Jeremy Nygaard

Every year the draft looks like it's going to turn into a mess. And then it's always worse the following year. Last year, the Astros were able to work a deal with Daz Cameron, pushing him out of the first round and into their laps. But as unpredictable as it was made out to be, the other members of the top six of my first mock draft all went in the top five (and I matched them all to the right team, except one).This year, you can't find a consensus top pick or a consensus top three. I reached out to a number of scouts for feedback on this mock and/or other things that are being talked about in the industry: "I have no clue." "I honestly have no idea." "Anything could happen." I'll share some of things that I'm hearing right now on Gleeman and the Geek, but some of the big things that seem destined to happen: Teams with big pools will cut deals with prep pitchers to drop to their second pick. College arms are making a late surge. After the top guys, college bats are bad... but teams might also reach for a bat just to get one they consider to be quality. (And guys that have had big days recently or have big days leading up to the draft will make themselves some money.) There's still a lot to consider. And still a lot of time left for things to sort themselves out. Here’s my second-to-last mock draft. 1. Phillies - A.J. Puk, LHP, Florida. The Phillies could easily - and maybe should - open up the pick and take the player that allows them to bank a bunch of money, but as it stands, Puk is the best way to go when you balance risk/reward. There are still other names in play, including Nick Senzel, who I’ve been told has been watched heavily by the Phillies though being represented by Scott Boras lessens the chances he agrees to an underslot deal. 2. Reds - Kyle Lewis, OF, Mercer. The Reds are also in a great position to bank dollars. Expect them to draft the top bat available and cut a deal to draft a high school pitcher at #35. 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. 4. Rockies - Jason Groome, LHP, New Jersey prep. There’s been ton of Moniak talk, but it’s hard for the Rockies to pass on pitchers… since nobody wants to pitch at Coors. I’ve been told Groome is the wild card of this draft and to not be surprised if takes an Appel-like tumble. 5. Brewers - Delvin Perez, SS, Puerto Rico prep. This has long been a connection, though there are others that have moved into the picture. 6. A’s - Nick Senzel, 3B, Tennessee. Whichever of the top five (and also Moniak) could go here. 7. Marlins - Mickey Moniak, OF, California prep. Moniak going higher than this could help a team bank some money for a later pick. 8. Padres - Cal Quantrill, RHP, Stanford. 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. 9. Tigers - Riley Pint, RHP, Kansas prep. Pint can’t drop forever and the Tigers would be wise to take this big arm. 10. White Sox - Blake Rutherford, OF, California prep. 11. Mariners - Zack Collins, C, Miami 12. Red Sox - Zack Burdi, RHP, Louisville. I don’t love this pick here, but when I was trying to piece my mock together, one scout told me this pick made “perfect sense.” 13. Rays - Dakota Hudson, RHP, Mississippi State. Could have the best stuff of any college arm, but has command issues. 14. Indians - Alex Kirilloff, OF, Pennsylvania prep. 15. Twins - Justin Dunn, RHP, Boston College. If either of Hudson or Kirilloff made it here, I think they’d be the guys. I also think the Twins could jump on Quantrill if he made it this far. The other arms connected to the team - Braxton Garrett, Matt Manning, etc - could all find themselves sliding (on purpose) to the teams who have banked money. Dunn offers the highest upside of the college arms available. 16. Angels - Taylor Trammell, OF, Georgia prep. 17. Astros - Cody Sedlock, RHP, Illinois. 18. Yankees - Will Craig, 3B, Wake Forest. 19. Mets - Matt Thaiss, C, Virginia. 20. Dodgers - Jordan Sheffield, RHP, Vanderbilt. 21. Blue Jays - Kevin Gowdy, RHP, California prep. 22. Pirates - Nolan Jones, SS, Pennsylvania prep. 23. Cardinals - Kyle Muller, LHP, Texas prep. 24. Padres - Matt Manning, RHP, California prep. I’ve long been of the belief that Manning’s floor was the Twins. Saturday I was told what other national guys have been saying, he’s got a high price tag, one that is higher than the Twins slot can get done. The Padres, however, have saved some money that they can spend on Manning. 25. Padres - Chris Okey, C, Clemson. For the Padres to fit Manning in their budget, they might have to cut an underslot deal here too. I went with Okey because, you know, catchers. 26. White Sox - Gavin Lux, SS, Wisconsin prep. 27. Orioles - Eric Lauer, LHP, Kent State. 28. Nationals - Robert Tyler, RHP, Georgia. 29. Nationals - Alec Hansen, RHP, Oklahoma. 30. Rangers - Josh Lowe, 3B, Georgia prep. 31. Mets - T.J. Zeuch, RHP, Pittsburgh 32. Dodgers - Joey Wentz, LHP, Kansas HS. Wentz would have to come in overslot, which could be difficult, but this gives the Dodgers the best opportunity to add a high-ceiling arm… that they can trade later. 33. Cardinals - Buddy Reed, OF, Florida. 34. Cardinals - Logan Shore, RHP, Florida. Shore continues to strike me as someone that the Cardinals will draft. --- Bonus picks 35. Reds - Forrest Whitley, RHP, Texas prep. Whitley should be on the Twins radar, but he could be guaranteed an excess of $3 million by the Reds here. 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. 42. Phillies - Braxton Garrett, LHP, Alabama prep. Garrett could go Top 10, but if the Phillies play their cards correctly, the could split their $10.5 million allotted to their top 2 picks and pay one $6 million and another $4.5 million (which is more than slot at #5). What do you think? Click here to view the article

Profiles on Wentz and Whitley. Not Lowe. I've been told by multiple people that Lowe is a "tweener", meaning he'll go somewhere between the Twins top two picks. I still consider Wentz and Whitley (along with Anderson) the top candidates to cut a deal with a big-budget team and drop to those teams' second pick. There are rumors about the Padres and Quantrill cutting a deal. It's unclear if that means at #8 (underslot) or #24 or #25 (overslot). It probably depends on what else is available at 8.

Asked about both recently: Really like Collins bat but appear to "probably [be] targeting a different batch of players". Which seems to match the power arm belief. When I asked one about Hudson being available, he told me "that would be reallynice" and went on to say anything is possible in this draft. Both Collins and Hudson will be profiled.

It’s almost Memorial Day weekend - that officially kicks summer off, right? Well, let’s make that the first pitch of the draft season. At 4 pm Sunday, you can turn on the radio, tune it to 100.3 FM and listen to a draft-heavy Gleeman and the Geek show minus Gleeman plus Parker and myself. (If you miss it, that’s ok… you can download it later.)This year’s draft will be June 9-11. You should probably write that down. You’d hate to miss three of the busiest days at Twins Daily. The Twins will draft 15th overall. That pick has a slot value of $2,817,100. They will also draft 56th, 73rd and 74th on the first night. Having two extra picks (a compensatory pick awarded by MLB as well as an extra pick for failing to sign Kyle Cody last year), the Twins actually have the 11th largest bonus pool at just under $8 million. Rounds 3-10 will take place on Friday and we are currently working with KFAN to bring you a draft show after those 10 rounds (and 12 picks) happen. The final 30 rounds will happen on Saturday. You’ll get organizational depth-charts, updated prospect rankings and, starting Sunday with a new mock draft at 4pm, draft-related articles each ensuing day that will help make Twins Daily your home for a ton of draft coverage. We'll also profile several of the players that are under consideration for that first-round pick as well as other players of interest. We will be on top of the draft during all three days of the event. (Refresh, refresh, refresh!) Join in on the discussion by commenting in our articles as well as posting in the forums. The Twins are currently in the process of getting their “last looks” at players. While college players are still playing, many area scouts are hosting workouts for the high school kids. Of course, you can probably flip through the channels right now, tomorrow or through the weekend and find potential draft picks playing right in front of your eyes. Like every other year, the draft is going to be crazy and unpredictable. But if you tune into Twins Daily for the next two weeks, you’ll hopefully find some of the strategies much less confusing. Between now and draft time, come here frequently, comment often and if you want to reach me, you can at @jeremynygaard. Enjoy Christmas in June also known as Draft Season. Click here to view the article

For the second straight week a member of the Red Wings was rewarded for his previous week. Last week, it was Andrew Albers. This week it’s Adam Brett Walker winning the International League Player of the Week award. Walker hit five home runs over the last six games, including a three-home run game on Saturday and batted .350. He currently leads the International League with nine home runs. Fernando Romero was also named Midwest League pitcher of the week. His teammate, A.J. Murray took the hitter award last week. Romero made his return from Tommy John surgery last week and and pitched five no-hit innings. There were a few transactions that took place as well. Daniel Bard was promoted from Fort Myers to Chattanooga and Hector Lujan was added from extended spring training to take his place. Eduardo Escobar was returned to the Twins. To make room, Jorge Polanco was optioned to Rochester. Also in today’s news, Darren Wolfson reported that the Twins signed lefty Sean Burnett to a minor-league deal. Burnett has a June 15 opt-out according to Chris Cotillo and will make $1 million if he reaches the majors with an additional $1 million in incentive bonuses. Three teams were in action on the farm on Monday. Let’s see how they did.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester - OFF DAY CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 0, Jackson 7 Box Score Ryan Eades was Monday’s scheduled starter but for unknown reasons didn’t make the start. And it was that kind of day for the Lookouts. Omar Bencomo made the spot start and was OK. He made it through four innings, striking out six. On four hits and a walk, two runs scored. Corey Williams didn’t fare as well - or well at all really. He retired the three men he faced in the fifth. In the sixth he also faced three men (walk, homer, walk) and these three all scored. Luke Bard made his AA debut and it was forgettable: five hits, two earned runs, two strikeouts. Luke Westphal finished the game with a scoreless inning. The offense was a no-show. Zach Granite had two singles. D.J. Hicks, Leo Reginatto, Stuart Turner and Levi Michael also singled. The Lookouts were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. The Mientkiewicz-led Lookouts drop to 19-26. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Tampa 6 (10 innings) Box Score The Miracle dropped their second consecutive extra inning game on Monday. But it didn’t look like that would happen the way the game started. The Miracle jumped to a five-run lead in the first inning. Max Murphy walked to start the game and advanced to second on Edgar Corcino’s single. Nick Gordon drove in Murphy with a single of his own. Corcino scored on a wild pitch. A second wild pitch - on ball four to Chris Paul - advanced Gordon to third base. Ian Clarkin, the pitcher, then committed a throwing error on a pickoff throw and Gordon scored and Paul advanced to second. Still nobody out, Alex Real singled before Trey Vavra doubled, scoring Paul. Clarkin then retired the next three batters, which included a Kevin Garcia sacrifice fly that scored Real. Those five hits and four runs would be the Miracle offense for the day, save two more singles, a double and a walk. Kohl Stewart threw two perfect innings but ran into trouble in the third and couldn’t get through six. In total, Stewart allowed four runs on four hits and six walks (!). He struck out four. Stewart threw 89 pitches, only 48 for strikes. The Miracle still had the lead though and it was up to the bullpen to save it. John Curtiss struck out one and allowed two runners in two innings. Brian Gilbert “blew” the save, allowing an unearned run - a runner who reached base thanks to Nick Gordon’s 13th error of the season. Hector Lujan made his full-season debut on Monday with the Miracle in the 10th inning. The first batter he faced hit a home run. Lujan did retire the next three batters he faced, but the damage was done. Fort Myers went 1-2-3 with three ground-outs in the bottom half of the inning to end the game. The loss drops the Miracle to 25-21. They’ll stay home and welcome Palm Beach for a three-game series that starts Tuesday. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Quad Cities 4 Box Score The Kernels won in dramatic fashion on Monday afternoon. It probably shouldn’t have gotten to that point. The game started off all Kernels. A Zander Wiel double was followed by a Luis Arraez single to put the Kernels on the board in the bottom of the second. LaMonte Wade added to the lead with a solo home run, his third on the season. Wade now has a 24-game streak of reaching base safely and has done so in 36 of 37 games this season. The Kernels added two more runs in the fourth on a handful of singles and the game was 4-0 and Cody Stashak was cruising through four scoreless. Stashak ran into trouble in the fifth, giving up two runs. His night was over at 79 pitches (57 strikes). He gave up seven hits and two runs, striking out seven and picking a runner off of first in five innings. Michael Cederoth gave up two more runs in his two innings of work and the game was tied. Cedar Rapids and Quad Cities exchanged zeroes for the next couple of innings. Nick Anderson pitched two perfect innings and the Kernels came up to bat in the bottom of the ninth. With two out, Zander Wiel delivered a walk-off home run, his third home run on the season and second in as many days. Wiel led the offense with three hits and two runs. Nelson Molina was 2-for-3, improving his batting average to .340. The Kernels improved to 25-18 and head to Burlington to start a three-game series on Tuesday. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Nick Anderson, Cedar Rapids Hitter of the Day – Zander Wiel, Cedar Rapids TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs Indianapolis (6:05PM CST) – TBD (Could it be Alex Meyer?) Fort Myers vs Palm Beach (6:05 CST) – LHP Tyler Jay (3-3, 2.79 ERA) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (7:30PM CST) – RHP Randy LeBlanc (5-2, 0.78 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

The game at Target Field on a beautiful day was heavily attended and many fans in the stands witnessed their favorite team win. Unfortunately, the stadium was full of Blue Jays fans. Though there were no official transactions on Sunday, there is an anticipation of Eduardo Escobar being activated (and likely Jorge Polanco being sent down). But could it be something else? On the farm, there was plenty of activity. Let’s get right into it.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Durham 2 Box Score Rochester got an excellent start from Tommy Milone (8 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 8 K) and timely hitting in the ninth inning to steal a win from Durham on Sunday. The Red Wings took the lead in the fourth. After Max Kepler and Kennys Vargas singled to start the inning, Eddie Rosario grounded into a double play. Though Rosario wasn’t credited with an RBI, Kepler scored on the play. (And you could argue that Rosario could have tried harder to beat the relay throw to first, though he probably still would have been out.) Milone struggled a bit in the fifth inning, Durham started the inning with a double down the right field line. The ball was definitely catchable - and most outfielders would have caught it - but Kepler had left the game with stomach issues and he was replaced by Tommy Field, who had been playing shortstop. Three singles later, the Red Wings were down 2-1. It took until the ninth inning for Rochester to mount a comeback. Wilfredo Tovar opened the inning with a single and moved to second on a Vargas walk. Vargas, the potential go-ahead run, was replaced by Stephen Wickens. Eddie Rosario failed to drive a run in, but was productive enough to move both runners over. Buck Britton drove in the tying run with another ground out. Durham elected to intentionally walk Adam Walker to face Tommy Field. Field promptly singled up the middle to score Wickens. J.T. Chargois was asked to close the game out. He got the first two batters to look at strike three and coaxed a roller to Tovar to end the game. Chargois has now pitched five times for Rochester spanning 6 2/3 innings. He’s struck out 15, holding his opponents to a .091 batting average. He has a WHIP of 0.60. Chargois is ready to help the Twins bullpen. At 25-19, the Red Wings are a half-game out of first in the IL North Division lead and a half game ahead of Lehigh Valley in the wild card race. Not bad for a team that’s swapping players on a semi-regular basis with the Twins. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Jackson 4 (11 innings) Box Score The Lookouts got off to a hot start, but the run-producing at-bats turned cold and Chattanooga couldn’t hold a three-run lead, falling in extras. Eight batters stepped to the plate in the top of the first. Zach Granite reached an error and moved to third on a Leo Reginatto single. D.J. Hicks drove them both in with a double. After a Travis Harrison strike out, both Daniel Palka and Joe Maloney singled, driving in Hicks. After Ryan Walker flew out, with Jairo Rodriguez batting, Palka was picked off and caught stealing third, ending the threat. Jackson got one run back off of Slegers in the bottom of the inning and he pitched well until he ran into trouble in the sixth, a frame in which he walked two batters, who both scored to tie the game. Slegers allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and four walks. He struck out eight. Jake Reed struck out five in three scoreless innings. Mike Strong took the loss, allowing a double and then a run-scoring single that produced the winning run in the 11th inning. D.J Hicks added another double, his ninth on the year, in the sixth. Palka, Maloney and Walker all had two-hit games. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Tampa 4 (11 innings) Box Score Kyle Gibson made his first rehab start on Sunday and threw 56 pitches (41 strikes). Gibson appeared close to his normal self, throwing in the low-90s with a low-to-mid-80s slider and a change-up. He pitched 4 1/3 innings. He allowed three hits and a walk. He struck out two and picked a runner off of first base. Eduardo Escobar continued to rehab and went 0-for-3 with a walk before being subbed out when the game went to extra innings. Edgar Corcino provided three of the team’s eight hits including a home run in the eighth to tie the game. It was Corcino’s third on the season. He scored the Miracle’s only other run in the second inning after a leadoff single and going to station-to-station, eventually scored on a throwing error when Chad Christensen stole second base. Corcino stole his fifth base of the year. Nick Gordon pinch hit in the 10th inning and got a hit. Gordon will return to manning shortstop full-time when Escobar goes back to Minnesota (soon). Chris Paul stole two bases. Brian Gilbert relieved Gibson and pitched 1 2/3 innings, striking out one. Tampa got on the board with a two-run home run in the eighth inning of Todd Van Steensel, who pitched two innings. Raul Fernandez pitched three innings, but took the loss, allowing two runs in the 11th inning. Fort Myers batted 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, including leaving the bases loaded in the 10th inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Quad Cities 1 Box Score The Kernels' day started out a lot like the Twins' day, only with hits that were less loud. After a double, single and stolen base, the Kernels and Miles Nordgren were facing two runners in scoring position with nobody out. But then Nordgren settled down and settled in. He coaxed three straight ground outs (one of which drove in a run). He worked around two singles in the second and three singles in the fifth, but didn’t allow any more runners to cross the plate. All told, Nordgren pitched seven innings, allowing eight hits and a walk. He struck out four. The seven innings were both a season-high (by three innings) and a career high (by four outs). Nordgren did, however, use fewer pitches (85) than he did in his five-inning appearance last Sunday (88). The Kernels scored in five different innings and got multi-hit games from seven different players. Alex Perez doubled and tripled, driving in two runs. Nelson Molina drove in a run on three hits. Zander Wiel hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning. Wiel also added a double as did A.J. Murray, Luis Arraez and J.J. Fernandez. LaMonte Wade went 0-for-4, but drew a walk and has now reached base safely in 23 consecutive games. Michael Theofanopoulos finished the game with two perfect innings. He has 10 straight scoreless appearances and a scoreless streak of 18 2/3 innings. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Miles Nordgren, Cedar Rapids (Yeah, Tommy Milone had a better game, but we know what Tommy Milone is. He dominates AAA and shouldn’t be there. But he hasn’t demonstrated that he’s good enough to be in a big-league rotation either. Anyway, I want to recognize a guy who hasn’t been recognized before.) Hitter of the Day – Edgar Corcino, Fort Myers MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Chattanooga @ Jackson (7:05PM CST) – RHP Ryan Eades (2-2, 4.93 ERA) Tampa @ Fort Myers (9:35PM CST) – Kohl Stewart (3-1, 1.77 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 CST) – Cody Stashak (2-3, 2.41 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’’s games. Click here to view the article

Perfect Game is purely speculative. I asked a scout about the PG mock and he said something along the lines of, "I've never seen anyone from Perfect Game at a game I've scouted, nor has anyone from there ever contacted me." I promise you that Law, Manuel and Callis are talking to everyone that they can. They obviously have people they talk to in all the organizations, and I have no desire to do that. Manning pitches today again and the Twins will have multiple scouts in attendance.

With only three weeks remaining until the MLB Draft kicks off, there is plenty of information floating around. Though trying to pinpoint the direction the Twins are going to go at #15 remains somewhat of a mystery.*Consensus (at least as far as I can reach) suggests all of A.J. Puk (1), Riley Pint (2), Jason Groome (3), Kyle Lewis (4), Nick Senzel (5), Corey Ray (6), Delvin Perez (7) and Mickey Moniak (8) will be gone before the Twins pick at #15. Those rankings are according to Baseball America and the list was compiled before I checked their rankings… so it might be safe to consider those players in their own tier. *If you’re interested in what is going on locally, Nick Hanson, a big right-handed pitcher from Prior Lake, is the prep player in the state garnering the most attention. Hanson, who isn’t listed among Baseball America’s Top 200 prospects, but checks in at #44 on Perfect Game, is committed to Kentucky. *Dalton Sawyer (LHP, Sr) leads the charge for the surprising Gophers. Sawyer passed up signing with the Twins after being drafted in the 27th round last year. He had a tough junior season but he’s definitely taken a step back in the right direction with a bounce-back year. Senior-signs are hot commodities in the first 10 rounds, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Sawyer go before the end of Day 2. *Other Gophers to keep an eye on are C Austin Athmann and P/OF Matt Fiedler. It’s unclear at which position the Twins prefer Fiedler. *Zack Collins (15) can be a "catcher", though it’s doubtful he’ll ever be an average defender. The Twins do like Collins, “an offensive force,” but appear to targeting a different batch of players. *Speaking of catchers - and everybody and their brother has an issue with their catching depth - the Twins will take a catcher in the Top 10 rounds. They always do. But they won’t take one in the first round just because they don’t have a high-profile prospect. They won’t take one that high because no one is deserving. There is plenty of depth and it’s not beyond the realm of possibility to see the Twins take a high-ceiling, long-term project like Mario Feliciano in round 3 or 4 and then take a lower-ceiling, college catcher like Jeremy Martinez later on Day 2. Regardless of the who or when, though, this draft isn’t producing an answer at Target Field before 2021… or later. *Nolan Jones (18) has been skyrocketing up draft charts this spring, but doesn’t seem to be of any interest to the Twins. Or vice versa. *In Baseball America’s most recent mock draft, Hudson Belinsky has the Twins taking Dakota Hudson, a right-hander from Mississippi State. *Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com released his first full mock draft of May 12th, a day before BA, and also had the Twins taking Hudson. *The Twins have been connected to Matt Manning, a prep power right-hander from Sacramento and in Keith Law’s first mock, released Tuesday, he paired the two. Manning is committed to Loyola Marymount and though you may seen some questions about his signability, you’re reading here that there isn’t. Interestingly, Belinsky has Matt Manning going before the Twins, while Mayo has him dropping to #21. *Perfect Game released their first mock draft on May 11 and guessed the Twins would take Connor Jones, RHP, Virginia, passing on Hudson and Manning. They will be releasing their next - and hopefully better - guesses in a week. Perfect Game, in my opinion, has taken a big step down after losing some of their best assets and doesn’t get ringing endorsements in the scouting world either, for what’s it worth. *A third name to add into the mix of Hudson and Manning is Alabama prep lefty Braxton Garrett. Though he’s been projected to be off the board on all four of the mentioned mocks, he’s a Vanderbilt commit (tricky) and a Boras client (tricky). But if it comes down to best available and Hudson and Manning aren’t, Garrett should be next in line. *While this is my sense as of today, I’ve had more than a couple people tell me that someone good is going to slide to the Twins. Not “the Twins are going to get someone good”, the word “slide” has been used. It could be a coincidence, sure. It could be an emphasis on how weird this draft is expected to be, yes. But it could be something else too… maybe? Click here to view the article

Starting off on a positive note, Andrew Albers was named International League Pitcher of the Week and A.J. Murray was named Midwest League Player of the Week. Staying on that positive note, the affiliates won more games than they lost on Monday night. On a less positive note, Jose Berrios had the roughest start of his career. Let’s check out the action on the field.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Charlotte 3 (11 innings) Box Score After watching the end of the Twins game and settling in to write this report, I figured, “Why not watch the end of the Red Wings game?” I got logged in to milb.tv just in time to watch Charlotte outfielder Leury Garcia slide across home plate to score the game-winning run, sending Rochester to defeat and dropping their record to 20-18. The 11-inning affair lasted just over three hours, as over 6,700 people witnessed a well-pitched game. Tommy Milone allowed two runs - both solo home runs - over seven innings. He struck out four and walked none. Alex Wimmers recorded four outs, Ryan O’Rourke recorded one and the game was turned over to Marcus Walden to end the ninth. Not only did Walden get out of the ninth, he also pitched the 10th and started the 11th. Unfortunately, Walden allowed a single, then unleashed a wild pitch, allowing Garcia to enter scoring position and score he did on a game-ending single by Daniel Fields. Kennys Vargas homered in the second to start the game’s scoring. Later, in the seventh inning, with the score in favor of Charlotte 2-1, both Adam Brett Walker and Carlos Paulino drew walks. Stephen Wickens doubled, driving in Walker. Paulino was thrown out to end the inning. Vargas, Wickens and Wilfredo Tovar all contributed two hits. Max Kepler hit his fifth triple of the season. Byron Buxton did not play after being removed for precautionary reasons on Saturday. He left Saturday’s game because of back spasms. Rochester will continue this series on Tuesday. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Biloxi 0 (10 innings) Box Score In a season - which is still early - that we’ve seen a number of dominant starts by numerous pitchers, David Hurlbut’s performance on Monday was arguably the best so far. Nine innings. No runs. Two hits allowed. Complete game, two-hit shutout, you say? Not exactly. Not even a decision for Hurlbut as the Lookouts needed extra innings to seal the win. Hurlbut faced 28 batters, erasing one hit with a caught stealing, and struck out seven. He was lifted after throwing 94 pitches. (I would have let him go back for the 10th because, why not?!) The Lookouts had a few opportunities to score earlier in the game, but those threats ended more than once with Daniel Palka striking out. So in the 10th, after Stuart Turner singled to lead off the inning and he was moved over by a Levi Michael sacrifice bunt, Biloxi intentionally walked Leo Reginatto to get to Palka, who - along with batting nearly .300 - had four strikeouts on the evening. No wise. A wild pitch left first base open… but Biloxi elected to pitch to Palka and he ended the game with a ground ball to third base that scored Turner for a walk-off win. Jake Reed was credited with the win for working a scoreless 10th. Turner and Joe Maloney both had two-hit games. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Dunedin 2 Box Score Different night, mostly same idea: When is this pitcher going to get promoted? Tonight’s edition was Kohl Stewart. While fighting his command, Stewart still dominated for six shutout innings, walking three and allowing three hits. He struck out four. Stewart dropped his ERA to 1.77 and is nipping on Gonsalves’s heals to hopefully earn this promotion. Brandon Peterson did his part to preserve the shutout, striking out three in two innings. Raul Fernandez, however, did not. He allowed a two-run home run in the ninth inning. The top of the order: Logan Wade (double, triple, 2 RBI, run), Chris Paul (two doubles, RBI, run) and Nick Gordon (three hits, home run, RBI, run) combined to go 7-for-15 with five extra-base hits, three runs and four runs batted in. Gordon, now batting .331, also stole his sixth base. Fort Myers improves to 22-16. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids - DAY OFF TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – David Hurlbut. Chattanooga Hitter of the Day – Nick Gordon, Fort Myers TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Charlotte (6:05PM CST) – LHP Andrew Albers Biloxi @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers Fort Myers @ Dunedin (10:00AM CST) – LHP Tyler Jay (3-2, 3.03 ERA) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – RHP Cody Stashak (2-2, 1.95 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

Yeah. It's JJ Schwarz. Hence my #Suck4Schwarz campaign on Twitter.

Molina signed for $300k. Comparing the bonuses to the draft pool isn't exactly apples and oranges, but I'll agree with your point that the team hasn't made a significant investment in the position in along time. I just don't think this draft is the place to start.

I've been digging on Thaiss. Doesn't sound like he's in the mix at #15 as of now. But that could change.

2015: Took Jay at #6. Next catcher to be taken: Tyler Stephenson at #11, batting .130 with a .400 OPS in low-A ball. 2014; Took Gordon at #5. Next catcher to be taken: Max Pentecost at #11, had shoulder surgery, missed 2015, had another shoulder surgery, might play first base this year after he returns for another shoulder surgery. 2013: Took Stewart at #4. Next catcher to be taken: Reese McGuire at #14. At one point there was a rumor that the Twins were going to cut a deal with McGuire and people were uberp*ssed on these boards. Anyway, he's batting .227 at AA and has dropped out of Top 100s. 2012: Took Buxton at #2. Next catcher to be taken: Mike Zunino at #3. Zunino, a sure thing, has a sub-.200 average in over 1000 big league plate appearances. 2011: Took Michael at #30. Next catcher to be taken: Brett Austin at #45. Didn't sign, went to NC State... became a 4th round pick three years later. He's a .215 lifetime hitter in the minors. 2010: Took Wimmers at #21. Next catcher to be taken: Kellin Deglan, who's batting .172 in AA. Next catcher taken after that: Justin O'Connor, who I preferred to Deglan, at #31. O'Connor is batting .231 at AA. Wouldn't you take Turner and Garver over any of those guys? The Twins have invested a first-round pick in a catcher, when they traded Aaron Hicks for John Ryan Murphy, who was a 2nd round pick himself. In the history of the draft, there are only a dozen or so first-round catchers (who remained at catcher for any extended period of time) who produced a career bWAR over 10. So, please, don't do it... especially when no one merits being picked that high. The Twins invested decent-sized bonuses in a few international guys within the last few years: Rainis Silva, Robert Molina and Darling Cuesto... of course they'll take a while to pan out. They also draft Brian Navarreto, who was a Top 100 prospect but fell because of some makeup issues (starting a bench-clearing brawl). Of course, that all happened post-Mauer move and not having a backup plan is indefensible. So it's not that they haven't made investments, they just haven't made wise investments - which you don't like - but now you're wanting them to compound that by reaching for a guy that - statistics show - isn't likely to pan out. I had a solution to this two years ago... 7/27/14 @jeremynygaard: Has Francisco Cervelli even played enough to know if he could be a starting catcher full-time? 7/31/14 @jeremynygaard: @tlschwerz I'll trade Hammer and a low-level prospect for Cervelli. That would make this all easier wouldn't it.

I talked to one scout yesterday that suggested that a really good pitcher could fall to #15 simply because there are so few hitters in this class that teams could start reaching for them early. I would bet a large chunk of money that the best player available - the way the Twins usually draft - will be a pitcher and likely a prep one.

All which is fine, but far from taking "best catcher available" at 15. Both of those guys and others mentioned are second round talents.

You don't take best catcher available because it would be a huge reach. Collins isn't a catcher. He could catch, but not something you want him to do regularly. I had two scouts yesterday tell me he's not a catcher, one saying best case is Vogt. Go down the list and you're not guaranteed to get a guy that sticks until you get to Cooper Johnson... and he's a repeat of Stuart Turner. You can't do that at 15. Later? Sure. Considering how bad the team is now, you can have your pick of the lot in 2017. JJ Schwarz is the guy. Stick behind the plate and be an able average hitter. Team will have their choices of Murphy, Turner, Garver, Centeno next year. It ain't pretty but it's not so bad that you reach at 15.

Whitley isn't without warts. There was some talk earlier that he was going to skip out on this year's draft.

Haven't heard too much on him and haven't dug either. I don't think the Twins draft a catcher early and Okey should go in round 2.

All of this, but I don't worry that the Twins wouldn't know the price tag. Cody's not signing came down to a disagreement about his shoulder, not that the Twins hadn't done their work.