Kudos to Luke Raley for winning round 23 in his first time on the ballot. He is starting the season in the minors but we might see him debut later this year.

2019 Twinkie Town Community Prospect Vote Results

1. Royce Lewis 52% (Kirilloff 44%, Graterol 4%)
2. Alex Kirilloff 90% (Graterol 4%, Gordon 4%, Larnach 2%)
3. Brusdar Graterol 56% (Gordon 19%, Larnach 12%, Thorpe 8%, Gonsalves 5%)
4. Trevor Larnach 42% (Thorpe 25%, Gordon 21%, Gonsalves 12%)
5. Lewis Thorpe 31% (Gordon 30%, Rooker 14%, Javier 13%, Gonsalves 11%)
6. Nick Gordon 39% (Rooker 20%, Gonsalves 18%, Javier 17%, Alcala 5%)
7. Stephen Gonsalves 35% (Rooker 28%, Javier 28%, Alcala 5%, Baddoo 4%)
8. Brent Rooker 43% (Javier 41%, Baddoo 6%, Enlow 6%, Alcala 4%)
9. Wander Javier 70% (Baddoo 12%, Enlow 7%, Alcala 7%, Duran 4%)
10. Jorge Alcala 32% (Baddoo 28%, Enlow 23%, Duran 14%, Celestino 3%)
11. Jhoan Duran 39% (Enlow 31%, Baddoo 25%, Severino 3%, Celestino 2%)
12. Zack Littell 56% (Enlow 28%, Baddoo 11%, Severino 2%, Celestino 2%)
13. Blayne Enlow 50% (Baddoo 33%, Balazovic 10%, Severino 4%, Celestino 3%)
14. Akil Baddoo 54% (Balazovic 13%, Jeffers 12%, Rortvedt 11%, Severino 8%, Celestino 4%)
15. Ryan Jeffers 34% (Balazovic 31%, Severino 12%, Rortvedt 12%, Celestino 10%)
16. Jordan Balazovic 63% (Rortvedt 13%, Severino 11%, Celestino 10%, Urbina 3%)
17. Ben Rortvedt 33% (Severino 23%, Celestino 20%, Wells 17%, Urbina 6%)
18. Gilberto Celestino 36% (Severino 30%, Miranda 19%, Wells 11%, Urbina 4%)
19. LaMonte Wade 31% (Severino 30%, Miranda 22%, Wells 11%, Urbina 6%)
20. Kohl Stewart 30% (Severino 28%, Wells 21%, Miranda 16%, Urbina 6%)
21. Yunior Severino 40% (Miranda 21%, Arraez 15%, Wells 14%, Urbina 9%)
22. Jose Miranda 32% (Vasquez 31%, Urbina 14%, Wells 12%, Arraez 10%)
23. Luke Raley 33% (Vasquez 22%, Urbina 17%, Arraez 14%, Wells 13%)

Once again I am adding an outfielder obtained in a deadline trade last summer.

Misael Urbina, OF

2019 Age: 17

2018 High Level: Did not play professionally

Misael “Misa” Urbina was the top international free agent signed by the Twins last summer costing them a $2.75M bonus with an additional $300k for college. He ranked #5 among international free agents who were available in the 2018 signing period. He comes to the Twins from Venezuela where he has been participating in the Venezuelan Winter League development program for young players. This has allowed him to play against players with professional experience. Scouts like his hit tool and his plus speed. He is considered an advanced defender in the outfield with the range for centerfield but his arm may keep him in left. He is very young so anything can happen but the Twins have done well with international free agents lately. He should make his professional debut this summer in a foreign rookie league but his Twins debut is unlikely before 2023.

Tyler Wells, P

2019 Age: 24

2018 High Level: Chattanooga (AA)

Tyler Wells was the Twins 15th round selection in the 2016 draft from Cal State San Bernardino. He has steadily climbed the minor league ladder posting a great strikeout rate and decent walk rate while limiting home runs allowed. He has a pretty standard fastball, changeup and slider arsenal but uses his pitches effectively. At 6’8” 265lbs he has the frame of a starting pitcher. He had some biceps tendinitis in July of 2017 but has started healthy last spring at Fort Myers. He was promoted after 16 starts at Fort Myers (8.5 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, 2.91 RA) to Chattanooga where he continued to pitch well (10.7 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 1.65 RA) in 32-2/3 innings. Wells is not a young prospect but he has performed admirably at every stop along the way. Expect him to start this year back in Double-A Pensacola with a goal of a promotion to Triple-A. He could pitch for the Twins as early as this September as he is a candidate to be added to the 40 man roster next winter.

Luis Arraez, 2B

2019 Age: 22

2018 High Level: Chattanooga (AA)

Luis Arraez was signed by the Twins as a teenager out of Venezuela. His first season of rookie ball was in the Dominican League and he hit an impressive .348/.433/.400. Arraez has continued up the ladder and at each step he has continued to hit. In 2016 he hit .347/.386/.444 for Cedar Rapids. He was promoted to Fort Myers in 2017 and hit .385/.385/.538 in 3 games before he suffered a season ending knee injury. Arraez started 2018 back at Fort Myers and picked up where he left off hitting .320/.373/.421 in 60 games. This earned him a promotion to Double-A where he finished the year hitting .298/.345/.365 in 48 games. Arraez is generally considered to only have one plus tool: hitting for average. He doesn’t hit for power (an anemic 6 HR in 1348 PA), doesn’t steal bases (25 SB 19 CS in his minor league career) and defensively his arm limits him to 2B or LF. He doesn’t walk much but doesn’t strike out much either. If he keeps hitting above .300 he will keep progressing up the ladder. Expect him to start 2019 in Double-A Pensacola with a goal of a mid-year promotion to Triple-A Rochester.

Andrew Vasquez, P

2019 Age: 25

2018 High Level: Minnesota Twins (MLB)

Andrew Vasquez was a 32nd round pick in the 2015 MLB draft by the Twins from Westmont College. Vasquez transferred to NAIA school Westmont for his senior year after struggling to get playing time at UC Santa Barbara his sophomore and junior years. He pitched okay his senior year against NAIA competition but impressed a Twins scout with a plus breaking ball and ‘projectable’ height (6’6”). The Twins took a flier on him, signed him for a pittance and put him in the GCL Twins bullpen. He pitched 12-1/3 innings that summer and had a remarkable strikeout rate (16.1 K/9) combined with a horrible walk rate (10.9 BB/9). In 2016 he was lights out pitching relief at Elizabethton (13.5 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 1.80 RA9) so he was promoted quickly to Cedar Rapids. At Cedar Rapids he finished the year with an 11.4 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and 2.22 RA9 in 28-1/3 innings. Andrew began 2017 back at Cedar Rapids. He continued his pattern of striking out everyone (13.3 K/9) while limiting walks and runs so the Twins promoted him to Fort Myers. At Fort Myers he continued his success (13.1 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 2.27 RA9) and earned an invitation to the Arizona Fall League. His AFL innings weren’t quite as successful so he started 2018 back at Fort Myers. He pitched 32 innings at Fort Myers with similar results before he earned a mid-season promotion to Double-A Chattanooga. At Chattanooga he was dominant (17.1 K/9, 1.1 BB/9, 2.61 RA9) which earned him a late promotion to Triple-A Rochester, a September call-up and a spot on the 40 man major league roster. Vasquez throws a hard slider which is described as “nasty” or “filthy” depending the observer. He has increased his fastball velocity from the upper 80s in college to the lower 90s which has improved it’s effectiveness but the fastball is there mainly to keep batters from sitting on the slider. Those two MLB caliber pitches mean his future is certainly as a reliever but a lefty with command of a plus-plus pitch can contribute in a big league bullpen.

Gabriel Maciel, OF

2019 Age: 20

2018 High Level: Cedar Rapids (A)

Gabriel Maciel grew up playing soccer in Londrina, Brazil like most children in his country. He was introduced to the game of baseball at age 9 by Japanese immigrants and switched sports thereafter. He was part of the 18-under World Cup team for Brazil and was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the summer of 2016. His athletic skills were far ahead of his baseball skills at the time due to his late start with the game and playing opportunities in a country where baseball is not the most popular sport. In fact, Maciel admitted he had never been taught to bunt or how to steal bases until he got to the United States. The Diamondbacks sent him to their rookie league team in Arizona where he hit .289/.341/.309 and then pushed him to their Pioneer League team in Missoula, Montana to end the season. In 2017 he returned to the Osprey, hit .323/.389/.438 and was named a Pioneer League All-Star. He received a promotion to Single-A Kane County in 2018 where he hit .287/.362/.333 before the Diamondbacks traded him to the Twins as part of the Eduardo Escobar deal. The Twins sent him to Cedar Rapids after the trade and he finished the season hitting .263/.302/.381 in 30 games. Maciel’s best tool is his speed and the switch-hitter has displayed good contact skills in his short career so far. He has shown very little power and he continues to need a lot of development in order to become a major leaguer.