Rene Tosoni

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Minnesota Twins #12 prospect in 2011
  Tosoni had a huge 2009, hitting a career-high 15 homers in Double-A, winning MVP honors at the Futures Game after delivering the game-winning hit and leading Canada to a third-place finish at the World Cup. Last season was the opposite. He injured his right shoulder during spring training, then tried to play through it. He lasted through the first week of June, playing all but eight games at DH, before having surgery to repair his labrum. Despite his lost year and their outfield depth, the Twins placed him on the 40-man roster this offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Even with a bad shoulder, Tosoni was one of New Britain's best hitters, and his pure swing remains his best attribute. He's a solid athlete with enough strength to shoot line drives to the gaps and develop average home run power. He has average speed and is a capable center fielder when healthy, though not good enough to profile as an everyday player there. He has an average arm and has good defensive instincts. On a perennial playoff team, like Minnesota is now, he profiles best as an extra outfielder rather than as a regular. If healthy, Tosoni will advance to Triple-A this year.
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  Ranked Minnesota Twins #12 prospect in 2010
  A Canadian who followed the path of countrymen such as Russell Martin and Adam Loewen to Chipola (Fla.) JC, Tosoni has impressed the Twins with his hitting skills and solid tools. He missed time after signing in 2006 because of visa restrictions (he worked out at the Twins' Dominican complex instead), and in 2008 with a broken left foot. He had the game-winning hit in the 2009 Futures Game and was named MVP of the prospect showcase, and he led Canada to a bronze medal in the World Cup, batting .357 with 11 extra-base hits in 56 at-bats. Tosoni has one of the system's best swings and should hit for average. He's short to the ball and long through the hitting zone, and he has the patience to get into good hitter's counts. Tosoni's other tools all grade out as solidaverage, and his power emerged in 2009 for the first time. He has enough speed and savvy to play center field, and enough arm to fit into right field. He's a grinder who plays hard and earns praise for his makeup. Nothing Tosoni does stands out, however. His average speed won't play on the bases at higher levels, and he doesn't have the profile power for a corner. He seemed gassed in the Arizona Fall League, where he hit just .218. He struggles against lefthanders and hit just .185/.293/.315 against them in 2009, compared to .308/.389/.515 against righthanders. Tosoni may not be more than a second-division regular or a quality fourth outfielder, but he could fit in soon in Minnesota, which could use his lefty bat and defensive versatility. He'll start 2010 in Triple-A.
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  Ranked Minnesota Twins #18 prospect in 2009
  While Chris Parmelee and Joe Benson were early-round picks, Minnesota had them repeat the Midwest League in 2008 while sending Tosoni, a 36th-round draft-and-follow, to high Class A though he had just 11 at-bats above Rookie ball. Tosoni was batting .325 and making the Twins look smart when he fouled a pitch off his left foot on May 16. He broke a bone on the top of his foot and missed three months. He was rusty when he returned, with one hit in 14 at-bats. Tosoni has a sweet, short swing, and only Ben Revere projects to hit for a better average among Twins farmhands. Tosoni is patient, keeps the bat in the hitting zone for a long time and stings the ball to all fields. He's not one-dimensional, either. He's an average runner who's a capable center fielder, and his arm plays above-average with accuracy, strength and a quick release. Despite his lack of experience, Tosoni has added polish on the fundamentals, such as running the bases, hitting cutoff men and grinding through at-bats. Unlike Benson and Parmelee, he lacks the above-average raw power normally associated with a corner outfielder, which is probably what he'll be in the long run. Tosoni will return to the Florida State League, hardly a power-hitting haven, in hopes of staying healthy and having his first full season in 2009.
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  Ranked Minnesota Twins #24 prospect in 2008
  The Twins have had success with sweet-swinging Canadians, such as Corey Koskie and Justin Morneau. Tosoni may not have their upside, but he's one of the system's most intriguing hitters. Minnesota liked him enough to draft him twice, in 2004 out of high school and in 2005 after a year at Chipola (Fla.) JC, which alma mater of Canadians such as Adam Loewen and Russell Martin. He's somewhat raw and was exposed a bit in the Midwest League playoffs, but Tosoni has the sweetest swing in the organization. Even when he hit just .192 in the postseason, four of his five hits were doubles. Tosoni has a compact lefthanded stroke, and he keeps the bat in the hitting zone a long time. He has a line-drive approach, centers the ball on the barrel regularly and has shown good plate discipline, making the Twins optimistic that his power will develop. He has average speed, range and arm strength, and he can become an above-average corner fielder with repetitions and work. Tosoni finished the year in low Class A and will go back there for the 2008 season.