Although it took nearly ten rounds, former Beloit Snapper MVP James Beresford was selected as our Forty-Fifth ranked prospect. He collected 42 of 201 votes (20%) with Tony Davis, Danny Lehmann and Angel Mata all tied for second with 29 votes. Jairo Perez was fifth with 24.
Steven Gruver and Anderson Hidalgo will remain for the next round, however, A. J. Pettersen, Daniel Osterbrock and Luis Nunez didn't make the cut. Added will be Jorge Polanco, Michael Tarsi, Kennys Vargas and Phillip Chapman. Polanco, who is known for his sterling defense, hit a respectable .250/.668 OPS in 208 at bats in the Gulf Coast League. Considering that he turned 18 in early July, he certainly remains one of the most exciting shortstop prospects in the organization. Tarsi spent most of his season in New Britain where he is considered a local. He had a 3-0 record with a 4.22 ERA in 32.0 innings before moving up to Rochester where he didn't allow a run in two appearances. Vargas is an interesting situation, in that he began a 50-game suspension late last summer. He hit .322/.865 in 174 at bats in Elizabethton where he turned 21 during the season. Considering he will miss nearly half of the coming season, he will need to make an impression at Beloit immediately upon his return. In an organization that is badly in need of a catcher who can hit, Chapman hit .308/.834 in 104 at bats for the GCL Twins. He was a 35th round pick who was playing in low rookie ball after college. But he did hit better than anyone else on that team and certainly deserves a look by the voters of Twinkie Town.
This round will remain open through noon, Friday. Let me know if you would like me handle the 50th round similar to last year when we had four preliminary rounds of ten players (10 players from Hi-A thru AAA, 10 from rookie and low A and two rounds with pitchers from the same leagues). Following the four preliminary rounds, we had a run-off amongst the four winners.