Harrison looks like a potential big-time slugger. Scouting sites report that he once hit a 504 foot home run in a high school tournament game at Tropicana Field. At 6’2″ and 215 pounds, Harrison may outgrow third base, but his power potential makes him a legitimate option as a first baseman. Not everyone is sold on Harrison’s hitting ability, but some scouts  have compared him to Bryce Harper. The Twins have a potential steal if that comparison ends up being valid.

Boyd is another big guy, 6’2″ and 235 pounds. He played his high school games at Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers, FL, right down the road from the Twins’ spring training facility. If Boyd signs with the Twins, he’ll spend at least part of his minor league career in his hometown. This selection seems the exact opposite of the Twins’ usual draft strategy. Instead of selecting a polished college arm who uses control and finesse to hide a lack of speed, the Twins finally picked a raw power pitcher with a 95 mph fastball.

According to MLB.com, Michael may not project as a shotrstop long term, as his range has been questioned, and he doesn’t have a cannon arm. A move to second base may be in his future. Michael may have gone higher in the draft if not for an ankle injury that cost him part of his 2011 season.

This selection discontinues the recent trend in which the Twins spend their top picks on college pitchers, like Kyle Gibson and Alex Wimmers. One intriguing pitcher who was still on the board was TCU lefty Matt Purke, who many mock drafts had projected as a top 10 pick. We’ll see if they draft some college arms with their supplemental selections at #50 and #55.

There was some speculation that the Twins would pick Hawaii 2B Kolten Wong in the draft. The speculation was based largely on the fact that the Twins spend a 16th pick on him a few years ago, before he opted to go to college instead. Perhaps they would have taken Wong again, but they never got the chance. Wong went to the Cardinals with pick #22.

Since this is the first 2011 mock draft it seems appropriate to set the stage with respect to the AL Central teams.

This year the Minnesota Twins have the 30th pick in the first round. That, of course, means they will make their selection well after the Royals and Indians who pick at 5th and 8th respectively. The Detroit Tigers do not have a first round selection (19th) since they signed Type-A free agent Victor Martinez. Likewise, the Chicago White Sox lost their first round pick (23rd overall) when they signed Type-A free agent Adam Dunn.

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