Jeremy Nygaard

News broke Sunday that Wes Johnson will be leaving the Twins after this week and joining the LSU Tigers as their new pitching coach. Unexpected, big news for the first-place Twins. View full video

Mock draft season is going to really heat up over the next few weeks. Players' demands become clearer and teams must solidify their board with as much information as they possibly can. Keith Law of The Athletic and both Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com have released updated mocks over the last week. Baseball America did a "staff mock draft." We'll have Twins Daily/Brewer Fanatic Mock Draft v.2.0 posted right here next week. Keith Law and joined an earlier Jim Callis mock draft, projecting the Twins to select Campbell SS Zach Neto. Now, how high Neto is on their board remains to be seen. Law has them taking Neto over Gavin Cross (OF, Virginia Tech) and Cole Young (SS, Pennsylvania prep), while Callis arrives on Neto because Termarr Johnson (2B, Georgia prep) and Cam Collier (3B, Florida prep) are off the board. Says Baseball America about Neto, who they currently rank him 16th on their board: At this point, every connection made to the Twins and their first pick has involved a hitter, though it's been split on a college or prep hitter. Callis, more recently, pairs the Twins with Jacob Berry (hitter, LSU) and Jonathan Mayo has the Twins selecting Gavin Cross (OF, Virginia Tech) for the third straight time. Both are being selected on the strength on their bat, while Cross projects as a much more serviceable defender than Berry. Of note, *maybe*, Callis mentions other players the Twins may be interested in and actually lists a pitcher, Connor Prielipp (LHP, Alabama) who hasn't pitched while recovering from Tommy John surgery. On the heels of a promising throwing session at the Draft Combine, Prielipp is now under consideration for a Top 10 pick. JJ Cooper of Baseball America go the responsibility of making the selections for the Twins in Baseball America's two-round "staff draft." Cooper was hoping to take Cam Collier with the 8th pick, but saw him go to the Cubs one pick earlier. Instead he paired the Twins with Jace Jung (2B, Texas Tech) who is another strong hitter with a questionable defensive future and Thomas Harrington (RHP, Campbell) in the second round. Harrington doesn't represent an overly high-floor selection, but he would be a pretty safe pick who projects as a mid-rotation starter. TWINS MOCK DRAFTS Callis Law Mayo Baseball America McDaniel TwinsDaily Jacob Berry 3B/OF LSU (6/22) Zach Neto SS Campbell (6/21) Gavin Cross OF Virginia Tech (6/15) Cam Collier 3B Chipola JC (6/3) Jacob Berry RF LSU (6/1) Cam Collier 3B Chipola JC (5/26) Zach Neto SS Campbell (6/8) Cole Young SS Pennsylvania HS (5/19) Gavin Cross OF Virginia Tech (6/1) Jacob Berry 3B/1B LSU (4/1) Jacob Berry 3B/OF LSU (5/25) Gavin Cross OF Virginia Tech (5/18) Chase DeLauter OF James Madison (2/10)"}" style="padding:2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align:center; vertical-align:middle">Chase DeLauter OF James Madison (2/10) Jace Jung 2B Texas Tech (5/11) Jacob Berry 3B/OF LSU (4/27) JEREMY's BIG BOARD will return after next week's mock draft. MOCK DRAFTS / PROSPECT BOARDS Baseball America - Staff Draft (6/22/22) / v4.0 (5/26/22) the draft changed but the link stayed the same / v2.0 (4/1/22) / v1.0 (2/10/22) / Top 300 (4/27/22) / Staff Draft v.1.0 (4/20/22) MLB.com - Mayo Mock Draft (6/1/22) / Callis Mock Draft (5/25/22) / Mayo Mock Draft (5/18/22) / Callis Mock Draft (5/11/22) / Mock Draft (4/27/22) / Callis - Top 10 (12/15/21), Mayo - Top 20 (7/20/21) / Top 150 (4/25/22) The Athletic - Law Mock Draft (6/21/22) / Bowden Top 10 (6/1/22) / Law Mock Draft (5/19/22) / Law Top 100 (5/5/22) / Law Top 30 (3/10/22) ESPN - McDaniel Mock Draft (6/1/22) / Early Draft Rankings (7/26/21) ($$$ - ESPN+) / McDaniel’s Draft Rankings (2/24/22) / Draft Rankings 2.0 (4/27/22) Fangraphs - The Board / 2022 MLB Draft Rankings and Offseason List Primer (11/30/21) Prospects Live - v3.0 (6/6/22) / v2.0 (4/21/22) / v1.0 (1/4/22) View full article

The Twins are back home to host the Guardians and Rockies. They'll make a trip to Cleveland before heading back home to host the Orioles. And, oh yeah, the Brewers are crossing the board in less than a month. Check out some of the giveaways the team has coming up for those series. View full video

I think this is just the way people naturally think. The top of this draft is going to be a mess. If the Top 7 on my board are the seven to get drafted, I'd be really surprised. The Twins have really focused on hitters (with Cavaco being the least hitter-ish of the bunch) and this draft has a lot of high-end ones. I think the Twins would love for Lee or Johnson to fall to them, even though their futures are likely at third and second, respectively. Neto is interesting as he's not in that top tier of hitters, but is probably in the top tier defensively. I'm curious to see how creative teams get with their bonus pool, that always adds intrigue to the first night.

With a little over a month left until the 2022 MLB Draft kicks off, things seem to have started to settle down. And by “settle down,” I mean “players have stopped getting hurt so frequently.” (Immediately knocks on wood.) In this update, we’re going to focus on three names. The first name is one you’ve probably heard, but definitely haven’t seen pitch this year (up until his debut over the weekend) and that’s Carson Whisenhunt. Whisenhunt, a left-handed pitcher from East Carolina was suspended for the season after a failed drug test. He claims that test came as a result of taking a supplement from a nationwide nutrition store. At any rate, Whisenhunt was not allowed to pitch all year. Obviously missing a full season of college ball didn’t give teams 15 or so opportunities to watch Whisenhunt pitch, but his absence may not necessarily all be bad in the long run. He made ito June healthy and is now able to showcase his skills in the Cape Cod League. Whisenhunt made his debut on Sunday night. Though it was of the shorter variety (only three innings), Whisenhunt struck out five and walked one. He allowed three earned runs on two hits and a walk. His stuff wasn’t bad. Topping out at 95 mph, his fastball sat a few clicks lower. He threw his change-up and curveball as well. As you can expect after the long layoff, he showed some rust. He will make a few more starts before the draft, but expect Whisenhunt’s pitching ability to put him back in the first-round conversation. How teams view Whisenhunt’s suspension and explanation about his suspension is another story. Across from Whisenhunt on Sunday was 3B Cam Collier. Collier’s path to the Cape is a unique one. He reclassified, instead heading to junior college to make himself draft-eligible quicker. And now he’s in the wood-bat league as one of the league’s youngest players ever. Through three games (as of Wednesday), Collier is batting 3-for-9 with three singles, three walks and three strikeouts. He’s been caught stealing in his only attempt. While playing two games at third base, he’s been perfect on the six balls he’s fielded. Collier continues to trend upward, where he may eventually settle in the top 5. Lastly, let’s talk some more about Kumar Rocker. As you probably know by now, Rocker was a potential #1 overall pick who fell to the Mets at #10 and agreed to an overslot deal before the Mets pulled out due to some arm concerns. Instead of going back to Vanderbilt for his senior season, Rocker instead joined the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Frontier League. Rocker made his second start on Friday night and reviews are mixed. On the surface, going backwards in pitches and max velocity from his first start to this start don’t seem promising. In his first inning of work on Friday, he walked a batter before hitting two batters to load the bases. But he worked his way out of the trouble and was able to throw three scoreless, two-hit innings that included five strikeouts. You can read a very thorough review of his second start here. If the draft were today, I’d have a hard time believing that Rocker makes it out of the first round. In a draft that lacks high-end pitching, someone is going to believe that the Kumar Rocker we watched pitch for Vanderbilt for three years still exists. JEREMY’S TOP 10 PROSPECTS 1.) Druw Jones, OF, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) 2.) Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly (previously: 4) 3.) Elijah Green, OF, Florida prep (Miami commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.) 4.) Jackson Holliday, SS, Oklahoma prep (Oklahoma State commit) (previously: 6) 5.) Termarr Johnson, 2B, Georgia prep (previously: 2) 6.) Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola JC (previously: 7) 7.) Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech (previously: 5) 8.) Connor Prielipp, LHP, Alabama 9.) Jacob Berry, Hitter, LSU (previously: unranked) 10.) Jace Jung, 3B, Texas Tech MOCK DRAFTS / PROSPECT BOARDS Baseball America - v4.0 (5/26/22) the draft changed but the link stayed the same / v2.0 (4/1/22) / v1.0 (2/10/22) / Top 300 (4/27/22) / Staff Draft v.1.0 (4/20/22) MLB.com - Mayo Mock Draft (6/1/22) / Callis Mock Draft (5/25/22) / Mayo Mock Draft (5/18/22) / Callis Mock Draft (5/11/22) / Mock Draft (4/27/22) / Callis - Top 10 (12/15/21), Mayo - Top 20 (7/20/21) / Top 150 (4/25/22) The Athletic - Bowden Top 10 ( 6/1/22) / Law Mock Draft (5/19/22) / Law Top 100 (5/5/22) / Law Top 30 (3/10/22) ESPN - McDaniel Mock Draft (6/1/22) / Early Draft Rankings (7/26/21) ($$$ - ESPN+) / McDaniel’s Draft Rankings (2/24/22) / Draft Rankings 2.0 (4/27/22) Fangraphs - The Board / 2022 MLB Draft Rankings and Offseason List Primer (11/30/21) Prospects Live - v3.0 (6/6/22) / v2.0 (4/21/22) / v1.0 (1/4/22) View full article

The Twins have been making roster moves on what seems like a daily basis, but they're still far away from having a clean roster. What moves have they made for the west coast road trip? What moves do they still have to make to get through this road trip? View full video

Slowly. It may be just me - or probably the change in schedules - but it feels like it's been an especially long and slow-moving draft season. It also may be that the College World Series is almost here and our internal clocks tell us that means it's finally here. Only it isn't. What we have gotten to is a point where there are names that are more connected to the Twins than others. It doesn't necessarily mean anything, but it could. Take a look at the various mock drafts up to this point. TWINS MOCK DRAFTS Baseball America Mayo McDaniel TwinsDaily Law Callis Cam Collier 3B Chipola JC (5/26) Gavin Cross OF Virginia Tech (5/18) Jacob Berry RF LSU (6/1) Cam Collier 3B Chipola JC (5/26) Cole Young SS Pennsylvania HS (5/19) Jace Jung 2B Texas Tech (5/11) Jacob Berry 3B/1B LSU (4/1) Jacob Berry 3B/OF LSU (4/27) Chase DeLauter OF James Madison (2/10) The name most-prominently connected to the Twins is LSU switch-hitter Jacob Berry. He doesn't have a defensive home and don't confuse the various positions listed as versatility... his value is 100% tied up in his bat. But a bat that is in play at pick #1 and rarely gets by the Twins at #8 is a bat that experts think will surely play, regardless of where he will stand defensively (or sit, potentially, in the dugout as a designated hitter). Another name with helium towards the Twins is Chipola JC 3B Cam Collier. Collier is about to make his debut in the wood-bat Cape Cod League as a 17-year old. He's been taking parts in scrimmages and has been very impressive. It's entirely believable, at this point, that Collier could be both the Twins main target at #8 and gone well before they have the opportunity to select him. The most noteworthy draft news from the past week has been the return of Kumar Rocker. Rocker is originally best known for playing superhero in Vanderbilt's run to a national title in 2019. Then well-known for not signing with Mets last summer and not even getting an offer after initially agreeing to a $6 million signing bonus. But he's back now for the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Frontier League. He looked the part of a first-round pick, reaching 99 mph with his fastball and showing off his devastating slider. It certainly could have gone better as Rocker appeared to tire in his fourth inning, his command wavering enough to hit a batter before giving up a home run. But it also could have gone much, much worse. Rocker appears to be very much the guy we watched pitch for Vanderbilt. He should continue to throw regularly as he looks to answer the questions that have been asked of him over the last 12 months. JEREMY’S TOP 10 PROSPECTS A few changes as we march forward into mid-June 1.) Druw Jones, OF, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) 2.) Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly (previously: 4) 3.) Elijah Green, OF, Florida prep (Miami commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.) 4.) Jackson Holliday, SS, Oklahoma prep (Oklahoma State commit) (previously: 6) 5.) Termarr Johnson, 2B, Georgia prep (previously: 2) 6.) Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola JC (previously: 7) 7.) Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech (previously: 5) 8.) Connor Prielipp, LHP, Alabama 9.) Jacob Berry, Hitter, LSU (previously: unranked) 10.) Jace Jung, 3B, Texas Tech Dropped out: Dylan Lesko, RHP, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.) (previously: 9) MOCK DRAFTS / PROSPECT BOARDS Baseball America - v4.0 (5/26/22) the draft changed but the link stayed the same / v2.0 (4/1/22) / v1.0 (2/10/22) / Top 300 (4/27/22) / Staff Draft v.1.0 (4/20/22) MLB.com - Mayo Mock Draft (5/18/22) / Callis Mock Draft (5/11/22) / Mock Draft (4/27/22) / Callis - Top 10 (12/15/21), Mayo - Top 20 (7/20/21) / Top 150 (4/25/22) The Athletic - Bowden Top 10 ( 6/1/22) / Law Mock Draft (5/19/22) / Law Top 100 (5/5/22) / Law Top 30 (3/10/22) ESPN - McDaniel Mock Draft (6/1/22) / Draft Rankings 2.0 (4/27/22) / McDaniel’s Draft Rankings (2/24/22) / Early Draft Rankings (7/26/21) ($$$ - ESPN+) Fangraphs - The Board / 2022 MLB Draft Rankings and Offseason List Primer (11/30/21) Prospects Live - v2.0 (4/21/22) / v1.0 (1/4/22) Just Baseball v1.0 (2/10/22) My MLB Draft (1/18/22) View full article

Kumar Rocker, famous at Vanderbily and famously unsigned by the Mets last year, made his debut for the Tri-City ValleyCats over the weekend and looked a lot like the old Kumar Rocker. How high can he go? How much do we know? View full video

The calendar turns to June and with that… the MLB Draft isn’t for over another month!? The later draft is certainly something that is going to take some getting used to. But here were are with another update. Last week, the first TwinsDaily mock was posted. This week, we’re going to cover some big news from last week as well as discuss selections from three other mock drafts. Alabama LHP Connor Prielipp returned to the mound for the first time since Tommy John surgery last May. Prielipp, who is originally from Tomah, Wisconsin, has only made seven collegiate appearances (and thrown only 28 innings) due to COVID and injury. But there is still some belief that he could end up being the first college pitcher to take. You can see parts of the bullpen that he threw thanks to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and he’ll throw again later this month. Keith Law checks in with his first mock draft and has the Twins selecting prep shortstop Cole Young, from Pennsylvania, with the 8th overall pick. Young is more of a "solid across the board" prospect than one that has a carrying tool, but as Jim Bowden points out in his piece from Wednesday, "Longtime manager Jim Leyland used to preach to me to never overlook “baseball players” who don’t have the elite tools because they often become the standouts we watch in the World Series." Recently considered more of a late first-round prospect, Young has some serious helium. Jonathan Mayo goes a different route in his mock draft suggesting the Twins are focusing on college bats. While we've seen connections made to LSU's Jacob Berry and Texas Tech's Jace Jung, Mayo points Virginia Tech outfielder Gavin Cross towards the Twins. While 8th may be Cross's ceiling, he gives a Max Kepler-type vibe with solid tools across the board. Kiley McDaniel released his first mock draft on Wednesday. He pairs the Twins with the aforementioned Berry and lists him as a right fielder. He suggests JC 3B Cam Collier as an option if he were available. (He isn't.) McDaniel also suggests Tennessee OF Jordan Beck as a possibility. Regardless of which direction the Twins choose to go, they'll be adding another solid prospect to their stable. JEREMY’S TOP 10 PROSPECTS 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.) Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech 6.) Jackson Holliday, SS, Oklahoma prep (Oklahoma State commit) 7.) Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola JC 8.) Connor Prielipp, LHP, Alabama 9.) Dylan Lesko, RHP, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.) 10.) Jace Jung, 3B, Texas Tech MOCK DRAFTS / PROSPECT BOARDS Baseball America - v3.0 (4/28/22) / (v2.0 (4/1/22) / v1.0 (2/10/22) / Top 300 (4/27/22) / Staff Draft v.1.0 (4/20/22) MLB.com - Mayo Mock Draft (5/18/22) / Callis Mock Draft (5/11/22) / Mock Draft (4/27/22) / Callis - Top 10 (12/15/21), Mayo - Top 20 (7/20/21) / Top 150 (4/25/22) The Athletic - Bowden Top 10 ( 6/1/22) / Law Mock Draft (5/19/22) / Law Top 100 (5/5/22) / Law Top 30 (3/10/22) ESPN - Early Draft Rankings (7/26/21) ($$$ - ESPN+) / McDaniel’s Draft Rankings (2/24/22) / Draft Rankings 2.0 (4/27/22) Fangraphs - The Board / 2022 MLB Draft Rankings and Offseason List Primer (11/30/21) Prospects Live - v2.0 (4/21/22) / v1.0 (1/4/22) Just Baseball v1.0 (2/10/22) My MLB Draft (1/18/22) View full article

The Twins keep putting players on the Injured List and shuffling their injured players around to make room on their 40-man roster. Eventually, they're going to have to figure out how to put everyone back on their 40-man roster. But first, they need to keep their active roster full. Plus, they're going to Toronto later this week and have guys that won't be able to play. View full video

The title of this maybe should have been From Lee to Pallette as we examine the first mock draft of the season, covering picks 1 to 30. View full video

The draft will take place just over 50 days from now. Unlike most other drafts, seven-plus weeks is just too far away to forecast with any certainty how the draft is going to go. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try! 1.) Orioles - Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly - This just seems like the most Orioles-type pick they could make. A college talent who can hit and plays a premium position. Oh, and he’s probably more likely to save them a few dollars for later than the higher-profile prospects. 2.) Diamondbacks - Druw Jones, OF, Georgia HS - I would imagine this is the ideal scenario for the Diamondbacks and their fans. 3.) Rangers - Jackson Holliday, SS, Oklahoma HS - My mind says “college bat,” but this is too early to go there (with the exception of Lee). My heart says “Jackson Holliday is just a four-hour trip up I-35” and that’s fun for Rangers fans. I do think Holliday to Colorado or St. Louis would be a great story… that’s not getting written. 4.) Pirates - Cole Young, SS, Pennsylvania HS - If you’ve only been following the draft here, this is a new name. If you saw Law’s last mock, you saw Young to the Twins at 8. The Pirates need help and maybe going the local route can help eventually ignite a spark between Ke’Bryan Hayes and Nick Gonzales. 5.) Nationals - Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech - Where there is smoke, there is fire. And there’s plenty of smoke with the Nationals and Parada. 6.) Marlins - Elijah Green, OF, IMG Academy - Green could certainly go earlier, but the swing-and-miss in his game has his trajectory going the wrong way. There’s still time to turn it around. 7.) Cubs - Termarr Johnson, 2B, Georgia HS - The fifth prep bat to go is largely considered the best hitter in this class. If only he had a true defensive position. 8.) Twins - Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola JC - The Twins love a few things more than others: bloodlines, analytics and advanced hitters. The son of a former major leaguer, Collier’s young for JC and impressing with the bat. It seems to just make a lot of sense. 9.) Royals - Brock Porter, RHP, Michigan Prep - The first pitcher off the board. I think there are a couple of names that we’ll see later that could push their way up into this spot 10.) Rockies - Jacob Berry, DH, LSU - Berry dropping to 10 might have more to do with my personal preference to have him not be a Twin than any industry sentiment. I guess if I was running a team, I’d be less inclined to draft a guy without a defensive home. But there’s a reason I’m not running a team. 11.) Mets - Jace Jung, 2B, Texas Tech - Jung, for me, is similar to Berry, but does have some flexibility in that he could maybe man a corner if not second base. 12.) Tigers - Daniel Susac, C, Arizona - Susac or Gavin Cross is where I have the Tigers if the board played out like it has. Either would be good gets for Detroit. 13.) Angels - Connor Prielipp, RHP, Alabama - Fresh off his first bullpen, I think Prielipp keeps moving up the board. The Angels are all-in on pitching. 14.) Mets - Gavin Cross, OF, Virginia Tech - Ultimately, I think the Mets take one hitter and one pitcher with their two high picks. And they could get creative with their bonus pool to get someone to drop to 11. (Green?) But Cross just seems like too good of value to pass on at this point. 15.) Padres - Dylan Lesko, P, Georgia HS - The Padres aren’t averse to taking a risk or spending money, so this just makes a ton of sense. 16.) Guardians - Chase DeLauter, OF, James Madison - DeLauter is injured, but would be a good value pick by Cleveland. DeLauter’s value has dropped some in the last couple of months. 17.) Phillies - Brandon Berriera, RHP, Florida prep - The Phillies are a team considered most-likely to draft a prep pitcher and Berriera had improved his stock before shutting it down for the season. 18.) Reds - Justin Crawford, OF, Nevada HS - Carl’s kid is a high-ceiling prospect and the Reds fan base can use some excitement. 19.) A’s - Zach Neto, SS, Campbell - Sometimes when you fill out a mock you see a team and a prospect and just say, “Yep, that makes sense.” 20.) Braves - Gabriel Hughes, RHP, Gonzaga - Hughes could go earlier for sure, but the Braves have gone college pitching for a few years, so Hughes’ slide ends here. 21.) Mariners - Blake Tidwell, RHP, Tennessee - Mariners go the right-handed college pitching route for the fourth time in five years. 22.) Cardinals - Robby Snelling, LHP, Nevada HS - Prep pitchers always have a huge range of possibilities. Snelling has a LSU commitment and helium, so who knows what his price tag will be. 23.) Blue Jays - Sterlin Thompson, OF, Florida - Thompson has been impressive this year and if there’s one thing the Blue Jays need it’s more hitters. (Please sense the heavy sarcasm.) 24.) Red Sox - Jett Williams, SS, Texas Prep - The Red Sox have had success with tiny infielders before, haven’t they? 25.) Yankees - Cooper Hjerpe, LHP, Oregon State - Which stud will the Yankees acquire when they trade Hjerpe? 26.) White Sox - Jordan Beck, OF, Tennessee - When an AL Central team comes on the clock, I mostly follow the “which player would I least like to see them pick?” pattern. Beck seems like a player would could take off in pro ball. 27.) Brewers - Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt/Indy ball - Rocker could make a lot of sense for almost any team. I debated between Brock Jones and Carson Whisenhunt at this point, but considering how creative the Brewers are in using their pitchers, drafting Rocker and putting him on the fast-track makes a lot of sense. 28.) Astros - Jud Fabian, OF, Florida - This is another one of those fits that just seems to make too much sense. 29.) Rays - Carson Whisenhunt, LHP, East Carolina - The Rays have a way and Whisenhunt, who is suspended for the year, would be a perfect fit for them and their way with pitchers. 30.) Giants - Peyton Pallette, RHP, Arkansas - Pallette would be off the board already if it weren’t for January Tommy John surgery. Compared a lot to Walker Buehler, the Giants look to get their own version of the current Dodger stud. MOCK DRAFTS / PROSPECT BOARDS Baseball America - v3.0 (4/28/22) / (v2.0 (4/1/22) / v1.0 (2/10/22) / Top 300 (4/27/22) / Staff Draft v.1.0 (4/20/22) MLB.com - Mayo Mock Draft (5/18/22) / Callis Mock Draft (5/11/22) / Mock Draft (4/27/22) / Callis - Top 10 (12/15/21), Mayo - Top 20 (7/20/21) / Top 150 (4/25/22) The Athletic - Law Mock Draft (5/19/22) / Law Top 100 (5/5/22) / Law Top 30 (3/10/22) ESPN - Early Draft Rankings (7/26/21) ($$$ - ESPN+) / McDaniel’s Draft Rankings (2/24/22) / Draft Rankings 2.0 (4/27/22) Fangraphs - The Board / 2022 MLB Draft Rankings and Offseason List Primer (11/30/21) Prospects Live - v2.0 (4/21/22) / v1.0 (1/4/22) Just Baseball v1.0 (2/10/22) My MLB Draft (1/18/22) View full article

Despite starting the year with six guys in the starting rotation while having alternative choices in the bullpen, the Twins are now at the point where they are at a five-man rotation with one true, proven option in AAA. Does the team have any other rotation options? View full video

As we creep ever-so-slowly forward to the annual baseball draft, there are a few storylines that have taken a front seat. We finally have an answer to one of the draft’s biggest questions. We’ll cover that and more in this week’s update. We’ve been waiting since last July to find out what would happen to one-time-Mets-pick-turned-unsigned pitcher Kumar Rocker. We finally have an answer. Kumar Rocker will enter July’s draft after pitching in the Frontier League. Unsigned players going the Indy Ball route isn’t completely unheard of; so this isn’t a complete surprise. In fact, this was always considered to be the most likely of the avenues that Rocker could take. But now we have the specifics: Kumar Rocker is a member of the Tri-Valley Valleycats and teams who want to see him will have to travel to Troy, New York to do so. There’s nothing official yet about when Rocker will report to the team - it doesn’t appear that he is there yet - nor when he will pitch - though he’s rumored to throw a half dozen or so times before the draft. The other main storyline is the dearth of pitching. It remains evident in the mock draft that Jim Callis released late last week. The first pitcher to be selected in this mock draft is prep RHP Brock Porter go to the Mets at #11. That’s followed by an interesting run through the teens consisting of a prep pitcher who shut down to prepare for the draft (Brandon Barriera), a college pitcher who is nearing a return to health after Tommy John (Connor Prielipp), a prep lefty who you’re not seeing very high on anyone’s rankings (Robby Snelling), the top prep pitcher who just had Tommy John (Dylan Lesko) and a college pitcher who is just starting to ramp up after missing the beginning of the season with shoulder soreness (Blade Tidwell). The first healthy college pitcher to go in this mock is Gabriel Hughes at pick twenty. Crazy. Callis has the Twins selecting Jace Jung from Texas Tech with the 8th overall pick. The bat profile certainly works as a high selection, there is no doubt about that - and that’s a huge reason why Jung has appeared in my Top 10 ever since I started ranking prospects. But the defensive uncertainty is enough to make you uneasy. Jung would likely enter the organization as their top hitting prospect; but also a prospect with no clear defensive home. And that’s a little scary. JEREMY’S TOP 10 PROSPECTS No changes this week, but Prielipp throwing a bullpen next Monday could cause some moves next 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.) Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech 6.) Jackson Holliday, SS, Oklahoma prep (Oklahoma State commit) 7.) Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola JC 8.) Connor Prielipp, P, Alabama 9.) Dylan Lesko, SP, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.) 10.) Jace Jung, 3B, Texas Tech MOCK DRAFTS / PROSPECT BOARDS Baseball America - v3.0 (4/28/22) / (v2.0 (4/1/22) / v1.0 (2/10/22) / Top 300 (4/27/22) / Staff Draft v.1.0 (4/20/22) MLB.com - Callis Mock Draft (5/11/22) / Mock Draft (4/27/22) / Callis - Top 10 (12/15/21), Mayo - Top 20 (7/20/21) / Top 150 (4/25/22) The Athletic - Law Top 100 (5/5/22) / Law Top 30 (3/10/22) ESPN - Early Draft Rankings (7/26/21) ($$$ - ESPN+) / McDaniel’s Draft Rankings (2/24/22) / Draft Rankings 2.0 (4/27/22) Fangraphs - The Board / 2022 MLB Draft Rankings and Offseason List Primer (11/30/21) Prospects Live - v2.0 (4/21/22) / v1.0 (1/4/22) Just Baseball v1.0 (2/10/22) My MLB Draft (1/18/22) View full article