Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Prospects 41-50

Today I will be concluding my top 50 Twins prospects with prospects 41-50. I will be doing another one during the All-Star Break and Another after the season.

41. Evan Bigley- Evan was a 10th round pick of the Twins last summer and put up a good impression for E-town in his short time there. Impressively he hit .300 with 14 homeruns in a short season is awesome. I am surprised he is not talked about more, but since it was only a short season he needs to do it again and if he can do that I look for him to sky rocket up the charts. I look for him to get a new challenge this season in Beloit and see how he does.
2009: Outfielder for Beloit

42. Alex Soto- Another good catching prospect that the Twins are developing. He was signed by the Twins as a free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2005. He put up solid numbers at E-town last year hitting .276 with 10 homeruns when the playing time was divided pretty good. I think he needs to step it up because he has been slow developing and being 23 and only in rookie ball and needs to move quickly or won't be known as a prospect.
2009: Primary Catcher at Beloit

43. Steve Hirschfeld- He had a solid year between the starting rotation and the bullpen for Beloit last year. He won 10 games for the Snappers with a very respectable 3.30 era. He is 23 so he is old for his level and needs to make the Twins move him up in levels to keep prospect status. I look for him to move up to Fort Myers this year and be a swing guy for them just like he was for Beloit.
2009: Starter for Fort Myers

44. Philip Humber- Philip has yet to live up to the promise that the Mets thought they were getting when they drafted him 3rd overall in the 2005 draft. He was on his way until Arm Surgery cost him a year. He is out of options so I think he will be the long man for the Twins this year, but I wouldn't expect him to be much more than a fringe major leaguer.
2009: Reliever for the Twins

45. Mitire Garcia- He is a interesting prospect who I do not know a whole lot about. I know he is only 19 years old and is a long way away. However, he was very good in the GCL last year. He went 2-2 with a 2.91era so the talent is there. I want to see how he builds off last year and see how long till he builds on what he did last year and becomes a more consistant pitcher.
2009: Starter for E-town

46. Edward Ovalle- He was very solid for Fort Myers last year. He doesn't do alot of things exceptional, but he does most things very well. Last year he hit .284 with 7 homeruns. He is a very versatile outfielder playing all 3 positions. I view him as a utility outfielder in the future.
2009: Outfielder for Fort Myers

47. Ryan Mullins- He was probably the most consistant pitcher for New Britain last year. He went 9-9 with a 4.31 era. My view of him is his future is as a lefthanded specialist. He did a good job against lefty's last year. I think he will be a starter for New Britain again and also do some relieving for the Rock Cats
2009: 4th year with New Britain

48. Tyler Ladendorf- He was a high draft pick by the Twins last year and really struggled. The Twins drafted him 2nd round last year out of Howard College. They liked his frame and athleticism. However, those qualities did not really show up last year as he hit only .204 with 1 homerun. He has all the tools and could be a good player for a long time. I'm curious how he will respond to probably his first adversity he has ever had on a baseball field.
2009: Shortstop for the GCL Twins

49. Santos Arias- He put up some pretty good numbers for Beloit last year. He started as a starter but I think he found his true calling as a closer. He has very good stuff and was much more effective coming out of the bullpen. I look for the Snappers to use him as their closer again and for him to take off in that role.
2009: Closer for Beloit

50. Zack Ward- Zack came over in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds and impressed for half the season until he ran out of gas at the end. The first 3/4 of the season he was really filthy and put up good numbers for New Britain. I look for him to continue to do what he did and only improve on it.
2009: Reliever for New Britain