Twins Select JR Graham, Lose Gilmartin

Graham pitched for the High-A Lynchburg Hillcats and Double-A Mississippi Braves in 2012 and 2013. He went 12–2 with a 2.80 earned run average and 110 strikeouts in 148 innings pitched.[3][4] Prior to the 2013 season, Baseball America ranked Graham as the 93rd best prospect in baseball.

Complete minor numbers.  Not a ton of k's, great control. Go figure

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=graham001jon

Lost my audio right after Thomshaw was picked by Miami... Was that the end of the Minnesota connections?

Aaarggghhh!!

Tomshaw will be the biggest loss from the 2 pitchers.  Miami found a knuckle ball gem.  Chattanooga Lookouts vs Jacksonville Suns (Miami) in early April.  Look forwad to the match up.  Underrated Prospect

Twins really love Braves pitchers.  Scouting department needs to travel a little bit more.

Gilmartin might not be a hard thrower or the most spectacular pitcher ever, but he is valuable in that the Twins don't have a lot of Left-handed starters.  Losing two of them in the Rule V could leave them pretty thin if they don't get Gilmartin back (which they probably will).

Remember, Gilmartin has to stick with the team for the entire year or be returned, and most Rule V guys don't stick with their selected team.  I'm betting that Gilmartin will be back in the Twins organization before the end of the year.  Most likely, before the end of spring training. 

If he's not good enough to stick with them, should we be excited to get him back?

Here is a fantasy profile on Graham:

Position: RHP
DOB: 01/14/1990
Height/Weight: 6’0” 195 lbs
Bats/Throws: R/R
Drafted/Acquired: 4th round, 2011 draft, Santa Clara University (Santa Clara, CA)
Previous Ranking: #4 (Org)
2014 Stats: 5.55 ERA (71.1 IP, 79 H, 50 K, 26 BB) at Double-A Mississippi
The Tools: 7 FB; 6 SL; 5 potential CH

What Happened in 2014: Graham’s return from shoulder injury was marred by inconsistency and loud questions about the overall profile.
 

Strengths: Good strength despite average size; balanced delivery; fluid arm action; heavy fastball at 92-94; sinking action with arm-side life; tough to barrel cleanly in lower tier; able to reach for more and selectively elevate past hitters; feels slider well; cutter action to the pitch; sharp, late break across zone; can miss bats; flashes feel for changeup; shows quality action despite harder velocity (85-87); command of all three pitches; comes right after hitters .
 

Weaknesses: Not the best of downhill throwers; fastball loses movement in upper tier; can struggle to finish delivery; will leave heater up in the zone where it is more hittable; must work down to get most out of movement; slider lacks off-the-table break; needs more depth to be true chase pitch; change blurs with fastball in upper band (87-89); loses action and floats; questions on return from shoulder injury still linger; seemed to lack trust in 2014.
 

Overall Future Potential: High 5; no. 3/4 starter
Realistic Role: 5; late-innings reliever (setup)
 

Risk Factor/Injury History: Moderate risk; 152 1/3 Double-A innings; shoulder injury in 2013
 

Bret Sayre’s Fantasy Take: With an imminent ETA, Graham is still a top-5 fantasy prospect in this system, even with the belief that he’s likely a reliever at the major-league level. If he can make the rotation work, there would be strikeout potential, and he could be a high-end reliever, if healthy.
 

The Year Ahead: The right-hander seemed to still be feeling the fallout of his 2013 shoulder injury. When on, Graham comes right after hitters with two plus-to-better pitches, in the form of a heavy fastball and darting slider. The heater is an outstanding offering in the lower tier of the zone, with strong downward action and good velocity that makes it a tough pitch to fully square up. Graham can then change the angle and eye level on batters by frequently working the slider into sequences. The late break also makes it tougher to fully barrel. Things can go awry for the 24-year-old when the fastball is creeping too far above the middle of the thighs, where the good movement diminishes and it’s on the flat side. This was more of a trend this past season for the righty. Most sources spoken to for this list thought that Graham most likely slots in a relief role at the ultimate level. I’m not ready to fully rule out a chance he’ll stick in a starting role, but a big rebound is needed to prove it.
 

Major league ETA: Late 2015

The nit I have to pick here is that he has a 7 fastball and a 6 slider, potentially a 5 change yet projects as a #5 starter?  Seems like he would project better than that. 

Tomshaw will be the biggest loss from the 2 pitchers.  Miami found a knuckle ball gem.  Chattanooga Lookouts vs Jacksonville Suns (Miami) in early April.  Look forwad to the match up.  Underrated Prospect

Miami has to keep him in AAA don't they?