Best. Player. Available.
That’s the way it appears Twins scouts and front office leaders – Chief Baseball officer Derek Falvey and General Manager Thad Levine – will approach the MLB Draft on Monday.
The Twins own the 13th overall selection and it’s a total crapshoot who they might take.
“I just think you take the best possible player at the end of the day,” says Twins Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey. “We haven’t ruled out – because we’ve taken a college bat and we’ve taken a high school bat so far – so we wouldn’t rely on any type of profile, even in the early rounds.”
Under Falvey and General Manager Thad Levine, the Twins drafted Oregon State outfielder Trevor Larnach in the first round last year, and prep shortstop Royce Lewis with the No. 1 overall pick in 2017.
MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis updated his mock on Friday and has the Twins picking California high school third baseman Keoni Cavaco, saying “no first-rounder has more helium at the moment than Cavaco.”
Say what?
Basically, Cavaco has gone from a projected second-round pick to a surefire first rounder: “one of the best power/speed combinations in the 2019 prep class and showed the potential for plus tools across the board,” writes Callis. “He since has wowed teams with a series of private workouts, boosting his stock even higher.”
Another name being linked to the Twins by MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo is Baylor catcher Shea Langeliers.
“The Twins like (high school OF Corbin) Carroll, but with him off the board, they could set their sights on Langeliers, a terrific defensive catcher who has shaken off a hamate injury to come on with the bat of late this spring,” writes Mayo. “He also homered to open up the Big 12 tournament.”
Only a few mock drafts have the Twins taking a pitcher in the first round. One of them is Brian Zakowski at PerfectGame.org. He has the Twins going with Kentucky lefty Zack Thompson.
“The Twins are seemingly known to prefer college pitching, and in this projection they get one of the best in the country in Thompson, who some even may prefer to the rest of the pitching class in 2019,” writes Zakowski.
Thompson is widely regarded as a top-four pitcher in the draft, and at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, he features a fastball that can touch 96 mph to go along with a slider, curveball and changeup.
Here some of the 13th picks who’ve gone on to have solid careers in the big leagues.
- 2014 – Trea Turner, SS, Nationals
- 2013 – Hunter Renfroe, RF, Padres
- 2010 – Chris Sale, LHP, White Sox
- 2003 – Aaron Hill, SS, Blue Jays
- 1994 – Paul Konerko, C, Dodgers
- 1991 – Manny Ramirez, 3B, Indians
If the Twins can find a player the caliber of Konerko, who went on to star at first base for the White Sox, or Ramirez, who hit 555 homers, they’ll be sitting pretty.
Round 1 of the MLB Draft begins at 6 p.m. Monday, June 3.
