Twins Select Walker Jenkins, Charlee Soto, Luke Keaschall in Enjoyable Day 1 of the MLB Draft

[Seth Stohs]

Day 1 of the draft is always a lot of fun. When your favorite team has a top-five pick, it's even better. The Minnesota Twins had three of the first 49 picks in the draft. In other words, after a tough afternoon at the ballpark, Sunday was a fun night for Twins fans. 

Image courtesy of Stephen Brashear, USA Today

"It's been a long wait to be able to acquire and draft a player like Walker (Jenkins). It was a thrilling night, and we're super excited to be able to select him," Twins Director of Scouting Sean Johnson said at the end of a long first day of the draft. 

The general thought heading into the MLB Draft was that there were five elite talents. At that point, there were still a lot of excellent players, but those five were clearly at the top. Rumors, or even conversations, hinting that the Twins might draft a college bat if only a high school player remained from that top five. The strategy is logical. Pick a guy a few spots above where he would likely be picked and sign him for under the slot value. Then, use the saved money to go well above the slot on a player or two in the second or third rounds. 

A source I trust told me that was never really considered. Of course, it's always necessary to have contingency plans and think through what could happen.  

Michael Cuddyer has been very active with USA Baseball since his retirement, giving back to an organization that helped his development as a young player. Cuddyer coached the North Carolina native when he was 15 years old and in years since then. 

Denny Hocking was the manager of Team USA a year ago and coached Jenkins as well. He tweeted, "Twins got a great one in Walker. The fan base is going to fall in love with him."

Doug Mientkiewicz tweeted, "Congrats Twins! You just got an ABSOLUTE STUD! Walker Jenkins is the best kid you will ever be around!! Plays with heart and he gets it! You just got a number one pick overall in any other draft!!"

The Twins area scout for North Carolina is Ty Dawson. 

Of Jenkins, Sean Johnson said, "He's a five-tool player. We love his swing. We think he's got a chance for real power. He's a big kid, but he moves pretty well. He can really throw, and we think that he can really defend. You can't ask for much more than that when you're looking for a high school prospect. He's just a well-rounded player and a phenomenal person off the field. We asked a lot of people, and really no one had anything negative to say about Walker, his personality, his character, and his family. Just a great group of people and an awesome kid." 

Johnson added, "Just to have the opportunity to select a player like that who can do it all and impact the game on both sides is rare and something our group didn't want to pass up on. 

Another person who is incredibly impressed after spending time with Walker Jenkins is the Twins second draft pick of the night, Charlee Soto. Both players were participating in a Team USA event. 

Soto said, "I met him last summer at PDP (Player Development Pipeline). Unfortunately, he got injured there and couldn't finish it. He got injured and went to the hospital, but the next day he was at the field to support us. He was always supportive. He was always a leader. He was always getting us stuff in the dugout. He was a very, very humble kid, and I can't wait to get to work with him because I know we're going to bring a lot to Minnesota."

In addition to Jenkins, Soto will have another friend in the Twins organization. He knows 2022 draft pick Omari Daniel. "I talk to him every now and then. He loves the process. He's developing every single day. He's told me a lot. Having someone inside the organization helps me a lot." 

Several players received invitations to attend the draft in Seattle. Asked why it was important for him to be in Seattle, he noted, "Last year, I played in a high school all-star game, and I actually attended the draft in LA. So, seeing all of those guys walk up on the stage after they got drafted, it just showed me that I want to be there one day. I want to be at the draft in person. I saw all the fans that were there cheering. That's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. When I got that email invite, I instantly said 'Yes.'" 

Charlee Soto stands 6-5. He's already got a big fastball in the mid-90s and has even touched triple-digits. He's worked on a slider and a circle changeup as well. 

Hocking mentioned to me after Day 1 of the draft was complete that Soto just missed making the National Team last summer. He "didn't feel he threw enough strikes at the time." (Hocking's added comment to me on the Twins first pick, "Walker Jenkins is amazing.”)

Johnson said they saw Jenkins a lot in 2022 at events such as the East Coast Pro Challenge, Team USA, etc. "Really sound delivery. He's got three nice pitches now. Obviously, the velocity's there. He's been up to the upper-90s already. He's got a fantastic slider. He's got a really good feel for a changeup, and he throws strikes. Put all those things together, and we think he's got a chance to be a major-league starter. (He's an) awesome kid. (I) Got a chance to spend some time with him at the Combine. He came to a workout we had in Ft. Myers before the Combine. So we've had a lot of different punch points with Charlee. We were super excited that he made it down to our pick, and we're really glad to select him." 

"I look a lot at Gerrit Cole. Just the way he pitches, the way he does things. I feel like he pitches so calmly, so (passionately). And also, being born in Philly, I looked a lot at Roy Halladay. He was a great arm as well. I was always watching him on YouTube. Anywhere I could, I watched him and learned a lot from those two guys."

Born in Philadelphia, the Soto family moved to Kissimmee, Florida, when he was young. He has been to the Twins facilities in Ft. Myers. That's where some of the Team USA trials took place. He said he was impressed by the weight rooms, the facilities, and the cafeteria. 

He graduated recently from Reborn Christian Academy, and faith is something he says has helped him along the way, particularly in recent days. "Today, I was leaving everything in God's hands because I knew he was going to choose the best route for me, and He did. Being a part of the Twins organization, He put that for me. He was the man in control. I was stressing a little bit, but I wasn't stressing a whole lot because I knew he had big plans for me."

A friend of his recently moved to Minnesota. On Saturday, he sent Soto a photo of him in a boat in the middle of the lake and asked him when he was going to join him. "I think it was a sign that I just didn't see." 

The Twins area scout for central Florida is Brett Dowdy. He and other Twins evaluators saw a lot of Soto over the past couple of years, but he took significant steps forward this spring. Johnson noted, "Early in the spring, our guys were buzzing about how good he was and just how much they loved his pitches, his mound presence, and his ability to manage the game. That was all really positive signals for a group. He was a guy we kind of had circled with our second pick. We didn't know if he would make it, obviously, but we were certainly hopeful going into the night."

After drafting two high-ceiling high school players with their first two picks, the Twins went to the college ranks for their second-round pick. Luke Keaschall was the 49th overall pick. He spent two seasons at the University of San Francisco, hitting over .300 in both years and developing his game. He then transferred to Arizona State this past year. In 55 games, he hit .353/.443/.725 (1.168) with 25 doubles and 18 home runs. He also was 18-for-20 in stolen base attempts. 

Johnson on Keaschall "A wrestling background in high school. A guy who did really well at the University of San Francisco, and then we got to see him a lot more this spring at Arizona State. We were really drawn to him. He's just a dynamic athlete. I think he's got a chance to play a lot of different positions. Offensively, he controls the strike zone. I think he had 18 home runs this spring. He takes good at-bats and has a chance to play all over the diamond. We'll figure out where he fits in eventually. And a terrific kid. One of our favorites that we connected with at the Combine. We think the makeup is a separator. It's special, which is rare. Most guys are more in the middle. We really fell in love with Luke." 

The "Four Corners" area scout for the Twins is Chandler Wagoner. 

Arguably, the night's best moment came after the Twins third pick. Television cameras finally showed the Twins draft room. In it, there was a jersey with the name Radcliff on it. All of the scouts were wearing a white visor, just like the one Mike Radcliff wore to ballparks all over the country, all over the globe. It was a really nice, emotional moment and was important to many in the organization. 

Johnson said they were hoping it would happen earlier in the night, but they were thrilled it happened.

"We wanted to have the jersey in the shot, and we all came up with the idea. It was for our scouting brethren. The scouts that knew Mike well, they always saw him in a visor. That was his look pretty much every game he went to. That was our way of paying tribute to him so that other people in the industry would understand right away. We finally got the shot. It was a beautiful moment." 

Johnson tried to recall his thoughts on Jenkins and the other picks. "The last time we saw him together was at the Perfect Game All-American Game in Phoenix in late August. That's when he put the highest 'follow' he could on Walker. I remember reading that report when it came in. Maybe this is Mike saying this is who he wants if he's not here when the draft gets here. He was a big Walker Jenkins fan; I'll say that. And he saw Charlee Soto as well. He was right in line with how we thought about him. He thought he was a first-day talent. I know he's smiling. We thought about him a lot after we took Walker Jenkins." 

The scouts headed to their hotel rooms after the draft was complete. Hopefully, they can all get some good rest. But more work will be done on Monday afternoon when the draft resumes. Starting at 1:00 central time, teams will make their Rounds 3 through 10 picks. 

"We'll resume in the morning before we get going. We'll just kind of stare at the board and kind of map out a plan for the next few rounds. (Day 2) is seemingly always the most hectic day because you're constantly pivoting, as your board falls apart, to different scenarios and ideas. Signabilities change overnight and into tomorrow. We collect as much information as we can on where agents are with players and how to proceed after that. We'll get going a few hours before the draft starts and try to prepare as best we can." 

There is reason for excitement about the Twins first day of the draft. All three players are exciting, as you would hope from Top 50 picks. Be sure to stop by Twins Daily all afternoon to find out who the next seven players will become members of the Twins organization.

Discuss in the comments below what you think of the Twins choices, what you might have done differently and more. 

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[Greglw3]

Good article Seth, make that great article! Lots of good tidbits and the one from Doug Mientkiewic (sp?) is really fun.

It just sounds like a killer first three picks. Can’t wait to start following them! Walker Jenkins sounds really exciting and I saw footage of him driving the ball to all fields. It sounds like all 3 could make it to the majors!

[Wedman13]

Incredible article, thanks!

[Peter]

We got 3 studs who will make massive impact for twins!!! Great first round picks!!! Can’t wait to see all 3 in twins uniform!!!

[jmlease1]

Nice tribute to Mike Radcliff, classy move by the Twins there.

Nice group of Day 1 picks, should be fun to watch them develop. Glad the Twins didn't try to get too cute with their first pick and took one of the consensus top 5 guys. I get the strategy of picking guys based on slot number and using some early savings to get more highly rated talent later (and it's seemed to work for the Twins before), but there's also real advantage to getting one of the consensus 5 best players in a draft.

[Roaddog]

I loved the first two picks, but honestly didn't know much about the last one. Good to hear positive thoughts about him. Love that they honored Radcliff. Very classy.

[Dman]

I absolutely loved the first two picks.  I didn't feel Soto was too far off from Meyer so to get Jenkins and Soto was about as good a one two as I could dream up.  I wanted Clemmy in the second but I guess the Twins fell in love with Keaschall and if he is anything like Schobel then looks like a worthy pick there as well.  

Given what fell to them I don't think they could have played the first round any better.  I absolutely love those first two picks.  Also nice to get some high end high school players in the system as they tend to have high ceilings. 

Rounds three through ten are where the real scouting begins IMO.  The Twins have found some really good players in the later rounds and I am hoping they find some diamonds in the rough today and tomorrow.

[Whitey333]

Great article!!  I always count on your insight with drafted players and minor league player development.  Apparently very good selections although I must admit I didn't know much about them until I read your article.  Hopefully they develop and do well.  My enthusiasm involving draft picks is usually tempered down by all the hype and self back patting done by the scouts and front office.  We have a system full of" can't miss" prospects.  Hopefully these players will be a big part of twins future.

[Trov]

I am glad the FO did not overthink the 5th pick.  Every scouting place had 5 top guys and big drop off from there.  Sure, everyone could be wrong and the best player maybe some time after 5th, but sounds like the kid should be a good overall player.  

[RJA]

I critize the FO for many decisions, but I really feel they did a great job on this draft.  I think they had a great first day, and when I heard the commish say "Walker Jenkins" I breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't Gonzalez.  What is especially noteworthy for me is that the Twins drafted high character young men, something they seem to do with regularity--like with Lewis, Lee, KIrilloff, etc.  Kudos to everyone involved in these selections--including the late, great Mike Radcliff.  May he rest in peace.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Outstanding article Seth. Great quotes by and about these players. I'm so glad you emphasized the importance of good character in your article. Thanks for not emphasizing stats and ratings of arm strength, etc.  We needed to "meet" these new Twins prospects. Thank you for a personal introduction to each of these three new members of our Twins' family. 

[Seth Stohs]

2 hours ago, Greglw3 said:

Good article Seth, make that great article! Lots of good tidbits and the one from Doug Mientkiewic (sp?) is really fun.

It just sounds like a killer first three picks. Can’t wait to start following them! Walker Jenkins sounds really exciting and I saw footage of him driving the ball to all fields. It sounds like all 3 could make it to the majors!

First, thank you so much for the kind words. 

Second, while I am very excited about at least 2 of their 3 picks, we should hope that they are excited about these early picks and believe they can all make the big leagues. Of course, they need to sign them and then the work begins of slowly moving up the ladder and development. 

[Seth Stohs]

39 minutes ago, Whitey333 said:

Great article!!  I always count on your insight with drafted players and minor league player development.  Apparently very good selections although I must admit I didn't know much about them until I read your article.  Hopefully they develop and do well.  My enthusiasm involving draft picks is usually tempered down by all the hype and self back patting done by the scouts and front office.  We have a system full of" can't miss" prospects.  Hopefully these players will be a big part of twins future.

Baseball is really hard. Getting to the big leagues means that you're incredibly amazing at the game and it's an incredible accomplishment by an organization. but it's not easy, so while we end up expecting so much from the 1st and 2nd round picks, they need to develop at their own pace, and play a lot, and learn from everything, and then we hope. 

[jmlease1]

I do find it funny how several of the national prognosticators & evaluators were very sure that the Twins weren't going to take a HS player with their first pick because of their "clear preference" for college bats and were going to go off-script, blah blah blah overreachingcakes.

[nclahammer]

Awesome story Seth, I look forward to following their progress to the bigs on TD.

[terrydactyls]

I've read some comments at The Athletic and Bleacher Report comparing Jenkins to Larry Walker.  That would be incredible.  A power hitter with base hit skills and a good fielder with a strong arm.  Great Day 1.

[saviking]

Off to a good start! Our farm system really needs a boost

[TopGunn#22]

I was thrilled with the first two picks.  Gotta admit, I was kind of hoping the Twins would have selected Rochester Century?North Carolina infielder Mac Horvath (who went just a couple picks after Keaschall, but hometown hero aside, I was glad to get a little more familiar with Keaschall after we picked him.  He just sounds like a versatile, very good baseball prospect. 

Day #1 was fantasic.  There will be no TV for Day #2 so I'll have to check up on TD several times this afternoon.  

Thank You for the great write ups and video!  Appreciate everything you do for TD.  

[Ruven]

Video clips of Jenkins show a short, sweet swing. For a kid 6’3” with room to add muscle as he matures that swing could help make him something special.

[Mike Sixel]

Great stuff. Amazing you got all that info up so fast. 

[roger]

Great article, Seth, thanks.

I knew almost nothing about any of these, other than seeing that Jenkins was a high school kid who was included among the FIVE premier prospects.

After reading this and other articles, seems to me the Twins got two high school kids who have high ceilings, heck, very high ceilings.  That is great, albeit, they just graduated from high school and are at least four years away.  Probably longer.

Know nothing about the third pick and expect like most baseball draft picks, it is less than 50-50 he will ever play for the Twins or any other big league team.

Over all feel much better about the Twins today than yesterday when I got home and turned on the game around the end of the fourth inning.  Hopefully, Jenkins will develop as he has stated and is a future Hall of Famer.  Who knows how Soto will develop, but sure sounds like he could be a front of the rotation guy rather than someone who is hoped to be a #5 starter someday.

[twins_89]

Day 1 of the draft makes me nervous because my confidence in the front office ability to evaluate 1st round talent is not high. That said, I'm happy with the Twins first 3 picks this year (I'm thankful the team didn't try to play games with the #5 pick). Now onto day 2 where the organization has done a great job over the years.

[jmlease1]

3 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

I've read some comments at The Athletic and Bleacher Report comparing Jenkins to Larry Walker.  That would be incredible.  A power hitter with base hit skills and a good fielder with a strong arm.  Great Day 1.

That would be unbelievable. (especially if he's healthier) Larry Walker was a ridiculously great player and a worthy Hall of Famer. I get that comps like this are projecting out to a maximum ceiling, but it sure is fun to think about our own version of Larry freakin' Walker out there. (seriously, that guy was crazy, crazy good)

[jkcarew]

Third pick doesn’t bother me. Signability is a real concern down at 49 for the remaining top HS guys with the top school offers. Seem’s they simply went with a college guy they liked and knew they could sign at slot.