A Response to BA’s Top 10 Twins’ Prospects

Posted by andrew on January 13, 2010 under Andrew | 8 Comments to Read

One of the most trusted and reliable scouting services on the web, Baseball America has a long-standing tradition of accuracy. That said, the release of their Top 10 Twins’ Prospects list this morning raised a few eyebrows. Let’s go over some of their more controversial claims.

Best Defensive Infielder – Jorge Polanco

Without having played a single game in the minors, BA gave the young shortstop from the Dominican Republic the title of “Best Defensive Infielder.” For those not aware, Jorge Polanco is a 16-year-old who was signed out of the Dominican Republic this past year by the Twins with a signing bonus of $750,000. He was ranked by BA as the 23rd best prospect to come out of Latin America this year.

The best aspect of Polanco’s game is, indeed, his defense. Despite being just 16, he is projected to have the hands that will allow him to stay at the shortstop position.

Now, as Parker said earlier today, claiming that Polanco is the best infield defender in the system could either be a testament to his incredible defensive prowess, or BA’s tendency to read too much into the hype.

Carlos Gutierrez – 7th Best Prospect

This confuses me. Last year, BA ranked Carlos Gutierrez as the 9th best prospect in the Twins’ system. After putting up a 6.12 ERA in 52 innings (5.02 FIP) at New Britain, BA raised Gutierrez’s ranking two spots. Now, it’s worth noting that quite a few prospects were removed from last year’s list (Mulvey, Hunt, Swarzak, Mijares) but I still don’t understand how pitchers like BJ Hermsen and Adrian Salcedo were deemed less worthy of a place on this ranking than Gutierrez.

I’m not diminishing Gutierrez’s value at all. I think he is a great pitching prospect (I ranked him 19th) with a very real chance to be a force either in the rotation or bullpen in a few years.

Max Kepler – 10th Best Prospect

This ranking will most likely be the most controversial. Max Kepler, a 16-year-old from Germany, is regarded by most as the best prospect to ever come out of Europe. He has incredible five-tool potential, and is an excellent athlete, but hasn’t finished his junior year of high school yet. He will be unable to complete a full season of rookie-ball until 2011, when he graduates.

I ranked Kepler as the 41st best prospect in the system not so much because of my doubts in his ability to live up to the hype, but because there are so many other deserving prospects. As I mentioned above, Salcedo should have made this list, as should have Joe Benson and Chris Parmelee.

Outside of these few “mistakes,” I think BA did a fantastic job ranking the Top 10 Twins’ prospects. Be sure to check out the list and read an overview of the Twins’ system. If you subscribe to BA, also make sure you read the scouting reports on each of their Top 10.

Tags: Adrian Salcedo, BJ Hermsen, Carlos Gutierrez, Chris Parmelee, Joe Benson, Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler

5 Tweets

twinsmvb said,

Have you seen Baseball America’s Top 10 Twins Prospects? Newest @TwinsMVB contributor @akneeland has the breakdown: http://bit.ly/BAtop10

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akneeland said,

RT @twinsmvb: Have you seen Baseball America’s Top 10 Twins Prospects? Newest @TwinsMVB contributor has the breakdown: http://bit.ly/BAtop10

This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Dwade said,

RT @twinsmvb: Have you seen BA’s Top 10 Twins Prospects? Newest contributor @akneeland has the breakdown: http://bit.ly/BAtop10 [Welcome!]

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thrylos98 said,

The arguments that you made about Keppler and Polanco can be made about Gibson and Sano as well. None has played a single inning of pro ball…

BTW, Keppler can play (and probably will) next season at GCL. It is a summer league and school is out Rory Rhodes was in the same shoes last season and played in the GCL.
twinsbuzztap said,

The Minnesota Twins Most Valuable Blogger >> A Response to BA’s Top 10 Twins’ Prospects http://bit.ly/810ERi

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brookingsblogs said,

A Response to BA’s Top 10 Twins’ Prospects: One of the most trusted and reliable scouting services on the web, Bas… http://bit.ly/4LkZx8

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twinsmvb said,

Test comment.
STEVE WALL said,

I agree…how can BA leave off Parmelee as the best power hitter as well as not make the Top Ten. Bets strike zone recognition also should have gone to Parmelee. He walked more than any player in the Twins minor system. Yes he struck out over 100 times, but some of that can be attributed to the poor umping at the lower levels. Ramos is a good hitter, but just compare the big numbers. Parmelee as a 21 year old did very well at AFL after playing a full season in Florida. His numbers were much better than older players and has been ask to attend BIG League Spring training. BA has it’s favorites and thats who they promote. I don’t think they are as good at scouting as you think. They get there info from talking to other people. Benson is a very good 5 tool player that has improved alot. And he to is underrated. I like the power hitters and I don’t think at the lower levels they get the credit they have coming. Every body goes for the average instead of the run producing numbers that really win the games (as well as good pitching).