It was only a matter of time before Trevor May finally came through with a win, and he did so in Round 10 to become our #11 prospect for 2014. It was a two-man race, but May's 39% over shadowed Adam Walker's 35% by a handful of votes.
Twinkie Town Top 11 Prospects for 2014
- Byron Buxton, CF
- Miguel Sano, 3B
- Alex Meyer, RHP
- Eddie Rosario, 2B/OF
- Kohl Stewart, RHP
- Josmil Pinto, C
- Jose Berrios, RHP
- Jorge Polanco, 2B/SS
- Max Kepler, CF
- Lewis Thorpe, LHP
- Trevor May, RHP
- For each round, a certain number of players will be presented with statistical history, a brief overview, and other basic information such as age and level.
- Once on a ballot, players will remain on the ballot until they eventually win a vote. Barring something drastic, like a trade.
- Sometimes no players will be added to subsequent ballots. Sometimes more than one player will be added. Early rounds will have fewer players for which to vote, and later rounds are more likely to have more.
- Share with your friends! Let's get as many votes as possible.
- A general list has already been assembled, and players are slated to join the voting at a specified time, but you are welcome to recommend players that you think should be added in the following round.
Felix Jorge, RHP
2014 Age: 20
2013 High Level: Elizabethton, 61 IP (Rookie)
Year | Age | Tm | Lev | W | L | G | GS | IP | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | 17 | Twins | FRk | 2 | 1 | 2.67 | 9 | 5 | 27.0 | 1.037 | 6.3 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 8.7 |
2012 | 18 | Twins | Rk | 0 | 3 | 2.34 | 12 | 7 | 34.2 | 1.212 | 7.8 | 0.0 | 3.1 | 9.6 |
2013 | 19 | Elizabethton | Rk | 2 | 2 | 2.95 | 12 | 12 | 61.0 | 1.213 | 8.3 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 10.6 |
3 Seasons | 4 | 6 | 2.71 | 33 | 24 | 122.2 | 1.174 | 7.7 | 0.1 | 2.9 | 9.9 |
Travis Harrison, 3B
2014 Age: 212013 High Level: Cedar Rapids, 537 PA (Single-A)
Year | Age | Tm | Lev | G | PA | H | 2B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | 19 | Elizabethton | Rk | 60 | 253 | 66 | 12 | 5 | 27 | 24 | 51 | .301 | .383 | .461 |
2013 | 20 | Cedar Rapids | A | 129 | 537 | 114 | 28 | 15 | 59 | 68 | 125 | .253 | .366 | .416 |
Harrison's triple slash doesn't look as impressive as his short-season Rookie league debut in 2012, but there are a number of things to keep in mind. First, he definitely slowed in the latter part of the season as his body wore down. That will balance itself out. Second, while his strikeout rates jumped from 20% to about 23%, his walk rates also bumped - from a good 9.5% to an impressive 12.7%. His isolated power was basically identical. What also went up, though, was his percentage of poorly-struck balls. Let's see how he performs this season; the power is real, and that's exciting.
Adam Brett Walker, RF
2014 Age: 22
2013 High Level: Cedar Rapids, 553 PA (Single-A)
Year | Age | Tm | Lev | G | PA | 2B | 3B | HR | SB | CS | BB | SO | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | 20 | Elizabethton | Rk | 58 | 252 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 76 | .250 | .310 | .496 | .805 |
2013 | 21 | Cedar Rapids | A | 129 | 553 | 31 | 7 | 27 | 10 | 0 | 31 | 115 | .278 | .319 | .526 | .844 |
Walker sometimes gets overlooked because, unlike Harrison, he was a collegiate draft pick. His power potential is incredible, but playing on the same team as Miguel Sano and, later, Byron Buxton will result in a bit of overshadowing. Walker's biggest issue is his all-or-nothing philosophy: he struck out less often than Harrison, for example, but his walk rates are so low that he looks like an all-power masher right now. Which is great, because those guys are immensely valuable while they're under team control, but the hope is that better discipline and pitch recognition will raise his ceiling. Scouts like his defense, too, which is a bonus, as is his underrated ability to steal a bag from time to time.
Stephen Gonsalves, LHP
2014 Age: 19
2013 High Level: Elizabethton, 14 IP (Rookie)
Gonsalves was a fourth-round pick in the past year's draft, but his performance out-paces second round pick Ryan Eades and third round pick Stuart Turner for our prospect rankings. If he continues along the trajectory he started in his debut campaign, he could be knocking on the door of the top ten in 2015. There's a long way to go between now and then, but he was dominant in 2013.
Michael Tonkin, RHP
2014 Age: 24
2013 High Level: Minnesota, 11.1 IP (MLB)
Year | Age | Tm | Lev | G | GS | GF | SV | IP | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | 18 | Twins | Rk | 3.27 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 | 1.182 | 8.2 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 6.5 |
2009 | 19 | Twins | Rk | 3.62 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 54.2 | 1.171 | 9.1 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 9.9 |
2010 | 20 | 2 Teams | A-Rk | 3.40 | 23 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 90.0 | 1.289 | 9.4 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 6.6 |
2011 | 21 | Beloit | A | 3.87 | 48 | 3 | 17 | 2 | 76.2 | 1.383 | 9.6 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 8.1 |
2012 | 22 | 2 Teams | A-A+ | 2.08 | 44 | 0 | 25 | 12 | 69.1 | 1.053 | 6.9 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 12.6 |
2013 | 23 | 2 Teams | AAA-AA | 3.47 | 52 | 0 | 41 | 21 | 57.0 | 1.228 | 8.5 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 10.4 |
6 Seasons | 3.29 | 184 | 25 | 86 | 36 | 358.2 | 1.232 | 8.7 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 9.2 |
Tonkin is still eligible for our list due to his innings largely coming in September. What makes him so appealing as a prospect is his floor, which more and more is starting to look like a strong back-end of the bullpen profile. He throws a lot of fastballs in the mid-90s but gets good movement, and he can take a little bit off to get some two-seam action as well. He compliments it with a good slider and occasional changeup. Sure, he's "only" a reliever, but if Casey Fien or Jared Burton falter this season it'll be Tonkin who's first into the breach.
Danny Santana, SS/2B
2014 Age: 23
2013 High Level: New Britain, 588 PA (Double-A)
Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | PA | 2B | 3B | HR | SB | CS | BB | SO | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | 17 | Twins | DOSL | FRk | 219 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 15 | 4 | 20 | 38 | .274 | .343 | .426 |
2009 | 18 | Twins | GULF | Rk | 185 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 27 | .265 | .302 | .418 |
2010 | 19 | 2 Teams | 2 Lgs | Rk-A | 288 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 8 | 10 | 70 | .252 | .287 | .370 |
2011 | 20 | Beloit | MIDW | A | 409 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 15 | 25 | 98 | .247 | .298 | .373 |
2012 | 21 | Fort Myers | FLOR | A+ | 547 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 11 | 29 | 77 | .286 | .329 | .410 |
2013 | 22 | New Britain | EL | AA | 588 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 30 | 13 | 24 | 94 | .297 | .333 | .386 |
6 Seasons | 2236 | 83 | 43 | 25 | 113 | 52 | 116 | 404 | .274 | .318 | .394 |
Santana actually got better as 2013 went along. He took a few more walks, and yes it's all relative and yes he needs to do it more often, but he also improved as a defender at short, cutting down on his early-season errors. He's a strong contact hitter with good speed but no power, so unless he gets better either patience or pitch recognition or both his ceiling will be limited - but his floor is starting to look like a versatile, capable utility type who is good enough to stay with the big league team for the long haul. There's a lot of value in that, especially while the player is under team control. Another guy with maybe not the highest celing, but a pretty good floor.
Miguel Sulbaran, LHP
2014 Age: 20
2013 High Level: Cedar Rapids, 20 IP (Single-A)
Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | Aff | G | GS | IP | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | 17 | Dodgers | DOSL | FRk | LAD | 2.81 | 13 | 11 | 57.2 | 0.954 | 5.8 | 0.3 | 2.8 | 8.1 |
2012 | 18 | Ogden | PION | Rk | LAD | 5.40 | 1 | 1 | 5.0 | 1.200 | 9.0 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 7.2 |
2012 | 18 | Dodgers | ARIZ | Rk | LAD | 2.51 | 11 | 11 | 57.1 | 1.151 | 8.9 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 9.7 |
2012 | 18 | Great Lakes | MIDW | A | LAD | 15.00 | 2 | 2 | 6.0 | 2.833 | 19.5 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 4.5 |
2013 | 19 | Great Lakes | MIDW | A | LAD | 3.01 | 23 | 16 | 92.2 | 1.252 | 8.6 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 8.3 |
2013 | 19 | Cedar Rapids | MIDW | A | MIN | 2.70 | 4 | 4 | 20.0 | 1.300 | 9.4 | 0.0 | 2.2 | 7.2 |
3 Seasons | 3.17 | 54 | 45 | 238.2 | 1.198 | 8.4 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 8.4 |
Yep. This is the guy the Twins landed for Drew Butera. His strong command has helped him to this point, but as he rises through the system the strikeout rates will drop and, at that point, he should be moved to a bullpen role. Scouts seem to like his breaking balls already, so the added velocity on the fastball in short bursts could help him maintain his stock as a prospect down the line.