BREAKING: Twins Select Vahn Lackey at Pick #3 in the 2026 MLB Draft

[hotshotschamp]

best prospect in our system, yes over Walker Jenkins.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Jenkins, K. Culpepper, Houston, Lackey, Tait, Rodriguez, Hill, Quick, Mendez and Soto are my top ten Twins' prospects in this order.  Who are your choices?

[TL]

12 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Jenkins, K. Culpepper, Houston, Lackey, Tait, Rodriguez, Hill, Quick, Mendez and Soto are my top ten Twins' prospects in this order.  Who are your choices?

A center fielder, 2 shortstops and a catcher as your top 4, and all perhaps top 50 in baseball(?) at this point, is a damn good way to start. 

[DJL44]

 White Sox get Cholowsky and Jim Thome’s kid. 

[D.C Twins]

41 minutes ago, JADBP said:

I’d be perfectly happy if they kept Lackey away from Mauer.   That Maueritis can be tricky-contagious.  

Hall of Fame catcher.... he would be well served to contract Maueritis!

[DJL44]

Ok, that’s enough catchers now 

[Mike Sixel]

Could have used a pitcher.....sigh.

[umterp23]

2nd pick of the draft for twins and they take Carson Tinney, a catcher from University of Texas

[SF Twins Fan]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

I agree, Florida for a month and finishing in Cedar Rapids.

It'll be interesting to see how they handle Lackey with Tait since he's still struggling at High A.  If Lackey comes in and dominates for a month, do they split time at High A the rest of the season?

[bean5302]

I like this choice. The Twins chose a bona fide catcher rather than an athlete who might be able to play catcher. Less hubris regarding a position the Twins are absolutely desperate to address.

[DocBauer]

1 hour ago, whosafraidofluigirussolo said:

Counterpoint: If Tom Pohlad wants to show he’s serious about taking steps forward in competitiveness rather than steps back, a QO to Jeffers would show that intent without hampering roster building or budget long-term. 

I liked your post even though I don't 100% agree with it. Ryan is the more important extension candidate. But IF TP is serious about the team contending...and they continue to win series and get above .500...I don't think the QO is completely out of the question. Nobody at catcher is going to bready immediately. 

[LyleCole]

12 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

I like this choice. The Twins chose a bona fide catcher rather than an athlete who might be able to play catcher. Less hubris regarding a position the Twins are absolutely desperate to address.

I don't think TInney is destined to be a catcher.   He might player there some but I suspect they will convert him to first base and he might see a lot of games as the DH.  

[DocBauer]

17 minutes ago, SF Twins Fan said:

It'll be interesting to see how they handle Lackey with Tait since he's still struggling at High A.  If Lackey comes in and dominates for a month, do they split time at High A the rest of the season?

Tait not yet 20yo at A+ and struggling a bit doesn't concern me. There are prep prospects being selected at 19yo in this draft. 

[Dman]

The rest of this draft is gravy after this pick. I really thought Emerson would be the one to fall.  Lackey is a great fit for the Twins. He’s got everything a good offensive and defensive catcher needs to be successful now he just needs to put it together at the pro level.

great pick.  Very happy with what they did there.

[jmlease1]

5 hours ago, JADBP said:

Wow...kinda wild draft after the top 4!  Flores went #4, but then  Jacob Lombard fell off the table (ranked 5, went 14)!   and Gio Rojas and Justin Lebron have no takers yet.  Usual wild guesswork in the MLB draft day...

Wasn't really that long ago when Lebron was being talked about as a top 5 pick and a real contender to be the Twins pick. The world has changed since then.

[twinstalker]

I think there are reasons to question this, but compared to the picks starting at #5, this looks genius.  I think really bad decisions were made on Curiel, Rose, and even Booth.  I liked Tyler Bell and to some extent Drew Burress, but I don't have extremely good reasons for taking Bell in particular over Lackey.  Bell is maybe the guy I'd try to pay a couple million less, but I'm not really into doing that if the top guys are strong.  I just don't know whether to believe Lackey is the man.  He might be.  For me the other two were no brainers, and I would have been fine taking Flora.  Overall, despite doubts about Lackey, I would have been okay in some way with the top 3, Flora, Bell (at reduced cost) and maybe Burress or Lombard at much reduced cost.  I wouldn't like the last two, but I probably wouldn't rant like I would with anyone else.

[twinstalker]

4 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Jenkins, K. Culpepper, Houston, Lackey, Tait, Rodriguez, Hill, Quick, Mendez and Soto are my top ten Twins' prospects in this order.  Who are your choices?

I don't believe in Rodriguez, I'm beginning to think Tait was a really bad trade (in hindsight), I think Houston is ahead of them somewhere in the second ten, and I think there are some others in the org that sneak into the top 10, mostly names not all that familiar to us, like Jhomnardo Reyes and a DSL guy I can't think of.  Maybe Houston is top ten after running though the names in my head, but it's a grudging #10.

[twinstalker]

4 hours ago, hotshotschamp said:

best prospect in our system, yes over Walker Jenkins.

LOL.  You have absolutely no idea how he reacts to professional pitching.  Jenkins is his same age and would have gone well before him in this draft.  Lackey hit in a hitter's paradise, and everyone on his team was a stud, statistically.  He may be good, or he may be overrated, but there's no sane way you take him over Jenkins right now.  Let's see what his K rate is at A+, AA, and AAA, though he'll always be at least one year older than Jenkins was.

[twinstalker]

5 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

no way he's in AA to start. IMO. Florida for a month or so, because that's where the best tech is.

You're probably right in that tech sense, but I would seriously hope he's ready right now to punish A+, or we may have picked the wrong guy at #3.

[SF Twins Fan]

4 hours ago, DocBauer said:

Tait not yet 20yo at A+ and struggling a bit doesn't concern me. There are prep prospects being selected at 19yo in this draft. 

I never said I was concerned.  Just that it'll be interesting to see how they split time over the next few years.  Does Lackey jump him over the next year if he hits well once he signs?

[Tovar12]

 

Hopefully this works out better than the last time we drafted a Georgia Tech catcher in the first round.

[ashbury]

6 minutes ago, Tovar12 said:

Hopefully this works out better than the last time we drafted a Georgia Tech catcher in the first round.

This gentleman sees what you did there.  

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, twinstalker said:

You're probably right in that tech sense, but I would seriously hope he's ready right now to punish A+, or we may have picked the wrong guy at #3.

You think A+ is easier than college?

[PseudoSABR]

6 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Could have used a pitcher.....sigh.

Yeah, Mike, let's draft for need 3 to 5 years ahead of time.  At the top of the draft, you take the best talent regardless of need.

[Mike Sixel]

42 minutes ago, PseudoSABR said:

Yeah, Mike, let's draft for need 3 to 5 years ahead of time.  At the top of the draft, you take the best talent regardless of need.

Their minor league system is barren of pitching right now. And, this guy wasn't anywhere near the highest ranked guy. You need like twenty pitchers every season.... Most analysts day he had no chance to stay at catcher. He's likely a first baseman. I'm not big in taking that in round two. Hope to be wrong. 

[hotshotschamp]

3 hours ago, twinstalker said:

LOL.  You have absolutely no idea how he reacts to professional pitching.  Jenkins is his same age and would have gone well before him in this draft.  Lackey hit in a hitter's paradise, and everyone on his team was a stud, statistically.  He may be good, or he may be overrated, but there's no sane way you take him over Jenkins right now.  Let's see what his K rate is at A+, AA, and AAA, though he'll always be at least one year older than Jenkins was.

I'll take lackey.

Jenkins has been solid but honestly somewhat underwhelming, not saying bad, not never has really lit it up and he's always hurt.

 

Just my opinion, if you pick Walker good on ya.

[Brandon]

Where does Lackey rank on the top prospects list? Is he higher than Jenkins?

[Jeff K]

18 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Jenkins, K. Culpepper, Houston, Lackey, Tait, Rodriguez, Hill, Quick, Mendez and Soto are my top ten Twins' prospects in this order.  Who are your choices?

I have him 2nd or 3rd with the Twins.  And Tait is dropping for me.  Base stealing numbers against him are bad.

[TheLeviathan]

Really like this pick.  This team should be leaning into the possibility of how good they could be in two years.

[twinssporto]

Great pick! Huge win for us. This is the guy I wanted from day one.