What Should We Expect from Minnesota Twins in Jeremy Zoll's First Draft in Charge?

The 2026 MLB Draft gets underway on Saturday, and for the first time since 2017, the Twins will execute their strategy without Derek Falvey leading the room. That responsibility now belongs to Jeremy Zoll, who took over when Falvey parted ways with the team at the end of January. Every front office has certain player traits it values more than others. Sometimes it's power. Sometimes it's athleticism. Sometimes it's command over velocity. Over the last decade, Falvey's drafts revealed a few clear patterns. The question now is whether those patterns continue under Zoll, or whether we start to see some subtle philosophical changes.

If you look back at the Falvey era, one trend stands out: the Twins heavily prioritized premium defensive positions in the first round. Seven of their nine first-round picks under Falvey were either shortstops, starting pitchers, or center fielders. The only exceptions were Trevor Larnach and Aaron Sabato. That's not exactly a surprising strategy. Premium positions are generally viewed as the most valuable, because those players can always move down the defensive spectrum if necessary. A shortstop can become a second or third baseman; a center fielder can move to a corner outfield spot; and a starting pitcher can always end up in the bullpen. The opposite isn't true.

It's a philosophy that plenty of organizations share. Whether those choices have produced the results the Twins hoped for is another discussion. Some picks have become potential cornerstones of the organization, while others have fallen well short of expectations. Larnach has developed into a solid major-league left fielder. Walker Jenkins still looks every bit like one of baseball's top prospects. Kaelen Culpepper and Marek Houston have both gotten off to impressive starts in professional baseball and appear to have bright futures. On the other hand, Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee haven't quite lived up to the lofty expectations that come with being top-10 overall selections, while Aaron Sabato still hasn't reached the majors and Keoni Cavaco is now playing independent baseball.

Every organization misses in the draft, so this isn't about saying Falvey's approach was right or wrong. The more interesting question is whether Jeremy Zoll shares those preferences. That starts with this year's draft.

There's a very good chance the Twins continue targeting premium positions in the first round. In fact, this year's class almost sets up perfectly for that. The top two players on many draft boards are prep shortstop Grady Emerson and UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky. Another prep shortstop, Jacob Lombard, has also been linked near the top of the draft, while high school right-hander Jackson Flora is another player who could hear his name called early. If the Twins stick to the same positional philosophy they've shown over the last decade, they'll have plenty of options.

Where things could become more interesting is how Zoll values certain player traits. One thing that always stood out during the Falvey era was the type of hitters the Twins seemed to gravitate toward. They consistently targeted players with advanced hit tools and raw power, but with questions about either their ability to access that power in games or their plate discipline.

Jenkins fits that description; so does Lee. Luke Keaschall and Houston fall into that category, as well. None of those players entered the draft with massive power projection. Instead, they profiled as hitters who consistently put the ball in play and hit line drives. That's been a pretty clear organizational preference.

The same could be said on the pitching side. Falvey's front office often leaned toward high-upside arms, even if they came with a little more risk. Riley Quick, Dasan Hill, Charlee Soto, James Ellwanger–they're all talented pitchers with legitimate upside, but each entered pro ball carrying some significant level of uncertainty. Maybe it was inconsistent command, an injury history, or maybe they were simply raw and needed significant development. Whatever the case, it always seemed like the Twins believed in their pitching development group and their ability to maximize those arms once they entered the organization. That confidence showed up in the players they selected. Will Zoll see things the same way?

Personally, I don't think we should expect a complete overhaul. The Twins still have Sean Johnson leading the scouting department, and much like Falvey did, Zoll will likely rely heavily on the evaluations coming from that group. It's not as though Johnson is suddenly going to throw out years of scouting philosophy because there's a new president of baseball operations. Organizations don't typically operate that way.

But at the same time, every executive has certain traits they value a little more than someone else. Maybe Zoll is more willing to chase power at the plate, and maybe he prefers pitchers with cleaner deliveries and better command over pure velocity. Beyond skill sets, there are questions of draft philsophy to consider, more broadly. Will Zoll have a different idea of how best to spread the money the team spends among its picks in the top 10 rounds? Will he have a firmer or more flexible stance with players and agents demanding huge bonuses?

That's what makes this weekend's draft so intriguing. It's the first real opportunity to see Zoll put his fingerprints on one of the most important responsibilities that comes with running a baseball organization. The people making many of the evaluations are still in place. The overall philosophy has produced plenty of talented prospects, even if not every first-round pick has worked out. There may be some subtle tweaks, and there may be a different emphasis on certain player traits. But if you're expecting Zoll to completely reinvent the Twins' draft strategy in his very first year, you're probably going to be disappointed. The differences, if they exist, will probably be much smaller than that.