DocBauer

I want to echo disappointment that the Twins didn't draft a single college pitcher when all reports I've read stated this class was very deep with viable arms. That's not a knock on the 4 guys selected to be clear. Here I go trying to seem intelligent again, but the FO has a thought process that is very clear at this point. And to be honest, from all I have witnessed and read, it appears history has shown that unless you select an arm in the first 5 spots, maybe 10, your odds of actually selecting a quality ML SP, much less a top of the rotation arm, diminish appreciably. And that's not to say the Twins WON'T select an arm at the top of the draft. After all, they have selected a few of them recently with supplemental and 2nd round choices. But think for a moment how volatile the projection part of the selection process for a HS arm at 18yrs old. Then think about a college pitcher. Have they maxed out? Do they have anything in their repitoire, not being top 5-10 selection worthy, that you feel good enough about future projectability to make them a later 1st round selection? And what about the injury factor? Despite all the advances, and continuing advances in medical science, a damaged shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand or labrum, etc, is still easier for a position player to overcome and reach their potential than for a pitcher. Again, not saying the Twins WON'T take an arm in the 1st round, or shouldn't, but I think their thought process is clear and understandable. They believe in using that top choice for a position player that has a chance, whether it be overriding skill set or particular skill set, and then grab pitchers that have "something" you really like and can build off of and develop. And they really seem to believe in the development system they have in place. And there have been a lot of stories including here at TD, about their approaches and individualized attention. Gone are the days of simplistic "everyman" mantras. And when you look at some of the young guys the FO has traded for...Chalmers could be a prime example...they are willing to take some risks based on potential via development. While I was really hoping for at least one college arm, and even speculated they might break traditional approach this weird season and select up to 3 because why not, I can't fault them for sticking to their guns. One thing I find interesting is how young each of the 4 selections is. All 3 position players have power, power potential, hit and OB potential even with some SO tendencies, but are banking on development. I'm with others when I'm actually mkre excited about Marco Raya than any other pick. He won't be 18yo until July, if I read it right. He is 6' and only about 170lbs but great mechanics and throws up to 94mph with movement and high spin rate. Reportedly, his slider and curve are already above average and his change is solid. He may or may not be one of those kids who would have gone to college and end up 6'2" and 210lbs and throw 98mph in 3yrs and be a top 5-10 selection. But if reports about all of his good qualities are accurate, what could he be in 3yrs with coaching and another 20+lbs of physical development thrown in?

Except it's only free for a few precious players. College baseball has something like 13 total scholarships to spread out over their entire roster. So most guys are on 1/4-1/2 athletic scholarship. Though to be fair, colleges seem to do a pretty good job finding grants and the such to help offset at least part of the remaining cost for some players. But I absolutely agree with Andrew that the vast majority of those who will sign for $20K are college seniors who don't want to go back, can't afford to go back, or have been attending a school that won't let them come back and certainly don't want to attempt to transfer to another school for 1yr.

Just wanted to add that I believe in a recent interview he stated he's never worked with an actual catching coach before coming to the Twins. And I think we've already heard and seen what a difference emphasis on that position is doing for the entire system. Throwing at least decently is still part of a catchers job, but the running game has been so de-emphasized in today's game as to make that aspect so less integral than it used to be. The Twins have made changes to stances behind the plate that keep a catchers more fresh, and allow them better access to low ball reception/blocking. We have certainly seen that in Garver at the ML level. At the end of the day, the most important part of a catcher's job is game calling, working and communicating with that guy in the mound, setting a good target, framing vs grabbing or reaching, and just keeping the ball in front of him. From reports, Jeffers has improved greatly in those areas.

Why does Nick Nelson sound like a featured crime reporter for the Daily Planet? (Could also run with private eye but we're discussing journalism here...sorta).

I keep reading he's between 160-170lbs. Someone buy this kid a couple cheeseburgers! Athletic, smooth mechanics and sits 90-94mph consistently from what I read. (Along with 2 above average breaking balls and a solid change). What kind of velocity does he have in a couple of years when he's 190lbs?

I've noticed a strong tendancy by the current braintrust to severely limit IP by college pitchers, if they throw at all. As I recall, Sands didn't throw at all his first draft year before sort of exploding on the scene in 2019. Obviously an attempt to not overwork an arm coming off a full season of college ball. (Some pitchers are often "abused" in regard to IP or lack of rest between big games, etc.) As I recall, it was initially thought Canterino might not throw at all last season before he did on a limited basis after a short break.

Awesome. Thank you. I don't do Twitter so good news. Despite so little information at my fingertips, for some reason, this selection excites me more than the others.

TINY detail but actually 90th from BA. But why quibble about 2 spots? Kind of reminds me of college football recruiting where a kid comes from a small school or a low population state so he isn't ranked as high as some other kids. Then he goes to a couple of camps and performs as well or better against higher regarded recruits and everything changes. BA lists him currently as 17yo and 6' 1" and 200lbs. While Hawaii is probably about as far away from being a baseball recruiting hotbed as you can get, if you are the team CF and have that size and power, you'd like to think the arm could stretch out enough to play RF in a couple of years. Once again, power, but hit ability and BB to go along with some SO. A definite pattern with our FO. Take the elite athlete where you can, but otherwise look to the best triple slash line you can find.

FWIW, Baseball America had him at 166. Not blowing smoke, just looking at the positives. Drafted by the Cardinals in 2018 and they have an obvious history for scouting well. As previously pointed out by Tom above, 3rd in the SEC in OPS in 2019. Lead his team in 2019 in BA, OB, and SLG. That's not bad stuff. Slow start in an abbreviated 2020, but had 5HR and 12-8 BB/SO before cancellation of the season. He appears to be earmarked for LF. And yet, he was tried at 2B and CF at times. Clearly, if he was just an athletic stiff, no team much less one in the SEC, would have tried him in those spots. Once again, the FO looking at projectability. Notice a trend with their first 2 picks? Hit ability, power and potential power, SO but also BB and OB potential.

No insult intended, but when I read the Baseball America profile on him they mention massive forearms and his power and being limited to 1B only where he is anywhere from average to below average, and I suddenly flash back 30yrs ago to Steve Balboni. To his credit, he's seen as an average to maybe above average hitter with maybe as much power as any hitter in the draft. He strikes out a bunch, but is not afraid to take walks. Does this remind anyone of a less athletic version of Sano? Also, to be fair, his is only a draft eligible sophomore. So with a little time, conditioning and work, perhaps he will be a competent to good 1B. I hate to make comparisons, but Jeffers surprised a lot of people. But hard work has reportedly turned him in to a pretty solid catcher defensively. I'm not sold at this point on the choice. But even being a 1B "only" there is real value if he can hit with that kind of power potential and field his position solidly. Not everyone has to be an elite athlete who can play anywhere. If he's something close to Hrbek the sequel, I'd be very pleased.

Also forgot to comment on the great athlete aspect, I've always liked pitchers who were good athletes. Never understood why being athletic was only tied to being a position player. Being a good overall athlete as a pitcher should only help mechanically, provide health and conditioning, as well as being able to field your position.

Got him for a little over slot? Are you projecting or stating it's a done deal?

Interesting to me the FO is not breaking trends in this draft. Select position players you think can succeed that have at least one proven tool and build on the rest. Instead of grabbing a pitcher to grab a pitcher, look at mechanics, look for at least one great pitch, look at spin rate, and then project what that pitcher can be in 2-4yrs with proper coaching. Only time will tell if they are right, but they certainly have conviction in their process. In regard to Raya in particular, any HS pitcher with mechanics and spin rate and 2 solid/good breaking balls, not hard to project additional growth and velocity over the next couple of years. If signed, he's suddenly 94-95mph in a couple years with spin and even better breaking stuff and someone teaches him some sort of change, well, there you go. Suddenly you have a really nice looking 21yo ready for AA.

With all that went wrong that year, I was surprised they still won 78 games. It's why I wasn't that surprised when things began to turn around in 2019. Mauer coming out in catcher gear one last time was one of the greatest and most emotional sports moments I've experienced.

Denny Hocking would like a spot on that bench.

"Its alive! Its alive!"

Totally get drafting position players first and arms a little later due to injury, and let's face it arms that just don't translate. The history of our FO here and before is to look for a "something" in arm and bead and work with it and develop it. All makes sense to me. I look at Sabato and I think Jeffers. Quality bat, but power potential, questions about defense. Is this a 1B version with even more power? Great if he is. But in a draft with more arms than most scouts can remember, why do I feel this wasn't the right choice?

Shows teams aren't afraid to draft and sign the top HS talent available, even with the deferred money involved.

If Meyer was 2 inches taller, I wonder if he would have been the #1? Everything is seemingly there except the traditional worries about downward plane and endurance not having that "classic" build.

Articles like this are always fun/interesting in a perverse kind of way. But they always remain pointless at the end of the day. The Trout example has always made me shake my head when brought up because most teams passed, therefore, all but 1 team made the same mistake. The Oelkers pick does hurt though as it proved to be so bad, and it was such a high pick.

And with the crazy state we find ourselves in, I wouldn't be surprised. All logic would dictate a college pitcher. Even at 27, it would appear the great depth this year should bring someone the Twins really like. But as crazy as things are, it wouldn't surprise if a HS player slipped down that far. I forget his name right now, but there is a TOP HS SS I've read of that might be right in the Twins wheelhouse if things play just right.

While owners, and ownership partners, make money off MLB, the very fact that CAN buy a team (in any professional sport) means they have the financial ability to do in the first place from all their other business and investments. Yes, they make a profit off that team, but they generally buy said franchise for the sporting/fun aspect or ego, or both. While it is very possible ownership cooks the books to some degree...not saying yes or no...the basic financial numbers don't appear to be in dispute. A full, normal ML season brings in around $10B. Half a season is around $5B. That's just easy math. No fan attendance would be anywhere from 25-40% of that revenue depending on what source you cited. So $5B easily becomes something like $3B, once again just doing basic math. There will be no milb season, yet many teams, including the Twins, are still paying their players. A pittance? Perhaps, but as pointed out, they are also still running their franchises and paying personnel, including a lump sum to the players previously, with ZERO $ coming in. Tell me again how there is no red at this point? The owners have every right, as owners of a business, entertainment or otherwise, to at least mitigate their losses for 2020. And let's be clear, not all teams and all financial situations are equal. Due to media deals and the such, it's possible teams like the Yankees or Dodgers, etc, might eek out a profit or break even without fans. Maybe. But what about the Twins, the Royals, etc, that are mid or small market teams? Ownership is going to lose money. Period. They are willing to do so because they also want baseball and none of them seem to want to sell. (Though this would be a poor time to do so if they did). But all that being said, they also can't expect their primary employees to play for 15% of their contract. (The Trout example of $30M being only $5M on the initial proposal). For the good of the sport, for any HOPE of harmony in the next CBA, they need something better than their initial sliding scale offer to the players. BUT, it is also on the players to decide getting paid is better than not getting paid. It is on the players to have a better grasp of the situation in the world taking place and to offer their own olive branch toward the people who pay them to keep their sport solvent and viable going forward. Are they so naive as to believe a world wide pandemic and a CBA around the corner, much less next offseason's market aren't going to be affected by all of this? Do they want baseball to be kicked in the shins and take multiple years to recover? Or would they rather join in the effort to make any financial losses, including to them, be short term vs long term? Sorry, but this is a 2 way partnership and a symbiotic relationship. Not picking a side, this is just reality. Both sides can play this smart for the good of careers and earnings and the continuation of the sport. OR, they can do what they have mostly done for my lifetime and bicker and argue about who "wins". If and when this gets settled and we have baseball in 2020, the best thing BOTH SIDES could do is look to the NFL and NBA with their revenue sharing and cap situations, whether hard or soft. The health and growth of those sports simply can't be ignored by MLB and the union any longer. And I put the onus on both sides, but more so on the players. It's time for a cap that also comes with a floor. But it also means even more sharing of revenue by ownership. Both sides have a lot to lose and so much to gain.

This exercise was fun to read, and I'm sure you guys had a BLAST doing it. (With the exception of a few choice curse words when you lost someone you were hoping to pick, of course, lol). I'm not as plugged in to information that you all have, but I follow the draft, the international signings, season stats, milb reports, every milb ranking I can find, and, of course, the TD prospect handbook. Even still, being a Twins and Twins milb fanatic, it's hard to remember everything about everyone. Still, I went through each list and graded each category to the best of my ability/opinion. I tried to dismiss "closeness" in my mind and just look at talent and projection. I used a 6-1 point system. And believe it it was difficult at times, especially in regard to the OF, SP and BP. I dismissed the extra pitcher and extra hitter simply because those spots were just so hard to evaluate across the board. So I struck to main construct, and you can hate on me all you want for not getting extra credit for your selections there, lol. With all that being said, here was my final tally: Matt: 31 Seth: 30 Steve: 28 Ted: 27 Cody: 27 Jeremy: 25 Again, there were some tough choices here! I'd love 2/3 of something and have to make a judgement call. C: Matt INF: Matt OF: Steve SP: Ted RP: Seth You all did let Jeremy know what was going on, right?

Agree on swapping this version of Stashak for Littell. Makes sense. But I also believe Hill could make a huge difference and I want him and Wisler up to help the pen. Problem is I also want Adrianza up to help with depth and resting guys. So I'm not sure I can help much here. If my hands are tied...and they are...i vote pitching. Hill and Wisler and make the Littel/Stashak swap. And let me state once again, for the record, how much I DESPISE the new limited call up rule! Hopefully it will be changed before 2021 gets here. It's not just short sighted it's actually stupid.

FWIW, RHP Carmen Miodzinski from South Carolina has been mocked to the Twins a couple of times, including Baseball America. Read a mock today where SS Jordan Westburg from Miss St could go there. Big kid with hit and power potential who could stick at SS. I don't see it. Perfect year to go hard after good college arms.