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Minnesota Twins 2017 draft class has a star in Royce Lewis and great depth

By Nate Palmer

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 17: Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey of the Minnesota Twins holds up a jersey with number one overall draft pick Royce Lewis and agent Scott Boras at a press conference on June 17, 2017 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 17: Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey of the Minnesota Twins holds up a jersey with number one overall draft pick Royce Lewis and agent Scott Boras at a press conference on June 17, 2017 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Day 3 Picks

As we enter into the Twins third day picks we are going to highlight a few of the players who are having an impact somewhere with one of the Twins full-season minor league affiliates.

Round 12, Pick 1: RHP Bailey Ober

The Twins selected right-handed pitcher Baily Ober out of the College of Charleston and sent him to Elizabethton in 2017. There he started four games and went 2-2, tossed 28 innings, and had a 3.21 ERA, 0.96 WHIP,  and a very good 35/3 K/BB. To open 2018 Ober has pitched in five games for Cedar Rapids going 1-1 but struggling as he has a 7.84 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. Ober has continued to keep up a good K/BB rate as it currently sits at 17/3.

Round 19, Pick 1: SS Jordan Gore

Twins picked college shortstop Jordan Gore out of Coastal Carolina in the 19th round in 2017. After being drafted he made a stop in rookie ball Elizabethton and hit .389/.443/.500 and had a .943 OPS. That earned him a promotion to Single-A Cedar Rapids where he didn’t have quite the same early success where he slashed .221/.364/.411 and .775 OPS. The Twins chose to have Gore repeat Cedar Rapids to start 2018 where he is dominating once again, as he probably should as he is almost 2 years older than the average age of the league. Regardless of age, it is a good start as he hits .326/.402/.389 has four doubles and his 5/8 in stolen base attempts.

Round 23, Pick 1: RHP Jared Finkel

Right-hander Jared Finkel out of Iona had an impressive showing in 2017 in Elizabethton. Finkel pitched in 17 games going 2-1 and logged three saves and had a 2.18 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and a 29/7 K/BB. He pitched in 2018 with Cedar Rapids appearing in 9 games with a 2-2 record, one save, a 3.72 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 13/6 K/BB, over 19.1 innings.

Next: Examining the Twins upcoming rotation decisions

Round 38, Pick 1: C/1B Ben Rodriguez

In round 38 we find the Twins selecting with their third to last pick, Ben Rodriguez out of Pepperdine. Rodriguez played 2017 with the GCL Twins where he had a solid line of .290/.399/.457 and a .856 OPS with 27 runs, 11 doubles, 4 home runs, and 40 RBIs. Playing primarily as a first baseman he has moved to Cedar Rapids in 2018 and is slashing .226/.295/.355. He has added six doubles and two home runs.

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