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Day 3 of the MLB Draft is here and we have a lot more action for you, as the Twins will be making 10 more selections. The draft will begin at 11 a.m. CT and can be followed on MLB.com. Be sure to refresh this page throughout the day, as it will be updated regularly with each of the Twins selections, as well as to join in on the discussion in the comment section below.
The Twins have already had a big haul in this year's draft as they selected fireball high school pitcher Chase Petty in the first round and followed that up by selecting a high school shortstop from the state of Wisconsin in Noah Miller. After taking two high schoolers on Day 1, the Twins went exclusively the college route on Day 2, which started by taking Michigan left-hander Steven Hajjar in the second round.
Twins Day 3 Picks
Round 11, 339th Overall
Pick: Brandon Birdsell, RHP, Texas Tech
Brandon Birdsell was well traveled across the state of Texas in his college career, as he played for three different Texas schools in his three years of college baseball. Birdsell began his collegiate career at Texas A&M, but only pitched six innings across eight appearances his freshman season and eventually transferred to San Jacinto Junior College in Pasadena, Texas for his sophomore season in 2020.
After one year there, he then transferred to Texas Tech were he found some success in limited work as a starter this spring before his season was cut short with a rotator cuff injury during an April 11th start against TCU.
As a pitcher, Birdsell has an electric two pitch combo with his fastball and slider both grading out as above average to plus pitches. The fastball sits easily in the mid-90s and occasionally touches upper 90s. With the injury concerns, to go along with his player profile, Birdsell seems destined to a bullpen role once he returns from his injury, but he has the potential to one day be a backend of the bullpen piece with his stuff.
Round 12, 369th Overall
Pick: Kyler Fedko, OF, UConn
After selecting UConn catcher Pat Winkel in the 9th round yesterday, the Twins double-dipped into the Husky well just three rounds later, taking Winkel's teammate Kyler Fedko in the 12th round today. Fedko was a three-year starter in college and after a so-so freshman season, Fedko turned it on in the last two seasons at UConn.
We got a small glimpse of Fedko's breakout last spring, before getting to see what Fedko could do over the course of a full college season this spring. In 52 games, Fedko slashed .398/.483/.673 with 12 home runs and 7 stolen bases. This performance was strong enough to earn First Team NCBWA All-American honors and be named the BIG EAST Player of the Year.
Round 13, 399th Overall
Pick: David Festa, RHP, Seton Hall
David Festa came to Seton Hall as a freshman in 2019 and immediately earned a spot in the Pirates weekend starting rotation. Festa had mixed results in his first two seasons, but everything came together for his this spring as he had an ERA of 2.00 in 72 innings pitched and was a named to the All-BIG EAST First Team.
While Festa does not have eye popping strikeout numbers or a fastball that will impress on the radar gun, it is possible that both of those things could still be developed with Festa. The main reason for this is his frame, though he stands at 6'6", he only weighs 185 pounds and could easily add more muscle. We have already seen a small jump in velocity from Festa this spring, so there is no reason to suggest that he can't continue to add more velocity as he builds more strength, especially in his lower half.
Round 14, 429th Overall
Pick: Pierson Ohl, RHP, Grand Canyon University
A three-year starter at GCU, Pierson Ohl has a proven track record of success at the collegiate level. For his career, Ohl has thrown 219 and 1/3 innings and has an ERA of 2.99 and 186 strikeouts. Perhaps the most impressive stat on Ohl is his minuscule walk rate, as he has walked just 1.3 batters per nine innings over the course of his entire career, which includes walking just 12 in 100 and 1/3 innings this spring on his way to being named the WAC Pitcher of the Year.
Round 15, 459th Overall
Pick: Mikey Perez, 2B/SS, UCLA
After getting limited playing time in his first two seasons at UCLA, Mikey Perez started every game for the Bruins this spring, with a majority of those games coming at second base alongside fellow UCLA middle infielder Matt McLain, who was taken by the Cincinnati Reds with the 17th overall pick in the draft. In addition to second, Perez also saw some time at both short and third, showing his versatility around the infield.
While it was not an impressive season for Perez from a batting average perspective (.231), he did draw a good number of walks and led the Bruins in home runs with 11. With such little playing time at the college level, it is hard to tell exactly how good of a player Perez is with the bat, but with his ability to play all over the infield along with some power potential he is a good shot for the Twins to take at this stage of the draft.
Round 16, 489th Overall
Pick: Johnathan Lavallee, RHP, Long Beach State
Johnathan Lavallee began his college baseball career at LA Pierce College, where he pitched for two seasons. After a dominate sophomore season, Lavallee transferred to Long Beach State. After an alright showing in 11 innings pitched in 2020, Lavallee put together a dominate season in 2021, as he had a mere 1.89 ERA in nine starts (11 total appearances). In 62 innings pitched, the Long Beach State right-hander struck out 73 batters and only walked 16 on his way to being named First Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball.
Round 17, 519th Overall
Pick: Dylan Neuse, 2B, Texas Tech
We are in the 17th round, and this is already the third time the Twins have doubled-down on prospects from the same university, as Dylan Neuse is teammates with Twins 11th round pick Brandon Birdwell. Neuse was a starter each of the last three seasons for the Red Raiders, and slashed .305/.421/.477 with 10 home runs and 41 stolen bases.
After being named the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, Neuse was off to a solid start this spring, but suffered a season ending injury after getting hit in the back by a pitch. Coincidentally, Neuse's last game of the season came on April 11th, which was the same date of Brandon Birdwell's last game of the season.
Round 18, 549th Overall
Pick: Mike Paredes, RHP, San Diego State
Mike Paredes split his time between the starting rotation and the bullpen in 2019, as he made five starts as part of 17 total appearances. After that season, Paredes began pitching almost exclusively out of the rotation. Paredes never had a lot of success as a pitcher at the collegiate level, as he had a career 5.28 ERA with 138 strikeouts and 43 walks over 148 and 1/3 innings pitched.
Round 19, 579th Overall
Pick: Jaylen Nowlin, LHP, Chipola College
In his lone season at Chipola College in Florida, Jaylen Nowlin was very impressive coming out of the bullpen, as he had an ERA of just 2.14 in 42 innings pitched. Nowlin has good strikeout stuff, as he struck out 12.6 batters per nine innings pitched, but he also struggles a bit with command as he walk 5.1 batters per nine innings this spring.
Round 20, 609th Overall
Pick: Dillon Tatum, C, UC Irvine
With their final selection of the 2021 MLB Draft, the Twins took their third college catcher, this time it was Dillon Tatum from UC Irvine. Tatum play his first three seasons of college baseball at San Joaquin Delta Junior College before transferring to UC Irvine for the 2021 season. In 40 games (37 starts) for the Anteaters this spring, Tatum slashed .278/.401/.684 and 15 home runs.
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