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Minnesota Twins 2014 Prospect Vote: Round 12

Having 27 home runs means more than what you're capable of, or was there just faith in Walker's future?

By Jesse Lund

Adam Brett Walker's votes had been piling up over the last couple of rounds, and that played out in Round 11. The number 12 prospect in the Twins farm system, voted by the Twinkie Town faithful, is the 22-year old Walker. He garnered 39% of the vote.

Twinkie Town Top 12 Prospects for 2014

  1. Byron Buxton, CF
  2. Miguel Sano, 3B
  3. Alex Meyer, RHP
  4. Eddie Rosario, 2B/OF
  5. Kohl Stewart, RHP
  6. Josmil Pinto, C
  7. Jose Berrios, RHP
  8. Jorge Polanco, 2B/SS
  9. Max Kepler, CF
  10. Lewis Thorpe, LHP
  11. Trevor May, RHP
  12. Adam Brett Walker, RF
Your rules:
  • 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 in Round 11: Felix Jorge, Travis Harrison, Stephen Gonsalves, Michael Tonkin, Danny Santana, Miguel Sulbaran

Felix Jorge, RHP
2014 Age: 20
2013 High Level: Elizabethton, 61 IP (Rookie)

Year Age Tm Lev W L ERA G GS IP WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
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
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/21/2013.

I was going to wait another round or two to add Jorge, but after the discussions we've had hereand considering how highly BP ranked him in their list, it's certainly possible he merits more consideration than I was giving him. With 12 strong starts under his belt in E-Town this season, Jorge will be pushed ahead to Cedar Rapids this summer and we'll see how his great arm deals with not just better hitters but with a full season. Berrios tired a bit in 2013, and the same is virtually guaranteed to happen to Jorge or any pitcher coming off of a short season. The question is: how will he handle it?

Travis Harrison, 3B

2014 Age: 21
2013 High Level: Cedar Rapids, 537 PA (Single-A)
Year Age Tm Lev G PA H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG
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
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/16/2013.

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.

Stephen Gonsalves, LHP
2014 Age: 19
2013 High Level: Elizabethton, 14 IP (Rookie)

Year Age Tm Lg ERA G GS GF IP WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
2013 18 Twins GULF 0.63 5 2 1 14.1 1.047 5.0 0.0 4.4 11.3
2013 18 Elizabethton APPY 1.29 3 3 0 14.0 1.000 6.4 0.0 2.6 13.5
1 Season 0.95 8 5 1 28.1 1.024 5.7 0.0 3.5 12.4
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/2/2014.

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 ERA G GS GF SV IP WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
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
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/2/2014.

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 BA OBP SLG
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
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/2/2014.

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 ERA G GS IP WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
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
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/2/2014.

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.

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