Blue Wahoos Chosen No. 5 Among Baseball America's Super Teams

Their first season as a Minnesota Twins affiliate in 2019 brought the Blue Wahoos a fifth consecutive post-season appearance in the Southern League.
Another big season is forecast.
The Blue Wahoos were chosen No. 5 by Baseball America among the publication's top 10 "Super Teams" in minor league baseball. The teams were selected through all levels of minor league baseball and based upon the predicted number of touted prospects on teams' opening day rosters in April.
In the Blue Wahoos case, the projection is that shortstop Royce Lewis, the Twins's No. 1 overall selection in the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft will return to start the season in Pensacola.
Lewis, who doesn't turn 21 until June, joined the Blue Wahoos on July 28 last season and played in 33 games. He batted .231 with two homers and 14 RBI. It is believed the Lewis will be part of the Blue Wahoos roster for at least the first half of the 2020 season.
"Lewis 2019 regular season was underwhelming," Baseball America wrote in its report on the Blue Wahoos outlook. "He struggled to hit, due in large part - scouts believe - to his complex swing mechanics. Still, he was impressive during the Futures Game and then again in the Arizona Fall League where he was MVP of the regular season and the Fall Stars Game."
Also expected to return for the Blue Wahoos are pitchers Johan Duran and Jordan Balazovic, along with catcher Ryan Jeffers.
Duran joined the Blue Wahoos in late-July last season and is considered among the organization's top pitching prospects with a 100-plus mph fastball.
Balazovic, who is from Ontario, Canada, joined the team for the post-season and wowed with his effort as starting pitcher in the Blue Wahoos' Game 3 playoff win against the Biloxi Shuckers. In July, Balazovic played in the Futures Game during the MLB All-Star weekend.
Jeffers, a second-round pick from North Carolina-Wilmington, batted .287 in 24 games for the Blue Wahoos after joining the team in late-July.
"Quietly, Jeffers put up one of the best offensive seasons from a catcher in the minors," Baseball America wrote.
In addition to Jeffers and Lewis, outfielder Trevor Larnach, the Twins 2019 Minor League Player of the Year, could return to the Pensacola lineup to open the 2020 season. The 22-year-old combined to hit .309 with 13 home runs between A+ Fort Myers (84 games) and Pensacola (43 games). His youth and relative inexperience at the Double-A level could lead to a Pensacola return to open the season, but his eye-popping statistics might lead the Twins to start him in Triple-A if he has a strong Spring Training.
Other familiar faces likely to return to Pensacola include infielder Jose Miranda (the Twins #18 prospect on MLB Pipeline), starting pitchers Cole Sands (#25) and Dakota Chalmers (#28), and catcher Ben Rortvedt (#30).
In addition to the returners, the Twins farm system is loaded with talent in High-A Fort Myers that may impact Pensacola at the beginning of the season. At the top of the list is RHP Blayne Enlow, the Twins third round selection in 2017 and #11 prospect. The 20-year-old won eight games and held a 3.82 ERA in 110.2 innings between A-Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers in 2019.
With Balazovic, Duran, Edwar Colina, (#24), Chalmers, Sands, and Enlow, the Blue Wahoos could open the 2020 season with a starting pitching rotation made up entirely of top 30 prospects. In addition, talented starters like Bailey Ober (8-0, 0.69 ERA in 2019) and Tyler Wells (10-6, 2.49 ERA in 2018 before missing 2019 with injury) are likely to return from injuries that limited their action in 2019.
With the pitching along with other expected newcomers, Blue Wahoos returning manager Ramon Borrego is expected to have an array of talent capable of contending for the division crows. Last season, the Blue Wahoos set a franchise record with eight consecutive series wins to open the season.
The competition within the Southern League will present a challenge. Baseball America chose the Montgomery Biscuits as its No. 1 Super Team. In addition, Baseball America chose the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Miami Marlins affiliate, as its No. 8 Super Team.
Here are the publications' top 10 Super Teams: