2012 Minnesota Twins Prospects #4 Liam Hendriks

source: theaustralianbaseballdigest.mlblogs.com

4. Liam Hendriks, RHP, 23 years old

2011 stats: 12-6 with a 3.36 ERA  in 139.1 innings, with 111/21 K/BB for New Britain & Rochester
Last Year's Rank: 6
Acquired: Signed out of Perth, Australia in February 2007.

Fun fact about Liam Hendriks. He has only walked 60 guys in 375.2 minor league innings. That's 1.4 an inning. That's amazing! He's also struck out 343. That's an incredible 5.72 strikeouts per walk. In a system that preaches throwing strikes, Hendriks fits the Twins mold very well. It seems many Twins prospects fit a similar mold. On #6 Adrian Salcedo I wrote, "His other numbers have remained solid, but it is disturbing how much his K rate has dropped. Has he turned into a typical Twins pitcher". On #16 Tom Stuirbergen I wrote, "Stuifbergen always has a really good walk rate (Twins kind of guy) but his strikeout rate plummeted in 2011". On #32 Pat Dean, "He has four pitches including a low 90s fastball and doesn't walk too many guys. He definitely fits the Twins mold of pitching prospects". It isn't hard writing about Twins pitching prospects, many of them have similar abilities. Having said all of the, Hendriks is the best of the bunch and the most major league ready.

The Australian hurler made his debut in the GCL at 18 years of age, striking out 52 and walking 11 in 44 innings. After back surgery derailed his 2008 season, he came back from injury and made the 2009 Australian roster in the World Baseball Classic. After the WBC, he split the season between Elizabethtown and Beloit. He had a decent year with a 3.55 ERA, 75 strikeouts and 19 walks in 83.2 innings. In 2010, Hendriks returned to Beloit and dominated In 6 starts, (34 innings) striking out 39 and walking 4. He also only gave up 16 hits. This earned him a quick promotion to Fort Myers. In 74.2 innings there, he struck out 66 and walked 8. Hendriks was good again in 2011 going 8-2 with a 2.70 ERA with a 81/18 K/BB ratio in 90 innings for New Britain. The remainder of the year he started 9 games for Rochester, striking out 30 and walking 3 in 49.1 innings and he also made his major league debut.

Hendriks has been good at every level in the minors. He strikes out 8 per 9 innings and walks 1. His WHIP is always around 1.1. He is the Twinsiest of the Twins pitching prospects. Hendriks has 4 pitches, but no single dominating pitch. His fastball touches the low 90s and he also has a decent curve and change-up. He did get roughed up in his major league debut. He went 0-2 with a 6.17 ERA with 16/6 K/BB in 4 starts, but he was only 22 with less than a year above AA. He has looked pretty poised in his 2 starts this year but has had trouble sustaining success throughout the games. Hendriks will be counted on a lot this season. He's only 23 and he is going to have to be fine with his pitches to be successful, but his track record suggests he should be able to do it.

Ideal Scenario: Hendriks will probably spend most of the season in the majors due to injuries and ineffective options. He will take some lumps this year, but if he can maximize his abilities and continue to control his walk rate, he could be a middle rotation starter. He may be the de facto ace going into next season with all of the turnover expected in the off-season.

Path to the majors: Hendriks passed Gibson, Wimmers and Bromberg in the pecking order of Twins pitching due to injury and ineffectiveness. He's a major leaguer.


Hendriks seems like a pretty good dude and always has that "what me worry" look on his face, so I will root for him even more. Check out Hendriks prospect adoption on TwinsDaily and check out his "singing" with James Beresford





Check out the rest of the prospects here.

2012 Minnesota Twins Prospects #5 Eddie Rosario (Post 100)

source: milb.com

5. Eddie Rosario, 2B/OF, 20 years old

2011 stats: .337/.397/.670 with 21 HRs and 17 stolen bases in 23 attempts for Elizabethtown.
Last Year's Rank: 17
Acquired: Drafted by the Twins in the 4th round pick in 2010 June Major League Draft out of Rafael Lopez Landron High School in Guayama, Puerto Rico.


I really liked Rosario coming into the 2011 season. As an 18 year old in GCL, his .294/.343/.438 and 22 stolen bases made him a very decent looking prospect. He was drawing comparisons to Bobby Abreu when he was drafted.What I didn't expect is that Rosario's power would go as crazy as it did in 2011. In 298 plate appearances, Rosario belted 21 HRs as a 19 year old for Elizabethtown. His play upstaged his more heralded team-mate Miguel Sano. Both hit 20 HRs after only one other player had done so in the last 20 years of the Appalachian League. 


Coming into 2012, Rosario is also looking at a position change. With all of the outfield prospects and lack of infield prospects, he is being tried out at second base. If Rosario can play second base, he would definitely have a chance to move quickly through the system. Will Rosario be able to play second base? It will be interesting to see how he does there defensively and how his offense does in A-ball. Some good analysis on Rosario here a lot of it focused on his swing. There also seems to be a pattern of E-town inflating statistics. Rosario has a long way to go, but at 20 years old, I wouldn't dismiss how he did last year or his ability to refine his swing. He struck out in 20% of his plate appearances in rookie ball, so that is a little bit of a concern. A second baseman with power and speed anywhere near what Rosario has shown so far is very hot commodity.


Ideal scenario: Rosario can play second base. If he can stay at second defensively while hitting for good power, he will be on the fast track to Minnesota. He isn't going to be the 1.067 OPS guy we saw last year, but just continuing to show some power will move him quickly.


Path to the majors: If Rosario stays at second and keeps hitting, he could be with the Twins by 2014. If he is destined to be an outfielder, it will take longer. Look for him in 2015.


This is my 100th post at On the Road with Shawn and true to its name, I have been on the road, living in 3 states since my first post on September 7, 2009.

Check out my other work at minor league musings and my latest gig at Pucketts Pond. The rest of the top 50 continues here.

2012 Minnesota Twins Prospects #6 Adrian Salcedo

 (courtesy of minorleaguebaseball.com) 


6. Adrian Salcedo, Right-Handed Starter, 21 years old.

2011 Stats: 6-6 with a 2.93 ERA in 135 innings, with 92/27 K/BB for Class A Beloit.
Last year's rank: 8
Acquired: Signed out of Mocha, Dominican Republic in December 2007.

What would you say if I told you the Twins had a prospect that has a 2.76 ERA, strikes out 7.1/9 and only walks 1.5/9? He's a pitcher that gives up less than a hit per 9 and has only allowed 12 HRs in 359 minor league innings. This pitcher is only 21 years old and is 6'4". What if I also told you that he has a really good, mid 90s fastball, decent breaking pitch and change up? You'd probably say he is the Twins #1 prospect! He is Adrian Salcedo and his numbers jump off the screen....except that 7.1 K rate.

About that K rate. Salcedo struck out more 8 batters per 9 in rookie ball. In the 162.1 innings above rookie ball, Salcedo only struck out 108 entering this season. His other numbers have remained solid, but it is disturbing how much his K rate has dropped. Has he turned into a typical Twins pitcher?

Salcedo has been in the Twins system for a little while, but he is still only 21 years old. Scouts seem to like his stuff, but his pitches are a little bit inconsistent. Salcedo is still young, has generally been young for his level and he has never really struggled. Salcedo had all of the looks of a potential ace early in his career. He's a tall kid that still has room for a couple pounds and a couple miles on his fastball. It's a little early to dump dirt on his potential ace status, but if his 2011 numbers are more indicative of how his career will play out, he will still be a good pitcher.

Ideal scenario: Salcedo continues to throw strikes, but gets more swings and misses. He is only 21 and if he needs development time, spending all season in Fort Myers will be just fine. If he can get that strikeout rate around 8 per 9 innings in Fort Myers, he could be in-line for a late season promotion to New Britain.

Path to the majors: Salcedo is still a couple of years away and I hope the Twins take their time with him. Given the state of the major league pitching staff, he could be just a year and a half away of making his major league debut if he pitches well.

Check out prospect #7 here and check me out at puckettspond, which will become my primary home soon.

2012 Minnesota Twins Prospects #7 Aaron Hicks

(courtesy thesportsbank.net)

7. Aaron Hicks, Center field, 22 years old

2011 Stats: .242/.354/.368 with 5 HRs and 17 SB in 26 attempts for Fort Myers.
Last Year's Rank: 2
Acquired: Drafted by the Minnesota Twins 14th overall in the 2008 June Major League Draft out of Woodrow Wilson HS in Los Angeles.

Twins fans are historically a patient lot. Sure, there are fringe characters out there, but for the most part, the fan base is patient with its team and prospects. Will 2012 be the season that Twins fans run out of patience with Aaron Hicks? Hicks was considered the crown jewel of the system with his 5 tools and projectable frame, but as he begins his 5th year in the system, he isn't progressing the way many thought he would.

Hicks spent 2011 in Fort Myers after spending two years in Beloit. He has established very nice on-base skills and has gap power, but hasn't been able to generate home run power yet. He also gets caught stealing too much and strikes out too much. Hicks is still young. At 22 in AA, he will still be pretty young for the level, but is he slow to develop or are his flaws holding him back?

A great defensive CF with a .265/.375/.407 line and a 67% stolen base rate looks less like a 5 tool star and more like a 4th OF. What happens if Hicks has another year with a low .700s OPS? One argument has been to scrap switch hitting and have Hicks just hit right handed. In 2010 he hit .248/.383/.339 from the left side and .362/.449/.663 from the right side and in 2011 he had a .219/.349/.337 line from the left side and  .259/.342/.391 from the right. His splits were much more pronounced in 2010 but he has a better batting average and more power from the right side. While becoming a strict right handed hitter could improve his numbers, he'd also lose the righty/lefty advantage batting right-handed vs. a right-handed pitcher. He also is not used to hitting right-handed versus right-handed pitchers. He could also be returned to the mound. He was highly thought of as a high school pitcher with a 97 MPH fastball and if he looks to be a mediocre player, a switch to the mound might be in order.

Ideal scenario: Hope Hicks is a late bloomer. Hicks starts to put everything together (he is .250/.273/.550 through 6 games) and starts to develop those potential 20-20 tools in New Britain. Hopefully he can build on his Arizona Fall league .294/.400/.559. Torii Hunter had a .270/.334./417 line and Denard Span had a .286/.355/.356 line in the minors so there is still plenty of hope for Hicks. He's actually been better than both Hunter and Span were at age 22.

Path to the majors: The Twins have a good group of OFs ahead of Hicks right now, so the Twins can take their time with him. Span, Josh Willingham and Ben Revere in the majors and Joe Benson in AAA are all ahead of Hicks. If  Hicks starts to come around this year, it will give the Twins options to trade Denard Span or perhaps Hicks himself. Don't expect to see Hicks until late 2013.

Prospect #8 and the rest start here.

2012 Minnesota Twins Prospects #8 Kyle Gibson

8. Kyle Gibson, Right-Handed Starter, 24 years old.

2011 Stats: 3-8 with a 4.81 ERA in 95 innings, with 91/27 K/BB for AAA Rochester.
Last year's rank: 1
Acquired: Drafted by the Twins in the 1^st round (22) of the 2009 MLB June Amateur Draft out of University of Missouri.


Going into last season, Gibson was poised. He was our #1 prospect and he'd jumped three levels in 2010. He looked like he was almost ready to make the team. All he would need was a couple of months to fine tune in AAA and anyone of the Twins starters that fans had anointed as worthy replacement, those they felt were beneath Gibson's ability would be banished and Gibson would come in on a white horse to save the day. That didn't happen, then he got hurt.


Gibson had what looks like a rough year based on his record and ERA, but it really wasn't bad at all. He struck out 8.59 a game and only walked 2.55. He was hurt by the 11 HRs he gave up and the .339 BABIP. Gibson's numbers really took a hit in his last 3 starts when his elbow problems started to flare up. He gave up 16 earned runs in 14 innings, spiking his season ending ERA by almost a run. In his last start, he walked 5 (the most walks given up in his career) in 5 innings.


After his July 22nd start Gibson was shut down. The Twins went with their usual route of rehab for his torn ligament, before eventually opting for surgery on Sept 7th. Would having the surgery earlier have made an impact on Gibson's career? Probably not, but getting a little work in this year could help him get a little better feel his pitching and routine going into 2013. 


Ideal scenario: Gibson's rehab goes well and he is ready to go for 2013. The success rate of Tommy John has really increased and that is why he is still worthy of a top 10 ranking. 


Path to the majors: Assuming Gibson is fine, he probably should start the 2013 season in with a cup of coffee in AAA. With Francisco Liriano, Carl Pavano, Jason Marquis and Scott Baker all potentially leaving after the 2012 season (or sooner), Gibson will have to be considered one of the options to go north with the team out of spring in 2013.


Prospect #9 and the rest start here:


Also, check me out at my new gig on PuckettsPond here.

2012 Minnesota Twins Prospects #9 Brian Dozier

source: mlb.com

9. Brian Dozier, Shortstop, 24 years old

2011 stats: .320/.399/.491 with 9 HRs and 24 stolen bases in 35 attempts for Fort Myers & New Britain.
Last Year's Rank: NA
Acquired: Drafted by the Twins in the 8th round of the draft out of Southern Mississippi in 2009.

Dozier had a quite a year in 2011. After a combined .275/.350/.349 in Beloit and Fort Myers in 2010, Dozier started hot 2011. He put up a .322/.423/.472 line in his return to Fort Myers an early June promotion to New Britain. Dozier wasn't stopping there. He put up a nearly identical .318/.384/.502 line the rest of the season post promotion. His .502 slugging for New Britain was the highest he'd put up in his professional career. He showed a real increase in extra-base power in 2011 with 15 more doubles, 10 more triples and 4 more HRs than he had in 2011. His increase in Ks and decrease in BBs post promotion is a concern, but over-all his AA numbers were strong. He also had a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League with a .296/.358/.454 in 125 plate appearances.

Dozier has really established himself as a decent prospect who is close to the majors after a very soft 2010. He led the entire Twins organization in runs scored and triples. He also was a Florida State league mid-season all-star and the Twins minor league player of the year. He was also impressive this spring. He was one of the last cuts today as the Twins set their opening day roster.

Dozier certainly puts himself in the conversation as "next man in" for the Twins. But, similar to Chris Parmelee, Tom Powers has decided to gush uncontrollably over Dozier,

"Everyone seems convinced that Dozier is the next big thing. Of course, spring training is all about hope. If you can't get excited over a prospect in spring training, heck, you should be watching a different sport. But in this case, I really do think that "next" is going to be pretty darn quick."

Really Tom? Dozier certainly has had a nice run since the beginning of last season and has some speed, gap power and plays decent defense, but we're not talking about the second coming. Ron Gardenhire and many Twins fans love Dozier as well, while I see Dozier topping out as a middle of the road middle infielder. A Greg Gagne with a little more speed, a little more on-base skills and a little less defense. Dozier, like Levi Michael both benefit by being in a system with few decent middle infield prospects.

Ideal scenario: Dozier will seize this challenge of being sent to AAA. Continue to put up offensive numbers in the .850+ OPS range and get called up in June. If he's destined to be a plus major league player, I'd like to make sure the he doesn't become a super 2. There is really no need to have Dozier in the majors yet anyway.

Path to the majors: Dozier will be one of the first calls if there is an injury to either Alexi Casilla or Jamey Carroll. Since Dozier is not on the 40 man roster, there is a chance Nishioka could get the first call if he starts the season strong. Avoiding injury, Dozier will see time with the Twins in 2012.

Check out the rest of my top 50 starting here.