Who is your pick for round 3?" Wow. Nearly everyone who voted Royce Lewis #1 thinks Kirilloff is #2. 2019 Twinkie Town Prospect Voting ResultsRoyce Lewis 52% (Kirilloff 44%
Randal Grichuk Jersey , Graterol 4%)Alex Kirilloff 90% (Graterol 4%, Gordon 4%, Larnach 2%)For round three I am adding a couple starting pitchers who are close to making an impact in the big leagues.Brusdar Graterol, P 2019 Age: 20 2018 High Level: Fort Myers (A+) Graterol was signed as international free agent from Venezuela in 2014 for a modest bonus. Just a few games into the 2015 Dominican Summer League season he was injured and needed ligament replacement surgery (Tommy John). He came back from the surgery throwing his fastball 93-98MPH with a nice upper 80s slider. Toward the end of the season he was clocked throwing 100MPH and everyone noticed. He finished 2017 in advanced rookie ball and posted a 10.9 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and 3.92 RA in five games. Since he only pitched 40 competitive innings there were a lot of question marks about his 2018. Consider the questions answered. He started 2018 in Cedar Rapids and posted a 2.18ERA with an 11.1 K/9 against just 2.0 BB/9 in 41-1/3 innings. This dominance earned him a mid-season promotion to Fort Myers where he pitched 60 innings with a 8.3K/9 2.8BB/9 and 3.12 ERA. His surgically repaired arm responded as well as could be expected with 100 innings pitched and no issues as the season ended. He continues to throw his fastball in the high 90s, occasionally hitting 100 MPH, with good command and without a max-effort delivery. That dominant fastball has some people projecting him as an elite bullpen arm but he has the potential to be an ace starting pitcher if he continues to develop his off-speed pitches. Graterol could start 2019 in Fort Myers but don’t expect him to stay there for long. A 2020 Twins debut is possible.Nick Gordon, SS 2019 Age: 23 2018 High Level: Rochester (AAA) The 2014 first round selection was sent back to improve on some things at Double-A Chattanooga to start the 2018 season. He took a big step forward hitting .333/.381/.525 in 42 games proving that level was no longer a challenge. Unfortunately he struggled at Triple-A Rochester hitting just .212/.262/.283 in 99 games which means he is still not quite big-league ready. There are some silver linings in his 2018 performance. His stolen base success rate (20 SB / 5 CS) was his best since 2015 in Cedar Rapids. He had solid range at shortstop and only 12 errors, plus he seemed to do well at second base in some innings at that position. He still looks like he will become a solid everyday player in the middle infield, not unlike his brother Dee Gordon. He will most likely begin the 2019 season in AAA to improve his production at the plate. Nick was added to the 40 man roster this offseason so he should make his major league debut some time in 2019 with a chance at making the opening day roster if someone else suffers an injury.Trevor Larnach, OF2019 Age: 222018 High Level: Cedar Rapids (A)Trevor Larnach was the Twins first round draft pick (#20 overall) last summer. Last spring with Oregon State his team faced six elimination games but came back to win the College World Series, including a game with adramatic 9th inning homer by Trevor Larnach. His college career ended with Trevor being named an All-American in the outfield. The Twins were patient waiting for his college season to end. After he signed the Twins sent him to rookie-level Elizabethton to get his feet wet. He quickly proved that rookie ball was not a challenge and was promoted after 18 games to Cedar Rapids. With the Kernels he hit .297/.373/.505 in 24 games showing he can produce at the plate as well as nearly anyone in the Midwest League. Since he is a college draftee with high level experience I expect to see the Twins promote him aggressively and start him at Fort Myers in 2019. His major league debut could be as early as 2021.Stephen Gonsalves
Jose Bautista Jersey , P2019 Age: 242018 High Level: MLBLefty starting pitcher Stephen Gonsalves was voted our top prospect in 2017. The former fourth round pick has pitched well at every stop and moved quickly through the minors, earning mid-season promotions each season. He started 2018 in Double-A Chattanooga but was quickly promoted after just four games. At Triple-A Rochester he pitched well with a 2.96 ERA and 8.5 K/9 in 100-1/3 innings but his walk rate of 4.9 BB/9 was a red flag. He saw his first big league action in 2019 making his Twins debut in August but the results were not great. He pitched in seven major league games but with a brutal 6.57 ERA and a 2.03 WHIP. Gonsalves has good control of his low-90s fastball and a good changeup but his curve and slider are still a work in progress. He will be in the mix for the open spot in the pitching rotation this spring and will be one of the top pitchers on the list for a callup if he doesn’t win a spot in spring training.Lewis Thorpe, P2019 Age: 232018 High Level: Rochester (AAA)Confirmed Australian Lewis Thorpe was signed for a $500k bonus by the Twins in 2012. By 2014 he reached Cedar Rapids with a performance of 10.0 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, 4.65 RA despite being 4 years younger than the average player in the Midwest League. That offseason the young lefty made the Baseball Prospectus top 101 list. Unfortunately in 2015 he had elbow issues in spring training which led to ligament replacement surgery. During his 2016 comeback he contracted mono and was shut down without pitching in a game. By 2017 he had faded into the background with newer prospects getting the attention of prospect lists. He started the 2017 season with Fort Myers, gradually building up his pitch count while posting a nice 9.8 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 3.16 RA in 77 innings. That earned him a spot start for Chattanooga in August. The Twins added him to the 40 man roster to keep him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft after the 2017 season. In 2018 he started at Double-A Chattanooga and pitched excellent with a 3.58 ERA and 10.9 K/9 against just a 2.5 BB/9. Thorpe built up his strength as the season went on and his fastball gained velocity. He earned a late promotion to Triple-A Rochester where he was able to maintain his production in 4 starts at that level. His great rate stats over 130 innings (a new high for Thorpe) led to the Twins naming him minor league pitcher of year. Since he is on the roster he will get a shot at a big league job this spring but starting 2019 at Triple-A Rochester is more likely. If he continues to pitch well and stay healthy he will make his Twins debut this summer. ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — It was another Minor victory for the Texas Rangers, after they went ahead on solo homers by Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus.Mike Minor, a full-time reliever for the Royals last season after missing 2 1/2 years because of surgery for a torn labrum, won for the fifth time in his last six starts as the Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 on Tuesday night.“I think people at the beginning didn’t expect me to have a good season. I think they thought I should go to the bullpen
http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-curtis-granderson-jersey , wasn’t cut out to be a starter anymore in my career,†the 30-year-old left-hander said. “It does feel good to end like this. A couple of more starts to go.†Andrus hit the first pitch of the fourth inning against Andrew Heaney (8-9) to tie the game at 1. Two batters later, Beltre went deep for the ninth time this season and 471st time in his career to put Texas ahead to stay. He has 3,147 career hits, the most among active players, after that homer and a single in the eighth.“Huge for those two guys to step up in that situation,†manager Jeff Banister said.Minor (11-7) pitched into the sixth, striking out seven with one walk and a hit batter while allowing two runs and three hits. He has thrown 140 innings in 25 starts for Texas, which has done its best to manage his time on the mound.“Probably couldn’t ask for it to work, to this point, any better,†Banister said.Jose Leclerc struck out two in a perfect ninth for his ninth save — all in nine chances since Aug. 4
Marcus Stroman Jersey , after the Rangers traded closer Keone Kela to Pittsburgh.Minor wasn’t sure he would ever pitch again during the seasons he missed. The former first-round pick for Atlanta, who started 110 games for the Braves from 2010-14, got over that hurdle with 65 relief appearances for Kansas City last year, then turned down a $10 million option to stay with the Royals for a three-year deal with Texas and the chance to start again. Shohei Ohtani hit his 16th homer for the Angels leading off the sixth to end Minor’s night. It was Ohtani’s first major league homer off a left-handed pitcher, after striking out in his first two at-bats against Minor.“Just that one home run I hit. I had a couple other opportunities with runners on base and couldn’t come through there, so I’m not fully satisfied with my results,†Ohtani said through a translator. “But I do think I’m getting better when I’m facing left-handers.â€ADRIAN AGAINST THE ANGELSBeltre played in his 254th career game against the Angels, second only to Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski’s 280. Beltre has 46 homers and 165 RBIs against the Angels, his most against any team — only Alex Rodriguez (70) and Rafael Palmeiro (49) have more homers, and only A-Rod has more RBIs (169). … Beltre is 8 for 14 with three homers in his career against Heaney.CLOSING IT DOWNLeclerc has thrown 15 consecutive scoreless innings, the longest streak by a Texas pitcher this season. Opponents have 25 strikeouts with only two hits in their last 43 at-bats against Leclerc.OTHER RUNSNomar Mazara had a two-run double for the Rangers in the fifth. … Andrelton Simmons, the Angels shortstop playing on his 29th birthday
Devon Travis Jersey , had an RBI groundout in the first.TRAINER’S ROOMAngels: Ohtani, the two-way rookie who was in the lineup as the DH, will throw a light bullpen Wednesday. He is then scheduled to throw another one Friday that will determine if he will make his next scheduled pitching start Sunday at the Chicago White Sox. … CF Mike Trout was hit by a pitch on the right knee when batting in the first inning. He remained in the game and iced his knee afterward. The Angels don’t consider it serious.Rangers: Bartolo Colon, the 45-year-old right-hander, will make his first start since Aug. 20. He was on the disabled list from Aug. 24 to Sept. 1 because of a lower back strain.UP NEXTThe Angels and Rangers wrap up their second series in Arlington in less than three weeks Wednesday. The two teams at the bottom of the AL West standings still play two more series this season, both in California — next Monday through Wednesday, and then Sept. 24-26 during the last week of the regular season.
11th July 2019
Alex Kirilloff won round 2 in a landslide.
