Blue Wahoos Talent Leads Twins Top Prospect List

The array of talent the Blue Wahoos displayed in the last season is reflected by the 2020 Minnesota Twins prospect rankings, announced recently by MLB Pipeline.com.

The top six prospects within the organization all wore Blue Wahoos uniforms in 2019.

Leading the way is shortstop Royce Lewis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, who played the second half of last season with the Blue Wahoos.

The others in a 2-6 order are outfielder Alex Kirilloff, outfielder Trevor Larnach, pitcher Jordan Balazovic, pitcher Jhoan Duran, and catcher Ryan Jeffers.

All of these players were part of the Blue Wahoos competing in the 2019 Southern League playoffs and reaching the post-season for the fifth consecutive time in franchise history, matching the Mobile BayBears for the second-most consecutive playoff appearances in Southern League history.

Lewis starts 2020 the same way as he did last year as the Twins’ top-rated prospect. Entering Monday, Lewis has appeared in six spring training games for the Twins. In Sunday’s Grapefruit League game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Lewis blasted a two-run homer off touted prospect Joe Ryan.

Lewis, only 20, is expected to start the season in Pensacola. He is rated as the No. 9 overall prospect in minor league baseball by MLB.com.

We think that ball is still in the air 😳

Royce Lewis shows why he was the #MNTwins top pick pic.twitter.com/RZAavQCddQ

— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) March 1, 2020

Kirilloff, the Twins’ first-round pick in 2016, who is expected to start 2020 with Triple-A Rochester, has shined for the Twins so far in spring training. He entered Monday’s game with four hits in five at-bats, including three RBI.

Larnach, the Twins’ first-round selection in 2018 out of Oregon State, was named by the 2019 organization player of the year. He entered Monday with 13 at-bats in six spring training games, collecting four hits.

Since he joined the Blue Wahoos in the second half last season, it’s possible he could return to start the season in Pensacola, or head directly to Triple-A Rochester.

Balazovic, named by MLB Pipeline as the Twins 2019 organization pitcher of the year, appeared in one game last season for the Blue Wahoos, but it was memorable.

He was the starting pitcher in Game 3 of the Southern League South Division playoff series against Biloxi and helped deliver a 3-2 win to extend the series. In that game, Balazovic had seven strikeouts and allowed just three hits in 4.2 innings.

Duran and Jeffers both joined the Blue Wahoos in the second half last season and are expected to return to start 2020.

In addition, pitcher Edwar Colina (16), infielder Travis Blankenhorn (18), pitcher Cole Sands (19), infielder Jose Miranda (22), pitcher Dakota Chalmers (23), pitcher Jorge Alcala (25), and catcher Ben Rortvedt (28) all made the Twins Top 30 after playing in Pensacola in 2019.

Entering the 2020 season, the Twins minor league system is rated among the upper tier in MLB. The Blue Wahoos were chosen as the No. 5 “Super Team” for 2020 by Baseball America. It was based on the expected returning talent to this year’s roster, led by the pitching staff.

In its recent updated rankings, Bleacher Report listed the Twins as the No. 6 farm system among the 30 MLB teams. Baseball America had the Twins No. 8. The Athletic and its national baseball writer Keith Law had the Twins No. 15.

The consensus No. 1 farm system in baseball is the Tampa Bay Rays, which this season have a greater connection to the Blue Wahoos with the Rays’ Double-A affiliate Montgomery Biscuits.

The Biscuits are now part of the Southern League South Division, after being members of the North Division, and will play the Blue Wahoos multiple times in Pensacola as division rivals.