Twins Video
MLB.com will be carrying a live stream of the draft that starts with a pre-draft show at 11:30 am CT. It’ll be awhile before the Twins pick again, however, as they had to forfeit their third-round pick when they signed Lance Lynn.
From Yesterday
Twins Select Trevor Larnach in the First Round of the 2018 Draft
Twins Select Ryan Jeffers in the Second Round of the 2018 Draft
It'll be some time before we know the amount Larnach and Jeffers sign for, but it’d be a good bet the Twins will have at least carried over some money from those selections to disperse to players who drop on Day 2.
Here are the Twins selections for today and the bonus money attached to each pick:
4th Round: 124th Overall - $442,600
5th Round: 154th Overall - $330,400
6th Round: 184th Overall - $253,700
7th Round: 214th Overall - $198,700
8th Round: 244th Overall - $162,100
9th Round: 274th Overall - $146,500
10th Round: 304th Overall - $138,400
What do Scott Erickson, Eddie Rosario, Dave Goltz, Doug Mientkiewicz, Pat Neshek, LaTroy Hawkins, Mark Guthrie, Brad Radke, Brian Dozier, Steve Braun, Jeff Reboulet and Marty Cordova all have in common? The were all taken between rounds four and 10 of the draft. It’ll be exciting to see how things play out today.
Please join in on the conversation and keep checking back, as this article will be updated each time the Twins make a selection.
Draft Picks
4th Round: 124th Overall: DaShawn Keirsey, CF, Utah
The Twins trend of taking college bats continues today as they take University of Utah outfielder DaShawn Keirsey with their first pick of Day Two. Unlike their two Day One picks, Keirsey is a player who has some defensive upside along with an excellent bat.
https://twitter.com/TwinsHighlights/status/1004064546716307457
In all three years of his college career Keirsey was selected to both the PAC-12 All-Conference team and the PAC-12 All-Defensive team. Additionally, Keirsey is an outfielder who has almost exclusively played center field with the Utes.
Offensively, Keirsey has done two things that you like to see from a college hitter. The first thing is he has always been a good hitter, having hit above .293 in each of his three seasons at Utah. The other thing Keirsey has done is improve each season.
In Keirsey’s freshman year he had an OPS of .707, which he followed up with a .849 OPS last year. This year Keirsey has elevated his game even further with a .386/.440/.609 slash line for an OPS of 1.049.
Keirsey dislocated his hip after crashing into the wall during his final game of the 2017 season. However, he came back this year and showed that he is healthy again. Hopefully this isn't an injury that has any lingering side effects for Keirsey down the road.
5th Round: 154th Overall: Cole Sands, RHP, Florida State
It may have come four rounds later than initially expected, but the Twins finally took a college pitcher with their fifth-round pick in Florida State starter Cole Sands. Sands is a three-year starter at one of the premier college baseball programs in the country.
https://twitter.com/TwinsHighlights/status/1004074342374879238
Sands is a right-handed pitcher with a three pitch mix. His fastball will sit in the 90-93 mph range and is a pitch that Sands can control. Sands also features a slider and a changeup as his secondary offerings. Of the two his slider is the better pitch, but both pitches have potential to be at least average pitches at the next level.
The numbers at Florida State don’t exactly stand out for Sands. He has just a 4.73 ERA over 228 1/3 career innings pitched, and this year Sands’ ERA stood at 4.54 while pitching 75 1/3 innings. The thing that is encouraging is the improvement Sands has shown in both his strikeout rate and walk rate during each season in college. Since his freshman season, Sands has improved his strikeout rate from 16.1 percent up to 27.7 percent while his walk rate has reduced from 10.7 percent to 7.9 percent.
Sands has also had two quality showings in the Cape Cod League. Between his freshman and sophomore seasons Sands had a 1.29 ERA over 14 innings, and he backed that up with a 3.68 ERA over 22 innings last summer. In total Sands had 42 strikeouts and nine walks over 36 innings pitched in the Cod.
6th Round, 184th Overall: Charles Mack, SS/3B, Williamsville East HS (NY)
Mack is committed to Clemson, and by the sound of it came away really impressed with their program. He had offers from several other top colleges, including Vanderbilt, Virginia, Maryland, Mississippi State and Pittsburgh.
A pick after taking their first college pitcher in the draft, the Twins take their first high school player in third baseman Charles Mack. Mack is a product out of Williamsville, New York which isn’t exactly a hot bed for high school talent.
Mack is a strong left-handed hitter with some upside in the power department. This was probably the Twins biggest draw to Mack as he could be a 25-30 homer guy down the road. There have been some questions around Mack’s ability as an all-around hitter, but he has made some nice improvements with his swing that give him some promise.
The biggest question with Mack entering the draft was which position will he play in the infield? Mack has mostly played short throughout his high school career but isn’t a guy many people thought would stick there. However, the Twins answered that question when the drafted him as a third baseman.
On the mound his velocity was tracked as high as 85 mph a couple of years ago. If Mack has made some more improvements with his arm strength since then, he could very well have the arm to stick at third.
7th Round, 214th Overall: Josh Winder, RHP, Virginia Military Institute (VA)
Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing in at 210 pounds, Winder has a build that scouts love for potential at the next level.
On the mound, Winder features a low 90’s fastball along with an above average slider. However, both pitches have shown some regression this year as his fastball was up near the mid-90’s last summer and his slider has taken a step back as well. This has caused Winder’s stock to take a drop this year after posting a 5.40 ERA this season.
Through their first two pitchers taken in the draft, it appears that the Twins are looking for college arms that have slipped due to either injury or poor performance. This isn’t a bad strategy for them as both Winder and Cole Sands have some relative upside for college pitchers taken at this point in the draft, and neither should be that expensive to sign compared to a high school arm with similar upside.
8th Round, 244th Overall: Chris Williams, C, Clemson
Much like Ryan Jeffers, Chris Williams is a power hitting college catcher, however, with Williams being a college senior he should come at a much cheaper price than Jeffers will. Williams also appears to be a better all-around athlete than Jeffers as he was a utility infielder before transitioning to catcher in 2017.
Williams played his first year of college baseball in the JUCO ranks at Golden West College where he was named conference MVP before transferring to Clemson between his freshman and sophomore campaigns.
In his three years at Clemson, Williams has belted 40 home runs including 18 this spring. Overall Williams had a slash line of .281/.401/.562, and led his team with 72 RBIs in just 63 games this year.
Prior to this season, Williams was never a player who was known for having a patient approach at the plate, despite his power potential with the bat. However, this year Williams has shown some improvement in this area with a walk rate of nearly 15 percent.
9th Round, 274th Overall: Willie Joe Garry Jr., OF, Pascagoula HS
The Twins went a little off the grid with their ninth-round pick in high school outfielder Willie Joe Garry Jr., as he didn’t even make the Baseball America Top 500 list.
Garry is a toolsy outfielder out of the Mississippi high school ranks who really came on strong last year when had some strong performances while playing for his Perfect Game travel ball team the East Coast Sox. Garry’s play was strong enough for him to earn a few all-tournament team awards on the Perfect Game circuit.
Garry has a wiry frame that is very projectable going forward with his value coming from his play in the outfield. He has plus speed and gets good reads off the bat. Offensively, Garry has good bat speed and could develop some power as he matures. If he can develop into a solid hitter, Garry has the potential to make it to have a successful big-league career.
10th Round, 304th Overall: Regi Grace, RHP, Madison Central HS
With their last pick on day two, the Twins took another high school player out of Mississippi, this time right-handed pitcher Regi Grace. At 6’1” and 215 pounds, Grace is a strong kid who uses his body to generate velocity.
Last fall, Grace had his fastball clocked in the low 90’s, but as a kid like this matures it’s entirely possible that he will continue to add more velocity. Grace also features an above-average slider that gives him a strong two-pitch mix.
As with most picks at this point, it is all about potential and Grace is a guy with that. If he wants to become a starter he will need to develop a third pitch, but if not he could have to stuff to make a strong bullpen piece.
Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!
View Twins Top Prospects
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