Twins Daily College Baseball Notebook: Week 7

The Twins are up and running. A promising opening weekend for the major league team was underpinned by several spectacular performances from Twins prospects. Boy, is it amazing to have baseball back every single day. Here’s the latest from Jeremy Nygaard, capturing news and notes as we shuffle towards the draft in July, including updates from Keith Law as he offers his initial musings on college prospects from the season. Here’s the latest highlights from Week 7 of the college baseball season.

Weekly Recap
Tennessee continued its historic start, sweeping Missouri to move to 31-1 (12-0) this season. Meanwhile, the biggest shakeup in the top five came as Miami (previously number nine) swept previous number two Virginia to supplant them in the rankings. The rest of the top ten are OSU, Texas Tech, Oregon State, Virginia, Arkansas, Texas, Louisville, and Notre Dame.

At the end of the weekend, here is where Baseball America has the top 25 teams.

 Moment of the Week
Introducing the ‘anti’ moment of the week. After a righteous bat flip, Houston’s Brandon Uhse trips over first base. The next Houston hitter is thrown at by Sam Houston State and the game descends into chaos. SMH.

Potential #8 Pick Performances
Kevin Parada continued to crush this week, adding three home runs and ten RBIs to an already spectacular season. No one is hotter in college baseball than Parada. His continued performance at his current level will take him into top-five consideration in July.

Brooks Lee had a ‘meh’ week for Cal Poly. However, his hitting tools are so well-rounded that a ‘meh’ week involves striking out twice, instead of once. Jacob Berry had a strong week for LSU, adding two home runs and six more RBIs. Berry has been extremely solid this year, if not quite firing on all cylinders, and is currently mocked to the Twins at eight by Baseball America. The most impactful news from the top 12-15 player group this weekend is that Chase DeLauter has a broken foot. DeLauter, a corner outfielder who is putting up an excellent season at James Madison, will be out for at least three weeks.

This week, we’re shifting the focus of potential number eight prospects from Daniel Susac, to Jordan Beck. Beck has been rapidly ascending big boards since the beginning of the 2022 season. Initially, at number 50 overall, he currently sits at number 13 in Baseball America’s Top 200. Beck has already clubbed seven home runs in 2022 after hitting 15 in his Sophomore campaign at Tennessee, and some view him as having the best power tool of any college bat in the draft. Beck profiles as a strong right-fielder with good range and a strong arm. If he can cut down on strikeouts and control the strike zone more effectively, he has a chance to be a top ten pick in July.

Here are the latest number for draft-eligible college players the Twins may have interest in at number eight overall.

     Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly, 52-126 (.413), 7 HR, 36 RBI, 27 BB, 8 K
     Jace Jung, 2B, Texas Tech, 50-129 (.388), 10 HR, 40 RBI, 34 BB, 20 K
     Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech, 55-141 (.390), 15 HR, 50 RBI, 19 BB, 16 K
     Jacob Berry, CI, LSU, 47-128 (.367), 10 HR, 34 RBI, 14 BB, 13 K
     Gavin Cross, OF, Virginia Tech, 38-111 (.342), 7 HR, 23 RBI, 13 BB, 10 K
     Chase DeLauter, OF, James Madison, 38-87 (.437), 8 HR, 35 RBI, 28 BB, 21 K
     Daniel Susac, C, Arizona, 56-143 (.392), 7 HR, 32 RBI, 11 BB, 24 K
     Jordan Beck, OF, Tennessee, 40-126 (.317), 7 HR, 25 RBI, 12 BB, 28 K

Who are you most interested in as a potential number eight pick for the Minnesota Twins? Join the discussion in the comments.