Twinkie Town Community Prospect Vote: Round 17

Congratulations to Gabriel Moya for winning round 16.

Twins Top 30 prospects for 2018

1. Royce Lewis - 57% (Gonsalves 25%, Gordon 18%)
2. Stephen Gonsalves - 55% (Gordon 30%, Javier 10%, Romero 5%)
3. Nick Gordon - 65% (Romero 19%, Javier 9%, Kirilloff 7%)
4. Zack Littell - 57% (Romero 27%, Javier 13%, Kirilloff 4%)
5. Fernando Romero 46% (Rooker 24%, Javier 21%, Kirilloff 9%)
6. Wander Javier 44% (Rooker 31%, Kirilloff 13%, Enlow 7%, Graterol 5%)
7. Brent Rooker 55% (Kirilloff 26%, Baddoo 7%, Graterol 7%, Enlow 5%)
8. Alex Kirilloff 47% (Thorpe 23%, Graterol 13%, Baddoo 10%, Enlow 7%)
9. Lewis Thorpe 30% (Graterol 22%, Baddoo 21%, Jay 16%, Enlow 12%)
10. Brudsar Graterol 29% (Baddoo 19%, Enlow 19%, Garver 17%, Jay 14%)
11. Akil Baddoo 32% (Enlow 27%, Jay 19%, Garver 15%, Jorge 7%)
12. Blayne Enlow 48% (Jay 22%, Garver 21%, Jorge 8%)
13. Tyler Jay 41% (Garver 38%, Wade 11%, Jorge 10%)
14. Mitch Garver 48% (Wade 18%, Moya 14%, Curtiss 13%, Jorge 6%)
15. LaMonte Wade 25% (Moya 23%, Curtiss 16%, Palacios 15%, Diaz 13%, Jorge 9%)
16. Gabriel Moya 32% (Palacios 19%, Curtiss 17%, Diaz 14%, Jorge 9%, Blankenhorn 9%)

An outfielder makes the ballot this round as we keep six choices.

Felix Jorge, SP

2018 Age: 24

2017 High Level: Minnesota Twins (MLB)

Felix Jorge was originally signed for $400,000 in 2011 as an amateur free agent from the Dominican Republic. He started that year in the Dominican Summer League as a 17 year old. He gradually worked his way up the ladder but started to get more notice as a prospect when he performed well (7.2 K/9 2.0 BB/9, 3.30 RA) as a 21 year old in Cedar Rapids. He continued to earn promotions working as a starting pitcher and was added to the 40 man roster in November 2016. In 2017 the Twins promoted him from AA Chattanooga directly to the majors to make a spot start in a doubleheader. His debut against the Royals was okay and he stayed on the roster for another start against the Orioles which was terrible. He was sent back to AA Chattanooga and earned an August promotion to AAA. His 5.02 RA at Rochester didn’t convince the Twins to bring him up in September. Listed at 6’2” and 175 pounds he is described as having a “slight” build. He uses a 90-91 MPH fastball, changeup and slider with good control to generate ground ball outs and doesn’t give away many walks. Jorge’s role in 2018 will be as starting pitching depth in AAA. Unless he adds fastball velocity he seems destined to become a back of the rotation starter or possibly a swingman middle reliever.

John Curtiss, RP

2018 Age: 25

2017 High Level: Minnesota Twins (MLB)

John Curtiss played his college ball at Texas and was drafted by the Twins in the 6th round of the 2014 draft. He had multiple injuries in college but pitched well enough in his junior year to impress the Twins. His 2014 debut at Elizabethton went well but he struggled in 2015 at Cedar Rapids. He pitched well at Fort Myers in 2016 (11.5 K/9) and stayed on a roll throughout 2017 dominating AA (12.6 K/9 1.08 RA) and AAA (12.2 K/9 1.85 RA) and ended the season in the major league bullpen. Curtiss caught too much of the plate the big leagues as his H/9 doubled but his strikeout rate was 10.4 per 9 innings and walk rate at 2.1 per 9. Curtiss gets strikeouts with a mid to upper 90s fastball and an effective slider that he can throw at several speeds. If he can spot those pitches he should be able to contribute in the Twins bullpen for several seasons.

Lewin Diaz, 1B

2018 Age: 21

2017 High Level: Cedar Rapids (A)

Dominican Lewin Diaz received a sizable $1.4M bonus to sign with the Twins in 2013. He had good scouting reports for his power bat but had little to show for it until his 2016 season when he repeated Elizabethton and hit .310/.353/.575. In 2017 at Cedar Rapids he hit .292/.329/.444 with 33 doubles and 12 HR. He has walked about half as often as he strikes out in the minors and his 2017 was no different (25BB 80K). He is a lefthanded thrower and slow runner so defensively he is limited to 1B. At 6’3” 240 he is a larger than average human being which is an asset at 1B. He should begin 2018 at Fort Myers and will need to continue to improve his hitting to turn his power potential into reality. He will need to produce at the plate at his highest projection to be a big league contributor.

Jermaine Palacios, SS

2018 Age: 21

2017 High Level: Fort Myers (A+)

Jermaine Palacios was signed as an international free agent in 2013 from Venezuela. He hit from the get-go, posting an 800 OPS with the Dominican rookie team in 2014. In 2015 he beat up the GCL batting .370/.398/.540, earning a mid-season promotion to Elizabethton where he impressed with a .336/.345/.507 line as an 18 year old. He was promoted to Cedar Rapids in 2016 and struggled for the first month of the season at that level. Just as he seemed to be adjusting he suffered a season ending injury after being hit by a pitch in June. The Twins had Palacios repeat Cedar Rapids in 2016 and he hit .320/.362/.544, earning a mid-season promotion to Fort Myers. At Fort Myers Palacios hit just .269/.303/.359 and his strikeout rate had an uptick. He is not a particularly patient batter at the plate with more strikeouts (206) than walks (87) throughout his minor league career. His glove has been adequate for SS but with the SS depth of the Twins in the minors it is unlikely he plays there in the majors. His arm and range profile well at 3B if he cannot stick at SS but he is being given the opportunity to play SS until he proves he can’t. If he can improve his selectivity at the plate he has the potential to be a plus hitter with plenty of power for a left-side infielder.

Travis Blankenhorn, 2B/3B

2018 Age: 21

2017 High Level: Cedar Rapids (A)

Travis Blankenhorn was drafted by the Twins in the 3rd round of the 2015 draft. Scouts liked his approach at the plate and his lefthanded bat. He grades out as an above average athlete but doesn’t have a “natural” position. He did well enough in his first two seasons at the plate to earn midseason promotions, first to Elizabethton and then to Cedar Rapids. The Twins can’t seem to decide which infield position suits him best as he has split time at second and third base every season. He started last season red hot at the plate but hit an extended slump that dropped his overall numbers. Still he was able to improve his production year-on-year at Cedar Rapids hitting .251/.343/.441 with 13 HR. His athletic talent should allow him to play infield and his positional flexibility could be an asset as an utility player similar to Eduardo Nunez. Blankenhorn has been slightly young for the levels he has played and has produced fairly well at the plate for an infielder. Expect to see Blankenhorn playing in Fort Myers this summer but not for the Twins before 2020.

Zack Granite, OF

2018 Age: 25

2017 High Level: Minnesota Twins (MLB)

Zack Granite was a 2013 draft pick in the 14th round from Seton Hall University. He has elite speed and that has helped him play strong defense, produce a high batting average and pile up stolen bases. He has a good eye and gets on base with fairly balanced walks and strikeouts but his bat lacks power. The Twins promoted him fairly quickly and he produced in AA in 2016 with a .295/.347/.382 batting line and 56 stolen bases. He also started producing more power with his swing with a career high 30 XBH. In 2017 he was red hot in AAA hitting .338/.392/.475 and earned a July promotion to the Twins where he got solid reviews from Paul Molitor. His lack of power has always kept the scouts down on him but the stat based projection systems recognize his production (#6 on the Top 100 KATOH list). He had some trouble adjusting to MLB hitting only .237/.321/.290 over his first 107 plate appearances and missing first base in the playoff game against the Yankees. He fielded well though and should get more opportunities in 2018. He profiles as an ideal 4th outfielder for a team complementing righthanded hitting platoon mates who might lack some speed. Unfortunately for Granite the Twins have Rosario and Kepler in the corners; both hit lefty and are good baserunners as well. That means Granite’s best value to the Twins might come in a trade.