Jeremy Nygaard

The calendar turns to June and with that… the MLB Draft isn’t for over another month!? The later draft is certainly something that is going to take some getting used to. But here were are with another update. Last week, the first TwinsDaily mock was posted. This week, we’re going to cover some big news from last week as well as discuss selections from three other mock drafts. Alabama LHP Connor Prielipp returned to the mound for the first time since Tommy John surgery last May. Prielipp, who is originally from Tomah, Wisconsin, has only made seven collegiate appearances (and thrown only 28 innings) due to COVID and injury. But there is still some belief that he could end up being the first college pitcher to take. You can see parts of the bullpen that he threw thanks to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and he’ll throw again later this month. Keith Law checks in with his first mock draft and has the Twins selecting prep shortstop Cole Young, from Pennsylvania, with the 8th overall pick. Young is more of a "solid across the board" prospect than one that has a carrying tool, but as Jim Bowden points out in his piece from Wednesday, "Longtime manager Jim Leyland used to preach to me to never overlook “baseball players” who don’t have the elite tools because they often become the standouts we watch in the World Series." Recently considered more of a late first-round prospect, Young has some serious helium. Jonathan Mayo goes a different route in his mock draft suggesting the Twins are focusing on college bats. While we've seen connections made to LSU's Jacob Berry and Texas Tech's Jace Jung, Mayo points Virginia Tech outfielder Gavin Cross towards the Twins. While 8th may be Cross's ceiling, he gives a Max Kepler-type vibe with solid tools across the board. Kiley McDaniel released his first mock draft on Wednesday. He pairs the Twins with the aforementioned Berry and lists him as a right fielder. He suggests JC 3B Cam Collier as an option if he were available. (He isn't.) McDaniel also suggests Tennessee OF Jordan Beck as a possibility. Regardless of which direction the Twins choose to go, they'll be adding another solid prospect to their stable. JEREMY’S TOP 10 PROSPECTS 1.) Druw Jones, OF, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) 2.) Termarr Johnson, 2B, Georgia prep 3.) Elijah Green, OF, Florida prep (Miami commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.) 4.) Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly 5.) Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech 6.) Jackson Holliday, SS, Oklahoma prep (Oklahoma State commit) 7.) Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola JC 8.) Connor Prielipp, LHP, Alabama 9.) Dylan Lesko, RHP, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.) 10.) Jace Jung, 3B, Texas Tech MOCK DRAFTS / PROSPECT BOARDS Baseball America - v3.0 (4/28/22) / (v2.0 (4/1/22) / v1.0 (2/10/22) / Top 300 (4/27/22) / Staff Draft v.1.0 (4/20/22) MLB.com - Mayo Mock Draft (5/18/22) / Callis Mock Draft (5/11/22) / Mock Draft (4/27/22) / Callis - Top 10 (12/15/21), Mayo - Top 20 (7/20/21) / Top 150 (4/25/22) The Athletic - Bowden Top 10 ( 6/1/22) / Law Mock Draft (5/19/22) / Law Top 100 (5/5/22) / Law Top 30 (3/10/22) ESPN - Early Draft Rankings (7/26/21) ($$$ - ESPN+) / McDaniel’s Draft Rankings (2/24/22) / Draft Rankings 2.0 (4/27/22) Fangraphs - The Board / 2022 MLB Draft Rankings and Offseason List Primer (11/30/21) Prospects Live - v2.0 (4/21/22) / v1.0 (1/4/22) Just Baseball v1.0 (2/10/22) My MLB Draft (1/18/22) View full article

The Twins keep putting players on the Injured List and shuffling their injured players around to make room on their 40-man roster. Eventually, they're going to have to figure out how to put everyone back on their 40-man roster. But first, they need to keep their active roster full. Plus, they're going to Toronto later this week and have guys that won't be able to play. View full video

The title of this maybe should have been From Lee to Pallette as we examine the first mock draft of the season, covering picks 1 to 30. View full video

The draft will take place just over 50 days from now. Unlike most other drafts, seven-plus weeks is just too far away to forecast with any certainty how the draft is going to go. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try! 1.) Orioles - Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly - This just seems like the most Orioles-type pick they could make. A college talent who can hit and plays a premium position. Oh, and he’s probably more likely to save them a few dollars for later than the higher-profile prospects. 2.) Diamondbacks - Druw Jones, OF, Georgia HS - I would imagine this is the ideal scenario for the Diamondbacks and their fans. 3.) Rangers - Jackson Holliday, SS, Oklahoma HS - My mind says “college bat,” but this is too early to go there (with the exception of Lee). My heart says “Jackson Holliday is just a four-hour trip up I-35” and that’s fun for Rangers fans. I do think Holliday to Colorado or St. Louis would be a great story… that’s not getting written. 4.) Pirates - Cole Young, SS, Pennsylvania HS - If you’ve only been following the draft here, this is a new name. If you saw Law’s last mock, you saw Young to the Twins at 8. The Pirates need help and maybe going the local route can help eventually ignite a spark between Ke’Bryan Hayes and Nick Gonzales. 5.) Nationals - Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech - Where there is smoke, there is fire. And there’s plenty of smoke with the Nationals and Parada. 6.) Marlins - Elijah Green, OF, IMG Academy - Green could certainly go earlier, but the swing-and-miss in his game has his trajectory going the wrong way. There’s still time to turn it around. 7.) Cubs - Termarr Johnson, 2B, Georgia HS - The fifth prep bat to go is largely considered the best hitter in this class. If only he had a true defensive position. 8.) Twins - Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola JC - The Twins love a few things more than others: bloodlines, analytics and advanced hitters. The son of a former major leaguer, Collier’s young for JC and impressing with the bat. It seems to just make a lot of sense. 9.) Royals - Brock Porter, RHP, Michigan Prep - The first pitcher off the board. I think there are a couple of names that we’ll see later that could push their way up into this spot 10.) Rockies - Jacob Berry, DH, LSU - Berry dropping to 10 might have more to do with my personal preference to have him not be a Twin than any industry sentiment. I guess if I was running a team, I’d be less inclined to draft a guy without a defensive home. But there’s a reason I’m not running a team. 11.) Mets - Jace Jung, 2B, Texas Tech - Jung, for me, is similar to Berry, but does have some flexibility in that he could maybe man a corner if not second base. 12.) Tigers - Daniel Susac, C, Arizona - Susac or Gavin Cross is where I have the Tigers if the board played out like it has. Either would be good gets for Detroit. 13.) Angels - Connor Prielipp, RHP, Alabama - Fresh off his first bullpen, I think Prielipp keeps moving up the board. The Angels are all-in on pitching. 14.) Mets - Gavin Cross, OF, Virginia Tech - Ultimately, I think the Mets take one hitter and one pitcher with their two high picks. And they could get creative with their bonus pool to get someone to drop to 11. (Green?) But Cross just seems like too good of value to pass on at this point. 15.) Padres - Dylan Lesko, P, Georgia HS - The Padres aren’t averse to taking a risk or spending money, so this just makes a ton of sense. 16.) Guardians - Chase DeLauter, OF, James Madison - DeLauter is injured, but would be a good value pick by Cleveland. DeLauter’s value has dropped some in the last couple of months. 17.) Phillies - Brandon Berriera, RHP, Florida prep - The Phillies are a team considered most-likely to draft a prep pitcher and Berriera had improved his stock before shutting it down for the season. 18.) Reds - Justin Crawford, OF, Nevada HS - Carl’s kid is a high-ceiling prospect and the Reds fan base can use some excitement. 19.) A’s - Zach Neto, SS, Campbell - Sometimes when you fill out a mock you see a team and a prospect and just say, “Yep, that makes sense.” 20.) Braves - Gabriel Hughes, RHP, Gonzaga - Hughes could go earlier for sure, but the Braves have gone college pitching for a few years, so Hughes’ slide ends here. 21.) Mariners - Blake Tidwell, RHP, Tennessee - Mariners go the right-handed college pitching route for the fourth time in five years. 22.) Cardinals - Robby Snelling, LHP, Nevada HS - Prep pitchers always have a huge range of possibilities. Snelling has a LSU commitment and helium, so who knows what his price tag will be. 23.) Blue Jays - Sterlin Thompson, OF, Florida - Thompson has been impressive this year and if there’s one thing the Blue Jays need it’s more hitters. (Please sense the heavy sarcasm.) 24.) Red Sox - Jett Williams, SS, Texas Prep - The Red Sox have had success with tiny infielders before, haven’t they? 25.) Yankees - Cooper Hjerpe, LHP, Oregon State - Which stud will the Yankees acquire when they trade Hjerpe? 26.) White Sox - Jordan Beck, OF, Tennessee - When an AL Central team comes on the clock, I mostly follow the “which player would I least like to see them pick?” pattern. Beck seems like a player would could take off in pro ball. 27.) Brewers - Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt/Indy ball - Rocker could make a lot of sense for almost any team. I debated between Brock Jones and Carson Whisenhunt at this point, but considering how creative the Brewers are in using their pitchers, drafting Rocker and putting him on the fast-track makes a lot of sense. 28.) Astros - Jud Fabian, OF, Florida - This is another one of those fits that just seems to make too much sense. 29.) Rays - Carson Whisenhunt, LHP, East Carolina - The Rays have a way and Whisenhunt, who is suspended for the year, would be a perfect fit for them and their way with pitchers. 30.) Giants - Peyton Pallette, RHP, Arkansas - Pallette would be off the board already if it weren’t for January Tommy John surgery. Compared a lot to Walker Buehler, the Giants look to get their own version of the current Dodger stud. MOCK DRAFTS / PROSPECT BOARDS Baseball America - v3.0 (4/28/22) / (v2.0 (4/1/22) / v1.0 (2/10/22) / Top 300 (4/27/22) / Staff Draft v.1.0 (4/20/22) MLB.com - Mayo Mock Draft (5/18/22) / Callis Mock Draft (5/11/22) / Mock Draft (4/27/22) / Callis - Top 10 (12/15/21), Mayo - Top 20 (7/20/21) / Top 150 (4/25/22) The Athletic - Law Mock Draft (5/19/22) / Law Top 100 (5/5/22) / Law Top 30 (3/10/22) ESPN - Early Draft Rankings (7/26/21) ($$$ - ESPN+) / McDaniel’s Draft Rankings (2/24/22) / Draft Rankings 2.0 (4/27/22) Fangraphs - The Board / 2022 MLB Draft Rankings and Offseason List Primer (11/30/21) Prospects Live - v2.0 (4/21/22) / v1.0 (1/4/22) Just Baseball v1.0 (2/10/22) My MLB Draft (1/18/22) View full article

Despite starting the year with six guys in the starting rotation while having alternative choices in the bullpen, the Twins are now at the point where they are at a five-man rotation with one true, proven option in AAA. Does the team have any other rotation options? View full video

As we creep ever-so-slowly forward to the annual baseball draft, there are a few storylines that have taken a front seat. We finally have an answer to one of the draft’s biggest questions. We’ll cover that and more in this week’s update. We’ve been waiting since last July to find out what would happen to one-time-Mets-pick-turned-unsigned pitcher Kumar Rocker. We finally have an answer. Kumar Rocker will enter July’s draft after pitching in the Frontier League. Unsigned players going the Indy Ball route isn’t completely unheard of; so this isn’t a complete surprise. In fact, this was always considered to be the most likely of the avenues that Rocker could take. But now we have the specifics: Kumar Rocker is a member of the Tri-Valley Valleycats and teams who want to see him will have to travel to Troy, New York to do so. There’s nothing official yet about when Rocker will report to the team - it doesn’t appear that he is there yet - nor when he will pitch - though he’s rumored to throw a half dozen or so times before the draft. The other main storyline is the dearth of pitching. It remains evident in the mock draft that Jim Callis released late last week. The first pitcher to be selected in this mock draft is prep RHP Brock Porter go to the Mets at #11. That’s followed by an interesting run through the teens consisting of a prep pitcher who shut down to prepare for the draft (Brandon Barriera), a college pitcher who is nearing a return to health after Tommy John (Connor Prielipp), a prep lefty who you’re not seeing very high on anyone’s rankings (Robby Snelling), the top prep pitcher who just had Tommy John (Dylan Lesko) and a college pitcher who is just starting to ramp up after missing the beginning of the season with shoulder soreness (Blade Tidwell). The first healthy college pitcher to go in this mock is Gabriel Hughes at pick twenty. Crazy. Callis has the Twins selecting Jace Jung from Texas Tech with the 8th overall pick. The bat profile certainly works as a high selection, there is no doubt about that - and that’s a huge reason why Jung has appeared in my Top 10 ever since I started ranking prospects. But the defensive uncertainty is enough to make you uneasy. Jung would likely enter the organization as their top hitting prospect; but also a prospect with no clear defensive home. And that’s a little scary. JEREMY’S TOP 10 PROSPECTS No changes this week, but Prielipp throwing a bullpen next Monday could cause some moves next week. 1.) Druw Jones, OF, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) 2.) Termarr Johnson, 2B, Georgia prep 3.) Elijah Green, OF, Florida prep (Miami commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.) 4.) Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly 5.) Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech 6.) Jackson Holliday, SS, Oklahoma prep (Oklahoma State commit) 7.) Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola JC 8.) Connor Prielipp, P, Alabama 9.) Dylan Lesko, SP, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.) 10.) Jace Jung, 3B, Texas Tech MOCK DRAFTS / PROSPECT BOARDS Baseball America - v3.0 (4/28/22) / (v2.0 (4/1/22) / v1.0 (2/10/22) / Top 300 (4/27/22) / Staff Draft v.1.0 (4/20/22) MLB.com - Callis Mock Draft (5/11/22) / Mock Draft (4/27/22) / Callis - Top 10 (12/15/21), Mayo - Top 20 (7/20/21) / Top 150 (4/25/22) The Athletic - Law Top 100 (5/5/22) / Law Top 30 (3/10/22) ESPN - Early Draft Rankings (7/26/21) ($$$ - ESPN+) / McDaniel’s Draft Rankings (2/24/22) / Draft Rankings 2.0 (4/27/22) Fangraphs - The Board / 2022 MLB Draft Rankings and Offseason List Primer (11/30/21) Prospects Live - v2.0 (4/21/22) / v1.0 (1/4/22) Just Baseball v1.0 (2/10/22) My MLB Draft (1/18/22) View full article

Kumar Rocker has finally found a place to throw in advance of July's draft. Jim Callis released his first-round mock draft and has the Twins making an interesting selection. View full video

The Twins have had seven different players play second base, shortstop, or third base this season. Let's take a closer look at how these positions may evolve as the season progresses and into next season as well. View full video

We'll have more on this next week, but Kumar Rocker is signing with a team in the Frontier League. It sounds like he'll ramp up for a month and then pitch in a handful of games before the draft. Probably the player in the draft with the widest variety of outcomes... which is weird, since he was never actually injured - and so many in this draft have been!

Thanks for pointing out the name goof... fixed now! Berry dropped due to concern. Susac dropped because of the intel I got on Collier and confirmation that Prielipp is going to be throwing again soon. As far as Cross goes, he's solid across the board. I'm not sure that he has a carrying tool, which just makes me wonder if he'll ever project as a regular. Probably won't stick at CF; probably won't have the stick to play a corner. I'd rather make a mistake on upside.

Injuries. They’re always part of the pre-draft process. But this year feels different. It’s been big names. It’s been a lot of names. And they seem to be happening quite frequently. Before we get into any injury updates, I wanted to point out that Keith Law released his Top 100 late last week. (You need a subscription to The Athletic to view this list.) Out of respect to being behind a paywall, I’m only going to highlight where some players are ranked. One thing about Keith Law - love him or hate him - he’s ranking these players on his own and doing it with conviction. Law has Cam Collier, a 17-year-old junior college third baseman, ranked second overall. Collier went the “Bryce Harper way” by getting his GED after his sophomore year of high school and enrolling at Chipola Junior College. He’s torn up the JC ranks so far with an OPS around 1.000. I checked in with an area scout in regards to Collier who called him a “great young man” and in addition to being complementary of his offensive game, says he’s a solid third baseman with a 70 arm. Law notes that a team who factors age into analytics - and the Twins do - will really like Collier. Another player of note is Alabama LHP Connor Prielipp, ranked #15. Prielipp was the first big Tommy John domino to fall in this draft class (last May) when he was viewed as a potential Top 5 pick. He hasn’t pitched since. In fact, he’s only pitched seven times in college total. But he’s getting close to 100%, is going to throw before the draft, and has become my favorite college pitching prospect. The last name to highlight is Kumar Rocker, who Law ranks #46. Rocker hasn’t pitched competitively since leaving Vanderbilt last year and there are no known plans of when he will pitch again. But he’ll have to throw before the draft. Won’t he? LSU 3B/1B Jacob Berry is the latest to get bitten by the injury bug. It’s not as major - it’s just a finger. But the switch-hitter will be limited. And for a guy with big defensive questions, having a broken finger is going to limit his opportunities to prove himself on the defensive side of the ball. I’m buying his offense, but the more I hear about his profile being so driven by his bat, the more I’m worried… and his drop from my Top 10 reflects that. And, finally, in more injury news, Florida LHP Hunter Barco announced that he underwent Tommy John surgery recently. Barco was projected to be picked in the top few rounds, but now his status is murkier as he will likely be unavailable even into next year’s Spring Training. JEREMY’S TOP 10 PROSPECTS Collier and Prielipp are new. Berry and Susac drop out. 1.) Druw Jones, OF, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) 2.) Termarr Johnson, 2B, Georgia prep (Arizona State commit) 3.) Elijah Green, OF, Florida prep (Miami commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.) 4.) Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly 5.) Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech 6.) Jackson Holliday, SS, Oklahoma prep (Oklahoma State commit) 7.) Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola JC 8.) Connor Prielipp, P, Alabama 9.) Dylan Lesko, SP, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.) 10.) Jace Jung, 3B, Texas Tech (previously: ? Dropped out: Jacob Berry, 3B, LSU (previously: 7); Daniel Susac, C, Arizona (previously: 10) JEREMY TALKS PITCHING PROSPECTS Jeremy is also writing about the 2022 draft at Brewer Fanatic. While the Twins select at #8, the Brewers have to wait until nearly the end of the first round. Jeremy discusses some of the pitchers that may be available for the Brewers late in the first round. These could also be pitchers the Twins consider in Round 2 if they are still available. https://brewerfanatic.com/videos/milwaukee-brewers-minor-leagues/2022-mlb-draft-preview-r5/ MOCK DRAFTS / PROSPECT BOARDS Baseball America - v3.0 (4/28/22) / (v2.0 (4/1/22) / v1.0 (2/10/22) / Top 300 (4/27/22) / Staff Draft v.1.0 (4/20/22) MLB.com - Mock Draft (4/27/22) / Callis - Top 10 (12/15/21), Mayo - Top 20 (7/20/21) / Top 150 (4/25/22) The Athletic - Law Top 100 (5/5/22) / Law Top 30 (3/10/22) ESPN - Early Draft Rankings (7/26/21) ($$$ - ESPN+) / McDaniel’s Draft Rankings (2/24/22) / Draft Rankings 2.0 (4/27/22) Fangraphs - The Board / 2022 MLB Draft Rankings and Offseason List Primer (11/30/21) Prospects Live - v2.0 (4/21/22) / v1.0 (1/4/22) Just Baseball v1.0 (2/10/22) My MLB Draft (1/18/22) View full article

We take a look at the 2022 MLB Draft and the biggest news of the week: Dylan Lesko, slotted to go high on all draft boards, has opted to undergo Tommy John surgery, which could drop him down the board and possibly out of the draft entirely. Also covered is Kumar Rocker, who hasn’t pitched and could also drop down the board. Another draft pick in play is Carson Whisenhunt, who was suspended for PED use, which he claims was accidental. View full video

I don't think it will work that way, if I'm understanding what you're saying correctly. The injured guys slide because they're injured and their perceived value is usually greater than slot value... so they won't come as a discount. If you're suggesting taking guys early that can help you bank money to pay those guys more later, that - I think - could be a possibility. It's what the Royals did when they drafted Hunter Dozier and paid him a million under slot. Then they turned around and drafted an injured Sean Manaea and paid him two million over slot (as the 34th pick). Basically they insured themself if Manaea wouldn't sign, knowing they were banking money on Dozier either way.

Collier is definitely a name to watch and Chipola is a place the Twins know well. I'll do some checking and report back if I hear anything of interest.

Lots of Rocker stuff in the comments. I think all teams are in the same boat with him... and it's the wait-and-see boat. If teams get to see him throw (and throw well) a few times before the draft and if he goes through a pre-draft medical check that is clean, there's no reason to believe he can't be the first pitcher taken. But those are big "ifs" and if those boxes aren't checked, there's no telling how far he could fall.