Minnesota Twins: Complete 2020 MLB Draft Recap

The 2020 Draft has come and gone. We look back at how it went for the Minnesota Twins and what comes next.

The Minnesota Twins surprised everyone with their picks this year, going with guys that fit the Derek Falvey and Thad Levine mold: college hitters with power, pitchers and hitters with a lot of upside, and analytic marvels.

This draft only had five rounds, and the Twins only had four picks due to the Josh Donaldson signing. They still got a good haul, and though we broke down scouting reports for each players as the picks were made, we give a brief breakdown again here.

Minnesota Twins First Round Pick: No. 27

Aaron Sabato, 1B, North Carolina: Sabato is a 6’2″ behemoth with excellent power and bat speed. His hit tool is improving as well, and despite his below average arm and speed, he could turn into a decent first baseman.

The one thing about Sabato is that he will need time to grow into a major leaguer in the minors. He won’t be rushed and should make the majors in about three years. This is a very solid pick for the Twins to start off the draft with. Grade: B+

Minnesota Twins Second Round Pick: No. 59

Alerick Soularie, OF, Tennessee: Soularie has two very good and high upside tools: his hit tool and power. There’s only one issue: there isn’t a spot for him to play. His arm and power doesn’t aren’t yet corner outfielder-worthy, and his speed means he won’t play centerfield.

He did practice at second in college and has an excellent baseball IQ, so he’ll eventually sign and his hit tool and power tool will likely play. There’s some solid upside with Soularie, but there are a lot of questions too.

Soularie was the 102nd ranked prospect on MLB.com and there were some high upside college arms I would have liked to see the Twins take instead. I trust Falvey and Levine, but this felt like a bit of a reach. Grade: C+

Minnesota Twins Fourth Round Pick: No. 128

Marco Raya, RHP, United South HS (TX): There’s a thought among some teams that most pitching prospects are the same: very good arm, hard to project due to injury risk and command questions. That being said, there’s a lot to like about Raya.

Raya is only 17 years old and has a 94 MPH heater that MOVES. His four pitch mix is well-developed and has even more upside. In addition, his pitches have some of the best spin rate numbers in the draft and he’s still just 17. The fourth round (and in most of the draft in general) is a crapshoot, so this much upside is excellent. Grade: A-

Minnesota Twins Fifth Round Pick: No. 158

Kala’i Rosario, OF, Waiakea HS (HI): The last pick of the draft for the Twins is a player with some top-level power as exhibited by his stop at the Fourth National Power Showcase from Chase Field:

Unfortunately, while his power is absolutely excellent and his analytic numbers are strong, his hit, run, and field tools are all below average. That said, this is decent value in the fifth round and one of the Twins guys, so he can’t be graded too harshly. Grade: B-.

Overall Minnesota Twins Draft Grade

None of the picks made by the Twins were bad picks, and I really trust Falvey and Levine in their evaluation of players. They appear to have hit on the first round pick, the second round pick was a reach that brought back a good player, and the two later round picks brought back analytical marvels.

The average of the picks made ended up being a B, but because of Falvey and Levine getting guys they can work with and hopefully build them into really good major leaguers, this grade goes up. The MLB Draft is impossible to predict, but I think the Twins did well. Grade: B+

Minnesota Twins Final Draft Notes

The NFL, NBA, and NHL drafts, have clearly defined talent that helps make picking the best players way easier to do. In the MLB draft, most of these players never play an inning in the MLB. With that in mind, the Twins did really well.

All four of the selections made were Twins guys with strengths based in analytics. The analytics background of the Twins means that these guys had characteristics that the team wants. Hopefully that leads to some really good minor league players.

What comes next for the Minnesota Twins

Baseball still doesn’t have a plan in place for returning, so hopefully the MLB and the MLBPA can iron that out and get us some type of baseball before July. Commissioner Rob Manfred is 100% sure baseball will return, so hopefully it does.

The next thing to look forward to is the all-out frenzy for players coming Sunday. All the draft eligible prospects are available for signing for $20,000 to whoever wants to sign them. There are some really good players available too.

The Twins are in a good position to sign some of those players because of Jim Pohlad and the Twins’ treatment of Minor leaguers, a well built organization, and a competitive team. This signing situation may end up working better for the Twins than a full forty round draft would have.

Bottom line: Despite no baseball in the immediate future, the positive Twins draft, optimism over signing prospects, and movement towards a fair compromise means this week has been a really positive one for Minnesota Twins fans.