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Image courtesy of © Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

After nine consecutive pitchers taken in the 2026 MLB Draft, the Twins added four college hitters and a college pitcher. Many of the same familiar tropes from past Twins drafts have re-emerged, though in slightly different forms.

In recent seasons, the Twins have turned their 11-15 picks into major leaguers, including Louis Varland, David Festa, Kyler Fedko, and Kody Funderburk. Will any of these picks see time with the Twins?

11th Round, 317th Overall: OF Aidan Teel, Mississippi State

In the first draft since the end of the Derek Falvey era, the Twins showed incredible restraint, waiting until the 11th round to draft a left-handed outfielder. Teel, the younger brother of White Sox catcher Kyle Teel, breaks up the Twins' run of pitchers in this draft.

Nearly 22 on draft day, Teel just completed his redshirt junior season at Mississippi State after spending his first three seasons at Virginia, missing his freshman season due to injury. In 168 plate appearances, he slashed .294/.416/.449 (.864) for the SEC program, down from his .979 OPS in 2025 for the ACC's Virginia.

Teel has a good eye at the plate and solid contact skills, presenting the Twins with a well-developed player, which isn't surprising given his age on draft day (he will turn 22 next month), but it's unclear how much power the Twins will be able to add to his 6'0, 200 lb. frame, though he did have 11 home runs and 11 doubles in 40 Northwoods League wood bat games. In 2024, he has some speed and may be able to play all three outfield positions, but his best bet is probably in a corner.

 

12th Round, 347th Overall: RHP Colby Turner, Michigan

Once again, showing immense restraint, the Twins held off on drafting the type of player that they have had a habit of taking about 10 rounds earlier than they did today, as they've loved taking a good bat college second baseman somewhere between Supplemental Round A and Round 3 in recent years.

Turner is a second baseman who torched the Big 10 in 2026 with a combination of contact and power, with more extra-base hits than strikeouts, including 14 home runs in 57 games. His 1.057 OPS this season was nearly 300 points better than his 2025--first year in the Big 10, making him an enticing name who might have snuck up on some teams. He's a very aggressive hitter, so improving his plate discipline will be beneficial for the Twins

Like many college second basemen, defense is not his strong suit, as although he has fine feet and a 6'0, 205 lb. frame, his arm leaves much to be desired, and he might be best suited for left field, reminiscent of the path taken by current Twins like Luke Keaschall and Austin Martin.

 

13th Round, 377th Overall: SS Isaiah Lane, Hope International (NAIA)

Lane is a shortstop whose 2026 season is not found on Baseball Reference, because he transferred from San Diego to Hope International (an NAIA school) shortly before his junior season. It's unclear exactly what spurred his exit from San Diego, other than reports that he had "violated team rules," per the San Diego Union Tribune.

Lane posted a .860 OPS at Big 12 Oklahoma in 2024, mostly fueled by a lot of singles and walks in his 71 freshman plate appearances. After transferring to the WCC's San Diego, he slashed .328/.457/.528 as a sophomore, including 21 extra base hits in 245 plate appearances (8 home runs). His power numbers dropped in the wood bat Cape Cod league the following summer, with just a .289 slugging percentage.

Lane predictably dominated in NAIA play, with a 1.111 OPS and 7 homers in 117 plate appearances. He's described as having a solid glove and may be able to cut it defensively as a middle infielder. There's a lot of uncertainty with Lane, but such is picking in the 13th round.

 

14th Round, 407th Overall: RHP Alec Bouchard, Wofford

Back to our regularly scheduled programming, the Twins drafted a 6'2 (at just 185 pounds) starting pitcher who they think they can develop. Bouchard is a right-handed starting pitcher who just finished his third season at Wofford, though his first as a full-time starter, throwing 89 innings across 15 starts.

His ERA has fallen year-over-year from 7.36 in 2024 as a freshman to 5.69 as a sophomore to 2.83 as a junior as he has developed as a pitcher, earning Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year and First-Team All-Conference honors. The Twins have had success in recent years, building on mid-to-late round pitchers from smaller schools, tweaking their mechanics to improve velocity and stuff. Wofford certainly fits the mold, and Bouchard entered college with a low-90s fastball.

 

15th Round, 437th Overall: SS Charlie Scholvin, Toledo

Named First-Team All-MAC this past season, Scholvin is a high-contact, high-OBP infielder who played three seasons at Toledo. He reached base nearly 50% of the time in 2026, batting .360 with a .488 OBP over 293 plate appearances. However, a lot of that OBP is due to his propensity for getting hit by pitches. A staggering 65 of his plate appearances as a sophomore and junior ended in a plunking, accounting for 13% of his trips to the dish.

He also struck out less than he walked, 46 walks compared to 38 strikeouts as a sophomore and junior, but I find it important to emphasize that during that stretch he was hit 19 more times than he walked. A line like that suggests he's got good bat-to-ball skills and that he probably crowds the plate quite a bit. A ball guy, for sure.

 

The expectations for most players taken in this range are low. But the Twins have shown that they can at least take some of these guys and get them to they point that they've earned major league consideration. Who knows what this class will have yielded come 2030?


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Posted

Well they needed to balance out the number of pitchers taken with position players so not too surprised to see them grab some interesting options late.  I like that they went arms first though as they have hit on more arms than bats after the second round. Still hoping for more arms though as they have been able to turn a fair number into at least pen arms or tradable assets.  Granted at this stage the vast majority do not make it.  Still the Twins have made some arms work from this far down before. I'd keep piling up arms if I were them.

Posted

Yeah, they could get the same infield hitters in round 11-12 that they've gotten in rds 1s, 2, and 3 in the Falvey regime (except Keaschall).  It's been a complete waste (except Keaschall).  Get your infielders and outfielders internationally, for the most part after your first pick.  Pick up wicked arms in the vacated spots.

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