Twins Select Marek Houston at #16 in the 2025 MLB Draft

[Jeremy Nygaard]

Image courtesy of © Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Marek Houston was an unheralded recruit who started as a freshman for Wake Forest. Houston's calling card is his defensive, where he's a 60-grade defender with an above-average arm.  

Houston profiles as at least an average hitter and it's hit over power. He has strong bat-to-ball metrics and walks more than he strikes out. 

In true, Twins fashion, they settle on a player who had success in a wood-bat league, excelling in the Cape in 2024.

The biggest question is if Houston will ever hit for power. After hitting only 12 home runs in his first two years at Wake Forest, he hit 15 in his junior season. But he hadn't shown much of an increase in exit velocities. 

At a minimum, Houston will be stick at shortstop with a plus arm, above average runner and an average hit tool. If he can unlock the power, look out.

More to come...

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[LyleCole]

Interesting selection to me since they drafted Culpepper, Debarge and Amick in the 2024 draft and Keaschall and Winokur (who they continue at SS) in the 2023 draft.

Houston is probably the one true SS in that group, but it is an fully cluttred infield group in the minors now.

[Mike Sixel]

Not loving this part from fangraphs... But they've definitely switched type the last few years. 

Passive hitter who often takes strikes right down the middle

[Patzky]

Irish falls to the O's who have Adley Rutschman.

[Dman]

I said this earlier in another thread as they were tied pretty heavily to Houston. 

Houston was 16 on the current consensus board which is the Twins pick.

I get that Houston is falling some because the power might not be there and we've seen what that means looking at Austin Martin that it can be hard to get over a .700 OPS without power.  Still I think he will be an attractive pick for the Twins. My reasoning is below.

  I know he is a high floor low ceiling guy, but he should be a quick moving up the middle player with 4 above average tools with power being the thing holding him back. With his frame I really don’t see much more power coming, but I am sure the Twins will work with him on pull side power.

The second thing is when you look at Culpepper versus Houston there isn’t a ton of difference other than Culpepper had slightly better bat speed and exit velocities.  Houston appears to be the better defender and has a hit tool pretty equal to Culpepper minus some power.  

Having two players that could actually stick at shortstop in the system would be a great thing to have.  With the lack of power Houston could end up in a Willi Castro type roll except he would likely be a very good to elite shortstop defensively.  That should be his floor though.

For as unexciting a pick as it might be I think it is a good one.  If he does find a little Brian Dozier in himself it would be a great pick.

Here is Draft profiles for both Houston and Culpepper below according to MLB.com (I will say other sites have Houston as a plus hitter and given what I have read I have him rated that way MLB.com has him as average)
Hit: Houston 50   Culpepper 55
Power: Houston 45   Culpepper 45
Run: Houston  55  Culpepper 50
Arm: Houston  55  Culpepper 60
Field: Houston  60  Culpepper 50
Overall: Houston 55   Culpepper 50
So bottom line MLB.com has Houston as the better player.  Time will tell if that is true especially with as good as Culpepper has been. Still if he is the Twins pick I can see why.

[Mike Sixel]

Apparently Irish was filmed, drunk, saying derogatory things....

[Mike Sixel]

5 minutes ago, Dman said:

I said this earlier in another thread as they were tied pretty heavily to Houston. 

Houston was 16 on the current consensus board which is the Twins pick.

I get that Houston is falling some because the power might not be there and we've seen what that means looking at Austin Martin that it can be hard to get over a .700 OPS without power.  Still I think he will be an attractive pick for the Twins. My reasoning is below.

  I know he is a high floor low ceiling guy, but he should be a quick moving up the middle player with 4 above average tools with power being the thing holding him back. With his frame I really don’t see much more power coming, but I am sure the Twins will work with him on pull side power.

The second thing is when you look at Culpepper versus Houston there isn’t a ton of difference other than Culpepper had slightly better bat speed and exit velocities.  Houston appears to be the better defender and has a hit tool pretty equal to Culpepper minus some power.  

Having two players that could actually stick at shortstop in the system would be a great thing to have.  With the lack of power Houston could end up in a Willi Castro type roll except he would likely be a very good to elite shortstop defensively.  That should be his floor though.

For as unexciting a pick as it might be I think it is a good one.  If he does find a little Brian Dozier in himself it would be a great pick.

Here is Draft profiles for both Houston and Culpepper below according to MLB.com (I will say other sites have Houston as a plus hitter and given what I have read I have him rated that way MLB.com has him as average)
Hit: Houston 50   Culpepper 55
Power: Houston 45   Culpepper 45
Run: Houston  55  Culpepper 50
Arm: Houston  55  Culpepper 60
Field: Houston  60  Culpepper 50
Overall: Houston 55   Culpepper 50
So bottom line MLB.com has Houston as the better player.  Time will tell if that is true especially with as good as Culpepper has been. Still if he is the Twins pick I can see why.

I get it, even if it's not yet exciting. Let's hope he looks as good as Culpeper. 

[Dman]

9 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Not loving this part from fangraphs... But they've definitely switched type the last few years. 

Passive hitter who often takes strikes right down the middle

Yeah I saw that and they had him rated around number 30 as well so pretty far down the board for them.  They also said this about him as well. "Limited power ceiling, but a high-probability low-end everyday shortstop thanks to contact and defense."

 

[Mike Sixel]

From Keith law

I don't see a star here, but I do see an everyday player.

And, that would be a good outcome from that late a pick. 

[Dman]

1 minute ago, Mike Sixel said:

I get it, even if it's not yet exciting. Let's hope he looks as good as Culpeper. 

FWIW I am concerned about the same things you are.  I was wrong last year about Culpepper so hoping I am wrong again.

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, Dman said:

FWIW I am concerned about the same things you are.  I was wrong last year about Culpepper so hoping I am wrong again.

Same! And it's not really concern. I know nothing but what fangraphs and law said. I am more than willing to trust them. 

[Whitey333]

Twins take a lot of shortstop and center fielders because that's where the most talented players are athletically they can move them around to other positions.  I'm happy for the young man.  He will get a nice bonus for never yet playing a professional game.  If he fails he should still be set for life.  The pick is typical of most Twins pics:  suspects until they prove they are more than prospects.

[Wedman13]

8 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Apparently Irish was filmed, drunk, saying derogatory things....

????

[Mike Sixel]

Just now, Wedman13 said:

????

The guy I said I wanted....a catcher, outfielder, who can really hit. 

[Wedman13]

18 minutes ago, Patzky said:

Irish falls to the O's who have Adley Rutschman.

From what I saw he played outfield this year, due to injury.  But most think that's where he sticks

[FlyingFinn]

A lot of people wanted good defense from our top pick, including me. Sounds like we got that. His ceiling depends on his bat.

[DasBat]

This draft has gone pretty much how I didn’t want it to go.  All of the guys I was hoping for were already gone.  Would have went with Summerhill or Irish.  Not a fan of this pick but I didn’t like Culpepper last year, so what do I know 

[Ghost of Kirby Puckett]

6 minutes ago, Dman said:

I said this earlier in another thread as they were tied pretty heavily to Houston. 

Houston was 16 on the current consensus board which is the Twins pick.

I get that Houston is falling some because the power might not be there and we've seen what that means looking at Austin Martin that it can be hard to get over a .700 OPS without power.  Still I think he will be an attractive pick for the Twins. My reasoning is below.

  I know he is a high floor low ceiling guy, but he should be a quick moving up the middle player with 4 above average tools with power being the thing holding him back. With his frame I really don’t see much more power coming, but I am sure the Twins will work with him on pull side power.

The second thing is when you look at Culpepper versus Houston there isn’t a ton of difference other than Culpepper had slightly better bat speed and exit velocities.  Houston appears to be the better defender and has a hit tool pretty equal to Culpepper minus some power.  

Having two players that could actually stick at shortstop in the system would be a great thing to have.  With the lack of power Houston could end up in a Willi Castro type roll except he would likely be a very good to elite shortstop defensively.  That should be his floor though.

For as unexciting a pick as it might be I think it is a good one.  If he does find a little Brian Dozier in himself it would be a great pick.

Here is Draft profiles for both Houston and Culpepper below according to MLB.com (I will say other sites have Houston as a plus hitter and given what I have read I have him rated that way MLB.com has him as average)
Hit: Houston 50   Culpepper 55
Power: Houston 45   Culpepper 45
Run: Houston  55  Culpepper 50
Arm: Houston  55  Culpepper 60
Field: Houston  60  Culpepper 50
Overall: Houston 55   Culpepper 50
So bottom line MLB.com has Houston as the better player.  Time will tell if that is true especially with as good as Culpepper has been. Still if he is the Twins pick I can see why.

Good post. One thing I'll say is the comment on Mareks frame. Everyone in his orbit has spoken about the change in his physicality and increased strength since his freshman year. Adding strength is easy and that isn't going to be his issue moving forward imo. If he wants more power production he'll need to make swing changes that more than likely will sacrifice some contact for power, maybe??

I say with how quickly the Twins ran up to make that pick, they're really stoked. I thought Boston would take him 100%. He is an analytics dream so I can see the love fest the FO probably had landing him. 

[Dman]

1 minute ago, Ghost of Kirby Puckett said:

Good post. One thing I'll say is the comment on Mareks frame. Everyone in his orbit has spoken about the change in his physicality and increased strength since his freshman year. Adding strength is easy and that isn't going to be his issue moving forward imo. If he wants more power production he'll need to make swing changes that more than likely will sacrifice some contact for power, maybe??

I say with how quickly the Twins ran up to make that pick, they're really stoked. I thought Boston would take him 100%. He is an analytics dream so I can see the love fest the FO probably had landing him. 

If the power comes, even just 45 power he is a steal there. Everything else is plus.

[LyleCole]

4 minutes ago, Ghost of Kirby Puckett said:

Good post. One thing I'll say is the comment on Mareks frame. Everyone in his orbit has spoken about the change in his physicality and increased strength since his freshman year. Adding strength is easy and that isn't going to be his issue moving forward imo. If he wants more power production he'll need to make swing changes that more than likely will sacrifice some contact for power, maybe??

I say with how quickly the Twins ran up to make that pick, they're really stoked. I thought Boston would take him 100%. He is an analytics dream so I can see the love fest the FO probably had landing him. 

Boston took the guy I wanted.  

[Wedman13]

17 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

The guy I said I wanted....a catcher, outfielder, who can really hit. 

No was curious what he said, but probably not worth repeating

[whosafraidofluigirussolo]

28 minutes ago, Dman said:

Yeah I saw that and they had him rated around number 30 as well so pretty far down the board for them.  They also said this about him as well. "Limited power ceiling, but a high-probability low-end everyday shortstop thanks to contact and defense."

 

He’s 26th on the freshly updated FG board, but they had guys who went in the first round as low as 60th

[whosafraidofluigirussolo]

44 minutes ago, Patzky said:

Irish falls to the O's who have Adley Rutschman.

Sounds like some see Irish as an OF (as mentioned above) but the Os also just took another catcher, Bodine

[tony&rodney]

Houston, we have an athlete. Good, because that is the need.

[notoriousgod71]

I would have went with Irish and de brun.

[DocBauer]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

 

 

  

 

 

Here is Draft profiles for both Houston and Culpepper below according to MLB.com (I will say other sites have Houston as a plus hitter and given what I have read I have him rated that way MLB.com has him as average)
Hit: Houston 50   Culpepper 55
Power: Houston 45   Culpepper 45
Run: Houston  55  Culpepper 50
Arm: Houston  55  Culpepper 60
Field: Houston  60  Culpepper 50
Overall: Houston 55   Culpepper 50
So bottom line MLB.com has Houston as the better player.  Time will tell if that is true especially with as good as Culpepper has been. Still if he is the Twins pick I can see why.

Thanks for posting this. It's definitely interesting and worthy of reflection. I often dislike comps of this nature, even though I use them as well, lol. The reason I saw that is 1 year in to his pro career, Culpepper already looks better than his pre draft scores of last year. I mean, if Houston is faster, he must be REALLY fast.

I give full credit to the Twins for knowing 1,000 times more than I possibly could. But I would have gone Irish here simply because if he couldn't stick at CATCHER, his bat should play and play well in the OF. (Even 1B as a former C).

Considering Houston has a decent frame and added more power this season, I'd be inclined to believe he's going to have enough for double digit HR numbers and solid doubles power as well. One of the best defensive SS in the draft with a solid bat and good speed does make him a good selection, just not the way I would have gone.

What I like most about Houston is he and Culpepper now give the team 2 legitimate ML SS options...no offense to DeAndrade...and the ability to move guys around where they are needed most. For instance, Lee plays 3 spots, though SS is probably his weakest. Culpepper could play 3 spots. Schobel could be the next Castro when he's healthy again. And DeBarge is looking a 2B or even better option than Schobel for thr SU role. 

 

[chpettit19]

I like getting an athlete and stud defender with what appears to be real contact skills. It also would've been really hard for me to pass up Irish if I thought he could be up as a catcher within 2 years. I didn't think there'd be any chance he'd be there. I'm not aware of the story about him making inappropriate statements so I'm not sure what to think about that. That could certainly change my mind on things. But without any knowledge of it, so just looking at it from a baseball perspective, that's a tough one for me.

I'm happy with this pick. We need more 2 way players. So many more. Hard to complain about getting one of the best fielders in the draft who also looks to have some of the best hand eye coordination and contact skills.

[TopGunn#22]

I'm with you chpettit19.  I like this pick a LOT.  Houston is either the #1 or #2 defensive SS of this draft.  He's a college player so he will move quickly in the system.  It may be that Houston (or Culpepper) are the plan for when Correa has to move to 3B.   

[Western SD Fan]

Since my MSN homepage promotes Puckett's Pond instead of Twins Daily (boo!), I get to see their headlines.  Their headlines actually mirror what I was going to say on this thread.  The Twins have potentially drafted their replacement for Correa.  The timing may be right as there are at least three more years left on Correa's contract and Houston is probably the only true SS in the system that has the defensive chops to match Correa at the moment.  Time will tell as he goes through the minors, but first glance seems encouraging.

[OBX 3 6 28 29 34]

The so very important factor beyond their projectable skills is the prospect's mental makeup. That includes determination, confidence, desire, and the ability and willingness to learn and overcome failure and adversity. The interview with Culpepper last year showed him exuding confidence and a steely determination which has been instrumental in his progress. The interview with Festa's parents showed their awe in witnessing his determination. I hope these aren't random accidents and that the Twins scouts and decision makers are doing their homework on this so very important factor in our draft picks. Granted, many have exhibited this already to get this far but how strong is it?