MLB Draft 2019: A Minnesota Twins guide to the MLB Draft
The Minnesota Twins will select 13th in this year’s MLB Draft which will commence on Monday night. Here’s what Twins fans should know heading into the annual June entry draft.
Back in 2001, the Minnesota Twins were on the clock with the first pick of the MLB Draft. With the Twins needing a franchise cornerstone, many were surprised when the team selected hometown prep star Joe Mauer over Mark Prior.
At the time, Prior had gained national notoriety as a can’t miss pitching prospect while playing at the University of Southern California and Mauer was about to make a major decision between pursuing a pro baseball career and playing football at Florida State.
While it was an intriguing storyline to see which way the Twins and Mauer would go, it didn’t get too much conversation on a national level. As a result, nobody threw a major celebration when the 18-year old signed with the Twins and embarked on a 15-year career in Minnesota.
Fast forward to today and the landscape of the MLB Draft has changed. With the first round of the event televised since 2007, baseball fans have kept their eyes to the future to see who their favorite team could select as a potential franchise savior. In addition, social media and other avenues have made it easier to track a prospect’s journey from high school through the minor leagues and to the major leagues.
The beginning of that journey begins on Monday with the first round of the MLB Draft. The Twins’ night will start with the 13th pick overall and there are several things to know as the Twins enter this year’s draft.
A look at this year’s draft class
The Twins were in the enviable position (minus the 100-loss season the year before) of having the top pick in the draft in 2017. With that pick, the Twins selected Royce Lewis and while he hasn’t stepped up to the plate at Target Field, it’s the kind of pick that can get a franchise excited about the future.
This year, the Baltimore Orioles will have that chance to land a franchise player with the top overall pick and there’s a good chance they’ll go with Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman, who would be the first catcher to be selected #1 overall (not counting Bryce Harper who was drafted as an outfielder after playing at catcher during his prep career) since Mauer in 2001.
After Rutschman, the draft is loaded with impact position players with nine of the top 10 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospect List playing in the field with TCU left-hander Nick Lodolo being the lone exception.
Currently, the Twins have plenty of talent in their minor league system and Twins.com beat writer Do-Hyong Park suggests that the team could select the best player available when they come up on the clock.
A quick history of the 13th overall pick
Sometimes a quick glance of who goes at a certain pick can give you an idea of what a team can get with that selection in that year’s draft. It’s a little trickier than that in the MLB Draft as variables such as signing pool money and contract demands can cause a top prospect to fall along with overall health and performance.
For this year, Twins fans may cringe to see what other teams have gotten with the 13th overall pick in recent drafts. Although there are some gems such as shortstop Trea Turner and pitcher Chris Sale, a lot of the players that were selected 13th overall aren’t household names.
Hunter Renfroe is another familiar name that was selected 13th by the San Diego Padres in 2013 and Brandon Nimmo has been a top prospect in the New York Mets system after being selected by the team in 2012. Dig even deeper and you could wind up with what the Cleveland Indians got in 1991 when they selected outfielder Manny Ramirez.
The last time the Twins selected 13th overall was back in 1995 when they selected Oklahoma left-hander Mark Redman. While Redman was a solid contributor at the beginning of the Twins’ renaissance in the early 2000s, the Twins are more than likely looking to tap into the strong position player class with few elite college arms available in this year’s class.
Who could the Twins take in the first round?
As mentioned before, the Twins would like to take the best player available and work them into their system. With the class shaping up with many impact position players as opposed to pitchers, the team will likely look to add to their everyday lineup with plenty of options to choose from.
MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo believes that one option could be Baylor catcher Shea Langeliers, who was one of the top prospects in the class before breaking his hamate bone this spring. Despite the injury, Langeliers is one of the top defensive catchers in the class while also having a gaudy stat line at the plate hitting .315 with 10 HRs and 42 RBI in just 43 games for the Bears in 2019.
Another option according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis is high school third baseman Keoni Cavaco. Cavaco has been a fast riser during the draft process and according to Callis, “no prospect has more helium” than the California prep star at the moment.
Looking at the MLB’s Top 100 list, the Twins could also select UNLV shortstop Bryson Stott or look for depth on the mound by selecting West Virginia righty Alek Manoah, San Jacinto (Texas) JC right-hander Jackson Rutledge or even Florida high schooler Matthew Allan.
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Either way, the MLB Draft is a crapshoot and time will tell if the Twins can add another impact player to their system to help improve their already bright future.