January 25 - February 7, 2010; p. 23

Baseball America has rated Carlos Gutierrez (Bethesda Big Train 2005) as the No. 7 prospect in the Minnesota Twins organization for 2010. The magazine also attributed to Gutierrez the Best Fastball in the Twins system.

Says BA's John Manuel, ''Gutierrez helped lead Miami to the College World Series and was one of three Hurricane first-rounders in 2008, along with Yonder Alonso and Jemile Weeks. His younger brother David, a righthander, still pitches for the Hurricanes. Carlos closed for the 2008 club, but the Twins liked him as a starter and used him in that role for most of 2009, until he neared his innings limit.

''Gutierrez's hard sinker delivers groundouts by the bushel. It's a 92-94 mph bowling ball that produced a 3.45 groundouts/airout ratio, the best of any minor leaguer with 100 innings last year. He's difficult to elevate when he commands his sinker, and it helps his average changeup and slider both play up. He's athletic, controls the running game and fields his position well.

''The Twins were cautious with Gutierrez's workload after he had Tommy John surgery in 2007 and pitched just 80 innings between college and pro ball in 2008. He'll need to get stretched out even more to be ready to start in the majors. Command is his other big obstacle, as his ball moves too much for him to keep it in the strike zone at times.

''Improved command would allow Gutierrez to make good on the Derek Lowe comparisons he has earned. He's headed back to Double-A as a starter, but if he falters in that role, he should be able to make a big league impact as a setup man or possibly a closer.''

Copyright 2010. Baseball America.