71 in 89.2 innings. He has given up 71 hits, striking out 95, and allowing 43 walks. While holding opponents to a .217 batting average, his lack of control is a work in progress. Marc Hulet of FanGraphs still has Alcala ranked #4 among Twins prospects in his August update.
The question most evaluators have is whether Alcala profiles as a major league starter. The general lean at this point is that he eventually moves to the bullpen as a stopper that can easily hit and go over 100 MPH with his dominant fastball on short stints. That gives him a pretty high floor as a bullpen prospect. The key to reaching his ceiling as a #2 or 3 starter on a good staff will be his ability to develop a decent command of his secondary pitches. Still just 23, Alcala could be the big prize of the 2018 trade-deadline prospect haul.
No. 12 Blayne Enlow, RHP, Cedar Rapids Kernels
Nate’s Rank: 9, Gary’s Rank: 15
19-year-old Blayne Enlow was the Twins 3rd round pick in the 2017 draft. Minnesota parlayed their under-slot bonus signings of #1 overall pick Royce Lewis and 2nd round choice Landon Leach into the acquisition and signing of the highly regarded Enlow; with ranks from Baseball America at #27 and MLB.com at #29 pre-draft. The team convinced the right-hander to forego his commitment to LSU with a bonus offer of $2 million, almost $1,250,000 over the slot value of the 76 pick in that draft.
MLB.com also ranked Enlow’s curveball as the best in the 2017 draft.
Enlow, who didn’t allow an earned run in 13 innings for Team USA’s gold medal-winning Pan American Championships team last October, has a 12-to-6 hammer in the low 80s
Assigned to A-Level GCL Twins following the draft, Enlow pitched 20.1, allowing 10 hits, with 19 strikeouts and four walks, an ERA of 1.33, and a WHIP OF 0.689.
After his strong debut, Enlow was assigned to lower Level-A Cedar Rapids to start the 2018 campaign. MLB.com has the 6′, 3″, 190 pounder holding on to his 9th position among Twins prospects, grading both his fastball and curve as 60 on the 20-80 scale. FanGraphs ranks him 16th overall, with a 55 fastball to go with a 60 curve.
Enlow, with league pitchers averaging nearly three years his senior has thrown 89 innings, giving up 90 hits, with 64 strikeout and 33 walks, and an ERA of 3.24. It’s worth highlighting that Enlow is beginning to dominate as he settles into his first full season as a pro. The the last ten appearances, he has given up just 12 runs on 45 hits in 52.1 innings for an ERA of 2.06
Enlow’s forte is throwing strikes, though he will not rank high in strikeouts. His low-90’s fastball is complemented by the exceptional breaking ball. The key to his future success is developing a strong change-up and combining a good three-pitch mix to stay ahead of the more experienced batters he will be facing at higher levels.
He has time and talent on his side, and he has been decidedly trending upward over the last two months. Digging deeper here, I think Nate’s ranking of #9 overall is more fitting than my #16. Fort Myers will very likely be the next stop, and if Enlow starts strong, he could make it to AA Chattanooga as a 20-year-old. He really could be special.
20-year-old Akil Baddoo was drafted by the Twins in the second round lottery segment of the 2016 draft with the 76th pick, just after our 26th rated prospect, Jose Miranda. The Georgia high schooler had pre-draft rankings of #54 by Baseball America, and #72 by MLB.com. He signed for an under-slot bonus of $750,000.
Assigned to the GCL Twins in 2016, the 17-year-old Baddoo struggled in 170 at-bats hitting .178. The 2017 campaign went better, as Baddoo hit .267. with a .800 OPS in 75 at-bats before being moved to Rookie League Elizabethton in July to face more experienced competition. It was with the E-Twins that the lefty really found his groove. He produced a slash line of .357/.478/.579, with an OPS of 1.057 in 127 at-bats, scoring 39 runs, while drawing 27 walks and only 18 strikeouts. That performance shot his prospects up the charts entering 2018.
Excellent plate discipline/feel for hitting and a potential on-base machine, also runs well and could develop good power; if you want to dream on his ultimate upside, think of a cross between Matt Lawton and Tony Gwynn; I love Baddoo’s upside and if he performs well in full-season ball he’ll rocket up prospect lists in ’18. ETA late 2020
FanGraphs ranked Baddoo #7, giving the 5′ 11″, 195-pound center fielder a speed rating of 60, with future projections of 50 in both hitting and raw power, and an over future value of 45+.
Their Trey Baughn in his10 Bold Predictions for 2018included Akil Baddoo is a Top 50 prospect by season’s end. He wrote:
Baddoo is intriguing because of his speed (above average), his high probability of sticking in center field, and most importantly, for his ability to flat out hit. At the age of 18 (2017), Baddoo managed a .963 OPS while walking more than he struck out. That combination of youthful power, speed, and discipline just doesn’t materialize very often
MLB.com ranked Baddoo #11 in their preseason list and he has dropped to #12 in their midseason revision.
Playing this season 2.3 years younger than the average Midwest League batter, Baddoo is more than holding his own at Class A Cedar Rapids. While 119 strikeouts are concerning, and his slash line of .242/.353/.423 in 414 at-bats doesn’t particularly stand out, his OPS is .776, and he leads the league with 11 triples, and his 80 runs scored and 72 walks are 3rd and 4th in the circuit, respectively. Add on his 11 home runs, 20 doubles, and 21 steals in 26 attempts and Baddoo stands out as a very productive leadoff hitter in the Kernels lineup.
Baddoo has also struggled with a hamstring issue this season that has resulted in a stint on the disabled list. On defense, his arm is considered below average, but his glove is outstanding, with only one error this season in 165 chances for a .994 fielding percentage.
Next. Mauer cementing himself in baseball history. dark
Having just turned 20 this month, the upside for Akil Baddoo looks bright. The best key to his future success is in developing his hitting tool. A lot of potential to tap into here.
