Dman

Man Wallner with a double, triple and HR to get the hard part of the cycle out of the way. He just needs to get that OPS in the 1.000 range and keep it there and he will force the FO to bring him back up. Headrick seems to be back on track with another good outing. Enlow was cruising through 4 innings absolutely dominant and then the wheels fell off. It still feels like as the pitch count mounts he has more trouble. Just wasn't able to wriggle out of this one though. I keep saying Severino is going to come down to earth and he just keeps on getting hits. He looks like a promotion candidate sometime in June if he keeps this up. Schobel with a 3 for 5 night all singles but he finally has his OPS for the year at .700. It seems like he is starting to adjust to this level. Hopefully June is a big month for him. Hopefully more guys start having big nights.

Someone forgot to tell Houston that all they have to do is load the bases and the Twins are powerless.

I haven't heard anything connecting the Twins to Max Clark. Either they don't like something, don't think he will make it to them or they are setting up a smoke screen hard to say. I agree with the OP that Clark seems the odd man out for them at number 5. I agree with the OP on the top three as they all have power\hit profiles with a good eye at the plate to boot. They all run pretty well and have solid arms so they have defensive value. The Twins love those types of hitters but I could see all of them gone before pick number 5. Gonzalaz has been called the best Shortstop in this class by some scouts granted with his 40 rated run time he is not a burner and likely ends up at third or maybe second. Minnesota doesn't have enough 2nd\third basemen at the big league level or the minors so grabbing another is imperative? Actually the system is loaded with guys like this. Jullien, Lee, Lewis, Castro, Miranda, Polanco, Schobel, Ross, Ortega if you want to include Helman than him too. It is an area of great strength so much so they traded away Arraez and Steer to make room. Grabbing Gonzalaz over Clark would be a huge head scratcher IMO. I get Gonzalaz has some real nice numbers. More walks than K's. Hits the ball to all fields, has power and apparently he is a metrics darling with the bat and also a slow runner. Lot's of things to like but who gets bumped to play him? Also he has actually been moving down draft boards not up. He is the 8 to 12 area right now. I don't have all the info but I don't like the pick at number 5. If Skenes were to fall to 5 it seems like a best case scenario for this team. He is a power pitcher. Likely a fast mover and a team need to boot. Not grabbing him would seem incredibly odd considering he could go as high as number 2 and has been about as elite a pitcher as you can find. If Skenes is there at 5 he has to be the pick. There will still be good bats down the board that the Twins can pick next anyway. Will have to wait and see how the board falls but if Skenes makes it to number 5 that would be the ideal pick to me.

I think that is a fair comp. Wilson might end up with more power hard to say though. Still before Madrigal was hurt he OPS'd .745 and .775 in MLB not bad numbers IMO. He was close to walking about as much as he K'd granted all in a SSS. It just depends on how you want to get to around an .800 OPS IMO. Through batting average or power. Maybe those high school players will do better than that or maybe they won't. Maybe like Steer Wilson finds his power later on. Hard to say. No one thought Neto would have enough power and I believe he is the first one in that class to see the majors and he seems to be holding his own.

I agree with you that Wilson isn't a typical Twins pick as he doesn't have the power profile they like. I think, however, that given the dearth of power hitters they have accumulated they hopefully see the value of contact bats as well. They got to see how Arraez impacted the team and if they ever read this board they should know how boring all the K's are. The Guardians used contact hitters to great effect last year although they are starting slow again this year. I think reports of them looking hard at Wilson reflect they understand they need a better balance\different types of hitters. Also just like Steer I think Wilson could develop more power as he ages but likely will never have elite power. Wilson doesn't play elite competition so hard to gauge the low K numbers but I wouldn't mind them picking him especially if he was willing to go under slot at number 5. Hard to say what will be available and what they decide to do. I just hope they pick the right guy. It feels like Wilson might be a fairly safe bet.

I like all the players mentioned but let me start with who I like the least. I could regret saying this but I don't love Jenkins as a pick for Minnesota. We have young outfielders on the rise in Rosario and Rodriguez and a ton of guys right behind him in Mercedes, Jose Rodriguez, Nova and Churio. If you believe in Aguiar he might be Jenkins right now with less plate discipline. Maybe Jenkins is the next Crews but I don't love him at number 5 for the Twins. Gonzalaz doesn't seem to have great power nor does he have great speed. That alone should take him out of the top 5 IMO but the fact we we have a slightly better version of him in Lee makes me even less interested. I want more upside at 5 than he provides. Langford might also be redundant in the system but if he fell he has a power speed profile that is intriguing to me. I think the Twins would scoop him up in a hurry if he was there. The bat and the fact he runs well make him a good get at number 5. I think Clark fits upside and team need the best of any player in the top 5. We don't have a player with elite speed in center in the system. He is a pretty solid 5 tool player with only power being a question mark. Hearing some rumblings about makeup but he still would be my pick if available at number 5. Teel is growing on me. A catcher that can move well on the bases with a good eye at the plate and solid hit tool with power at a position with few offensive standouts seems like a nice get. I don't know a ton about his defense and if they don't think he sticks at that position I would prefer other players. If they do see catching as his future I like him at number 5 just fine. I still like Wilson if Clark is gone and maybe even if Clark is there as well. He could be this years Zach Neto. With only 5 K's this year and only 7 last year he gets the bat to the ball. He could be an Arraez type hitter if those numbers come close to holding. He is not facing elite competition but I don't think Neto did either. It looks like he can probably stick at short and the only real question has been power. There are going to be lot's of good hitters to choose from at number 5. We just need to get the one that is going to reach their ceiling.

I don't think it makes him "better" but he is a vet so a known quantity. He plays good defense. He has no options so if DFA'd likely lost for good. He has been about league average so not horrible but not great either. We have no idea who Wallner is and lot's of young guys start out hot until teams find weaknesses to exploit. Wallner needs to play everyday. I don't think Gallo or Max are on this team next year so Wallner will get a real chance next year for sure. Also given the tender Hammies on Both Kepler and Gallo he might see more action this year as well. I wish they would have left the hot bat alone until it cooled off at least for one game but vet's get their spots back when ready. That's just the way it works.

Count me in the bummed category with Wallner fresh off a 6 for 6, 2 walk stretch 2 game hot streak. Kepler has been better this year in general so far so I get them bringing back once healthy. Still a hot bat generally isn't something to mess with. If a guy is seeing the ball well making solid contact you want to ride that out. Matts day will come and he could be starting as early as next year so not too worried about him. After being sent back down he can still work on K rate and or bring that AAA OPS to a level that can no longer be ignored. Happy to see him not lost at the MLB level and am hoping he is another difference making bat. Will have to wait a bit longer to find out.

Happy to see Miller getting the bat going again. Once he establishes the hit tool he will be a legit MLB shortstop. Still a long ways to go but making contact with good results is very encouraging. I don't know much about Matthews but I do love to see dominant pitchers move up. High A should be a better challenge for him. Moving up early he will have a shot at AA late in the year if he continues to perform. Olivar sure can hit but he does need to work on that K rate. I think he was in a slump there for a bit but hopefully he continues to perform more consistently as he adjusts to this level. Pitching hasn't been as good in the system this year especially at the upper levels. Hopefully that will change. Short season is close to starting and I am very interested to see how some of those players perform.

Yeah I was going to mention Lopez as well. It was a nice innings work. Game wasn't on the line though as the Twins were behind. He seems to do better when he isn't worried about giving up the lead especially a tight lead. Still he did well and I hope he continues to trust himself more when the game is on the line. He was an important part of the win not giving up any runs so that they could tie it in the 9th.

When Houston went up by one on the Grand slam I figured the game was over because I thought there was an unwritten rule that the Twins can't come back after the other team takes the lead late. Kidding aside it was a great game down to their last out they found a way to tie it and with a mighty swing in the 10th found enough runs to win the game. I know Lewis essentially won this one coming up clutch with 4 of 5 RBI's in regulation. I know Jeffers won the game with a big home run in extra's but I have to say I was also very impressed with Kirilloff going 2 for 2 with 3 walks. I didn't think he could walk three times in one week let alone one game. If he maintains that discipline good things will happen eventually. Castro continues to hit and went 2 for 5. Jeffers though was 3 for 5 with the game winning homer. I Haven't given him the recognition he deserves I guess somewhat because of last year but he has been a force at the plate. I hope he keeps it going. Nothing against Kepler and maybe they had to call him back up from IL no matter what but why not stay with the hot bat Wallner had going? He was 6 for 6 with two walks the last two games. Showing contact and patience at the plate. I get that he wasn't going to keep that going forever and maybe not even the next game but it just makes you second guess this FO when they do things like that. Why not ride a guy who is hot instead of bringing in someone cold like Kepler? At any rate thankfully they won this one and hopefully they stay over the 500 mark as they are the only team in the central over 500. If they fall below the 500 mark it is going to be incredibly embarrassing for all the teams in the central.

I am still not sold that what he is doing is sustainable up the levels and even less so at the MLB level. HIs K rate was 43% last year and still a beefy 31% this year. It is a Rooker\Wallner type profile which isn't horrible but he will have to find a way to K less and make more contact to make it work. That being said he is still a very interesting prospect. He is young enough to find the patience he will need to succeed and he has a really good power stroke and runs fairly well. Just needs to keep improving and moving up levels and maybe something clicks that moves him from good to great. I don't see him needing to be protected this year as the aggressive style with a less than 10% walk rate at the minors lowest level isn't likely to translate well at the big league level. There are things to dream on and warts in his numbers gonna have to wait and see.

Castro can drive me crazy swinging at stuff far outside the zone but when he is on he is a difference maker. He has a ton of tools switch hitter, can play almost every position, runs the bases well and can steal bases. If he had a bit better plate discipline you would say he is an every day player. I just hope the bat keeps producing as that is what we need the most but no question he is a valuable player in the field. I think Gordon is on the hot seat with Castro around as the switch hitting ability plus good defense in the infield and outfield make him more valuable. If he continues to hit I can't see the Twins sending him down.

Incredibly impressed by Brock Stewart. He trusted his stuff got ahead in counts and got the job done. Lopez feels like a bit of head case to me. Why he was throwing straight down the middle on the Home Run ball I do not know. He needs to be better than that. Both teams seemed to hit balls that were good pitches and managed to do damage. Pedro pitched pretty well but Bichette was really on today and managed to beat the plan the Twins had for him. Happy to see Castro hitting better lately. He was a real difference maker today. Kirilloff another two hit game. Jullien continues do what he does at whatever level and Wallner with the 4 for 4 day was outstanding at the plate. If these young guys continue to perform this team is going to be OK. We need a series win so hoping they can win tomorrow but will have to wait and see.

Rosario is approaching an elite .900 OPS. Most everyone else is struggling with the bat at High A. Feels like the arms might be tiring already for some guys as the starting pitching hasn't been as sharp the last week or so. Nice to see Lee hitting again.

Those are my feeling as well. Need to make sure this is for real before he heads to AAA and the Twins need 40 man space so there would be no reason to add him unless a dire need due to injuries or continued bullpen underperformance. I watched him on MiLB last year a few times and he was giving up a lot of hard contact. Have not watched him this year but the results appear much better. From the Box score perspective everything looks good with a solid WHIP, ERA, K and Walk rate. Only issue I see is his ERA is overperforming his FIP and xFIP so there could be some possible regression coming but there are just so many good signs it is impossible to not be optimistic that he is back on track. His efficient outing last night where he didn't K many guys but got weak contact and quick outs bodes well as it means guys are having trouble squaring his stuff up. I hope he just keeps getting better and better as the year goes on.

I too gave them a C. The starting pitching has been what I had hoped for so far but everything else is so maddeningly inconsistent it boggles the mind. They are in first place though so couldn't give them a D even though that is probably more how I feel about the team. My emotions are probably clouding a more rational response so I voted C.

I am hoping Schobel can show enough to get moved up but that might take longer than hoped. Also wondering if they would drop Miller or Salas back to Fort Myers to work on contact skills because both those guys have trouble making contact, Especially Salas. I liked the idea of the Twins challenging the young guys and I would give it more time to see if they take off but IMO at some point the better player needs to move up. That looks like Ortega to me right now.

Yeah I really liked the pick when the Twins made it and his build looked like it was built for power. I think he started off hot last year got injured and never got hot again. I thought maybe he would be better this year but right now all the catchers even Jeffeson Morales are swinging a better bat than Mack right now. Even the hit challenged Banuelos has a 900 OPS in a SSS. The only bat worse is Camargo but he is at AAA. Time was no longer on his side and kind of running out of room to keep him. I agree I think he can catch on with another team and I still think he has chance to be a decent catcher but the four guys he is competing against for a spot all look much better in the batters box right now. You are right Cossetti won't catch on to prospect lists as he is too old unless they can get him all the way up AA this year which is doubtful. Doesn't really matter though as long as he makes it to MLB that would be a win especially for an 11th round choice.

I feel bad for Mack but he just hasn't hit well his entire pro career. His highest OPS of .723 isn't even close to what Cossetti is doing right now. Cossetti has a real solid approach so far with as many walks as K's a good batting average and slugging percentage. So well rounded there was nothing left to work on in Fort Myers. Congrats to him on moving up. Aguiar really upped his OPS with that three homer game as it lifted his average and slugging. The K rate is down to 31% which might not seem great but considering it was 43% last year at this level that is quite an improvement so far. A few more walks would convince me he knows the strike zone well but he has a power bat and has to find a way to hit enoung to make it all work. He is off to a good start this year. Was also happy to see Ortega back into the .900 OPS range. I assume he will move up later in the year as he looks pretty solid right now. I know Neuse might be an after thought given he is 24 but he is hitting well with a .321 average. His slugging isn't great but walks, K's BA. OBP all look really good to me. Will be interesting to see how they handle Neuse and Schuffield. Although Schuffield has been scuffling for a while now. Lot's of fun seeing the Muscles have a great offensive night and move some the numbers in a positive direction. Looks like the pitching matchup's for today are must watch MiLB.TV. Hoping for better results today.

I agree that both Cardenas and Cossetti look like the best bet's for offensive catchers that can make it. Winkel is having a solid year with the bat so far but I watched him when he was at Cedar Rapids behind the plate and his throws to 2nd were awful. For someone who has been a catcher that long that seems to be a huge weakness to his game and a bad one given the changes to the game. Camargo is another catcher with a chance but he is very boom bust with the bat. However, the bar for catcher offense is low these days. Still I like the potential of Cossetti and Cardenas the best right now as well. Will also be interesting to see what Baez can broing to the table after he recovers from hamate issue.

The central is wide open if you ask me. The White Sox are only 5.5 games out of first place and if their offense does start to show up they have the pitching to compete. Cleveland is only 3.5 back and again if the offense does get going could be a force. Detroit is only 2.5 games back but I tend to agree with others that it feels like they have over performed to this point but sometimes the game goes like that and they could be lucky this year the way they were unlucky last year. The only team completely out of it at this point is KC. The Twins just keep finding ways to almost win but lose instead. Too many players not ready to mentally perform IMO. The Twins have equal if not better talent and better all round depth than the other teams in the central but they seem determined to bumble away any advantages they might have by not executing in critical situations. This division is there for any team to lose or win. Let the race to the top or bottom begin. Two months in and is basically a free for all.

Schobel looked pretty good last week. If I calculated correctly I think he hit .300 last week. He had an awful April with a .600 OPS playing in cold Cedar Rapids to start the year and with the weather warming his May numbers look better with a slash of 286/397/413 for an .810 OPS. His K rate is 20% and walk rate 10% on the season so I think his numbers could take off in the second half. Just when I thought Ortega was going to challenge Cossetti for the OPS lead he goes into a slump and Cossetti gets hot. I still like both bats but with Cossetti walking as much as K'ing he is more than ready to move up a level. Lewis off to a good start. A bit Jekyl and Hyde to start as he either gets no hits or lots of hits per game but the overall results are really good. I still think he can be a difference maker for the Twins so hoping he keeps the bat hot. Severino finally came down to earth some. Wondering if he is working more on plate discipline? Hard to say at any rate he has an elite power stoke he just needs needs to be disciplined enough to get good pitches to hit. Still liking what Headerick is doing. It nice to have to have solid option tucked away at AAA. Hoping for more breakouts especially at High A where the young guys are really struggling.

This is the only Mock I found with Teel in the top 5 but the Rangers just might be the Team that pulls the trigger on Teel. I don't know what Jenkins has going for him other than power but he sure seems to be high on most boards. There certainly could be shakeups in the draft order but the Twins are set to get an elite player. In this mock they do get Skenes. Still I think in the end you are right that Teel could make the top 5.

Yeah I really wanted Turner as well. I assume they didn't think his power projection was good enough? And he had been injured a bit IIRC. I was a huge Turner Fan as well. He was my dream pick for them in that draft as I wasn't into the power\slugging aspects of the game back then. His ability to play short get on base and steal bases was what I wanted to see but alas I guess they felt maybe more upside in the end with Gordon and that turned out poorly. I also was hoping Rodon would fall in that draft but he didn't. I wasn't a fan of Nola and he worked really well as a down the line pick. It is easy to get fooled in the draft and we only get bits of info so hard to make decisions on the little blurbs we do get. To your point I have been more comfortable with the College picks at least early on but I can see where high school picks can provide superior value later in the draft when a lot of the elite college players are off the board. Still looking at Holliday from last year which I thought might be a reach and he is killing it so projection at the HS level can be done but I still agree with you that it is riskier.