Puckett’s Pond Minnesota Twins Top 20 Prospects: 6-10

9. Felix Jorge, RHP, 23 years old

The frustration that many have with Stewart not generating strikeouts was often the chorus heard around Jorge as he was developing. Jorge has a lean build, though he has added strength to his frame such that he’s a certain starter and has the stamina physically to handle a starter’s workload.

Jorge’s primary pitch is his fastball, a pitch that he runs up to 95, but works mostly in the 91-93 range with late, short sink, which means it doesn’t usually miss a bat, but often misses the barrel, leading to weak contact from the hitter and lots of ground ball outs. His change has a heavier sink to it with a little wiggle as well, and he gets more swing and miss with the pitch. He uses a slider, a curve, and he’s even used a cutter this season, but none of the three is an above-average pitch on its own.

Where Jorge excels (and where he struggled in his last major league start) is in his location. He has excellent athleticism on the mound, and he repeats his delivery well, allowing him to produce excellent control, and more importantly, excellent command of his pitches. He was hit hard in the major leagues when he was still controlling the ball in the zone, but his command was off and he was putting the ball in the meat of the hitting zone for guys.

Jorge doesn’t have an “ace” upside, but he does have the ability to work as a #4 and eat up innings, which is a huge value to teams to keep bullpens fresh.