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2010 Top 20 Minnesota Twins Prospects In Review

2010 Top 20 Minnesota Twins Prospects in Review

Here is a review of the 2010 Twins prospect list, originally published October 19, 2025. THIS IS A REVIEW OF THE OLD LIST AND PRE-SEASON GRADES. THIS IS NOT A NEW LIST. The new list with new grades won't be ready until I start writing the 2011 book.

Star-divide

 

1) Aaron Hicks, OF, Grade B+: Hitting .270/.388/.411 with 65 walks, 14 steals in 24 attempts for Low-A Beloit. Got off to a slow start, has hit better over the last month. Draws a lot of walks, but also strikes out a lot and power hasn't blossomed. Still young, but stock has dropped a bit.

2) Ben Revere, OF, Grade B:  Hitting .297/.363/.349 for Double-A New Britain, 31 steals. Still hitting for a good average and showing speed, but lack of power is obvious and could end up being a significant handicap. Stock flat to slightly down.

3) Kyle Gibson, RHP, Grade B-: Brilliant run in High-A (1.87 ERA in seven starts) resulted in Double-A promotion, where he's been inconsistent, with a 3.81 ERA and a 66/21 K/BB in 80 innings. Gets lots of grounders, a successful season but not as spectacular as it looked at first.

4) Wilson Ramos, C, Grade B-:  .241/.280/.345 in Triple-A, went 8-for-27 in major league trial. Looks very strong defensively but poor plate discipline holds bat back. Traded to Washington Nationals.

5) Adrian Salcedo, RHP, Grade B-: Got killed in six starts for High-A Fort Myers, but he's just 19. Sent back to Appy League and has pitched well, 3.16 ERA in eight starts with 55/6 K/BB in 51 innings.

6) Billy Bullock, RHP, Grade B-: 21 saves, 3.72 ERA with 76/35 K/BB in 56 innings between High-A and Double-A. Needs to get the walks down, but overpowering.

7) Angel Morales, OF, Grade C+ Hitting a combined .285/.365/.416 between Low-A and High-A, with 24 steals. Slugged .474 at Beloit but just .333 at Fort Myers. Plate discipline remains his biggest problem.

8) Danny Valencia, 3B, Grade C+: Hit .292/.347/.373 for Triple-A Rochester, then .388/.442/.495 in 33 games so far for the Twins. He's not really that good, but this performance ensures he'll get plenty of chances.

9) Chris Parmalee, OF-1B, Grade C+: .338/.430/.463 for Fort Myers in 22 games, .271/.328/.395 in 78 games for New Britain, although he has been very hot in July. Sharp platoon split stands out.

10) Miguel Sano, SS, Grade C+:  .289/.321/.487 in 20 games for the GCL Twins, with a 3/23 BB/K in 76 at-bats. His potential is huge but he'll need work with the strike zone at higher levels. Stock moving up.

11) Carlos Gutierrez, RHP, Grade C+:  4.88 ERA, 61/41 K/BB in 100 innings for New Britain, 109 hits, 2.80 GO/AO. Gets grounders, but just doesn't dominate. I still see him as a future reliever. Stock down.

12) Joe Benson, OF, Grade C+:  .294/.375/.588 in 21 games for Fort Myers, .242/.325/.520 in 77 games for New Britain. Intriguing power/speed combo with 21 homers and 15 steals, but plate discipline and too many strikeouts remain problems.

13) David Bromberg, RHP, Grade C+:  3.62 ERA with 65/35 K/BB in 99 innings for New Britain, has a 18/2 K/BB and 4.50 ERA in three starts for Rochester. Interesting that his K/BB and K/IP are so much better at the higher level, granted the sample size there is tiny.

14) B.J. Hermsen, RHP, Grade C+:  Made 12 starts for Beloit, with 5.00 ER and 46/15 K/BB in 72 innings, 85 hits. Recently sent back to Elizabethton, has made two starts with a 15/1 K/BB in 13 innings. Will try again at Beloit next year.

15) Ben Tootle, RHP, Grade C+:  7.64 ERA with 14/12 K/BB in 18 innings for Beloit, went on the DL in May then had shoulder surgery.

16) Anthony Slama, RHP, Grade C+:  He's so good, hitters get tattoos that say "Slama" after he strikes them out. 64/24 K/BB with 1.71 ERA in 53 innings in Triple-A, just 30 hits, 17 saves.  

17) Matt Bashore, LHP, Grade C+:  Out with Tommy John surgery.

18) Tom Stuifbergen, RHP, Grade C+:  1.51 ERA with 50/13 K/BB in 54 innings for Beloit, 45 hits. Missed most of
May and June on the DL but is pitching well now.

19) Jeff Manship, RHP, Grade C:  4.83 ERA with 76/20 K/BB in 91 innings, 122 hits for Rochester. Has a 2.45 ERA with an 8/3 K/BB in 15 innings for the Twins.  Not a great season in the minors by any means but could still be useful utility pitcher.

20) Tyler Robertson, LHP, Grade C:   2-11, 5.07 with a 72/44 K/BB in 110 innings between Double-A and Triple-A, 138 hits. Ugly numbers and scouting reports are no better.

Mixed results on this list, and the 2011 version is going to look a lot different in all likelihood.

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Comments

Display:

Oswaldo Arcia?

Having a pretty good year in the Appy League. You don’t think he’s good enough to make your top 20?

There, I got the one “somebody acts like this is a current list despite your best efforts” post out of the way.

by mrkupe on Aug 2, 2025 6:57 PM EDT reply actions  

I was about to smack you

…they should send down Huntington & Nutting, because they aren’t ready, either. - royshowell

by Marinerfanjake on Aug 2, 2025 7:07 PM EDT up reply actions  

Through the computer?

Interesting..

I like baseball.
I write for Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times Fantasy

by Satchel Price on Aug 2, 2025 7:09 PM EDT up reply actions  

yes

"The A's have to be setting some record this year for simultaneously maximizing team quality and player anonymity. I guess that’s sort of their thing though." - Luke in MN

by hero66 on Aug 2, 2025 7:45 PM EDT up reply actions   2 recs

+1 slap

at the haters.

On a desperate search for Sunshine at Nats Park. In Rizzo and Ramos we trust.

by souldrummer on Aug 3, 2025 10:00 AM EDT up reply actions  

C+/B-

BA and BP somewhat higher

TheSouthWing.com - A Magazine of essays, prose and poems

by OldProspects on Aug 4, 2025 10:25 AM EDT up reply actions  

I know John is usually pretty cautious with toolsy players but he does have some data to go off of. If John takes his normal approach of giving every toolsy player with a small track record a C+ with Arcia, I’ll be really disappointed. It isn’t so much that I don’t think the grade is fair, it just seems he uses that approach (generalized grades instead of attempting to actually grade them on their own merits) too often.

by jfish26101 on Aug 4, 2025 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions  

my current quick top list

1. Kyle Gibson B+/A- (AA)
2. Aaron Hicks B+/B (A)
3. Miguel Sano B (GCL)
4. Alex Wimmers B- (?) (Revere and Wimmers are probably interchangeable and both close B’s)
5. Ben Revere B- (AA)
6. Angel Morales B- (A+) (you could almost flip Arcia and Morales)
7. David Bromberg B- (AAA)
8. Adrian Salcedo B- (A)
9. Joe Benson B- (AA)
10. Liam Hendriks B- (would have ranked much higher and “B” if not for appendectomy) {A+}
11. Oswaldo Arcia C+ (Appy)
12. Tom Stuiffbergen C+ (A)
13. Max Kepler C+ (GCL)
14. Carlos Gutierrez C+ (AA)
15. Deolis Guerra C+ (AAA)
16. Billy Bullock C+ (AA)
*17. Trevor Plouffe C+ (AAA)
18. Rene Tosoni C+ (AA)
19. Chris Parmelee C+ (AA)
20. Hermsen/Rosario/Robertson/Roberts/Hidalgo/Rams/Rhodes/Weller/Soiliman/Garcia/Cuicina/P. Guerra/ Singleton/Dozier/Waldrop

Alex Burnett, Anthony Slama, Danny Valencia, Jeff Manship are all graduates
+Wilson Ramos is now a National

If Carlos Gomez could net J.J. Hardy then Wilson Ramos should have netted at Least Matt Capps...

by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Aug 4, 2025 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions  

Shooter Hunt

Any hope at all of harnessing his stuff?

by cookiedabookie on Aug 2, 2025 7:39 PM EDT reply actions  

No

he may make it as a Jeff Smarjida type of reliever with less power and even worse control believe it or not…..

If Carlos Gomez could net J.J. Hardy then Wilson Ramos should have netted at Least Matt Capps...

by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Aug 4, 2025 5:28 PM EDT up reply actions  

Anthony Slama

Great (Grand?) name for a hitter.
Bad name for a starting pitcher.
Awesome name for a (door slama) closer.

Fans are typically idiots.

by The Typical Idiot Fan on Aug 2, 2025 8:29 PM EDT reply actions  

He also gets bonus points

for the best porn star stache since Tom Selleck was running around in Hawaiian print shirts on TV each week.

by realitypolice on Aug 3, 2025 10:28 AM EDT up reply actions  

everyone needs to relax on Hicks

He is 20 years old in A ball and is posting a 271/389/410 split.
Everyone’s #1 prospect and posterboy Domonic Brown was also in A ball at the same age and posted a 291/382 /417 slash. Basically exactly the same.
Power is the last thing to come. I would be much more worried about Hicks if he didn’t have strong on base skills.

by ScottAZ on Aug 3, 2025 1:30 PM EDT reply actions  

But nobody had Dom Brown in their top 50 in April 2008 either

Going into 2008, he wasn’t on any top 100 lists. BA had him 6th in the Phillies system; John gave him a C and put him at 20th in the Phillies system. There are LOTS of guys with comparable tool sets who don’t turn them into the remarkable production Dom Brown has over the last 24 months, and it’s not unreasonable to ask whether Hicks is going to.

Based on John’s comments above, he’s still looking at giving Hicks a B/B-, which would be better than/equal to what he gave Brown at the end of 08.

by realitypolice on Aug 3, 2025 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions  

re

Having Hicks in the top 20 is a little aggressive I agree, but his skill set, even minus power, still makes him top 100 IMO

Also, name me a player of Dom and Hicks’ skill set that has failed? Most tools guys fail because complete lack of plate discipline and mediocre hit skill. Hicks and Brown both showed plus discipline and above ave hit skill to go along with speed. what they lack(ed) is power.

by ScottAZ on Aug 3, 2025 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions  

Sean Burroughs

and I think leaving Hicks off a top-100 right now would be borderline insane, he’s top-fiddy for me still

Adoptive parent of Kyle Nicholson

by gore51 on Aug 4, 2025 12:25 AM EDT up reply actions  

difference...

Burroughs ONLY skill set was OB% skills and hit tool. He had zero speed, zero defensive value, zero athleticism. Hicks has all those attributes and more.

Even if Hicks never hit for power he can be a solid MLB regular based off his ability to get on base, his speed, and defense

by ScottAZ on Aug 4, 2025 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions  

All of these are varying degrees of matches to Hicks/Brown, but some examples would include
Felix Pie
Brian Anderson
Marcus Sanders
Matt Moses (never as athletic)
Ryan Harvey
Scott Hairston
Stephen Drew (Didn’t fail, but didn’t live up to expectations)
John-Ford Griffin
Choo Freeman
Kenny Kelly

Too early to call them, but looking that way:
Gorkys Hernandez
Fernando Martinez

by realitypolice on Aug 4, 2025 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions  

Dee Brown

R.I.P. cwhitman412, Frederick0220, & Mets2k9

by doublestix on Aug 4, 2025 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions  

Dee

looking at what Dee did in the minors and his supposed tools + plate discipline, it still baffles me how he failed.

by ScottAZ on Aug 4, 2025 5:32 PM EDT up reply actions  

Dom Brown did not have near the projected defensive value of Hicks.

by limozeen on Aug 3, 2025 8:40 PM EDT up reply actions  

Eddie Rosario and Rory Rhodes...

What is the overall perception of the aforementioned prospects? Rosario seems to have good plate discipline and adequate power at GCL levels, the same rings true for Rory Rhodes. Rhodes being a 19yo 6’7 3B prospect with a respectable 2:1 BB/K ratio. Any potential in these two???

by Pathogen on Aug 3, 2025 11:07 PM EDT reply actions  

twins

I don’t know much about Rhodes off the top of my head.

I know quite a bit about Rosario, and I really really like him. Very underrated tools, performance has been strong so far, a steal in the fourth round.

by John Sickels on Aug 4, 2025 9:16 AM EDT up reply actions  

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