Twins Add Seven To Their 40 Man Roster, Lose Achter, Pinto

Rogers, Chargois and Walker have been deemed the "easy" choices by various accounts. There were a few surprises.

Taylor Rogers was the Twins 11th round pick in 2012 out of the University of Kentucky where he teamed with fellow 40-man roster mates Alex Meyer and Logan Darnell. Rogers was the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year in 2013 when he made three starts in Cedar Rapids and the rest of the season in Ft. Myers with the Miracle. He pitched in New Britain in 2014. This year in Rochester, he went 11-12 with an ERA of 3.98 in 175 innings in Rochester. He has a 1.59 ERA in Arizona this fall in 25 innings. He has dominated left-handers and could find himself in a relief role as soon as 2016.

JT Chargois was the Twins second-round pick in 2012 out of Rice University where he was co-closer with Tyler Duffey (drafted in the fifth round of 2012). Chargois missed the 2013 and 2014 season due to Tommy John surgery but returned in 2015, flashing an upper-90s fastball. He split his season between Ft. Myers and Chattanooga. He should surface with the Twins in 2016.

Adam Brett Walker was the Twins third-round pick in 2012 out of Jacksonville University. He has as much power as anyone in the Twins organization, including Miguel Sano. He has led his league in home runs all three full seasons he has played. He posted an .807 OPS with 31 homers and 106 RBI for the Southern League champion Chattanooga Lookouts in 2016. He also led minor league baseball in strikeouts with 195. He was hitting well in the Arizona Fall League where he has five home runs. However, in his final four AFL games, he went 0-15 with 11 strikeouts. He has a ton of power but will need to continue working on that plate discipline and contact rate. He will likely play for Rochester in 2016 with a shot at a September call up.

Aside from those three, the Twins also added...

Randy Rosario is an interesting add. The left-hander missed most of the 2014 season after having Tommy John surgery in mid-April. He returned in early July to the Cedar Rapids Kernels. In his 11 games (10 starts) with the Kernels, he went 2-6 but posted a 3.52 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He had some good starts, and as would be expected coming back from surgery, he had some clunkers. But there is no doubt Rosario is very talented. He is high-energy and very athletic. He throws hard (up to 96-97 mph) and is working on his offspeed pitches. But he can be nasty. Obviously Rosario isn't a guy that we'll see pitching at Target Field in 2016, but he does have a chance to be effective (either as a starter or in the bullpen) in a couple of years.

RHP Yorman Landa suffered from shoulder problems in 2014 and 2015, but he is another kid who approaches triple digits with his fastball. He is only a reliever, but he can miss bats. Another guy who won't be ready for the big leagues in 2016, but his potential is very high.

LHP Pat Dean had a breakout year in 2015 in Rochester. He led minor league baseball in innings pitched. He greatly improved his two breaking pitches in 2015 making him better against lefties. Dean is 26 years old and will likely pitch most of 2016 in Rochester.

Finally, LHP Mason Melotakis was added. He had Tommy John surgery late in 2014 and missed the 2015 season. However, he throws in the upper 90s out of the bullpen. He will be brought back slowly in 2016 but could surface by the end of the year.

Achter has been tremendous in the minor leagues and has had some good moments the last two years with the Twins. He joins a Phillies roster, likely as a relif pitcher.

Pinto's concussion concerns in 2015 made him a DFA candidate. Also, his inability behind the plate didn't help. Going to the National League, he will have to catch, or be confined to pinch-hitting duties.

Today's moves mean that several prospects will be eligible for the December 10th Rule 5 Draft. They include Corey Williams, Zack Jones, Luke Bard, Levi Michael, Felix Jorge and others.

Feel free to share your thoughts.