Twins series preview: When youth movements go wrong

If I had told you before the season that the Royals were playing the Twins in a September series and that Minnesota was 18 games better than Kansas City, you probably wouldn’t be too surprised. The Twins were thought to be a team on the verge of championship contention, having tasted the playoffs in a Wild Card loss to the Yankees last year.

But something happened on the way to Title Town for the Twinkies, and it remains to be seen whether this year’s disappointing season is a temporary setback or the beginning of a big reveal that shows the franchise core was fool’s gold.

Many of the familiar names with the Twins have been traded away - Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar, Lance Lynn, Fernando Rodney, and Ryan Pressley were all dealt in July deadline deals. Byron Buxton and Logan Morrison sit on the disabled list both wanting to get this disappointing season over with as soon as possible.

Royal-killer Miguel Sano has missed a week with a knee injury, and his career is in the balance now after having spent much of the season in the minors with a demotion. The Twins have been led offensively by Eddie Rosario, who is nursing a quad injury. This may be the swan song for Minnesota native and longtime Twin Joe Mauer, who is eligible for free agency this winter.

You may get a chance to see young Twins catcher Willians Astudillo, who has the physique of a Bartolo Colon with the hair of a young Troy Polamalu. Behold.

Twins starters have the tenth-worst FIP in baseball, just barely better than the Royals. Kyle Gibson has a pretty good track record against the Royals and has a 3.05 ERA in nine career starts at Kauffman Stadium.

Stephen Gonsalves will make just his fifth Major League start, but he has completed four innings in a start just once so far, and he exited in the third his last time out against the Royals, having given up five runs. I could have sworn Chase De Jong was either an infielder for the Cardinals or the goalkeeper for Team Netherlands, but apparently it is a Twins pitcher. He tossed four shutout innings against the Royals last week and was recently acquired from the Mariners for reliever Zach Duke.

Trevor Hildenberger struggled upon getting the closer’s role in August, but has given up just one earned run in his last 11 outings for a 1.08 ERA. Taylor Rogers has been a solid setup man with 10.0 strikeouts-per-nine innings. Veteran Addison Reed (he’s only 29?) is still whipping the ball in their pen, and the rest of the relief staff is made up of cast-offs and youngsters who began the year twirling pitches in the International League.

The Twins may very well be back on schedule with their young core by next year. But they should be a cautionary tale for anyone that thinks just amassing a bunch of talented prospects will equal guaranteed success. Byron Buxton has been hurt and not good. Miguel Sano is starting to look like a bust. Jorge Polanco looks solid, but with no ability to draw walks. Jose Berrios looks good, but he can’t carry a rotation by himself. Prospects are just that, prospective. Hopefully the young players the Royals are amassing will be able to translate potential into success.