Cory Moen

The Minnesota Twins have selected RHP Steele Murdock with their 5th round pick at 139th overall in the 2026 MLB Draft. The slot value for the pick is $536,900. Murdock is a right-handed pitcher out of UC San Diego. He had 104 strikeouts in 74 innings pitched this past season with the Tritons. Murdock was ranked #140 on MLB Pipeline’s pre-draft rankings. He throws a three-pitch mix including a fastball, slider, and changeup. His fastball grades as above average, and his slider grades as a 60 on the 20-80 scouting scale. He’s touched as high as 99 mph on his fastball while his slider and changeup sit in the mid-80s. He’s had a high walk rate in college, so this is something he will need to work on at the professional level.

Box Score SP: Joe Ryan - 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K (94 pitches, 61 strikes (64.9% strikes)) Home Runs: Royce Lewis (10) Top 3 WPA (via Fangraphs): Royce Lewis (0.25), Joe Ryan (0.19), Victor Caratini (0.16) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) After dropping Friday night's opener to the Angels, the Twins needed a response before heading into the All-Star break. They got one. Powered by another big afternoon from Royce Lewis and six steady innings from Joe Ryan, Minnesota knocked off Los Angeles 5-3 to even the series and set up a rubber match on Sunday. The afternoon started with a celebration as longtime Twins television voice Dick Bremer was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame before first pitch. Once the game got underway, Joe Ryan had to work around immediate trouble. The Angels put two runners aboard in the opening inning, but Ryan stranded both and never let the early traffic snowball. The Twins wasted little time providing him with some run support. Kody Clemens drew a four-pitch walk to open the second inning, bringing Royce Lewis to the plate. One pitch later, Lewis launched his 10th home run of the season, giving Minnesota an early 2-0 lead. Luke Keaschall added another run later in the inning with a sacrifice fly that scored Victor Caratini, extending the lead to 3-0. Luke Keaschall added another run later in the inning with a sacrifice fly that scored Victor Caratini, extending the lead to 3-0. The Angels answered in the third when Jorge Soler ripped an RBI double to cut the deficit to one, but Ryan settled right back in. Over his final three innings, Ryan allowed just two baserunners while continuing to attack the strike zone. It wasn't his most overpowering outing, but it was another example of why he's been one of the American League's most dependable starters this season. The only blemish after Ryan departed came in the seventh. Making his Twins debut after arriving from Toronto earlier this week, Tommy Nance surrendered a two-out RBI single to Nolan Schanuel after Zach Neto stole second, allowing the Angels to tie the game at three. Nance also recorded a pair of strikeouts in the inning. The tie lasted only a few minutes. Royce Lewis opened the bottom of the seventh with a double before Victor Caratini followed with another double into the gap, putting the Twins back in front 4-3. Alan Roden kept the line moving with an RBI single one batter later, giving Minnesota an important insurance run. That was all the bullpen needed. Woo-Suk Go handled the eighth, and Yoendrys Gómez closed things out in the ninth for his 11th save of the season and 10th since joining the Twins. One number that stood out when the afternoon ended: 11. That's how many runners the Angels left on base. Ryan and the bullpen bent more than a few times, but they consistently made pitches when traffic mounted. That's often the difference between winning and losing games like this. What's Next? The Twins will try to secure the series win Sunday before the All-Star break. Taj Bradley (8-3, 3.67 ERA) gets the ball for Minnesota against José Soriano (8-5, 3.40 ERA). Bradley enters the finale throwing some of his best baseball of the season. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four consecutive starts and is coming off a dominant seven-inning, 10-strikeout performance against Cleveland. After Sunday's finale, Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton will head to Philadelphia for the All-Star Game while the rest of the Twins get a much-needed breather before opening the second half with a road series against Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs. {C}%3C!%2D%2Dbr%20%7Bmso-data-placement%3Asame-cell%3B%7D%2D%2D%3E--> TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Rojas 0 0 47 0 0 47 Morris 13 0 0 25 0 38 Rogers 17 15 0 0 0 32 Adams 0 20 0 12 0 32 Funderburk 0 20 10 0 0 30 Gómez 3 19 0 0 18 40 Go 0 0 18 0 21 18 Nance 0 0 0 0 27 27

Similar to 2025, the 2026 MLB draft will feature 20 rounds, with a slight adjustment to its weekend format. Prior to 2025, the draft was a two-day event, with 40 total rounds. Last year, the draft was over three days, and this year it will be over two days. The first four rounds (which is one more than last year’s first day) will be later today, starting at 1:00 ET. You can catch the first 10 picks live on NBC or on Peacock. Picks 11-40 can be found on MLB Network or streaming on MLB.com or on MLB.TV starting at 2:30 ET. Starting at 4:00 ET, picks 41-135 will complete day one of draft coverage, and those can be watched the same way as picks 11-40. The rest of the draft will take place tomorrow, starting at 11:30 am ET, and can be found on MLB.com or on MLB.TV. While 16 rounds may seem like a lot in one day, last year it was 17 on the second day, and in prior years, they had 20-round days. The Twins will make five picks on day one. 3rd Overall (Round 1) 43rd overall (Round 2) 74th overall (Competitive Balance Round B) 79th overall (Round 3) 107th overall (Round 4) Jamie Cameron, Twins Daily’s MLB Prospect Guru and Draft Expert, has a mock draft board that can be found here. The Twins will have the fifth-largest bonus pool ($16,929,600) in the league. The pool is determined by assigning a slot value to each pick in the first 10 rounds. In rounds 11-20, players can sign for up to $150,000 and not count toward the bonus pool number. As a reminder, teams can exceed their bonus pool allotment by up to five percent before incurring any future pick penalties. No team in the bonus pool era has ever exceeded that five percent threshold. More information on the entire draft and the pick allotments for the Twins' specific picks can be found in the Twins Draft Primer Article. Twins Daily will also feature the Twins Draft Tracker, which will be kept up to date not only during the draft but through the entire signing period, so keep coming back for updates!

The Twins have optioned outfielder Kyler Fedko to Triple-A after Thursday's loss against Cleveland. This likely makes room for Ryan Jeffers to return from the injured list in the upcoming series against the Angels. Fedko was on the major league roster for about three weeks, where he played in 14 games, going 0-16 with eight strikeouts. His first major league hit will have to wait, as he will be back with Triple-A St. Paul this weekend. He was mostly used as a pinch runner and defensive replacement in his appearances with the Twins.

Bailey Ober has completed his rehab assignment and been returned to the active roster prior to the finale against the Guardians. He threw 8 1/3 innings in two rehab starts with Cedar Rapids and St. Paul. Prior to going on the injured list, Ober had 12 starts for the Twins, with a 4.59 ERA and 4.98 FIP. He's had his ups and downs but the hope is that he can provide some veteran depth in a rotation that has showed promise at times. Along with Ober being reinstated, LHP Kendry Rojas was recalled from Triple-A. He's bounced between the majors at Triple-A this year. In his time in the majors, he has looked promising, throwing 16 1/3 innings over six appearances. In that time, he has struck out 18 hitters, but also walked 13. If he can improve the walk rate, there is plenty of promise in the young lefty, either as a starter, or more likely as a relief option going forward. The last move made was that Connor Prielipp has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a finger blister on his left middle finger. Prielipp has been solid in the rotation this year, most recently pitching on Wednesday, giving up three runs over five innings pitched in a game the Twins won in walk-off fashion. On the year, Prielipp has a 5.00 ERA and a much better 3.90 FIP. In 66 2/3 innings, he has recorded 71 strikeouts over 13 appearances. The timing of the injured list stint could be beneficial with the All-Star Break right around the corner, so Prielipp could miss fewer games as long as the blister doesn't turn into a longer-lasting issue. He was not scheduled to start until after the break, so he won't miss a start until after the All-Star break is finished.

Walker Jenkins was named to the MLB Futures Game, which will be played on Sunday, July 12, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. He will join fellow top prospect Kaelen Culpepper in representing the Twins in the game. Jenkins is clearly deserving of this honor, as he is the Twins' top prospect and has proved why thus far in 2026. This year has been slowed by injury, but he has looked the part of a top prospect at Triple-A, hitting .272/.390/.430 over 31 games played. His .820 OPS is solidly above average, and he has added two home runs with 11 RBIs as well. He's also shown his athleticism with seven stolen bases on the year as well. While many Twins fans are hoping he makes his Major League debut sooner rather than later, you will get your opportunity to see him on a Major League Field come July 12.