Lewis, Kirilloff lead prospects invited to camp

18 of Twins' Top 30 prospects per MLB Pipeline to compete in spring

February 15th, 2021

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins announced 18 non-roster invitees and 14 Minor League depth players to their Spring Training roster on Monday, featuring a mixture of top prospects and a large group of players with previous Major League experience.

Top prospects Royce Lewis (No. 1, per MLB Pipeline) and Trevor Larnach (No. 3) will be in big league camp for the second straight season, where they will join Alex Kirilloff (No. 2), Jordan Balazovic (No. 4), Jhoan Duran (No. 5) and Ryan Jeffers (No. 6), all of whom are already on the 40-man roster.

The Minor League depth group will be headlined by 2020 first-round Draft pick Aaron Sabato (No. 8) and '19 second-rounder Matt Canterino (No. 11).

Other Top 30 prospects in camp either as members of the 40-man roster or depth options will include Brent Rooker (No. 12), Gilberto Celestino (No. 14), Edwar Colina (No. 15), Nick Gordon (No. 16), Travis Blankenhorn (No. 17), Jose Miranda (No. 21), Dakota Chalmers (No. 23), Ben Rortvedt (No. 26), Josh Winder (No. 28) and Bailey Ober (No. 30).

Clubs had until last Friday to submit their initial Spring Training rosters, capped at 75 players. Minnesota's initial roster has 72, leaving room for additional invitations down the line.

Here's a quick look at the Twins' camp roster:

Catchers
40-man: Willians Astudillo, Mitch Garver, Ryan Jeffers, Ben Rortvedt
NRI: David Banuelos, Caleb Hamilton, Tomás Telis
Minor League: Alex Isola, Kyle Schmidt

Garver and Jeffers are locks for the Major League roster, while Astudillo should have a shot to crack the 26-man as a utility option. Rortvedt remains on the rise due to the strength of his defense, and Telis and Hamilton are both back as non-roster options.

Infielders
40-man: Luis Arraez, Travis Blankenhorn, Josh Donaldson, Nick Gordon, Jorge Polanco, Miguel Sanó, Andrelton Simmons
NRI: Royce Lewis, Tzu-Wei Lin, JT Riddle
Minor League: Drew Maggi, Jose Miranda, Aaron Sabato, Chris Williams, Zander Wiel

The MLB picture here appears mostly set, while Blankenhorn and Gordon could compete for looks as big league utility options later in the season, though the latter could be fighting an uphill battle after losing 2020 to COVID-19. Lewis is back in big league camp after spending '20 at the alternate training site, and both Lin and Riddle bring MLB utility experience as organizational depth. Look out for Sabato's big power late in games.

Outfielders
40-man: Byron Buxton, Jake Cave, Gilberto Celestino, Kyle Garlick, Max Kepler, Alex Kirilloff, Brent Rooker, Nelson Cruz (DH)
NRI: Keon Broxton, Trevor Larnach, Rob Refsnyder
Minor League: None

This could be a more intriguing position group to watch during camp. Will the Twins hand Kirilloff the Opening Day job or keep him in the Minors for a bit? Could the newly acquired Garlick compete with Cave and Rooker for playing time as a backup? Larnach's big bat will also be back in the fray alongside Broxton and Refsnyder, who both have depth experience on winning Major League teams.

Starting pitchers
40-man: Jordan Balazovic, José Berríos, Dakota Chalmers, Randy Dobnak, Jhoan Duran, J.A. Happ, Kenta Maeda, Bailey Ober, Michael Pineda, Devin Smeltzer, Lewis Thorpe
NRI: Andrew Albers, Charlie Barnes, Griffin Jax
Minor League: Matt Canterino, Chandler Shepherd, Josh Winder

There should be at least some competition for the fifth starting rotation spot, where Dobnak looks to have the inside track but Smeltzer and Thorpe could still figure in. The progress of Balazovic, Chalmers and Duran should also be of interest following a season of lost Minor League development, as all three could figure into the Twins' plans at some point in 2021. Ober, Barnes and Jax should continue to rise through the system to the cusp of the Majors, and Canterino should provide an intriguing look with his standout stuff.

Relief pitchers
40-man: Jorge Alcala, Shaun Anderson, Edwar Colina, Alex Colomé, Tyler Duffey, Ian Gibaut, Hansel Robles, Taylor Rogers, Cody Stashak, Caleb Thielbar
NRI: Danny Coulombe, Luke Farrell, Derek Law, Juan Minaya, Glenn Sparkman, Brandon Waddell
Minor League: Tom Hackimer, Robinson Leyer, Ryan Mason, Andrew Vasquez

There could be a competition to serve as big league bullpen depth between the likes of Anderson, Colina and Gibaut, with plenty of experienced relievers also looking for opportunity as non-roster invitees. Law has 167 big league appearances to his name, Coulombe has 155 and Minaya has 125, headlining a group that should be more important than ever as the Twins ramp up from 2020's 60-game season to a full 162-game campaign in '21.