Ranking the Twins Top 30 Prospects: #24-#23

#24.  Trevor Plouffe, Shortstop – Since being selected in the first round of the 2004 draft, and being awarded with a 1.5 million dollar signing bonus, Plouffe has struggled to distinguish himself in a system completely devoid of middle infield talent.  Despite his struggles, Plouffe is still the most advanced middle infield prospect in the entirety of the Twins system.  In fact, one of the primary reasons for the Twins’ big push on signing Miguel Angel Sano was their lack of young talent in that area.  While Twins’ management believes that he could one day demonstrate plus power for a shortstop, he has yet to show that thus far in his five year minor league career.  Plouffe spent all of last season in triple A, struggling to a .313 OBP, with a mere 10 home runs and 3 stolen bases.  However, what Plouffe lacks in offense, he makes up for in defense.  Plouffe possesses a cannon of an arm and can play above average defense at second base, shortstop and third base.  Twins’ management still believes that he can have a significant role on their team, evidenced by the fact that they added him to their 40-man roster last year.  Look for Plouffe to start off the season in triple A, with a promotion to the majors midseason depending on his performance as well as the play of Brendan Harris, J.J. Hardy and Matt Tolbert.     Plouffe should make it to the majors at some point in 2010 or 2011 as an infield utility man, but is unlikely to lock down a starting job with the Twins.

#23.   Shooter Hunt, Pitcher – No player hurt their stock more in 2009 than pitcher Shooter Hunt.  Hunt entered last season as the Twins’ best starting pitching prospect, but quickly played himself out of that role.  Shooter was drafted in 2006 in the first round supplemental and signed for 1.08 million dollars.  Twins’ management was very intrigued by his plus fastball as well as an excellent curve.  In fact, by the end of 2008, Hunt was considered to have the best breaking ball in the entire system.  Unfortunately, all that goodwill that Hunt had garnered disappeared during the 2009 season.  Hunt started off the year in class A ball but floundered to a 10.70 ERA.  He was demoted midseason, but fared little better, posting a 9.60 ERA.  Hunt has premium stuff, but has struggled with command his entire career.  While it was believed that he had put those issues behind him, they came back with avengence in 2009.  In 33 innings across two levels, Hunt gave up an astonishing 58 walks.  The Twins’ will not yet be willing to give up on the 23 year old Hunt, as he possesses a truly dynamic set of pitches.  However, if he wants to have any significant impact at the major league level, Hunt will have to seriously improve his command.  With the disaster that 2009 was, look for the Twins’ to be very patient with Hunt as he progresses through the system.