Twins Sign Dominican Righty
On Monday, Ben Badler of Baseball America announced that the Twins agreed
to terms with 17-year-old Felix Jorge. The Twins gave the Dominican
right-handed pitcher $250,000. Along with Twins previously signed 17-year-old
shortstop Javier Pimental, Jorge was listed among the
top 33 Latin American players eligible to be signed as of last July.
There have been reports that this
and some of the other recent Latin American signings actually happened awhile
ago, but MLB’s age and identity verification is becoming much more stringent.
According to Badler,
Jorge has a fastball that sits between 88 and 91 and has touched 92. At 6-4 and
175 pounds, he has a pitcher’s frame, and as he matures physically, he should
add velocity.
Watching some video on Jorge, he
certainly has very smooth, repeatable mechanics. For three videos of Felix
Jorge pitching, click
here.
Jorge will likely pitch in
the Dominican Summer League in 2011. Depending on how well he does, he could come to
the States in 2012 to compete in the GCL. In other words, he is a long ways
away from the big leagues, but he does look like a quality pitching prospect.
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At 9:15 this (Wednesday) morning,
I will be on KFAN and KFAN.com with Paul Allen to talk about several Twins and
baseball related topics. Check it out if you’re able to at am1130 in the Twin
Cities, on a KFAN affiliate around the region or at KFAN.com.
.