Top prospects to look out for! - Tmizzle's Dynasty

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Top prospects to look out for!

Posted on May 17, 2016 at 09:27 PM.

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1. Byron Buxton CF-Buxton is the Twins top rated fielding prospect and 2016 looks to be his chance to prove what he can do while being thrusted into the everyday CF job. Buxton has the arm, speed and range to be a excellent all star caliber defender but his bat is what needs to come around before he hits that all star level. Buxton need to Improve on his .209/.250/.326, 2 HR, 2 SB in 138 PA in 2015. But he was given the keys after hitting over .400 this spring and he gets his shot to be that all star player.

2. Jose Berrios SP- Berrios had a solid 2015 while pitching to a 2.87 ERA, 166.1 IP, 136 H, 38 BB, 175 K at Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Rochester. He was projected to start in Rochester this year but an injury to Tyler Duffy in spring training opened up a spot for the young hurler. There are two worries about Berios, they are durability and...durability. With his small frame with no chicken on his bones, injury concerns are a major factor. As of now he has been injury free and as long as he's healthy, he has ACE material. You will be seeing him pitching every five days to start the year for the Twins.

3. Max Kepler 1B/OF- Kepler had a very intriguing 2015 stat line hitting .318/.416/.531, 9 HR, 19 SB in 508 PA at High-A Fort Myers and Double-A Chattanooga. Kepler got the call up to the bigs Late in 2015 but hit a lousy 143/.143/.286, 0 HR, 0 SB in 7 PA. Where Kepler is going to play is still in flux, and we may not get the answer for a while. He�s a good enough athlete with strong enough instincts to play the corner outfield, but his arm is below average, and because he�s had issues with injuries, it might make more sense to move him to first to protect him. Obviously he�s more valuable in the outfield, but even if he is forced to move to first, above-average offensive tools give him a chance to be a very valuable regular. With Mauers contract coming to an end soon, Keplers future could be at 1B. Kepler will start the year batting clean up in Rochester this season but will be on the speed dial for the Twinkies.

4. Nick Gordon SS- Gordon prospect and grade wise could be the Twins best all around prospect, but he may have a year or two to wait to polish his game. Gordon's defense is already MLB caliber, it's his bat which he needs to Improve. He is being compared to Fransico Lindor as of right now and if he ends up like Lindor, it would be a win for the Twins. In 2015, Gordon slashed .277/.336/.360, 1 HR, 25 SB in 535 PA at Low-A Cedar Rapids. He will start the year with a promotion at Chattanooga this year as the every day SS while batting lead off. His plus speed helps make up for the lack of pop, and he could easily be a 30-40 stolen base guy as a regular When he reaches the pros.

5. Tyler Jay SP- Jay is someone to really watch this season for the Twins. Jay is easily the second best pitching prospect behind Berrios but he could easily be on the fast track to the pros. He has two things going for him. First, Berrios is starting with the Twins this year so he moves up as the top pitcher in the Twins organization. Secondly, he is a lefty....enough said. The Twins are shallow on lefties after the Milone release and Jay could fit that bill. Jay pitched to a 3.93 ERA, 18.1 IP, 18 H, 8 BB, 22 K at High-A Fort Myers in 2015. This year he was slated to start in Cnattanooga but with the Berrios promotion, he will start in Rochesters rotation. The question marks regarding Jay don�t regard stuff or command, but whether or not he�s going to be able to do it over 100-pitch outings. He doesn�t have ideal size, and the fact he pitched almost exclusively out of the bullpen in college means there�s not much track record here. Is there a chance he ends up pitching out of the bullpen? Absolutely, but Jay has the stuff to pitch in the middle of a rotation�and maybe higher.