Twinkie Town Community Prospect Vote: Round 13

Congratulations to Blayne “Sweet” Enlow for winning round 12.

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%)

Time to add an outfielder to the available players on the ballot. Everyone listed this round has played at AA or higher.

Tyler Jay, RP

2018 Age: 24

2017 High Level: Chattanooga (AA)

Tyler Jay was the Twins first round pick in the 2015 draft at #6 overall. He was mainly a reliever at the University of Illinois but the Twins thought he was a good candidate to convert to a starter. He was started his minor league career at advanced-A Fort Myers and starting went pretty well. At the end of the season Jay was appearing on top 100 prospect lists. In 2016 he was promoted to Chattanooga after posting an 8.8 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and 3.1 RA at Fort Myers. He struggled at AA, suffered a neck strain and missed the last month of the season. In 2017 the Twins decided to keep Tyler Jay in the bullpen to accelerate his path to the majors and help keep him healthy. Unfortunately neither of those happened as he suffered from biceps tendinitis, a sore shoulder and finally thoracic outlet syndrome. Jay was able to come back and pitch in the Arizona Fall League in November and while the results weren’t outstanding he did stay healthy. Jay has electric stuff. If he is able to stay healthy he should be able to contribute in a big league bullpen soon.

Mitch Garver, C

2018 Age: 27

2017 High Level: Minnesota Twins (MLB)

Mitch Garver was the Twins 9th round pick in 2013 from the University of New Mexico. He has steadily progressed through the Twins system, hitting well at most stops along the way. He has a .793 OPS throughout his minor league career which is very good for a catcher and he enhanced that with a .298/.386/.520 line in AAA over the past two seasons. Garver has never been considered one of the best fielding catchers in the minors but his glove has not been a concern either. He made his debut in the major leagues last September and though his hitting was below expectations (.196/.288/.348) he played well enough that he goes into 2018 as the backup catcher on the big league depth chart. Garver has also played minor league games at LF and 1B to add to his positional flexibility and get his bat in the lineup. He should be a valuable bench player for the Twins in 2018. There is potential that he could be a starting catcher for a few seasons if he hits as well as he did throughout the minor leagues.

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.

LaMonte Wade, OF

2018 Age: 24

2017 High Level: Chattanooga (AA)

LaMonte Wade was the Twins 9th round pick in the 2015 draft from the University of Maryland. The Twins sent him to Elizabethton that summer and he impressed everyone with a 904 OPS, earning an Appy League All-Star nod and a late season look at Cedar Rapids. In 2016 he did well at Cedar Rapids earning a midseason All-Star appearance and even better after a mid-season promotion to Fort Myers producing (again) a 904 OPS at that level. Wade spent 2017 at Chattanooga and hit .292/.397/.408 while getting time at all three outfield positions. He has consistently been able to draw more walks than strikeouts and that continued in 2017 at AA. He earned a Southern League All-Star spot in 2017, continuing that trend. The Twins sent him to the Arizona Fall League and Wade hit .238/.351/.413 until a scary collision ended his season with a concussion. Wade has average physical tools for a big league corner outfielder but he makes the most of them with a good batting eye and outfield fundamentals. The Twins seem to be grooming him for a role as a backup and he will likely spend 2018 in AAA preparing for an opportunity to present itself due to an injury. Wade is not currently on the 40 man roster but is likely to be added at some point in 2018. Although he will probably earn his first roster spot as a bench player he has the potential to be an average MLB left fielder if he can maximize his talent.