Next month, the Minnesota Twins will be on the clock with the third overall pick in the MLB Draft. The draft has not been kind to the Twins over the past decade with players such as Kohl Stewart, Tyler Jay and Keoni Cavaco not living up to their pre-draft billing. But the Twins have been able to turn that around in recent years including last year’s selection of Marek Houston.
According to Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com, the Twins announced that they are promoting Houston to Double-A Wichita. The 16th overall pick in last year’s draft, Houston hit .325/.406/.461 with five homers, 23 RBI and 24 stolen bases in 26 attempts at High-A Cedar Rapids and will be looking to continue that success after the promotion.
But Houston also represents an encouraging trend for the Twins, who seem to be getting more out of their first-round picks as they rebuild their organization after last year’s fire sale.
Twins’ first-round picks starting to hit with Marek Houston’s promotion
The Twins made a significant shift in their strategy last July, trading 11 players in total and 10 in the hours leading up to the trade deadline. While those deals brought new talent into the organization, it also meant there was less margin for error when it came to their first-round picks.
Royce Lewis, Brent Rooker and Trevor Larnach were solid selections at the beginning of Derek Falvey’s tenure in Minnesota but things went south with Cavaco in 2019, Aaron Sabato in 2020 and the combination of Chase Petty and Noah Miller in 2021. While Petty did get the Twins two seasons of Sonny Gray, he didn’t get them much else before things improved when they took Brooks Lee with the eighth overall pick in the 2022 draft.
Lee’s time in the majors has been up and down but things seem to be clicking with a .242/.297/.429 batter’s line and 12 homers and 44 RBI in 75 games this season. The move to third base also seems to fit Lee’s skill set as a defender and he could be joined by a wave of fellow first-round picks.
Walker Jenkins (fifth overall in 2023) could have been in the majors by now if it weren’t for a shoulder injury but the fifth overall pick of the 2023 draft ranked fifth on Baseball America’s preseason top 100 prospects list and is looking to build on his performance after hitting .256/.396/.389 with two homers, nine RBI and five stolen bases in 25 games at Triple-A St. Paul.
Kaelen Culpepper (21st overall in 2024) is also knocking on the door, hitting .273/.377/.498 with 14 homers, 43 RBI and 15 stolen bases before landing on the injured list and could be on his way to the majors by the end of the year despite recently landing on the injured list.
Even Houston’s draft classmate Riley Quick (36th overall in 2025) has gotten into the action, posting a 4.55 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 14 walks in 29.2 innings at High-A Cedar Rapids this season.
In all, the only miss the Twins have had since 2022 appears to be Charlee Soto (34th overall in 2023), who has battled elbow and wrist injuries to begin his professional career. But it’s off to a good start, especially if Houston can continue his success.
Known for his defense, Houston’s bat has played so far in the minors and could eventually join an infield with Lewis at first base, Culpepper at second base, Houston at shortstop and Lee at third base. This also assumes Luke Keaschall will change positions at some point, but an infield of first-round picks and another with Jenkins in the outfield could create a strong nucleus moving forward.
With Vahn Lackey projected to be taken with the third overall pick, the Twins could be adding more premium talent soon and Houston’s promotion is another positive step as Minnesota looks to build a perennial contender in the coming years.
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