The Minnesota Twins have a golden opportunity next week as they can add a premium talent to their organization during the MLB Draft. Armed with the third overall pick, the Twins could get their choice of one of the top prospects in this class, but concerns were raised when UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky didn’t meet with the team during last month’s MLB Scouting Combine.
That development may have signaled the Twins would go a different direction if high school shortstop Grady Emerson and Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey are off the board. But The Athletic’s Keith Law may have nixed those worries by slating Cholowsky to the Twins in his latest mock draft.
“The Twins are in the catbird seat here,” Law wrote. “If you see the top of the draft as a three-man race, the Twins are guaranteed to get one of them. If Cholowsky does get here, they’ll take him. If he doesn’t, then things open up, and they could take model darling Drew Burress or possibly take Jackson Flora.”
Law’s writeup comes with some caveats, as he listed the Twins taking Jacob Gonzalez over Walker Jenkins in his final 2023 mock draft. But with the key words being “If Cholowsky does get here, they’ll take him,” it means the Twins may not be overthinking the No. 3 overall pick as much as some feared.
Twins should jump at the chance to take Roch Cholowski in MLB Draft
Cholowsky entered the year as the consensus No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft after hitting .353/.480/.710 with 23 homers, 74 RBI and seven stolen bases on eight attempts for UCLA during the 2025 season. But this year didn’t go as well, hitting .320/.452/.636 with 21 homers, 60 RBI and one stolen base.
With his walk rate dropping and his strikeout rate increasing, it opened the door for Emerson and Lackey to overtake the top two spots. But it could be a blessing in disguise for the Twins if he’s available with the third overall pick.
Chowlowsky may not have the ceiling that Emerson and Lackey have, but he has a solid floor that is led by his defense, which helped him be voted as the best defender in this year’s class according to MLB.com. With 60 grades in hitting and power, some have also compared him to former Colorado Rockies All-Star Troy Tulowitzki.
Skeptics may say the Twins have too many shortstops in the organization with 2024 first-round pick Kaelen Culpepper and 2025 first-round pick Marek Houston making their way to the majors in the coming years. But many organizations will take shortstops due to their athleticism, allowing them to play elsewhere on the diamond.
The Twins have already started utilizing this trend by moving Brooks Lee to third base and Royce Lewis to first base. It could also leave Culpepper moving to second base long-term although it’s unclear what it would mean to Houston.
If anything, the Twins should be running to the podium if Cholowsky is available when they’re on the clock, and it could give them another important cornerstone as Minnesota continues its rebuild.
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