Jeremy Nygaard

Before we get started, here is a quick glance (with links) of where we are after two days of Minnesota Twins Draft Picks: DAY ONE PICKS 1st Round (15) - OF Alex Kirilloff - Pennsylvania High School (Story) 2nd Round (56) - C Ben Rortvedt - Wisconsin High School (Story) Lottery B (73) - SS Jose Miranda - Puerto Rico High School Lottery B (74) - OF Akil Baddoo - Georgia High School (Story on 73/74) DAY 2 PICKS Here is a quick reminder of the Day 2 picks. For more on each player, click here. Round 3 (93rd overall): Griffin Jax, RHP, Air Force Round 4 (123rd overall): Thomas Hackimer, RHP St. John's Round 5 (153rd overall): Jordan Balazovic, RHP, Canada High School Round 6 (183rd overall): Alex Schick, RHP, California Round 7 (213th overall): Matt Albanese, CF, Bryant University Round 8 (243rd overall): Shane Carrier, OF, Fullerton College (JC) Round 9 (273rd overall): Mitchell Kranson, C, California Round 10 (303rd overall): Brandon Lopez, SS, Miami PODCASTS John and Jeremy were on KFAN on Friday night to talk about the Twins draft. In the second segment, they were joined by Twins top pick Alex Kirilloff. Get to know the talented outfielder. DAY 3 PICKS Day 3 picks are limited to $100,000 maximum signing bonus. Any dollar value over that amount will go against their draft limits from the first ten rounds. Here are the Day 3 picks (will be updated as selections are made): Round 11 (333rd overall): Tyler Benninghoff, RHP, HS in Kansas Benninghoff has dealt with some arm issues after a football injury in the fall. Very talented. The Arkansas commit is a three-sport athlete with a low-90s fastball and a hammer curveball that is one of the best in the class. Signability is obviously an issue here. Round 12 (363rd overall): Zach Featherstone, LF from Tallahassee CC Well-regarded prep who is committed to North Carolina State after spending two years in junior college. Round 13 (393rd overall): Ryan Mason, RHP, UC-Berkeley Already the third Cal-Berkeley player drafted by the Twins in this draft after taking Chris Paul last year and Trevor Hildenberger and Michael Theofanopoulos in 2014. Round 14 (423rd overall): Andre Jernigan, SS, Xavier Jernigan is described as a slick-fielding, power-hitting athletic shortstop who was named the Big East Player of the Year in his senior year. Round 15 (453rd overall): Tyler Wells, RHP, Cal State San Bernardino Round 16 (483rd overall): Tyler Beardsley, RHP, Cal State Sacramento Round 17 (513th overall): Kidany Salva,C, Texas HS Round 18 (543rd overall): Tim Richards, SS, Cal State Fullerton Richards hit well all season and has the chops to possibly stick at shortstop professionally. Round 19 (573rd overall): Sean Poppen, RHP, Harvard The senior is probably the smartest guy the Twins will draft this year. Big and strong, Poppen is up to 93 with his fastball. Round 20 (603rd overall): Shamoy Christopher, C, Roane State CC Christopher, from the Virgin Islands, was described to me as a "pop-up" guy. He can really catch and throw, but has a long ways to go with the bat. Younger than many high school guys. Round 21 (633rd overall): Domenick Carlini, LHP, SE Louisiana Round 22 (663rd overall): Hank Morrison, OF, Mercyhurst Big, athletic, power/speed combo (but obviously doing it as a 22-year-old against low competition). Round 23 (693rd overall): Caleb Hamilton, SS, Oregon State. Hamilton was drafted out of high school and didn't sign. This year he didn't play much and had a sub-.200 batting average. Digging on this pick... Update: Twins have always been a big fan of Hamilton, who played a lot early in his career but was recruited over. Very good defensively, athletic with raw power and can run. A deal with Hamilton should be done soon. Round 24 (723rd overall): Matt Byars, C, Michigan State Byers was a Wisconsin prep player, the second Wisconsin prep catcher they have taken. Round 25 (753rd overall): Colton Davis, RHP, Western Carolina The senior was a four-year contributor in the Catamount bullpen, making 90 appearances. Davis had a career K/9 of 10.89. Round 26 (783rd overall): Greg Deichmann, 3B, LSU Round 27 (813th overall): Scott Ogrin, LF, California HS Committed to Cal Poly. Round 28 (843rd overall): Matt Jones, LHP, Sinclair Secondary School (Canada HS) Walt Burrows continues to have his scouting presence in Canada felt during his first draft with the Twins. Jones, who hails from the same school as Stephen Wickens, is committed to the University of Montevallo. Round 29 (873rd overall): Dane Hutcheon, SS, U of Montevallo The diminutive infielder hit .365 with 16 stolen bases this season. Round 30 (903rd overall): Quin Grogan, RHP, Lewis-Clark State Grogan struck out 83 in 75 1/3 innings this season. Round 31 (933rd overall): Juan Gamez, C, North Dakota State A stocky catcher with a strong arm, Gamez will need to improve with the bat. Round 32 (963rd overall): Matt Wallner, RHP, Minnesota HS The Forest Lake senior is committed to Southern Miss. Round 33 (993rd overall): Clark Beeker, RHP, Davidson Fifth-year senior is an innings-eater who doesn't miss many bats, but doesn't walk many either. Round 34 (1,023rd overall): Joe Cronin, SS, Boston College Drafted as a shortstop, Cronin hasn't started a game there since 2014, instead splitting his time between first and third base. Cronin walks nearly as much as he strikes out. Round 35 (1,053rd overall): Austin Tribby, LHP, Missouri Bullpen arm for Mizzo who has a good K-rate. Round 36 (1,083rd overall): Patrick McGuff, RHP, Morehead State McGuff has been a two-year starter for Morehead State and has struck out a lot of batters (98) in 99 2/3 innings. He's also walked 58, which isn't great. Round 37 (1,113th overall): Danny Mayer, OF, Pacific Getting his first significant game action in three years, Mayer hit 15 home runs and .314. Round 38 (1,143rd overall): Brent Rooker, RF, Mississippi State Batted .315 in his only year as a full-time starter. Round 39 (1,173rd overall): Casey Scroggins, CF, U of Tampa Speedy outfielder with great defensive skills. Round 40 (1,203th overall): TJ Collett, C, Indiana HS

Information will be added in spurts, so keep refreshing! 3rd Round (93; $645,500) - RHP Griffin Jax, RHP Jax is an interesting pick to kick off the second day of the draft. The 6-2, 200 lb righty is the first ever player from the Air Force Academy selected in the Top 10 rounds. A junior, there is talk that there must be some sort of a military commitment or a high price tag. How does that effect Jax's ability to sign a professional contract and pitch? That's something that we'll have to find out. As far as ability goes, though, Jax has it with a three-pitch mix that features a low-to-mid 90s fastball, a low-80s slider and a low-80s changeup. He threw 105 innings, so the Twins - if they have him - would have him throwing very little before next year anyway. His father, Garth, was a NFL linebacker. Update: Twins feel confident they can sign Jax, though they are prepared for him to have to finish his military obligations, be unavailable until next May and, hopefully, go into reserves. There's little concern about him not being in shape when they can get their hands back on him because, as my source tells me, "finger tip push ups." Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, 100; MLB.com, 82; Perfect Game, 125. 4th Round (123; $477,900) - RHP Thomas Hackimer, St. John's (SR) You can all stop holding your breath: The Twins drafted a college reliever. Hackimer is a side-arming unhittable relief pitcher. His numbers were eye-popping: WHIP and ERA are both under 0.75. He does it with a two-pitch mix: a low-90s fastball and a low-80s "frisbee" slider. Hackimer, the first relief pitcher to be named Big East Pitcher of the Year since 2005, will be the first member of this draft class to pitch for the Twins, which could be as soon as next year. Here is an interesting write-up on Hackimer. Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, 191; MLB.com, 174; Perfect Game, 152. 5th Round (153; $357,800) - RHP Jordan Balazovic, Ontario HS I put a Canadian pitcher in my 10-round mock, but didn't have the right guy. Balazovic is another high-schooler, though the Auburn commit has another year left of high school (what comes after senior year? Super senior year) and can re-enter the draft the team can't meet his demands. I don't think that should be a problem at this point. Balazovic is young (still 17) and raw, but the 6-3, 170 lb right-hander hits 92 mph with his fastball. He also throws a changeup and breaking ball. There is a lot of projection left, so file Balazovic under "projectable." Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, 134; MLB.com, 127; Perfect Game, unranked. 6th Round (183; $267,800) - RHP Alex Schick, California A high school teammate of Stephen Gonsalves and Brady Aiken, Schick missed most of his junior season with a dislocated kneecap. He returned at the end of season, throwing a low-90s fastball and a curveball that is his best pitch. While draft previews project him best a reliever, the early word is that he'll "probably" begin his professional career as a starter. Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, 498; MLB.com, unranked; Perfect Game, unranked. 7th Round (213; $200,900) - CF Matt Albanese, Bryant University A 6-2, 200 lb athlete with power, Albanese has been a three-year starter at Bryant University. In 142 career games, Albanese only struck out 59 times. In comparison, he walked 57 times. As a junior, Albanese walked 28 times and struck out 15 times. He hit 11 home runs and stole 15 bases. While the hit tool is present against weaker competition, there is some question about how the bat will transfer to pro ball. The Twins obviously believe in the bat and approach enough, which makes five hitters in the first nine picks. Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, 431; MLB.com, unranked; Perfect Game, 237. 8th Round (243; $178,200) - OF Shane Carrier, Fullerton College (Junior College) Carrier is a power bat. Here's some video. Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, unranked; MLB.com, unranked; Perfect Game, unranked. 9th Round (273; $166,300) - C Mitchell Kranson, Cal (SR) Kranson is a senior sign who will join the organization as a catcher after playing most infield for the Golden Bears. Undersized but with a decent bat. Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, unranked; MLB.com, unranked; Perfect Game, unranked. 10th Round (303; $156,600) - SS Brandon Lopez, Miami (SR) Light-hitting shortstop, who can stick. Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, 432; MLB.com, unranked; Perfect Game, 466.

If you didn't keep up on all of Thursday's happenings, I'll throw a whole bunch of links at you. You could start with the Day One Thread. It might take you an hour (or four) to sift through all the information. If you just want the cliff notes versions, read all that's been written about the four players already selected: Alex Kirilloff, Ben Rortvedt, Jose Miranda and Akil Baddoo. And if you don't want all the facts to help color your narrative, pass on the clicks and I'll tell you how to feel below. Before that though, don't forget that the Godfather John Bonnes and myself will be broadcasting on KFAN on Friday night from 7-8. We'll be recapping the Top 10 rounds. -- As the draft had approached, it never offered much clarity as it got closer. I knew the Twins had always like Kirilloff, but the talk on the national-level always focused on power-pitchers. As prep arms started to price themselves out of the Twins price range, I broadened the search to include college arms. To be completely honest, there weren't a ton of pitchers that I really liked: Braxton Garrett, Cal Quantrill, Ian Anderson and, towards the end, Justin Dunn. Anderson went off the board at #3, Garrett at #7 and Quantrill at #8. When it came time for the Twins to read off their card, I figured it was between Dunn and Kirilloff and I had come around to prefer Dunn, which is odd because I typically prefer high-ceiling preps over stale collegiates. It didn't take me too long to come back around on the only hitter I liked at #15. Kirilloff is going to be a very good player. Twins made comps of Christian Yelich and Todd Helton, but when I heard the Max Kepler comp, I thought that made sense. (Probably because I had that comp earlier in the process.) Kirilloff isn't close and he doesn't need to be, but he adds a high-ceiling prospect to the stable. And the value is in his bat, which seems to become a trend later in the day. There have been many complaints about the lack of catching in the organization and I understand it, though I don't necessarily agree that it's as empty as many claim. I thought they'd pop a guy sometime on Day 2, but they were able to get the top prep catcher in the nation, Ben Rortvedt, at #56. He profiles as a catcher who could stick and also have a decent bat while doing it, so that's great. What I worry about it that a majority of fans have already written his name in stone as the "future catcher". He's no where near that. He's four, maybe five years from contributing. Rortvedt, no matter how good he is - and he can be really good, isn't going to solve the problem we're watching on TV every night. The Twins got the neat opportunity to draft two players consecutively at the end of the night. These are picks awarded, potentially, to teams who receive part of the league revenue (revenue-sharing). Having already taken two prep players, I figured we'd see the franchise transition to safer (college) arms with lower mileage (relievers!). I was pleasantly surprised to hear Brad Radke call off two more prep names: Jose Miranda, a high-ceiling Puerto Rican shortstop who probably plays third but has the bat for it, and Akil Baddoo, a plus athlete who profiles as a left fielder but will someday hopefully fill the charismatic void that Torii Hunter left when he retired. Baddoo also has the makings of a good hitter. Both players are 17 years old. All in all, there's nothing to not like about Day One (without getting nit-picky). The Twins will make eight more picks on Friday, with the first pick probably coming between 12:15pm and 12:30pm. It's going to be another fun day. Chime in below. Share your thoughts. Ask questions (though I apologize, I can't respond to nearly as many as I'd like too.) Twice as many picks on Friday. Twice as much fun.

Jose Miranda is a taller, bigger bodied shortstop that may eventually have to move. He's considered to have a good bat, though there's some mystery surrounding Miranda because he didn't travel off of the island as much as other Puerto Ricans. Miranda will start at shortstop in the Gulf Coast League. Akil Baddoo is listed at 6-0, 195; he's not that big. Don't let the size fool you though. The 20/20 talk is probably his ceiling, but he gets compared to players like Carl Crawford, Ray Langford and Denard Span. Baddoo is going to be a fan favorite as a player that just seems to have fun playing the game. He'll get plenty of reps in centerfield to start his career, but may profile long-term as a left-fielder. One scout called him the "best pure hitter in Georgia." Baseball America ranks Miranda #113, but MLB.com did not have him ranked. "The strength of the Puerto Rican draft class this year is its infielders, and Miranda has emerged as one of the best following Delvin Perez. Miranda has a good approach at the plate and has an advanced feel for hitting, enabling him to make a lot of contact. He also shows some pop and projects to hit for average power as he physically matures. While Miranda plays shortstop now, his footwork and lower half will lead him to move off the position as a professional. He has an average arm and a good enough glove to stay in the infield, either at second or third base. There is still some rawness to the 17-year-old's game, but Miranda provides significant upside thanks to his offensive profile." Baseball America had Baddoo ranked as their 54th best prospect. "Baddoo combines plus speed with an intriguing feel for the barrel. He endeared himself to scouts on the national scene with a strong showing at the 2015 East Coast Pro event, where he showed off his quick hands and even quicker feet. This spring, while his team went just 9-16, Baddoo showed scouts strong bat-to-ball skills, leading some evaluators to believe he could develop a plus hit tool and hit at the top of the lineup. He's a lefthanded hitter (and thrower) with above-average bat speed and a short stroke, but he was pull-happy against quality pitching at East Coast Pro and at the WWBA Championships in the fall and will have to continue to prove himself against quality pitching. Baddoo's arm strength is below-average and his reads and routes lack polish, leading some to envision him as a left fielder long term, though scouts expect him to play center field to start his career. He is committed to Kentucky." MLB.com ranks Baddoo #72. "The Georgia high school ranks have produced 13 outfielders selected in the first two rounds in the six previous Drafts this decade, and Baddoo could add to that number in 2016. The Kentucky recruit has an intriguing power/speed combination and has improved in both departments over the last year. Baddoo has made strides with his bat as well and has the potential to hit for both power and average. He has a loose, whippy left-handed swing with plenty of bat speed. Add in his plus speed, and he has the upside of a 20-20 player if everything comes together.Baddoo's quickness stands out more than his instincts in center field, so he could wind up on an outfield corner. With his below-average arm, that would mean shifting to left field, though scouts who like him think he'd still provide enough offense to profile there."

What you need to know about Ben Rortvedt: Rortvedt, a left-handed hitting catcher from Verona Area High School in Wisconsin, is 5-10, 190 lbs. Rortvedt is more advanced with his bat than he is with his glove currently, offering gap power presently, but should develop into someone that can hit a couple dozen home runs in a season. Perfect Game called him the most "well-rounded" catcher in the draft, citing his arm strength and athleticism. Rortvedt is committed to Arkansas, but is fully expected to sign. He will start his career in the Gulf Coast League. MLB.com lists Rortvedt as the 51st best prospect. Baseball America ranks Rortvedt 82nd.

Alex Kirilloff was featured earlier this week in his own draft profile. Kirilloff in a nutshell: He's 6-2, 195 and will start his professional career in center field. He has the arm to handle right field and the power profile to fit in either corner. The Twins will have to buy him out of a commitment to Liberty. Kirilloff is a good student who could have gone to larger-profiled schools, but chose Liberty based on his religious background. The biggest question surrounding Kirilloff is his hand speed - can he catch up to the heat? - but the Twins don't share those concerns. Kirilloff will likely start his professional career in the GCL this summer and will turn 19 in November. As they have done in the past, the Twins have selected a very "toolsy" outfielder; Kirilloff checks all the boxes: Hit, hit for power, speed, arm and defense. Baseball America ranked Kirilloff as the 15th best prospect in the draft. MLB.com ranked him 18th. Alex Kirilloff was kind enough to share with us (via twitter) his response to getting drafted.