Minnesota Twins Select Ethan Wachsmann With 79th Overall Pick In 2026 MLB Draft

[Andrew Wright]

The Minnesota Twins have selected Ethan Wachsmann with the No. 79 overall pick in the MLB Draft. Slot value for the No. 79 pick is $1,052,700. 

Wachsmann, a Wake Forest commit, may garner over slot value, according to MLB Draft experts. The right-hander had an outstanding senior season at Grandview High School, posting a 6-2 record with a 2.10 ERA and 66 strikeouts across 36 2/3 innings. Here's what our draft expert Jamie Cameron had to say about Wachsman.

Wachsmann is a sharp riser on the draft board this spring. A CO prep arm hailing from the same high school program as Kevin Gausman, it's a fascinating blend of size and stuff, with plenty of rawness still present. Wachsman's fastball has touched triple digits already; it'll more routinely sit in the 94-96 mph range in the middle innings. He's added a cutter that sits in the high 80s this season as a bridge to the rest of his arsenal. While the velocity is excellent, there's work to do on both the control and command of his arsenal, which are currently fringe-average. Wachsman will fire off a breaking ball that can be slurvy but exhibits good spin rates. There's a changeup that he sells well with good arm speed and velocity separation from his fastball. It'll be worth monitoring the strike-throwing if a team can pry him away from his Wake Forest commitment, but if he can round out his arsenal with better breaking pitch shapes, he'll be a tough look for hitters.

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[Mike Sixel]

Well, I'm generally opposed to HS pitching, but this is round three, so whatever. 

[Dman]

Yeah i like this. Not sure how much he gonna cost, but always nice to take an upside shot on high school arm.  Twins haven't had much success with this group, but they haven't really taken elite high school arms either. I think this is good spot to grab one.

[DocBauer]

He's a tall, well built kid who comes from Colorado. What you're banking on here is future potential. He's probably going to need a couple of years just to adjust to a professional workload. A HS pitcher is amongst the best and worst investments you can make.  Of course, it's not like all college arms ever turn out either.

But a successful HS arm turnout usually turns out very well in the long run.  So you ALWAYS take a shot, like Soto and Hill, to see if you strike gold. But you also have to accept talent that might not be ready for 3-5yrs. You also have to recognize that arms from colder climates sometimes take longer as they weren't necessarily facing the same competition, or necessarily on the same touring teams as arms from warmer states. 

But a talented arm with potential is a talented arm with potential. He's pretty highly rated, with a great build, and about ready to have professional coaching for the first time. We won't see him until 2027, but he's got the arm talent to wait on. Not a bad pick, given time. 

[DataNerd]

This fits the Falvey MO of getting 1 pitcher with front of the rotation upside.  Like taking HS pitchers in this range

At the combine, hit 100.0 mph and 2916 RPM.  Probably would be higher on the consensus board if the combine was earlier in the cycle.  Also probably the only overslot guy that we are taking.

[FlyingFinn]

I'm wondering if we got Tinney well under slot so we could get Wachsmann over slot.

[Mike Sixel]

29 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

I'm wondering if we got Tinney well under slot so we could get Wachsmann over slot.

Then just take Wachsmann there....

[DJL44]

52 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Then just take Wachsmann there....

If he doesn’t sign you lose a bigger chunk of the budget with a higher pick.

[twinstalker]

4 hours ago, DJL44 said:

If he doesn’t sign you lose a bigger chunk of the budget with a higher pick.

Yeah, but you're taking someone unworthy of the 2nd pick.  And I'm pretty sure they're using money saved from the 2nd pick.  It's a screwy logic

[HrbieFan]

2 hours ago, twinstalker said:

Yeah, but you're taking someone unworthy of the 2nd pick.  And I'm pretty sure they're using money saved from the 2nd pick.  It's a screwy logic

Consensus rankings was somewhere between 50 and 75, so not a huge overdraft IMO. If you love a guy and don't think he will last until your next pick, you take him early. Slot is around $2.3 for Tinney at 43. The #50 slot is $1.9, so I am hoping for a pre-draft deal around that # or less

[DJL44]

The Twins have about $800k available in the 5% overage. If Tenney frees up another $400k that would be $1.2M extra for Wachsmann. 

[Mike Sixel]

4 hours ago, DJL44 said:

The Twins have about $800k available in the 5% overage. If Tenney frees up another $400k that would be $1.2M extra for Wachsmann. 

They've never gone over. 

[DJL44]

Looking at how this draft has gone, I don’t know why a high school pitcher would give up Round 2 money to go to college. Best case scenario is they get drafted in Round 2 in three years. They get to free agency 3 years earlier if they’re drafted out of high school. Teams are actively avoiding pitchers in Round 1.

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

They've never gone over. 

Tom Go-Big-Or-Go-Home Pohlad is gonna change things, I'm sure of it.

[TheLeviathan]

15 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

I'm wondering if we got Tinney well under slot so we could get Wachsmann over slot.

I hate this element of MLB's draft.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

22 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

I'm wondering if we got Tinney well under slot so we could get Wachsmann over slot.

They stated Tinney was at the top of their board, maybe they got a discount, but I’m not expecting it. I think they saved some money on day 2.  

[JADBP]

On 7/11/2026 at 7:57 PM, FlyingFinn said:

I'm wondering if we got Tinney well under slot so we could get Wachsmann over slot.

 

[JADBP]

I really hope they sign him but I believe it is 50/50.  Sounds like he has a strong commitment.  He could be top of first round in 3 years if he really blossoms at Wake.  Or he could be another Wake flameout with an overused arm.  
Either way, he is 5-6 years before he starts in The Biggs  and maybe 8-9 before he has a chance to make money like this again.  Tough call.  

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

12 hours ago, JADBP said:

I really hope they sign him but I believe it is 50/50.  Sounds like he has a strong commitment.  He could be top of first round in 3 years if he really blossoms at Wake.  Or he could be another Wake flameout with an overused arm.  
Either way, he is 5-6 years before he starts in The Biggs  and maybe 8-9 before he has a chance to make money like this again.  Tough call.  

We saved 240k on Lackey maybe a little on Tinney and some senior wings. We sign him no issues. He isn’t picked that high without verbal agreement. 

[DataNerd]

On 7/20/2026 at 12:42 AM, JADBP said:

I really hope they sign him but I believe it is 50/50.  Sounds like he has a strong commitment.  He could be top of first round in 3 years if he really blossoms at Wake.  Or he could be another Wake flameout with an overused arm.  
Either way, he is 5-6 years before he starts in The Biggs  and maybe 8-9 before he has a chance to make money like this again.  Tough call.  

$2.25M, about 1.2M over slot.  They almost certainly had that number when they picked him

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, DataNerd said:

$2.25M, about 1.2M over slot.  They almost certainly had that number when they picked him

That is equivalent to the #45 slot value. Should be in the top 20 of bonuses for pitchers in this draft.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

It’s an early 2nd value.  They must be pretty high on him.  

 

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

On 7/11/2026 at 10:28 PM, Mike Sixel said:

Then just take Wachsmann there....

Because you couldn’t get both.  The high school pitcher could go to college unless you pay him what he asked.  Someone would have picked Tinney.