Jeremy Nygaard

I can assure you the guys in the room are smarter, more creative and more strategic than I am.

It's time to put my money where my mouth is. I'm not sure how I'll stack up against the biggest names in the industry, but there are a few things here I feel really good about and a few things that I don't. Lots of phone calls are being made and there will probably be at least a couple dramatic turn of events over the next eight hours. But that's what makes it so fun. Enjoy!The last one. 1. Phillies - Kyle Lewis, OF Mercer. The latest buzz has the Phillies taking prep CF Mickey Moniak. But in my original mock, I said I had a gut-feeling that Lewis was going to be the guy. I’m going to go with my gut on this one. (Previous: A.J. Puk, LHP, Florida) 2. Reds - Nick Senzel, 3B, Tennessee. The lack of college bats coming off quickly could be a trend… or the Reds just like Senzel this much. (Previous: Kyle Lewis, OF, Mercer) 3. Braves - Corey Ray, OF, Louisville. Like the teams above them, the Braves have dollar flexibility too. The Braves have a few more picks (#40, #44, #76) on the first day too that they can get creative with. (No change) 4. Rockies - Mickey Moniak, OF, California prep. I still don’t think it’s wise for the Rockies to pass on top-end pitching, but if Moniak doesn’t go first. This is his landing spot. (Previous: Jason Groome, LHP, New Jersey prep where I said this, “I’ve been told Groome is the wild card of this draft and to not be surprised if he takes an Appel-like tumble”) 5. Brewers - Zack Collins, C, Miami. I felt good about the Perez pick until the recent PED reports. The Braun stuff is too recent to go back to that well. I don’t feel great about Collins, but that’s the choice. (Previous: Delvin Perez, SS, Puerto Rico prep) 6. A’s - A.J. Puk, LHP, Florida. This would work out well for Billy Beane. I had Puk rated #1 on my board. (Previous:Nick Senzel, 3B, Tennessee) 7. Marlins - Braxton Garrett, LHP, Alabama prep. I won’t be shocked if Garrett is the first prep pitcher off the board based on all the good things I heard about him all spring. (Previous: Mickey Moniak, OF, California prep) 8. Padres - Cal Quantrill, RHP, Stanford. Exactly as I said before: Lots of talk that Quantrill has a deal with Padres at #24. That doesn’t make sense to me. Draft Quantrill at #8 and take one of the high price tag guys at #24. Regardless, Padres are going to leave the draft with two or three top talents. (No change) 9. Tigers - Riley Pint, RHP, Kansas prep. I really like Pint and if he falls into the Tigers lap… good for them. (No change) 10. White Sox - Blake Rutherford, OF, California prep. I’m going to stick with Rutherford here. I considered a tumble to the Mets more than getting popped early by the Brewers. Interesting talk that his inflated asking price might be due to the Phillies trying to push him down. (No change) 11. Mariners - Justin Dunn, RHP, Boston College. I continue to mock Dunn going before the Twins because I really hope he falls. (Previous: Zack Collins, C, Miami) 12. Red Sox - Zack Burdi, RHP, Louisville. I don’t like this pick here, but when something makes a ton of sense and nothing has changed two weeks later, why change it? (No change) 13. Rays - Gavin Lux, SS, Wisconsin prep. Lux is the top shortstop now that Perez has a red flag. (Previous: Dakota Hudson, RHP, Mississippi State) 14. Indians - Alex Kirilloff, OF, Pennsylvania prep. I’m going to leave this here, even though I wouldn’t mind him dropping one more pick. (No change) 15. Twins - Dakota Hudson, RHP, Mississippi State. I think Dunn, Quantrill and Kirilloff all would be in play if available. The price tags on the prep arms have become too inflated to feel great about getting them done. (Previous: Justin Dunn, RHP, Boston College) 16. Angels - Taylor Trammell, OF, Georgia prep. (No change) 17. Astros - Cody Sedlock, RHP, Illinois. (No change) 18. Yankees - Will Craig, 3B, Wake Forest. (No change) 19. Mets - Matt Thaiss, C, Virginia. (No change) 20. Dodgers - Jordan Sheffield, RHP, Vanderbilt. (No change) 21. Blue Jays - Garrett Whitley, RHP, Texas prep. (Previous: Kevin Gowdy, RHP, California prep) 22. Pirates - Nolan Jones, SS, Pennsylvania prep. (No change) 23. Cardinals - Delvin Perez, SS, Puerto Rico prep. There’s not a better potential landing spot for Perez. (Previous: Kyle Muller, LHP, Texas prep) 24. Padres - Matt Manning, RHP, California prep. Manning will fall due to money demands. Quantrill won’t. So while Manning gets the bigger bonus, he won’t go before Quantrill. (No change) 25. Padres - Will Smith, C, Louisville. Nobody has the helium of Smith right now. (Previous: Chris Okey, C, Clemson) 26. White Sox - Eric Lauer, LHP, Kansas State. (Previous: Gavin Lux, SS, Wisconsin prep) 27. Orioles - Kyle Muller, LHP, Texas prep (Previous: Eric Lauer, LHP, Kent State) 28. Nationals - Jason Groome, LHP, New Jersey prep. The Nationals always seem to both a) not get scared away and get their way. (Previous: Alec Hansen, RHP, Oklahoma) 29. Nationals - Robert Tyler, RHP, Georgia. (No change except I had him 28 previously) 30. Rangers - Josh Lowe, 3B, Georgia prep. (No change) 31. Mets - Bryan Reynolds, OF, Vanderbilt. (Previous: T.J. Zeuch, RHP, Pittsburgh) 32. Dodgers - C.J. Chatham, SS, Florida Atlantic. (Previous: Joey Wentz, LHP, Kansas HS) 33. Cardinals - Buddy Reed, OF, Florida. (No change) 34. Cardinals - Logan Shore, RHP, Florida. (No change.) --- Bonus picks 35. Reds - Kevin Gowdy, RHP, California prep. (Previous: Forrest Whitley, RHP, Texas prep) 40. Braves - Ian Anderson, RHP, New York prep. Braves have been rumored to be working on a “package” deal: bat at #3 and arm here. (No change) 42. Phillies - Joey Wentz, LHP, Kansas prep. The Phillies are going to get to someone, though no idea who that is. (Previous: Braxton Garrett, LHP, Alabama prep) What do you think? 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The Twins could manipulate their money a little bit, but nothing like the teams with the largest pools. If you want to consider it - and I don't think the Twins will - you need to forget about the upper echelon guys completely. The deals you're cutting with Rortvedt and Manning would be for significantly less money than the deals they'd get. I don't hate the idea. But if you're one of a half dozen teams trying to do the same thing, and you have the least amount of money to play with, you're going to be making it up with Zack Larson-type picks in Round 19, not high-school All-Americans early in the draft.

It’s time. Ok, well… it’s not literally time yet. But the day has arrived: MLB Draft Day. I couldn’t sleep and I figured now is as good of a time as any to get this ball rolling.10:08pm: Keegan Akin, my 4th round pick, just went to the Orioles in the second round. 10:03pm: Ryan Boldt just drafted by the Rays. Good for Boldt! 9:58pm: Erceg and Shore both off the board. Lots of catchers available still... 9:42pm: Interesting to see which teams - the expected ones - taking the high price tag guys now as the draft continues. Braves getting Anderson/Wentz/Muller and the Phillies getting Moniak/Gowdy. Big $$$$. Even the Reds and Trammell. 9:29pm: Daulton Jefferies was my pick to go to the Twins in Round 2. He went to the A's. I already lost my Will Smith pick to the Dodgers. 9:22pm: Comp Round A kicked off. Reds take a high schooler with a high price tag... see if that's a trend with some of these teams (Atlanta and Philadelphia). ------- 7:43pm: Twins take Kirilloff, a polished high school hitter. 7:37pm: TWINS ARE ON THE CLOCK! 7:31pm: Law says Will Benson to Indians. Get. It. Dunn. 7:27pm: Lowe to Rays. For me, I'm taking Justin Dunn. If he's gone, I'm taking Kirilloff. 7:20pm: Sounds like Groome to the Red Sox. I have Groome #2 on my board based on talent alone. There are some concerns, however. Twins are up in three picks...! 7:18pm: Fingers crossed that Red Sox take Rutherford here. Rutherford doesn't do it for me. 7:14pm: Collins to the White Sox is ok with me. Lewis should go to Mariners here. Dunn and Kirilloff are favorites to go to Twins at this point. 7:08pm: Manning to the Tigers took me by surprise, but I'm glad because he's one guy I didn't see the Twins taking. Lengthens their board. 7:02pm: Padres take Cal Quantrill. I had him mocked correctly for a while... hoped he would fall to Twins. 6:56pm: Cooper says there are "rumblings" this could be Kyle Lewis to Padres. I'm ok with that. Probably will try to get Manning with their next pick. Marlins make Garrett official. Twins really liked him. 6:52pm: Braxton Garrett expected to be selected by Marlins. Garrett to the Twins was my #1 pipe-dream. Boras/Vandy guy. 6:48pm: Nothing reported on Marlins front yet, but many expect Braxton Garrett to be drafted next. Puk to A's done. 6:46pm: Puk likely to come off board to A's. Really surprised Kyle Lewis is still available. He won't fall to Twins, but someone will get quite a bat. 6:40pm: Wow. Brewers go with Ray - not Puk. I've had a few people tell me that Ray is the best player in the draft. The Brewers could have some freaky good outfields in the future with Phillips, Clark, Gatewood, Harrison and now Ray. 6:37pm: If Brewers take Puk, they get a steal. He was #1 on my board. 6:34pm: So far I'm one-for-four in my mock draft, but I really like the Pint pick. Pitchers don't want to sign there, so you have to draft them. I think Pint is going to be a star. Nothing crazy so far. 6:32pm: Jeff Passan tweets that the Braves are expected to save $2.5-$3m on the Anderson pick. They basically get to make another top 10 pick. Rockies make Riley Pint official. Pint throws straight gas (homey) and I compared him to Max Scherzer. 6:27pm: Braves make Ian Anderson official. They will have a lot of money to play with. I declare them draft winners. (Kidding.) 6:22pm: Braves are on the clock and expected to take Ian Anderson. Who had him as the first prep pitcher off of the board? Not me. But I did have Anderson connected to the Braves all along, so I'll count that as a three-quarters-win. 6:20pm: Cooper also says Rutherford to Brewers. He not-so-correctly had Daz Cameron to the Astros last year. Reds make Senzel official. Boras guy, can't imagine they're going to save a ton, but enough to make a difference in round 2 for sure. 6:17pm: Cooper says Puk to Brewers at 5. If A's go Groome, that puts Marlins on clock. Braxton Garrett has been the name mentioned most. 6:15pm: John Manuel suggesting that the Braves may go Corey Ray. Could Anderson fall to #40? I've said as much. 6:13pm update: Keith Law says Pint to Rockies at 4 and after the Brewers pick at 5, Jason Groome could go sixth to the A's. 6:12pm update: All indications are that the Phillies are taking Moniak, the Reds are taking Senzel, the Braves are taking Anderson (!) and that would put the Rockies in position to get a pitcher that they want - either A.J. Puk or Riley Pint. 5:58pm update: ARE YOU READY?! LET'S DO THIS! 3pm update: John Manuel has been updating and reupdating his mock draft.... but still has Dakota Hudson going to the Twins. He's got Kirilloff going to the Angels at #16 and Whitley going to the Blue Jays at #21. LEN3 tweeted that the Twins are scheduled to make their first pick around 7:20 and their last two picks around 10:08. Schedule accordingly. I might do a Periscope after the last two picks if people are interested. 11:10 update: Keith Law says that Rutherford is still in play for the Brewers and that Whitley is in play to the Mariners. Frankie Piliere adds Zach Burdi to the list the Mariners could be considering. 11 am update: There are lot of new rumors floating out there. The newest has Ian Anderson going to the Braves at #3 on an underslot deal and the Braves hoping to catch Groome at #40. I will be posting noteworthy news here. So keep it here and refresh often. --- In the midst of a poor season, we always have the future to look toward. The draft is a small step to realizing that future and by the time you go to bed tonight, the Twins will have added four pieces of that future. This three-day event starts on Thursday evening (tonight!) at 6pm and concludes on Saturday. The first 77 picks (Round 1 through Comp B Round) are Thursday. Round 3 will start at noon on Friday and last through Round 10. Round 11 will begin at 11 am on Saturday and last until the conclusion of the draft, which is 40 rounds long. The Twins will make their first selection with the 15th overall pick. They were in line for the 17th selection until both the Diamondbacks and Orioles signed free agents which required them to forfeit their first-round draft pick, thrusting the Twins up two more spots. They will come back on the clock with the 56th pick, their regular second-round pick, before finishing out their night with back-to-back picks in the Comp B round at 73 and 74. They were awarded the 73rd pick for the second consecutive year as winners of the one of the twelve Competitive Balance Lottery picks. Because they failed to sign last year’s choice, Kyle Cody, they receive the 74th pick this year. On Friday, the Twins first choice will be 93rd overall. They’ll be on the clock every thirty picks after that for the duration of the draft. So who will the Twins select this evening with the 15th overall pick this year? That - along with 14 picks before it - remains a great mystery. Over the last few weeks, at Twins Daily, we run several articles highlighting a number of players that the Twins could take: We started our coverage by looking at some local players that could be drafted.Our specific looks at players started with flamethrowing Zack Burdi, younger brother of Nick, and Miami Hurricane backstop Zack Collins. But then a funny thing happened, all heck broke loose. Boards started doing somersaults and players, mostly prep pitchersstarted coming out with giant bonus demands. We profiled one more specific bat, prep outfielder Alex Kirilloff. It really became increasingly difficult to not only peg who the Twins would take, but also what would happen before then. The last profile included a handful of college pitchers, some of whom entered the discussion very late. In addition to that, I treated readers to a 10-round Twins-only mock draft and a look at how I’d stack my own Draft Board if you threw bonus demands out the window. Oh… and the mocks. I projected the Twins to take Forrest Whitley on May 11th in Mock Draft v. 1. On May 29th, I switched course and had the Twins drafting Justin Dunn in Mock Draft v. 2. My third and final mock draft was posted this morning. One thing that I need to continue to note is how important it is for you to understand how teams go about manipulating their draft money. The teams drafting at the top - the Phillies, Reds, Braves - and other teams with multiple picks (like the Padres) will be working on cutting deals right up until the draft starts. This doesn’t only mean with their first pick, but also with later picks. When this happens, agents will start floating their price tags out to teams, who shy away from those players, essentially making them unavailable to teams though they haven’t already been picked. A potential example that I’ve used is with the Braves, Ian Anderson and pick 40. The Braves love Anderson, but he’s not going to sign for $1.6 million, which is what pick 40 is worth. The Braves also have the third overall choice, which is worth $6.5 million. Their likely choice there, Corey Ray, isn’t going to need that full allotment to sign. So what the Braves could do is offer each player $4 million. They would draft Ray at 3. Anderson’s agent would let all teams know it will cost them $4 million to sign his client and - after a tumble - guess who’s available the next time the Braves select? The Braves, who are just one example, could get even more creative because they have three more picks in the top 80. Long story short, it means if the Twins lined up their favorite 15 players, it could come time for them to pick and all 15 of those players could either already be picked or just be “unavailable.” The players that will fit into that “unavailable” category will be primarily high-school pitchers. The MLB Draft is such an important time for MLB teams. The Twins will select 42 players to add talent to the organization. In any given year, if two or three of the picks become useful big leaguers, the draft was a huge success. We encourage you to keep close to Twins Daily for more updates. We will post articles for each of Thursday’s picks. On Friday, I’ll be posting all of the picks and adding thoughts throughout the day. (So keep pounding that refresh button.) Saturday will be more of the same, with picks coming - and you refreshing - more rapidly. But we don’t expect you to make TwinsDaily.com your only priority on draft weekend. We also want you to tune in to KFAN (100.3 FM or online or on iHeartRadio) on Friday night at 7pm for a special radio broadcast that I’m calling Guru and the Geek. John Bonnes and I will be in studio discussing the first 10 round (12 picks) and might even have a special guest or two. It's going to be a full, fun, busy three days here at Twins Daily. Use this thread to discuss rumors throughout the day. Even more fun, post below your thoughts on who will be taken with each of the top 5 or 10 picks. And, in all seriousness, check out some of the best league-wide draft sites that exist: BaseballAmerica.com’s draft coverage is outstanding. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo team up at MLB Pipeline to rival BA’s coverage. Keith Law isn’t free at ESPN, but if you have an Insider account, you can read all sorts of good stuff. You can find a lot of information on prep players at Perfect Game. Enjoy the conversation. Enjoy the hope. Don’t hate all the relievers (again). Just kidding. Maybe. 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Though we’ve spent the last few months hearing about the interest the Twins have in prep power arms, it’s been a new demographic - college pitchers - who have started making their way to the forefront. Some names are ones you many have heard of. Some names might be new.WHO ARE THEY? Same with the high school class, the top of class isn’t likely to be available at #15. Unlike the high school class, only one name, Florida southpaw A.J. Puk, appears to have no chance to be available. The next tier of collegiate arms includes Justin Dunn (RHP, Boston College), Zack Burdi (RHP, Louisville), Dakota Hudson (RHP, Mississippi State), Cody Sedlock (RHP, Illinois) and Cal Quantrill (RHP, Stanford) among others. WHY THE TWINS WILL DRAFT ONE OF THEM With the fluidity of the draft board thanks to recent developments, including bonus demands and drug tests, the college class is the most stable group. With the exception of Quantrill, all are healthy. And all are signable. Burdi was profiled here, so we’ll focus on the other four today. Justin Dunn (6-2, 185) has as much helium coming into the draft as anyone. After converting to the rotation from the bullpen early in the season, Dunn has settled into a mid-90s strike-thrower who also features a slider with a developing curveball and changeup. Dunn is still a relatively fresh arm, with only 120 innings thrown in his three seasons at Boston College Dakota Hudson (6-5, 225) might have the best stuff in the draft. A mid-90s fastball and potentially plus curveball headline his four-pitch mix. Hudson also was working on limited innings after his first two years at Mississippi State (34.0 total), but was successful last summer in the Cape Cod League (56 2/3 innings) before throwing 106 more innings as a junior. Cody Sedlock (6-4, 210) has become a workhorse for the Illini in 2016, proving to be extremely durable. Averaging 118.75 pitches over his last four starts (which doesn’t include a 9 1/3 inning start a month ago that didn’t track his pitches, Sedlock has already endured pitch counts that would make Bert Blyleven proud. Cal Quantrill (6-3, 185) was a legitimate 1-1 candidate before suffering from elbow issues. While healthy, Quantrill has a four-pitch mix that features a low-90s fastball with a plus changeup. His dad, Paul, was an undersized righty who had a 14-year big league career, leading his league in appearances four straight years, making the All-Star game as an 11-win reliever in 2001. WHY THE TWINS WON'T DRAFT ANY OF THEM Depending on who you talk to, you could get many different takes on how these pitchers rank and who to include in this tier. Maybe they’ll go with a college pitcher, but select one that is outside of this group. Maybe the team is confident that their bonus slot can meet the demand of a prep arm. Maybe one of the few bats they like falls into their lap. There’re also some things that could have you look the other way with the pitchers mentioned above. It won’t be a factor with the Twins, but Dunn doesn’t have a long track-record as a starter. Hudson’s biggest question mark is his fastball command. He walked 34, threw 14 wild pitches and hit eight batters this year. Those numbers aren’t always indicative of “command issues”, but they help substantiate the issue. Should there be concerns about Sedlock’s workload? How many MLB pitchers have thrown 10 2/3 innings in a game this season? How many have thrown 132 pitches in a game? Sedlock did both of those in an April start this season. Oh, Sedlock threw between 31 and 32 innings in both of his first two seasons, so this was quite a jump. Quantrill hasn’t pitched in a game since undergoing Tommy John surgery in March of 2015, so there’s a lot of mystery around the pitcher who is said to have a deal in place with the Padres. Names that I’m less high on are T.J. Zeuch (RHP, Pittsburgh), Connor Jones (RHP, Virginia) and Eric Lauer (LHP, Kansas State). All three are getting first-round buzz. Other draft-related articles: Local Profiles Zack Burdi Zack Collins Prep Arms 10-round mock Draft Board Alex Kirilloff Click here to view the article

One demographic we haven’t heard much about is prep hitters. Yet, it’s a route that the Twins seem to take with regularity. From Gordon to Buxton to Hicks to Revere, “toolsy” preps have been a linchpin in the franchise’s draft results. Today, we’ll look at the one prep hitter connected to the ball club.WHO IS HE? Alex Kirilloff is a prep hitter from Plum High School in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. Kirilloff, who turned 18 in November, is a left-handed hitter and thrower who projects as a right-fielder, though through high school he’s primarily pitched and played first base. A 4.0 student, Kirilloff is 6-2, 195 and committed to Liberty. WHY THE TWINS WILL DRAFT HIM As mentioned earlier, the Twins have always been enamored by toolsy prep players and Kirilloff has the tools. Perfect Game ranks both Kirilloff’s hit tool and power tool as the third best in the entire prep class. He has a powerful arm that would fit in right field. Kirilloff has the athleticism and speed (6.6 in the 60) that suggests he could even be an average defender in centerfield. He’s still relatively new to the outfield, so he’ll need plenty of reps to properly gauge his defensive ability. The greatest value that Kirilloff offers is in his bat. He won the Home Run Derby at the Perfect Game All-American Game last summer and hasn’t seemed to tap into all of his raw power potential yet. He’s starting to show he’s able to generate power to all fields. WHY THE TWINS WON'T DRAFT HIM His father is a hitting coach that has helped the younger Kirilloff refine his swing, though there has been mention about his lack of hand speed. His ZEPP Hitting Metric hand speed score was only 28 mph, according to Perfect Game, which is 2.5 mph slower than average and put him in the 28th percentile. A consequence of this is an inability to catch up to professional fastballs. There seems to be a split in the industry as to whether he has enough natural ability to overcome this deficiency. Player-wise, though, teams will almost always be able to find warts on preps. And Kirilloff is no different. If there weren’t questions, he’d be in consideration for a Top 5 pick. What might cause the Twins to look elsewhere is if the deep pool of pitchers spreads out and they have an opportunity to land one. Kirilloff is going to be high on the Twins board, there’s no doubt about that, and he’s signable, but will he be the best player available at 15? Other draft-related articles: Local Profiles Zack Burdi Zack Collins Prep Arms 10-round mock Draft Board Click here to view the article

There's no reason not to bring him up. Edit: looks like my fingers never made it as far as my mind and a mod or Seth caught it.

A pretty quiet day in Twins Territory today. But there were two games in the system, led by both a dominant - and needed - pitching performance and a walk-off win. Tyler Jay was named Florida State League Pitcher of the Week. This comes on the heels of an 11-strikeout, two-hit outing that spanned eight shutout inningsLet’s get to the action on the field. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Buffalo 2 Box Score Jose Berrios hasn’t had the 2016 that many of us - him included - had been expecting. Hopefully his season turned a corner on Monday night. Berrios pitched eight innings, his longest outing of the season. He struck out 11 and only allowed three hits (though two of them were solo home runs to Casey Kotchman), walking only one. Berrios improved to 4-2 in AAA this season. The Red Wings got on the board in the second inning thanks to an Adam Brett Walker sacrifice fly that scored Eddie Rosario, who had singled and stole a base earlier in the inning. Rochester plated two more in the third inning when Jorge Polanco singled in both James Beresford, who singled to start the inning, and Logan Schafer, who doubled. John Ryan Murphy drove in Walker in the fourth inning to expand the lead to 4-0. The Red Wings added two more runs: a Schafer home run in the sixth and an RBI double from Murphy which drove in Wilfredo Tovar, who also doubled, in the seventh. Schafer had three hits on Monday, and now has two home runs in four games for the Wings. Polanco, Tovar and Murphy all had two-hit games. J.T. Chargois closed the game with a perfect ninth inning. His AAA ERA is 0.82. There’s literally no reason that the Twins should not bring him up. The Red Wings have improved to 33-25, expanding their IL North lead to 1.5 games. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Jacksonville 2 (11 innings) Box Score The Lookouts opened the scoring on Monday night thanks to a Daniel Palka…. sacrifice fly. (No home run this time.) It scored Zach Granite, who singled to lead off the bottom half of the 1st inning. Jacksonville tied it in the fourth and jumped ahead 2-1 in the fifth. Ryan Eades, making his return from an oblique injury, gave up just one run in four innings of work. He struck out one and walked two. Raul Fernandez, making his AA debut in the Twins organization, gave up one run in two innings. Then the bullpen took over. Levi Michael doubled and then scored on a Leo Reginatto hit to tie the score in the bottom half of the fifth inning. The game quieted down, helped by the Miralcle trio of Mason Melotakis, Jake Reed (two strikeouts in two innings) and Trevor Hildenberger (four strikeouts, two innings). But it got loud again in the bottom of the 11th inning. Mitch Garver started the inning with a single, Ryan Walker tried to bunt Garver over, but Jacksonville retired the lead runner leaving Walker on first. After a Stuart Turner walk, Michael stepped to the plate and delivered a game-winner. Granite and Reginatto both had three hits. D.J Hicks, Garver and Levi Michael all had two hits. The Lookouts are now 27-30, MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers vs Daytona Monday night’s game was cancelled due to Tropical Storm Colin. The teams are not scheduled to play each other again in the first half of the season, so the game will not be rescheduled. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids - DAY OFF TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jose Berrios, Rochester Hitter of the Day – Levi Michael, Chattanooga TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo at Rochester (6:05PM CST) – LHP Logan Darnell (5-5, 3.58 ERA)J Jacksonville at Chattanooga (6:15PM CST) - LHP David Hurlbut (3-3, 4.53 ERA) Cedar Rapids at Beloit (6:35PM CST) – LHP Sam Clay (3-2, 2.13 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

Typically when a player signs out of high school, part of their contract includes 8 semesters at a college of the player's choice. They just call the commissioner's office and let them know they've enrolled and BOOM, it's paid. College guys usually negotiate to get the rest of their semesters paid for too.

Lauer seems like the most anti-Thrylos/pro-Twins-of-2011 draft picks that's available. While I have nothing against him personally, I'd prefer to throw $3 million at a guy with upside.

In previous years, instead of me putting my own board together, I tried to gather enough information to accurately predict how the Twins would stack their board. While I’ll never know how accurate I was, my opinion is that I wasn’t too far off.This year is different. Obviously, when the Twins are picking fourth, fifth or sixth, there are only so many players and combinations of them that can go before the Twins were picking. Drafting at 15 makes things more difficult. Having a handful of players whose signability is being questioned makes it infinitely more difficult. Even as the draft approaches - it’s only three days away! - it’s being described as being a “long ways away.” Seems ridiculous, right? Not really. There are still a number of high school pitchers who have unknown price tags. We heard last week that the Twins weren’t going to be able to get Manning done with their draft slot at 15. It’s entirely possible that we could be adding more prep pitchers into that category as the week progresses. Why is that happening? Because the teams at the top of the draft - the Phillies, Braves and Reds - have so much money that they can spread it out among their first few picks, essentially taking players off the board before they’re selected. So even if the Twins have settled on their Top 15, there’s a strong chance that none of those players are actually “available” when the Twins come to the podium. Make sense? What you’re going to see below is not a guess at how the Twins have their board stacked, but instead how I would stack my own board… with the caveat that whichever player is drafted will sign for slot at pick 15. I know that’s an impossibility, but without knowing every player that has a high price tag, this is the best way to fairly assess the talent. 1) A.J. Puk, LHP, Florida. I’m not totally sold on Puk - especially after his last start - but you could do worse than taking a left-handed pitcher who throws mid-90s. The combination of ceiling and floor makes Puk the relatively easy choice to take first overall. 2) Jason Groome, LHP, New Jersey HS. I debated Groome vs Pint as top prep pitcher, but Groome’s curveball and the fact he’s young for his class gives him a ceiling of an ace-starter and there are never enough of them. 3) Kyle Lewis, OF, Mercer. Sure, he hasn’t played against the best competition and that magnifies some of the questions about his bat, but his no one can match his ceiling as a hitter and he appears athletic enough to stay in center field. 4) Riley Pint, RHP, Kansas HS. It’s hard to look at a prep pitcher who throws 100+ and not assume he’s going to need Tommy John surgery sometime soon. For me, it’s hard to look at Pint and not think he’s going to be Max Scherzer in a handful of years. If Pint was a little more consistent with his breaking stuff, I’d rank him above Groome. 5) Corey Ray, OF, Louisville. Ray doesn’t have Lewis’s loud power tool. In fact, he lacks any significant carrying tool (unless you want to count his speed). What Ray offers, though, is enough with the bat and glove to project him with an MLB floor, which isn’t easy to do. 6) Nick Senzel, 3B, Tennessee. Senzel’s calling card is his hit tool and there is a lack of that quality in this draft. Good enough to stick on the left side of the infield, Senzel is another high-floor, top-10 pick. 7) Mickey Moniak, OF, California HS. Moniak has the chops to stay in center field and has the hit tool to project as an everyday player, though he’ll probably not add much power as he develops. 8) Braxton Garrett, LHP, Alabama HS. Garrett is the safest of all the prep arms, equipped with a MLB-ready curveball already. The Twins would love him at 15, if he’s available. 9) Delvin Perez, SS, Puerto Rico HS. Young but unfairly compared to Carlos Correa, Perez may have the highest ceiling in the whole class. Will he hit though? 10) Justin Dunn, RHP, Boston College. People are going to do the “another reliever” thing with Dunn if the Twins pick him, but his electric arm is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. For being a relatively fresh arm (that can run it up to 99 mph), he offers a high floor to go with an extremely high ceiling. 11) Ian Anderson, RHP, New York HS. I tried not to dock Anderson for his signability questions and when lined up with Dunn, I have them ranked very closely. Dunn, though smaller, gave me less durability concerns than Anderson, which is why I rank Anderson one spot lower. 12) Alex Kirilloff, OF, Pennsylvania HS. Kirilloff projects to be a good hitter with potential plus power and a good enough arm to play right field. Though I’d always err on the side of pitching, Kirilloff is one hitter who may be on the board at 15 that I’m sold on. 13) Dakota Hudson, P, Mississippi State. I had come around on Hudson before he struggled in his last start. He battles with command, but I’ve been told he may have the best “stuff” in the draft. My concern is the Twins would try to clean up the delivery in hopes that it will improve command, but instead it will cause his “stuff” to play down. 14) Blake Rutherford, OF, California HS. Rutherford is a year older than most other prep players and appears to be physically mature, so there isn’t as much upside as you’d typically get with a high schooler. There’s still a lot of things to like in his bat - I’m just not as sold as some others. 15) Matt Manning, RHP, California HS. I always feel like there’s more to unlock in multi-sport starts and Manning, who is committed to play both baseball and hoops at Loyola Marymount, has plenty of raw ability already, hitting 98 mph with his fastball. I believe Manning has a deal with the Padres. 16) Cal Quantrill, RHP, Stanford. Quantrill missed the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but was a legitimate Top 5 candidate before the injury. He has the upside on a #1 starter and likely won’t make his professional debut until Spring Training 2017, nearly 23 months following his procedure. 17) Zack Collins, C, Miami. Collins has the bat to profile as a big-leaguer, but there are questions about his defensive home. He’ll need time to develop behind the plate, but teams might want to push his bat through their system quicker, shifting him to a corner, likely first base. 18) Zack Burdi, RHP, Louisville. Guys who can throw triple-digits and profile with a clean enough delivery have to be considered first-round picks. While Burdi’s ultimate home is probably in the bullpen, he’s an intriguing option for teams in the middle of the first round. 19) Joey Wentz, LHP, Kansas HS. It’s hard not to factor signability into ranking Wentz, who is committed to Virginia. He’s backed off the mid-90s that he was throwing early in his season, but still offers the upside of a front-end starter. 20) Forrest Whitley, RHP, Texas HS. The big-bodied Texan beat out a number of college pitchers for the last spot on this list. There are conditioning questions, but he’s got present ability that projects to play up as he continues to work his body into shape. Just missed: Cody Sedlock, RHP, Illinois and T.J. Zeuch, RHP, Pittsburgh Other draft-related articles: Local Profiles Zack Burdi Zack Collins Prep Arms 10-round mock What does your board look like? Click here to view the article

More than 10 can get it based on teams cutting below-slot deals with their picks and having a ton of money left to promise others (typically high schoolers) to drop to their second pick.

Specifically, can't tell. But its someone involved in all the draft meetings and will be in the draft room.

I just asked is Thaiss, who Sickles mocked to Twins, is crazy. And the response I got was "probably but it's still early" which I translate to "he's not Top 15 on our board, but we don't know how many high schoolers we won't be able to sign yet."

The nature of the beast is that not a whole lot of prep players get drafted after round 5. It happens, but it's atypical. Not exactly a reach on my part.

First day of draft meetings today. Text I just got: We don't have anyone locked in at all. I wouldn't expect a name even if the Twins were locked in, but this isn't the response I'd get.

Or it could be that he doesn't want to give up what his plan is. How often is TR open and honest about things like this? Not very often.

Putting together your own mock draft is a fun exercise and is always interesting to look back at later to see how you did. Putting together a 10-round mock draft for one team when the 29 other teams have their own ideas can be an exercise in futility. This is my third annual attempt at projecting the Twins top 10 rounds and is quickly becoming my favorite pre-draft thing to do each year.In 2014, I hit on Nick Gordon in the first round (most would have) and landed 9th-round pick Max Murphy in the exact spot he was drafted. Because of that, I will overvalue/overrate Murphy for the rest of his career. Hitting on two of the ten picks was exactly two more correct than I expected to hit on, and I expected some regression the following year. Projecting Dillon Tate first in 2015 was incorrect. And I thought my chances of hitting on anyone was rapidly approaching 0%. But my next two projected picks - Kyle Cody and Trey Cabbage - both heard their names called by the Twins and I had my two picks correct for the second straight year. This year, with two comp picks and no forfeited picks, I have 12 picks to try to extend my streak. To give this as “realistic” feel as possible, I found every player’s composite ranking (the average of Perfect Game, Baseball America and MLB) and couldn’t take them unless they fell after or within 10% of the pick (with the exception of the first pick). For example, to be “eligible” for me to pick at 74, the composite ranking had to be lower than 66.6. To be drafted at 93, he had to be ranked 83.7 or lower. For the last four picks, I couldn’t choose a player who was ranked in the Top 200 on each of the three lists. Round 1 (Pick 15 - $2,817,100): OF Alex Kirilloff, Pennsylvania HS. The talk all along has been on the team’s focus on “power arms”. But I don’t think there is going to be a great option available at #15. Kirilloff is one of the few bats that really seems to intrigue the Twins in the first round and though he’s been linked to many of the teams around the Twins, has a decent chance to be available. Round 2 (Pick 55 - $1,141,600): RHP Daulton Jefferies, Cal. The undersized righty missed a significant amount of time this season with a shoulder injury that was originally reported as a calf strain. He’s returned recently to the mound and pitched well. Jefferies has a three-pitch mix currently: a low-to-mid-90s fastball, an above-average changeup and a slider that’s developing. Had Jefferies been healthy, he would have gone much sooner. (Composite average: 50.7) Comp Round B (Pick 73 - $878,500): C Will Smith, Louisville. After a late-season surge, there’s a chance that this all-around catcher isn’t available in the 70s. The helium that Smith has is impressive, considering he missed Perfect Game’s Top 500, checks in at 219 for Baseball America and tops out at 110 for MLB Pipeline. Smith is a name to remember and is almost a certainty to come off the board on Day One. (Composite average: N/A) Comp Round B (Pick 74 - $865,200): SS Luis Curbelo, Florida HS. A Miami commit, Curbel, who worked out for the Twins a few weeks ago, will start his professional career at shortstop, but projects long-term as a third baseman with power and the ability to be an above-average defender. (Composite average: 93.6) Round 3 (Pick 93 - $645,600): SS Stephen Alemais, Tulane. Alemais was one of my personal favorites coming out of high school three years ago. He went undrafted and has played really well at Tulane. He has the defensive chops to stick at shortstop, though there are concerns about his bat. Alemais was the subject of an ESPN article about the Twins scouting, which probably makes the likelihood of Alemais getting drafted by the Twins pretty slim. (Composite average: 105) Round 4 (Pick 123 - $477,900): LHP Keegan Akin, Western Michigan. Akin had success in the Cape Cod League and has a three-pitch mix: a mid-90s fastball and an average slider and changeup. Akin has been moving up boards, so it wouldn’t be entirely shocking to see him go off the board earlier than the fourth round. (Composite average: 114) Round 5 (Pick 153 - $357,800): 3B/C Ulysses Cantu, Texas HS. Cantu has dabbled with catching, but has played more third base. His calling card, however, is a pure hitting ability, something the organization always seems to be lacking. (Composite average: 149) Round 6 (Pick 183 - $267,800): RHP Stephen Nogosek, Oregon. The Twins have had some recent success with both Oregon closers and converting relievers to starters. Nogosek checks both of those boxes. Armed with a fastball in the mid-90s, a “frisbee” slider and a changeup that will probably be scrapped if he stays in the bullpen, Nogosek would be an intriguing addition to the organization. (Composite average: 169.3) Round 7 (Pick 213 - $200,900): OF Dom Thompson-Williams, South Carolina. Recently on the Talking Twins Podcast, I suggested that the Twins don’t have a positional need as much as they have a need for pure athletes. Thompson-Williams is a great athlete, though he still needs to refine his baseball skills. (PG: 169; BA: 237; MLB: NR) Round 8 (Pick 243 - $178,200): RHP A.J. Bogucki, North Carolina. Bogucki was drafted by the Twins in the 31st round in 2013 out of a Pennsylvania HS, but decided to pitch collegiately and has been a dependable bullpen arm for the Tar Heels. Bogucki’s low-to-mid-90s fastball and curveball/slider combination profile best in the bullpen, but you never know. (PG: 217; BA: 262; MLB: NR) Round 9 (Pick 273 -$166,300): LHP Scott Moss, Florida. Moss underwent Tommy John surgery after redshirting his freshman year, so he hasn’t had many opportunities to showcase his ability (and he has two more opportunities to go through the draft process if he chooses). But what Moss has been able to show is a three-pitch mix (fastball, curveball, changeup) and a raw ability that scouts can dream on. Moss did have success pitching in the Northwoods League, but has really battled with command. (PG: 192; BA: NR; MLB: 191) Round 10 (Pick 303 - $156,600): RHP Curtis Taylor, U. of British Columbia. Though it’s not necessarily going to happen in the top ten rounds (nor does it have to happen at all), the Twins now have a presence in Canada with scout Walt Burrows, who knows baseball in Canada better than anyone. Could his addition to the organization pay off with the drafting of a pitcher like Taylor, another power pitcher with a fastball/slider combo?(PG: 284; BA: 115; MLB: NR) There it is. The Twins first 12 picks (over 10 rounds). Six pitchers of the college variety, a couple of potential shortstops and a couple of potential catchers along with a potential corner-OF All-Star bat. What do you think? Other draft-related articles: Local Profiles Zack Burdi Zack Collins Prep Arms Click here to view the article