#20 – Alex Burnett – RHP – 19

2007 Team: Beloit Snappers

Acquired: Twins 12th round pick in 2005 from Huntington Beach, CA

Part of prospect rankings is looking at age compared to level, and Alex Burnett has been young for his level each of his pro seasons. He is now in his third professional season, playing for the Snappers in the Midwest League where the average age of the player is 23. At his previous two stops, he had ERAs of just over 4.00. Last year for Elizabethton, he struck out 71 hitters in 71.1 innings. This year, he is 3-4 with a solid 3.60 ERA. In 65 innings, he has just 11 walks and 44 strikeouts. He has a very solid 1.14 WHIP. And again, he is very young for his level and more than holding his own.

2007 Projection: starter at Beloit

Potential: potential to be a #3 starter

Could be in Minnesota in: 2010

#19 – Matt Tolbert – SS/2B – 25

2007 Teams: Rochester Red Wings

Acquired: Twins 16th round draft pick in 2004 out of U of Mississippi

"Tolbert was a utility infielder at AA New Britain. Things didn't go well, so he was sent back down to Ft. Myers and something clicked. At the All-Star break, he returned to New Britain and he continued to hit there. He was the SethSpeaks minor league hitter of the month for June." That's what I wrote last September about Matt Tolbert. He went to the Arizona Fall League and played well there. In January when I came up with my predictions for who would be at each of the Twins affiliates this year, I thought I was being aggressive by saying he should start at SS for the Red Wings. Not only did he make the Twins AAA roster, but he has been one of their best hitters all season so far. He is hitting .352/.424/.528 with five doubles, four triples, two homers and 19 RBI. Although it is more likely that he would become a utility infielder, I think what Tolbert has done in the last twelve months has shown that, given an opportunity, he could become a big league regular.   

2007 Projection: 2B/SS at Rochester. Could get some time with Twins.

Potential: utility infielder with strong bat who could play daily.

Could be in Minnesota in: 2007

#18 – Anthony Swarzak – RHP – 21

2007 Teams: New Britain Rockcats
Acquired: Twins 2^nd round pick in 2004 out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Heading into this season, Swarzak was my #4 rated Twins prospect. I consistently called him my choice for the Twins minor leaguer who would have a breakout season. Well, if nothing else, he has gained recognition. Unfortunately, it is for all the wrong reasons. First, he moved up to New Britain and really struggled. He gave up eight runs (7 earned) on nine hits and five walks in just 5.2 innings in two appearances. Those, I am willing to attribute to the early season weather in the Northeast. But, when baseball suspended him for 50 games for testing positive for "drugs of abuse", the red lights started flashing. Drugs of Abuse. To me, that's worse than the performance-enhancers. To me, using drugs of abuse are a choice, a stupid choice. At least when a guy uses performance-enhancers it is at least for baseball reasons (not an excuse, just making my point). Swarzak should soon be eligible again, and it will be interesting to see what the Twins do with him. In any case, he has now fallen behind other prospects and has a lot to do now to regain his credibility. 

2007 Projection: regaining credibility in New Britain
Potential: #3-type starter
Could be in Minnesota in: 2009

#17 – Danny Valencia – 1B/3B – 22

2007 Team: Beloit Snappers

Acquired: Twins 19th round pick in 2005 out of Miami

Valencia had an excellent pro debut in Elizabethton last summer after the draft. He is putting together another very strong season so far in Beloit. He is hitting .305/.383/.521 with 11 doubles, ten homers and 31 RBI. He has also walked 24 times. The 42 walks are a bit concerning, but if he's hitting for power, it is more acceptable. However, as he moves up the minor league ranks, that is one area he will definitely have to improve. Valencia is a very solid defensive 3B. Assuming he continues to make the plays defensively, I wouldn't be surprised if he moves up to Ft. Myers where bats are definitely needed! The guy is a legit hitting prospect who has shown that he can hit the Low-A level. I'd say after the All-Star break, he should move up.     

2007 Projection: 3B in Beloit, should move up to Ft. Myers

Potential: big league corner infielder with power

Could be in Minnesota in: 2009

#16 – Jay Rainville – RHP – 21

#15 – Trevor Plouffe – SS – 20

2007 Teams: New Britain Rockcats

Acquired: Twins 1st round pick in 2004 out of Crespi Carmelite H.S. (CA)

Plouffe is another guy who has remained young for his age. If the average age of players in Low A is 22-23, it must be 25 or so at AA, so Plouffe is ahead of the curve. Now, in the past two years, he has got off to a very slow start and fought his way back to decent numbers by season's end. This year, he is off to a solid start, so hopefully this is his breakout year. So far, he is hitting .279/.330/.432 with 17 doubles, four homers and 22 RBI. He has seven stolen bases, although he has been thrown out six times. Defensively, he got off to a very good start. He is known for soft hands, great range and a very strong arm. From what we have all heard though, sometimes he isn't quite as focused in the field as he needs to be. I would venture to say that 7 or 8 of those errors have happened in the last three weeks. I have always liked his doubles numbers, and that is certainly the case this year. He also has always taken walks. He has 32 strikeouts, but that is only approximately one every six at bats. Again, it just shows that he is not over his head, and really, that is important. Just remember, for as quickly as Matt Moses was moved through the system, Plouffe is advancing just as quickly and doing better than I probably even expected. 

2007 Projection: playing SS in New Britain all year

Potential: good glove, decent bat SS

Could be in Minnesota in: 2009

#14 – Erik Lis – OF – 23

2007 Team: Ft. Myers Miracle

Acquired: Twins 9th round pick in 2005 out of U. of Evansville

The lefty hitter got his fifteen minutes of fame last month when he his a long homer off of Roger Clemens. Twins fans, those who have read this site or followed the Twins farm system the last few years, already knew who Lis was and that he is a very solid hitting prospect. Like everyone else at Ft. Myers, it is fair to say that Lis is not hitting great. In 180 at bats, he is hitting .255/.328/.386 with 12 doubles, four homers and 31 RBI. That .255 batting average is best on the team. As he did last year, he is showing solid extra base hit power. The average will come up. He does take good at bats. It will be interesting to see how he fares defensively in his change to the OF this year. I think it was his defense that kept him in Beloit last year, so if he can quickly become an adequate defensive OF, he could advance quickly.  

2007 Projection: LF/DH in Ft. Myers all year

Potential: big league bat, could DH

Could be in Minnesota in: 2009

#13 – Oswaldo Sosa – RHP – 21

2007 Team: Ft. Myers Miracle

Acquired: Twins signed as free agent in 2002 out of Venezuela

Following last season, Sosa was added to the Twins roster. He had put up very solid numbers at Beloit and moved up to Ft. Myers. I wasn't entirely sure why. I mean, I didn't know why he would be at risk to be selected by another organization in the Rule V draft. He was 13-8 with a 2.60 ERA between the two stops, but the key to his success? He gave up just two home runs in a combined 152.1 innings. This year, he has given up two homers in 56.2 innings. He has walked walked 19 and struck out 49. He is 2-3, but he has a very good 2.54 ERA. Sosa has the ability to be a future middle of the rotation starter, a better version of Carlos Silva. 

2007 Projection: starting in Ft. Myers

Potential: potential #4 starter

Could be in Minnesota in: 2009

2007 Teams: Ft. Myers Miracle
Acquired: signed as free agent in 2002 out of The Netherlands

Smit skyrocketed up this list after he absolutely dominated the Midwest League for the final three months of the 2006 season. The jump to the Florida State League has not been easy on Smit. He started the season in the rotation and made six starts. He got injured and spent some time on the DL. Since he returned, he lost his rotation spot and will now be in the bullpen for the time being. As a starter, he was 0-2 with a 5.67 ERA in 27 innings. His WHIP was 1.67. He walked 12. That certainly is the story with Smit though. If he throws strikes, he can dominate. If he gets behind or walks a lot of hitters, he will struggle. In 5.1 innings in relief, he has a 1.69 ERA. It is interestingly, righties hit just .256 off of him, but lefties have hit .349. Last year, something clicked and Smit found consistent control. If he can do that this year, he will do well and progress nicely through the Twins system. If not, he may need to repeat this level next year. Either way, the potential is there for him to be a very good starter or a solid, potentially dominant, lefty reliever.  

2007 Projection: starting and relieving in Ft. Myers
Potential: Potential to be another dominating lefty starter or reliever
Could be in Minnesota in: 2009

#11 – Brian Duensing – LHP – 24

2007 Teams: New Britain Rockcats

Acquired: Twins 3rd round draft pick in 2005 out U of Nebraska

Duensing is a guy who have flown up the Twins system. A 2005 pick, he split 2006 between Beloit and Ft. Myers before ending with New Britain. That is where he started 2007, but he pitched so well he was promoted to AAA Rochester and made one start there in May. At New Britain, he went 4-1 with a 2.66 ERA. Not overpowering, he struck out 38 in 50.2 innings. More impressive is that he walked just seven. He has a 1.07 WHIP. In his AAA debut, he gave up two runs on seven hits and three walks in six innings. Last night, he made his second AAA start and got his second win. In 6.2 innings, he gave up two runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out nine. I would predict that Duensing will spend the rest of the season at Rochester, but he may be next in line after Matt Garza if he does well. 

2007 Projection: starting in Rochester

Potential: good #3 or #4 pitcher

Could be in Minnesota in: 2008