2026 Minnesota Twins MLB Draft Day 1 Thread

[Cory Moen]

Similar to 2025, the 2026 MLB draft will feature 20 rounds, with a slight adjustment to its weekend format. Prior to 2025, the draft was a two-day event, with 40 total rounds. Last year, the draft was over three days, and this year it will be over two days. 

The first four rounds (which is one more than last year’s first day) will be later today, starting at 1:00 ET. You can catch the first 10 picks live on NBC or on Peacock. Picks 11-40 can be found on MLB Network or streaming on MLB.com or on MLB.TV starting at 2:30 ET. Starting at 4:00 ET, picks 41-135 will complete day one of draft coverage, and those can be watched the same way as picks 11-40. 

The rest of the draft will take place tomorrow, starting at 11:30 am ET, and can be found on MLB.com or on MLB.TV. While 16 rounds may seem like a lot in one day, last year it was 17 on the second day, and in prior years, they had 20-round days. 

The Twins will make five picks on day one.

• 3rd Overall (Round 1)
• 43rd overall (Round 2)
• 74th overall (Competitive Balance Round B) 
• 79th overall (Round 3)
• 107th overall (Round 4)

Jamie Cameron, Twins Daily’s MLB Prospect Guru and Draft Expert, has a mock draft board that can be found here.

The Twins will have the fifth-largest bonus pool ($16,929,600) in the league. The pool is determined by assigning a slot value to each pick in the first 10 rounds. In rounds 11-20, players can sign for up to $150,000 and not count toward the bonus pool number. 

As a reminder, teams can exceed their bonus pool allotment by up to five percent before incurring any future pick penalties. No team in the bonus pool era has ever exceeded that five percent threshold. 

More information on the entire draft and the pick allotments for the Twins' specific picks can be found in the Twins Draft Primer Article. 

Twins Daily will also feature the Twins Draft Tracker, which will be kept up to date not only during the draft but through the entire signing period, so keep coming back for updates!

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[Patzky]

White Sox trading and posturing already. Will be a fun day.

[Old Twins Hat]

Who knows?  I've seen the Twins getting "stuck" with Lackey, then with Emerson, now potentially with Cholowsky.  

May the Gods of Baseball bless the Twins with the best player available at number 3.

It's leftovers with a side of All-Star potential.

[thelanges5]

Welcome to MN, Mr Cholowsky!

[Cory Moen]

7 minutes ago, Old Twins Hat said:

Who knows?  I've seen the Twins getting "stuck" with Lackey, then with Emerson, now potentially with Cholowsky.  

May the Gods of Baseball bless the Twins with the best player available at number 3.

It's leftovers with a side of All-Star potential.

Yeah, I don't think any of the top 3 are bad to get "stuck" with. All three have a load of potential. Every team just places different value in different skill sets so it will be interesting to see what the White Sox and Rays do and then the choice the Twins make after that. I'm sure they've discussed all possibilities but I'm excited for any of the top three to be the selection! 

[TopGunn#22]

I wholeheartedly agree that any of the top 3 will be outstanding.  Do I have a favorite?  Surprisingly...NO.

While I like both SS's, the strong showing of Marek Houston this year doesn't make me desperate for either Cholowsky or Emerson.  But I LOVE them both.  Lackey has always seemed like a wonderful consolation prize, but I'm starting to feel like he's much better than that.  With the coming trade of Ryan Jeffers, I'm very comfortable with the idea of adding Lackey.

Again, with the glove of Marek Houston, no matter how good Cholowsky's glove or Emerson's, I can imagine Chowlowsky at 3B, or Emerson in CF.  Maybe I shouldn't be so strong willed about Houston at SS.  But watching highlights, I just can't imagine anyone else being our SS in a year or so.  

The Walker Jenkins draft was very fun.  I had hoped for either Jenkins or Max Clark and was leaning slightly Jenkins.  I got what I wanted.  Now, Jenkins is VERY CLOSE to putting on a Twins uniform.  But not since the Twins picked Joe Mauer over Mark Prior have I been as excited to see how this would unfold.

This is going to be a LOT of fun.  And I'm not dismissing the rest of the draft.  But these first 2 picks are going to fascinating. With the exception of Emerson, who will be worth whatever the wait will be to be sure he's ready for the big show, Cholowsky and Lackey will probably be on a fast track to the big leagues.  That means Cholowsky or Lackey could be in a Twins uniform sometime in late 2027.   I just hope the Twins don't overthink.  We are winners already.  

[Patzky]

5 minutes ago, TopGunn#22 said:

I wholeheartedly agree that any of the top 3 will be outstanding.  Do I have a favorite?  Surprisingly...NO.

While I like both SS's, the strong showing of Marek Houston this year doesn't make me desperate for either Cholowsky or Emerson.  But I LOVE them both.  Lackey has always seemed like a wonderful consolation prize, but I'm starting to feel like he's much better than that.  With the coming trade of Ryan Jeffers, I'm very comfortable with the idea of adding Lackey.

Again, with the glove of Marek Houston, no matter how good Cholowsky's glove or Emerson's, I can imagine Chowlowsky at 3B, or Emerson in CF.  Maybe I shouldn't be so strong willed about Houston at SS.  But watching highlights, I just can't imagine anyone else being our SS in a year or so.  

The Walker Jenkins draft was very fun.  I had hoped for either Jenkins or Max Clark and was leaning slightly Jenkins.  I got what I wanted.  Now, Jenkins is VERY CLOSE to putting on a Twins uniform.  But not since the Twins picked Joe Mauer over Mark Prior have I been as excited to see how this would unfold.

This is going to be a LOT of fun.  And I'm not dismissing the rest of the draft.  But these first 2 picks are going to fascinating. With the exception of Emerson, who will be worth whatever the wait will be to be sure he's ready for the big show, Cholowsky and Lackey will probably be on a fast track to the big leagues.  That means Cholowsky or Lackey could be in a Twins uniform sometime in late 2027.   I just hope the Twins don't overthink.  We are winners already.  

We will know before our next win! Yeah the overthink is a concern.. guess we will be pleased and excited no matter what! The White Sox trading Gonzalez to Pittsburgh for a high pick.. what is on their mind and how might it affect their choice? We shall see. 😊

[Wedman13]

18 minutes ago, TopGunn#22 said:

I wholeheartedly agree that any of the top 3 will be outstanding.  Do I have a favorite?  Surprisingly...NO.

While I like both SS's, the strong showing of Marek Houston this year doesn't make me desperate for either Cholowsky or Emerson.  But I LOVE them both.  Lackey has always seemed like a wonderful consolation prize, but I'm starting to feel like he's much better than that.  With the coming trade of Ryan Jeffers, I'm very comfortable with the idea of adding Lackey.

Again, with the glove of Marek Houston, no matter how good Cholowsky's glove or Emerson's, I can imagine Chowlowsky at 3B, or Emerson in CF.  Maybe I shouldn't be so strong willed about Houston at SS.  But watching highlights, I just can't imagine anyone else being our SS in a year or so.  

The Walker Jenkins draft was very fun.  I had hoped for either Jenkins or Max Clark and was leaning slightly Jenkins.  I got what I wanted.  Now, Jenkins is VERY CLOSE to putting on a Twins uniform.  But not since the Twins picked Joe Mauer over Mark Prior have I been as excited to see how this would unfold.

This is going to be a LOT of fun.  And I'm not dismissing the rest of the draft.  But these first 2 picks are going to fascinating. With the exception of Emerson, who will be worth whatever the wait will be to be sure he's ready for the big show, Cholowsky and Lackey will probably be on a fast track to the big leagues.  That means Cholowsky or Lackey could be in a Twins uniform sometime in late 2027.   I just hope the Twins don't overthink.  We are winners already.  

I badly wanted Prior over Mauer so any opinion I have is invalid 

[Jamie Cameron]

Big thank you to everyone who has followed along with draft coverage this cycle!

You can find the final draft board here.

For anyone interested in a day one stream (we'll break down all 135 picks), you can follow along during the draft at Destination: The Show's Live Stream Event

[MMMordabito]

Sprock traded to make room for Lackey.

[JADBP]

17 minutes ago, Wedman13 said:

I badly wanted Prior over Mauer so any opinion I have is invalid 

lol. I bet you’re glad you didn’t get your wish!

[bjorks]

Twins at least make WS with Prior instead of taking Mauer. Controversial statement but Mauer hurt the Twins chances of winning a WS title more than helped. If the goal is making and/or winning a WS, Prior despite his injuries would’ve had more impact than Baby Jesus

[Twinkies are for eating]

25 minutes ago, bjorks said:

Twins at least make WS with Prior instead of taking Mauer. Controversial statement but Mauer hurt the Twins chances of winning a WS title more than helped. If the goal is making and/or winning a WS, Prior despite his injuries would’ve had more impact than Baby Jesus

Yeah but Mauer won so many playoff games for us…

[Permanent Twins Fan]

Take one of the top three guys. Don't get cute with a money saver. Take whichever of the top guys falls to them. I would love to see them get one of the shortstops, but I would be happy with Lackey as well. 

[Road trip]

1 hour ago, bjorks said:

Twins at least make WS with Prior instead of taking Mauer. Controversial statement but Mauer hurt the Twins chances of winning a WS title more than helped. If the goal is making and/or winning a WS, Prior despite his injuries would’ve had more impact than Baby Jesus

Prior was great as a 23 year old.... and finished at age 25.  Knowing the Twins of that era, they would have wasted Prior's few healthy seasons teaching him to "pitch to contact" in the minors.

[Western SD Fan]

Agreement that they need to pick whoever is in the top 3 that is available.  If the Twins want to save money on slot value, the place to do it is after this pick.  Maybe you can tease a talent from going back for their senior year in college or going to college at all if they are a HS or JC player.   The only way I see them not making that pick is if they have determined that the one that lands in their lap refuses to sign with the Twins.  I cannot imagine a pick this high would do that, but you can't rule it out.  The Twins would need to communicate that to the public to not get skewered in the press.

[jkcarew]

I want one of the two college guys. Don’t feel like waiting for another HS guy.

[nicksaviking]

It kind of feels like the year that the Astros shocked everybody by picking Carlos Correa over generational talent Mark Appel who was the presumed 1st pick two years before he was even eligible. And then the Twins deflated us fans by also passing Appel for Byron Buxton. Hope that happens again,

But obviously without Roch Cholowsky being a complete bust.

[nicksaviking]

I know Lackey is exciting, but it's really hard to ignore how bad the 'sure-thing' catchers that have been drafted top five have been recently.

[nicksaviking]

Worst part of events like this, Super Bowl included, is the start time is a complete lie. 'The MLB draft starts at 1 PM ET.'

Lies; coverage starts at 1 to get people to tune in. I had to tell the AI search engine it was lying to me and I wanted to know when the clock started, to find out it was at 1:30 PM.

Peacock's not getting my eyes until then.

[Permanent Twins Fan]

Roch Cholowsky goes to the White Sox number one per Joe Doyle and Jim Callis

[PseudoSABR]

1 minute ago, nicksaviking said:

Worst part of events like this, Super Bowl included, is the start time is a complete live. 'The MLB draft starts at 1 PM ET.'

Lies; coverage starts at 1 to get people to tune in. I had to tell the AI search engine it was lying to me and I wanted to know when the clock started, to find out it was at 1:30 PM.

Peacock's not getting my eyes until then.

Thanks, I was wondering when this thing was going to start.

[Permanent Twins Fan]

Jim Callis leaks out that the Rays are going to take Grady Emerson 2nd overall. This leaves Vahn Lackey for the Twins if they want him. 

[SteveLV]

Lackey is an awfully good player at 1.3.  Twins were lucky to get this spot with the lottery system.

[Wedman13]

12 minutes ago, Permanent Twins Fan said:

Jim Callis leaks out that the Rays are going to take Grady Emerson 2nd overall. This leaves Vahn Lackey for the Twins if they want him. 

Please not the kid from Kentucky Twins

[Patzky]

12 minutes ago, Permanent Twins Fan said:

Jim Callis leaks out that the Rays are going to take Grady Emerson 2nd overall. This leaves Vahn Lackey for the Twins if they want him. 

We are taking a long time..

[nicksaviking]

If no catcher is ever worth a QO, that means the Twins should be able to afford any free agent catcher.  

Kind of says to me they should then go Flora, because they could would never pay the top free agent pitchers.

But I'm not confident in either player.

[Permanent Twins Fan]

Lackey!! Good job Twins. 

[Permanent Twins Fan]

Twins did what they needed to do. They took the guy that fell to them. Good start to the draft. First 4 picks have really gone chalk with Flora going number 4 to the Giants. Go Twins!

[SteveLV]

Welcome to Minnesota Mr. Lackey!