Twins Select Alerick Soularie with the 59th Overall Pick

[Cody Christie]

Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have followed certain draft trends since taking over as the architects of the Twins franchise. On Wednesday, those trends continued as the Twins added another powerful bat from the college ranks. Would the Twins follow any other trends with the second-round pick?Soularie is one of the better college hitters in the draft. He is a bat first guy without a true defensive position which follows Minnesota’s first round pick that fits the same mold. The current Twins regime has also surprised with recent second round picks like Ryan Jeffers and Landon Leach. Jeffers is now one of the team’s top-10 prospects and they are hoping for more of the same with Soularie.

He entered his junior season at Tennessee and he was named a Preseason All-SEC First Team member and a D1Baseball.com Preseason First Team All-American. In 2019, he had a .357 batting average with 11 home runs and 13 doubles. He also posted a strong 39 to 37 strike out to walk ratio. During 16 games in 2020, he went 16-for-60 with five home runs and a double.

 

Since joining the Volunteers, he has clearly taken some steps in the right direction. He posted some great numbers during his sophomore season and he looked set-up for a great junior campaign. He slugged five home runs in 16 games before the college season was cut short because of COVID-19.

He didn't rank inside any top-100 lists, but the current Twins regime might have earned the benefit of the doubt about stealing Jeffers at this point two years ago. Soularie is a tight-handed-hitting corner outfielder who was among the SEC's top three in AVG, OBP, and SLG last season.

 

Defensively, the Twins drafted Soularie as an outfielder, but he can also play some second base. According to Twins Scouting Director Sean Johnson, that's a possibility too.

I think he’s got some versatility. We’ve seen him play some center field. We think, long-term, he’s likely to end up in a corner, and maybe a guy that can play all three spots. And second base, we’ve seen, we’re optimistic that that might work as well. We’ve got great coordinators and player development people that can maybe turn him into something so maybe he can play some second base. That will all sort itself out over time. He’s a good athlete, and I think time will tell where he ends up.

What are your thoughts on their second-round pick? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

 

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[jud6312]

So, pitching next year then?

 

Maybe when mentioning drafting guys earlier than expected we forget about Landon until he clears rookie ball.

[Dman]

Hate to sound like a broken record but pitchers were coming off the board like crazy in the second round.  Seemed like a good time to grab one there.  Grabbing another position-less player in a system full of them seems well down right wasteful to me.

 

The positives appear to be that he does have a good eye and hit tool so a decent chance to make it to MLB.  Also seems to have some power as well.

 

With not a ton of picks this year I thought that maybe they would take more chances on pitching in the draft but I guess it is the same old same old.  Not a bad pick but not what I was hoping for either.

[Tom Froemming]

The Twins care not for your big boards!!!

[DasBat]

I’m really disappointed in the draft so far. Not a fan of either pick.

[Mike Sixel]

Jeffers went right where Fangraphs projected him, as did Lanarch.

 

It's not like teams use 7-10 starters and even more relief pitchers in a year...........

[Twins1964]

Twins braintrust will toss and turn all night knowing they blew it because of the negative comments on this thread. If you doubters would have just sent the Twins your draft suggestions in three years the Twins would be guaranteed to be World Series winners. For all you doubters I suggest you keep your day jobs.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Twins braintrust will toss and turn all night knowing they blew it because of the negative comments on this thread. If you doubters would have just sent the Twins your draft suggestions in three years the Twins would be guaranteed to be World Series winners. For all you doubters I suggest you keep your day jobs.

 

So, only agree with what the team does? 

[jud6312]

 

So, only agree with what the team does? 

I mean, that's obvious, isn't it? True fans are never critical of any move.

[Tom Froemming]

Here's another fun fact:

[Mike Sixel]

He was in this article......

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/statistical-diamonds-in-the-rough/

[jud6312]

 

He was in this article......

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/statistical-diamonds-in-the-rough/

Not as good a hitter as Willie Calhoun isn't exactly a resounding endorsement.

 

I mean, it could be a worse comp, but I hope that's not his ceiling.

[howieramone2]

When I lived in Philadelphia there was a story circulating about what bad fans they are.

It was said if they opened the stadium so young children could hunt for Easter eggs, the fans would boo the young kids who didn't find any.

[mikelink45]

Ho hum.  Who needs a glove?  Who needs a position?  Nine DH's and boy will that be fun.

[DocBauer]

FWIW, Baseball America had him at 166.

 

Not blowing smoke, just looking at the positives. Drafted by the Cardinals in 2018 and they have an obvious history for scouting well. As previously pointed out by Tom above, 3rd in the SEC in OPS in 2019. Lead his team in 2019 in BA, OB, and SLG. That's not bad stuff. Slow start in an abbreviated 2020, but had 5HR and 12-8 BB/SO before cancellation of the season.

 

He appears to be earmarked for LF. And yet, he was tried at 2B and CF at times. Clearly, if he was just an athletic stiff, no team much less one in the SEC, would have tried him in those spots.

 

Once again, the FO looking at projectability. Notice a trend with their first 2 picks? Hit ability, power and potential power, SO but also BB and OB potential.

[Seth Stohs]

 

The Twins care not for your big boards!!!

 

This is 100% a truth!  (and frankly, they shouldn't at all!)

[bird]

 

Not as good a hitter as Willie Calhoun isn't exactly a resounding endorsement.

 

I mean, it could be a worse comp, but I hope that's not his ceiling.

 

 

I'm not sure the author mentioning Willie Calhoun means he thinks Alerick's ceiling is similar. Calhoun plays the field like he's wearing Grandma's oven mitts. Alerick may be no better than mediocre defensively at a handful of positions, but he played CF and wasn't dreadful. Alerick was picked #59, Calhoun was a #132 pick. In that 2015 draft in the 2nd round ( picks #43-75 ) only 2 of the 13 position players in that range have produced WAR in MLB, so it's advisable to temper both expectations AND CRITICISM regarding the specific selection. Draft strategy is open game though. Maybe our #80 pick from that draft, Travis Blankenhorn, would be a fairly good weather vane for what to expect. But OTOH, we can dream a little, right? Who knows?

[bird]

 

Ho hum.  Who needs a glove?  Who needs a position?  Nine DH's and boy will that be fun.

 

 

Not sure how you drew this conclusion, but it seems premature and overly bleak. One could as readily adopt the opposite stance and conclude we just drafted the next Marwin Gonzales.

[jmlease1]

I think it's reasonable to have less faith in top 100 lists and so forth this year compared to other years with the pandemic ending seasons early and reducing the ability to scout. There are reasons to be skeptical of the pick, but also interesting signs of projectable skills and talent.

[Shaitan]

 

Ho hum.  Who needs a glove?  Who needs a position?  Nine DH's and boy will that be fun.

 

That's pretty much Manfred's long-term plan, isn't it?