Jeremy Nygaard

As we inch closer to a mid-July draft, the baseball world has understandably been focused on Spring Training and an Opening Day that now is only a week away. A quick reminder, the Twins are currently scheduled to make the 8th and 48th picks. The trio of high schoolers who appear at nearly the top of every draft list - Druw Jones, Termarr Johnson and Elijah Green - are all proving they belong. As we get deeper into their seasons, and closer to the draft, there are a few things that are going to generate headlines: perceived preference for the teams at the top of the draft (how are the team's boards set and who are their big wigs seeing most frequently?) and bonus demands/team preference for these three players. Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada, who ranks as my number eight prospect currently, hit two more bombs on Tuesday and now has 10 on the year. He hadn’t homered since March 13 and struck out four times in the weekend series against North Carolina State, but Parada still has an awfully impressive 378/473/703 slash line with more walks (16) than strikeouts (12) on the year. Dylan Lesko is going to be an interesting follow. Lesko is strongly considered the best pitching prospect available, but he also comes from the group with the highest failure rate: right-handed prep pitchers. It seems like, in the recent past, nearly every team has had a no-doubt top-of-the-rotation prospect completely fail to live up to expectations. But the ceiling - and in this case the fastball/changeup combination - is going to be impossible for one team at the top of the draft to pass on. Full disclosure: No one is a bigger sucker for drafting this demographic than me. I was a big Kohl Stewart fan. I'm still a believer that Nick Bitsko, drafted 24th by the Rays in the 2020 draft, is going to be the real deal. As impressive as the three prep hitters are, I believe there's a chance that Lesko ends up the best player in the draft and as the draft gets closer, my rankings will probably reflect that. Jeremy's Top 10 MLB Draft Prospects My Top 10 remains unchanged from last week. 1.) Druw Jones, OF, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) 2.) Termarr Johnson, 2B, Georgia prep 3.) Elijah Green, OF, Florida prep (Miami commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.) 4.) Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly 5.) Jacob Berry, 3B, LSU 6.) Jace Jung, 3B, Texas Tech 7.) Dylan Lesko, SP, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.) 8.) Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech 9.) Chase DeLauter, cOF, James Madison 10.) Robert Moore, 2B, Arkansas MOCK DRAFTS / PROSPECT BOARDS Baseball America - v1.0 (2/10/22) / Top 200 (3/14/22) MLB.com - Callis - Top 10 (12/15/21), Mayo - Top 20 (7/20/21) / Top 100 The Athletic - Law Top 30 (3/10/22) ESPN - Early Draft Rankings (7/26/21) ($$$ - ESPN+) / McDaniel’s Draft Rankings (2/24/22) Fangraphs - The Board / 2022 MLB Draft Rankings and Offseason List Primer (11/30/21) Just Baseball v1.0 (2/10/22) My MLB Draft (1/18/22) Prospects Live v1.0 (1/4/22) View full article

I tend to think that the fifth starter is going to be some sort of Jax/Thorpe piggyback. Being able to carry extra players with allow the Twins (and every other team) to bring long-reliever-type guys up to eat innings. These guys - Jax and Thorpe included - will probably still be available out of the bullpen on most other days, but just be asked to each go three on the day the fifth starter is needed.

Major League Baseball officially announced details for this summer’s Draft late last week. The draft, for the second year, will coincide with MLB’s All-Star Week. While the All-Star Game festivities and draft will take place July 17-19 in Los Angeles, the Draft Combine will be in San Diego’s Petco Park from June 14-20. The Draft will consist of 20 rounds completed across three days. Sunday, July 17: Rounds 1 and 2, compensatory and competitive balance rounds. Monday, July 18: Round 3 through 10. Tuesday, July 19: Rounds 11 through 20. MLB recently announced recipients of picks in the Competitive Balance rounds. The Twins received the second pick in Round B (following the second round). These picks are awarded based on a secret formula that includes revenue and winning percentage and market size. The fifteen picks that are awarded remain the only draft picks that can be traded. The Twins, however, are likely to lose that pick as a result of signing Carlos Correa. With some dust still to settle, the Twins are currently slotted to pick 8th and 48th. The lack of high-quality college pitching has been a thing all spring, but so has Ben Joyce’s fastball. Joyce is pumping 103 mph for the Tennessee Volunteers. Jamie Cameron also mentions Joyce in his College Notebook this week, so not to beat a dead horse since it's already been posted about here... but a fastball like that - anywhere - requires attention. Maria Torres of The Athletic goes in-depth on Joyce, who probably isn’t a Day One pick at this point, but - except under extreme conditions - helium is a gas and Joyce may have plenty of both by the time July comes. Speaking of helium, Torres also did a nice write-up of prep lefty Brandon Barriera. Barriera is not prototypically sized (6-1, 170), but is an analytics darling: the spin rate of his curveball is nearly elite compared to pitchers in the MLB. Barriera is ranked 15th by Baseball America and 21st by MLB.com but he doesn’t crack the Top 30 at The Athletic due to Law’s concerns about his ability to throw strikes. Jeremy's Top 10 MLB Draft Prospects I’m going to switch my Top 8 to a Top 10. There’s been some movement within it as well. 1.) Druw Jones, OF, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) 2.) Termarr Johnson, 2B, Georgia prep 3.) Elijah Green, OF, Florida prep (Miami commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.) There’s just too many already-legendary tales that you hear about these three to have anyone else included. 4.) Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly Lee dropped, but he continues to rake (batting .438) and will be an easy pick for a team looking to add a ready-soon shortstop to their system. 5.) Jacob Berry, 3B, LSU There may be some questions about where he fits defensively, but the switch-hitter can hit and hit for power. The Twins love that. 6.) Jace Jung, 3B, Texas Tech 7.) Dylan Lesko, SP, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) 8.) Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech 9.) Chase DeLauter, cOF, James Madison 10.) Robert Moore, 2B, Arkansas MOCK DRAFTS / PROSPECT BOARDS Baseball America - v1.0 (2/10/22) / Top 200 (3/14/22) MLB.com - Callis - Top 10 (12/15/21), Mayo - Top 20 (7/20/21) / Top 100 The Athletic - Law Top 30 (3/10/22) ESPN - Early Draft Rankings (7/26/21) ($$$ - ESPN+) / McDaniel’s Draft Rankings (2/24/22) Fangraphs - The Board / 2022 MLB Draft Rankings and Offseason List Primer (11/30/21) Just Baseball v1.0 (2/10/22) Prospects Live v1.0 (1/24/22) My MLB Draft (1/18/22) View full article

Andrus's $15m is a vesting option. He wouldn't get the ABs with the Twins. And he has a full no-trade clause now, too. So he's not approving a trade anywhere that is going to immediately cause him to lose his ability to get his option to vest. Probably would have waved it prior to Correa.

The last “draft update” came two weeks ago. But it feels like an eternity ago. Most importantly, Major League Baseball is back. And the Twins have been busy. There are so many Twin-centric things to talk about, yet the draft is quickly approaching and the Twins will be drafting in the Top 10. Baseball America keeps pumping out content, updating their Top 200 prospects in addition to their weekly draft stock watch pieces. One name that has helium that both Carlos Collazo of Baseball America and our own Jamie Cameron of TwinsDaily has mentioned is Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada. Parada is one of Collazo’s “notable movers” of the early baseball season. Maria Torres of The Athletic has also taken note. Parada’s been dominant offensively so far this season and should be in the mix for the Twins at #8, given their recent proclivity to deal away most of their notable catching depth. There are questions about his defense, but you’re going to get that with just about every catching prospect who can hit. Keith Law dropped his first Top 30 of the season. While the top four names are the same as mine, he drops some lesser-known names in the back half of his top 10 including Junior College third baseman Cameron Collier, a definite professional catcher in Logan Tanner of Mississippi State and, you guessed it, Parada. What he doesn’t list until 19th is his first college pitcher (Adam Mazur, Iowa). The lack of college pitching has always been a storyline for this draft. And nothing has happened to change that theory. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel calls the college pitching class “ about as bad as (he) can ever remember one being” in his newest piece. Though there is plenty of time between now and the still-unscheduled draft for players to shoot up draft boards, it is curious to see how this will impact teams' plans. Or may have this dearth of college pitching been a factor in the Guardians selecting college pitchers with 18 of the 21 picks last year? Or why the Twins took four college pitchers between the second and sixth round last year? (The Twins approach is way more common than the Guardians.) At a minimum, if a team finds a college pitcher they like more than what their perceived industry value is, does it get teams cutting under slot deals with those guys early to give them more money to take a shot at someone that’s considered less signable later? There are always a few unique things each year… and, right now, the lack of college pitching is a big one. No change to my Top 8, though there are a few names in contention. 1) Druw Jones, OF, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) - McDaniel mentions Jones in the same prospect realm as Bryce Harper, so thinking he might drop to #8 - for any reason besides money - is a pipe dream. 2) Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly 3) Elijah Green, OF, Florida prep (Miami commit) 4) Termarr Johnson, 2B, Georgia prep 5) Jacob Berry, 3B, LSU 6) Dylan Lesko, SP, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) 7) Jace Jung, 3B, Texas Tech 8 ) Chase DeLauter, cOF, James Madison MOCK DRAFTS / PROSPECT BOARDS Baseball America - v1.0 (2/10/22) / Top 200 (3/14/22) MLB.com - Callis - Top 10 (12/15/21), Mayo - Top 20 (7/20/21) / Top 100 The Athletic - Law Top 30 (3/10/22) ESPN - Early Draft Rankings (7/26/21) ($$$ - ESPN+) / McDaniel’s Draft Rankings (2/24/22) Fangraphs - The Board / 2022 MLB Draft Rankings and Offseason List Primer (11/30/21) Just Baseball v1.0 (2/10/22) Prospects Live v1.0 (1/24/22) My MLB Draft (1/18/22) MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook, or email View full article

I do not. But that list will have to be furnished to the clubs and they'll know that they will have to do a little more work on guys they draft off that list. It will probably not even move the needle for most teams, but there are teams - I know the Orioles have this reputation - that tend to find more concerning things in physicals than other teams.

Was it that out of line? Guy became a mid-rotation starter... looking at other lists, they have Blackburn behind the likes of Deolis Guerra and Tyler Robertson. And the point wasn't that you can use this mechanism to find #1 prospects, just that draft-and-follows have existed before and that was how the Twins acquired Nick Blackburn, a name that many readers probably recognize.

I'm assuming MLB will invite 300 players to a combine-sort of thing and those players will have their medicals looked into and approved before the draft begins.

That was my initial reaction too but the guys agreeing to those deals are not Top 300 prospects, so the rule wouldn't likely apply to them.

At that Winter Meltdown, I challenged Garv to a game of darts. I fancy myself as a pretty good thrower of darts. It was the fastest game of darts I've ever been a part of. He cleared the cricket board in like 5 rounds and as I stood there with my mouth open, he turns and says, "I hit spots for a living."

With less minor league teams, the reduction of draft rounds make sense. More players stay in college or go to college. I would be surprised if they didn't come to an agreement. I know there's people on both sides, but it makes too much sense to not implement it.

I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to say, but Baseball America ranked Blackburn as the organization's #1 prospect in 2008 and #56 overall in baseball. These facts are easily verifiable using Google search.

I would think if you're one of those teams and you can't move up in the lottery, you just wouldn't be a part of it. If you're the worst team, you'd draft 7th. If you were the best non-playoff team, you'd stay in your original place. You simply can't move into the Top 6 picks.

There are some teams that are more well-known for having players fail physicals. This would probably be an independent group that does the physicals. If they aren't offered a contract, they become a free agent. If a player commits a crime that would leave their drafting team not wanting to sign them, they probably wouldn't be in demand to the rest of the teams. They'd become a free agent.

All non-playoff teams will participate in the lottery. The Top 6 picks will be determined by the lottery. So the team with the worst overall record won't pick worse than 7th.

The new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the MLB and players included some changes to the annual MLB Draft. While there are some interesting new wrinkles, there is still one big missing piece. The biggest, most significant change will be the introduction of a Draft Lottery beginning in 2023. In an anti-tanking measure, MLBPA was pushing for more teams to be included in the lottery. The more teams included, the less appealing having the worst record is. MLB wanted less teams. The compromise, eventually, was six teams, which should be considered a win for the union. The worst three teams will each have an equal shot (16.5%) at getting the first overall pick, while the tenth worst and better will all have less than a 2% chance at getting the first overall pick. There are some interesting caveats to be included in the lottery though. According to MLB.com, "teams that receive revenue-sharing payouts can't receive a lottery pick for more than two years in a row and those that don't can't get a top-six choice in consecutive Drafts. Furthermore, a club that's ineligible for the lottery can't select higher than 10th overall." The last sentence is interesting to me. I take that to read that a unsigned player in the top 10 will net the team a pick no higher than 10th. So if you don't sign the top pick, you're not getting pick #2 the following year. You're getting pick #10. Speaking of unsigned players, a rule will be put into place that any Top 300 player who submits to a pre-draft physical cannot be offered less than 75% of his drat slot. It's being referred to as the "Kumar Rocker Rule," which is interesting. Rocker was drafted and not offered a contract by the Mets after failing a post-draft physical, but he didn't share his pre-draft medicals. Maybe he would have taken a pre-draft physical... but either way, what this is aiming to solve wasn't the reason that Kumar Rocker didn't sign. Another interesting tidbit is the return of draft-and-follows. Nick Blackburn may be the best-known example as it pertains to the Twins. The "draft-and-follow" allows you to select a player and, if that player attends junior college, you retain his signing rights until the next year's draft. So teams will take a flyer on a guy, continue to watch him play the next season, and then sign him. The Twins drafted Nick Blackburn in the 29th round of the 2001 draft. He didn't sign, and instead pitched a second year at Seminole State College, and the Twins signed him before the 2002 draft. Blackburn became the organization's #1 prospect and a mainstay in the Twins rotation for five years. Additionally, the time of the 40-round draft has officially come to an end. The draft will be 20 rounds, as it was last year, for the next five years. There was not an agreement on an International Draft, but there will be before July 25. If there isn't, draft-pick compensation will be tied to free agents, something the union wants to rid themselves of. So what's missing? The ability to trade draft picks. I really thought/hoped it would find its way into this CBA. Guess we'll have to wait another five years. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook, or email View full article

It’s hard to believe we’re nearing the 10 year anniversary of the Twins selecting Byron Buxton with the #2 overall pick in the 2012 draft. But, at the same time, considering the journey of Buxton’s career and the crazy times we’ve lived through recently, it also seems like it was forever ago. With the draft season just starting to get going, we’re going to take a week to look back to 2012 (and before) and pull back the covers on what all went into making Byron Buxton a Minnesota Twin. Twins Daily had a chance to talk recently with Jack Powell, the area scout responsible for signing Buxton. Powell gives us a front-row seat to everything that happened. “I first saw Byron at East Cobb during the summer going into his junior year of high school and didn’t know who he was,” Powell explained. “But I noticed his body and the way he threw the ball in long toss. Then warming up and running sprints. The way he swung a bat and got out of the box. I knew this kid was going to be special.” That first look put Buxton on the Twins' radar, but due to the lack of draftable talent in his area, Powell didn’t get to see Buxton at all during his junior baseball season. It was also known that Buxton was being recruited to play football and baseball at the University of Georgia and, at the time, it wasn't clear that Buxton would choose the diamond. “Then I saw him again at East Cobb Pro with (Twins scout Tim) O’Neill going into his senior year. For as good as he looked the year before, this time he looked even better. Byron could just dial it up.” “We went back to watch him play football that fall, and he switched between playing quarterback and wide receiver. I think his first three catches went for touchdowns,” Powell chuckled, “Who knows, he would probably have made the NFL if he wanted to.” A contingent of Twins personnel, including Powell, O’Neill, and former scouting director Deron Johnson, met with Buxton and his parents and Powell left that meeting impressed. “There was just something different about him. He had great parents, very supportive. He was so quiet and unassuming. It definitely took him a while to get to know people and open it. But I’ll never forget during that first meeting, I watched him out on the driveway playing pickup basketball with a big group of neighborhood kids. They were probably 8-12 years old. He was so great with them. He’d let them score and then tell them, ‘I’ll remember that.’ He made those kids feel great.” Unlike the previous year, Powell spent “all spring” watching Buxton play. “I’ll never forget at one of his games, I was taking video and Byron hit an absolute missile. I sent it to DJ and he called me right away and said, ‘Are you trying to kill me!?’ I didn’t know what he meant and he says, ‘I watched that video and almost wrecked.’” The excitement of potentially adding Buxton had spread throughout the organization. “We saw him at least a half dozen times. We were sold. (General Manager) Terry (Ryan) was sold.” The last day of Buxton’s high school career came as a doubleheader in the state championship. “Byron pitched the first game. He was 94-98 mph off the mound and am pretty sure he hit a home run. In the second game, he was in centerfield, catching everything and making highlight plays. He hit a line drive so hard past the second baseman, the kid didn’t even have time to put his glove up. He absolutely dominated that day.” But there was still time to go before the draft and, of course, the Twins were drafting second and didn’t know if Buxton would still be available. “We knew the Astros were considering Byron and Carlos Correa. We didn’t know who they would take. We knew that we would take Byron if he was available. We, the Twins, have a good working relationship with Byron’s agent, Al Goetz, and felt that we could get the deal done if he got to us. Al has been so great for Byron and his family.” The Twins got their wish. The Astros took Correa. “It’s been fun watching Byron now and seeing how much he’s improved his game. Injuries and luck are part of baseball and Byron hasn’t had great luck, but we’re going to see peak Byron Buxton this year. As guys mature they learn their limits. Rocco has done a great job helping Byron understand that he doesn’t always have to try to move the outfield wall. As Byron ages, his game may change, but he’s going to be better from this point forward.” When asked about Buxton’s names being in trade rumors over the past year, Powell said, “I never had the first feeling we’d trade him…unless someone was offering the ‘27 Yankees. Everyone understands how impactful Byron is.” And not only did the Twins hold onto Buxton, but they also wrapped him up for the next seven years with a $100 million contract. Buxton invited Powell to Target Field to celebrate that moment with him. “I’m so grateful that Byron and Derek (Falvey) and Thad (Levine) made that happen. He’s come so far since being the best high school player I’ve scouted since Josh Hamilton.” There were a few players that Powell mentioned as comparisons for the then-high school phenom: Eric Davis, Andruw Jones, and Hamilton. “They were all players with phenomenal tools who could carry teams. Davis took the Reds to the World Series. We saw Hamilton do it in Texas and Cincinnati. And it’s a shame that Jones isn’t in the Hall of Fame.” Speaking of Andruw Jones, Powell mentions his son, Druw as one of the “impactful players” that he hopes to see available when the Twins are on the clock, picking 8th in the 2022 draft. There are other prep players that he has seen in his area. “Druw reminds me of Buxton. Elijah Green has a little more swing-and-miss in his game right now than Buxton did in high school. Termarr Johnson is another one. They’re all going to be impactful players.” Like with Buxton, it’s going to be a wait-and-see when it comes to who’s available when the draft eventually happens. “I’ll see a couple hundred games between March 1 and July 1. Practices. Workouts. I’m not sure any of those three (mentioned above) will be available, but anything can happen between now and the draft.” And a lot of things will. For now, though, we’ll keep our fingers crossed that we get to see Byron Buxton patrolling Target Field again soon… and a lot over the next seven years. View full article

From a marketing standpoint, too, this makes sense. There's only so much information out there about the 16-year-olds that are going to be signing, but what is out there - mostly thanks to Baseball America and MLB.com - is widely consumed. MLB can put on events that promote exposure and also make them money. Of course, this all sounds great (MORE MONEY SPENT!) but this comes after rules were put in place to spend less money a handful of years ago.

The age requirements wouldn't change, so it would still be 16 year olds. I'm sure there's a ton of smaller details left to be worked out, but streamlining the whole process would make a lot of sense. You're probably going to see combines in a number of countries that help make everyone equally accessible.