After the Minnesota Twins took a pair of high school players on the first day of the MLB Draft, Minnesota returned to its traditional draft philosophy on the second day, selecting four collegiate pitchers to stockpile their system.
The Twins’ first selection of the day was Michigan pitcher Steve Hajjar, who was considered by some to be a first-round pick entering last season.
Armed with a low-90s fastball, Hajar also has a plus changeup and went 4-2 with a 3.09 ERA in 14 starts last season. After leading the Big Ten with 110 strikeouts last season, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound left-hander is an intriguing value with the 61st overall pick.
Michigan's Steven Hajjar @StevenHajjar led the B1G in strikeouts this season (110) against just 66 hits in 81.2 innings. Congrats, @Twins on a great pick!#GoBlue 〽️ ➡️ #ProBlue pic.twitter.com/oPzccomGCK
— Michigan Baseball (@umichbaseball) July 12, 2021
The Twins added a second college pitcher with the 98th overall pick, selecting Nebraska pitcher Cade Povich.
Povich was a First Team All-Big Ten selection for the Cornhuskers last season, going 6-1 with a 3.11 ERA in 15 starts. Povich’s fastball tops out at 93 mph and has the ability to generate swings and misses with 79 strikeouts in 73.1 innings.
According to KSTP’s Darren Wolfson, Povich was also in high demand as several teams were looking to select the left-hander in the fourth round.
#MNTwins had 3rd round pick and Nebraska ace Cade Povich in for a workout last week. Sense is Mariners, Jays, Cardinals all had lots of interest in him in the 4th round if Twins didn’t select him. pic.twitter.com/2pfk2dVQJ8
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) July 12, 2021
The Twins continued to take the college route throughout the afternoon as all nine of their Day 2 selections came from collegiate programs.
Twins Day 2 draft picks
- Round 2 (61st overall): Steven Hajjar, LHP, Michigan
- Round 3 (98th overall): Cade Povich, LHP, Nebraska
- Round 4 (128th overall): Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 3B, Oklahoma State
- Round 5 (159th overall): Chris MacLeod, LHP, Mississippi State
- Round 6 (189th overall): Travis Adams, RHP, Sacramento State
- Round 7 (219th overall): Jake Rucker, 3B, Tennessee
- Round 8 (249th overall): Noah Cardenas, C, UCLA
- Round 9 (279th overall): Patrick Winkel, C, Connecticut
- Round 10 (309th overall): Ernie Yake, SS, Gonzaga
