Gird your loins – we’re going to be navigating positions battles in each division. Last week, I covered the NL East. Today I’m talking about the AL Central, which actually looks fairly interesting this year. At first glance, the Tigers should run away with the division. At a slightly closer glance, the Indians, Royals, and White Sox all appear to be trying to contend. Who knows? Maybe Verlander’s arm will fall off after pitching over 1,000 innings across the past four seasons, while Miggy and Fielder enter a 24/7 all-you-can-eat buffet in Vegas and never return. Anyway, here’s some of the position battles to keep an eye on in the AL Central:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Kyle Gibson
Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America
2012 (19) | 2011 (13) | 2010 (6) | 2009 (22) | 2008 (15)
2012 Affiliate Records
MLB: [66-96] AL Central
AAA: [72-72] International League – Rochester
AA: [75-67] Eastern League — New Britain
A+: [60-75] Florida State League – Fort Myers
A: [77-63] Midwest League – Beloit (Cedar Rapids beginning 2013)
Arizona Fall League Players — Peoria Javelinas
Logan Darnell (LHP); Kyle Gibson (RHP); Caleb Thielbar (LHP); Michael Tonkin (RHP); Evan Bigley (OF); Nate Roberts (OF)
Graduated Prospects
Chris Parmelee (1B/OF); Brian Dozier (SS); Liam Hendriks (RHP); Cole De Vries (RHP); Sam Deduno (RHP); Pedro Florimon (SS); Darin Mastroianni (OF)
The Run Down
There are certainly other teams in the discussion, but when evaluating the most improved farm systems in baseball over the past year, Minnesota needs to be considered near the top. Owning the #2 pick in the draft is always a nice way to bolster a club’s young talent, but the Twins went beyond that in 2012, as impact talents lived up to hype, and forgotten prospects returned to form. And they continued improving into the offseason, adding big-ceiling starting pitchers in Alex Meyer from Washington and Trevor May from Philadelphia. The Twins shipped out MLB outfielders Denard Span and Ben Revere in order to acquire those arms, but with capable outfield prospects pushing through from the minors this year, the added pitching depth seems like a smart move. Do take note of this system as there’s plenty to be excited about in terms of the fantasy game, and certain prospects should be making their impacts this year.
Minnesota Twins 2011 Minor League Review
Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America:
2012 (19) | 2011 (13) | 2010 (6) | 2009 (22) | 2008 (15) | 2007 (8) | 2006 (6)
2011 Affiliate Records
MLB: [63-99] AL Central
AAA: [53-91] International League – Rochester
AA: [72-70] Eastern League – New Britain
A+: [63-76] Florida State League – Fort Meyers
A: [69-69] Midwest League – Beloit
R: [42-26] Appalachian League – Elizabethton
The Run Down
Much of the Twins best talent is years away from its arrival in the big leagues. The club’s top prospect, Miguel Sano, is not yet 19. He headlines a handful of talented prospects beneath the Double-A level, including Eddie Rosario, Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Arcia. With their first round pick in the June Draft, the Twins added Levi Michael out of UNC. They hope the shortstop will add some polish to their system’s hitting prospects and climb the ladder quickly, though he’s yet to step foot on a ball field as a pro.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
The top 50 fantasy baseball prospects list aims to provide a list solely for fantasy baseball purposes. Due to fantasy baseball’s immediacy of statistical production, players are not necessarily ranked based on tools or projections far into the future, but instead, current production.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Every once in a while, I enjoy checking in on prospects that caused my red flag alarm to chirp. One of these prospects was Josh Vitters of the Chicago Cubs. In 2009, I wrote a Scouting the Unknown article that raised the war banners across the prospecting battlements.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jason Heyward sat again yesterday in favor of Jose Constanza. I don’t want to shout fire in the theater of Razzball, but this isn’t good. Constanza is making Heyward look like the best seller at the jerk store. Actually, Heyward was kinda doing it to himself.
Please, blog, may I have some more?June is an exciting time. Cellar dwellers have a chance to see the “Hope of their future,” trades become relevant and prospects get their chance to prove to the world the hype is legitimate. Truth be told, more often than not, it becomes a game of small sample size paranoia.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Don’t look now, but GMs around the league are nearing the unwritten rule of the June 1st prospect call up. Vast majority of GMs, to save a few million if the prospects pans out, wait for the arbitration service time clock to strike midnight before calling their best names up.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Rehabbing a broken hamate bone, Domonic Brown has sustained early power upon his return. With two home runs, a double and three singles in his first three games, he looks like he might be an exception to the rule about players losing power coming back from this injury.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Hey, Stephen here. Everyone, “Hey, Stephen!” In addition to my Wednesday afternoon look at prospects, through the incredible generosity of Rudy (nice fro!) and Grey (love the stache!), I’m going to write a Sunday post each week about players that are currently performing well in the minors and may get called up sooner than later that could help your fantasy baseball team.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
