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  • Twins Draft Blayne Enlow, Seven More


    Jeremy Nygaard

    Here are all your results from Day 2 of the MLB Draft. The Twins started it with a bang, using up the money they saved on Day 1 by selecting Blayne Enlow, a projectable, high upside prep starting pitcher who would require a large bonus to keep from his college commitment. His background and seven more are below....

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    Round 3 (76, Slot $755,500) - Blayne Enlow, RHP (St. Amant HS, LA)

    6'3" right-handed pitcher out of Louisiana high school. Ranked 33rd on Baseball America's board. Very projectable with a low-to-mid 90s fastball that scouts expect to tick upward in the coming years. Looks like this is a tumbler guy the Twins will use their saved-up slot money to sign. Jeremy had predicted Twins would take Enlow at #35.

    Something else that should be noted, too, is that if Enlow was drafted at #37 and doesn't sign, the Twins lose $1.85 million from their bonus pool as opposed to only $755k if he doesn't sign as the 76th pick.

    (Update: Rhett Bollinger is reporting that Enlow is expected to sign for $2M.)

    Round 4 (106, Slot $507,000) - Charlie Barnes, LHP (Clemson)

    Barnes won't overpower hitters, but is a crafty left-hander with a plus-changeup. Strictly speculation, but Barnes should come in a hair under slot and projects as a back-end starter. On the smaller end (6' 0", 175), Barnes also possesses a curveball and a slider and is smart on the mound, commanding all four pitches well.

    Scout's take: Not just crafty. Up to 95. Mixes pitches and manipulates ball well. High-floor and could move fast.

    Round 5 (136, Slot $378,700) - Andrew Bechtold, 3B (Chipola College)

    A transfer from Maryland, Bechtold has developed a bat that projects for both average and power. He's got the arm to stick at the hot corner as well and also possesses pretty good speed. Bechtold is a third-year college player, but committed to LSU. Though both LEN3 and Doogie report he'll come in over-slot, signability shouldn't be an issue.

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    Round 6 (166, Slot $283,300) - Ricardo De La Torre, SS (Puerto Rico Baseball Academy)

    Committed to Auburn, De La Torre had first-round buzz before a disappointing spring drop him down draft boards. Considered a solid defensive shortstop, De La Torre has a questionable hit tool. At 6' 2", 175 lbs, De La Torre could fill out and end up at third base, where his arm would play. More likely to stick at shortstop than Lewis, it shouldn't matter as De La Torre could follow in the last few Puerto Ricans' footsteps and get two seasons in the GCL.

    Scout's take: Athletic, strong, exciting prospect. Skilled enough to play other positions if he grows out of SS, but hope he sticks.

    Round 7 (196, Slot $220,700) - Ryley Widell, LHP (Central Arizona JC)

    Widell had a very good season in the JC ranks after transferring from Washington State. He has a fastball that sits around 90 mph and a pretty good change-up. He'll need to continue to develop a breaking ball and refine his fastball. He's committed to UNC and offers some upside in his 6' 4", 205 lb frame.

    Round 8 (226, Slot $174,400) - Bryan Sammons, LHP (Western Carolina U.)

    A senior who has had success in the Cape Cod League, Sammons throws a variety of pitches though none are anything special. Senior signs help teams stay under their budget and Sammons was one of the better ones available.

    Scout's take: Big-bodied, durable lefty. Easy and loose arm action. Sits 89-91 but has plenty of 92,93. Slider, cutter, curveball. All four pitches can be major-league average. Starter. Definite prospect despite being a senior.

    Round 9 (256, Slot $148,000) - Mark Contreras, OF (UC Riverside)

    Contreras is another senior and hit .366 in his final year in college. Very good athlete.

    Round 10 (286, Slot $137,100) - Calvin Faucher, RHP (UC Irvine)

    A third senior rounds out the top 10 rounds. Faucher is strictly a bullpen arm - with a 90 mph fastball and a nasty slider. If he can be a successful fastball/slider pitcher, there is a certain big league bullpen that could certainly use some help. (No, I'm not saying this year.)

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    That's it for Day 2. The Twins are, as one front office exec says, "all out of money", so it would appear they will play Wednesday relatively straight. Look for more college pitchers, catchers and guys who can hit.

    Expect there to be a a few hard-to-sign guys drafted just in case money frees up as a backup plan.

    Hope you enjoyed Day 2. See you for Day 3 tomorrow.

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    Ryley Widell

     

     

     

    A Hawaii prep product, Widell played first base and pitched as a prep and for his Trosky Baseball travel team before focusing on pitching as a freshman at Washington State. He struggled with command (19 BB in 20.1 IP) and wound up transferring to Central Arizona JC, where he emerged as one of the state’s top juco talents. Physical at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, Widell got his delivery in sync and dominated wood-bat competition down the stretch, giving up just two earned runs in his last 36.2 IP with 39 strikeouts. He’s mostly a fastball-changeup lefty at this point, with the fastball in the 89-91 mph range that has touched 92 mph. It plays average as he locates and sets up an above-average changeup. with action. His curveball is fringy but serviceable because of Widell’s command. Scouts see projection in the body, which could get Widell out in the first five rounds
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    Jeremy Nygaard pointed out on Twitter, by drafting Leach at 37 (someone they liked, but is likely signable under slot), they can get a tougher sign guy like Enlow. BUT if Enlow still doesn't sign, which may happen, the Twins only lose $755k ( the slotted value of its 3rd round pick. If they had drafted Enlow at 37 and he still didn't sign (even though the $$$$ offered were the same), the Twins lose the slot bonus assigned to pick 37, which is $1.8M. The Twins can offer Rookers slot value - $1.9M - could get $1.5 Leach - 1.8M - could get $1.5M Enlow - $755k - could get $2M (money from Royce Lewis deal added) Bottom line is a lot of risk is mitigated, by taking a tough sign later, because the Twins only lose $755 bonus money with no Enlow signing.

     

    This point can't be emphasized enough. Although I was all about Greene at #1, drafting Lewis to save money for later picks, while picking guys at certain points to mitigate the amount of money lost if they don't sign is an incredibly savvy move by Falvey/Levine.

    I tend not to focus too much on player rankings since they vary by between publications. But for those that only see it as black & white, look at it this way ... we got the #5, #29, and #50 best players according to MLB.com in the first three rounds.

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    This point can't be emphasized enough. Although I was all about Greene at #1, drafting Lewis to save money for later picks, while picking guys at certain points to mitigate the amount of money lost if they don't sign is an incredibly savvy move by Falvey/Levine.

    I tend not to focus too much on player rankings since they vary by between publications. But for those that only see it as black & white, look at it this way ... we got the #5, #29, and #50 best players according to MLB.com in the first three rounds.

     

    Well, they could have had Rooker w/o going under slot in pick 1, so I'm not sure that's a good look at the outcomes.

     

    Which sounds better?

     

    Any player+Rooker+number 40ish player vs Lewis+Rooker+number 29.

     

    Given that, I'm not sure I don't like the first one (using your rankings).

     

    Really, they must really like Lewis a lot more than number 5, if they planned to take Rooker all along.

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    Maybe the best way for the Twins to find pitching is to have position players to trade for the pitchers other teams develop?

     

     

    that appears to be the argument being made by some here, yes. Of course, prospects aren't traded for each other, so you are trading multiple prospects with many years of control for 1 player with less years of control.....

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    so you are trading multiple prospects with many years of control for 1 player with less years of control.....

     

    Says who? You couldn't have traded Dozier for De Leon (6 years of control) in January? 

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    Says who? You couldn't have traded Dozier for De Leon (6 years of control) in January? 

     

    People are arguing trading for MLB pitchers, to help next year or the year after.

     

    Apparently, no one want Dozier, and Santana is too valuable to trade. Who else are you trading, other than prospects?

     

    And, since they refused to make that deal, I'm guessing they won't make it this year either.

    Edited by Mike Sixel
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    Which sounds better?

     

    Any player+Rooker+number 40ish player vs Lewis+Rooker+number 29.

     

     

    It's sort of a toss up for me.  I will continue questioning the Twins draft strategy based on the outcome. But the greater point I tried to make was simple perspective on our choices using player rankings from the MLB website. Too many people seem to be relating NFL/NBA draft to MLB Amateur draft. So many variables to consider rather than "#1 ranked player should be picked #1." Additionally, many of these picks may not sniff AA, let alone start in a MLB All Star game.

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    People are arguing trading for MLB pitchers, to help next year or the year after.

     

    Apparently, no one want Dozier, and Santana is too valuable to trade. Who else are you trading, other than prospects?

     

    And, since they refused to make that deal, I'm guessing they won't make it this year either.

     

    I thought we were speaking in more generalities, how you can acquire pitchers.  I didn't realize it was you had to acquire one now for this season or next

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    But it's possible they would not get Enlow without Rooker and Lewis savings. They know what it takes to sign him and who they liked but could save money signing in order to be there.

     

    Uh, that was the point of the math experiment.....

     

    do you like:

    Anyone+Rooker+number 40ish player

     

    Lewis+Rooker+Enlow

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    Bryan Sammons

     

     

     

    Sammons was a durable college lefty for much of his career. Then he pitched for Yarmouth-Dennis last summer in the Cape Cod League, pitching and winning the league title game, and got on scouts' radar a bit more. He had his best season as a senior and should be a solid senior budget sign. He's big-bodied (6-foot-3, 235 pounds), improved his walk rate (to 3.5 from 5.3) and throwing more quality strikes with his 88-91 mph fastball that can touch 92. He throws a curveball and cutter as well as a changeup, though none grades as more than average.
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    that appears to be the argument being made by some here, yes. Of course, prospects aren't traded for each other, so you are trading multiple prospects with many years of control for 1 player with less years of control.....

     

    Not if it's the Twins player who is the established MLB'er and the Twins are the ones trading for multiple guys of years of control.

     

    I'd assume if the Twins started trading away redundant shortstops, at some point it would start with Polanco to Gordon to Palacios to Lewis. Ideally.

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    I thought we were speaking in more generalities, how you can acquire pitchers.  I didn't realize it was you had to acquire one now for this season or next

     

    I was talking about the Twins. They have 2 veterans to trade, plus Polanco, plus prospects (unless you are trading Sano or Buxton) to get starter(s). 

     

    Sure, if you have veterans you can trade for AA or AAA players. That involves risk, though, as you are now trading for a player in the 30s - 50s or so, most likely. While they don't usually fully bust, they do carry risk. AKA, Meyer, May, Worley....

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    Hard to judge a draft where we really won't know anything about these players for 1-4 years or so.

     

    I'm going to trust Falvey, who's known as having a great eye for pitching, and developing it and Levine, who many in the industry were surprised the Twins could pry from TX than what I believe to be the right choice in the current moment.

     

    I know I'm pretty excited about Lewis, Rooker and Enlow - we'll see what else shakes out with the others over time.

    Edited by InfraRen
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    Not if it's the Twins player who is the established MLB'er and it is they who are trading for multiple guys of years of control.

     

    I'd assume if the Twins started trading away redundant shortstops, at some point it would start with Polanco to Gordon to Palacios to Lewis.

     

    Well, I'm told no one wants Dozier, and ESan is off limits....and you aren't dealing Buxton or Sano....so Polanco and Kepler?

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    I was talking about the Twins. They have 2 veterans to trade, plus Polanco, plus prospects (unless you are trading Sano or Buxton) to get starter(s). 

     

    Sure, if you have veterans you can trade for AA or AAA players. That involves risk, though, as you are now trading for a player in the 30s - 50s or so, most likely. While they don't usually fully bust, they do carry risk. AKA, Meyer, May, Worley....

     

    They carry more risk than drafting pitchers in the 1st round?

     

    Isn't that the argument?  Because I would rather trade for someone's AAA pitcher who they've developed for 3 years with IF or OF depth, than I draft only pitchers in Round 1

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    They carry more risk than drafting pitchers in the 1st round?

     

    Isn't that the argument?  Because I would rather trade for someone's AAA pitcher who they've developed for 3 years with IF or OF depth, than I draft only pitchers in Round 1

     

    no, but they carry more cost, since you are giving up a player and taking on risk. And, a AAA or AA player is just a prospect, those sometimes fail. More often than we think. Even the highly rated ones. I never said "more risk", I clearly said "risk".

     

    Do we see a lot of MLB ready pitchers traded? I don't know the answer to that, have there been many/any in the last 5 years?

     

    DeLeon, assuming you thought he was MLB ready.....but I have no idea about others.

    Edited by Mike Sixel
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    Uh, that was the point of the math experiment.....

     

    do you like:

    Anyone+Rooker+number 40ish player

     

    Lewis+Rooker+Enlow

    I trust that those choices are close enough and I don't know well enough to say that Lewis+Rooker+Enlow is wrong. And likely none of us do. I think a lot of the criticism here is pretty shortsighted. We're arguing that we know how to drill for undersea oil because we read the Wikipedia page.

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