Twins Daily 2022 Draft Coverage, June 2

[Jeremy Nygaard]

The calendar turns to June and with that… the MLB Draft isn’t for over another month!? The later draft is certainly something that is going to take some getting used to.

But here were are with another update.

 

 

Last week, the first TwinsDaily mock was posted. This week, we’re going to cover some big news from last week as well as discuss selections from three other mock drafts.

Alabama LHP Connor Prielipp returned to the mound for the first time since Tommy John surgery last May. Prielipp, who is originally from Tomah, Wisconsin, has only made seven collegiate appearances (and thrown only 28 innings) due to COVID and injury. But there is still some belief that he could end up being the first college pitcher to take. 

You can see parts of the bullpen that he threw thanks to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and he’ll throw again later this month.

Keith Law checks in with his first mock draft and has the Twins selecting prep shortstop Cole Young, from Pennsylvania, with the 8th overall pick. Young is more of a "solid across the board" prospect than one that has a carrying tool, but as Jim Bowden points out in his piece from Wednesday, "Longtime manager Jim Leyland used to preach to me to never overlook “baseball players” who don’t have the elite tools because they often become the standouts we watch in the World Series." Recently considered more of a late first-round prospect, Young has some serious helium.

Jonathan Mayo goes a different route in his mock draft suggesting the Twins are focusing on college bats. While we've seen connections made to LSU's Jacob Berry and Texas Tech's Jace Jung, Mayo points Virginia Tech outfielder Gavin Cross towards the Twins. While 8th may be Cross's ceiling, he gives a Max Kepler-type vibe with solid tools across the board. 

Kiley McDaniel released his first mock draft on Wednesday. He pairs the Twins with the aforementioned Berry and lists him as a right fielder. He suggests JC 3B Cam Collier as an option if he were available. (He isn't.) McDaniel also suggests Tennessee OF Jordan Beck as a possibility.

Regardless of which direction the Twins choose to go, they'll be adding another solid prospect to their stable. 

JEREMY’S TOP 10 PROSPECTS
1.) Druw Jones, OF, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit)
2.) Termarr Johnson, 2B, Georgia prep
3.) Elijah Green, OF, Florida prep (Miami commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.)
4.) Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly 
5.) Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech
6.) Jackson Holliday, SS, Oklahoma prep (Oklahoma State commit) 
7.) Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola JC
8.) Connor Prielipp, LHP, Alabama
9.) Dylan Lesko, RHP, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.)
10.) Jace Jung, 3B, Texas Tech 

MOCK DRAFTS / PROSPECT BOARDS

Baseball America - v3.0 (4/28/22) / (v2.0 (4/1/22) /  v1.0 (2/10/22) / Top 300 (4/27/22) / Staff Draft v.1.0 (4/20/22)

MLB.com - Mayo Mock Draft (5/18/22) / Callis Mock Draft (5/11/22) /  Mock Draft (4/27/22) / Callis - Top 10 (12/15/21), Mayo - Top 20 (7/20/21) / Top 150 (4/25/22)

The Athletic - Bowden Top 10 ( 6/1/22) / Law Mock Draft (5/19/22) /  Law Top 100 (5/5/22) / Law Top 30 (3/10/22)

ESPN - Early Draft Rankings (7/26/21) ($$$ - ESPN+) / McDaniel’s Draft Rankings (2/24/22) / Draft Rankings 2.0 (4/27/22)

Fangraphs - The Board / 2022 MLB Draft Rankings and Offseason List Primer (11/30/21) 

Prospects Live - v2.0 (4/21/22) / v1.0 (1/4/22) 

Just Baseball v1.0 (2/10/22)

My MLB Draft (1/18/22)

 

 

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[2wins87]

Sounds like Justin Crawford (Carl's son--yes another bloodline) is another guy with some serious helium who could be in the mix for a top 10 pick now.  He's 13th on the updated MLB top 200.

[bunsen82]

What is my guess,  well just look at past drafts.  They love to draft SS,  but with the depth in the Org a SS -  I lean towards an elite C (lack of elite depth),  or elite bat either outfield or other position.  Unless there is a #1 pitching prospect they see,  which I currently don't unless you take one of the injured players,  you do their continued method of loading up on bats in the early rounds through around round 4 and then start pounding on pitchers that fit their mold (college,  ideally tall,  has elite curve or change up,  is someone can add velocity to and has some elite peripherals).   This will also be a draft where we will try to save up money to get an extra high level pick in the later rounds.   

[RJA]

I agree with Bunsen82 that they have drafted a lot of shortstops, but I think the feeling is that prospects with shortstop skills are often able to transition with ease to third, second or an outfield position, so I wouldn't rule out a highly skilled shortstop for a pick.  But I also agree with Bunsen82 that if Parada were to fall, he would be the pick, especially given Jeffers' struggles at the plate.  I disagree with Mayo about college bats as the farm system and the MLB roster are full of college bats--Larnach, CES, Martin, Wallner, Sabato, etc.  Plus, they have Kirilloff, Lewis, Miranda, and others ready for MLB duty.  I would not mind it if the Twins went Lesko or Prielipp if the opportunity presented itself, especially in lieu of bat only players who don't have a real position.  

[MN_ExPat]

When selecting this high, a team really needs to pick the best available talent rather than organizational "need", especially given the sometimes lengthy time period between the draft and the player's MLB debut.

Generally, I feel like we see teams drafting for need in the later rounds. 

[bunsen82]

When you read Mcdaniels article which is a pay article but you can read most of the information, with such a weak first round,  this is going to be a draft where players will be picked all over the board under slot to make sure there is money to go over slot later in the draft specifically round 2-3.  I think any of the top 3 catchers will be in play.  You could see any of the 3b/OF/SS bat.  maybe they surprise and take a high school pitcher or one of the injured pitchers at an under slot agreement.  They have shown they are not afraid to draft injured players. The baseball drafts are always a crapshoot and I would say even more so this year.   It will most likely be someone who hasn't been mentioned up to this point.   

[terrydactyls]

Kumar Rocker anyone????

[ashbury]

I fear this draft may contain only about 4 sure things, and at #8 we will be left to choose someone who isn't quite of the stature you can get in some other years.  Bad timing, to have had a poor (but not quite poor enough) season in 2021.

[2wins87]

3 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

Kumar Rocker anyone????

Meh

[tony&rodney]

Dylan Lesko.

The name is pretty close to let's go and Dylan (Bob, Thomas) predict a great future. 

[MN_ExPat]

2 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Dylan Lesko.

The name is pretty close to let's go and Dylan (Bob, Thomas) predict a great future. 

I'm really hoping that's a big nope from the Twins.  I won't deny that Lesko has lots of potential... but in the end, that's all I really see from him.  He's another HS arm with big fastball who's numbers were inflated by pitching against weaker competition (his HS team played in a terrible conference).

He may go on to have some success, but he's the type of kid who really needs to go to college and learn to be a pitcher and not just a thrower.

[cheeseheadgophfan]

I wouldn't hesitate to take Prielipp is he's there, but I bet the Twins will be overly cautious.  It's funny, but IMO having the TJ surgery out of the way is almost a positive with the number of pitchers who ultimately have to have the surgery.  

I also think Rocker is really intriguing in that spot.  I loved the way he pitched at Vanderbilt.  It will be interesting to see how he throws in the Independent league.  

[ScottyB]

I agree with those above who feel the Twins need help at catcher. While Parada is the popular choice, I think they should go for Daniel Susac. He may not have quite as much power as Parada, but he’s close and may be a bit more polished behind the plate, and he’s just a shade bigger.

So for me it’s either one of those catchers or the best pitching prospect on the board.
 

 

[TeJayDubz]

On 6/2/2022 at 6:29 PM, terrydactyls said:

Kumar Rocker anyone????

He pitched well in his semi-pro ball debut. If he's still on the board when the Twins swing around again at #48 I'd snatch him in a heartbeat. No way will he go 1st round though.