Twins Daily College Baseball Notebook: Week 9

The Twins sit atop the AL Central, riding a four-game winning streak. Several Twins hitting and pitching prospects are off to exceptional starts in 2022. With May approaching, we are moving into the second half of the college baseball season ahead of the College World Series in June. Here’s the latest from Jeremy Nygaard, capturing news and notes as we shuffle towards the draft in July, including notes and updates from Keith Law, Maria Torres, and all the latest news, big boards, and mock drafts.

Weekly Recap

A sweep of Florida over the weekend kept number one Tennessee rolling, improving to 37-3 on the season and moving to a 17-1 record in the SEC, truly impressive given the caliber of the competition. The rest of the top five is made up of familiar names, with Oregon St climbing to number two, Miami, Stanford, and Virginia rounding out the rest. 

Florida State and Oregon were the big fallers of the week. Each team had a mediocre 2-2 week, falling to 24 and 25 respectively. The current crop of eight teams predicted by Baseball America to reach the College World Series in Omaha in June comprises Tennessee, Arkansas, Miami, Oregon St, Southern Miss, Stanford, Texas, and Virginia.

Here's where Baseball America ranked the top 25 in the country at the end of the weekend.

Moment of the Week

How’s this for an unconventional triple play turned by Virginia against Pitt last weekend?

Potential #8 Pick Performances

The group the Twins should be selecting from in July has remained remarkably consistent since the beginning of the college baseball season. It’s a great year to pick in the top ten. The upper tier of prospects is led by three prep prospects with superstar upside (Druw Jones, Temarr Johnson, and Elijah Green. Jackson Holliday (son of Matt) is arguably entering the top 10-12 conversation.

After the high-school uber-prospects, an incredibly strong class of college hitters runs out around pick 9-10, depending on who you like. Kevin Parada is having a season for the ages, and I think it’s very unlikely he’s still around for the Twins at eight. While the Falvey-led front office has had a type (high-floor college outfield bats), they haven’t had a selection this high since they took Royce Lewis number one overall. Trying to read the tea leaves, which is futile in April, I think it would be a huge win for Minnesota if Jacob Berry (Nygaard’s #6) or Jace Jung (Nygaard’s #8) is available for the Twins. Brooks Lee will not be, and before anyone asks, I hate the idea of drafting Dylan Lesko (we can argue about it in the comments). In the second half of the college season, I’ll continue to introduce prospects the Twins might consider at number eight and begin to highlight some intriguing prospects for their second pick.

Here are the latest number for draft-eligible college players the Twins may have interest in at number eight overall.

Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly, 60-156 (.385), 7 HR, 37 RBI, 34 BB, 13 K

Jace Jung, 2B, Texas Tech, 57-156 (.365), 11 HR, 44 RBI, 46 BB, 25 K

Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech, 68-177 (.384), 19 HR, 66 RBI, 21 BB, 19 K

Jacob Berry, CI, LSU, 57-154 (.370), 13 HR, 40 RBI, 19 BB, 15 K

Gavin Cross, OF, Virginia Tech, 53-148 (.358), 9 HR, 29 RBI, 22 BB, 19 K

Chase DeLauter, OF, James Madison, 38-87 (.437), 8 HR, 35 RBI, 28 BB, 21 K (currently injured)

Daniel Susac, C, Arizona, 68-183 (.372), 8 HR, 39 RBI, 15 BB, 33 K

Jordan Beck, OF, Tennessee, 50-158 (.316), 10 HR, 25 RBI, 17 BB, 35 K

Who are you most interested in as a potential number eight pick for the Minnesota Twins? Join the discussion in the comments.

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!