As a rebuilding team on a right-sized budget, the Minnesota Twins need to nail the third overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. While the draft is still over a month away, as it will take place July 11 and 12 during All-Star Weekend in Philadelphia, the Twins’ choice may already be obvious as Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey begins his run through the NCAA Tournament.
The Yellow Jackets opened the tourney on Friday and Lackey wasted little time making an impact, crushing a 456-foot home run in the third inning of a 22-5 victory over University of Illinois Chicago. While unloading on the Missouri Valley Conference Champions may not sound impressive to those who don’t follow college baseball, Lackey’s performance has been all season long and it could help him land in Minnesota when the Twins are on the clock next month.
Twins should be running to the podium to select Vahn Lackey in the 2026 MLB Draft
Lackey has been a favorite to go to the Twins in recent mock drafts. MLB Pipeline had the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder going third overall in their mock draft published by Jim Callis on May 8 and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel agreed in his latest mock draft published on Friday, calling Lackey “the most likely outcome” and listing Vahn as the third player in “a three-player top tier.”
Judging by his performance, it’s hard to disagree. Lackey has been raking in his third season with the Yellow Jackets, hitting .410/.527/.780 with 18 homers, 75 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 205 at-bats. He also has more walks (47) than strikeouts (35) this season and while he also has spent time at third base with 13 games this season, the Twins could probably use him to enhance their organizational depth at catcher.
Ryan Jeffers is currently on the injured list with a hamate injury and while Lackey probably wouldn’t jump right from college to the major leagues, he could be Jeffers’ long-term replacement if he is traded ahead of this year’s deadline or leaves in free agency next winter.
Victor Caratini is also signed through next season at a cost of $7 million, but has struggled mightily at the plate, hitting .183/.281/.238 with two homers and 18 RBI in 126 at-bats.
The Twins also added Eduardo Tait at last year’s trade deadline, but MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 prospect in the organization isn’t expected to make his major league debut until 2028.
With a clear need, there is a scenario where the Twins could select Vahn and fast track him to the majors. While that was almost unthinkable a few years ago, 2024 first-round pick Kaelen Culpepper is already pushing for his major league callup less than two years after he was drafted and 2023 first-round pick Walker Jenkins could be crossing the river some point this season when he recovers from a shoulder injury.
Vahn isn’t the only prospect the Twins could be interested in. UCLA shortstop Roch Colowsky is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick to the Chicago White Sox but high school shortstop Grady Emerson could be a wild card, either going to Chicago at the top of the draft or be selected by the Tampa Bay Rays at No. 2.
But if things go as expected, Lackey could be the pick and help the Twins shore up one of their biggest weaknesses this summer.
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