Nick Gordon is the top prospect of the Minnesota Twins.
photo by Tim Evearitt
After winning the Southern League championship in 2015, the Chattanooga Lookouts went 75-65 in 2016 and just missed the playoffs.
The 2017 roster is filled with several of the Twins top pitching prospects, guys who could help the Twins within the next two seasons, maybe as early as late 2017. But there are also some really good hitting prospects on this roster. The 2017 season should be another exciting one for the Lookouts and their fans.
HITTERS
C: Dan Rohlfing, Jose Gonzalez
IF: Jonathan Rodriguez, Nick Gordon, Levi Michael, Engelb Vielma, Ryan Walker, Dan Gamache
OF: Edgar Corcino, Tanner English, Travis Harrison, LaMonte Wade
PITCHERS
SP: Felix Jorge, Fernando Romero, Kohl Stewart, Matt Tracy, Nik Turley, Stephen Gonsalves (DL)
RP: Luke Bard, Nick Burdi, Paul Clemens, John Curtiss, Ryan Eades, Raul Fernandez, Mason Melotakis, Tyler Jay (DL),
TOP PROSPECTS
Fernando Romero - Has perhaps the best stuff, a 98 mph fastball and a slider near 90.
Stephen Gonsalves - Most polished pitching prospect with a solid, four-pitch mix.
Good showing in big league camp until shoulder soreness. Working in Ft. Myers to stretch out.
Nick Gordon - Strong showing in the Arizona Fall League last year earned him an invite to big league camp. Continues to grow. Will play shortstop and second base.
Tyler Jay - Moved to the bullpen this spring, where his stuff will play up, and he could move quickly. Out early with biceps tendinitis.
Kohl Stewart - Former top pick, Stewart has good stuff, has put up strong numbers, but needs to find a way to miss more bats (rather than just get weak contact).
Felix Jorge - Most consistent starting pitcher the last three seasons, Jorge has progressed by attacking the strike zone with three good pitches, and a fastball at 91-94.
LaMonte Wade - One of the best plate approaches in the system, Wade should start developing some power if he can stay healthy in 2017.
Engelb Vielma - The top defensive infielder in the Twins system, he will likely spend time at shortstop and second base. He has little power but has hit for average.
STORIES TO WATCH
Nick Gordon and Engelb Vielma are both starting the season here. It will be interesting to see how Jake Mauer allocates the playing time between the two, at shortstop and second. Twins' manager Paul Molitor would like to see Gordon get more time at second base this year, obviously, it makes him a possible call up in two spots. Most admit that Vielma is the better defensive player, and Molitor called Gordon one of the better hitting prospects.
Twins Daily’s #1 and #2 prospects, Fernando Romero and Stephen Gonsalves, will be pitching on this staff. But Kohl Stewart and Felix Jorge will want to keep their names in the prospect circles too.
Tyler Jay made the move to the bullpen. He will begin the season on the Disabled List with biceps tendinitis which will likely have him out a few weeks.
Levi Michael and Travis Harrison were first round picks of the Twins in 2011, Michael out of college and Harrison out of high school. They can become free agents at the end of the season.
Dan Rohlfing and Jose Gonzalez are minor league veterans. Both are considered very good behind the plate. They will be tasked with working with this talented pitching staff, yet each of them still have big league aspirations.
The bullpen is full of very hard throwers, headlined by Nick Burdi. The Louisville product would like to move past an injury-plagued 2016 and could advance quickly. But Bard, Curtiss, Jay, and Melotakis all sit in the mid-90s as well.
COACHING STAFF
Doug Mientkiewicz managed the Lookouts the last two seasons. He led the team to a 151-126 record and that 2015 championship. He returns to Ft. Myers.
Jake Mauer takes over the Lookouts as manager. Mauer has experienced a lot of success. This will be his tenth season as a manager in the Twins minor league system. His overall record is 504-441. He managed in the GCL and at Ft. Myers before taking over the Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2013. In his four seasons there, he went 308-248 and led the team to the playoffs all four seasons.
Ivan Arteaga begins his second season as the Lookouts pitching coach. He began his coaching career with the Twins in 2001 for the Venezuelan Winter League. He’s been a pitching coach at nearly every level of the minor leagues.
Javier Valentin takes over for Tommy Watkins as the hitting coach of the Lookouts. Valentin has been a coach in the GCL the last two years after spending ten seasons in the big leagues, three with the Twins.
--- Adapted from article on Twins Daily.
Veteran Travis Harrison returns to the Lookouts.
photo by Tim Evearitt