Twins Daily Draft Preview: Kyle Teel

I feel the same as Fish…last of top 5 or Teel.

I've been following Kyle Teel since early this off season. In the 1st '23 draft prospects rankings, Teel was in reach of our comp pick. I like his projectory, he has risen well beyond our comp pick to where I'd consider him as our #5 pick. I love his progression, his tools, with his athleticism, arm, left handed bat and the way he rushes down the line to back up 1B.

Old school, catchers were the ones too slow to play anywhere else. Today the top catchers will be the ones who are athelitic. Framing isn't that hard to learn & hopefully soon will be obsolete. Catching is a very valued position, Teel is the top established college catcher available, rising and great catching is a big need for us (some under value need in drafting but it should be high in the equation of selecting IMO). I would not be disappointed at all if we pick him at #5

4 hours ago, Jamie Cameron said:

Agree with a lot of this. I think we're maybe (me especially) overly attached to the thought that the Twins love college bats. Context matters, this is the second time in the Falvey era they've had a top 5 pick. Even last year, the best prep bats were gone (besides Collier) when they picked.

Also think we're undervaluing Langford's defense. He'll start as a pro in center. What I saw this season was not getting great jumps. He's plenty fast enough to play center. If he doesn't, I think we're getting too caught up in defensive value for the fifth pick. He's a potential 30 HR bat, it's not going to matter much where he players in the outfield although of course center is much more valuable.

Home stretch now friends!

Yeah it's exciting. I'm not crazy about Langford's defense in the OF for the exact reason you stated he has trouble reading the ball. No way he should stick at CF in the pros I don't like to see him there at the college ranks. But I agree with you that he has a big bat.

Langford has 60 and borderline 70 speed.  Kid can run.  He is NOT a plodding LFer.

The tough call for me, as DMan mentioned, is if the top 4 go Crewes, Skenes, Langford and Clark.

Jenkins vs. a possibly underslot Teel would be a tough call.  Some scouts love Jenkins, but I see that as a riskier pick.  Very tough decision in that scenario.

I hope the rumors that the Rangers love Jenkins are true, and not smokescreen.

21 hours ago, jishfish said:

I won't be happy if it's not one of the top 5, but if the Twins are set on the college bat route, Teel is the path I would most like to see them take. I can at least see the allure of an athletic left-handed hitting college catcher who tore up a premier conference and projects to stick behind the plate with a cannon of an arm.

Again, hope it's one of the top 5! But if the alternative is Teel at at least a small discount plus floating someone down to one of their next two picks, I could live with that result.

*Edit: Expanding on the discount, I don't imagine it would be huge considering Teel is pretty much a lock to go Top 10 either way. I would think something around $6.3-6.4M, which is roughly equal to the 7th overall pick and would be ~$700k under slot. Adding that to the 34th slot value could probably get someone ranked in the mid-20s down to the Twins Comp A pick, so maybe like a Thomas White or Dillon Head?

This is my thought as well. I'd rather they pick Teel than Jacob Gonzalez or Matt Shaw or something to pick a college bat instead of Max Clark or Walker Jenkins. I have a feeling they're not going to pick a high schooler. 

Teel seems like a draft for need at #5. Which sems like a big change for this FO.  With a really deep draft it may come down to money. I want them to just take the top 5 guy that lands in their lap. But I'm leaning towards a under slot draft pick. IDK why but have little faith in the FO swinging for the fences...

I expect the Twins have a super computer in some back room at Target Field.  That computer will tell them who to pick and it may shock many of you.  

I’m not sure how people posting here are able to assess any outfielder’s ability to get a jump on the ball. Of course maybe they are professional scouts who scouted in person or are knowledgeable baseball coaches themselves. The rest of us can only go by what we read and maybe have seen a few games on TV. It would not surprise me if the team passed on a consensus top five player to save some money that can be used to sign someone else. Teel might be a fit there. That said, we have to trust that Falvey won’t screw it up and the number five pick will be a strong contributor at the big league level. 

22 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Yeah it's exciting. I'm not crazy about Langford's defense in the OF for the exact reason you stated he has trouble reading the ball. No way he should stick at CF in the pros I don't like to see him there at the college ranks. But I agree with you that he has a big bat.

Did you know he played Catcher in HS and went to FL as a catcher (at least initially)?  He's a good enough athlete that he can stick in CF and be fine (at least initially).

Teel is my favorite outside of the consensus top 5, not for positional need but for positional value.

I believe that truly good catchers do provide value beyond what we can typically measure.

I don't know that Teel is guaranteed to be successful in the role, but I'm willing to give a little extra bump in value to someone like Teel that could potentially impact both sides of the ball and lock down a crucial roster position for many years.

23 minutes ago, MN_ExPat said:

Did you know he played Catcher in HS and went to FL as a catcher (at least initially)?  He's a good enough athlete that he can stick in CF and be fine (at least initially).

Yes, I knew that & intially thought he could be a great catching prospect if he had a better arm. Overall he has slightly above average speed, average arm and not great at reading the ball, that makes him passable in LF but definitely not CF. His selling point is not his defense but his big bat which if he's available at #5 the Twins will gooble him up and I'm totally fine with that.

Langford's speed rating is 55, but I read somewhere that this may be low.

In contrast, Clark's is 70.

Jenkins is also 55.

I have watched both Langford and Jenkins, and Langford sure seems quicker and faster than Jenkins.

55 is low on Langford's speed. Love his baseball acumen and instincts as well. He can handle 8 but does need some refinement. Would be shocked if he fell to 5.

18 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Yes, I knew that & intially thought he could be a great catching prospect if he had a better arm. Overall he has slightly above average speed, average arm and not great at reading the ball, that makes him passable in LF but definitely not CF. His selling point is not his defense but his big bat which if he's available at #5 the Twins will gooble him up and I'm totally fine with that.

Good point and I don't disagree really, just meant that he's still somewhat new to the OF.  He's athletic, has good baseball instincts and that he has the potential to grow into at least a passable CF in the majors. 

Like any draft prospect though, we won't know for sure until he get his feet wet in professional ball.

On 6/30/2023 at 7:58 AM, MN_ExPat said:

Good point and I don't disagree really, just meant that he's still somewhat new to the OF.  He's athletic, has good baseball instincts and that he has the potential to grow into at least a passable CF in the majors. 

Like any draft prospect though, we won't know for sure until he get his feet wet in professional ball.

I respect your opinion & I know some have the idea that Langford could play CF. But Matt Wallner has a much stronger arm, faster and more years of development than Langford but no one has ever considered him as CF material. Yet IMO Wallner makes more sense than Langford. Langford is athletic enough to pass at LF but what I've seen, in my book, he has no business in CF.