Article: Official Day 3 Draft Thread

[Jeremy Nygaard]

The Twins have added 11 prospects to their organization over the last two days. Today they will add 30 more. They will have their Draft Memories created, memories that will last a lifetime.

 

Stop back often to check on the progress of the draft and learn about players who will help make up the rookie-league teams that begin play later this month.

 

Until then, check out their previous picks:

 

Day 1

Royce Lewis (1.1)

Brent Rooker - (Q&A)

Landon Leach

 

Day 2

Rounds 3-10.

 

The Twins Geek wasn't terribly excited after Day 1, but Jeremy provided some Draft Theories after Day 2, which has been deemed very successful for the Twins by Jim Callis.

 

Finally, after Sam Carlson went on Day 1, four players with Minnesota Connections were drafted on Day 2. Several more will be taken on Day 3.

 

The Twins don't have a lot of wiggle room in their draft pool, so this will be a day where they look to fill organizational needs. To me, that means lots of (probably left-handed) pitchers, catchers and versatile hitters.

 

Round 11 - Gabriel Rodriguez, OF (Colegio Angel David HS, Puerto Rico)

 

An outfielder with a big arm and power in his bat, there are questions about his overall hit tool. Some scouts foresee a move to the mound if the bat doesn't develop, where he possesses a fastball in the 90s.

 

Scout's take: Left-handed power bat. Performed well all spring.

 

Round 12 - Bailey Ober, RHP (College of Charleston)

 

Tall right-handed pitcher (6' 8", 200) who missed 2015 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Conference player of the year as a freshman in 2014, but has struggled to regain that form in the two years of playing since. Only threw 56 innings in 2017, but had 73/11 K/BB, missing time with a back injury.

 

Scout's take: Tall, but athletic. Plus changeup. Four pitch mix. Fastball jumps on hitters, has deception. Velocity was down after back injury, but when he is completely recovered will have big velocity. Starter.

 

Round 13 - Jared Akins, OF (Fresno State)

 

Long, athletic corner outfielder with a solid hit tool that shows power.

 

Scout's take: Raw, toolsy athlete. Former football player. Skills translate to the outfield. 55 runner. 55 arm. Lots of swing-and-miss.

 

Round 14 - Derek Molina, P (Merced College)

 

Molina was a two-way player at Merced and only threw 28.1 innings. He had a 43/8 K/BB.

 

Scout's take: Fresh arm. Repeatable delivery with smooth arm stroke. Throws strikes. 91-93. Flashes 50 curve. Feel for a changeup. Young. High upside.

 

Round 15 - Ricky Ramirez, P (Fresno State)

 

Smallish right-hander who has both started and relieved for the Bulldogs.

 

 

Scout's take: Big arm out of a small frame. Showed 93-95 with 50 slider in short stints. Live stuff. May be reliever.

 

Round 16 - Cade Smith, P (Mennonite Educational Institute, Canada)

 

Committed to Hawaii. Long-levered pitcher who is highly projectable.

 

Round 17 - Andy Cosgrove, C (North Carolina State)

 

Backstop who started his career at Washington before transferring. Has a chance to stick defensively.

 

Scout's take: Lean and athletic. Can really throw and is a good receiver. Not an easy out, aggressive at the plate.

 

Round 18 - Colton Burns, CF (UC - Santa Barbara)

 

Spent two years at a JUCO before playing in the Cape and one year with UCSB, where he hit .309 and got on base over 42% of the time, though he doesn't have a lot of power. Has a lot of speed and also has experience at second base.

 

Scout's take: 70 runner, but below average fielder. Great discipline at the plate results in high-OBP.

 

Round 19 - Jordan Gore, SS (Coastal Carolina)

 

Transferred to Coastal Carolina after two years at South Carolina. Had Tommy John surgery in 2016 and sat out the year as a transfer. In 2017, Gore hit .318 as Coastal's everyday shortstop.

 

Scout's take: Special defender. Switch-hitter. Big arm strength.

 

Round 20 - Tyler Gray, P (Central Arkansas)

 

Predominantly a reliever in college, Gray struck out more than a batter per inning in 2017 but has always struggled with command.

 

Round 21 - Colton Waltner, C (San Diego)

 

Waltner caught and played outfield. Has very little pop in his bat, but has a good plate approach and uses his speed well (14/14 SBA)

 

Round 22 - Christian Broussard, P (CS - Los Angeles)

 

Huge-bodied (6' 3", 270) pitcher who also played first base.

 

 

Scout's take: Four-pitch starter who has above-average raw power with the bat. Conditioning will play a large role in his development. Has the makings of a legit prospect.

 

Round 23 - Jared Finkel, P (Iona)

 

Closer who was nearly unhittable, but didn't strike out a ton and walked nearly 4.5 batters per nine.

 

Scout's take: Took off this season after dropping his arm slot. Athletic body. Has a fastball (86-93 mph) with good sink.

 

Round 24 - T.J. Dixon, CF (Samford)

 

L/L centerfielder with speed, batted .326 but shows little power. Stole 23 bases as a senior.

 

Scout's take: Plus defender with average arm. Line drive hitter who can spray the ball to all fields. A slightly above-average runner, but not a leadoff type bat. Plus make-up.

 

Round 25 - Carson Crites, 2B (SE Louisiana)

 

Senior who batted .299 and showed power (14 home runs). Crites walked (29) almost as much as he struck out (38) and swiped 15 of 17 bases.

 

Round 26 - Jordan Spicer, P (Polk State College)

 

Projectable pitcher who struck out 71 in 69 2/3 innings has a mid-90s fastball, a very good slider and a curveball. Not likely to sign as he was considered a Day 2 pick. Committed to Central Florida.

 

 

Round 27 - Chandler Taylor, RF (Alabama)

 

Left-handed hitting, draft-eligible sophomore. Strikes out a lot; hits bombs. Likely to head back to Alabama.

 

Round 28 - Joe Record, P (UC-Santa Barbara)

 

Only threw nine innings as a redshirt junior after being a weekend starter in 2016.

 

Scout's take: Needs Tommy John. Was 93-97 with an 85-87 slider in the fall.

 

Round 29 - Griffin Roberts, P (Wake Forest)

 

Draft-eligible sophomore who was closer at Wake Forest. Has a mid-90s fastball and a slider. Walked too many. Probably goes back to college.

 

Scout's take: Electric arm. Fastball up to 97. Special slider. Added strength this year, but is not likely to sign.

 

Round 30 - Alex Robles, P (Austin Peay)

 

Very good two-way player. 84 Ks in 72 innings as a senior.

 

Scout's take: Fastball 88-92 with sink, slider and changeup. Good hitter with gap-to-gap approach who could play 2B or 3B.

 

Round 31 - Luke Miller, 3B (Indiana)

 

Draft-eligible sophomore who hit 10 home runs for the Hoosiers. Likely returns to Indiana for his junior season.

 

Round 32 - Nick Brown, P (William & Mary)

 

Smallish senior who used a good summer in the Cape Cod League to put himself on the radar to be drafted as a reliever with a 94 mph fastball.

 

Round 33 - J.J. Robinson, 1B (Lewis and Clark State College)

 

Big-bodied senior who mashes, doesn't walk much, but doesn't strike out a ton either.

 

Round 34 - Max Meyer, P (Woodbury HS)

 

Future Gopher.

 

Round 35 - Adam Oviedo, SS (Alvarado HS, Texas)

 

One of the top-ranked prep shortstops, but will continue baseball career at TCU and will re-enter the draft in the three years.

 

Round 36 - Josh McMinn , P (Oral Roberts)

 

Another draft-eligible sophomore, McMinn is 6' 4" and pitched 91 innings in 2017, striking out 75.

 

Round 37 - Patrick Bailey, C (Wesleyan Christian Academy, NC)

 

Committed to NC State, Bailey will need to prove he can hit over the next three years. He's got the skills to stick behind the plate though.

 

Scout's take: Plus defender. Switch-hitter. Will add strength at NC State.

 

Round 38 - Ben Rodriguez, C (Pepperdine)

 

Announced as a catcher, Rodriguez is a 6' 6", 240 lb monster who strikes out a ton.

 

Scout's take: 70 raw power, elite ISO. Has caught in the past, will try again. Lots of swing-and-miss, but chance for power-hitting catcher.

 

Round 39 - Jonny DeLuca, OF (Agoura HS, CA)

 

Fantastic athlete who can hit... and will hit at Oregon for the next three years.

 

Scout's take: Smaller but similar to Adam Eaton. Playing in the West Coast League. Will pursue if there is money available.

 

Round 40 - Austin Bizzle, P (Alabama State)

 

The junior was dominant as a reliever, striking out 78 in 74 innings.

 

Thanks for stopping by today. These profiles will be updated as new information becomes available.

 

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[Steve Lein]

Who's our favorite for first pick today?

 

I like the injured Stanford kid, Beck, but would guess he's not signable as he likely would go much higher after he comes back, or the injury is more serious than people think.

 

Tanner Burns is going to college, he won't sign...Probably same with McConnell.

 

Plenty of High School talent available, but they probably need to scrounge up around fourth round money to even have a chance at them ($400K+).

 

What about...Schwarz?

[InfraRen]

[Seth Stohs]

So Beck likely won't be the Twins 11th round pick.

[gunnarthor]

I figured the Twins had about 2m saved after day 1 and they used about a million of that on Enlow. And that doesn't count the 5% they can go over. The rest of day 2 was fairly even with some senior signings at 8-10 that could be used on de la Torres, if needed. So, I *think* we should be able to make one more fairly big grab today. maybe a guy like Kyle Hurt. I guess we'll see who we take in round 11.  

 

Looking at mlb.com's list of best left, there are a lot of HS arms that were ranked 100-150. Pool for pick 100 was 500k. There have to be a handful of guys who the Twins scouts know will sign for that amount or even less - good athletes who sucked at school and don't want to go to college or might even be academically prohibited because of low ACT scores or something. 

 

In any event, I'm hoping for a few HS guys with upside today. We'll see.

[gunnarthor]

Also, yes, I'd take Schwarz if my area scouts believed in his bat. I don't think he's a catcher so he has to hit. But if he can, nab him.

[ThejacKmp]

 

There have to be a handful of guys who the Twins scouts know will sign for that amount or even less - good athletes who sucked at school and don't want to go to college or might even be academically prohibited because of low ACT scores or something. 

 

I always forget that going to school means that have to at least pretend to take classes. That is certainly a factor.

[InfraRen]

"He's a guy we targeted from the start of the draft." Mike Radcliff on Doogie's pod about Andrew Bechtold.

 

Radcliff also very complimentary of Charlie Barnes when asked about other guys they were excited about.

 

http://www.1500espn.com/the-scoop-2/2017/06/twins-draft-recap-ep-79/

Edited June 14, 2017 by InfraRen

[InfraRen]

 

Edited June 14, 2017 by InfraRen

[SF Twins Fan]

I still can't figure out how to post a tweet like InfraRen just did but Berardino just tweeted what McKay is getting from the Rays.  I feel like they wayyyyyyy over paid.

 

Mike Berardino‏Verified account @MikeBerardino  16m16 minutes ago
More
Louisville LHP Brendan McKay, who turned down #mntwins offer, is expected to get $7M-$7.2M from #Rays (slot is $6.15M @4), I'm told.

[Steve Lein]

Yikes... That is money for guys you have near certainty will be super stars. They made the right decision.

[drivlikejehu]

Wow. I guess what is confusing to me is that McKay didn't seem to have much leverage - going back to school or Indy league are very problematic options. So once he had already fallen to #4, what could he really do? If he dropped too far, it would become impossible mathematically for teams to meet his demand.

[Mike Sixel]

 

I still can't figure out how to post a tweet like InfraRen just did but Berardino just tweeted what McKay is getting from the Rays.  I feel like they wayyyyyyy over paid.

 

Mike Berardino‏Verified account @MikeBerardino  16m16 minutes ago
More
Louisville LHP Brendan McKay, who turned down #mntwins offer, is expected to get $7M-$7.2M from #Rays (slot is $6.15M @4), I'm told.

 

I wonder how that impacts what they pay Lewis now?

[InfraRen]

 

I still can't figure out how to post a tweet like InfraRen just did but Berardino just tweeted what McKay is getting from the Rays.  I feel like they wayyyyyyy over paid.

 

Mike Berardino‏Verified account @MikeBerardino  16m16 minutes ago
More
Louisville LHP Brendan McKay, who turned down #mntwins offer, is expected to get $7M-$7.2M from #Rays (slot is $6.15M @4), I'm told.

 

You just paste in the entire tweet link

[Steve Lein]

 

You just paste in the entire tweet link

 

Have to make sure you click the date (ex.: Apr 18) or time (13m) link by the user name of said tweet. Copy the link it then puts in your browser.

[gunnarthor]

 

Wow. I guess what is confusing to me is that McKay didn't seem to have much leverage - going back to school or Indy league are very problematic options. So once he had already fallen to #4, what could he really do? If he dropped too far, it would become impossible mathematically for teams to meet his demand.

I suspect he and his adviser floated that amount to all the teams drafting at the top and hoped one would accept it. Rays did so they told Twins, Padres and Reds that McKay won't sign for less and those teams let him slide.

[InfraRen]

[nicksaviking]

Wow, that's really interesting about McKay. Was he truly ready to go back to Louisville? I don't see his leverage, particularly after nearly everybody and their mom starting getting worried last month and dropped him from the top of their rankings because of velocity concerns.

[gunnarthor]

Rodriguez was #400 or so on BA's list so he's probably not taking much more than 100k. But he is another Puerto Rican bat. The Twins certainly have been covering that island lately.

[Mike Sixel]

Pretty sure Jeremy said they spent all the savings, so we should expect fliers and fillers, imo.

[Willihammer]

Is the MLB.com draft feed working for people?

[gunnarthor]

 

Is the MLB.com draft feed working for people?

Nope, neither is BA's draft tracker.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Is the MLB.com draft feed working for people?

 

You can't have TD and that open in the same browser, I guess.

 

On my phone, they are in round 12....

[gunnarthor]

 

[nicksaviking]

Bailey Ober a LHP from CofC in 12.

[nicksaviking]

Reds must have had some cash left, or at least high hopes. They picked a HS pitcher ranked in the top 200 in round 12.

[Willihammer]

Great draft coverage mlb

[sploorp]

 

Is the MLB.com draft feed working for people?

It's working just fine for me.  The Twins just took Jared Akins at the top of the 13th.  The draft is really moving along today.

[gunnarthor]

It's finally working.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Great draft coverage mlb

 

it's working just fine on my phone.

 

FLYING.