The Twins looked to be a team on the verge of breaking into the cream of the MLB crop, with a new field, a superstar face of the franchise, and one of the highest payrolls in the league. Its all gone disastrously wrong though with 90+ losses since 2010. The biggest issue is like many teams, missing starting pitching. The farm hasn't been very strong either, with the Twins spending less than 6 million in each draft from 2009-2011, and half of their $12 million this last year on a single player. That player is outfielder Byron Buxton, who is the number 2 prospect in the system according to Baseball America. Buxton was a pitcher through high school, but his overall athleticism has him moving to the field. He OPSed .792 in his pro debut, and helped the Rookie level team win their league championship. His arm strength translates well to center field, as well does his elite speed. He stole 11 bases last year, and has been timed at just 3,9 seconds from the right side of the plate to first. He still needs to work on not chasing pitches, striking out about 25% of the time.
The system's top prospect though may be Miguel Sano, a Dominican born player that's been in the system since 2009. The third baseman has been one of the best minor leaguers the past several years, ranking near the top in almost every offensive category. His .547 career slugging percentage is evidence of his excellent power, with 55 home runs and 62 doubles. He doesn't have great speed, but is fairly athletic for his 232 pound body. His defense though is a major issue. Sano committed 42 errors in 2012. His arm though has superior strength, so if he can handle the ball better, he could turn into an all star at the hot corner.
Wil Meyer came over from Washington in a trade for Denard Span last November. Meyer has a fantastic four seam fastball, that lives at 95-97 mph. He also has a two seamer thats in the low to mid 90s that can sink . He's a power pitcher, with his height helping add to his deception. He struck out 107 batters at Low A Hagerstown last year, and another 32 at the High A level, while walking just 45 batters. He doesn't give up many home runs either, with just 6 in his first year.
Joe Benson is an interesting prospect. He had climbed to be the systems number 2 prospect last year, but suffered through various broken bones and a devastating knee injury that required multiple surgeries to remove bone spurs and repair cartilage damage. He struggled in spring training this year, so his chances of rising to the club again are slim. Mason Melotakis is a lefty that struck out 12.8 batters per 9 innings last year, while walking only 6 batters through 24 innings of work. He does however have some command issues, putting his slider into the dirt often.
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