Twins Select Carson Tinney With The 43rd Pick In 2026 MLB Draft

[Taylor Leonard]

Image courtesy of © Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins selected Carson Tinney 43rd overall in the 2026 MLB Draft. Tinney played for Notre Dame and the University of Texas at Austin. He was ranked 61st in our mock draft, slashing .326/.483/.688 offensively for the Longhorns. 

Here is a summary of Tinney written by our draft expert, Jamie Cameron.

Notre Dame transfer Carson Tinney is a different profile of player, with more whiff in his offensive profile and more defensive uncertainty. Despite this, it's an incredibly impressive production after transferring to Texas and facing SEC competition his junior season. Tinney has significant swing-and-miss issues with his hit tool, but it's legitimate 70-grade raw power. He's posted exit velocities north of 115 mph in 2026, in addition to 22 home runs in 61 games. 

While he strikes out a lot (23.1%), his hit tool concerns are somewhat mitigated by a walk rate of 19.2%.. Defensively, it's huge arm strength. Like many other large-framed catchers, Tinney struggles with some of the nimbleness and adaptability of movement behind the plate. Outside of controlling the running game, the whole defensive package needs work. Even so, it's 30 home run potential that could find a home at first base if the catching doesn't stick.

The Minnesota Twins secured a major organizational upgrade by selecting Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey with the No. 3 overall pick and Texas catcher Carson Tinney at No. 43 overall. This strategic emphasis on premium backstops injects high-impact depth, defensive versatility, and immense power into the franchise's pipeline.

Drafting premium catching talent is always a high-risk, high-reward strategy, but the Twins have focused - intentionally or not - on acquiring catcher depth since the 2025 trade deadline. If even one of these prospects hits their ceiling, the Twins have secured a foundational piece for their next championship window.

View full article

[nova_twins]

Kinda weird imo to take two right hand hitting catchers with the first two selections. They do seem to have some kind of long term interest in a utility role that includes 3rd catcher along with other positions so maybe he's an upgraded version of Ricardo Olivar. 

[DocBauer]

Full confession, my knee-jerk reaction was WTH? Wasted pick! It just caught me SO off guard. But I quickly relaxed after I heard Jamie do a more complete breakdown.

NOTE: Basic Twins draft principle has usually been there are arms with potential to develop, but TOP BATS tend to disappear after the first couple of rounds.

NOTE 2: Jeffers was a surprise 2nd round pick that wasn't rated that high and they turned out pretty well with that pick. (Seth pointed this one out).

NOTE 3: Tait and Jiminez are each very, very young and 2-3yrs away. Diaw has great athleticism and bat potential, but he's still rough around the edges as a catcher. I still like him if he can/will put in the develop work necessary. 

So Tinney is a big guy who might not move the best, but is a big target and has a really strong arm. Despite some HIT concerns, he BB a lot, and it sounds like his hit&miss is still within the zone. That would seem to indicate some HIT potential and decent recognition skill. His hard rate contact and SLG numbers are all in the top 5-6% of college bats this season. So the 70 power ranking seems to be for real.

I'm a big believer in drafting and developing CATCHERS every single draft. So I can't really dislike selecting another catcher when it's such an important position, and often ignored, or at least undervalued for sure. And not just by the Twins. Really good catchers are hard to come by. Just think about how concerned many are about a possible loss of Jackson at this point.

A backup catcher behind Lackey with a strong arm and big power suddenly doesn't sound like such a bad idea when you consider ALL of these factors. And there's room for him to DH and maybe play some 1B as well.

I think it would be a major mistake to say he's another Sabato. Maybe another Jeffers-like catcher would be more accurate. 

I'm not certain that I would have made this selection, but reflection after my initial knee-jerk reaction has me understanding why they went this route. I can see the reasoning for a 2nd catcher and a BIG BAT that has the potential to move around some.

 

 

[LyleCole]

I don't think Tinney is destined to be a catcher in the Twins organization.  He might play some games there, but I think he is a 1B and DH guy going forward.   With a lot of DHing.   

Do we another Aaron Sabato type of guy with the only added premium being some chance behind the plate?   Hopefully he can improve his bat to ball skills and use the huge power he has.

I would have taken Ben Blair, a RHP from Liberty, who was selected 49th.  

[Nashvilletwin]

Sabato - Part Deux.

Same bet; similar risk. 

[Mike Sixel]

4 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Sabato - Part Deux.

Same bet; similar risk. 

Ya. Not what I'd have done at all. They totally moved away from this profile the last few years early ..

[weitz41]

17 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

Full confession, my knee-jerk reaction was WTH? Wasted pick! It just caught me SO off guard. But I quickly relaxed after I heard Jamie do a more complete breakdown.

NOTE: Basic Twins draft principle has usually been there are arms with potential to develop, but TOP BATS tend to disappear after the first couple of rounds.

NOTE 2: Jeffers was a surprise 2nd round pick that wasn't rated that high and they turned out pretty well with that pick. (Seth pointed this one out).

NOTE 3: Tait and Jiminez are each very, very young and 2-3yrs away. Diaw has great athleticism and bat potential, but he's still rough around the edges as a catcher. I still like him if he can/will put in the develop work necessary. 

So Tinney is a big guy who might not move the best, but is a big target and has a really strong arm. Despite some HIT concerns, he BB a lot, and it sounds like his hit&miss is still within the zone. That would seem to indicate some HIT potential and decent recognition skill. His hard rate contact and SLG numbers are all in the top 5-6% of college bats this season. So the 70 power ranking seems to be for real.

I'm a big believer in drafting and developing CATCHERS every single draft. So I can't really dislike selecting another catcher when it's such an important position, and often ignored, or at least undervalued for sure. And not just by the Twins. Really good catchers are hard to come by. Just think about how concerned many are about a possible loss of Jackson at this point.

A backup catcher behind Lackey with a strong arm and big power suddenly doesn't sound like such a bad idea when you consider ALL of these factors. And there's room for him to DH and maybe play some 1B as well.

I think it would be a major mistake to say he's another Sabato. Maybe another Jeffers-like catcher would be more accurate. 

I'm not certain that I would have made this selection, but reflection after my initial knee-jerk reaction has me understanding why they went this route. I can see the reasoning for a 2nd catcher and a BIG BAT that has the potential to move around some.

 

 

Not too excited about this pick myself. After the 1st round and the last trade deadline C has some real depth. From the outside looking in. I see a 1B (eventually). Now don't get me wrong we should and could use one like him right now. but 2-4 years from now. Not so sure. I would have preferred a pitcher with 2 plus pitches.

[Danchat]

If there's belief that Tinney sticks at catcher, maybe they can use Tait as a premium trade chip in the future? Not that I don't believe in Tait, it's just that other teams are usually lacking with catcher depth and now they've invested into it heavily. Maybe something like doing the next version of the Sonny Gray / Pablo Lopez trade and using Tait as the main prospect with the anticipation of Joe Ryan being traded sooner or later.

[ashbury]

I like drafting catchers in the early rounds (just, not high first-round unless you feel certain you are getting a near-HOFer).  

With the strong arm, I was thinking RF more than 1B, if the concerns about being behind the plate prove correct.  Who wouldn't love to lock up the next Matt Wallner, after all?

As with all players whose defense up-the-middle is suspect, it will come down to the bat, and in particular the hit tool to unlock the power.  

[HerbieFan]

Would like to see them adding more speed and athleticism this high in the draft.  This kid profiles more like a 1B to me

[DocBauer]

16 minutes ago, weitz41 said:

Not too excited about this pick myself. After the 1st round and the last trade deadline C has some real depth. From the outside looking in. I see a 1B (eventually). Now don't get me wrong we should and could use one like him right now. but 2-4 years from now. Not so sure. I would have preferred a pitcher with 2 plus pitches.

I would have gone P as well. But MOST of the college P I really liked were gone, as expected, even though I was hoping for the best.

There were still a couple I still liked, but I'm sure the Twins draft board is very different than me as a very amateur GM. And their NEXT TIER apparently showed a collection of arms that just didn't mesh with MY opinion.

I think we all have to remember that the FO knows a hell of a lot more than we do. So an arm we see ranked at a certain point doesn't mean the Twins see enough of a difference from the next group.

[weitz41]

Agree, but my lazy boy says otherwise. 😉

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

37 minutes ago, Danchat said:

If there's belief that Tinney sticks at catcher, maybe they can use Tait as a premium trade chip in the future? Not that I don't believe in Tait, it's just that other teams are usually lacking with catcher depth and now they've invested into it heavily. Maybe something like doing the next version of the Sonny Gray / Pablo Lopez trade and using Tait as the main prospect with the anticipation of Joe Ryan being traded sooner or later.

This was my thought on a car ride home. I would not be surprised to see Tait flipped at the deadline and potentially for a reliever with multiple years of control. Who knows though. It’s a similar profile though and we can flip the more risky Tait for an asset now and still have immense catching depth in the minors. 

Many really wanted Ike Irish last year in the first round last year and other than Irish having better wood bat league stats, they seem extremely similar. The Twins have a pretty good system in place to improve defensive metrics, so I think there is a high probability he sticks behind the plate. 

[Dman]

Was wondering/hoping this was a money saving move.  There’s a lot of players i would have liked there.  I think Ty Head would have been nice there as the system feels low on center field bats.  Lot’s of arms I liked in that spot as well.

i don’t mind doubling down on catchers, if he even ends up a catcher, but would have liked to see more athleticism picking at 43.  I love the power and the walk rate means he has a chance to force pitchers to throw it over the plate.  Strong arm is nice as well.  Obviously the Twins are more bullish on the hit tool than consensus. 

it just doesn’t seem like a pick to make at 43, but I was wrong when they made the Jeffers pick so we’ll see how this one turns out.  Hoping for good things.