Article: Official Twins Daily Day Two Draft Thread

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

I would say the lack of hitters in the low minors might share some causal relationship with this. 

 

Perhaps, but that 2012 draft netted Walker and Buxton.  They didn't do the big RP thing in 2013.  They did it a bit more last year.  Not quite sure I'm ready to label those drafts as failures.  There are some decent bats down there, just nothing people are excited about.  I get that.  But the Twins drafts the last few seasons have been pretty good in terms of the results they produced.  I'm really not going to get down on them there.  You want to see bad drafts, go look at some of those mid-2000s drafts. 

[James]

 

ABW is athletic and can run a bit. This guy is all raw power or nothing. Do they think they have enough money for him to sign? 

My guess is that they had an idea of how much it would take to sign Kendrick before they picked him.  He's committed to Southeast Louisiana.  If he were committed to a college with a little higher profile, I might be a little more concerned.  I have a feeling the Twins will be able to sign him.

[d-mac]

 

I saw power and contact issues and thought ABW.  Probably true, though from what I understand, ABW isn't going to light the world on fire defensively...  Perhaps this is Vargas part 2...  Who knows. 

 

I'm guessing they have money to sign.  Those senior signs have very little negotiating power.  I suspect Jay goes under slot.  Cody might as well.  That gives them room to pony up a bit more for some of the kids. 

 

Vargas always hit for decent average in the minors and didn't strike out a ton until the Twins decided to have him skip AAA.

 

I bet they have to go over slot though with Blankenhorn and Cabbage by quite a bit, though. And I like them a lot, so I hope signing them is a priority over* a one tool wonder. 

[drivlikejehu]

A draft is generally good when players actually produce in the Majors. Doing well in the minors is nice but that is just a stepping stone to what counts.

 

The Twins haven't gotten production from their recent draftees, and until they do, those picks cannot be labeled as a success... TBD at best. 

Edited June 9, 2015 by drivlikejehu

[Hrbowski]

Gio Brusa would be a nice pick.

[DaveW]

Kendrick is a nice pick up, boom or bust guy, best raw power and you get him in the 8th round? If he makes it great! If not, no worries 8th round guys rarely work out anyways.

 

All of the picks so far seem to be high upside guys. Love it.

[jokin]

Sounds like ABW part two.

As a TTO Kind at the plate, yes, but ABW seems to be far more athletic. ABW will steal some bases and play an accpetable corner OF spot, even the "slimmed down" version of this kid looks pretty roly-poly.

[gunnarthor]

Callis and Mayo have no idea who this guy (Lamount Wade) is

Edited June 9, 2015 by gunnarthor

[Willihammer]

Twins get Robinson and Lemonte from U of MD.

 

Lemonte a junior, hit for a good average but little pop. LH bat again.

[OleJC]

Callis and Mayo may not, but anyone who saw the Big Ten tourney or UCLA Regional does. I love the Wade pick. Leadoff hitter, very good arm, good defender. Seems to me like another toolsy CF like we've gotten the past few years (Granite, Murphy, English, Kanzler, etc.)

[d-mac]

 

Perhaps, but that 2012 draft netted Walker and Buxton.  They didn't do the big RP thing in 2013.  They did it a bit more last year.  Not quite sure I'm ready to label those drafts as failures.  There are some decent bats down there, just nothing people are excited about.  I get that.  But the Twins drafts the last few seasons have been pretty good in terms of the results they produced.  I'm really not going to get down on them there.  You want to see bad drafts, go look at some of those mid-2000s drafts. 

 

I'm not really big on ABW as a prospect. He just doesn't make enough contact or draw walks to be anything other than a negative WAR player. Buxton and Berrios I think are going to be great from that draft. All the RP pitchers from 2012 got hurt... which kinda defeated the "safe and quick path to the majors" reason why teams draft RP's.

 

Speaking of bad drafts... 2010 and '11. Woof. Rosario and maybe Harrison. 2013 looks pretty bad this point too. 

[DaveW]

Wade info:

 

2015 Stats

AB: 158      Slash Line: .335 / ..453 / 468       HR: 4       RBI: 32        SB: 7        K-Rate: 9%

Pros: plus athlete, complete defender, gets on base, good speed, doesn’t strike out, squares everything up

Cons: won’t hit many home runs

17418291149_42e987357e_zVittas: Wade is everything you want in a top of the order hitter. He gets on base in a variety of ways, makes consistent solid contact and is a threat on the bases. He walked 10 more times than he struck out this year (20 K, 30 BB) and drove in a remarkable 32 runs in 42 games as a leadoff hitter. After originally being tagged as second half of the draft guy, Wade’s stock is rising because of his terrific run in the NCAA Tournament. He made three run-saving plays in the Regionals, showing off his remarkable athleticism and cannon for an arm.

MLB Comp: Adam Eaton

 

[drivlikejehu]

Between going to Maryland and playing in the Cape Cod League in 2014, it's interesting they haven't heard of him, but there are a ton of players out there and Wade never hit much until this year.

[jokin]

So is Mark Burdi and JT Chargois I might add.

 

I eagerly look forward to the day that one of these college RPs is fully healthy and established in a late-inning role before age 25. Or becomes a Cardinal-type dominant starter.

 

 

Is this Mark you speak of related to Nick?

[d-mac]

 

Twins get Robinson and Lemonte from U of MD.

 

Lemonte a junior, hit for a good average but little pop. LH bat again.

 

I think Kyle Cody is the only right handed person drafted by the Twins. Must be overcompensating for something. Doesn't make a ton of sense to me since TF penalizes LH power and rewards RH pull power. I would imagine in that case lefty flyball pitchers would be at a bit of a disadvantage too.

[DaveW]

 

 

 2013 looks pretty bad this point too. 

Way too early to say that, Stewart is still a top prospect and only 20 years old, his results haven't been out of this world but they haven't been Shooter Hunt catastrophic either. It was always known that he would be a long term project, great raw talent but best case scenario when he was drafted was saying he would be ready at earliest for 2018.

 

Gonsalves however has been a stud from that draft class. Peterson has been an intriguing arm out of the pen.

 

 

[d-mac]

 

Callis and Mayo may not, but anyone who saw the Big Ten tourney or UCLA Regional does. I love the Wade pick. Leadoff hitter, very good arm, good defender. Seems to me like another toolsy CF like we've gotten the past few years (Granite, Murphy, English, Kanzler, etc.)

 

He can draw walks and get on base... I like it. Although being a junior, i bet he'd be a candidate to go back for his senior season, a la James Ramsey, L.J. Mazilli, and Dustin DeMuth all did. I think they were all 9th round picks too. 

[drjim]

 

Dave's straw man game is strong.

 

That debate was quite impressive - examples cited that had nothing to do with the main point against criticisms based on assumptions pulled from thin air.

[d-mac]

 

Wade info:

 

2015 Stats

AB: 158      Slash Line: .335 / ..453 / 468       HR: 4       RBI: 32        SB: 7        K-Rate: 9%

Pros: plus athlete, complete defender, gets on base, good speed, doesn’t strike out, squares everything up

Cons: won’t hit many home runs

17418291149_42e987357e_zVittas: Wade is everything you want in a top of the order hitter. He gets on base in a variety of ways, makes consistent solid contact and is a threat on the bases. He walked 10 more times than he struck out this year (20 K, 30 BB) and drove in a remarkable 32 runs in 42 games as a leadoff hitter. After originally being tagged as second half of the draft guy, Wade’s stock is rising because of his terrific run in the NCAA Tournament. He made three run-saving plays in the Regionals, showing off his remarkable athleticism and cannon for an arm.

MLB Comp: Adam Eaton

 

That's a good comp for a ninth rounder.

[drjim]

 

Way too early to say that, Stewart is still a top prospect and only 20 years old, his results haven't been out of this world but they haven't been Shooter Hunt catastrophic either. It was always known that he would be a long term project, great raw talent but best case scenario when he was drafted was saying he would be ready at earliest for 2018.

 

Gonsalves however has been a stud from that draft class. Peterson has been an intriguing arm out of the pen.

 

8 years is about right before you can know for sure about a draft.

[d-mac]

 

Way too early to say that, Stewart is still a top prospect and only 20 years old, his results haven't been out of this world but they haven't been Shooter Hunt catastrophic either. It was always known that he would be a long term project, great raw talent but best case scenario when he was drafted was saying he would be ready at earliest for 2018.

 

Gonsalves however has been a stud from that draft class. Peterson has been an intriguing arm out of the pen.

 

Stewart doesn't miss bats. He's more BJ Hermsen than Hunt. Maybe they thought he had better breaking pitches than he actually did when they drafted him. I thought he was great pick at the time and I'm certainly rooting for him, but I've basically written him off as a prospect at this point. I wrote Kepler off two years ago, and he's all but turned himself back into a prospect... so stranger thing have happened before.

 

Gonsalves has been fantastic, but he's just too far away. Peteron is old for his level and a reliever. So not too much to get excited about there yet. 

[nicksaviking]

8 years is about right before you can know for sure about a draft.

I'd caution anyone against looking at the Twins 2008 draft.

 

Though I guess they did pretty well with George Springer and Kolten Wong.

Edited June 9, 2015 by nicksaviking

[DaveW]

 

8 years is about right before you can know for sure about a draft.

I would say 5-6 years you can see how its going to work out. 2010 is looking pretty rough, however if Rosario reaches his potential and becomes a solid every day LF with great defense and a pretty good bat (15HR 20SB) that helps that class out a lot. Guys like Dean, Achter and even Wimmers could be productive for a season or two as well and at least are decent org filler for the time being. Niko is still very much a project jury is still out on him, which shows that yeah, 8 years is probably about right.

[drjim]

 

I'd caution anyone against looking at the Twins 2008 draft.

Though I guess they did pretty well with Geirge Springer and Kolten Wong.

 

If you get a major leaguer and a piece for an important trade (Ladendorf) I can imagine much worst drafts. But man, completely whiffing 27 and 31 is rough.

[nytwinsfan]

 

beat ya to it in post #109

Sorry, missed it.

[bird]

 

Me too. This team needs to start seeing some results at the MLB level soon though. So many power armed relievers in the past four drafts and still nothing.

 

 

A function of some horribly bad injury luck. Corey Williams, Luke Bard, JT Chargois, Mason Melotakis, Yorman Landa, Randy Rosario...

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

I eagerly look forward to the day that one of these college RPs is fully healthy and established in a late-inning role before age 25. Or becomes a Cardinal-type dominant starter.


Is this Mark you speak of related to Nick?

 

Yes Nick, sorry, getting names confused with an actual Mark Burdi that I knew. 

 

I think you are being a bit over critical personally, especially since I know you were very high on Burdi.  Likewise, you've been the one saying the Twins should emulate the Cardinals (which is what they've done with these relievers). 

 

Ironically, this is about 1 pick so far.  Maybe 2 if you count Jay, but given that pretty much every scout out there pegs him as a starter, I think you are being unfair if you do.  Given the consternation, I'd have thought they were taking every relief pitcher out there.  Half of the guys they have gotten today people thought were going in the 2nd round.  That's a pretty good haul, especially considering that it will be a pretty decent draft if one guy taken today has a productive career. 

[diehardtwinsfan]

Sean Miller SS in the 10th

[Mike Sixel]

 

A function of some horribly bad injury luck. Corey Williams, Luke Bard, JT Chargois, Mason Melotakis, Yorman Landa, Randy Rosario...

 

Wasn't Bard hurt before he was drafted? I think another guy was too, but I am sort of paying attn. to this work meeting.

[bird]

 

Perhaps we soon will have to change the meme about the Twins being so regressive in their thinking...? No, I didn't think so...

If you want more hard throwers in the organization, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, why not follow a plan that has actually worked with a proven track record, and is biomechanically-grounded, with the proper health caveats and a full understanding of when the average fireballer hits his peak velocity?

 

 

Well, I hope you're available for a call, since the 40 Twins scouts that watched Jay pitch lack a full understanding of when the average fireballer hits his peak velocity.

 

Amazing.