Keoni Cavaco beat out Celestino in a close election in our 11th round of voting. Due to the Brusdar Graterol trade that means round 3 gets deleted, Cavaco actually makes our top 10 prospects and we get to pick our #11 prospect a second time.

Twinkie Town 2020 Prospect Voting Results

1. Alex Kirilloff 40% (Lewis 28%, Graterol 24%, Larnach 8%)
2. Royce Lewis 48% (Graterol 29%, Balazovic 12%, Larnach 12%)
3. Trevor Larnach 48% (Balazovic 43%, Duran 8%, Cavaco 1%)
4. Jordan Balazovic 78% (Duran 11%, Rooker 9%, Jeffers 2%, Cavaco 0%)
5. Jhoan Duran 52% (Rooker 19%, Thorpe 16%, Jeffers 10%, Cavaco 3%)
6. Brent Rooker 37% (Jeffers 28%, Thorpe 24%, Urbina 6%, Cavaco 5%)
7. Ryan Jeffers 47% (Thorpe 34%, Cavaco 10%, Celestino 5%, Urbina 3%)
8. Lewis Thorpe 58% (Urbina 12%, Canterino 11%, Cavaco 10%, Celestino 9%)
9. Matt Canterino 27% (Celestino 23%, Cavaco 22%, Urbina 19%, Wallner 9%)
10. Keoni Cavaco 33% (Celestino 29%, Urbina 18%, Sands 15%, Wallner 9%)

I am replacing the first round pick from 2019 with the first round pick from 2014 as we vote on #11 again.

Misael Urbina, CF

2020 Age: 18

2019 High Level: DSL Twins (Foreign Rookie)

Misael “Misa” Urbina was the top international free agent signed by the Twins in 2018 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 came to the Twins from Venezuela where he had been participating in the Venezuelan Winter League development program for young players. He played his first summer in the system in the Dominican rookie league and did very well hitting .279/.382/.443 with more walks than strikeouts. He has plus speed and scouts rated his center field defense as among the best in the league. He should make his way to the United States this summer to play in a rookie league but his Twins debut is unlikely before 2023.

Gilberto Celestino, CF

2020 Age: 21

2019 High Level: Fort Myers (A+)

Gilberto Celestino was signed as an international free agent by the Houston Astros for a $2.5M bonus in 2015. He ranked as the #7 international prospect that signing period. As an outfielder who throws left and bats right, a combination that worked mainly for Rickey Henderson, he is a rarity. He runs fast and throws hard which has helped him build an excellent reputation as an outfielder. After hitting .268/.331/.379 as an 18 year old in the Appalachian League the Astros promoted him to the New York - Penn league in 2018. He hit .323/.387/.480 for the Tri-City Valley Cats. Celestino was acquired along with Alcala in 2018 in return for reliever Ryan Pressly. After he was acquired by the Twins he was sent back to the Appalachian League to play with the Elizabethton Twins instead of assigning him to Cedar Rapids. He finished the 2018 season hitting .266/.308/.349 which was a downgrade from his past performance in the same league. He debuted in 2019 at Cedar Rapids and hit .276/.350/.409 with lots of doubles and excellent defense. He earned a late season promotion to Fort Myers and hit .300/.333/.433 in 33 PA at that level. He has tremendous tools and should be a plus defender but is still quite young and needs more time to develop. Expect to see him start 2020 at Fort Myers with a 2022 Twins debut possible.

Matt Wallner, RF

2020 Age: 22

2019 High Level: Cedar Rapids (A)

The Twins drafted Matt Wallner 39th overall in the 2019 MLB draft out of Southern Mississippi. They had previously drafted him in the 32nd round out of Forest Lake High School (Go Rangers!) after being named the East Metro player of the year and Mr Baseball but he made the easy choice to go to college instead. He had been committed to North Dakota to play college baseball but that school dropped their baseball program in April of his senior year and Wallner changed his destination to Hattiesburg, MS. Despite the late change things worked out well as Wallner became one of the best players in Southern Miss history. He was named Conference USA freshman of the year splitting his time between RF and P. His sophomore year he was named an All-American and although he dropped pitching his junior year he kept piling up awards and became the highest draft pick in the history of Southern Miss. He hit .337/.461/.652 with 58 HR in 189 games over his college career. The Twins started Wallner at Elizabethton and he hit .269/.361/.452 in 53 games before a late promotion to Cedar Rapids where he hit .205/.340/.455 in 12 games. His best asset is his power left handed bat and as a former pitcher his arm in RF is a plus. Brian Dozier was the last Twin picked from Southern Mississippi. We can all hope this local kid has that level of career for the Twins.

Cole Sands, P

2020 Age: 22

2019 High Level: Pensacola (AA)

Cole Sands was drafted in the 5th round of the 2018 MLB draft out of Florida State. He battled with injuries his junior season but the Twins decided his talent was worth an over-slot $600,000 bonus to make sure he didn’t return for his senior season. Sands did not pitch his first summer in the organization as he recovered from the injuries he was dealing with during his college season. The Twins began his 2019 season in Cedar Rapids where he had a 10.7 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and 3.05 RA9 in 8 starts. He earned a mid-season promotion to Fort Myers where he kept up the good work compiling a 9.2 K/9, 1.2 BB/9 and 2.77 RA9 in 52 innings at that level. This earned him a late call-up to Pensacola for one start in Double-A. Despite three trips to the injured list he was able to pitch 97 innings. He throws a mid-90s fastball with movement, a plus breaking ball and a good changeup. The results have been there but keeping him healthy and on the mound has been challenging. Expect to see him start 2020 in Double-A with a possible 2021 Twins debut.

Nick Gordon, SS

2020 Age: 24

2019 High Level: Rochester (AAA)

The 2014 first round selection (5th overall) has taken longer than hoped for to develop but is still too young to give up on. In 2018 he took a big step forward hitting .333/.381/.525 in 42 games proving that Double-A was no longer a challenge. Unfortunately he struggled at Triple-A Rochester after the promotion hitting just .212/.262/.283 in 99 games. The Twins sent him back to Rochester to start 2019 and his hitting improved to a .298/.342/.459 batting line but he only managed 70 games due to three different stints on the injured list. Nick was added to the 40 man roster last off season and probably would have made his MLB debut if he hadn’t been injured when they called up Luis Arraez. Defensively he split time between second base and shortstop as the Twins try to get him ready for a call-up in case of an injury to any middle infielder. He still looks like he will become a major league player in the middle infield but there are some doubts he progresses past a utility role. Look for him to go back to Rochester to start 2020 but ready to make his debut if the Twins need to place an infielder on the injured list.