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After coming within seven votes of each other in Round 5, I shoved Jose Berrios and Josmil Pinto into a cage match and expected blood. Or at least a more definitive answer on who the Twinkie Town community believed to be the better prospect. It turns out that even without the distractions of other options, Berrios and Pinto matched up really well.
But a winner must be chosen, and with 52% of the vote Josmil Pinto comes away as our number six Twins prospect for 2014. Berrios gets tossed back onto the ballot for the seventh-best prospect. I expect him to win, but I wanted to give those who voted for Pinto in the prior full round an opportunity to vote for someone else if they so chose.
Twinkie Town Top Prospects for 2014
- Byron Buxton, CF
- Miguel Sano, 3B
- Alex Meyer, RHP
- Eddie Rosario, 2B/OF
- Kohl Stewart, RHP
- Josmil Pinto, C
- 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.
Players up this round: Jose Berrios, Lewis Thorpe, Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler, Felix Jorge
Jose Berrios, RHP
2014 Age: 20
2013 High Level: Cedar Rapids, 103.2 IP (Single-A)
Year | Age | Tm | Lev | W | L | G | GS | IP | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | 18 | Elizabethton | Rk | 2 | 0 | 1.29 | 3 | 3 | 14.0 | 0.643 | 5.1 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 14.1 |
2012 | 18 | Twins | Rk | 1 | 0 | 1.08 | 8 | 1 | 16.2 | 0.600 | 3.8 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 14.6 |
2013 | 19 | Cedar Rapids | A | 7 | 7 | 3.99 | 19 | 19 | 103.2 | 1.399 | 9.1 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 8.7 |
2 Seasons | 10 | 7 | 3.35 | 30 | 23 | 134.1 | 1.221 | 8.0 | 0.5 | 2.9 | 10.0 |
With Berrios facing his first full-length season as a professional, he understandably slowed a bit at the end of the season. In spite of that he still put forward a pretty solid season for a 19-year old at Single-A. This season will be very telling, as it's likely that he'll spend most (if not all) of his season with Fort Myers; some pundits thought he projected as a reliever when he was drafted, yet the Twins will continue to use him as a starter until he proves he can't be effective doing it. Can he continue to strike batters out at an above average rate and can he continue to be an efficient and productive starter? Let's find out.
Lewis Thorpe, LHP
2014 Age: 18
2013 High Level: GCL Twins, 44.0 IP (Rookie)
It might seem a bit premature to throw international signing Lewis Thorpe into the voting fray so early, but we're doing it. In spite of his age, in spite of his distance from the Majors, in spite of his small sample size, Thorpe absolutely dominated with the GCL Twins in eight starts and four relief appearances. The Twins will no doubt keep him in rookie ball this season, possibly with Elizabethton, but another blistering performance like this might tempt the Twins into seeing how he does in Cedar Rapids at the end of the season. Scouts mostly seem to think he has mid-rotation upside, but it's easy to dream on the Australian 17-year old lefty with amazing strikeout rates.
Jorge Polanco, SS/2B
2014 Age: 20
2013 High Level: Cedar Rapids, 523 PA (Single-A)
Year | Age | Lev | G | PA | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SO | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | 16 | FRk | 18 | 68 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | .250 | .309 | .283 |
2010 | 16 | Rk | 34 | 119 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 9 | .223 | .299 | .301 |
2011 | 17 | Rk | 51 | 193 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 24 | .250 | .319 | .349 |
2012 | 18 | Rk | 51 | 204 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 26 | .318 | .388 | .514 |
2013 | 19 | A | 115 | 523 | 32 | 10 | 5 | 42 | 59 | .308 | .362 | .452 |
4 Seasons | 269 | 1107 | 62 | 15 | 12 | 95 | 127 | .287 | .349 | .418 |
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 |
Max Kepler, CF
2014 Age: 21
2013 High Level: Cedar Rapids, 263 PA (Single-A)
Year | Age | Tm | Lev | G | PA | 2B | HR | SB | CS | BB | SO | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | 17 | Twins | Rk | 37 | 153 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 27 | .286 | .346 | .343 |
2011 | 18 | Elizabethton | Rk | 50 | 221 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 54 | .262 | .347 | .366 |
2012 | 19 | Elizabethton | Rk | 59 | 269 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 27 | 33 | .297 | .387 | .539 |
2013 | 20 | Cedar Rapids | A | 61 | 263 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 43 | .237 | .312 | .424 |
4 Seasons | 207 | 906 | 44 | 20 | 16 | 2 | 87 | 157 | .269 | .348 | .429 |