Twinkie Town Prospect Vote: Round 7

Fernando Romero was the consensus best pick for the #6 prospect. I will add another starting pitcher to the voting for this round.

Twins top 30 prospects for 2017

1. Stephen Gonsalves - 52% (Gordon 34%, Kirilloff 8%, Jay 7%)
2. Nick Gordon - 73% (Jay 15%, Kirilloff 13%)
3. Tyler Jay - 46% (Kirilloff 29%, Romero 17%, Stewart 4%, Mejia 4%)
4. Alex Kirilloff - 51% (Romero 35%, Stewart 9%, Mejia 6%)
5. Kohl Stewart - 43% (Romero 29%, Chargois 14%, Javier 9%, Mejia 6%)
6. Fernando Romero - 48% (Chargois 32%, Javier 11%, Mejia 10%)

Here are the choices for round 7:

Felix Jorge, RHP
2017 Age: 23
2016 High Level: Chattanooga (AA)

Felix Jorge was signed by the Twins as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic and pitched his first innings in the organization in 2011. He has worked his way up the organizational ladder by throwing strikes with decent strikeout rates but a better ability to avoid walks. Jorge pitched 167 innings last season which shows good durability. His performance at Fort Myers was excellent (7.5 K/9, 1.1 BB/9, 1.84 run average) but like teammate Kohl Stewart he was challenged by his first exposure to AA (3.9 K/9, 1.5 BB/9, 4.12 RA). Jorge was added to the 40 man roster this offseason to prevent a team from picking him in the Rule 5 draft. Scouts believe he could be an effective fourth starter or strong bullpen arm in the major leagues with his current mix of pitches with potential to exceed that projection if he can improve his off-speed pitches.

Wander Javier, SS
2017 Age: 18
2016 High Level: Dominican Summer League (Foreign Rookie)

The Twins signed Javier as an international free agent in the summer of 2015. He was ranked by Baseball America as the #9 international prospect and #8 by MLB.com. The Twins gave him a $4M signing bonus which was all of their international free agent budget. He made his debut with the Dominican Twins last summer and had a very strong but very short performance. In 9 games he hit .308/.400/.654 and then injured his hamstring and didn't play again until fall instructional leagues. Scouts love his righthanded power and ability to play the position. He may end up playing rookie ball at Fort Myers this summer.

J.T. Chargois, RHP
2017 Age: 26
2016 High Level: Twins (MLB)

J.T. Chargois was a second round draft pick from Rice University in 2012. Soon after he was drafted he injured his elbow and had to undergo Tommy John surgery, missing two full seasons. He has used a 97 MPH fastball to strike batters out in the minor leagues, posting a 10.6 K/9 against a 3.5 BB/9 in three minor league seasons. After a rocky debut Chargois settled down and pitched well for the last month of the season. If he can repeat his line over Sept/Oct of 2016 (9.2 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 2.84 ERA) he will be a contributor in the 2017 MLB bullpen.

Adalberto Mejia, LHP
2017 Age: 24
2016 High Level: Twins (MLB)

Mejia was signed as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic by the Giants in 2011. He worked his way through the Giants system as a starting pitcher quickly reaching AA in his third season in the system. He stalled out a bit at AA but took a step forward last season with 2.0 BB/9 and 8.6 K/9 and a 3.14 RA across AA and AAA. Mejia was dealt to the Twins for Eduardo Nunez in July. He made his MLB debut with the Twins in August, then returned to AAA where he finished the season after 150 innings pitched. Mejia projects as a back of the rotation lefty or perhaps a strong bullpen arm and is likely to begin the season back in Rochester.