Minnesota Twins: Day 2 and notable Day 3 draft selections
By Nate Palmer
10th Round: Regi Grace, RHP, Madison Central HS (MS)
With the final selection of Day 2 the Twins selected right-handed pitcher Regi Grace out of Madison Central High school in Mississippi. Grace appears to be a strong pitcher who has the ability to continue to add to his velocity as he matures. After spending a lot of time with a fastball in the low 90s, he as already been able to bump it up and has had his fastball clocked in the mid-90s. Grace is committed to play for Mississippi State so the Twins may have to wait until July to hear if the prep right-hander will join their system.
Notable Day 3 Selections
12th Round: Jon Olsen, RHP, UCLA
Jon Olsen is a 6’2″ right-handed pitcher who had his season cut short to only six starts due to injury. In those six games he tossed 28.2 innings with a 2.20 ERA and 28 strikeouts. His teammates would go on to meet the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers in the regional. Little did Olsen know that Minnesota was the home state of his next potential employer. In 2017, Olsen was an All Pac-12 selection.
22nd Round: Jacob Blank, RHP, Augustana College (IL)
Jacob Blank was a member of the Division II national champions Augustana College Vikings. He was named the Division II Pitcher of the Year IN 2017. That season, Blank pitched 69 innings and collected 86 strikeouts, a 0.78 ERA, and only 15 walks. This season Blank tossed 81.2 innings with a 1.98 ERA and an insane K/BB ratio of 100/11.
Next: Twins first round selection OF Trevor Larnach
Round 30: Seth Halverson, RHP, Heritage Christian Academy (MN)
Of course it is always great when we get to see “one of us” be selected by the Twins. Seth Halverson has some electric stuff as he has a fastball that can ramp up into the mid-90s. The only problem is that Halverson isn’t likely to sign with the Twins after being drafted this low and being ranked by MLB.com as the 162nd player. He will instead likely hold true to his commitment with the University of Missouri.