Article: Minnesota Twins Day 2 Draft Picks (Rounds 3-10)

[jokin]

Well seeing as his 10th round pick was already taken by Houston in the 6th, I can see why many would be bummed if it turned out to be the pick!

 

Not to be deterred, the Twins go in the 10th round with Randy LeBlanc, you won't believe how he projects....

 

Because LeBlanc has yet to establish an average second pitch, many scouts think he'll profile best as a reliever -- a role in which he could generate additional fastball velocity

 

Another guy with his TJ already out of the way, an "unexploited market inefficiency"?

[boney]

Curtis is pitching on ESPN2 right now.

[drivlikejehu]

Not to be deterred, the Twins go in the 10th round with Randy LeBlanc, you won't believe how he projects....

 

 

 

Another guy with his TJ already out of the way, an "unexploited market inefficiency"?

 

Well at least you can't say they will lack depth in low-A middle relievers.

[panolo]

Curtis is pitching on ESPN2 right now.

 

How's he look?

[Brandon]

8 out of the first 10 are pitchers and we will likely have the deepest bullpen of all time. I thought we had a lot of depth now. Sheeesh.

 

The thing I like so far is we will likely have 2-4 players in the majors from this group of players. The 2012 draft is similar in that Buxton and Barrios are likely to make it and there are 6 or 7 other draft picks that are still projectable.

 

A successful draft is when 2 players from that draft make it to the majors.

[drivlikejehu]

8 out of the first 10 are pitchers and we will likely have the deepest bullpen of all time. I thought we had a lot of depth now. Sheeesh.

 

The thing I like so far is we will likely have 2-4 players in the majors from this group of players. The 2012 draft is similar in that Buxton and Barrios are likely to make it and there are 6 or 7 other draft picks that are still projectable.

 

A successful draft is when 2 players from that draft make it to the majors.

 

That's not a successful draft. If two guys get a quick call up and do nothing, that's not success. If one player is a superstar, that is a success. It's all about production. The Twins have drafted poorly for much of the last decade.

[boney]

How's he look?

 

 

I'm certainly no expert, but he looked okay. Fastball (looked straight) 91-95 and a medium to big slow breaker (controlled it well) 75-79. I don't believe he got any Ks but the home fans thought he was getting squeezed, shocking I'm sure .

[Mike Sixel]

What are they thinking? I am baffled by this draft. A bunch of relief pitchers. Mind boggling.

[drock2190]

Sounds like Gordon will go to Elizabethton.

[twinsin17]

Tony Cingrani was a college reliever picked in the 3rd round of the 2011 draft out of Rice. His resume was pretty unimpressive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Cingrani) until a breakout season as the team's closer his senior year. He signed quick and transitioned to a starter right away in 2011. Cincy watched his workload closely and he averaged less than 4 innings/start in 13 dominating rookie league starts that year. In 2012 he started the year all the way up in A+ ball did so well he progressed to AA and then earned a late season taste of the big show. In 2013 he started in AAA and earned his full time ticket to the bigs after just 6 starts. For all the haters out there this is proof it can happen.

[gunnarthor]

What are they thinking? I am baffled by this draft. A bunch of relief pitchers. Mind boggling.

 

Well, they also got the best position player in the draft. That's pretty good.

 

I understand your frustration. I liked a few of the picks - Burdi I actually hoped would be there at 46. And I'm ok with Cederoth, Curtiss (solid pick) and Steele. I figure in a few years the Twins will have a rotation built around Hughes, Gibson, Meyer, Nolasco, May and a few others. That has the makings of a solid rotation. And it looks like they are trying to build a Royals like bullpen behind that. I'm ok with that.

 

Some of the relievers will be given a shot to start. That seems to frustrate people for some reason. Let them try it. I'm not sure if it'll work but I understand the logic of it. Frankly, I miss the old Radcliff drafts where he targeted "soft tossing control" pitchers. Johnson is going after flamethrowers. That's where we are.

 

Incidentally, I don't think this draft is that rare. Just last year, Cleveland drafted Frazier first and then didn't draft a position player until the 10th round. Maybe the Twins take a few risky sign picks tomorrow. In any event, the Twins didn't mess up the most important pick and got Gordon.

[tobi0040]

Well, they also got the best position player in the draft. That's pretty good.

 

I understand your frustration. I liked a few of the picks - Burdi I actually hoped would be there at 46. And I'm ok with Cederoth, Curtiss (solid pick) and Steele. I figure in a few years the Twins will have a rotation built around Hughes, Gibson, Meyer, Nolasco, May and a few others. That has the makings of a solid rotation. And it looks like they are trying to build a Royals like bullpen behind that. I'm ok with that.

 

Some of the relievers will be given a shot to start. That seems to frustrate people for some reason. Let them try it. I'm not sure if it'll work but I understand the logic of it. Frankly, I miss the old Radcliff drafts where he targeted "soft tossing control" pitchers. Johnson is going after flamethrowers. That's where we are.

 

Incidentally, I don't think this draft is that rare. Just last year, Cleveland drafted Frazier first and then didn't draft a position player until the 10th round. Maybe the Twins take a few risky sign picks tomorrow. In any event, the Twins didn't mess up the most important pick and got Gordon.

 

Cedereth last year 51 IP, 2.28 ERA, 55 K, .205 BA against. 4.9 BB/9

Cedereth career 213 IP, 3.76 ERA, 226 K, 5.24 BB / 9 (terrible 6.42 as a freshman)

 

Beede over three years 271 IP, 3.22 ERA, 277 K, 4.6 BB / 9

[DocBauer]

I don't hate this draft.

 

Just about every guy picked 3-10, taken individually, seem to be a decent pick. Clay might have been a round early, though it appears there are projectables there the Twins like. And Cutura is rather off the charts. Literally it seems. But there must be something there the Twins picked up on. He's a real mystery and I'd love to know more about him and the thoughts behind his pick in the 7th.

 

Again, I don't hate this draft. But it does confuse me. Love drafting live arms with real velocity to work with. And quality relievers are absolutely essential, just like talent and depth at any position. No problem there, no arguement, no hate. But this many relievers in 9 total picks? Just find it hard to fathom there wasn't a single quality SP prospect or position player available in any of these spots worth picking.

 

I like Burdi a lot, and it's obvious the Twins do as well. They certainly have a long history scouting him. I also like Cederoth as a hard velocity guy late in the pen. If he and Burdi can get hold of even a semi-decent off speed offering to go along with their speed and sliders, for a look-see pitch if nothing else, they might form a great potential late game duo. Even if Clay was a bit early, I also don't hate this pick. A LHRP in the 90's, with a couple projectable pitches, could also prove really valuable.

 

The Twins and their scouts obviously know infinitely more than I possibly could. Just really wonder what it is they DO see and project.

[cmb0252]

People can quote whatever stat or point to whatever out liner of a player to make themselves feel better about this draft but that doesn't change this was a weak draft. They could have magically found the formula to convert college RPers into successful big leaguers but I doubt it. No matter how much you "like" this draft the odds are stacked against us.

[nicksaviking]

And his options were..........?????

 

What do you mean? He put Kubel in the OF and Santana at DH. Kubel needed the exercise I guess? Why else would Kubel possibly be in the field and Santana DH? There were multiple ways to avoid this.

[nicksaviking]

I'm weary of this draft, but if the Twins give Cederoth, Steele and Curtiss a chance to start, I'll probably be pleased. And I think they will. Maybe Reed too. I wouldn't be surprised if Sam also gets a shot, though he doesn't seem to be all that electric.

[Shane Wahl]

5 or 6 good picks here. Still a bit weird, though.

[jokin]

That's not a successful draft. If two guys get a quick call up and do nothing, that's not success. If one player is a superstar, that is a success. It's all about production. The Twins have drafted poorly for much of the last decade.

 

I was amused by Phil Miller's column yesterday, where he mentioned what a hero Swarzak was for pitching 2.1 innings against the Brewers on Thursday, in the face of an allegedly fatigued bullpen and at "only" 12 pitchers on the roster, "already short one arm". A hero for doing his job?, and a fairly simple assignment, at that.

 

I'm thinking the "dream scenario" for Gardy is like the one earlier this year when we actually went to FOURTEEN pitchers for a game or two....which maybe explains some of today's weirdness. I don't know what Brandon was thinking, but the logic for the first 2 picks is defensible, while the overall "strategy" is most certainly not. Or are they planning on saving huge money from these 3-10 picks and going after some hard-to-sign guys with big dollar offers tomorrow?

[Kwak]

I echo all of the posters who are disappointed with the draft. When Burdi was selected in the 2nd round, I thought it the equivalent of drafting a kicker. I never guessed that they would draft the rest of the "special team". Ryan's quote: "...lots of LHP pitching", when he was asked about the draft. Apparently I can add "guys who can hit" to his statement.

[Sweetwater]

The guys they drafted have really good stuff and size for the most part. If a couple can become starters, we may have something special.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

Burdi was lights-out last night. TV had his fastball at 96-99. Twins had scouts there and had him 96-100. His slider was 88 and filthy. He throws it for strikes.

 

I have additional scouting notes on Cutura and LeBlanc to add later this morning and, as I've added already, the Twins and Murphy appear to have reached a deal already.

[SarasotaBill]

I believe the Twins followed BAA strategy.

Pitchers break down (Tottle, Bashore, Wimmers).

You never have enough pitchers.

Twins went after high upside, high risk rather than soft tossing SPs.

For the most part, the Twins got value (according to BA and other rankings).

[halfchest]

Confused by the binge on relief pitchers but in no way will I pretend I follow college/prep ball close enough to know what were better options there. Just seems a little odd that they didn't diversify a bit. This is the 2nd or 3rd year we've been going after the hard throwing relievers and have yet to see much success from it unless I'm missing something. I guess the Twins maybe wanted to buy more lottery tickets. I saw the Cingrani comp but are there any others that should make me feel better about this draft?

 

Either way, love the Gordon and Burdi pick. A bit confused by the others. Would have liked to see some prep starters in there. Hoping that some are right that the Twins plan is to save some coin on these college relievers and go after some tough signs with the extra money today.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

It hasn't been said to me directly, but I had heard previously that the Twins were less than impressed with this draft class. I can only assume that meant they weren't thrilled with the quality of players that were on the board and instead went with quick-sign guys. That might have been why they were on the top of the board. Let's get them in and see what we have.

 

There's probably more to it than that, but I hope the point is clear.

[diehardtwinsfan]

That's what I don't understand. This was considered to be a pretty deep draft (particularly in HS pitching). I don't have a problem with doing the quick sign/cheap sign guys if they had grabbed a high ceiling tough sign highschool pitcher, but thus far, I'm not seeing that.

[drivlikejehu]

The Twins are a poorly run organization. Who knows what kind of mistakes and bad processes lead to things like this.

[tobi0040]

Burdi was lights-out last night. TV had his fastball at 96-99. Twins had scouts there and had him 96-100. His slider was 88 and filthy. He throws it for strikes.

 

I have additional scouting notes on Cutura and LeBlanc to add later this morning and, as I've added already, the Twins and Murphy appear to have reached a deal already.

 

Jeremy, have you heard definitively whether we want burdi in the pen or a a starter?

[Mike Sixel]

Can't wait for all these college guys to go play against high schoolers. ....

[jokin]

Can't wait for all these college guys to go play against high schoolers. ....

 

"Affiliates!"

[halfchest]

The Twins are a poorly run organization. Who knows what kind of mistakes and bad processes lead to things like this.

 

While I'm not excited or more so a bit confused by this draft it's pretty hard to call a team with the best farm system in baseball poorly run. Yes it's been a few rough years overall but we're seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Now if over the next 2-3 years our great farm system hasn't brought us above being a .500 team like the royals great farm system then I will agree.