Jeremy Nygaard

The second round opened with the Twins selecting LHRP Mason Melotakis out of Northwestern State. Unlike Bard before him, who will get a chance to be a starter, Melotakis will most likely start in the bullpen. He sold himself with an excellent performance in the Cape Cod League. Melotakis is a mid-90s power arm that will probably pitch some rookie-ball innings and then join the Beloit bullpen this summer. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Nine picks later (and with Mitchell Brown still available!), the Twins took another college relief pitcher, J.T. Chargois (from Rice). Chargois compares similarly to Melotakis, throwing in the mid-90s and can run it up to the high-90s, though he has had some control issues. Chargois, however, has not had the opportunity to focus strictly on pitching, as he's played a lot of first base. I thought Chargois had a chance to go a little higher, so it will be interesting to see his bonus amount. There is a chance that he could join the Fort Myers bullpen, but it's more likely that his final destination in 2012 is Beloit. Chargois has a chance to join the Twins bullpen by 2014. The Twins deviated from their path to take a right-handed power bat in Adam Brett Walker out of Jacksonville. While he has drawn comps to Giancarlo Stanton, I would compare him to Josh Willingham. He is currently listed as a RF, but his future is going to either be at 1B or LF. The interesting fact about Walker is that he grew up in Wisconsin and his dad played professional football for the Minnesota Vikings. I see Walker as a guy that could sign quickly and report to low-A ball to play in front of family and friends. Back to college relievers, the Twins selected Zachary Jones out of San Jose State. Jones will more than likely spend his summer in Elizabethton's bullpen throwing a mid-to-high-90s fastball and a pretty good slider. Look for the Twins to draft T.J. Oakes, a catcher, some high school arms and a middle infielder yet in the first ten rounds. ----- UPDATE 2:17 p.m. The Twins added another right-handed pitcher from Rice in the 5th round - Tyler Duffey. Duffey currently shares the closer distinction with 2nd round pick J.T. Chargois. While Chargois was the higher-rated prospect, Duffey had the better numbers. Duffey, however, is not the power-pitcher that Chargois is, but will probably be given a chance to start given his ability to throw a low-90s fastball, a slider and a change-up. If the change-up doesn't come around, he'll be shifted back to the bullpen; if it does, we could be looking at an Anthony Swarzak-type pitcher. Upon signing, Duffey will probably head to Elizabethton. The Twins went the prep route in Round 6 to draft LHP Andre Martinez out of Archbishop McCarthy HS in Florida. An FSU commit, we're looking at the first draftee that has a signability question. Martinez projects as a starter with a deceptive delivery. If the Twins pay overslot to sign him, he would start his career with the GCL Twins. The Twins have to start adding some infielders at some point, right? EVENING UPDATE The Twins took their first non-pitcher or outfielder in the 7th Round when they selected Puerto Rican catcher Jorge Fernandez. Although it's not uncommon for the team to select guys off of the island, they took a guy with a lot of projection instead of their typical "Puerto Rican bat tool". Fernandez is long and skinny and a long ways away, but it sounds as though they're going to give him every opportunity to catch. Look for the Twins to get Fernandez in camp soon, so he can get as much instruction as possible while playing for the GCL Twins. P Christian Powell, drafted in the 8th Round from the College of Charleston, definitely looks the part of a pitcher. He is a big body who will be given every opportunity to start. He needs to learn how to pitch, but if he does, he could be a steal at this point. Upon signing, Powell will most likely start for the E-Twins. 2B L.J. Mazzilli, son of Lee Mazzilli, was drafted out of UConn in Round 9. Mazzilli has a great bat and I was surprised he was still on the board. Though I don't necessarily see where he fits in the organization (Beloit would be the most logical choice), adding a right-handed bat at a position without great depth isn't a bad idea. The Twins rounded out their "valued" slots by taking a typical pitch-to-contact pitcher D.J. Baxendale out of Arkansas. Baxendale had an up-and-down year and may be a tough guy to sign. His younger brother, Blake, is heading to Arkansas next year to catch. Baxendale's ceiling is at the end of a rotation and he could find himself in the bullpen, despite not having an overpowering fastball. The Twins took LP Taylor Rogers in the 11th round out of Kentucky. They've gone to the left-handed well in Kentucky a few times with similar-type pitchers - Logan Darnell and Andrew Albers - and I'm sure they're looking for similar results. He will go to the Appy League if he can come to terms with the Twins. The Twins drafted P Alex Muren out of CS-Northridge in the 12th round. He is a good sleeper prospect who still lacks the feel for pitching, but he could make for a decent prospect in time. P Erich Knab, a prep righty, was drafted in the 13th round. He's committed to a junior college, so there is a good chance the Twins can get him signed. He has a high ceiling, most likely as a power-reliever, but he will more than likely, if signed, start his pro career in the GCL Twins rotation. 14th round pick, OF Jake Proctor, is part of the new breed of Twins prospect. Injured during this past season, Proctor is a right-handed hitter with raw power. That's right, like Travis Harrison last year and Adam Brett Walker earlier today, Proctor offers a bat that could someday play well in Target Field. Proctor has a year of eligibility left and could stand to improve his draft-stock with a healthy year of baseball. The Twins concluded their day by taking someone that I'd been waiting all day for them to take: a college senior. LP Jarret Leverett figures to add organizational depth as a cheap, left-handed relief pitcher. Out of Georgia Southern's bullpen this year, he struck out over a hitter per inning. So after 18 picks, the Twins have added 13 pitchers (four lefties). Only five prepsters were selected, which is similar to their numbers last year.

As expected, the Twins drafted Georgia OF Byron Buxton second overall (though it came with a little uncertainty after Carlos Correa, not Mark Appel, went first). Shortly after 9:30 local time, the Twins were back on the clock. Conventional wisdom suggested the Twins were going to take local product Mitch Brown. Instead, the Twins pegged Puerto Rican P Jose Orlando Berrios. Berrios is the third Puerto Rican to go in the top two rounds and only the second to go as high as the supplemental round.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] (perfectgame.org) Berrios is a late-bloomer that really excelled this spring in the Excellence Tournament. He added over 20 pounds to his six foot frame (to bring him up to 180) over the winter. Twins fans will be happy to know that the team added a guy who throws in the mid-90s, with a low-80s slider and the potential to throw an average to above-average change-up. Prospect-wise, Berrios's upside is of a #2 starter, but it will probably be the summer of 2014 before we see him playing full-season ball. At the least, Berrios could become a power-reliever with a high-90's fastball in shorter spurts. Though he's committed to Miami Dade JC, Berrios is a safe bet to sign quickly for near the $1.55m pick value and will make his debut this summer for the GCL Twins. Ten picks (and only ten minutes) later the Twins stood back at the podium and surprised many of us with the selection of Georgia Tech RP Luke Bard. Bard is the younger brother of Red Sox pitcher Daniel Bard. Bard tore a lat muscle (similar to Roy Halladay) this spring and hasn't pitched since the end of March. Before injuring himself, Bard was in the first-round conversation as a power-reliever, throwing a mid-90s fastball with a decent slider. It is only my opinion, but I believe the Twins will give Bard the opportunity to start. The Twins will want to see Bard throw before signing him, which I believe they will in late June or early July, for a little less than pick value. I expect Bard - if healthy - to be on a similar path as Madison Boer - pick up relief innings in Elizabethton and Beloit in 2012 before getting a chance to start in low-A ball next spring. All in all, today should be considered a very successful day by Twins fans. The Twins will have the 3rd pick of the second round. I would be surprised if Mitch Brown doesn't hear his name called.

Last night, word came out that Carl Pavano was going to undergo an MRI and it appears likely that he will end up on the disabled list. All indications are that Jeff Manship will be starting in Pavano’s spot on Wednesday. No word on whether Manship will be rocking a mustache or not. On Sunday evening, ESPN’s Jim Bowden broke (?) the news that the Astros will indeed be selecting Stanford RHP Mark Appel - confirming what many already believed - with the #1 overall pick tomorrow night. After a sigh of relief (for me personally), we can now wonder what the Twins will do with #2. The latest indications are the Twins are deciding between OF Byron Buxton and SS Carlos Correa, with P Kevin Gausman a wild card. The next 24 hours will be interesting. With that, let’s take a spin around the farm:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER vs COLUMBUS Suspended while tied 1-1. Today’s game was suspended in the bottom of five due to rain. This came after three rain delays. What we saw so far: Nick Blackburn pitched two scoreless innings before leaving a run on (who scored) for Kyle Waldrop. Blackburn allowed two hits and a walk. He didn’t strike any out. Waldrop made his 2012 Red Wings debut and allowed two hits and two walks, though he did retire all five of his outs by way of the groundball. Deolis Guerra pitched a scoreless fifth, striking out two. Rochester has already drawn five walks and Florimon, Burroughs, Parmelee (double) and Valencia all have hits. Valencia drove in Parmelee for their lone run thus far. Burroughs is on first with one out in the bottom of the fifth. Wilkin Ramirez left the game during the top of the third inning. Details unknown. NEW BRITAIN 1, HARRISBURG 6 Box score Aaron Thompson, fresh off his 50-game suspension, made his Rockcats debut and struggled. Meanwhile, the rest of the team totaled almost as many errors (2) as hits (3). Thompson gave up nine hits and three runs in only four innings. Bruce Pugh struck out three in two scoreless innings in his return/2012 debut for the Rockcats. Daniel Turpen also struck out three in two innings, though he allowed three (unearned) runs on three hits. Caleb Thielbar struck out two in a scoreless ninth. Rene Tosoni and Evan Bigley both had doubles. Nathan Hanson added a single to account for the third of the Rockcats hits. Chris Herrmann’s RBI groundout in the bottom of the first led to the team’s only run. FT. MYERS 4, DAYTONA 0 Box score The Miracle got off to a quick start thanks to the bat of Oswaldo Arcia who hit his 7th home run in the first inning with Daniel Ortiz on base. Arcia has been on fire over his last ten games (with an OPS of nearly 1.500) and a second half promotion to New Britain is likely (and a September call-up possible). Josmil Pinto added two hits (one double) and an RBI. Levi Michael had a hit and a run scored. The story of the game, though, was Madison Boer, who appeared to channel his inner-Francisco Liriano, throwing five innings of one-hit ball, walking two and striking out five. It was far-and-away his best outing in Fort Myers, as he was the losing pitcher in all of his first six starts. Nelvin Fuentes and Matthew Hauser held Daytona hitless over the final four innings to preserve the one-hitter. BELOIT 1, WISCONSIN 6 Box score The Snappers entered today tied for first in the MWL Western Division. They leave today trailing by a game. Eddie Rosario was 3-for-4 with his 7th home run and 18th double. Kyle Knudson added two more doubles. Drew Leachman had a triple. Unfortunately, the only run-producing hit was Rosario’s solo shot. Miguel Sano – after taking some hitting advice from Seth – went 0-4 with two strikeouts. Tyler Jones pitched well. He scattered three hits over six innings, allowing only two runs (one earned), walking one and striking out five. A.J. Achter allowed a run in two innings. Clint Dempster pitched a scoreless ninth. --- Players of the Day for Sunday, June 3, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Madison Boer (photo from tricitybaseball.org) Hitters of the Day – Coverboy Eddie Rosario --- A Look Ahead – Monday, June 4, 2012 (DRAFT DAY!) Schedule Rochester vs Columbus – RHP Liam Hendriks (3-0, 2.93) New Britain - IDLE Ft. Myers vs Daytona – RHP Miguel Munoz (1-3, 4.20) Beloit vs Wisconsin – RHP Tim Shibuya (2-3, 5.17) --- If you have any questions on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and we’ll try to answer them! Comments also welcome.