RJA

I would be willing to add the following types of players--those on expiring contracts or those that have at least one more year of control. In the case of expiring contracts, like Bard, Robertson, the cost would not be extreme and they would definitely help this year as our starters are mostly 5 inning type guys. As much as I like Bednar, I personally would not trade top prospects for a relief pitcher as I don't think the value is there. For an ace starting pitcher, I would trade assets like Steer, CES, Larnach and others if he have another year of control as it would benefit this year as well as next. Montas (if healthy) and Castillo fit that scenario. I don't think either Cincy or Oakland would be interested in any established players like Kepler as they would be looking for young guys to build for a future 2-4 years out. As for catching, Contreras is on an expiring contract and would be a huge improvement, but I am not sure what it would take. I would explore it however. So, if a major trade helps both this year and next, do it. For rentals, if the price is right, do it.

Three thoughts. First, with Montas, it all depends on how he does in his next two outings to make sure his shoulder is fine. If it is, I would do that trade but I don't think it is enough. Remember, Martin was a top 10 guy in MLB at the time of the trade and SWR was highly rated as well. I think they would want more, especially given the paucity of starting pitching available. Second, Pittsburg will also want much more for Bednar given the years of control. I am not keen on Quintana as I think if we add a starting pitcher it needs to be a difference maker like Castillo or Montas. Quintana doesn't move the needle much at all. Finally, I would take Bard in a heartbeat and I don't think the cost would be very high given he is on an expiring contract.

Good approach to evaluating potential trades. I am leery of pitchers who lack the most important ability--durability. While Montas and Castillo have had a few problems this year as well, they do not have quite the injury history that Lopez does. My concern for the Twins is that what they really need is a true number 1. I am not sure Lopez qualifies and in my opinion is not worth the risk associated with his injury problems. I would prefer Castillo or Montas though the price may be higher. I would like Castillo/Montas, Gray, Ryan, Paddack, Maeda, Ober, and Winder as a starting options next year.

It does look like a little redundancy with Lee and Schnobel, especially given the fact that we have Arraez, Miranda, and Steer, and now Lee and Schnobel all possibly bidding for third or a utility role, but this could all change if/when the Twins make some trades for pitching before the deadline. If they are serious about getting a top starter, then Miranda and Steer might be part of the deals. I am not suggesting Miranda is somebody I want to be traded, I am just saying prospects of value will have to be traded if we are looking for quality pitching. Plus, these things seem to have a way of working out in the long run. Another thing these selections show is the committment the Twins have to drafting players with character and high baseball IQ's. As I have watched Seth's interviews with prospects, that is something that comes across loud and clear. You build a quality team with quality people and the Twins are doing just that.

Great night for the Twins. It will be interesting to see where the Twins Daily team slots these players in the prospect rankings. I want to thank Jeremy, Jamie and the whole TD team for the incredible work they put into the draft. I had your site pulled up all night as the draft was progressing. Fantastic job guys. Makes me proud to be a caretaker. Can't wait for more action today.

This was a very successful (and lucky) pick, period. We nabbed one of the top 3 or 4 prospects in the country (number 4 on Jamie’s composite list), who has a very high floor and excellent ceiling. Plus, he will move fast and could become a part of the Twins young core. Great choice whether he sticks at short or not.

Thanks for doing this again, Jeremy. I can’t wait to get it started.

Thanks for the detailed summary, Lucas. Three thoughts. CES is a great power bat, but do you think he is better than Wallner? It would be an interesting comparison article I think. Glad we have both! Second, Raya continues to impress. The Twins are going easy with him this year which is the right approach, but I think as he gains strength and has another off season to refine his stuff, he could have a real breakout year next year. Finally, it is great to see Hamilton in the bigs. He has worked hard and put in his time, and now he gets the reward. Good for him. I am pulling for him.

I can’t wait to see how your predictions play out come tomorrow, Jeremy. Doesn’t it seem like financial demands of certain players cause last minute changes in draft boards almost every year? I have said it before, but this may be the most unpredictable draft in many years which will make it a blast to watch. My bet is Neto (Law’s pick) but my confidence factor is very low. Maybe Prielipp? Maybe Cross? The one thing I doubt they will do is take someone with huge financial demands.

Nice article. You raise an interesting issue. Would it pay to be contrarians in the draft and take the best pitcher in the draft? It is kind of like the Wolves going big when everyone else in the NBA is going small. If they did that and cut a deal to save money, they may be able to net two top notch prospects. I would only want them to do it if they were convinced that the pitcher chosen was a top 10-12 type player AND none of the top 6 or 7 fall to them. When you think about the number of top flight pitchers who had TJ, they really could have the pick of the litter. I can’t wait for Sunday. I confess, though, that like some others on the site I really like Neto. I look forward to your draft day coverage, Jeremy.

You rock, Jamie. I found this extremely helpful and plan to refer to it on draft might as I watch the selections. Great work. I am just hoping one of the first 7 drops. If not, I lean toward Neto as he has such great all around skills. But, I will be happy with whatever happens and with whomever the FO chooses. We should get a high potential player regardless of the choice.

Great comment! Yes, when I looked at his splits when I was making my original comment, I noticed that his strikeout percentage was more like 28% as I recall since June 1. That is great progress. But, he has been insanely on fire the past month so that percentage might regress a bit as he hits a slower period. Be assured, I am a Wallner fan and am confident that he will "make it", I just think that is really the only thing that might pose a challenge for him when he hits the bigs. I just read he was promoted. Great news. Thanks for a great post.

A great, detailed summary, Andrew. Three comments. First, I would think Wallner and CES will be moved up for the soon as they don't have much left to prove where they are. It will be interesting to see if the swing and miss in Wallner's game hurts him at the next level. So far this year, he has 21 homers, 62 walks and 107 strikeouts in 342 plate appearances--55% of his plate appearances result in one of the three true outomes. I would not be surprised if one of these two guys are on the move for some pitching. Second, Helman is making some noise this year. It will be interesting to see how he continues to develop. The Twins are going to have some interesting decisions to make in the next year or two on 40 man roster spots. Finally, Nowlin will be someone to watch in the coming year or two. He currently walks 5.4 per nine, and if he can get that number down a bit and lower his WHIP, he should do well. He doesn't currently give up a lot of homeruns, so that is good.

I have not seen much of Snell during his time with the Padres. If his velo is ok, and his stuff is on par with years past, I would sure take a close look. In his recent games against the Giants and Dodgers, he looked great.

Appears to be a great prospect. If he is available at 8, hurrah!

I agree with Trov. I fear that with his curve and fastballs both showing diminished quality, the change will only be a short term solution and the league will catch up. Plus, he certainly has not been sharp enough in my opinion to warrant late inning work. But then again, who do we have beyond Duran and Jax?

Absolutely would be a fit. As you suggest, in many ways, the catching position is the most difficult position to fill at the major league level. The number of catchers with modest offensive skills that have long careers is remarkable. If a team has a catcher with both defensive and offensive prowess, it is a huge advantage. But, I think the chances of Parada being available at 8 are nil.

Interesting article. You really dug deep into the potential trade pool. Thank you for that. For me, trading for relievers with several years of control is not a good idea, especially for relievers having "breakout" years, as the chance of regression can be pretty high. But, I like the guys you have identified and they are not among the run of the mill names that are being discussed ad nauseam. For me, it depends on the cost. If one of these guys could be obtained at a decent cost, I would be all for it. But relievers are too hit and miss for me to support paying too much for them. I would prefer our prospects being used to acquire top quality starting pitching, and we look at expiring contract relievers to fix the bullpen. However, if the price is right on these guys, I would definitely consider it. Good work!

Great work, Jeremy. I really appreciate the work you put in. Did you see that Law has mocked Collier to the Twins at 8? I fear that is too good to be true. In his top 100, he now has Cross at 10, Neto at 11, and Williams at 12 so it appears all of them are rising up the boards. I love your Duke picks. They both have great potential and could end up impressing like Festa and Povich have this year. I agree Miller has great potential. It may take a few years for him to develop, but he could be a nice piece. Did you consider Landon Sims at any point? He will likely be a reliever with his reliance on the fast ball and slider. If the Twins could improve his slider a bit, he could make the majors while the young core is still together. This will be a great draft to watch.

Yes, wishful thinking. But there are always surprises in the early picks so just maybe someone falls. I was interested to see that Law now has Collier ranked second, and Neto 10, Cross 11, and Williams 12. And, in his mock, he has Collier falling to the Twins. I can't say I agree with his mock, but boy would that be great. It is clear that Neto and Williams have a lot of helium. Gosh, will this be a fun draft!

If the plan is to just make the playoffs, then I would look for two rental relievers--2 of Robertson (best), Bard, Fulmer, etc.--as I think the Twins will win the division if they add two lockdown type relievers to Duran and Jax for the late innings. I would not pay the price in prospects that Bednar or similar relievers with a lot of years would require. But, the rotation has started going south a bit in the last few weeks/month, and I don't think Gray, Ryan, and the rest are going to match up well in the playoffs against the pitchers the Yankees, Toronto or the Rays will be starting even if the bullpen is improved. If the plan is to make noise in the playoffs, then I think we need a 1/2 starter in the ilk of Castillo, Montas or one of the Miami's starters. But, the total cost of three players (two relievers on expiring contracts and a starter) like that will likely be a couple or more of Larnach, Wallner, Balazovic, Canterino, Steer, Winder, Miranda, or others in the lower level of the minors. It will be a steep price I think. I think the Twins have enough depth in position players to make it work but I would only do it if it helps next year as well. For example, if we have Castillo, Gray, Ryan, Ober, Maeda, and Smeltzer to form the rotation and Canterino, Balazovic, or Winder ready next year, I would think next year could play out well with Arraez, Polanco, Buxton, Kirilloff, Lewis and whoever is left out of Miranda and Larnach forming a core even if Correa departs. Plus, if Larnach goes and Kirilloff goes to first, picking up a good corner outfielder is not all that expensive in free agency assuming that becomes a need. Frankly, it all depends on the cost of the acquisitions IMHO.

Great report, Lucas. Highlight for me is Enlow having his best outing of the year. Let’s hope he can build on it. It is nice to see Festa continuing to pitch well. Both he and Povich look like solid prospects. With the number of injuries plaguing the Twins—Paddack, Alcala, Dobnak, Madea, Ober, Balazovic, Canterino, Stashak, Romero, Smith, etc—finding college arms in the middle rounds of the draft is crucial and the FO has done a good job of it.

Cross is definitely worth a look at 8. One should never put too much weight on “a friend’s” evaluation, but the guy I know who teaches at VT and was a college player says he is a great prospect—good to great natural power, strong arm, runs well for bigger guy, good defensively, and hard worker who has improved each year. But, he does have some work to do on breaking balls, though he is improving his pitch recognition. He said he is similar to Larnach with a smooth left handed swing. As his observations reflect similar thoughts from BA, Law, etc., I suspect you are right and he is probably the most consistently graded prospects. The question is for the Twins, do the need another Larnach? He is a good option. Unlike Berry, he has defensive chops though his bat is likely not quite as good.

I agree with Seth and Dman. If one of the top 7 don’t fall, I would prefer to save some money and choose a toolsy player, with an excellent defensive profile over the higher rated college bats that would still be available. I think there will be a lot of arms available in the second and third rounds and a little extra cash could make a big difference in getting them to sign. And, Neto and Williams are both great prospects.

Great article, Ted. I would only trade for a number one starter that is clearly better than Gray or Ryan. Of these five, Castillo comes the closest given the inflammation issues Montas is experiencing, but the cost would be extremely high methinks. The question would become who are we willing to surrender for Castillo. Not Kirilloff, Lewis. Winder? Larnach? Balazovic? Canterino? Wallner? Rodriguez? It all depends on the talent cost. I still think the best approach is get lockdown bullpen help first as most of the starters we do have are 5 innings type starters on most days. Castillo averages 6 plus innings per start which would help, and he at least has pitched in the postseason once. But I still say fix the bullpen first.