Twins minor league report: Injuries slowed down several prospects

By LA VELLE E. NEAL III, Star Tribune

Last update: September 6, 2008 - 4:53 PM

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Jim Rantz, Twins director of minor leagues, reports that 25 minor leaguers remain on the disabled list. That includes 11 at Beloit alone. And injuries have affected several of the organization's top prospects.

Outfielders such as Joe Benson (stress fracture in back) and Christopher Parmelee (broken wrist); infielders such as Deibinson Romero (broken leg) and Paul Kelly (back); and pitchers such as 7-1 righthander Loek Van Mil (elbow ligament) and lefthander Tyler Robertson (shoulder) all have had their development stunted by injuries.

That makes this year's rankings of the Twins' top 10 prospects even tougher than usual. But we still tackled the challenge. So here are the rankings, based on conversations with Twins officials, stats, reports and flat-out guesswork.

1. Wilson Ramos, catcher, Class A Fort Myers: Couldn't hit a curveball at first but improved as the season progressed. To have a good power prospect at a premium position is valuable commodity.

2. Aaron Hicks, outfielder, Fort Myers (rookie): Would be No. 1 if he wasn't coming out of a short-season league. All Hicks did in 45 games was finish in the top 10 in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. And he has a big arm in center.

3. Ben Revere, outfielder, Class A Beloit: Was named the Midwest League player of the year and its best prospect after batting .379. His arm is terrible, but the Twins believe he will hit for a high average with plenty of extra-base hits.

4. Deolis Guerra, righthander, Class A Fort Myers: Twins have tweaked his mechanics for long-term health, but they expect his velocity to return to the mid-90-mile-per-hour range to go with a good changeup. His status as a power pitching prospect remains unchanged.

5. Tyler Robertson, lefthander, Class A Fort Myers: Was shut down during the second half because of shoulder problems, but the Twins were relieved to learn rehab was all he needed. Throws in the low 90s with a good curveball.

6. Anthony Swarzak, righthander, Class AAA Rochester: Was set to tumble out of the top 10 until he was promoted from New Britain and took off. Throws in the low 90s with a big curveball.

7. Jeff Manship, righthander, Class AA New Britain: Was promoted after a strong start at Fort Myers and is going through an adjustment period, but the Twins remain high on Manship, who, like Swarzak, has a good curveball.

8. Luke Hughes, third baseman, Class AAA Rochester: Permanent move to third will be interesting -- see his .888 fielding average there while at New Britain -- but his power potential has the Twins intrigued.

9. Shooter Hunt, righthander, Class A Beloit: One Twins official compared him to Scott Baker because of his low-to-mid-90s fastball and curveball. Hunt's curve might be better than Baker's.

10. Christopher Parmelee, first baseman/outfielder, Class A Beloit: Parmelee had begun to unlock his great power potential -- with 14 homers through 69 games -- when a wrist injury ruined his season.