It's time to play a little "Good News, Bad News" when it comes to Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano — the Twins' two best prospects and perhaps their Nos. 3 and 4 hitters of the not-too-distant future — as well as the rest of the team's prospects.
Good News: In Keith Law's ESPN.com ranking of all the top prospects in baseball, Buxton and Sano are still firmly entrenched near the top — with Buxton No. 2 overall and Sano at No. 11.
Bad News: Both of those positions represent a drop, albeit a small one, from the start of the year. Buxton was No. 1 overall, while Sano was No. 8.
Good News: Considering both have been injured for almost the entire season, that's not too far to fall. That means the ceiling for both, at least in Law's estimation, remains very high.
Bad News: This time missed has cost both of them valuable development time. Though Law notes that it shouldn't, at least in the case of Buxton, "change his ultimate ceiling at all," it has basically made this a lost season. Whereas both could have conceivably debuted this year with the Twins, at least for a taste, getting healthy is now the top priority.
Good News: Those two now have very good company within the Twins' organization on Law's top prospects list. RHP Kohl Stewart vaulted from No. 76 to No. 19 since the preseason. SS Nick Gordon, drafted in June, is No. 25. Alex Meyer, No. 62 in the preseason, is up to No. 42 now. And Jose Berrios, not rated in the preseason, is now No. 50.
So that means the Twins have six of the top 50 prospects in all of baseball, according to Law. Do the math: That's about 1 of every 8 top prospects that are on the Twins even though they are just 1 of 30 teams. That bodes well for the future, even if the future can't get here soon enough.
