Seth Stohs

Chatted with him briefly last night. Said I figured they'd wait until after the FSL All Star game. He's just fine with the promotion though. Ha!

The Twins aren't going to draft someone just because he is from Minnesota. And noting that a bunch of guys drafted after the 9th round didn't make it to the big leagues isn't much of a case.

We are closing in on the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft. Since last September, we knew the Twins would have the #1 overall pick. The Twins scouting department has been hard at work ever since putting together reports and traveling all over to find players, not only for that first pick, but for the other 40 draft picks they’ll make between Monday night and Wednesday. It will be a fun three days for fans, but there are a bunch of baseball fans in Minnesota who will be watching the draft a little more closely this year. As I have in the past, I like to write up an article on players from Minnesota who could be selected in the draft. That includes players from Minnesota playing in-state or elsewhere. It also includes players from Minnesota colleges. Clearly the name-to-know in this grouping today is Sam Carlson. We have discussed him quite a bit already on Twins Daily, with profiles and Q&As with the right-hander. But there are several other Minnesotans who will be playing close attention on Days 2 and 3 as well.Find out today which players with Minnesota ties could live out a dream by hearing their names called as a 2017 MLB Draft pick over the next three days. SAM CARLSON Just this last week, Sam Carlson helped lead the Burnsville Blaze high school baseball team to the state tournament. His team will start tournament play on Thursday. On Friday night he graduated. However, as big and as fun as Thursday will be for Carlson, Monday will be a very big day for him as well. As we know, he has a chance to become the first pitcher drafted out of a Minnesota high school in the first round of the MLB draft. At 6-4 and 205 pounds, Carlson plays center field when he isn’t pitching, but it is on the mound where his future is very bright. He has a commitment to the University of Florida to pitch, but he is also expected to be selected somewhere in the second half of the first round. For Twins fans, it might be more ideal for him to fall into the team’s lap with the 35th overall pick. As a junior, Carlson was throwing a fastball in the 87 to 89 mph range. Last summer, he was hitting 91-93 mph in the national prep circuit. This spring, he has been clocked between 91-95 mph. And some scouts believe that he’s got room to grow yet and potentially add a couple more ticks to that velocity. He’s got a full mix of pitches including a very good changeup. He worked on a slider that can be more of a swing-and-miss pitch to go with a slower curveball. In a recent Q&A with Twins Daily, Carlson said he is “extremely comfortable with all my pitches to the point where, depending on the batter, any one of them can be an out pitch.” It’s probably a dream to think Carlson could last until the Twins’ second pick, but if he does, they should lock him up! But wait… there’s more… MICHAEL BAUMANN The Twins drafted right-hander Michael Baumann in the 34th round of the 2014 draft out of Mahtomedi High School where he teamed with Kentucky’s Friday night starter, sophomore Sean Hjelle. Baumann obviously did not sign, instead attending Jacksonville University. Following a great freshman season, Baumann’s stock was likely at its highest. He’s continued to pitch well. This spring, he started slow due to a bout with mono, but he gained strength as the season went on. He has a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and has touched 97. It has some natural movement to it as well. He has a solid slider in the mid-80s. He also has a slow curveball, but it’s definitely his third pitch. At 6-5 and 225 pounds, it’s possible he could continue to add strength and some velocity. While 37 might be a little early for him, if he’s there in the third or fourth round, the Twins should consider him as well. SEVERAL GOPHERS COULD BE DRAFTED The Minnesota Gophers had another solid season. Predicted to finished sixth in the Big 10, they finished fourth in the regular season and third in the Big Ten tournament. Left-hander Lucas Gilbreath is the name to watch early on in the draft. The left-hander from Westminster, Colorado, came to the Gophers three years ago even though he had been drafted by the Rockies in the 36th round of the 2014 draft. He pitched some as a freshman. He was very good as a sophomore working out of the bullpen. This season, he became the Gophers’ Friday night starter. He struggled a little early in the adjustment, but figured things out in a hurry. He went 5-2 with a 2.66 ERA in 14 starts. In 81.1 innings, he walked 32 and struck out 92. Gilbreath’s fastball sits anywhere between 88 and 93, touching 94 at times. He also has an above average curveball. A third pitch could make him a starter long term. If not, he could do well as a lefty reliever. He could be drafted anytime on Day 2, depending on which person saw him on which day. 3B Micah Coffey, 1B Toby Hanson and OF Alex Boxwell are all are possible late Day 2 guys though Day 3 is maybe more likely. Coffey came to Minnesota from Illinois. The 6-1, 200 pound junior was second team Big Ten this year. He hit .340/.396/.493 (.889) with 15 doubles, two triples and four homers. Hanson is from Delano. The 6-2, 220 pound junior played in all 57 games for the Gophers this year. He hit .319/.350/.477 (.827) with 14 doubles, four triples, five home runs and a team-leading 57 RBI. Boxwell missed time due to injury, but his tools are rather good. The Coon Rapids native played a lot of center field early in the season. He hit just .253/.329/.438 (.767) with a double, four triples and six home runs. He’s currently playing in the Cape Cod League but there’s a chance he too is taken late on Day 2 or early Day 3. 2B Luke Pettersen hit .354 (tops on the team) with a .411 on-base percentage. He had eight doubles. The junior from Minnetonka could be a Day 3 guy. Then there are a couple of seniors that could be taken at any time. If the right scout saw them on the right day, maybe they’re a late Day 2 senior signing type, or more likely they’re late Day 3 guys. OF Jordan Smith from Eden Prairie hit .309/.406/.480 (.886) with 13 doubles, two triples and six home runs. Closer Brian Glowicki came to the Gophers from Downers Grove, Illinois, where he played with Zach Burdi and watched Nick Burdi when he was younger as well. He set the Gophers’ single-season saves record with 16 this year. He also went 2-1 with a 2.20 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 32.2 innings. Toby Anderson struggled as a starter early in the season, but if a scout saw him pitching out of the bullpen in the Big Ten tournament, maybe he saw something to make him a late-round pick as well. MANKATO STARTING PITCHERS The Minnesota State - Mankato baseball team had another strong season in 2017 under the direction of coach Matt Mager. The team went 46-11 overall and 35-5 in the conference. Left-hander Brody Rodning is one pitcher to watch late on Day 2 or sometime Day 3. The Gaylord (MN) native went to Sibley East High School where he had three letters each in football, basketball and baseball. On the mound, he struck out 81 batters in 38 innings as a senior. He went to Mankato where he was quickly put in the starting rotation and succeeded. As a junior this season, he went 6-4 with a 3.47 ERA. He struck out 77 batters in 70 innings. He is 6-1 and about 190 pounds. He has five pitches. His fastball is mostly 88-91 mph, though he can touch 93, but he throws with a crossfire that adds some deception. He throws both a slider and a curveball as well as a cutter. He also throws a changeup. Right-hander Dalton Roach went 10-1 with a 1.56 ERA as a junior this season. The Eau Claire native struck out 128 batters while walking just 12 over his 86.2 innings in 2017. Like Rodning, Roach came in as a freshman and immediately made an impact. He has an upper-80s fastball that reaches into the 90s. As you would guess, he’s got really good control and command of the strike zone. He’s got a four-pitch mix and uses his pitches effectively. He could be a mid-Day 3 guy. Red-shirt junior Nick Belzer is from Ankeny High School in Iowa. On the season, he went 6-2 with a 3.58 ERA in 60.2 innings. He walked 22 and struck out 77. The 6-2, 185 pound right-hander reaches into the low 90s at times. He may be one to watch in the late rounds as well. Junior Ricky Digurgilliers is 6-3 and 200 pounds. He went 7-0 with a 1.75 ERA in 51.1 innings, mostly out of the bullpen. Senior Mitchell Bauer is from Maple Grove. He’s 6-2 and 195 pounds. He went 9-0 with a 2.91 ERA in 86.2 innings. He walked 28 and struck out 70. Both pitch in the mid-80s for the most part so are unlikely to be drafted, but Bauer may garner interest from some teams. STILL MORE... Dalton Lehnen is a junior left-handed pitcher from Lakeville. After high school, he went to the University of Cincinnati for two years before transferring to Augustana for his junior season. He posted a 2.60 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 52 innings. He throws a fastball between 93 and 96 mph so most see him as a power bullpen arm going forward. He has the makings of a solid breaking ball, slider, that he’ll need. His control and command can also struggle at times. He is another late Day 2, early Day 3 guy. Rollie Lacy is a right-handed pitcher out of Creighton University in Omaha. He graduated from Holy Family High School where, as a senior, he posted a 0.00 ERA in 34 innings. He is now a red-shirt junior. He has been the team’s Friday night starting pitcher since his sophomore season. At 6-4 and 195 pounds, Lacy typically will sit 89-91 mph. He has a lot of sink and also throws a slurve. This year, he went 5-2 with a 2.54 ERA. In 88.2 innings, he struck out 83 and walked just 18. He’ll likely be an early Day 3 guy because he doesn’t have a ton of velocity, but he is one who could go through the lower levels fairly quickly. Of course, not all of these guys will necessarily be drafted, and it’s possible, maybe likely, I was off on the rounds for those that do get selected. While Sam Carlson is the name that so many Minnesota fans know, there are quite a few more players that have a chance to hear their name called on MLB.com’s coverage. It’s a big three days for a lot of people. We at Twins Daily would like to extend our best wishes to all of these players and others selected in the MLB Draft. Click here to view the article

People do realize that McKay is a very, very good pitcher and a very, very good hitter right? He's a Top 4-5 at both. He's probably 5th in my rankings, but let's not pretend that he doesn't have the chance to be elite as a pitcher or as a hitter. Will he? Who knows? But that's the same answer for all of them.

Jim Callis updated his ranking about 12 hours later and now they have the Twins taking/preferring McKay over Wright... "unless Greene overwhelms them today." http://m.mlb.com/news/article/234660412/2017-draft-buzz-what-callis-mayo-are-hearing/?topicid=151437456

Even those "real closers" blow leads and lose games...

Age to level doesn't matter much of him because of three years as a hitter... but it's important in the sense that he can be a minor league free agent following the World Series if the Twins don't add him to the 40 man roster. If they do add him, they have as much as three years left to wait for him to keep developing... at least in theory*. So, there isn't a huge rush. *They also have to add guys like Curtiss, Hildenberger, Reed, Busenitz, Burdi and several others this offseason, so we'll see. it'll be interesting.

Opinions continue to change, and I'm sure upon reading some of the profiles we've done or some of the national stuff, your opinion can change. Mock drafts will likely change every day over the next couple of days, even Monday... So, here's a quick Twitter poll for today... who WILL the Twins pick at 1.1?

I'd encourage people to take a listen to the Minnesota Sports Weekly podcast with Travis Aune and Seth Toupal. First, Jeremy Nygaard was on and spent a 1/2 hour talking about the draft and some of the things that could happen from his perspective. And we all know he's got some pretty good contacts in the system. Next, Baseball HQ's Chris Blessing came on to talk about the draft as well. He's scouted McKay and Wright and has some very interesting thoughts on the draft. But Chris Blessing also has scouted the Chattanooga Lookouts extensively. He's seen Fernando Romero pitch 5 times already this year. He's seen Felix Jorge since his time in E-Town. He's seen Gonsalves this year. They also did some very interesting discussion on some of the Twins prospects in Chattanooga. Listen here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/minnesotasportsweekly/2017/06/09/minnesota-sports-weekly-episode-21#.WTqZ5pTHugE.twitter

With the Twins contemplating taking a college pitcher with the #1 overall pick (maybe Wright or McKay), Mike Berardino profiles the college pitchers who have been taken at the top spot... http://www.twincities.com/2017/06/09/mlb-draft-twins-considering-college-pitcher-at-no-1-a-historically-spotty-choice/

Phil Miller looked back at the history of the #1 overall pick... there's A-Rod, Griffey, Chipper and Joe... and then what? http://www.startribune.com/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-sure-thing-with-top-pick-in-mlb-draft/427359843/

Today, Jim Souhan wrote that the Twins top pick will tell us a lot about Derek Falvey and Thad Levine... Feels a little dramatic, but it is an interesting selection. http://www.startribune.com/twins-choice-for-no-1-will-speak-volumes-for-new-bosses/427359823/

Boras wants to maximize his client's (and his) income... so if his group believes Gore would otherwise go #4, and the Twins give him #2 money, that's more money for them... It's a slippery slope, but it might be possible.

Yeah, I would consider that one a miss...

Yes, Granite would easily be the first outfielder up if there were an injury. No, it's not close to time for that. Yes, Buxton's defense is that good.

In addition, can you verify which are Scott Boras guys? I want to say Lewis and Gore are, which means they're unlikely to take too much of a deal, right?

Q&A with Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish: http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2017/6/8/15761176/2017-mlb-draft-sam-carlson-interview Ron Haggstrom of the Star Tribune wrote an article on Carlson. If he's taken in the 1st round, he'll become the first Minnesota pitcher taken in the 1st round. http://www.startribune.com/burnsville-s-sam-carlson-poised-to-make-mlb-draft-history/427130851/ Carlson pitched the final three innings of Burnsville's win last night (his brother Max, a freshman, started again) to send the team to the state tournament.

Maybe... I mean, both were acquired in the same way, are about the same age, one's left-handed and the other is right-handed, but they're pretty similar in profile. Again, I'm good with the move because they need to accumulate some arms and hope one hits, but my expectations are not very high here.

Gonsalves has made 4 starts since missing two months with a shoulder thing... How about let's let him get a few more AA starts and hopefully in July send him to AAA, and then in August, see where the team and Gonsalves are... Same with Romero (though he wasn't injured, he's been very up and down through the first two months). I think they believe Slegers could be solid, but he's been up and down too. Let him keep working in AAA. They already lost Wheeler, so the other AAA options to call up are Yohan Pino, David Hurlbut, Adam Wilk and Nik Turley types. I don't have any problem with claiming guys for the back end of the 40-man and 25-man roster. For years we talked about how the Twins should be doing more of that. The Twins probably need a Sunday starter. Heston can fill that, and if/when Santiago or Hughes come back, or they deem someone from AAA or AA ready, you DFA and hope he sticks so you've got more arms in the system.

Yeah, I mean it was clear that Santiago needed a DL stint (either due to performance or maybe something is actually wrong since his velo was down a bit in his last start). It's not like top guys are available right now, so you try to catch some lightning in a bottle on the fringes. I have no problem with this.

Need a starter for Sunday. Heston became available. Not sure if people thought Darvish or Scherzer might be available...

Was Heston DFAd to make room for Jason Wheeler?

I would think that he's suddenly strongly in the picture. I would keep expectations down. But he's a lefty, throws 91-94. The breaking ball is good. The stuff can be good. He can be pretty wild, and sometimes that is effectively wild. His 'stuff' is better than Buddy Boshers, but his control/command are not as good. I don't know that he can be real successful in MLB, but with these types of numbers, and the struggles of the back of the bullpen, it's worth consideration.

I don't buy what the Birmingham broadcast was showing his velo (86-88). I think he's more 88-91. I think getting back 1-2 more mph as he develops and grows will be good. (EDIT: A Twins contact informed me that the radar gun shown in the Birmingham milb.tv site during games is way off, as much as 4-5 mph. It showed Kopech hitting 92-95 (but he was actually sitting 98-101). It showed Gonsalves at 86-88, and he was actually hitting 90-93. In fact, last night, he hit 94 several times.) As for command, it's definitely more than just walks. His control so far this season has been very good. But as we saw with Jose Berrios, you can have good control and command in the minors and it needs to transfer to the big leagues... I don't think that it's a big concern, but command is as important as any other piece of a pitcher's repertoire.