The 2025 MLB Draft is this weekend, and the expectation is that the Minnesota Twins will take a college bat who can rise through the system quickly and play multiple positions at the Major League level. Wake Forest shortstop Marek Houston has been a popular choice for the Twins, as he has the contact-oriented approach the team has leaned toward in recent drafts.
In one of his final 2025 mock drafts for ESPN, Kiley McDaniel has the Twins continuing that trend with the selection of Tennessee shortstop Gavin Kilen. In breaking down the selection, McDaniel explains that Kilen checks all the boxes that the team's past first-round picks have.
"Minnesota likes this sort of player, a medium-tools, medium-framed college infielder with a strong performance record (Luke Keaschall, Brooks Lee, Kyle DeBarge, Tanner Schobel, Kaelen Culpepper just in the top three rounds of the past three drafts)."
Where Kilen strays from Houston is that there is a little more hope that his power will develop as he gets stronger. In his last season with Tennessee, Kilen had 15 home runs. That said, Houston also had 15 home runs with Wake Forest this past collegiate season. Houston, in McDaniel's mock, was projected to land with the Milwaukee Brewers, four spots behind the Twins in the first round.
Insider mock draft shows Twins avoiding CWS phenom for safer option
Kilen would be a safe pick for the Twins, and honestly, that should be the expectation. However, McDaniel has the Twins passing on the biggest story from the College World Series. Gage Wood gained fanfare when he fanned 19 hitters while tossing a no-hitter for Arkansas during the College World Series. Wood was taken by the Kansas City Royals at No. 23 in McDaniel's mock draft.
Wood is dealing with a shoulder issue that has tarnished some of the shine on his prospect profile, and there's also a belief that his future may be in the bullpen instead of a starting rotation. That would be the reason why most recent mock drafts have him falling toward the later selections of the first round. Still, picking at No. 16, Wood may still be a worthwhile gamble for the Twins.