Twins 2025 MLB Draft Day 2 Recap: We're Doing Something New

56 minutes ago, LyleCole said:

They seem to have spent the last couple of drafts/signings sticking their system with almost catchers.

They drafted Diaw in the 3rd round last season and he is hitting pretty well  in Cedar Rapids.  He is a catcher (25 games) and OF (10 games).

They have Ricardo Olivar in Wichita and he is hitting pretty well.   He is a catcher (28 games) OF (18 games) and DH (20 games).  AA also has 2022 draft picks Andrew Cossetti and Noah Baez who are more traditional catchers.

2021 draft pick Noah Cardenas is in AAA.alog with Jair Camargo.  

While with the exception of Diaw I don't think we have much talent in the minors at this position, they have catchers enough to fill the minor league rosters.   This does not seem to be a position that the Twins management prioritizes.

I think your final sentence is a little too broad. It may not be a position the organization prioritizes in the draft, but if it was one they didn't prioritize at all they never would have signed Vazquez.

Developing MLB-quality catchers seems to be the hardest thing to do these days; finding one who can both be quality defensively and hit their weight ain't easy. Would the Twins be better off if they put a lot more draft capital into catching? Maybe, or maybe they just be looking at a lot more busts and people ripping them for wasting draft capital...

I think they recognize it's a position of organizational need (it's why they took a flier on Cartaya, for example) but there's very little indication that they draft for need, and considering the development time it takes for most prospects (and the risk associated), I tend to agree. Even though I'd like to see more catching options coming up through the system (he said, hypocritcally).

4 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

I think it's a little early to write off Festa, Matthews, and Morris as being "solid AAA" arms.

Yes, top teams need high-end starters, but those are also hard to find. That said, there are more paths to getting one than just drafting the guys with the best stuff at the time of the draft and hoping.

But why not take top end arms in the draft versus having to trade for them I the long run?  I like the guys you mentioned but 'I' don't believe any of the three will mentioned is better than a 4/5, and devoid of injury never will start a playoff game,

43 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

I think your final sentence is a little too broad. It may not be a position the organization prioritizes in the draft, but if it was one they didn't prioritize at all they never would have signed Vazquez.

Developing MLB-quality catchers seems to be the hardest thing to do these days; finding one who can both be quality defensively and hit their weight ain't easy. Would the Twins be better off if they put a lot more draft capital into catching? Maybe, or maybe they just be looking at a lot more busts and people ripping them for wasting draft capital...

I think they recognize it's a position of organizational need (it's why they took a flier on Cartaya, for example) but there's very little indication that they draft for need, and considering the development time it takes for most prospects (and the risk associated), I tend to agree. Even though I'd like to see more catching options coming up through the system (he said, hypocritcally).

Obviously, since I was referring to the draft I meant they do not prioritize catching in the draft.   

If you look at the entire front office tenure since 2017 they have used very little draft resources at the position.  Their draft model for the position seems to be to find an athletic catcher that can play other positions with reasonable hit tool or just draft backup quality college catching.  They have drafted only two catchers in the top 7 rounds since 2017:  Ryan Jeffers a hit first guy who became a better catcher and Diaw.  

Here is the draft year and the round they selected a catcher

2017   17, 21, 37, 38

2018 2nd (Jeffers), 8, 13, 25, 28

2019   29th, 38, 39

2020  None

2021  8th, 9th

2022  11th 12th

2023  None

2024  3rd (Diaw)

2025  none

40 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

I only did the first 4 rounds when I was looking at this a couple weeks ago, but before this year there'd been 67 catchers taken in the first 4 rounds of the draft during Falvey's tenure. So, in 8 years, only 67 catchers were taken. With 30 teams in the league, that's essentially 2 catchers per team drafted over an 8-year period. The Twins were putting just as much early draft priority in catchers as the average team as they drafted 2 (Jeffers and Diaw) in that time.

Number of catchers drafted in first 4 rounds by year:
2017: 6
2018: 8
2019: 6
2020: 8
2021: 8
2022: 10
2023: 8
2024: 13

There were 7 this year. So, now we're 74 catchers in 9 years. Now we're up to 2.46 per team so the Twins are just below average. Teams simply don't put a lot of early draft investment in catchers. I don't know the numbers for total catchers, so I don't know if the Twins are way behind on total catchers drafted. But the Twins don't seem to be alone in not drafting a lot of high round catchers. It's actually pretty darn universal. Catchers aren't exactly flying off the board early.

75 catchers out of ~150 picks * 8 seasons = 6.25%

2 catchers out of 26 players on the roster = 7.7%

I'm going to guess that drafts are about 50% pitchers, 19% infielders, 19% outfielders and 8% catchers. Catcher is also a position that seems more likely to have an international free agent than other positions.

I think it would be interesting if the Twins brought over the best catcher from Japan. That's an untapped market for catcher talent.

Interesting strategy.

Draft a bunch of pitchers but not any catchers for them to throw to.

19 hours ago, DJL44 said:

You sell at the trade deadline and buy in the offseason. Get the best prospects available in July, trade for areas of need in December/January.

Wait - we're all missing the biggest story here.

We drafted a guy named Callen Fang.

Callen Fang!

It doesn't get much better than that.

On 7/15/2025 at 8:49 PM, DocBauer said:

I'm a little late to this conversation and I'm probably going to repeat a lot of what I said in the live OP, but here goes:

I know this wasn't a great draft, but I liked most of the picks through probably 12 or 13, but not really sure about the last 7 or 8. And I know that's nit picking for late round selections. Still, I'm just not sure how much upside I see there.

HOUSTON isn't exciting. But he was considered the 1 or 1A best SS in the draft. He can hit, take some BB, can run a little, has developed some late pop/power that we hope is legitimate. If the defense is for real...and everyone seems to agree it is...the Twins now have 2 SS of the future. This gives greater flexibility with Culpepper to set up the INF the way you want/need in the near future. Add in Lewis...hopefully...Lee and Keaschall...possibly some depth/help from Schobel and DeBarge and there's a lot of talent to work with.

I LOVE the QUICK selection. If he didn't have TJ a year ago, does he make it to the comp pick? There's sooo much to work with here! And I really like embracing the strength of the draft and going with some talented college arms early. And there's a lot of projectability in both REITZ and BARR. We'll done!

I'm not as excited as some about prep SS AGBAYANI, despite the bloodlines and being the Gatorade player of the year. As of NOW, he's solid in all scouting metrics but doesn't seem to have any area where he stands out. So I'm a little tepid on my excitement. But that could easily change in a year or two as he develops.

YOUNG is this year's version of Winokur, a toolsy prep who is an excellent athlete with a great arm and BIG power potential. You just have to take shots on kids Iike this once a draft because the payoff could be tremendous.

I really like McCOMBS and DANIELS, who MIGHT end up in the OF at some point from what I've read. Both seem to have solid bats, good control of the zone, and some power and speed. I think DANIELS might be a tough sign. SPROCK is really interesting in that he got better each year, was good in summer league action, and has a great quad slash line. He did it all for Elon. No intended insult to him or Elon, but he didn't play in a power conference so there is some question how he translates to pro ball.

MITROVICH, SMITH, and FANG are all a little different but offer potential for sure. SMITH has velocity and great K numbers, but also BB a ton. Can he find control/command? I see a potentially really strong pen arm down the road. It seems the other 2 have good secondaries and control but need added velocity. The Twins know how to do that.

From there it's cloudy to me. 17th Rounder JP SMITH is listed as a 3B, but from what I can see he's been almost exclusively a 1B in college. So is he converting to the hot corner? Really good numbers and bat/power potential, but Sacramento State is a step down level. LHP BECKER is a pen arm with high BB and K numbers. I love late fliers on power LH arms with K ability as possible pen contributors down the road. 20th rounder HIKER was really good at low level Wisconsin-Whitewater, but had a rough year at Arizona after his transfer there. I'm betting he goes back to AZ for 2026 to attempt to improve his draft stock.

What didn't I like?

I don't like the ROBINSON pick at 10. He might be a good athlete and have a good glove, but for college, he just didn't hit. He hasn't shown SB speed or much power. This feels like a cost saving move.

And arms JONES, MORING, and STEVENS just haven't shown anything close to good numbers, or have barely pitched due to injuries. The JONES pick is interesting as he's the tall, long kind of arm the Twins love to grab and work with, but they drafted him in 2024 and he didn't sign. But he had an even worse 2025. His recent numbers in the Collegiate Summer League have shown promise though. And there must be SOMETHING the Twins scouts see in him they really like despite poor college numbers.

After reflection and review, I've warmed up a little more to those last 7-8 picks. Again, not an especially good draft, and we're talking late round selections. It just feels like we had better late round drafts a couple years ago.

I would have swapped out Robinson in the 10th spot for a college catcher. I don't believe drafting catchers, in general, means you've added a catcher of the future, unless you get a great one early. But there's so few of those EVER. You develop them. But to not take a single one bothers me. To me, a catcher is a lot like a QB in the NFL draft; whenever possible, you draft one almost every year to see if you get lucky, or find a really good backup, or someone who might develop in to a trade chip. IMO, solid catchers are SO HARD to find, you should take 1, if not 2, every draft to see if you get "lucky".

A good draft overall. Strong at the top, with some real potential in the middle rounds both in regard to arms and position players. I'm just a little unsure about anyone emerging from the later picks, and don't like a single catcher not drafted. 

The Twins took a quite a few catchers last year.  3rd - Diaw,  4th - Ferrer,  6th Bender (won't get into this pick).  

I've been on vacation so this is my first posts on the draft.   Its incredibly hard to find anything after the 13th round so not going to delve to much into that other than 1 pick. 

Merit Jones.  Stats are meh,  but then you have the Twins have picked him in 2 consecutive drafts.  Why?  More than anything they like his stuff.   I also read an article that stats being in Utah in the elevated elevation they really don't take much stock in those stats.  It may also be an explanation why he did better in the MLB League.  I actually think there may be something worthwhile here.  

As to the rest of the draft. This is the best overall pitching class we have drafted in the Falvey era.  Its not even close.  Quick, Ellwanger, Reitz and Barr is quite the pitching draft haul.  This draft was known for being light on hitting but strong on pitching so ultimately not surprised that we went pitching heavy,  but all 4 seem to really lean into what the Twins do well, and also have a much higher floor than most of the pitching prospects we have drafted in recent history.  Mitrovich, Smith, Fang and Jones continue the Twins propensity to try and strike gold in the later rounds with pitching prospects.  

As a whole, I don't see many throw away picks for draft savings.   

Whether you like them or not,  the 2 High School picks will determine how good this class can be.  You have the masher in Young with the highest of ceilings, and the really solid prospect that seems to do everything right in Agbayani.  Some have mentioned they don't like Agbayani as much.  I actually think odds are he has the better chance at getting to the big leagues,  even though I actually really like the Young pick.  With Young you do have a player that 1 has talent, 2 has pedigree (good and bad),  3. Has some mentors to rely on.     Both Dmitri and Delmon excelled in the minors.   He stood out at the combine with 3 of the hardest hit balls exit velocities,  very similar to Winokur in his year at the combine.  Agbayani I see as someone again with pedigree that will likely outwork other players to be successful.  At 6'2" he has a little more size and I would say athleticism to work with than his dad.  Hit tool 50 and run tool 55.   I wouldn't be surprised if the hit tool is a little better than currently being graded.  He is a 6th rounder, but I think you could find a really solid find there.  

The 1st round pick is the only one I think I may have qualms about although I can rationalize it. You passed up probably one of the top 5 bats in Irish that could have been a C,  but if not an outfielder.  For a good bat/great defensive shortstop.  If Irish is able to stick at Catcher I think you would have a starter Catcher for a decade.  After his injury that may not be the case.   So if he is relegated to outfield I can see why they then went with the defensive/solid bat in Houston.  If Houston does well at Shortstop its a more valuable commodity.  Who knows, we may match up well with a trade in the future with the Orioles who seem to have a ton of catching prospects.  

Overall its a really solid draft.  Its most likely a draft that will outperform what most people would expect from it.   You have 4 legit pitching prospects that each have the possibility of being a #1 or #2 type pitcher.  Bat wise,  your highest ceiling player is Young,  with Houston being a pretty safe pick to become at the very least a solid defensive shortstop.  There are a few other bats that are interesting,  Agbayani, Robinson  (seems like Houston lite) - Daniels (may be the 3rd best hitting prospect of the draft) - JP Smith II  (Quentin Young lite) - immense power,  likely a lot of holes in the swing.  For 18th round pick you may find a player there.   Ive always been a draft guy,  this draft has a lot of potential.  Stacking up multiple good drafts is the key to future success.  Since 2022 the Twins have been drafting immensely well.   We will see if they can continue the outperformance,  and start to find a few more elite players.  This seems to be that type of draft of drafting players that have the elite ceiling that we haven't targeted as much in the past.  

14 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

I honestly believe Diaw and Ferrer are the top catching prospects in the system, despite being in their 1st seasons. (Haven't given up on Cardenas either). I'm just surprised there wasn't a single catching option they didn't like somewhere.

 

My gut feel is they liked Taitn Gray.   Had 3 of the other highest exit velocities besides Young.  But he was picked 2 picks ahead of Ellwanger in the 3rd round.   Possibly Bodine as well.  

On 7/18/2025 at 3:21 PM, DocBauer said:

I honestly believe Diaw and Ferrer are the top catching prospects in the system, despite being in their 1st seasons. (Haven't given up on Cardenas either). I'm just surprised there wasn't a single catching option they didn't like somewhere.

Again, I'm really excited about the first 5 pitchers. I think Mitrovich might be a bit of a steal, and I wouldn't be shocked if Barr turns out even better than Quick. 

I've softened my stance somewhat on the last 7 or 8 choices, though I'm going to guess the 20th pick of Hiker will go back to school. The other arms just seem like complete fliers based on what they've done to this point, or not done.

But in the 10 of the first 11 picks I think they did a great job! How can you not be super intrigued about Young?

Good post!

Doc and anyone else, 

I was diving a little deeper into some of the pitchers specifically Reitz and the mid to late round pitchers.  Reitz has such an odd build, he has a normal torso, then legs that are like 2/3rds of his height and then long arms. I thought his extension must be insane, in reality it’s not. He throws from more of an upright position, sidearmed with an extreme downward angle. Do you think the Twins will maintain this current motion, or really start working on maximizing his extension? The mechanics are a little more rough than I anticipated but there is just so much to work with.  

Jones, Moring, Stevens seemed like flyer picks but it’s apparent the twins really like all 3 paying them 150k, 100k and 170k respectively. Jones and Steven’s performed really well in the cape cod league. They obviously like Jones build picking him twice. Steven’s never threw for Bama, but obviously the coaches really liked his stuff and relayed it onto the Twins. When you are overpaying for that late of a pick even if they had leverage speaks volumes as to what the Twins think of him. Moring I thought was again a throw away pick, but they paid him 100k. I don’t have as much insight as the other 2 but honestly in retrospect, I expect this draft to challenge the 2022 and 2023 drafts for best drafts in Twins history.  We will know in a couple years.  
 

11 hours ago, DocBauer said:

I know just enough to be dangerous, or make a fool of myself, lol.

I don't know that the Twins will remake Reitz delivery, but I'm sure they will tweak it somewhat. I think his 3/4 delivery is very deceptive. But when you watch him throw there doesn't seem to be much "bend" from his upper body. That's where he appears to short arm his throws and looses velocity. I mean, he already throws in the 90's and is only just about to turn 21yo. So getting more extension on his throws should put him in the 94-95 range consistently over the next year or so. And with that length, it will "appear" to be sitting around 97.

I'm not certain exact what they seen in JONES to draft him twice despite poor results. Basically, he's only had good results in a summer league in 2023...9 games...and especially in the the pre-draft summer league this year in 8 games, 7 of them in relief, when his K numbers jumped to 14 per. Obviously they see something in his length they like, and believe there's something mechanical to sort out or rebuild. Definitely an enigma at this point.

On the other hand, MORING is only 6' 1", and had poor numbers his first 2yrs of college before a solid 2025. So the length doesn't seem to be there, and he's only thrown 100 innings in college, and only 17.2 in 2025. Another enigma. Were I too take a guess? They see a repeatable delivery that can max out for 1-2 IP and he can be a good pen arm if he can tweak his spotty command. Maybe Joe Ryan-ish potential in the pen for short stretches? 

Then comes the biggest enigma/question mark of ALL the arms selected, IMO, in STEVENS. Despite being listed as coming from Alabama, he's never thrown for them yet. He was a pretty successful and highly ranked prep recruit from Birmingham AL, but he's ONLY thrown 37.1 innings in THREE YEARS of summer league ball to this point! He was a multi sport athlete who's probably maxed out physically at 6' 1" and 215 lbs who was probably on the Twins radar based on his prep production and lingering belief of what he might do concentrating solely on baseball? Keep in mind the Twins reportedly have a good relationship with the Alabama program, going back to the drafting of Prielipp a few years ago. And while I can't find any information to back this up, for a home state, top prospect to never throw a single inning for his home state school might just mean injury factors have held him back???

All 3 of these guys signed for slot, or under slot. IMO, they are all rather extreme fliers that cost little. And it's these 3 that made me question the last 3rd of this draft, no matter how much I liked the first 2/3. In fact, I'm initially more interested in the last 2 PICKS of LHRP BECKER, and RHP HIKER who I genuinely thought would NOT sign and go back to ARIZONA to try and increase his value as a senior.

In recent previous years...even though they're ALL fliers at that point...I thought they had more interesting selections in those 14-16 selections. 

But you just never know what scouts see that we have NO CLUE about. But TODAY, I remain a bit confused about these 3 choices. 

I know this probably offers more questions than answers, but it's what I see.

I agree I think they will work with Reitz and if they can improve the extension the perceived velocity would be much higher.  

We have very rarely found anything in the 14th through 20th rounds.  Since 2017 you are looking at Funderburk, Varland, Julien (paid 5th round money) and Ohl.   Honestly that is probably more finds than most teams have had in those rounds.   Varland has solidfied his spot in the bullpen, and Julien still has significant upside.  Funderburk and Ohl are most likely just fringe players.  

I was very surprised they signed all 20 players.   In regards to Stevens they did pay him overslot by 22k at 172k.  The Alabama connection is prior to getting Priellip,  I remember them talking about it then but I am not sure how the relationship got started.  Stevens is effectively a clean slate (good and bad),  and yes there is very little to go off of,  other than what the coaches think.  For a flyer, you are getting a player with likely higher upside but for some reason could never get on the field for Bama.  then effectively quit this season in may and put himself in the transfer portal (this would have been after the school year).  Its odd,  but the minimal videos I have seen from cape cod, his stuff looks pretty good.  Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a grades issue or disciplinary although grades seems the most plausible. Especially quitting right after the school year ended, could be never got the grades up to the level the coaches wanted to play.   That opens up more questions,  drive,  mental acuity ect,  but ultimately if can you throw a baseball is all that matters,  and even though its the definition of SSS,  what he has done is 2 years of summer ball is pretty impressive.   We will see.   

My guess is 1 or both of Stevens or Jones flash.  I actually think both actually have the highest ceilings of the picks we made in the later rounds,  its not to say there were better options.  I really have no idea.   

In either case the pitching haul we got was crazy

Elite potential - Quick

High end potential -  Ellwanger, Barr, Reitz

Good potential -  Mitrovitch Fang and Smith

Fliers-  Jones, Moring, Stevens, Dalquist, Becker and Hilker   

For pitching prospects I never thought we could touch the 2022 draft - Priellip, Matthews, Morris, Lewis, Jones and CJ Culpepper.   Right now that draft has the potential of 2 high end MLB SP in Priellip and Matthews.  This draft has that potential and possibly even a higher ceiling even if the achievability of that is slim.  Next year I am going to have to be paying a lot of attention to A and A+ ball.  Thats an entire pitching staff right there.  I am not sure where they are going to put them all LOL.   Wait and see,  even though it feels more like hurry up and wait haha.