Hawkeye Bean Counter

Took a 1st baseman in the 19th round Sam Parker. When researching found Winokur had the highest average exit velocity during the June 2023 combine and Sam Parker had the furthest distance of any player. Highest average exit velocity (batting practice) (# of batted balls in parentheses) 108.3 mph (9) - Brandon Winokur, OF, Edison HS (Calif.) (No. 72) 106.7 mph (8) - George Wolkow, OF, Downers Grove North HS (Ill.) (No. 68) 102.5 mph (9) - Joe Vetrano, 1B, Boston College 101.3 mph (11) - TayShaun Walton, CF, IMG Academy (Fla.) (No. 165) 100.9 mph (14) - Jonathon Long, 3B, Long Beach State 100.5 mph (16) - Kemp Alderman, OF, Mississippi (No. 62) 100.3 mph (13) - Trent Caraway, SS, JSerra Catholic HS (Calif.) (No. 67) 100.3 mph (12) - Myles Naylor, 3B, St. Joan of Arc Catholic SS (Canada) (No. 59) 100.3 mph (5) - Caden Sorrell, CF, Marcus HS (Texas) (No. 76) 99.7 mph (11) - Gavin Grahovac, SS, Villa Park HS (Calif.) (No. 146) Longest maximum distance (batting practice) 456 feet - Sam Parker, 1B/OF, Kennesaw Mountain HS (Ga.) 443 feet - Kemp Alderman, OF, Mississippi (No. 62) 437 feet - Brandon Winokur, OF, Edison HS (Calif.) (No. 72) 437 feet - Will Simpson, INF, Washington 435 feet - Andrew Wiggins, OF/RHP, Heritage Christian (Ind.) 431 feet - George Wolkow, Downers Grove North (IL.) (No. 68) 429 feet - Daniel Cuvet, INF/RHP, ESB Academy (Fla.) 429 feet - Sabin Ceballos, 3B, Oregon (No. 153) 424 feet - Alfonsin Rosario, CF, P27 Academy (S.C.) 424 feet - Luke Keaschall, SS, Arizona State (No. 90)

Or the Twins can trade for a few prospects. Not a big deal across the board.

yes and last I checked we still have a few rounds left. And I am completely comfortable with them drafting a prospect that late in the draft for the C position as its worked. They are primarily filling positions and find lightning in a bottle. Likely feel the catcher position is one that needs more coaching at these levels. I think they have found more than enough organizational talent for the Catcher position after the 6th round.

Kade Bragg looks like another decent pick.

"but that they need someone to catch at the lower levels....."

I said it before and I think it is showing, this is a deep class. It is fairly clear the Twins feel there are a lot pitching prospects that have something they like that they can work with. This is very good. Hopefully the top of the draft pans out, because I am fairly confident a couple or more of these pitching prospects will pan out. Lots of quality picks.

Im not sure where the angst from catching prospects is coming from 2017 Cosgrove 17, Bailey 37, Rodriguez 38 2018 Chris Williams 8th round Casanova 13th 2019 Schmidt 33 rd, Isola 29th round 2021 Cardenas 8th, Winkel 9th 2022 Cossetti 11th, Baez 12th If the value is there the Twins will grab catchers in rounds 8-12, if not they are completely comfortable waiting til the end of the draft to pick up a catcher or two.

I think the Twins feel comfortable with the Catching prospects they have. They also likely have 1 or 2 pegged for the end of the draft. This round a couple C came off the board, but its primarily been pitchers.

Im hoping in the next round or two Twins take a shot on Keaton Anthony. Heck of a bat.

Xander Hamilton, 6'3" beefier 225lbs. High strikeouts 12 per a 9. Some tools to work with here. My guess is another couple pitchers to get picked yet today.

if we get a catcher or I am expecting in the last couple picks, likely a no name that they see something in. Too many decent prospects still available. The catching position just seemed to fall of a cliff this year on quality prospects.

Garrett Mcmillan just got drafted again.

Jeremy Lee - South Alabama 5'11" - ranked 415 one site. I don't know, not seeing it unless a reliever. Don't see much on pitch mix.

Pasqualotto, another good pitcher at this point in the draft. Good slider, could use a little more velocity and movement on 92 mph fastball. I am really liking the pitchers in this draft. Still waiting for that 6'6" mound of clay in a prospect :).

Being a Hawkeye fan, Langenberg is excellent value at this point. Strong pitcher came in as the expected #1 struggled a little bit but was still overall strong numbers in a decent B1G conference. He has the potential to add a bit to the fastball. Similar to Hall and Stoffal, good stuff not the highest of ceiling but have the tools that can become a very good pitcher for the Twin. Iowa has 1 more prospect that likely should have been taken earlier. Anthony, the question is whether will come back to college or will sign. Ultimately I think will sign, however not sure the Twins would take a chance. He is currently in an investigation for gambling, although appears to be small and maybe a football game, or fantasy football. He was suspended for the back half of the season and missed the CWS.

:) correct, I don't always talk clearly, add in transferring to typing, some things definitely get jumbled.

As much as I really like the Soto pick, how much does it say that Lopez reached out to this kid and was a great ambassador for the Twins and the Minnesota Twins community as a whole. As much as I still dislike trading Arreaz, I really think having Lopez on our team especially with an extended contract was worth it.

Just wanted to do a quick compare to last years see what we think we have in value in this draft 1. Jenkins vs Lee - Jenkins has the slightly higher ceiling but both are very good prospects - pretty even 2. Soto vs Prielipp - Soto has the much higher ceiling and less injury risk, heavily favors Soto, I still like Prielipp. 3. Keaschall vs Schobel - almost mere images of each other. Wash 4. Winokur vs lost pick - Winokur is high ceiling draft pick, 2023 win. This is where we start to get some real separation 5. Hall vs Morris . Hall is the better pitcher and has a higher ceiling than Morris. Really like the Hall pick - favors 2023 6. Questad vs Ross - This heavily leans towards Questad. you have high potential and even a better floor than Ross. Real chance on hitting something here 7. Harry vs Ortega - Harry has good makeup - but Ortega has continued to show good pop so far, first time I go with 2022. 8. Santos vs Jones - I am not high on either. If one were to flash most likely Santos but a wash. 9. Stoffal vs Matthews - I think ultimately both have some talent. I think Stoffal maybe slightly higher but willing to give this a wash. 10. Dougherty vs lewis - a bit of hindsight here, but Lewis looked like had some tools to be effective pitcher. I take Lewis even without his season performance, easily ahead here with the performance. 11. Dunn vs Shuffield - lets just ignore shuffield and look at Dunn vs Lewis. Honestly this is very close even knowing what Lewis has done. You have a lefty in Dunn that has 3 very good pitches. You have the chance at a #3 ceiling pitcher possibly higher. I slightly lean towards Dunn between the two but its close. What it shows is much higher ceilings but overall just better quality throughout (it helps having an extra pick). You have 3 potential elite players in 2023 Jenkins, Soto and Winokur vs Lee. I think Priellip has the potential to get back in this group but need to wait on the health. Keaschall and Schobel both look like excellent ball players - safe picks likely good outcomes for both. For pitching - Hall, Questad and Stoffal and Dunn all have the tools to be good pitchers. Mathews and Lewis appear to be the best picks for pitching on day 2 last year and we my have a gem in Lewis. However the quantity and quality of pitching for yesterday heavily leans to 2023. The one caveat is Ortega, I liked him when he was picked and he has continued to do well this year. For the hitters drafted later, I think he has the best chance of continuing to improve and move up in the organization.

I still think its a good pick. He just needs to come back healthy next year. If not injuries may just derail his potential.

I very much believe the Twins got sniped in the 3rd round with Arizona picking Hurley 2 picks before their pick. With that being said I will be curious how Winokur does. He has a compact swing so should have better contact. On second note I feel this draft is deeper on the pitching side than the last couple of years. Here is my take. 3. Winokur- has a fairly high ceiling. He is a strong athlete, compact clean swing, will likely move up well throughout the organization. Then we will see if he stalls out in AAA like some of our previous slugger picks or can punch through. 4. Tanner Hall - honestly I think this is the safest pick of the draft that will make it to the big leagues in some capacity. He is already a heck of a pitcher with solid deception, his fastball is just a little on the low side. If the coaches can find 4-5 more miles per an hour he is potentially a #2 or #3 type pitcher. As stated before, Cleveland was also very interested in him. 5. Questad- already has good velocity, will just need to refine his pitches some more. High upside, and with our coaching in A and A+ ball I feel this is a really good gamble. Again I feel like the potential of a #2 #3 type pitcher. 6. Harry - I like the player I like the quiet hands, I just think he is likely fairly maxed out, I hope not. He appears to be a high effort player. I don't see the upside of someone like Ortega taking the previous year. 7. Santos - I am thinking he is a senior sign. Good strikeout numbers, not great competition, but I think is something the Twins can work with. 8. Stoffal- only and 8 SO/9 - but prior to his injury was pitching lights out for the Ducks and against strong competition prior to his injury. He seems like a Hall-light type of pick that the Twins can improve mechanics a bit and have a strong starter, just doesn't have as much games under his belt. 9. Dougherty- A previous 12 and 13 SO/9 prior to this year. Has some strike out ability but struggled as pitcher this year. Honestly I have the least amount of confidence in this and the Santos pick. I will be curious to see how much both sign for and whether in matches where I think these 2 are in the pecking order. 10. Dunn - a left handed pitcher with 3 very strong pitches, but lacking some command. This is a high upside pick and likely one the Twins save some money for. Between Hall, Questad, Stoffal and Dunn - I think the Twins picked 4 very strong arms that have pretty good odds at doing well in the organization. Not all of them will hit, but I could see 2-3 hit with Hall Questad and Dunn all having pretty high ceilings. Dougherty and Santos are both a wait and see situation. They could surprise but right now I don't have quite as much confidence in. For the bats on day 2 it begins and end with Winokur for me (no offense to Harry). He has the athletic ability, size and compact swing with power that has the possibility of being a decent major league player to possible an all star. As to day 3 I am cautiously optimistic. Yes the Twins have found diamonds in the rough in these rounds, but two, I do think this draft is about 100 prospects deeper due to the truncated 2020 draft and just a tad deeper class overall. What does that mean? I am hoping for a draft similar to 2019 where they are finding solid prospects throughout the day. I don't expect to have a top 4-5 rounder get picked in the 18th round like Julien, but I do expect a strong day. I think it will be more of split on hitting and pitching. I fully expect 2 catchers to be picked based on their previous draft strategies, likely another infielder and outfielder and possibly find another HS player willing to take a chance on the MLB similar to Omari Daniel. I won't be paying attention to each pick like yesterday, but will be curious to see what they end up with.

Honestly I think it is 2 things working together. 1. The front office has had the scouts focus on a few particular traits, a high K/9 ratio, and having at least 1 elite pitch. 2. The pitching coaching in A and A+ ball I think is very very strong. They are giving these players a strong base to possibly succeed in the higher levels. Often increasing their velocity and tweaking a couple of their pitches. The coaching and scouts and ultimately the front office is very in sync with their philosophy on drafting pitchers.

Twins end with a draft special in the 10th - Ross Dunn 140th ranked prospect Left handed pitcher. Had a 14.9 k/9 in 2022, 11 in 2023. Need to find more on him. Additional info, has 3 solid pitches across the board, appears to be primarily command issues. Will see if the Twins can help him. I think the Twins have a good shot at finding a quality arm in these last 5 draft picks. Will see if 1 or more can excel with the Twins tutelage.

Yes I am also really like this draft. Just to further drive home my point lets look at the rest of the Twins organizational depth at Catcher. Alex Isola -29th, Winkel 9th, Tatum 20th round, Schmidt 33rd, Baez 11th. I am not saying the Twins have great depth at the catcher position. However, I would say catching is the 1 position the Twins have continually punted, and continued to find solid organizational pieces throughout the draft. Then you thrown on Cossetti and Williams who have a chance to be more than an organizational piece with Williams knocking on the door of the big leagues. I will state the depth at the catching position this year is pretty barren unlike last year. I would expect a couple draft picks tomorrow be catchers - that's been the Twins MO lately and then see if they can hit on 1.

Yet you have 2 players that are Catchers that are doing pretty damn well from the time period selected plus 2022 (had already responded as Cossetti) . Williams in the 8th and Cossetti in the 11th just for the Twins. I understand what you are saying but you can find players anywhere, and the Twins have been pretty good at it whether pitcher or catcher. Right now the Williams and Cossetti are both major depth pieces for the catcher position for the Twins. Eh . . . let me go on my way.

Since this regime has came in they have had a crazy knack for finding diamonds in the rough. Not sure what the reasoning is or whether just dumb luck. Out of the ones named you have had some that have had a cup of coffee in the MLB. Then you have 3 that have positive WAR's. Varland .5 Julien .7 Ober 5.1