Mason Melotakis

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My 2013 Adopt-a-Prospect is Mason Melotakis. Mason is a lefthanded pitcher. He was born June 28th, 1991 (22 year old), he's 6'2" and 206 pounds. He was drafted by the Twins in 2012 in the second round (63rd overall) and signed on June 17, 2012. Mason attended Northwestern (La.) State University and, of course, played baseball. He pitched in relief his senior year.

 

After signing with the Twins, Melotakis pitched for Elizabethton going 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA in 7 appearances all out of the bullpen. He was promoted to Beloit, where he was 3-1 with a 2.08 in 13 relief appearances. Mason has started the 2013 season in Cedar Rapids and is being converted to a starting pitcher. He is 1-1 with a 2.89 ERA in two starts. He has worked 9+ innings, allowing 8 hits, while walking 3 and striking out 9.

 

Melotakis features a mid-90s fastball and is developing complimentary pitches. I saw him pitch in spring training and he appears to have a decent slider to go with the fastball. Mason Melotakis could someday be the lefthanded power pitching complement to Alex Meyer and Trevor May.

[MarcusE]

Also, Mason's preferred nickname is "The Jar"

[ashbury]

Wonder if he knows "The Handshake"?

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Melotakis started for Cedar Rapids today and didn't last through the fourth inning in an 11-2 Kernels victory. He only allowed one run on four hits, but also walked four.

[nicksaviking]

I'm curious about his fastball. Does anyone know, is his mid-90's fastball of the 92-94 variaty or the 94-96 kind? I'm not sure why the two MPH seems to make a huge difference but from my perspective it makes a guy much more interesting.

[stringer bell]

I'm curious about his fastball. Does anyone know, is his mid-90's fastball of the 92-94 variaty or the 94-96 kind? I'm not sure why the two MPH seems to make a huge difference but from my perspective it makes a guy much more interesting.

I think we'll be seeing 92-94 if he remains a starter. If he goes back to the bullpen, he might up the velo by a couple MPH.

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Melotakis with perhaps his best start to date today on 5/10/13. He only went five and a third, allowing no runs, three hits, with three walks and nine strikeouts. His record is now 3-1 with a 3.10 ERA.

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Mason Melotakis started today for Cedar Rapids and got no decision in a thrilling 7-6 Kernels win. Mason pitched fairly well tonight pitching six innings, allowing four runs (only two earned) on four hits, walking one, striking out three. 13 of the 15 outs from balls in play were on the ground. Originally one of the hits was ruled an error and Melotakis was only charged with one earned run. Apparently a scoring change was made. On the season, Mason is 3-1 with a 3.09 ERA. On the season, Melotakis has pitched 35 innings, allowed 32 hits, walking 16 and striking out 33. He is holding opponents to a .211 BA against in his seven starts.

[stringer bell]

Melotakis served as the stopper of the Kernels longest losing streak, putting up one of his best and longest performances in Cedar Rapids' 9-4 win over Clinton. See sd buhr's blog entry about the game and Melotakis' excellent outing. For the season Mason has a 4-2 record in 46.1 innings. He's allowed 46 hits, walked 20 and struck out 40.

[Keenan]

I watched Mason's start last night in Kane County and even though the stat line didn't look very good, I was really impressed. He's sneaky quick to the plate making his low 90s fastball seem a little faster. He got the win thanks to two 5 run innings in the 5th and 6th but the runs he gave up came courtesy of some really suspect defense and horrendous umpiring in the field and behind the plate. A blown call at 3rd on a stolen base attempt cost a run (and got Jake Mauer ejected) and the balls and strikes seemed to just be a coin flip from the home plate umpire. Aside from one long no doubter home run to left, he pretty much kept the Cougars at bay. Certainly not his best start of the year but I could definitely see potential.

[stringer bell]

I was in Cedar Rapids this weekend. I didn't get to see Melotakis pitch, but I managed to meet him personally. Mason starts tomorrow's nationally televised game, I believe. Good luck, Mason, and if you read this--yes, I'm that old guy who shook your hand.

[Steven Buhr]

I'm glad you got an opportunity to meet Melotakis (and I'm glad I got a chance to meet and talk to you, too!).

 

Mason has almost become what I'd call the Kernels' "stopper". Monday's game was the second time recently when he's stepped up and gone deep in to a start when Jake Mauer needed that from a starting pitcher. He seems like a great guy off the field, but on the mound, he seems to have a bit of a bulldog mentality that I really like, too.

[Kwak]

I watched the televised Kernels game Monday and was impressed by Melotakis. I believe he has a very good chance to become a starting pitcher for the Twins. One thing I really liked: he wasn't looking for the dugout to get him out of trouble, he bore-down and ground his way through it. Character under fire--it means more than a couple, three ticks more on the fastball.

[mwl-collector]

When the Kernels had the 3-hour rain delay on the DH night...i got to talk to him for about 20 minutes...seems like a go-to friend guy, doesn't get in trouble, and of course he is almost at the top for wins this year (6-2).

[goulik]

Went to my first CR Kernels game and was worried about Melotakis while he warmed up. He was a bit wiled in the bull pen. First inning he sat down the opposing players methodically and efficiently. I believe it took 3 pitches to get the first two outs. He looked great. Second inning not so much. He worked himself out of it but once runners were on, the wildness returned. Third inning, quick and efficient. Fourth, similar to second but allowed two runs this time. Same result in fifth. Sixth was very efficient again with two more strikeouts. 6 innings, 5 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts in a no decision.

 

On a separate note, I wondered about the radar gun their, his fastball was reading 86 with other pitches in low 80s to high 70s...

[Steven Buhr]

Melotakis is working with new grips on his secondary pitches so they've been inconsistent, but as you point out, goulik, there were a couple of innings Tuesday when he seemed to struggle to locate his fastball, too. Not his best performance, but he worked out of jams and got through six innings while keeping his team in the game.

 

The stadium radar gun, which is situated up at pressbox level, is generally considered to run 1 1/2 to 2 mph lower than the readings on radar guns used closer to ground level behind the plate.

[goulik]

Thank you SD Buhr, that explained all my questions on Melotakis! He definitely has that bulldog mentality others have pointed to!

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I haven't posted in a while about my prospects. Melotakis has taken his regular turn and done okay as a starter. He is 6-3 with a 3.89 ERA. He is coming off one of his poorer outings (4 ER in 5 IP). It looks like he will stay in the rotation all year and stay at Cedar Rapids for the entire season.

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Melotakis has remained at Cedar Rapids and has done very well. I understand his innings are being limited, especially since the Kernels are in the playoffs, and he has been placed in the bullpen. His overall record: 10-4 W/L, 106 IP, 103 H, 38 BB, 75 K. It seems pretty likely that he will advance next year, the question still remaining whether he's going to be a starter or reliever. Melotakis has a decent ERA of 3.31 and leads the team in IP and wins.

[CGNikolic]

What is his ceiling as a starter? Is it likely that he stays one up until the time (if) he becomes a major leaguer? We would all love it if he did and it'll be interesting to see.. But he is already 22 years old with a reliever-history who has not exactly been great this year with a 6.4 K/9, 1.33 WHIP, and 3.74 FIP. I hope I'm wrong, but it seems he's better suited as a dominant reliever than average (?) starter. Granted, if the Twins don't improve the rest of the rotation, he'd be an ace

[stringer bell]

Melotakis has made a few more successful appearances in the bullpen since my last posting. His overall numbers are pretty good: 11-4 record, 3.19 ERA, 105 H in 110 IP, 39 BB, 82 K, OBA of .249 and a WHIP of about 1.30.