Astros 30-21

I started the top 50 Astros prospects almost 3 weeks ago. i have only posted the first 20. I've been slacking. I moved to Texas from NY state in November and have been enjoying this much better winter weather.

Anyway, 50-41 and 40-31 are also available.

The formula for how I came upon this top 50 is included below:

For hitters I used OPS as my control. This is the formula I used: OPS +.025 per level above GCL +/- .025 for every year above or below age 22 by August 2009 + .025 for CF/SS/C + .025 for base stealers. I also perused the total numbers to look for anomalies and at this point I favored the higher hyped prospects.

For pitchers I used WHIP as my control. This is the formula I used: WHIP -.05 per level above GCL +/- .05 for every year above or below 22 by August 2009 -.2 for starters. I also favored those with high K/9 rates and gave a break to those with higher BABIP (batting average of balls in play), because they may have been unlucky. I perused the total numbers to look for anomalies and at this point I favored the higher hyped prospects.

I am not completely happy with this list. I relied too much on the formula and it let me down a little. That is the method I used to learn the organization however, and I am following it through.


30. Jonathan Fixler Catcher 6/13/1986.
He was drafted by the Astros in the 19th round out of Indiana U. in 2007. He batted .203/.275/.429 between Lancaster and Corpus Christi. His at-bats have been limited, but he is a catcher with some power. He is also blocked by Jason Castro at the catcher position. If he could improve his OBP he could be a useful major leaguer. Doesn't probably make a regular top 50 but he has power at a premium position.

29. J.R. Towles Catcher 2/11/1984.
He was drafted by the Astros in the 20th round out of North Central JC in TX in 2004. He batted .276/.386/.455 for Round Rock in part time duty. He threw out 27% of would be stealers. He has fair offensive numbers and I'm surprised he isn't used at other positions to get his bat in the lineup. He could be in the mix as a backup catcher in 2010. I met him a couple of weeks ago and he seemed like a nice kid. His autograph is below.

28. Collin DeLome Outfield 12/18/1985.
He was drafted by the Astros out of Lamar, University in 2007. He batted .255/.323/.465 in AA Corpus Christi. He has good power and some speed but needs to improve his average and OBP. The power is there to be a major league corner already.

27. James Van Ostrand 1B/OF 8/7/1984.
He was drafted by the Astros in the 8th round out of Cal Poly in 2006. He batted .283/.364/.469 for AA Corpus Christi. He had a jump in power and improved his OBP and might have had the kind of breakout he'll need to be a good major league player. If he can improve on his 09 he'll be a solid major league bat.

26. Robert Bono Starter 12/12/1988.
He was drafted by the Astros in the 11th round in 2007 out of Waterford, Connecticut. He went 10-8 with a 3.20 ERA in 25 starts/143.1 innings for Lexington, giving up 158 hits while striking out 66 and walking just 19. He's young and already has great control. If he can keep his walk rate down while also improving his K and hit rate some, he would profile as a back of the rotation starter. As a Twins fan, his numbers remind me of Nick Blackburn.

Bono was actually traded to the Florida Marlins in December...... bet he would rank lower than 26th in their system.

25. Rapheal Pio Relief Pitcher 1/9/1988.
He was signed by the Astros out of Quisqueya, Dominican Republic in 2005. He went 1-4 with a 3.12 ERA in 43.1 innings for the Gulf Coast Astros, giving up 33 hits while striking out 41 and walking 10. It will be interesting to see if he can keep his hit rate down as he moves up. If he can, he could be a good middle reliever.

24. Jay Austin Centerfield 8/10/1990.
He was drafted by the Astros in the 2nd round out of North Atlanta HS in 2008. He batted .297/.320/.360 in Lexington, stealing 23 bases in 36 attempts. He's very young and very highly regarded by the organization. He has a lot of speed but is very raw. Lists that account more for upside than track record have him ranked much higher.

23. Polin Trinidad Lefty Starter 11/19/1984.
He was signed by the Astros out of El Selbo, Dominican Republic in 2002. He went 13-10 with a 3.76 ERA in 26 starts/170 innings for AA Corpus Christi and AAA Round Rock, giving up 177 hits while striking out 112 and walking only 35. Good walk rate, could be a 5th starter/long reliever as soon as 2010.

22. Samuel Gervacio Reliever 1/10/1985.
He was signed by the Astros out of Sabana de la Mar, Dominican Republic in 2002. He went 2-2 with a 4.82 ERA in 52.1 innings for AAA Round Rock, giving up 43 hits while striking out 58 and walking 21. He made his MLB debut in 09 going 1-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 21 innings, striking out 25 and walking 8. Was an impressive debut. He needs to work on his control but, could be the future closer.

21. Jack Shuck Outfield 6/18/1987.
He was drafted by the Astros in the 6th round out of Ohio St. in 2008. He batted .315/.389/.403 in Lancaster, stealing 18 bases in 27 attempts. He has good speed (11 triples) and a good contact and walk rate. He doesn't have much power for a corner outfield spot but could be a future leadoff or #2 hitter.

I expect to get the next 10 out sooner than 15 days.

Astros prospects 40-31

Another Installment of Astros prospects. Have learned from Astros'  fans to discount the OPS numbers in High A. Clack, posting at The Crawfish Boxes suggested minorleaguesplits.com, which will be handy in the future. Thanks for the heads up man!

If you missed the 50-41, they can be found here.

The formula for how I came upon this top 50 is included below:

For hitters I used OPS as my control. This is the formula I used: OPS +.025 per level above GCL +/- .025 for every year above or below age 22 by August 2009 + .025 for CF/SS/C + .025 for base stealers. I also perused the total numbers to look for anomalies and at this point I favored the higher hyped prospects.

For pitchers I used WHIP as my control. This is the formula I used: WHIP -.05 per level above GCL +/- .05 for every year above or below 22 by August 2009 -.2 for starters. I also favored those with high K/9 rates and gave a break to those with higher BABIP (batting average of balls in play), because they may have been unlucky. I perused the total numbers to look for anomalies and at this point I favored the higher hyped prospects.

40. Ross Seaton Starter 9/18/1989.
He was drafted by the Astros in the 3rd round in 2008 out of Second Baptist (HS) Texas. He went 8-10 with a 3.29 ERA in 24 starts/136.2 innings for Class A Lexington, giving up 137 hits, while striking out 88 and walking 39. He's very young and has shown a 94 MPH fastball and good slider, but if he doesn't improve his hit rate or strikeout rate, he will have to walk less guys to have a shot in an MLB starting staff.
 
39. Brandon Barnes Outfielder 5/15/1986.
He was drafted by the Astros in the 6th round in 2005 out of Cypress College. He batted .273/.322/.471 over 2 A levels and AA. His .523 SLG in hitter friendly Lancaster, over 291 plate appearances, inflated his numbers some. If he can improve his walk rate, he could be a 4th OF or league average MLB corner outfielder.
 
 38. Emilio King Outfielder 8/17/1989.
He was signed by the Astros out of Samana, Dominican Republic in 2006. He batted .254/.399/.384 for the Gulf Coast Astros. He also stole 8 bases in 9 tries. Looks to be very raw, with some speed, gap power, and walks a little, but at 20 years old, he still has time to refine his skills.

37. John Frawley Reliever 11/29/1985.
He was signed by the Astros out of the University of North Florida in 2009. He went 2-0 with a .90 ERA in 20 innings for the Gulf Coast Astros, giving up 18 hits, while striking out 25 and walking 0. There is not a lot to go on so far, but his brief numbers in rookie ball are out of sight. It will be interesting to see how he does against tougher competition. Could be a real find for the organization or just a blip.

36. Enrique Hernandez SS-2B 8/24/1991.
He was drafted by the Astros in the 6th round in 2009 out of American Military Academy in Puerto Rico. He batted .295/.336/.396 for GCL Astros. He stole 8 bases in 10 tries. It was a good debut for a very young player with tools. Has a long way to go but also has a high ceiling.

35. Douglas Arguello Lefty Starter 12/21/1984.
He was signed by the Astros out of Minagua, Nicoragua in 2001. He went 3-4 with a 3.36 ERA in 75 innings for AA Corpus Christi, giving up 70 hits while striking out 55 and walking 26. He doesn't strike out enough and walks too many guys. He might be better suited as a reliever.

34. Chris Johnson Third Base 10/1/1984.
He was drafted by the Astros in the 6th round in 2006 out of Stetson University. He batted .281/.323/.461 for AAA Round Rock. He made his MLB debut in 2009. He has decent power, but needs to improve his discipline. He could be in the mix for the major league roster in 2010.

33. Michael Schurz Reliever 9/12/1986.
He was drafted by the Astros in the 44th round in 2009 out of the University of Iowa. He went 3-0 with a 1.52 ERA in 29.2 innings between GCL Astros and Tri-City, giving up 19 hits while striking out 37 and walking 13. Has good hit and K numbers, could be a dominant reliever if he could walk less.

32. Matt Weston First Base 5/20/1984.
He was originally drafted by the Giants in 2006 and spent 2008 in an independent Canadian league. He batted .300/.374/.572 for Class A Lancaster. Showed some nice power in a power-happy league. How he does when he moves up to AA will determine if he has a chance to make the majors some day.

31. Brad Dydalewicz Lefty Starter 3/24/1990.

He was drafted by the Astros in the 8th round in 2008 out of Lake Travis HS in Austin, TX. He went 8-5 with a 3.93 ERA in 22 starts/110 innings for Class A Lexington, giving up 93 hits, striking out 78 and walking 51. He's left handed, throws 95 and not yet 20. Numbers aside, I'd have ranked him higher, but he needs to walk less guys. Having never heard of him until now, i'd say he has a chance to be a future ace, but he has a long road to get to that point.

That's it for now, stay tuned for the next 10.

Catching Up

First things first: Did anyone hear about Mark McGwire? He used steroids or something? Who knew? All along, the talking heads have wanted this guy to apologize. Now that he has apologized he is just getting a new round of scorn. On XM175 this afternoon, Casey Stern didn't think McGwire should be allowed to coach for the Cardinals. Apparently the supposed crimes he committed against baseball should prevent him from being anywhere near the game. Seriously? He did what many others did and it wasn't really discouraged by the game. Did he gain personally? Sure. His he probably given all of that gain back and then some for all of this "outrage"? You bet. My favorite writer Joe Posnanski sums up my feelings best here. After you read that, go buy his books. "The Soul of Baseball" chronicles a year plus he spent on the road with Buck O'Neil and "The Machine" about the 1975 Cincinnati Reds. The O'Neil book may be the greatest book I've ever read.

I am starting a top 50 of Houston Astros prospects here. Or you can check it out at Crawfish Boxes.... The Astros version of Twinkie Town here. The locals there passed on some information about the Astros High A stadium and that entire league. It is such a bandbox, I had to normalize the OPS for that league for future lists. I am ranking their prospects the same way I ranked the Twins.  I spoke about my top ten Twins prospects on Sethspeaks podcast here after Kevin Goldstein talked about his own top 11. John Sickels released his Top 20 Astros list here. The system is not very good, the Twins system has many more high end prospects.

Some other Twins prospect lists:
Baseball America's Top Ten. And Andrew Kneeland's response here.

Josh Johnson is working from 50 down to 1 and is at #38 currently.

Andrew Kneeland just finished his Top 50.

I stole from Seth Speaks latest post a list by Matt from Minor League Baseball Prospects. He posted a Top 40.

There are many more out there to choose from. You can do a google search, look at sites the above posters link to, or the guys I have linked on the left side of my blog.


This blog has been around 5 months now and I'm still getting my feet wet. If this is your first time here, Thank You!! The writing has been inconsistent but, here are a few highlights you might have missed:

The best of Punto. A topic driven post (I didn't have any ideas). I asked my fiance' what she wanted me to write about, she wanted Punto.

My baseball Superstitions.

My best and worst Twins memories.

That's it for now. I will finish up my next Astros prospect list shortly. I will leave you with a signature on a banner at my place of employment.

This is on a 2005 National League Champions banner in my breakroom. Pretty cool!

Astros prospects 50-41

I have decided to tackle the Astros prospect list. I have previously tackled the Twins top 50 prospects here. The Twins are my favorite team, but recently, I have move to Texas and am in the employ of Drayton McLane. Since I am being exposed to the Astros anyway, I figured I might as well learn their prospects. Prospect lists can be found on most any baseball blog this time of year, so I am not breaking new ground here. I have decided to rank the prospects with as little media influence as possible. Prospects are not going to be ranked based on hype but on what they have done since they have entered the Astros organization. Since I don't yet know many of these players, this was a good way to learn the system. I am also not familiar with most of the leagues these teams play, so there is a chance I could have missed some league adjusted finer points. Most of the numbers considered are from the 2009 season.


The formula for how I came upon this top 50 is included below:

For hitters I used OPS as my control. This is the formula I used: OPS +.025 per level above GCL +/- .025 for every year above or below age 22 by August 2009 + .025 for CF/SS/C + .025 for base stealers. I also perused the total numbers to look for anomalies and at this point I favored the higher hyped prospects.

For pitchers I used WHIP as my control. This is the formula I used: WHIP -.05 per level above GCL +/- .05 for every year above or below 22 by August 2009 -.2 for starters. I also favored those with high K/9 rates and gave a break to those with higher BABIP (batting average of balls in play), because they may have been unlucky. I perused the total numbers to look for anomalies and at this point I favored the higher hyped prospects.

50. Brian Wabick Reliever 8/3/1987.
He was drafted by the Astros in the 34th round in 2007 out of Oakton Community College. He went 7-3 with a 3.96 ERA in 86.1 innings for Low A Lexington, giving up 87 hits while striking out 66 and walking 21. He had decent numbers and if he could improve his strikeout rate, he could be an effective reliever.

49. Frank Almonte Outfield 1/24/1989.
He was signed in 2006 out of Santiago, Dominican Republic. He batted .246/.314/.428 for Greenville in the Appalachian League. He's shown a little power but needs to improve his walk rate and strikeout rate to have a chance to move very far.

48. Kyle Greenwalt Starter 9/29/1988.
He was drafted by the Astros in the 20th round in 2007 out of Sellersville, PA. He went 8-13 with a 4.20 ERA in 25 starts/139.1 innings for Low A Lexington, giving up 154 hits while striking out 90 and walking 28. Perhaps has a chance at a backend starter.

47. Miguel Arrendell Infield/DH 3/26/1988.
He was signed by the Astros in 2006 out of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. He batted .235/.394/.368 for Greenville. He walks a TON. He needs to hit more or for more power. It would help if he could stay playing in the infield.

46. Kyle Godfrey Reliever 2/6/1986.
He was drafted by the Astros in the 13th round in 2008 out of Hiwassee Junior College. He went 1-4 with a 2.81 ERA in 51.1 innings between A ball Tri-City and Lexington, giving up 47 hits while striking out 41 and walking 12. He doesn't give up too many hits or walk too many. He could be a serviceable middle reliever.

45. Marcos Cabral Shortstop/Infield 4/4/1984.
He was drafted by the Mets in the 31st round in 2002 out of Broward Community College. He batted .298/.358/.461 for high A Lancaster. He has decent power and a decent walk rate, but is going to be 26 and just finished a season in High A. He was not successful in small stints above A-ball for Toronto. This will be a big year for Marcos.

44. Patrick Urckfitz Lefty Reliever 7/21/1988.
He was signed by the Astros in 2008 out of Monroe Community College. He went 4-2 with a 2.81 ERA in 57.2 innings between Class A Lexington and Lancaster, giving up 53 hits while striking out 49 and walking 18. He will most likely top out as a LOOGY.

43. Thomas Manzella Shortstop 4/16/1983.
He was drafted by the Astros in the 3rd round in 2005 out of Tulane University. He batted .289/.339/.417 for AAA Round Rock. He made his major league debut in 2009 and should be in the mix for shortstop or as a bench infielder.

42. Kirk Clark Reliever 7/19/1988.
He was signed by the Astros in 2009 out of Creighton University. He went 2-0 with a 189 ERA in 19 innings in Tri-City, giving up 14 hits while striking out 24 and walking 3. Not a lot to go on just yet, but a good start to his pro career.

41. Erik Castro Infield 11/13/1987.
He was drafted by the Astros in the 10th round in 2009 out of San Diego St. He batted .266/.351/.453 for Tri-City. He has a good walk rate and some power. If he improves on both, he could be a decent MLB player in a few years.

That's it for now. The write-ups are pretty general, but this list is stats run anyway.

Comments welcome.

Merry Christmas

I'd just like to send a quick Merry Christmas to my readers, you 3 know who you are. I appreciate the Twins blog community that has supported me, all of my friends that check out this blog, perhaps out of guilt, and I especially appreciate one of my most dedicated readers in Towanda, PA. This reader can find this blog using many different methods. :)

I am working on some posts for the coming weeks. I will do a Houston Astros top 50 prospects, since I am trying to learn my boss' team. I will use the same method I used on the Twins top 50. I may use this method for a top 50 prospects of the American League Central (thanks Seth Stohs for the idea). I plan a look at the Twins 40 man (probably a re-look at a prior 40 man post). I am doing some research on a story about Dutch baseball as well. I also plan some posts that involve my usual crap, you know 2 sentences and a youtube clip.

2009 was a tough year but 2010 will be great.

Again, Merry Christmas!

Shawn

For now, I leave you with this! Go Twins! May the beard live on!

prospects 10-1

Thanks to Seth of www.SethSpeaks.net for having me on his show at www.BlogTalkRadio.com/SethSpeaks tonight, to speak about this blog post. Check his blog and podcasts out if you have not already!

Finally, the prospect list will finish..... Until I rationalize some that didn't make the list. Before I start the list I will mention some notables that didn't make it. Most of the 2009 draft picks didn't have enough or any stats to qualify under this formula. Kyle Gibson, Billy Bullock, Matt Bashore, and Ben Tootle would make my Top 50, Gibson my top 10. 2009 Free agent signee's: Miguel Sano (Jean) would make my top 10 and Max Kepler would make my top 50. Guys like Carlos Gutierrez, Loek Van Mil, and Steve Tolleson would also make my subjective top 50. A guy like Trevor Plouffe, I'm not so sure. He is still rather young, but his numbers are really very good. I will do a quick subjective list mostly using these numbers in the future.
Today, we finish up with the top 10 prospects. If you are catching up, I did 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, & 20-11 already.

The formula for how I came upon this top 50 is included below:

For hitters I used OPS as my control. This is the formula I used: OPS +.025 per level above GCL +/- .025 for every year above or below age 22 by August 2009 + .025 for CF/SS/C + .025 for base stealers. I also perused the total numbers to look for anomalies and at this point I favored the higher hyped prospects.

For pitchers I used WHIP as my control. This is the formula I used: WHIP -.05 per level above GCL +/- .05 for every year above or below 22 by August 2009 -.2 for starters. I also favored those with high K/9 rates and gave a break to those with higher BABIP (batting average of balls in play), because they may have been unlucky. I perused the total numbers to look for anomalies and at this point I favored the higher hyped prospects.

10. Andrei Lobanov Lefty Reliever 1/25/1990.

He was signed in 2007 out of Moscow, Russia. He went 2-1 with a .82 ERA in 15 appearance/22 innings for the Gulf Coast Twins, giving up 14 hits while striking out 35 and walking 1!!!!!. Such gaudy numbers should come back to the pack as he faces tougher competition. Amid reports that his fastball only hits the mid 80s, it can be expected that his numbers will probably off. He has had no problems so far and as a prospect, he has to be up there until it is proven otherwise.

9. Danny Valencia Third Base 9/19/1984.
He was a Twins 19th round draft pick in 2006 out of the University of Miami. He batted .285/.337/.466 between New Britain and Rochester. He is considered one of the most MLB ready Twins prospects, however, there seems to be a major divide on how ready he really is. I have heard reports that some in the organization think he can play in the MLB right now and some saying he won't be ready until 2011. His numbers fell off in the last month in Rochester and he had some trouble with his defense. I have seen him play 3-4 times in AA and AAA. I saw a guy who, in my mind, was very close to MLB caliber. The team is going to search for a short term fix at third, but they might be better served just handing the job to Valencia.

8. Tom Stuifbergen Starter 9/26/1988.
He was signed in 2006 out of Breda, Netherlands. He went 5-2 with a 3.28 ERA in 13 starts/79.2 innings for Elizabethtown, giving up 79 hits while striking out 69 and walking 6. Seriously 6!!!!! He also started against the Dominican Republic in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He went 4 innings, striking out 3 and giving up no runs in a win. He missed all of the 2008 season but has shown that he has a very high ceiling. You don't just shut the Dominican Republic all stars out without having some stones! I'm looking forward to seeing how his career plays out. As an aside, I sent him this profile and he approved it. :)

7. Bradley Tippett Starter 2/11/1988.
He was signed in 2006 out of Sidney, Australia. He went 9-8 with a 3.21 ERA in 25 appearances/24 starts/146 innings for Beloit, giving up 131 hits while striking out 107 and walking 25. He doesn't throw very hard, reports are a fastball in the high 80s, but has great control. If he can continue to strike out a fair amount of hitters and keep the hits under one per inning he has to be considered one of the better Twins starter prospects.

6. Alex Burnett Relief Pitcher 7/26/1987.
He was a Twins 12th round draft pick in 2005 out of Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach, California. He went 3-3 with a 1.85 ERA in 58 appearances/78 innings between Fort Myers and New Britain, giving up 50 hits while striking out 78 and walking 26. He was on the path to being an ordinary starter, but was switched to relief for the 2009 season. He is now the Twins top relief prospect going into the 2010 season. Smart move by the Twins brass.

5. Angel Morales Center Fielder/OF 11/24/1989.
He was a Twins 3rd round draft pick in 2007 out of Puerto Rico Baseball Academy High School. He batted .266/.329/.455 for Beloit with 19 stolen bases in 25 attempts. He started the year really slow, after having a monster year in Elizabethtown in 2008, but came on later in the season. He has a rare combination of speed and power, but has some work left in his game. He needs to continue to reduce his strikeout rate. I look for him to have a big year in 2010. He is the Twins prospect I am most excited to see play.

4. Joe Benson Outfield 3/5/1988.
He was a Twins 2nd round draft pick in 2006 out of Joliet Catholic Academy in Joliet, Illinois. He batted .285/.414/.403 for Fort Myers with 14 stolen bases in 21 attempts. He's got speed and he takes walks. He is developing into a prototypical leadoff or #2 hitter. He's another of many high-end outfield prospects in the Twins organization.

3. Adrian Salcedo Starter 4/24/1991.
He was signed in 2007 out of Moca, Dominican Republic. He went 3-2 with a 1.46 ERA in 11 appearances/10 starts/61.2 innings for the Gulf Coast Twins, giving up 60 hits while striking out 58 and walking just 3. 3!!!!!! He also was a little unlucky, giving up a .334 BABIP and a 64% left on base rate. An 18 year old that only walks one guy per 20 innings is the Twins organization's dream. He also gets more than twice as many groundouts as fly outs. I don't know alot about his stuff or his makeup, but he has great raw numbers so far.

2. Wilson Ramos Catcher 8/10/1987.
He was signed in 2004 out of Valencia, Venezuela. He batted .317/.341/.454 for New Britain. He is also a good defensive catcher, throwing out 41% of would be base stealers last season. I think he is ready to play in the majors right now. Joe Mauer is blocking him and if Joe agrees to an extension, Ramos will most likely be traded. Wilson must sense he is about to make it to the majors, he is batting .352/.418/.598 in winter ball. Those are Mauer-like numbers. He has been slightly injury-prone and he also doesn't walk very much. I have seen him play a couple times in AA and he was impressive. I am looking forward to seeing him play in the majors really soon.

1. Josmil Pinto Designated Hitter/Catcher 3/31/1989.
He was signed in 2006 out of San Joaquin, Venezuela. He batted .332/.387/.610 for Elizabethtown. He threw out 46% of would be stealers, but is not otherwise known as a great defensive catcher. He may be best as a DH. His year in E-town was off the charts offensively and he is still pretty young, but Angel Morales had an even better year in E-town the year before, but struggled in Beloit in 2009. It will be interesting to see how his offense translates at the higher levels and if he stays at catcher. He has alot of power and doesn't strike out that much. The organization will have a home for his bat, position be damned.

I don't know if it is a good thing or not, but only 1 prospect out of this top 50 was traded from another organization.

My prospects 20-11

I'd like to start today by thanking not only my readers, but also the Twins blog community. Many of the blogs I follow are on the left of my postings, check them out if you haven't already. Unless you have come to this blog because you know me personally, you've probably read most of them already. I'd like to thank those that have included me on their blog roll as well. I'd especially like to thank Topper Anton. Check out Topper Anton's blog "Curve for a Strike". He recently did a post on me here. The Twins blog communtiy has alot of great voices, check them all out.

Today, we will do the prospects 20-11. If you are catching up, I did 50-41, 40-31, and 30-21 already.
The formula for how I came upon this top 50 is included below:

For hitters I used OPS as my control. This is the formula I used: OPS +.025 per level above GCL +/- .025 for every year above or below age 22 by August 2009 + .025 for CF/SS/C + .025 for base stealers. I also perused the total numbers to look for anomalies and at this point I favored the higher hyped prospects.

For pitchers I used WHIP as my control. This is the formula I used: WHIP -.05 per level above GCL +/- .05 for every year above or below 22 by August 2009 -.2 for starters. I also favored those with high K/9 rates and gave a break to those with higher BABIP (batting average of balls in play), because they may have been unlucky. I perused the total numbers to look for anomalies and at this point I favored the higher hyped prospects.

20. Tyler Robertson Left-handed Starter 12/23/1987.
He was a Twins 3rd round draft pick in 2006 out of Belle Vista High School in Fair Oaks, California. He went 8-8 with a 3.33 ERA in 26 starts/143.1 innings for Fort Myers, giving up 139 hits while striking out 103 and walking 51. He profiles as a backend starter, but he can improve that profile by improving his walk rate.

19. Deolis Guerra Starter 4/17/1989.
He was acquired by the Twins in 2008 as part of the Johann Santana trade. He went 12-11 with a 4.89 ERA in 28 appearances/26 starts/149 innings between Fort Myers and New Britain, giving up 157 hits while striking out 106 and walking 42. He was the key prospect in the Santana trade, but has been very ordinary since he came to the Twins. His delivery was changed in 2008 and he is still very young. I have seen him in person; he has a nice breaking pitch and change up. If he could get his fastball velocity closer to 95 again, he could still be an ace someday. 2010 will be a big year for him.

18. Rob Delaney Reliever 9/8/1984.
He was signed in 2006 out of St. John's University. He went 8-4 with a 3.44 ERA in 62 appearances/83.2 innings between New Britain and Rochester, giving up 75 hits while striking out 78 and walking 21. He is one of the Twins top reliever prospects. He has a similar profile and similar upside to Anthony Slama. What ranks him higher than Slama (#30) on this list is the lower amount of walks. Both have chances of being decent or better major leaguers. Slama has more dominant stuff, but Delaney walks less batters.

17. Steven Hirschfeld Starter/Reliever 9/8/1985.
He was a Twins 9th round draft pick in 2007 out of San Diego St. He went 7-7 with a 2.23 ERA in 32 appearances/17 starts/117 innings for Fort Myers, giving up 93 hits while striking out 86 and walking 31. He starts and relieves. He does well in either role. He doesn't give up a ton of hits or walk many guys. Whether he is used as a starter or reliever, in his probable start AA, will be the key to his future.

16. Blayne Weller Starter 1/30/1990.
He was a Twins 14th round draft pick in 2008 out of Key West High School. He went 5-1 with a 1.58 ERA in 11 appearances/10 starts/57 innings pitched for the Gulf Coast Twins, giving up 46 hits while striking out 49 with 8 walks. He has excellent numbers early in his professional career.

15. Aaron Hicks Centerfield 10/2/1989.
He was a Twins 1st round draft pick in 2008 out of Wilson High School in Long Beach California. He went .251/.535/.382 with 10 stolen bases out of 18 tries for Beloit. He is considered by most as the Twins #1 prospect. I'd rank him in the top 5 for sure if I was just using potential, but he did not have a great year in 2009. He has all of the potential in the world and I expect a better year in 2010.

14. Rene Tosoni Outfield 6/2/1986.
He was a Twins 36th round draft pick in 2005 out of Toronto, Canada. He went .271/.360/.454 for New Britain. He found some HR power in 2009, vaulting him up the prospect rankings. I attended 4 or 5 of his games in 2009; he was usually the best player on the field for New Britain. He has a decent shot of a September call up in 2010. He could also get called up if there is a serious injury or lack of productivity by one of the outfielders. Long term, he doesn't profile as better than the 3 current Twins outfielders. He also doesn't have as much upside as some of the outfielders behind him. Most of his major league career would probably be in another organization.

13. B.J. Hermsen Starter 12/1/1989.
He was a Twins 6th round draft pick in 2008 out of Masonville, Iowa. He went 6-2 with a 1.35 ERA in 10 starts/53.1 innings pitched for the Gulf Coast Twins, giving up 32 hits while striking out 42 with 4 walks. 4!!!!! His WHIP was .68!!!!! If he can continue to pitch anywhere close to this well as he moves up, he will be a star.

12. Chris Parmelee First Base/Outfield 2/24/1988.
He was a Twins 1st round draft pick in 2006 out of Chino Hills high school (CA). He batted .258/.359/.441 for Fort Myers. He has good power and a good walk rate. His prospect has slipped a little due to injury, but is still one of the Twins better power prospects.

11. David Bromberg Starter 9/14/1987.
He was a Twins 32nd round draft pick in 2005. He went 13-4 with a 2.70 ERA in 27 appearances/26 starts/153.1 innings pitched for Fort Myers, giving up 125 hits while striking out 148 with 63 walks. He was the Twins minor league pitcher of the year in 2009. He had a great year and is one of the Twins top starter prospects, but he needs to walk a few less guys to be a top of the rotation starter.