Jeremy Nygaard

A little over three weeks until Opening Day and the infield remains clouded with uncertainty. The projected first baseman hasn't played yet. The third baseman can't throw. The super utility player went down with an injury. One particular player may be the beneficiary. View full video

Once the college season gets underway, it’s only a matter of time before we enter Mock Draft SZN. The good folks over at Baseball America aren’t necessarily kicking that off yet, but they’re definitely getting the pump primed with their first Staff Draft. Image courtesy of Chris Jones-USA TODAY Sports They carefully explain it’s not a mock draft, per se. They aren’t using any intel to try and determine who these teams are taking. They are instead taking on the role of what they would do if they were in these positions. In this first version, they have the two stud college pitchers (Paul Skenes and Chase Dollander), the best college hitter (Dylan Crews) and the best high school hitter (Max Clark) off the board. This could very well be the reality the Twins face when they go on the clock at pick #5 in July. In this iteration, Tom Lipari selects TCU third baseman Brayden Taylor for the Twins. Lipari says Taylor is “perhaps the best pure college bat in the country” and that he “will continue to add size and strength with time.” A left-handed hitting third baseman, Taylor has certainly looked the part in the batter's box in his two-plus years with the Horned Frogs. He has hit at a .324/.457/.577 (1.034) clip in his career including getting off to a blistering .384/.548/.613 (1.161) start through eight games this season. Impressively, Taylor has always walked more than he has struck out. The knock on Taylor is that he doesn’t project to have a carrying tool. He may silence some critics, though, if he continues to tear the cover off the ball this spring. And there's been evident improvement already. It’s not a well-kept secret that the Twins love to draft (and sometimes trade) hitters. Adding another really good hitter to a stable of them provides the depth that all organizations should love. But who are the Twins passing on? Taylor isn’t the biggest name (at this point) that was available to them. This scenario would have them passing on Florida OF Wyatt Langford as well as Ole Miss SS Jacob Gonzalez, both of whom could be really good options for the Twins at #5. (You can watch Gonzalez, Ole Miss, and other prospects at this weekend's Cambria Classic at US Bank Stadium.) So much can (and ultimately will) change in the next four months. If the draft were today, would you take Taylor? View full article

In fairness, US Bank looks funky in general.

The college season is underway, but most of those games are happening where the weather is much more pleasant. That will change this coming weekend as US Bank Stadium is hosting a three-day, six-team, nine-game round robin tournament. In an even better bit of news, this year's field will feature a number of draft prospects. The Gophers will host five other teams, including two Big Ten teams and two SEC teams. Ole Miss (#4) is the highest-profile team, but Vanderbilt (#10) and Maryland (#13) are also teams who could make a run at the College World Series. And you can catch as many as nine games at US Bank Stadium over three days starting on Friday. The inaugural event was hosted in 2020 and returned in 2022. The three Big Ten teams will rotate playing the non-Big Ten teams over the weekend. Friday, March 3 11:00 am Vanderbilt vs Nebraska 3:00 pm Ole Miss vs Maryland 7:00 pm Hawaii vs. Minnesota Saturday, March 4 11:00 am Maryland vs Vanderbilt 3:00 pm Nebraska vs Hawaii 7:00 pm Ole Miss vs Minnesota Sunday, March 5 9:30 am Hawaii vs Maryland 1:30 pm Nebraska vs Ole Miss 6:00 pm Vanderbilt vs. Minnesota Ole Miss will feature the top prospect in shortstop Jacob Gonzalez. Gonzalez helped lead Ole Miss to a 2022 College World Series championship and has also played for Team USA's Collegiate National Team for two years. There are a lot of similar traits to 2022 first round pick Brooks Lee. Gonzalez consistently puts together good plate appearances, walking more than he strikes out and also has home run power. Whereas Lee is a switch-hitter, Gonzalez is strictly a left-handed hitter. On the flip side, Lee will likely move off of shortstop while Gonzalez is seen as more likely to remain there (though he could play third base or second base). This will give the Twins brass an easy look at the potential Top 5 pick. Catcher Calvin Harris also sneaks into Baseball America's Top 200 at #199. Harris hasn't gotten a ton of time behind the plate in the his first two years at Ole Miss, but he figures to be the man this year and has shown traits in the past that make him a catching prospect to follow. LHP Hunter Elliott was exceptional as a freshman and figures to be a top prospect in the 2024 draft, though he's currently dealing with some forearm tightness and his availability for the weekend is in question. Vanderbilt also brings a potential Top 10 pick in centerfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. Though he struggled in his debut weekend, Bradfield does things on the base paths and in the outfield that are rarely seen thanks to his speed. Not a lot of guys are tagged with 80-grade speed, but Bradfield has it. He's also going to have to be the rare prospect with 20- to 30-grade power. But if you love watching players make a difference with their legs, Bradfield is your guy. Patrick Reilly is a big right-hander who throws in the high-90s with a wild fastball and also features a nice slider and developing change-up. A good year could propel him up boards, while another year of demonstrating poor control could point him directly into a bullpen role. LHP Hunter Owen (#178) and C/OF Jack Bulger (#194) also make appearances towards the back of BA's Top 200. Two other players who figure to be in the conversation in the first round of the 2024 draft are LHP Carter Holton and RHP Andrew Dutkanych. Holton was drafted by the Brewers out of high school but made it to campus and has been very good and features a four-pitch mix and projects to start despite being undersized. Dutkanych is interesting because he withdrew from the 2022 draft when he had a chance to be a first-day pick (due to the lack of pitching depth). There isn't much for a college track record yet, but he will be draft-eligible after his sophomore season. Maryland is not your perennial college baseball powerhouse, but they do boast a first-round prospect of their own in shortstop Matt Shaw. Shaw was extremely impressive in 2022 (.985 OPS with 22 home runs) and then showed out in the Cape Cod League, where he also demonstrated his ability to steal bases (21-of-24). Shaw likely figures to be a second baseman as a professional as he's on the smaller side (5-11, 185). Like Shaw, teammate Luke Shliger also had an impressive 2022 backed up by a good showing in the Cape. Also on the smaller size, Shliger projects as a two-way catcher. RHP Jason Savacool leads the starting staff, but may profile best as a reliever professionally. Minnesota's RHP George Klassen (#173) and Nebraska's 3B Max Anderson (#91) both appear on BA's Top 200 because of power. Klassen with his powerful right arm that reaches triple-digits and Anderson because of the power potential in his bat. There are plenty of questions with both - Can Klassen harness the fastball? Can Klassen put the ball in the air? - but both are enough to tease scouts at this early point of the season. You'll be able to follow Gophers baseball more closely this year as former Gopher Alex Boswell will be writing about the program. Hawaii does not have any notable draft prospects. Tickets for this weekend's event are available here. View full article

Rules are changing for the upcoming season. But that doesn't necessarily mean what we think it does. Do the Twins have the personnel to employ a shift very similar to previous years? View full video

The Twins made a surprise addition on Tuesday afternoon adding INF Donovan Solano. How will that impact the 40-man? Where will he fit on the team's depth chart? Which player is pushed off of the Opening Day roster? View full video

This is always a hard question to answer (unless it's a definite "no"). At this point last year, there were very few pitchers that weren't question marks. And even fewer high-end guys. So at the very top of the draft, it's certainly better. There's also considerably better depth in the next tier. Two SEC pitchers that would figure into the top couple of rounds are already done for the year. But the next few months will give more definitive answers. I think at this point, the pitching class is going to be viewed favorably by teams as far as quality and depth (but that might be skewed by the lack of it last year). I also think that the hitting class is pretty good, too. But so much can change in five months. Last year, by draft day, it felt like the Twins were drafting one spot too low. And lucked out that teams reached for pitchers and Lee fell into their laps. This year, on February 21, it doesn't feel like a 4-man class yet... so I really like the Twins chances of drafting a stud. Even if you like Crews and Dollander the most and they're gone, you still have a college pitcher (Skenes) and both demographics of hitters (Clark and Langford/Gonzalez/Wilson). I'd still lean the Twins going hitter, but it's going to be a tough call!

...and that means "Draft Season" is now upon us. The Twins have the 5th overall pick in the upcoming draft, so the biggest names in the sport are all prime candidates to be future Twins. Throughout the next five months, we'll be doing all we can to help keep your informed on the player pool for the MLB Draft. The Twins were the biggest movers in the new lottery system and are now bound to select a player that should immediately become a Top 100 prospect in baseball. Last year's draft was especially hitter-heavy at the top as only four pitchers went in the top 19 picks, which included a huge surprise at #3 (Kumar Rocker) and another huge surprise at #7 (Cade Horton). This year's draft has a better mix. And that should be a lot of fun for Twins fans. Chase Dollander, RHP, Tennessee Dollander enters the season as most pundit's top collegiate pitching prospect and a likely Top 5 pick. As we've seen repeatedly in the past, trajectories of college pitchers can change in a hurry. In his debut this past weekend, Dollander threw 81 pitches (only 47 strikes), but recorded seven strikeouts. His numbers weren't great in 4 2/3 innings, as he allowed two runs (including a home run) and walked and hit a batter. His impressive fastball was reportedly in the mid-90s consistently but never hit triple figures like it can. It's only his first start, though, so there is plenty of time left. "Time" has been a huge friend to Dollander. As a 6' 3", 180 pound high-schooler, Dollander went undrafted and pitched his freshman year for Georgia Southern. That time as an Eagle taught Dollander how to eat and lift weights properly, improving his body (adding 20 pounds) and striking out 64 in 49 innings. He did walk 28, but got plenty of interest in the transfer portal, including from the team he shut down in his collegiate debut, Tennessee. Now entering his second season as a Volunteer, Dollander is considered by some to be the college pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg and that's high praise. The comp list beyond that is impressive: Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer, Jack Leiter. Any time you have the ability to add a potential top-of-the-rotation starter, you have to strongly consider it. Paul Skenes, RHP LSU Like Doogie says below, Skenes struck out 12 in six innings in his season debut. Skenes (6'6", 235) also has a big mid-90s fastball which nearly reaches triple-digits. Since arriving at LSU, Skenes has changed his slider by working with noted slider-guy Wes Johnson (sound familiar?) and it's getting rave reviews. Skenes, like current Twin Griffin Jax, attended the Air Force out of high school. While Jax remained at the academy through graduation and his commitment to the military delayed and interrupted his professional career, Skenes will not have any extenuating commitments. Cadets are allowed to leave before beginning classes their junior year without penalty. His professional future is brightest on the mound, but Skenes is also pretty good in the batters box. In those two years at Air Force, Skenes hit .367 while smacking 24 home runs with 81 RBI. You're probably thinking, "oh, so he plays first base too" and you're not completely wrong, because he's only done a little bit of that. Aside from pitching, he's been primarily a catcher(!) who committed to college to do just that. There is no doubt it will be interesting to follow Skenes through this season at LSU. If all goes well, there's no reason he wouldn't be in the conversation for the 5th pick (or the 1st pick for that matter). Hurston Waldrep, RHP, Florida The final pitcher that will be mentioned today struck out six in five innings over the weekend, while allowing two runs on four hits and two walks. Waldrep transferred to Florida from Southern Miss and has an electric fastball (96-99 mph), a high-80s slider and a mid-80s 12-to-6 curveball. Waldrep helped lead Southern Miss to the Super Regionals before fleeing to the SEC. An All-American, Waldrep struck out 156 in 106 1/3 innings in two seasons (one as a starter) as a Golden Eagle. Slightly smaller than Dollander and much smaller than Skenes, Waldrep still has good size (6' 2, 205) and hails from the noted hot-bed state of Georgia. Pitching for a Top-10 team, there's no reason to think that Waldrep won't get plenty of opportunities to pitch in front of big crowds, lots of scouts and in big games for the Gators this year. We could certainly see his trajectory trend upwards. While these are just three names to follow for the season, there will be many, many more. The SEC, specifically and as seen above, is littered with potential top-10 picks. Dylan Crews, OF, LSU and Wyatt Langford, OF, Florida are largely considered to be the two best draft-eligible college hitting prospects. Jacob Gonzalez, SS, Ole Miss is arguably the top shortstop prospect. Enrique Bradfield Jr., OF, Vanderbilt is the most exciting prospect in all of college baseball with elite speed and the ability to put bat on ball, but Ben Revere-type power. (Heck, that might not be a terrible floor comp for Bradfield). The whole conference seems abnormally loaded (and not just for the 2023 draft either). Twins Daily will keep pumping out draft content through the spring and into the summer leading up to the mid-July draft. View full article

“Je vais être de retour!!” -- Edouard Julien in a since-deleted tweet sent on June 24, 2019. And with that - which translates to “I will be back!!” - Julien’s Twins career appeared to be over before it started as the draft-eligible sophomore announced his intentions to return to Auburn for his junior season. Oh, how things change in a hurry. At the time, it made perfect sense. Even Auburn couldn’t figure out exactly where to play Edouard Julien on the field. As a freshman, he started 59 games between designated hitter, first base, and second base. As a sophomore, he started 62 games at third base. There was no question about his bat, though. That belonged in the lineup. His final game as a Tiger saw these worlds collide. Against Mississippi State in the College World Series, Julien hit a massive two-run home run in the top of the second inning to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. It was a 429-foot blast to right field that, at the time, was tied for the longest in the history of TD Ameritrade Park. He later singled in another run to push the lead to 3-0. In the bottom of the final frame, the Tigers gave up two run, but still had the lead. One out away. Tying run 90 feet from home. And a routine ground ball to third base. Three batters later, Mississippi State was celebrating their walk-off victory. No one would have blamed Julien for going back to Auburn to try to help his team back to Omaha. But money - nearly a half million dollars - talks and the Twins now have one of the best guys at getting on base in all the minor leagues. Age: 23 (DOB: 4/30/1999)2022 Stats: (AA): 508 PA, .300/.441/.490, 17 HR, 67 RBI, 19 SB, 98 BB, 125K. (AFL) 96 PA, .400/.563/.686, 5 HR, 17 RBI, 6 SB, 23 BB, 22K.ETA: 20232022 Ranking: 19National Top 100 RankingsBA: NR | MLB: NR | ATH: NR | BP: NR What's To Like The bat. The eye. The legs. Julien's entire offensive arsenal is loaded. In an offseason that saw the Twins offload Luis Arraez, the organization has a ready-made replacement. Julien has been able to get on base in almost 44% of his minor-league plate appearances. You could make a pretty good argument that no one is better suited to bat lead-off. He's stolen 53 bases over the last two seasons. He has slugged nearly .500, you could argue that his bat belongs right in the middle of the lineup. You could literally make any argument you wanted about getting Julien in the lineup because he is prolific with the bat in his hands and a lineup with him in it is better than one without. What's Left to Work OnIf you're talking about someone with an elite offensive package and he's only #5 on the team's prospect rankings, you've either got the best system in baseball (it's not that) or there is something significant that sticks out that needs to be talked about here. The Twins - like Auburn - have used Julien all over defensively. He's started double-digit games in his career at first base, second base, third base, and left field. And as you slide down the defensive totem pole as Julien has (and Arraez did), it makes the presence of elite offensive skills even more important. Because the last stop is as a designated hitter. Ideally, Julien either finds a comfortable home (second base? left field?), but the most likely scenario involves him being used all over the infield and in left field. There's a lot of work to do here yet, but the reality remains that Julien is a low-ceiling defender. What's Next After a successful full-season run at Wichita followed by an outstanding fall in Arizona, Julien will almost assuredly start his season in St. Paul. From there, what happens in 2023 is going to be dependent on a handful of things. Assuming the bat doesn't regress, Julien will get ample opportunities to hone his defensive skills in the infield and, likely, in the outfield. But the performance and health of those above him will be the biggest factor. Before all that, though, Julien will compete for Team Canada in the WBC. Julien figures to get plenty of plate appearances and will likely find himself playing second base. Will he use this opportunity as a springboard for his upcoming season? Luis Arraez got an opportunity and ran with it all the way to a batting title. Maybe that's all Julien needs too... and the defensive side will sort itself out in time. Previous InstallmentsHonorable Mention Prospects 21-30 Prospects 16-20 Prospects 11-15 Prospect #10: Austin Martin, SS Prospect #9: Louie Varland, RHP Prospect #8: Jose Salas, INF Prospect #7: Connor Prielipp, LHP Prospect #6: Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP Prospect #5: Edouard Julien, 2B View full article

Genuinely surprised by the comments here. Yes, Prielipp is almost all upside. But the overall stable of prospects has been depleted over the last couple years with trades and graduations. But discounting him because of his lack of track record isn't completely fair. There's a reason he was the #1 starter in the best conference in college baseball. There's a reason he had success in his limited time there. Dylan Lesko was also projected to be a top pick in the 2022 draft before his season was cut short by Tommy John. Baseball America has him ranked #79 overall in baseball. Prospect rankings are always looking for potential. Sure, this could end poorly and he could never live up to his billing as a top prospect in the system. But no other pitcher in the organization has the ceiling he has and that counts for a lot here. There were 10 writers that submitted prospect rankings. Prielipp was #4 on half of them... so he was much closer to being #4 overall than not being in the Top 10. As far as innings go... sure, maybe it's closer to 100. The innings he is destined to throw on the back field in a very controlled setting under many watchful eyes are going to happen - and not count towards the total. If he does that for 3 weeks instead of going to an affiliate, his innings count will look different than if he goes north immediately. But, either way, the organization will have a plan to help him increase those innings in a way they feel comfortable with.

There's been so much written about Connor Prielipp here since he was drafted just over six months ago. The thing about Prielipp, is that, unlike so many others in his draft class, Prielipp has yet to officially throw a professional pitch. And despite our penchant for covering all the angles on every prospect, it would be hard to believe we've ever given this much press to anyone else without a single throw. But there's a good reason for this. Image courtesy of William Parmeter Age: 22 (DOB: 1/10/2001) 2022 Stats (Alabama): DNP ETA: 2025 2022 Ranking: NA National Top 100 Rankings BA: NR | MLB: NR | ATH: NR | BP: NR What's To Like? Video games have the ability to build players. You get so many attribute points that you can disperse into the creation of a player. Connor Prielipp might be a great example of that player you would build. Naturally, you'd love to probably make that perfect pitcher 6' 5' and 230 pounds, but you don't want to use too many of your points there, so you make him Prielipp's size (6' 2", 210) to avoid the stigmatism of only being six feet tall. And you make him left-handed because the lefty is always going to get a few more chances than a right-handed pitcher. Then you start dabbling with pitch-mix. While a 100 mph fastball might be nice, you've realized it's not all about velocity anymore. So you bump that down to the low-to-mid 90s with deceptive movement because you're smart enough to know that the results will be better anyway. Since it's a video game and the only way you're really fooling anyone is with a breaking ball, you take all the attribute points you saved on your (sneaky good) fastball, and put them into your slider. With a speed that nears 90 mph and a spin rate over 2,900 rpm, you've equipped your build-a-prospect with an elite pitch. You're not crazy, so you kept some points to give your guy a change-up because if you're going to make it to The Show as a starter, you need that third pitch. You also know that through development, you'll get plenty of time to work on the finer points of pitching - control, fastball command, and working on that third pitch. Your ceiling is super high. So high, in fact, that Baseball America has your prospect as their projected #1 starter of your team three years into the future. That last part isn't even some trick. It's the truth. Connor Prielipp has the tools and potential to be the real deal. What's Left to Work On Yeah, so what I didn't tell you was you got extra attribute points because I saddled your build-a-prospect with a few less-than-ideal traits. Connor Prielipp has a "grew up in the cold of the midwest" background. The track record of those types isn't long or great. While Wisconsin isn't a hotbed for pitchers, it's not a death wish either. There are actually three pitches in the Hall of Fame who were born in Wisconsin. (So what they were all born in the 1800s?) And Brad Radke too! It's entirely possible that baseball hasn't advanced to the point (yet) to realize that beer and cheese are actually what helps pitchers develop. But, whatever, Wisconsin is great. So are the people. The biggest question mark about Connor Prielipp is his left elbow. Between the COVID shutdown and Tommy John surgery, Prielipp threw a grand total of 28 innings over seven starts since graduating from high school. At a minimum that will make you pause. At a maximum, you realize this prospect is almost entirely about projection. Because while the tools are present, there is no track record; no sustained success. So there's literally nothing to not work on. What's Next To throw. In a game. To live hitters of another team. Prielipp participated in Instructional League, which, to my knowledge has taken on a more development-type camp than game-play. But for all intents and purposes, there were no setbacks and he was full-go. With the restructuring of the minor league system and what I'm sure will be a slow play to increase innings, it would be hard to believe that Prielipp will be throwing every five days all season. What would make sense is a slow build-up, staying in Ft. Myers after the teams break to keep working his way back. A piggyback approach where he throws three innings regularly and throws 60-65 innings between low-A and high-A over the course of the year would make a ton of sense. If the development stays on track and the arm stays healthy, maybe there's a discussion to open it up a little more for a late-season promotion to Wichita. The Twins can and absolutely should do everything they can to develop Prielipp into an important member of their big-league starting rotation, but that's going to require a ton of patience and good health. And if those things happen, Prielipp isn't the Twins #7 prospect next year. He's going to be a Top 20 prospect globally. Previous RankingsHonorable MentionsProspects 21-30Prospects 16-20Prospects 11-15 Prospect 10 (Austin Martin) Prospect 9 (Louie Varland) Prospect 8 (Jose Salas) View full article

I just think - at this point - projecting someone from the most volatile group has a lower probability. Elijah Green was the top high school hitter at this point last year. He ended up being the fourth drafted. Jackson Holliday wasn't even a mention and he went first overall. All accounts were that the Twins were in on the college hitter demographic. That could certainly change from year-to-year. But the Twins love college guys with hitter's profiles and Gonzalez and Wilson definitely fit that profile. On the flip side, I wouldn't dislike taking Clark at all. The ceiling on high school guys is typically (right or wrong) higher than college guys and I'm a sucker for upside. One name that I think could propel up draft boards is prep SS Arjun Nimmala and it wouldn't surprise me at all if other prep guys start popping up in the spring either.

I re-formatted things and it's a little confusing, but yes... #42 is the comp pick.

We’re still a half year away from the 2023 MLB Draft and, for the most part, every draft-eligible player will have many opportunities to help or hurt their draft stock. Today, we’re going to do a fun exercise where we look at the Twins draft spots and compare them to the recently-released Baseball America Top 200 draft prospects. The Twins had luck on their side when they moved up to the 5th draft spot earlier this winter. As a result, the organization is likely going to add another Top 100 prospect to their stable. Currently, the big two names are LSU outfielder Dylan Crews and Tennessee right-hander Chase Dollander. You'll see a lot of names come in after that - almost exclusively hitters - which plays well for a Twins organization that has developed a pattern of drafting college hitters. #5 - Baseball America ranks prep outfielder Max Clark from Franklin, Indiana and a Vanderbilt commit as the #5 prospect. Clark fits the Twins M.O. as someone who is referred to as a “pure hitter.” As is typical with a hitter who doesn’t swing and miss often, there isn’t a lot of evident power. With the athleticism and instincts to play center field and the arm to play right, Clark checks a lot of boxes the Twins typically value. Likelihood: Low. While Clark fits the skill profile, the Twins organization has favored college hitters and the Twins shouldn’t miss out with a Top 5 pick. Jacob Wilson, a shortstop from Grand Canyon University, is ranked #7 and has elite bat-to-ball ability. He’s also got MLB bloodlines. It wouldn’t be hard to draw (aside from only being a right-handed hitter) comparisons to Brooks Lee. After drafting in Competitive Balance Round B last year, the Twins will draft in the Round A this year. Adding the 34th overall pick not only allows the team to add another highly-rated prospect, but gives them the advantage of having additional pool money to spend. #34 - A number of teams forfeited their second-round pick to sign a free agent, so the Twins get to draft tenth in the second round. The 34th-ranked player by Baseball America is Virginia Tech outfielder Jack Hurley. Having a lot of swing-and-miss in his game, Hurley is going to have to hit for power to make up for it. There’s not doubt the Twins saw plenty of Hurley while scouting Tanner Schobel, their second-round pick in 2022, as well as when Hurley played for Team USA this summer. Likelihood: Reasonably high. It makes sense from the perspective that the Twins would draft another Matt Wallner-type player: strikeouts, power and powerful arm. But once you get out of the top 10 picks, let alone the first round, projecting any specific player to a team proves futile. #49 - This one might make you chuckle. Last year, the Twins selected a falling Alabama southpaw in Connor Prielipp. Right now, Baseball America has Grayson Hill, an Alabaman southpaw, ranked forty-ninth overall. Hill lacked great control both at Alabama and in the Cape Cod League, but has shown flashes of big-time stuff. Likelihood: Coin toss. Pitching will likely dominate the Top 10 rounds for the Twins and the organization has a great relationship with the Alabama coaching staff. Hill seems to be more a project than the Twins typically take. #82 - Coming in as the 82nd ranked prospect is Wisconsin prep right-hander Dylan Questad. Committed to Arkansas, Questad falls into the category where you either have to get drafted this high or enroll at college, which most Wisconsin prep pitcher do (most notable, of late, to do that is the aforementioned Prielipp.) Likelihood: Low. Not for any other reason than because the Twins have a penchant for going the college route. Three years from now, Questad could definitely figure prominently on the Twins draft board. #113 - Jared Dickey is the 113th ranked prospect. A few things pop out immediately: He’s listed as an outfielder/catcher. The Twins desperately need to add catching prospects. He walks more than he strikes out. And he’s from Tennessee, a tough SEC school from which the Twins have plucked from three times since 2020 (Jorel Ortega, Jake Rucker and Alerick Soulaire). Likelihood: As high as you’d see at this point. He does things the Twins like and he’s from a place the Twins like to draft from. #149 - Ranked 149th is Liberty right-hander Trey Gibson. Gibson struggled and was hurt in 2022 and, when he was healthy, had a hard time throwing strikes. He’s raw, with upside, which is as good of gamble to take at this point of the draft as any. Likelihood: Low. But drafting a college pitcher here is almost definitely going to be the way the team goes. #179 - The Twins match up with another son-of-a-former-MLBer in Oregon prep lefty Paul Wilson at #179. Wilson is committed to Oregon State, the same college his father, Trevor, pitched for in the 80s. Likelihood: I’d bet on Wilson fulfilling his commitment to the Beavers. It’s normal to see preps ranked in the Top 200 not sign or, in some cases, not even get drafted. And that’s part of the danger of taking rankings as trying to use them as a quasi-mock draft. There’s still a lot of time to go between now and the July draft, but sometimes you just need a dose of it to get the draft blood flowing! View full article

The Twins have a full 40-man roster. Any more additions will likely require the Twins to expose a player to waivers. Who are the players who could find their roster spot in jeopardy? View full video