Okay

Well, I mean. OK. Not really where I thought we were going there. I guess we'll see if a Larnach/Lewis/Kiriloff OF does better than the Rosario/Buxton/Kepler one.

Number 12 on the FG board......

 

They really are going to have to trade for / sign pitchers.....

Cue the wailing and gnashing of teeth.

FG writeup:

 

Larnach is a physical beast with massive exit velos/raw power and surprising contact skills but limited defensive value.

Full Report
Larnach hits low-lying lasers, with several balls off the bat in excess of 115mph during Oregon State's opening weekend in Arizona. If sneaky plus-plus raw power exists, Larnach has it, as he generates it without taking max-effort hacks. There are teams that don't like Larnach in this range because they think he's a bad defender and/or they are concerned about his 20% strikeout rate, But Larnach's career 15% walk rate should help satiate the stat-driven people in draft rooms and his power numbers could take a jump if pro instruction coaxes more lift out of his swing. He checks every box for the risk-averse, analytics-driven clubs, which means he has a lot of potential homes in the 10-20 range.

 

 

https://www.fangraphs.com/scoutboard.aspx?draft=2018mlb&type=0&pos=all&team=all

 

WE GET A GOOD LOOK AT THE TWINS PICK THIS WEEKEND AGAINST THE GOPHERS=  NEAT

Well, he was the next bat I wanted but I liked Turang, Kowar and Rocker better...

MLB.com 20-80 evaluation on Larnach:

 

Hit  55/80

Power 50/80

Run 40/80

Arm 55/80

Field 50/80

 

Overall 50/80

Hopefully he takes a million dollar discount!

https://twitter.com/BeaverBaseball/status/996561047262658560

That field score doesn't jibe with the FG report that teams are worried about his D....I asked on the FG chat for clarification.....

I really hope they agreed to sign him below slot.

Kinda meh, no? With all of the options still on the board not too excited about it.

MLB.com 20-80 evaluation on Larnach:

 

Hit 55/80

Power 50/80

Run 40/80

Arm 55/80

Field 50/80

 

Overall 50/80

So basically, he’s just a guy?

http://twinsdaily.com/topic/30174-article-twins-select-trevor-larnach-in-the-first-round-of-the-2018-draft/?do=findComment&comment=755165

given how last years draft turned out i'll trust the FO on this.  Quite a few people around here hated the Lewis pick and that turned out great.

 

So basically, he’s just a guy?

 

Not sure how you get that from those scores. He'll be on teh fringe of top 100 overall players, most likely, and in the top5 or so for the Twins (on most national lists). 

He seems like an okay player but outfielder is a really interesting selection

 

losing a pick is a big deal. I can't find anyone on line that has worked in a FO say anything other than that. you lose a year of development, and you lose potential trade chip. It's not as simple as "they get the pick next year" from what I read.

Sure, but you need to balance that against the likelihood that they will sign. And there is grey area there. If a pitcher says he won't sign for less than $4M, and you are able to put $3.5M on the table (and it is legitimately the best you can do),I think that is a reasonable bluff to try to call. It isn't punting on the pick; it is making a reasonable bet.

 

But in the end, it doesn't matter...

I would have liked pitching but there didn't seem to be any truly high upside guys there that didn't look like they were most likely destined for the pen.

 

Looks like this was the best bat available, Im fine with that.

 

So basically, he’s just a guy?

Larnach has 25+ homer power from the left side, no he's not going to wow you with his gems in the field or on the bases.  Decent pick overall, I know fans are wanting pitching but college hitters are more stable and easier to grade out and project than high schoolers and college pitchers.

2nd coming of Jim Thome? And think of having him hit in front of Rooker in a couple years...Yikes!

Pretty safe pick. I'm not a fan of banking on left-handed power in Target Field, and probably would've gone McClanahan. But this is the good kind of risk averse pick.

Twins OF depth (Not in any particular order)

 

Rosario

Kepler

Buxton

Kiriloff

Wade

Rooker

Larnach

Baddoo

Cave??

 

I think a case could be made that Wade, Kiriloff, and Rooker are in MLB within 2 years...might even be able to add Larnach to that list now (2-3 years).

 

That's some serious OF depth in the Twins system right now.

Royals about to get Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar

Admittedly, I have paid very little attention to predraft stuff. From the small amount I've read since the pick was made - Larnach sounds a lot like Kirilloff.

Twins have a framework of a deal in place with Lanarch, per LaVelle

Twins have a framework of a deal in place with Lanarch, per LaVelle

Nice

Judging from LEN it sounds like the Twins really liked this kid. LEN was all over it throughout the night