Seth Stohs

Phil Miller of the Star Tribune reported (and Twins Daily can confirm) that left-handed pitching prospect Charlie Barnes will be in Detroit with the Minnesota Twins when they begin to play again on Friday. Let's take a look back at Barnes' path to the Twins. In the fourth round of the 2017 MLB Draft, the Minnesota Twins selected left-handed pitcher Charlie Barnes out of Clemson University. Before that, he was a three-time letter winner in baseball at Sumter (SC) High School. He was twice All-State. As a senior, he was named pitcher of the year in the state. Going to Clemson was an easy decision for him. It was something he had always wanted to do. He went to a lot of Tigers football games as a child. His brother spent a season as a quarterback at Clemson. Barnes worked primarily out of the bullpen as a freshman. As a sophomore, he became a weekend starter and went 6-4 with a 4.66 ERA. In his junior season, the southpaw became the team's Friday night starter. He went 5-5 with a 3.20 ERA. That year, in 101 1/3 innings, he struck out 113 batters and issued just 22 walks. He was drafted in 2017, but it is important and impressive to note that Barnes also graduated from college in just three years. He majored in Management with an emphasis on sports management. Season Stats 2017 Elizabethton - 6 G, 22.2 IP, 2-1, 1.19 ERA. 10 walks, 23 strikeouts 2017 Cedar Rapids - 6 G, 25.2 IP, 2-1, 3.86 ERA, 8 walks, 23 strikeouts 2018 Ft. Myers - 23 G, 118.1 IP, 6-6, 2.81 ERA, 44 walks, 84 strikeouts 2019 Ft. Myers - 8 G, 37.1 IP, 3-2, 6.51 ERA, 20 walks, 35 strikeouts 2019 Pensacola - 14 G, 13 GS, 75.0 IP, 3-4, 3.60 ERA, 24 walks, 73 strikeouts 2019 Rochester - 4 G, 18.2 IP, 1-2, 6.75 ERA, 11 walks, 16 strikeouts. Following the season, Barnes was invited to Twins' big-league spring training in 2020. He wasn't initially at the team's alternate site, though he did join the group in St. Paul later in the summer. This spring, he was again a non-roster invite to spring training and showed some good improvement. He began the 2021 season at Triple-A St. Paul. In 11 starts so far, he is 5-2 with a 3.88 ERA. In 58 innings, he has walked 19 and struck out 50 batters. As you would expect, it hasn't been all smooth throughout the season. In his first six starts, Barnes went 2-0 with a 2.20 ERA. On June 13th, in his third start against the Omaha Storm Chasers, Barnes gave up six earned runs in three innings. Six days later, in his third start against the Iowa Cubs, he tossed five no-hit innings and struck out seven. In his next start, he allowed six earned runs over five innings. In his two most recent starts, he has worked a combined 12 1/3 innings and is 2-0 with a 3.65 ERA. The scouting report on Charlie Barnes reads like that of a typical Twins starter. First, he is left-handed. Second, he relies on mixing his pitches and his pitch velocities to be successful. Of course, that is true of any pitcher, but when he generally sits 88 to 91 mph, it is essential. Barnes throws a lot of sinkers and changeups. The sinker tops out about 91. He was touted as having the best changeup in that 2017 draft, and it continues to be an important pitch for him. He also throws a four-seam fastball up in the zone with a lot of carry, making it a good pitch for him. He also throws both a slider and a curveball. Again, with a fastball around 90, he can't rely on it all the time. Mixing the velocity and the eye level for hitters is crucial. When he uses his slider and his changeup and is able to spot pitches, he can be successful. He will have his first opportunity to show that on Friday night in Detroit. View full article

Well, if we're going to count Rooker and Astudillo for the Twins, we should probably count Columbus's Yu Chang, Owen Miller and Wilson Ramos, right? And their starter, JC Mejia, started against the big-league Twins a couple of weeks ago, and Brad Peacock has a couple of years of service time under his best too. Sam Hentges looked pretty good for them though!

I admit, I get much more excited when they draft high schoolers rather than college players. Always feels like the ceiling is so much higher. That said, they've gone very college heavy after the top 2-3 rounds most years, and I think it's a sound strategy. Sands and Winder were Day 2 guys. Ober and Rogers were Day 3 guys. College pitchers. Going back to the Cleveland comparison again, Bieber, Civale, Plesac... all college guys on Day 2 or 3. If you can develop a couple of #3s and 4s from the drafts, that's pretty good.

No chance Bohm is dealt for Donaldson. None. Bohm is almost as good today, and he's so young.

Yes, some HS players were taken, but how many will sign. My guess would be any of the players taken in the first ten rounds because they likely had deals. I'm totally guessing here, but wouldn't be surprised if Petty is an over-slot guy and that they wouldn't have any money to go over $125,000 in rounds 11-20. Could be wrong... I also saw that some of the top, top high school kids went in the 18th and 19th rounds, so they're obviously not signing.

Asked Sean Johnson about this...

I believe they weren't going to let him throw for 5-6 weeks, and that was probably 2-3 weeks ago. It'll be a while.

Rozek went to Minn St Mankato. He was pitching in the independent Frontier League the past couple of years. He's 25 and tops out around 88-89. Left-handed. Pena... don't know much, but he got something around $200,000, so he was a prospect, but not a 7-figure prospect.

The Cedar Rapids swept their Week 10, six-game series at home against Peoria. It’s just the second six-game sweep in the Twins organization this season. There were more transactions, lots of highlights (and a few lowlights), All Star and draft festivities and more in this week’s Twins Minor League Report. Be sure to read Nick’s Twins Week in Review from yesterday, and then jump into the minor league week. Before we get started, let’s check out the Transactions and the FCL Twins game on Monday: On Sunday after the Kernels’ game, Jeff Johnson tweeted the LHP Kody Funderburk and RHP Jordan Gore were being promoted to Double-A Wichita. While not official, we know that RHP Louie Varland has been promoted to High-A Cedar Rapids. I believe there is at least one more right-handed pitcher being promoted to the Kernels, but I haven’t seen anything official yet. FCL Twins Talk The FCL Twins game was postponed by rain (again). With that, let’s look at Week 10 in the Twins minor leagues: RESULTS Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week (3-3, at Iowa), overall (28-31) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge: Week (2-4, hosting NW Arkansas), overall (33-27) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week (6-0, hosting Peoria), overall (34-26) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Week (3-3 at St. Lucie), overall (34-26) Complex League: FCL Twins went 1-2 in Week 2, overall (3-6) IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Here are the week’s Twins minor league-related articles. Twins Minor League Week in Review: Awards, Rankings, Playoffs and Prospects TD Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospect Rankings: 1-5 Tuesday: Blowout Blasts and Extra-Inning Drama Kernels’ Backstop Alex Isola is Catching On Wednesday: Bullpens Bear Down Thursday: Wander Walks it Off Twins Minor League Pitching Report: Jordan Balazovic Friday: The Night of the Blowout Saturday: Jordy Blaze Does it Again Sunday: A Mixed Bag Twins Select RHP Chase Petty Twins Select SS Noah Miller Twins Excited about Day 1 Picks, Chase Petty and Noah Miller Draft Day 2 Thread Twins Select LHP Steven Hajjar Highlights We will start with the Twins choices for the organizational hitter and pitcher of the week, and then mention several other Twins prospects who had good Week 10 performances Twins Player of the Week: Michael Helman, Cedar Rapids Kernels Michael Helman played in five games last week for Cedar Rapids. He hit .313/.421/.375 (.796) with a double and three stolen bases. The Twins’ 11th round pick in the 2018 draft from Texas A&M has hit .213/309/.404 (.713) with 10 doubles and eight home runs over 53 games. Twins Pitcher of the Week: Jovani Moran, Wichita Wind Surge During Week 10, Moran pitched just once, but the lefty tossed three scoreless innings and gave up just one hit. He struck out five batters without issuing a walk. Moran was the Twins 7th round pick in 2015 out of high school in Puerto Rico. Other Strong Performances this Week St. Paul Saints Ian Hamilton just continues to pitch great. Last week, he had just one appearance, but he tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings and gave up just one hit. Beau Burrows made his first Saints start and gave up three hits over 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Matt Shoemaker tossed three scoreless relief innings in his Saints debut. Andrew Albers was the Saints pitcher of the week. He made two starts and went 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA. In 12 innings, he gave up just one run on nine hits. He walked three and struck out 15 batters. Willians Astudillo started hitting again. In five games, he hit .350/.381/.550 (.931) with a double and a homer. Damek Tomscha played in four games and went 5-13 (.385) with a double and three walks. Sherman Johnson went 3-10 over four games but had a triple and three walks as well. Wichita Wind Surge Jordan Balazovic was really good again. The Canadian top prospect went six innings in his start last week. He gave up five hits, but no runs, and he struck out seven batters. Adam Lau worked twice out of the bullpen and tossed 4 1/3 innings of two-hit ball. It’s been a struggle for Minnesotan Jordan Milbrath, but he struck out six batters over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit. Another Minnesota, recently-signed Aaron Rozek (Burnsville) tossed three scoreless innings in his Wind Surge debut to record a win. He gave up just two hits. Zach Neff continued to pitch well, giving up just one run over five innings Andrew Bechtold has quietly put together a solid season. Last week, he played all six games and hit .350/.458/.950 (1.408) with four home runs. He now has 11 doubles and ten homers on the season. BJ Boyd, who played college football before deciding to give baseball another try this year, had a strong week. He hit .333/.409/.556 (.965) with a double and a big grand slam. Roy Morales went 7-for-18 (.389) during the week. Cedar Rapids Kernels The Kernels went 6-0 due, in large part, to great pitching. Eleven Kernels pitchers gave up zero runs on the week. Jordan Gore struck out eight batters over four, one-hit innings. Kody Funderburk gave up two unearned runs over six innings in his start. Tyler Beck tossed 4 2/3 innings of two-hit ball in his start. Owen Griffith struck out five batters over four scoreless innings. Erik Manoah, Jr. struck out five over 4 1/3 one-hit innings. Derek Molina struck out six batters in his five innings of work. Ryan Shreve gave up only an unearned run over five innings. Tyler Watson made a spot start and worked four scoreless innings. Breckin Williams joined the team and had two scoreless appearances. Max Smith led the Kernels offense last week. In five games, he hit .357/.550/.929 (1.479) with two doubles, two homers and also six walks. Wander Javier played all six games. He hit .261/.357/.652 (1.009) with a double, a triple and two home runs. Jair Camargo played in four games. He hit .250 but had a single, a double and two home runs. Ft. Myers Might Mussels Osiris German was fantastic again. In 4 1/3 innings, he gave up just one hit, walked one and struck out six batters. Matthew Swain had another good week. He went 3 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings. He walked two and struck out three batters. Yunior Severino played in four games, and he hit .412/.474/.941 (1.415) with three doubles, two homers and seven RBI. He leads the Twins minor leagues with 48 entering the week. Willie Joe Garry played in all six games. He hit .421/.593/.684 (1.277) with a double and two triples. He also walked seven times and stole five bases. Aaron Sabato hit .273/.448/.500 (.948) with two doubles, a homer and seven walks. Keoni Cavaco returned to action and played in all six games. He hit .348/.483/.435 (.918) with two doubles. He walked six times. FCL Twins Playing time has been sparse for the FCL Twins. First, with so many players, guys play about half of the time, and there has been a lot of rain in southwest Florida which has cost them games. Eight players are tied for the lead in games played last week, with three… For the week, Alexander Pena went 5-for-7 (.429) with a double. Luis Baez went 3-for-7 (.429) with two doubles and a triple. Emmanuel Rodriguez hit .273 over three games, but he hit the team’s lone home run. It was his first as a professional. Kala’i Rosario went 4-for-13 (.308) with a triple. Landon Leach has had a hard time staying healthy, but he is back now. He made a start last week and tossed three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits. Lowlights Reminder: We are talking about small samples for these six-game weeks, so it’s important not to make any big decisions or develop a full impression on a player from this small size. It’s just a reminder of the fact that baseball is hard, and all players have good and bad stretches. St. Paul Saints Chandler Shepherd has been much better of late. However, last week, he gave up nine runs (7 earned) on 13 hits and a walk in just four innings during his start. Veteran Nick Vincent gave up two runs on three hits, a walk and a hit batter in his 1 1/3 innings over two appearances. Ian Gibaut gave up three runs on six hits and two walks over his 2 1/3 innings. JT Riddle’s struggles continued. Over five games, he went 3-for-18 (.167). Brent Rooker had a rough week. He played all six games and went 4-for-23 (.174) with a double. Wichita Wind Surge The sometimes roller coaster season of Austin Schulfer had a valley last week. After tossing just over 20 consecutive scoreless innings, he gave up six runs (4 earned) on five hits and two walks in just one inning. Alex Phillips gave up nine runs on nine hits over his three innings. Jhonleider Salinas gave up five earned runs on six hits over his 3 1/3 innings. Spencer Steer had his first rough week of the year. Over six games, he went 2-for-23 (.087) with a home run. Trey Cabbage went 2-for-18 (.111) with 13 strikeouts. Caleb Hamilton went 0-for-11 over his four games. Cedar Rapids Kernels Zach Featherstone had a rough week. He gave up five runs on four hits, a walk and a hit batter in just two innings. However, he went 1-0 and recorded a Save. Baseball, eh? Yeltsin Encarnacion went 0-for-10. Daniel Ozoria was 1-for-11 (.091). Kyle Schmidt went 1-for-9 (.111). Ft. Myers Might Mussels After a couple of terrific weeks, Sawyer Gipson-Long had a rough start last week. He gave up six runs on five hits, two walks and a hit batter in just 2 2/3 innings. Juan Pichardo gave up four runs on four hits and five walks in just 3 1/3 innings. Newcomer Jesus Feliz just joined the Kernels after recovering from Tommy John surgery and getting in a handful of games in the FCL. In five games last week, he went 4-for-23 (.174). Trending Storyline The Major League Baseball All Star Game is tonight. Nelson Cruz made the team, and on Monday night, it was announced that Denver native Taylor Rogers was added to the AL team as well. But All Star weekend is a big event. The Futures Game is one of the best parts of the weekend. Top prospects from each organization compete and really just get recognized and seen by a national audience. LaTroy Hawkins was the manager for the American League team. His team gave up a lot of home runs in the game. Hawkins said later, “You forget, I’ve seen a lot of home runs in that place.” Righty Josh Winder represented the Twins in the game. He faced three batters. He gave up a long home run to Cubs’ prospect Brennan Davis. Then he got a ground out. He struck out the third batter he faced on a nasty slider that got away from the catcher and the batter reached first base. Just three batters? “We are trying to get everybody into the mix. Seven innings. You’ve got nine pitchers. Just making sure everybody got a chance to pitch during the Futures Game.” Hawkins continued, “I told the guys in the clubhouse, I’d like to win this game, but the most important thing is for you guys to leave here they way you came… healthy. And we accomplished that.” Saints pitching coach Cibney Bello was the bullpen coach for Hawkins as well. For Winder, it was a great opportunity. He said on Monday, “It was an honor to be invited to the game and an incredible experience. The whole weekend was surreal. Being around so much talent on the baseball field was awesome, and I look forward to running into some of those guys down the road. Winder flew back to the Twin Cities on Monday afternoon and will rejoin the Saints this week. Josh Winder wasn’t the only Twins prospect in Denver. Ft. Myers catcher Charles Mack was allowed by the organization to be in Denver with his younger brother Joe Mack and family at the draft. Joe Mack was the 31st overall pick to the Miami Marlins. First, Charles played in three games before heading to Denver. He hit .455/538/.727 (1.266) with a home run over 11 at bats. Joe Mack and Twins top pick Chase Petty have known each other for awhile, and they stole the show on night one of the draft. Their “draft bromance” was fun to watch and are going by #ShakeAndBake After Joe Mack was drafted, he was again interviewed and Petty appeared for more comedy ensued. Joe Mack said Charles has given him some advice, “Stay relaxed. Just work hard, grind it out and everything will happen. And, whatever happens, happens for a purpose.” PROSPECT SUMMARY We have now updated this Prospect Summary to show our Midseason Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings… #1 - Royce Lewis (Wichita) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #2 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – 5 G, 4 GS, 16.0 IP, 16 H, 13 BB, 22 K, 5.06 ERA, 1.81 WHIP (on IL with a right forearm strain) #3 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – 7 GS, 30.1 IP, 31 H, 8 BB, 40 K, 3.56 ERA, 1.29 WHIP #4 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – 4 GS, 18.0 IP, 10 H, 3 BB, 35 K, 1.00 ERA, 0.72 WHIP (went on the IL with right elbow strain) #5 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) – 59 games, .340/.407/.589 (.996) with 12 doubles, 16 homers, 47 RBI, 24 BB, 36 K #6 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – 37 games, .275/.359/.355 (.714) with 6 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer, 16 RBI, 17 BB, 44 K, 6 SB #7 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) – Wichita (21 games, .250/.344/.381 (.725) with 5 doubles, 2 homers. 11 BB, 24 K), Minnesota (17 games, .146/.180/.313 (.493) with 2 BB, 9 K) #8 - Josh Winder (St. Paul) - 12 GS, 62.1 IP, 44 H, 13 BB, 75 K, 2.17 ERA, 0.91 WHIP #9 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – 59 games, .194/.382/.313 (.695) with 12 doubles, 4 homers, 23 RBI, 57 BB, 81 K #10 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 17 games, .333/.384/.621 (1.005) with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 14 RBI, 5 BB, 28 K. (on IL after having hamate bone surgery) #11 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – 3 GS, 14.2 IP, 13 H, 6 BB, 23 K, 1.84 ERA, 1.30 WHIP (underwent Tommy John surgery on June 9th) #12 - Bailey Ober (St. Paul) – St. Paul (4 GS, 16.0 IP, 13 H, 5 BB, 21 K, 2.81 ERA, 1.13 WHIP), Minnesota (8 GS, 33.0 IP, 34 H, 11 BB, 37 K, 5.45 ERA, 1.36 WHIP) #13 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – 7 GS, 31.2 IP, 22 H, 18 BB, 42 K, 2.84 ERA, 1.26 WHIP (about to go on the IL) #14 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – St. Paul (52 games, .231/.365/.511 (.876) with 7 doubles, 1 triple, 14 homers, 34 BB, 65 K), Minnesota (8 games, .103/.133/.241 (375) with 1 double, 1 homer, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 13 K) #15 - Misael Urbina (Ft. Myers) – 52 games, .211/.315/.299 (614) with 5 doubles, 3 triples, 2 homer, 35 RBI, 29 BB, 47 K, 9 SB) #16 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 57 games, .259/.382/.495 (.877) with 7 doubles, 1 triple, 14 homers, 32 RBI, 40 BB, 46 K) #17 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 55 games, .223/.289/.431 (.721) with 10 doubles, 5 triples, 8 homers, 34 RBI, 17 BB, 77 K) #18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A (injured) #19 - Edwar Colina (Minnesota) - 60-Day IL (had surgery on his right elbow to remove bone chips) #20 - Chris Vallimont (Wichita) - 10 GS, 41.2 IP, 36 H, 22 BB, 67 K, 3.67 ERA, 1.39 WHIP LOOKING AHEAD Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (Brent Headrick, Sawyer Gipson-Long, TBD, Bobby Milacki, Miguel Rodriguez, TBD): Cedar Rapids @ South Bend:(Cody Laweryson, Tyler Beck, TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD) Tulsa @ Wichita: (Austin Schulfer, TBD, Jordan Balazovic, Bryan Sammons, Chris Vallimont, Austin Schulfer) Columbus @ St. Paul: (Charlie Barnes, Griffin Jax, TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD): Feel free to provide some feedback below regarding these reports. What do you like to read? What types of information would you like added? Also, feel free to ask any questions you like. View full article

Oh, I'm sure he'll get $2.5 million or more. The Twins selected Enlow with that same pick (1st pick, third round) in 2017 and got him to not go to LSU for $2 million. They were able to do it because Lewis took quite a bit underslot at 1-1. My guess is Davis agreed to a low deal so that they could take Bubba Chandler.

I would guess every front office and scouting group ever likes these types of picks. There are so few elite prospects. I think getting these two fairly polished college lefties is a good thing. They took their high-upside risk with Petty and Miller... at this point, they have now taken two guys who have pretty high floors with health.

They wouldn't have drafted him if they didn't have an agreement with him.

Sean Johnson kind of alluded to that last night, saying there may be even more variability in rankings from team-to-team this year because of the lost time last year.

Sean Johnson acknowledged that he's not a burner, but they think he can stick at shortstop. JJ Hardy was slow. Andrelton Simmons isn't fast. That said, 1.) a scouting director on the night of a pick should tout all that a player can do, his skill set. That doesn't mean they don't see where work needs to be done, but that's true of any 18-year-old coming into pro ball. The goal is to find guys who can stick at shortstop while they realize that very few do. But as he said, they think he will have enough bat that even if he moves off of shortstop, he will be a positive bat. And, like all years, draft lots of shortstops and center fielders, athletes, and you can move them around and they could be plus at another position.

He announced recently that he's transferring to Tennessee, but yes, he is still eligible.

My guess is they'll go heavy on college pitchers the rest of the way... it's a strategy that appears to be working. Ober, Jax, Barnes, Winder, Sands, Canterino... in reality that's the Cleveland thing too, to select college pitchers. Obviously we shall see. But I would think college pitchers at this point, unless they can make deals with high school players above slot.

Miller's "tools" aren't quite up there with Cavaco's, but they clearly really like the make up of both of them. So yeah, I think Cavaco may start out just a little higher, but that could change fairly quickly.

I guarantee both of these do! Admittedly without giving it much thought yet, I think that Petty would rank no lower than 5th, and Miller may be in that 6-7 range.

When picking near the end of the first round of the MLB draft, it’s impossible to know what direction those picks might take. On Sunday night, the Twins selected two high school players with their first round picks. Learn more about RHP Chase Petty and shortstop Owen Miller. “We’ve loved Chase Petty for a long time, and we’ve had a crush on Noah Miller for a long time too. Walking out of the (draft) room with two guys that you love is a feeling you want to have after Day 1. Our group in that room is thrilled.” Twins Scouting Director Sean Johnson at the end of a long, but exciting first day of the 2021 MLB Draft. For the first time, the MLB Draft took place on All Star weekend in the city of the All Star game, Denver, Colorado. Several of the draft prospects were in attendance including the Twins top pick. When the time came for the Twins’ first pick, the commissioner announced that the Twins selected right-handed pitcher Chase Petty from Mainland Regional High School in New Jersey. Petty is touted for having hit triple-digits with his fastball, but on Sunday night, he displayed plenty of personality too. LaTroy Hawkins represented the Twins in Denver at the draft - after managing the American League team of prospects in the Futures Game earlier in the day. Asked if he approved of the pick, Hawkins said, “I didn’t have to approve of it. I liked his personality.” During Petty’s interview on MLB Network, it was mentioned that he threw a no-hitter this year against Millville High School, Mike Trout’s old stomping grounds. Petty nonchalantly said that he’s been in contact with Trout (who was also taken with the 26th overall pick), and that he had texted with him a couple of hours before the draft. He then pointed out that he is having dinner on Monday night with Fernando Tatis, Jr., and Manny Machado (they belong to the same agency). Petty and fellow draft prospect Joe Mack developed their “bromance” and appear to have named themselves Shake-and-Bake. Mack was selected with the 31st overall pick by the Miami Marlins. His older brother, Charles Mack is a catcher for the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels and was in Denver for the event with his family. Petty said that the two got to know each other. In addition, Petty said that he has trained with Twins 2019 draft pick from St. John’s, RHP Sean Mooney, as well. Last summer, Vanderbilt Jack Leiter texted him and they spent some time working together. Leiter was the second overall pick in the 2021 draft. If there is one knock on Chase Petty that Twins fans may have, it might just be this. “I’m a Yankees fan. My first ever game was at the original Yankees Stadium. It’s by far my favorite stadium I’ve been to.” While Petty has always played middle infield, primarily second base, when he’s not pitching, his favorite players have been a couple of Mets pitchers. “My favorite players, personally, are Marcus Stroman and Jacob de Grom which is funny because they’re on the same team. I’ve talked to Stroman. He and I have developed a little bit of a relationship.” Chase Petty has all the connections. In addition to his personality, Johnson noted his arm strength, “spin talent” and a feel for his changeup. Twins area scout John Wilson coached Petty in the East Coast Pro Showcase last summer and got to know him. The two developed a great relationship there. The Twins also had several Zoom meetings with him last winter. They had medical personnel review his video. So did several in the Twins Player Development group. Let’s start with the velocity. It’s hard to ignore. As you have seen, Petty has hit 102 mph on the radar gun. He said that it has been a process to gain velocity. Petty said it really started his sophomore year when he began training at Baseball Performance Center. “I really started seeing improvements in velocity and everything. They put me on a really tough lifting schedule that obviously worked out. Over the years, I’ve put on more weight. I’ve worked on my mechanics a lot, and through that whole process is when I saw the jump.” When was the first time he hit 100 on a radar gun? Petty, who said he is now 6-1 and 200 pounds, said, “It was in July of last summer.” Asked if there is more in the tank? Petty laughed and said, “Oh yeah. Oh yeah!” Petty is both confident and competitive. “I think you (Twins fans) got the strongest competitor in the draft. I’m going to go out there and do everything I can to help my team win, help the organization win, and I’m just going to give it my all.” But as we know, pitchers in today’s game need more than a fastball to sustain long-term success. Petty said, “I throw a four-seam (fastball), a sinker, a slider and a changeup. Right now, I’m really just working on perfecting everything, perfecting my craft, getting bigger, getting stronger still. And really just putting in the work in the weight room and at my training facility.” Johnson thinks that Petty can be much more than a one-pitch pitcher. “We think he has ceiling to all of his pitches. Obviously he doesn’t need to throw any harder. 101 is definitely a good number, to start with. We see a lot of upside to both breaking balls, especially the slider which we think is going to be a really good pitch, as well as the change. He’s had command of those pitches, especially the change. He’s thrown strikes when we’ve seen him.” Johnson pointed out, “I’m not sure it was a real analytical decision that we used to push us over the hump with Chase. It was more of a scouting evaluation. We loved him. We had him in the first round. Our player development people and everyone else that looked at him and got to know Chase were all on board. As a scouting director, you’re looking for confidence from the group to make the selection.” Johnson continued, “I would say that with both of our picks tonight, our group loved both players equally. We wanted those players, and it feels good to walk out of that room - and I know we’ve got more work to do the next two days - but getting two guys in the barn that you love is a good feeling.” Ten picks after taking Petty, the Twins selected shortstop Noah Miller with the 36th pick, the final pick of Competitive Balance Round A and the final pick of the night. Miller is a shortstop from Ozaukee High School in Wisconsin. His brother Owen made his MLB debut with Cleveland earlier this year. Johnson said, “You can just see the competitiveness in him that he got from his brother, and his family and being in that environment.” Players don’t get selected this high in the draft without incredible baseball tools and talent, but it’s clear that the Twins really the character of both of their Day 1 picks. However, let’s start with Miller’s skill set. Johnson noted, “It’s rare anymore to see a player you believe has hit skills from both sides of the plate. Switch-hitters are pretty rare anymore. He has a great swing from both sides. We think that he will have power from both sides. He’s extremely instinctive as a defender. He’s not the fastest shortstop in the world, but we think that has a chance to stay there for a long time. He’ll profile whether he plays short forever or not. Great hands. Great feet. Great clock. It’s all the things you want to see. He’s super advanced, more advanced than a lot of the college guys you see.” Johnson added, “I’m glad we got him. One of our favorites. You walk into the draft room and there’s certain guys that you don’t want to miss on. And Noah Miller, after the first round, was a guy we did not want to miss on. To get him today was a great feeling.” Joe Bisenius was the Twins area scout and he got to know him really well. The Twins (and likely other teams) benefited from the draft moving from early June to mid-July. Miller didn’t play in the Area Code Games last summer. The Twins were aware of him and liked him, but the extra five to six weeks gave the Twins plenty of time to play catch up. Johnson said, "It doesn't take long to realize that Noah Miller is a rock star." The Twins selected high school players with their first two picks in the draft for the first time since 2016 when the Twins selected four high school hitters with their first four picks in Deron Johnson’s final draft as Scouting Director. Before that, Johnson selected Byron Buxton and Jose Berrios with the team’s first two picks in 2012’s draft. It was a long day for the Twins scouting department. They got to Target Field about noon and then after Day 1 was complete, they continued to work. Starting at noon on Monday, Day 2 begins. Second through tenth round picks will be made. Johnson said, “We’re going to plan scenarios. We’ll come up with some ideas. Some guys may have become signable. Some guys may have fallen short of and decided to go to college, that slipped out of the first round. A lot of conversations with agents, advisors, and with players and get a feel for what our board is going to look like so we are ready to go with our next pick.” What will the Twins do on Day 2? Find out throughout the draft and discuss in the Day 2 Thread. View full article

They wouldn't have taken him if they didn't already reach an agreement on numbers.

Ethan Wilson, another very talented college outfielder? Joe Mack, a prep catcher whose brother Charlie is a catcher with the Mighty Mussels (who is in Denver with the family)? Pitcher? Hitter? What to do???

Getting close!!!