Spencer Steer was our selection in round 37. He played high school baseball in Long Beach for the Millikan Rams.

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%)
11. Gilberto Celestino 36% (Gordon 26%, Urbina 19%, Wallner 12%, Sands 7%)
12. Nick Gordon 35% (Urbina 28%, Enlow 21%, Wallner 9%, Sands 8%)
13. Misael Urbina 36% (Enlow 24%, Sands 20%, Wallner 10%, Javier 9%)
14. Blayne Enlow 31% (Colina 29%, Sands 19%, Wallner 12%, Javier 9%)
15. Edwar Colina 42% (Wallner 20%, Sands 20%, Javier 15%, Miranda 1%)
16. Cole Sands 31% (Wallner 26%, Javier 20%, Blankenhorn 20%, Miranda 3%)
17. Matt Wallner 35% (Smeltzer 31%, Javier 18%, Blankenhorn 11%, Miranda 4%)
18. Devin Smeltzer 48% (Javier 24%, Blankenhorn 18%, Miranda 5%, Rodriguez 5%)
19. Wander Javier 32% (Alcala 30%, Blankenhorn 27%, Rodriguez 6%, Miranda 5%)
20. Jorge Alcala 45% (Blankenhorn 27%, Rodriguez 13%, Rortvedt 13%, Miranda 3%)
21. Randy Dobnak 65% (Blankenhorn 14%, Rortvedt 8%, Rodriguez 7%, Miranda 6%)
22. Travis Blankenhorn 49% (Rortvedt 31%, Rodriguez 9%, Miranda 7%, Rijo 4%)
23. Ben Rortvedt 44% (Baddoo 24%, Miranda 16%, Rodriguez 10%, Rijo 6%)
24. Akil Baddoo 35% (Vallimont 25%, Miranda 17%, Rodriguez 16%, Rijo 6%)
25. Jose Miranda 27% (Vallimont 26%, Jax 23%, Rodriguez 18%, Rijo 6%)
26. Chris Vallimont 42% (Jax 21%, Rodriguez 19%, Severino 10%, Rijo 8%)
27. Cody Stashak 42% (Rodriguez 21%, Jax 13%, Winder 10%, Severino 10%, Rijo 5%)
28. Emmanuel Rodriguez 29% (Jax, 27%, Winder 26%, Severino 11%, Rijo 7%)
29. Josh Winder 30% (Jax 29%, Wade 18%, Severino 14%, Rijo 9%)
30. Griffin Jax 33% (Severino 22%, Rijo 19%, Wade 18%, Holland 9%)
31. Dakota Chalmers 33% (Severino 28%, Rijo 19%, Wade 19%, Holland 2%)
32. Yunior Severino 40% (Wells 23%, Rijo 17%, Wade 12%, Holland 7%)
33. Luis Rijo 37% (Wells 26%, Wade 17%, Holland 10%, Steer 10%)
34. Tyler Wells 29% (Ober 25%, Wade 19%, Steer 19%, Holland 7%)
35. Bailey Ober 37% (Poppen 22%, Steer 20%, Wade 11%, Holland 10%)
36. LaMonte Wade Jr 31% (Steer 28%, Poppen 20%, Holland 13%, Cano 9%)
37. Spencer Steer 33% (Maciel 30%, Poppen 24%, Holland 10%, Cano 3%)

With just three elections remaining I may break my rule of balancing positions to get the best players on the ballot. That won’t happen this round as I replace one infielder with another. Our next addition was acquired in a trade this winter.

Will Holland, SS

2020 Age: 22

2019 High Level: Elizabethton (Rookie)

Will Holland played his college baseball at Auburn University. He was ranked as a preseason top 20 college talent after a promising sophomore year which included playing for the USA Baseball Collegiate National team. Despite a trip to the College World Series his 2019 junior year was ultimately disappointing as he slashed just .246/.376/.401 and dropped to the fifth round of the draft. The Twins signed him for an above-slot $575,000 bonus and sent him to Elizabethton. At Elizabethton he hit .192/.299/.376 in 146 plate appearances which continued his disappointing 2019 at the plate. Holland has good hands and defensive range at SS. On offense he has good power, a good eye and plus speed with 20HR/20SB potential but he needs to work on making consistent contact. If he can get the bat on the ball he could move quickly through the minors.

Sean Poppen, P

2020 Age: 26

2019 High Level: Twins (MLB)

Sean Poppen played his college baseball for the Harvard Crimson and majored in Chemistry and Physics so he might be the smartest player available. He was drafted after his senior year in the 19th round of the 2016 draft. He pitched quite well in his pro debut that summer but as a college senior was quite a bit older than many of the other players. In the minors he has worked mainly as a starter and has pitched well enough to earn mid-season promotions nearly every season as he advanced from Single-A in 2017 to Triple-A in 2019. His 2019 minor league performance included a lot of strikeouts (10.7 K/9) and a lot of walks (4.4 BB/9) leading to a 4.52 RA9. Despite the lackluster numbers Poppen made his debut for the Twins pitching in 4 games with a 7.56 ERA before being placed on the injured list with an elbow bruise. Poppen throws a mid-90s fastball with good movement and an upper 80s slider with good movement in the opposite direction. He also throws a changeup but it is not as good as the fastball and slider. This means his future in the pros is likely to be as a middle reliever if he can get better command of his fastball and slider.

Yennier Cano, P

2020 Age: 26

2019 High Level: Fort Myers (A+)

Yennier Cano has played professionally in Cuba for his hometown team Ciego de Avila since he was 19 years old. He pitched on the Caribbean Series team in the winter of 2015-16 but only made two appearances in the bullpen. He defected from Cuba and was eligible to be signed as an international free agent in 2018. He was ranked as the #2 international prospect in his signing period by MLB.com. The Twins signed him for a $750,000 bonus at the end of the 2018-19 signing deadline. Cano was used mainly as a reliever in Cuba and it is expected he would stay in the bullpen in the USA. He throws five different pitches: a fastball, splitter, slider, curve and changeup. He only pitched 15 innings last summer - all in Fort Myers but split between the Gulf Coast League and Florida State League. He was able to get people out but walked 14 batters in those 15 innings. As a reliever his upside is limited but his age and past experience suggests he could contribute sooner rather than later.

Gabriel Maciel, OF

2020 Age: 21

2019 High Level: Fort Myers (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. In 2019 he started the season at Cedar Rapids and hit .309/.395/.377 earning a mid-season promotion to Fort Myers. He hit .261/.342/.357 at that level to finish the season and had a combined 22 steals against 9 caught stealing across both levels. 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. He projects as a useful reserve who can get on base and make plays in the outfield.

Jair Camargo, C

2020 Age: 20

2019 High Level: Cedar Rapids (A)

Jair Camargo began his professional career in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He was signed as an international free agent from Colombia at age 16. He spent a season in the Dominican Summer League before coming to the United States in 2017. He hit .265/.293/.420 across two seasons of rookie ball in 2017-2018 before earning a promotion to the Midwest League in 2019. He played in 2019 for the Great Lakes Loons and hit .236/.301/.342 as a 19 year old. He joined the Twins organization as part of the trade of Kenta Maeda for Brusdar Graterol. Camargo has a good reputation with the glove behind the plate and has played some third base as well. He profiles as a catch-and-throw backup catcher in the big leagues but is still young enough to hope for a little more upside on offense. He could be assigned to Cedar Rapids or possibly Fort Myers this season.