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Minnesota Twins Prospect Vote: Round 19

Another widely-spread vote means no new players in this round.

By Jesse Lund
USA TODAY Sports

In a round that saw six of the seven players on the ballot garner double-digit percentages, 2013 second-round pick Ryan Eades landed the winning spot with 26% of your votes. As our number 19 prospect he's probably falling pretty close to where he would land on a Top 20 list by other pundits. Now we kick off the battle for the last player in our own Top 20!

Twinkie Town Top 19 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
  13. Felix Jorge, RHP
  14. Stephen Gonsalves, LHP
  15. Michael Tonkin, RHP
  16. Travis Harrison, 3B
  17. Danny Santana, SS
  18. Kennys Vargas, 1B
  19. Ryan Eades, RHP
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 14: Miguel Sulbaran, D.J. Baxendale, Zack Jones, Fernando Romero, Amaurys Minier, Sean Gilmartin

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.


D.J. Baxendale, RHP
2014 Age: 23
2013 High Level: New Britain, 92.2 IP (Double-A)

Year Age Tm Lev ERA G GS IP WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
2012 21 Elizabethton Rk 0.00 6 0 7.2 0.261 1.2 0.0 1.2 18.8
2012 21 Beloit A 1.64 11 0 11.0 1.182 9.8 0.0 0.8 12.3
2013 22 Fort Myers A+ 1.10 9 9 57.1 0.785 5.3 0.3 1.7 7.5
2013 22 New Britain AA 5.63 16 16 92.2 1.424 10.7 1.3 2.1 6.2
2 Seasons 3.58 42 25 168.2 1.138 8.4 0.8 1.9 7.6
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/13/2014.


The Twins had Baxendale on the fast track through his first two seasons in the system, which is exactly what you love to see from a collegiate pick. He struggled a bit in Double-A in 2013 though, so he's likely to start there again this season - particularly in light of the number of pitchers in the upper levels of the system. He seems to be the second-best pitcher from the 2012 draft, behind Berrios, meaning that - compared to our prospect list last season - he's leapfrogged fellow draft mates J.T. Chargois (#12), Mason Melotakis (#16), and Luke Bard (#17).

Zack Jones, RHP
2014 Age: 23
2013 High Level: Fort Myers, 48.2 IP (Advanced-A)

Year Age Tm Lev ERA G GF SV IP WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
2012 21 Elizabethton Rk 0.00 6 4 0 6.0 1.000 3.0 0.0 6.0 13.5
2012 21 Beloit A 3.21 12 10 4 14.0 1.143 5.8 0.6 4.5 16.1
2013 22 Fort Myers A+ 1.85 39 35 14 48.2 1.151 5.2 0.4 5.2 12.9
2 Seasons 1.97 57 49 18 68.2 1.136 5.1 0.4 5.1 13.6
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/13/2014.

Jones is already a reliever, which hurts his draft status since everyone loves starting pitchers. But in his second season as a professional pitcher, Jones continued his penchant for domination of minor league hitters. He should be coming out of the bullpen in New Britain this season, at age 23, and a strong season could put him in Rochester and just one phonecall away from the Twins. A strong fastball and slider lead a power arsenal. He made the list of our ten un-ranked pitching prospects in September.

Fernando Romero, RHP
2014 Age: 19
2013 High Level: GCL Twins, 45 IP (Rookie)


Year Age Tm Lg ERA G GS IP WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
2012 17 Twins DOSL 4.65 14 6 31.0 1.290 7.5 0.0 4.1 8.1
2013 18 Twins GULF 1.60 12 6 45.0 1.000 6.4 0.0 2.6 9.4
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/22/2014.


Romero's appearance on our list is a coplete surprise to me, too. But Baseball America thought him good enough to rank him as the organization's 12th-best prospect, and that means he deserves our consideration by this point, too. He wasn't overly impressive in his summer in the Dominican in 2012, but between the rotation and bullpen this past summer he positively shot up the charts of notoriety. It seems likely that the Twins keep him in the Rookie leagues again this season, but keeping tabs on him will be a good idea. Where he'll be on our lists at this time next year is the exciting part.

Amaurys Minier, 3B
2014 Age: 18
2013 High Level: GCL Twins, 119 PA (Rookie)

Year Age Lg Lev PA H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA OBP SLG
2013 17 GULF Rk 119 24 5 2 6 6 29 .214 .252 .455
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/22/2014.


Minier was the big international signing for the Twins in 2012, signing in July and finally making his organizational debut in 2013. At just 17 years old you might expect him to struggle, and he did - a little. But he also crushed six home runs and is considered a high-upside prospect with great power from both sides of the plate. He's already shifted from short to third, so that's out of the way, and in spite of his immense talent we'll be seeing him in the Rookie leagues for another year or probably two before we really start to get an idea of how good he might be.

Sean Gilmartin, LHP
2014 Age: 24
2013 High Level: Gwinnett, 91.0 IP (Triple-A)

Year Age Tm Lev ERA G GS IP WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
2011 21 Braves Rk 9.00 1 1 2.0 1.500 13.5 0.0 0.0 4.5
2011 21 Rome A 2.53 5 5 21.1 0.938 7.6 1.3 0.8 12.7
2012 22 Mississippi AA 3.54 20 20 119.1 1.148 8.4 0.7 2.0 6.5
2012 22 Gwinnett AAA 4.78 7 7 37.2 1.434 9.8 1.4 3.1 6.0
2013 23 Braves Rk 0.00 3 2 9.0 0.111 1.0 0.0 0.0 11.0
2013 23 Rome A 1.80 1 1 5.0 0.800 7.2 0.0 0.0 9.0
2013 23 Gwinnett AAA 5.74 17 17 91.0 1.593 11.1 1.2 3.3 6.4
3 Seasons 4.23 54 53 285.1 1.276 9.1 0.9 2.3 7.0
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/30/2014.

Gilmartin was Terry Ryan's return for Ryan Doumit, which still feels like a steal for a player and a salary that wasn't a fit for the 2014 squad. A former first-round pick, Gilmartin was hurt in 2013, so it's safe to say that his line isn't entirely an accurate reflection of his talent level. He doesn't have a high ceiling, but as a lefty with some control and a few pitches with which to work, he could prove to be a useful arm for Minnesota sooner rather than later.

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