Baseball America gives Twins' farm system lowest ranking since 2017
Baseball America released its latest organizational talent rankings on Wednesday and the Minnesota Twins are 25th – their lowest ranking since 2017.
The website cited several reasons for the decline including the Twins' rash of moves at last month's trade deadline.
"The Twins traded away Spencer Steer, Cade Povich, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and others in an attempt to solidify a playoff push. The big league team has struggled since then and injuries to Royce Lewis and Josh Winder haven’t helped."
Just like MLB Pipeline's latest update, the Twins had three prospects crack the top 100 including 2022 first-round pick Brooks Lee (38th), Lewis (55th) and Emmanuel Rodriguez (83rd).
That infusion of talent hasn't been enough to help the Twins as several of their top prospects have struggled.
Austin Martin was supposed to be a key piece in the José Berríos trade but is hitting .244/.374/.307 in 64 games with Double-A Wichita this season.
Jordan Balazovic has also had a rough season, logging an 0-5 record and 9.26 ERA with the St. Paul Saints.
Injuries have also been a big theme in the Twins organization as Rodriguez is out for the season after tearing his meniscus in June. The Twins also announced that top pitching prospect Matt Canterino will undergo Tommy John surgery, leaving the team short on major league talent.
It's not all bad news for the Twins, however. Forest Lake's Matt Wallner is hitting .268/.403/.533 with 24 homers between Double-A Wichita and Triple-A St. Paul while Simeon Woods Richardson is scheduled to make his first Triple-A start on Sunday.
The Twins can also take solace in the rest of the American League Central. The Cleveland Guardians ranked third on Baseball America's list with six top-100 prospects but the next division rival on the list is the Chicago White Sox, who rank 24th.
The Detroit Tigers (27th) and Kansas City Royals (30th) come in toward the bottom of the list, meaning that the Twins are at least on an even playing field with the rest of the division.
Even with the low ranking, the Twins could be on the rise. Former top prospect Jose Miranda has made a major impact this season and Trevor Larnach and Alex Kirilloff could have key roles once they recover from nagging injuries.
This will be a major development for the Twins over the next couple of years and if they can mine some more gems, they have a chance to stay near the top of the division.
