To say the Twins were ahead of schedule in 2017 would be a vast understatement. The Twins became just the second team since the Draft was instituted in 1965 to make the playoffs in the same season they had the No. 1 overall pick.
• Twins Top 30 Prospects list
They did it with a young core of talent that should be there for a long time, led by former top prospects Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, along with players like Eddie Rosario, Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler. And there's even more good news down on the farm.
:: Team Top 30 Prospects lists ::
The Twins currently don't have a top 10 farm system and have four members on the Top 100. But it's easy to see any of the next five or six players on the new Top 30 working their way onto that list over the course of 2018, and this being one of the best systems in baseball by the end of the season. There's as much upside among the non-Top 100 set in this system as perhaps in any other in baseball.
Some of it came from international efforts, with Wander Javier and Brusdar Graterol poised to jump on the national prospect radar. Some came from the Draft, with 2016 first-rounder Alex Kirilloff and 2017 draftees Brent Rooker and Blayne Enlow ready to breakout. And that doesn't even include that No. 1 pick, Royce Lewis, who is already firmly on the Top 100 and jumped on a fast track by handling a push to the Midwest League during his summer debut.
There's also solid talent up and down the organization. Five members of the 2017 Draft class landed on the Top 30 and are just starting out, though Rooker should move faster than most. On the flip side, three of the top four, all Top 100 prospects -- Fernando Romero, Stephen Gonsalves and Nick Gordon -- should make some kind of impact at Target Field this year.
All of this adds up to one simple conclusion: What the Twins accomplished in 2017 not only wasn't a mirage, but it's a success that very well could be long-lasting because of what is a very strong and deep farm system.

Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the 2017 preseason list to the 2018 preseason list.
Jump: Brusdar Graterol, RHP (2017: NR | 2018: 7)
Fall: J.T. Chargois, RHP (2017: 11 | 2018: 24) | Ben Rortvedt, C (2017: 12 | 2018: 25)
Best tools
Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.
Hit: 60 -- Royce Lewis
Power: 60 -- Brent Rooker
Run: 70 -- Royce Lewis
Arm: 60 -- Andrew Bechtold (Wander Javier)
Defense: 55 -- Ben Rortvedt (Nick Gordon, Andrew Bechtold, Zack Granite)
Fastball: 80 -- J.T. Chargois
Curveball: 60 -- Blayne Enlow
Slider: 60 -- J.T. Chargois
Changeup: 60 -- Stephen Gonsalves
Control: 55 -- Felix Jorge (Gonsalves, Enlow, Zack Littell)
How they were built
Draft: 19
International: 8
Trade: 3
Breakdown by ETA
2018: 12
2019: 3
2020: 6
2021: 8
2022: 1
Breakdown by position
C: 2
1B: 1
2B: 3
3B: 2
SS: 3
OF: 6
RHP: 9
LHP: 4