Minnesota Twins: A Midseason Look at the Top 10 Prospects in the Organization

The Minnesota Twins need talent in their minor league system.

With the major league team struggling to come even close to .500, the Twins need to find a way to have some of the top players in the minor league system live up to their billing.

At the beginning of the season, things looked very dark for the Twins. They had just come off a 99-loss season in which they brought up several players who were not ready to contribute at the major league level.

This lead to a perception that the cupboard was dry in their minor league system.

While there are some top prospects struggling in the minors, there are some rays of hope when it comes to some of the players expected to contribute to the Twins in a couple years.

Here's a look at how the preseason Top 10 Twins prospects (as ranked by Baseball America) have fared as we reach the midway point of the minor league season.

10. SS Brian Dozier

Several prospects toward the bottom of the list have seen extensive time in the major leagues this season. Brian Dozier is one of them.

Dozier was ranked 10th in the organization last February, and his impressive spring training did nothing to prove those accolades wrong.

Despite failing to make the major league club out of spring training, Dozier performed favorably at Triple-A Rochester.

He hit .276 with a home run and 12 runs batted in over 28 games for the Red Wings.

The team liked what they saw with Dozier, and he made his major league debut on May 7 against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Dozier has been the starting shortstop for the Twins since his call-up and has hit .244 with two home runs and 16 runs batted in.

Dozier will probably never be a superstar shortstop, but he's a solid one who could end the drought at the position for the Twins.

If he's able to do that, he'll be a household name across Minnesota for many years to come.

9. 1B Chris Parmelee

Parmelee was riding a wave of momentum when the Twins decided to keep him on the major league roster as they began the 2012 season.

A September call-up, Parmelee was one of the most impressive players on the team, going .355 with four home runs and 14 runs batted in for the Twins.

Parmelee's tear continued through March. The Twins were impressed enough to make him their starting first baseman, as Justin Morneau continued to battle multiple ailments.

This meant that Parmelee would skip the Triple-A level entirely, which lead to some struggles at the plate.

Parmelee hit just .179 without a home run and drove in just three over 27 games. The Twins decided to send him down on May 15 to take some pressure off him.

In the minors, Parmelee showed his potential. He raked for a 1.208 OPS to go with a .375 average and four home runs.

The Twins couldn't resist, and Parmelee was called up to the Twins for a second stint on June 8.

It looks as if Parmelee took his demotion the right way. We'll see if he actually corrected his mistakes in Rochester, or if he just got on a quick hot streak.

8. SP Kyle Gibson

Kyle Gibson was one of the fastest moving pitching prospects in the organization since Matt Garza in 2006, when Gibson suffered a torn UCL. That meant Tommy John surgery for the Twins' 2009 first-round pick.

He's been battling his way back since.

The prognosis on Gibson is good so far, as he's headed toward the back end of his rehab. Last week, Gibson threw off the pitching mound for the first time since the surgery.

Gibson could be back pitching in games by the end of the year, but the Twins will use kid gloves with him in terms of his recovery.

The Twins have too much to lose if Gibson has a setback with the current state of their pitching rotation.

While Gibson could have some action in 2012, he may not be able to join the major league team until 2013 at the earliest.

7. SP Liam Hendriks

After a successful 2011 season that saw Liam Hendriks take home 2011 Twins' Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors, he got off to a rough start that saw him sent back to Triple-A Rochester.

It hasn't been all bad for Hendriks, as he made a good impression on the coaching staff during spring training. He has likely won a roster spot after Scott Baker has to, eventually, undergo Tommy John surgery.

After a couple good outings, Hendriks unraveled.

He posted a 0-2 record with an earned run average of 9.00 in four starts for the Twins. That lead to an early-May demotion to Triple-A.

For the Red Wings, Hendriks has looked great. In his start on June 9, he struck out 10 batters in a 2-0 win over the Indianapolis Indians.

Hendriks also has a 15.2 inning scoreless streak, which could mean that a return to the rotation is imminent.

Hendriks is far from a lost cause, as the Twins will look for anything to fix a patchwork rotation.

It will be interesting to see if Hendriks can translate his success in Rochester to the major leagues once he gets that opportunity.

6. SS Levi Michael

So far on the list, it's been encouraging news for each prospect.

When we look at Levi Michael, the Twins' first-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft, the news isn't as flattering.

Michael didn't play at all for the Twins in 2011, as he battled several injuries during his junior season at North Carolina. That meant Michael was behind from the start.

He began the season with the High-A Fort Myers Miracle.

Michael has been unimpressive so far, hitting just .213 with two home runs and 16 runs batted in.

This could be a case of Michael adjusting to professional baseball, but it has to be a red flag for a team that thought so highly of him just one season ago.

5. Of Oswaldo Arcia

With Oswaldo Arcia, it's been a tale of two months for the 21-year-old outfielder.

Things weren't looking good for him after hitting .239 with one home run and four runs batted in at the end of April.

But, he exploded into May and was one of the Florida State Leagues' top players over that span.

Arcia hit .358 with four home runs and 18 runs batted in over May and registered a stellar OPS of .966.

His May performance raised his overall line to .325 with five home runs and 22 RBIs.

He looks in line to draw a promotion to Double-A New Britain in the near future.

4. Of Aaron Hicks

Coming into the season, Aaron Hicks was at the point of his career where he needed to either prove he was a major league prospect or fade into obscurity.

At the midway point of the season, we're not really sure what to think of Hicks.

While his April performance—.273 with four home runs and 14 RBIs—was promising, Hicks struggled in May—.220 with two home runs and 13 RBIs.

Now has to look out for his "clone" Byron Buxton chasing him.

It will be a few years before Buxton really puts pressure on Hicks, but he currently has bigger fish to fry.

If Hicks doesn't put up respectable numbers by the end of the season, his once- promising career could take a Matt Moses-like turn.

That's something the Twins don't want to see after spending the 14th pick on him in the 2008 draft.

3. 2B/OF Eddie Rosario

While Miguel Sano has gotten all the attention at Low-A Beloit, the Twins have another player who is performing just as well for the Snappers.

Eddie Rosario is projected as a second baseman who could be forced into the logjam of outfielders in the Twins system. While that might be a drawback, the good news is that Rosario can hit a baseball effectively.

Rosario currently stands with a .297 average with seven home runs and 39 RBIs. While Rosario also has nine stolen bases on the season, he hasn't been efficient in that regard as he's been caught stealing 10 times.

While his numbers aren't as jaw-dropping as they were with Rookie League Elizabethon—.337, 20 HR, 60 RBI—it's still a solid foundation for Rosario to build on.

At 20 years old, there's plenty of room for improvement.

2. Of Joe Benson

The Twins have been shuffling their outfielders like a deck of cards this season. Because of a combination of the numbers game and difficulty at the Triple-A level, Benson has found himself back where he finished the 2011 season.

Benson performed well in 2011 at Double-A New Britain, and it earned him a September call-up.

While Benson didn't light the world on fire, he still did enough to be tabbed the second-best prospect in the Twins organization.

Maybe there was some pressure that came with that, because Benson has struggled mightily all season long.

Benson hit .179 with a pair of home runs and eight RBIs over 28 games at Triple-A Rochester, so the team decided it might be best to take a step back.

Unfortunately, Benson only played in eight games for the Rock Cats before breaking the hamate bone in his right hand.

Benson will return in four to six weeks from the injury, but he needs to rebound quickly to make up for what is turning out to be a lost season.

1. 3B Miguel Sano

For most Twins fans, you may have skipped past the other nine prospects to hear how Miguel Sano is doing.

That is the current life facing the Twins top prospect, as fans will watch his every move until he finally steps on a major league field.

Sano got off to a great start with Low-A Beloit with .276, six home runs, 21 RBIs, and a 1.008 OPS, but has cooled off since.

While Sano has hit for great power (14 home runs), he currently has found difficulty hitting for average. He is down to .240 as of June 10.

This is Sano's first difficulty in professional baseball, but he should have the ability to bounce back from that and finish the 2012 season strong.

The Twins may be impatient to see Sano at Target Field in the near future, with good reason, but he will need to fully develop in the Twins' system before anybody sees the fruits of his labor.