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Minnesota Twins Prospect Vote: Round 28

Moving right along.

By Jesse Lund
Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

And Mason Melotakis breaks through! He owned this vote, picking up 43% of your votes. Adrian Salcedo landed in a distant second place, with just 19%. As we move forward we'll add yet another prospect, making the task of making our Top 30 that much more difficult for the remaining candidates. One final player will be added for our final round later in the week.

Twinkie Town Top 28 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
  20. Zack Jones, RHP
  21. Fernando Romero, RHP
  22. Sean Gilmartin, LHP
  23. Miguel Sulbaran, LHP
  24. Stuart Turner, C
  25. Amaurys Minier, 3B
  26. D.J. Baxendale, RHP
  27. Niko Goodrum, SS
  28. Mason Melotakis, LHP

Players up in Round 27: Taylor Rogers, Adrian Salcedo, Dalton Hicks, Tyler Jones, Lewin Diaz

Taylor Rogers, LHP
2014 Age: 23
2013 High Level: Fort Myers, 130.2 (Advanced-A)

Year Age Tm Lev ERA G GS IP WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
2012 21 Elizabethton Rk 1.80 6 6 30.0 0.833 6.0 0.6 1.5 11.7
2012 21 Beloit A 2.70 9 4 33.1 1.350 8.9 1.4 3.2 9.4
2013 22 Cedar Rapids A 7.20 3 3 10.0 1.800 12.6 0.9 3.6 9.0
2013 22 Fort Myers A+ 2.55 22 21 130.2 1.156 8.2 0.3 2.2 5.7
2 Seasons 2.69 40 34 204.0 1.172 8.2 0.6 2.3 7.4
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/13/2014.

Rogers was, as our own Roger notes, one of the better pitchers in the Twins' minor league system last year. He doesn't strike anyone out, but the command is decent and he does a good job of limiting base runners. He was an 11th-round pick in 2012 so you'd like to hope he can move quickly, but some of that will depend on how well he adapts to tougher competition. Can he continue to be successful even if he posts pedestrian strikeout rates?

Adrian Salcedo, RHP
2014 Age: 23
2013 High Level: Fort Myers, 58.1 IP (Advanced-A)

Year Age Lev ERA G GS GF IP WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
2008 17 FRk 1.65 12 12 0 65.1 0.842 6.5 0.1 1.1 6.9
2009 18 Rk 1.46 11 10 1 61.2 1.022 8.8 0.1 0.4 8.5
2010 19 Rk 3.27 16 8 3 66.0 0.985 7.5 0.4 1.4 8.9
2010 19 A+ 6.26 6 6 0 27.1 1.829 13.8 1.0 2.6 5.3
2011 20 A 2.93 29 20 4 135.0 1.170 8.7 0.3 1.8 6.1
2012 21 Rk 3.38 3 2 0 5.1 1.500 11.8 0.0 1.7 6.8
2012 21 A+ 6.39 8 7 0 25.1 1.895 11.7 0.4 5.3 5.0
2013 22 A+ 3.70 34 0 19 58.1 1.166 8.2 0.9 2.3 8.3
6 Seasons 3.10 119 65 27 444.1 1.159 8.7 0.4 1.8 7.2
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/4/2014.

Salcedo has been off of our list for the last couple years after making appearances earlier in his history with the organization. It's been a slow move through the ranks so far, but with his move to the bullpen his rate stats have improved and, with them, the front-line stats like ERA and WHIP. It's helped him to be a more efficient and effective pitcher, and as a result we see him on our list towards the end of our voting. He's a borderline Top 30 guy, so where he lands is up to you.

Dalton Hicks, 1B
2014 Age: 24
2013 High Level: Fort Myers, 178 PA (Advanced-A)

Year Age Tm Lev PA H 2B HR BB SO BA OBP SLG
2012 22 Elizabethton Rk 136 31 7 4 19 37 .270 .382 .435
2013 23 Cedar Rapids A 400 105 31 13 34 85 .297 .355 .494
2013 23 Fort Myers A+ 176 40 8 4 22 38 .270 .364 .405
2 Seasons 712 176 46 21 75 160 .285 .362 .462
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/6/2014.

With his season numbers inflated by 400 really good plate appearances in Single-A, it's easy to see Hicks as a legitimate prospect. He's just two years into his professional baseball career, but finishing High-A at age 23, with a performance that isn't all that inspiring, will paint things in a new light. A bigger issue: if Kennys Vargas starts the season at Double-A, which he should, Hicks could return to Fort Myers to start the season as a 24-year old. We need to see more from Hicks before his prospect status improves, and there isn't much time left for that, either.

Tyler Jones, RHP
2014 Age: 24
2013 High Level: Fort Myers, 15.0 IP (Advanced-A)

Year Age Tm Lev ERA G GS GF SV IP WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
2011 21 Elizabethton Rk 12.86 4 1 1 0 7.0 2.571 20.6 2.6 2.6 10.3
2012 22 Beloit A 4.67 18 16 0 0 86.2 1.442 9.3 0.5 3.6 10.6
2013 23 Cedar Rapids A 1.93 24 0 16 9 37.1 0.938 4.6 0.0 3.9 10.6
2013 23 Fort Myers A+ 4.20 12 0 10 4 15.0 1.467 10.8 0.0 2.4 13.2
3 Seasons 4.32 58 17 27 13 146.0 1.370 8.8 0.4 3.5 10.8
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/24/2014.

Jones the second was shifted to the bullpen full time in 2013 and it panned out for him. The strikeout numbers remained impressive and his occasional "hittability" (totally a thing) was mitigated by limiting his exposure. He should move more quickly now that he's a full-time reliever, so we could see him in Triple-A at the end of the year. He needs to prove that the ground ball and strikeout rates can work for him against better competition, but if they do he could be pushing for a Major League bullpen role this time next spring.

Lewin Diaz, OF
2014 Age: 17


Diaz hasn't made an appearance yet in the Minnesota system, but he was one of the top international prospects when he signed with the Twins last year for their largest international expenditure in the whole of 2013. The foot speed is well below average and three other tools are projected to be nothing better than average, but scouts like his power potential. He was baseball's 10th-best international prospect in 2013 and is regularly compared, physically, to David Ortiz and Ryan Howard. He'll move to first base sooner rather than later, but the question is: how highly do you rate a player who hasn't yet played in the system, based off of scouting reports?

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