Jamie Cameron

JD Cameron gives a breakdown of Carlos Taveras, one of the headliners of the Twins forthcoming international prospect class View full video

The signing period for international free agency opens on January 15. Here's a preview of the headliners of the Twins forthcoming international prospect class. The signing period for International Free Agency opens on January 15th. The Twins are one of eight teams with the joint largest bonus pool of $7,555,500. The 2025 International Signing Period is unlike any in recent memory, with the decision of Roki Sasaki set to have significant ripple effects throughout baseball. It seems highly remote that the Twins will sign Sasaki, but whoever he signs with will likely leave several top prospects hanging without deals. While it’s normally fair to confidently assume teams will make good on their verbal agreements with prospects, I’d approach the window with less certainty this season. Minnesota has been closely tied to and are expected to sign, three of the top 50 prospects, per MLB.com. 24. Santiago Leon, SS, Venezuela The Twins boast a strong Venezuelan class in 2025, headlined by Santiago Leon, a 16-year-old shortstop and son of longtime Twins scout Jose Leon. Leon is a right-handed hitting prospect already standing six-foot-one with an offensive skill set headlined by a patient approach at the plate. Scouts are complimentary of both Leon’s bat-to-ball skills, in addition to his selectivity at the plate. While Leon doesn’t have explosive athleticism, he has good hands and moves well defensively, which, combined with an above-average arm, gives him a chance to stick at shortstop. Leon is expected to sign the 20th largest bonus for an international prospect in the 2025 signing period, per Baseball America. He’ll likely sign for between $1-2 million. 26. Carlos Taveras, OF, Dominican Republic Carlos Taveras, a 16-year-old outfielder out of the DR, is already an imposing physical presence and an impressive athlete. Standing at six-foot-one, he’s a left-handed hitter with good bat speed and the potential to boast serious raw power as he develops. There’s some swing and miss to his offensive game, but there are plenty of other tools to like, too. Taveras is an above-average runner with an above-average arm, a combination that should allow him to play centerfield, at least early in his professional career. He’s one of the youngest players in the international class this year. Per Baseball America, Taveras is expected to sign the 39th largest bonus for an international prospect in the 2025 signing period. He’ll likely sign for between $1-1.5 million. 43. Haritzon Castillo, SS, Venezuela Haritzon Castillo is a switch hitting 16-year-old shortstop prospect out of Venezuela. Castillo doesn’t have a standout tool, and offensively, it’s a profile more similar to Leon’s than Taveras’. Castillo currently has a hit-over-power offensive profile, with a good approach and direct swings from both sides of the plate. Defensively, Castillo might profile as a prospect who moves around the infield, with the versatility to become a positionally flexible infielder. Castillo is expected to sign the 47th largest bonus for an international prospect in the 2025 signing period, per Baseball America. He’ll likely sign for around $1 million. In spring 2024, the Twins hired Roman Barinas, a longtime international scout and player development staffer with the Dodgers, as their new Latin American Scouting Director. It’s hard to assess the impact his work will have on the Twins practice, as it's likely that most of the deals in the 2025 window were agreed to long before he assumed his role. Several of the Twins recent international additions looked good in 2024. Yasser Mercedes (in his second go-around in the FCL), put up a .989 OPS. Daiber De Los Santos (.844 OPS) and Eduardo Beltre (1.071 OPS), the Twins two headliners of their 2024 class, both put up big seasons in the DSL, with Beltre, in particular, drawing attention. The new crop will undoubtedly be a fun follow in 2025. View full article

JD Cameron gives a breakdown of Santiago Leon, one of the headliners of the Twins forthcoming international prospect class View full video

For the first time since 2017, the Twins made a selection in the Rule 5 Draft adding RHP Iverson Castellano from the Phillies. Castellano is the Phillies reigning Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Did the Twins fleece a pick from them or will Castellano fall into a bullpen mop-up role? View full video

Draft tandem Jeremy Nygaard and JD Cameron team up for a podcast to discuss prospects on their way to the big leagues and the MLB draft, produced by Theo Tollefson. Image courtesy of Thieres Rabelo In episode 62 of Destination: The Show, Jeremy and Jamie continue to reflect on an extremely busy and fun offseason. They break down the biggest signings and trades of the offseason in the last week, including Kyle Tucker being traded to the Cubs, Cody Bellinger to the Yankees, and the Brewers trading away bullpen ace Devin Williams. They then discuss the Ishbia brothers potential interest in purchasing the Minnesota Twins, including whether fans should view this as ‘good news’. The guys then review a very active Rule 5 Draft in which the Brewers, Cubs and Twins all took a player. They examine the skill set of each and try to predict whether they will stick on the MLB roster. Finally, they finish with listener questions on Eiberson Castellano and the Twins pool of catching prospects. 0:00 Intro 3:30 Kyle Tucker Trade 9:21 Cody Bellinger Trade 11:30 Cubs Next Move? 21:00 Ishbia Interested in Twins 25:38 Rule 5 Draft - Brewers Pick 31:30 Cubs Pick 35:42 Twins Pick 41:31 Listener Questions 56:35 Housekeeping You can support the show by downloading it from wherever you get your podcasts, including iTunes and Spotify. If you enjoy the content, consider leaving us a five-star rating and review in addition to sharing or retweeting DTS-related content. You can follow us on Twitter @DTS_POD1, @Jeremynygaard, @J_D_Cameron, and @TheodoreTollef1. We’re now on Bluesky @destinationtheshow.bsky.social. You can also find full episodes and clips of our shows on our YouTube page @DestinationTheShow. View full article

The Draft Lottery has come and gone and the Washington Nationals have clinched the number pick for 2025. Where did other teams land in the lottery and which team beat the odds to have the best move up for a selection? View full video

Draft tandem Jeremy Nygaard and JD Cameron team up for a podcast to discuss prospects on their way to the big leagues and the MLB draft, produced by Theo Tollefson. Image courtesy of Thieres Rabelo In episode 61 of Destination: The Show, Jeremy and Jamie talk through an extremely active Winter Meetings. They break down the biggest signings and trades of the offseason so far, including Juan Soto to the Mets, Max Fried to the Yankees, Willy Adames to the Giants, and the Red Sox big trade to land Garrett Crochet. The guys then review a disappointing MLB Draft Lottery in which the Cubs, Red Sox, and Twins all moved down. They dig into the top 40 picks and bonus pools for each of those teams, before talking about some of the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the class. Finally they end with some listener questions. 0:00 Intro 3:00 Juan Soto to Mets 6:56 Max Fried to Yankees 9:28 Guardians making moves 13:47 Red Sox, White Sox deal 26:12 Adames to the Giants 26:59 Roki Sasaki posted 31:55 Draft Lottery 40:03 Draft Pools 44:40 Draft Overview 48:52 Listener Questions You can support the show by downloading it from wherever you get your podcasts, including iTunes and Spotify. If you enjoy the content, consider leaving us a five-star rating and review in addition to sharing or retweeting DTS-related content. You can follow us on Twitter @DTS_POD1, @Jeremynygaard, @J_D_Cameron, and @TheodoreTollef1. We’re now on Bluesky @destinationtheshow.bsky.social. You can also find full episodes and clips of our shows on our YouTube page @DestinationTheShow. View full article

his week's crowd-sourcing question asks Twins, Brewers and Cubs fans; what is your dream offseason move? (realistic) and what’s a move (signing, trade, etc.) you’d be happy with? Hear what listeners had to say here. View full video

The MLB Draft Lottery is in its third season at the Winter Meetings. Jamie answers all the questions on what the purpose behind it is as many baseball fans are still learning about the structure of it. View full video

Draft tandem Jeremy Nygaard and JD Cameron team up for a podcast to discuss prospects on their way to the big leagues and the MLB draft, produced by Theo Tollefson. Image courtesy of Thieres Rabelo In episode 60 of Destination: The Show, Jeremy and Jamie talk through some of the major signings of the MLB offseason so far. Should we be frustrated at the Dodgers for their accumulation of talent, or the 29 other teams for not spending more? Do we underestimate the value of back of the rotation pitching after deals inked by Matt Boyd and Frankie Montas. The guys then preview the forthcoming MLB Draft Lottery. They dig into the ‘why’ behind the lottery, how it works and the chances the Cubs and Twins have of moving up, staying put, or moving down. Finally they end with great answers to our crowdsourcing question of the week, in which we asked listeners to detail free agent signings or trades they want to see their team pull off in advance of 2025. 0:00 Intro 1:45 Blake Snell to the Dodgers 4:15 Boyd to the Cubs; Montas to the Mets 17:30 Draft Lottery Preview 19:23 What is the Purpose of the Lottery? 24:40 Do Teams Actually Move Up? 26:26 How Does it all work? 27:56 What are the Wrinkles? 34:40 What are the chances the Brewers, Cubs and Twins move up? 44:14 Reveal of Comp Picks at the Lottery too. 46:56 Crowdsourcing 55:43 Outro You can support the show by downloading it from wherever you get your podcasts, including iTunes and Spotify. If you enjoy the content, consider leaving us a five-star rating and review in addition to sharing or retweeting DTS-related content. You can follow us on Twitter @DTS_POD1, @Jeremynygaard, @J_D_Cameron, and @TheodoreTollef1. We’re now on Bluesky @destinationtheshow.bsky.social. You can also find full episodes and clips of our shows on our YouTube page @DestinationTheShow. View full article

Destination the Show is now doing crowd-sourcing questions every week, the first cover why the Twins seem to struggle to fill Target Field consistently post-pandemic. Listen to what Jeremy and Jamie believe are the reasons behind the Twins' lack of attendance. View full video

This is a hard question to answer currently. Prep is better than 2024, College is probably a little worse. Overall, I think this draft is maybe closer to 2024 than 2023, which was unusually good. That said, my read (early, too early etc.) is this draft is getting dinged a little for less depth. I like the group at the top quite a bit (something for everyone) and I felt last years top of the class should have been dinged more for a lack of premium defensive positions (too many 1B types, not many good SS)

This is why TD folks are the best. They are percentage chances of number one pick. Rockies got accidentally cut off. Editing shortly @IndianaTwin

The 2025 MLB Draft Lottery is coming up next week, on Dec. 10. Let’s dig into how the lottery works, the wrinkles for 2025, and the Twins' chances of moving up. Image courtesy of © Kyle Schwab - Imagn Images When is the Lottery? Tues., Dec. 10, at 5:30 PM ET. The 2025 MLB Draft Lottery will be broadcast live on MLB Network from the Winter Meetings, and can be streamed live on MLB.com. What is the Purpose of the Lottery? Introduced as part of the 2022 CBA ahead of the 2023 draft cycle, the first six picks of a given draft cycle are now determined by lottery to discourage tanking and give a passive reward to teams who made a valiant effort but missed the postseason. (We, of course, wouldn't know any of those.) Do Teams Actually Move Up? Famously, yes. The Twins jumped from 13th to fifth in the inaugural draft lottery for the 2023 cycle, which allowed them to draft Walker Jenkins near the top of an exceptional class. In 2024, the Guardians jumped all the way to first overall, despite having just 2.0% odds of doing so. Their jump allowed them to select Travis Bazzana, in addition to stocking up on tons of prep talent with their bloated bonus pool. How does it work? Any team that didn’t make the postseason is eligible for the lottery, with odds decreasing for teams with superior win/loss records. The lottery is actually held before the broadcast, which serves as a results show for a process completed by an independent auditor earlier the same day. Picks 1-6 are awarded in that order by a draw that spits out ping-pong balls, with a four-number combination that corresponds to a given team. The worse your 2024 record, the more number combinations you have in the draw. Picks 7-18 are in accordance with pre-lottery odds for non-playoff teams. Finally, playoff teams' order are determined by their elimination from postseason play (not their regular season records). Picks awarded by the lottery are only adjusted for round one. The order for the rest of the rounds is in accordance with their regular season record. What are the Wrinkles? The largest is the fact that there are teams who can’t pick inside the top ten, as they are ineligible. Any payor club (read; large market) is ineligible to receive a lottery pick in two consecutive draft cycles. As such, the Chicago White Sox will pick 10th in 2025, despite a 41-121 record. Additionally, revenue sharing-receiving teams are ineligible to receive a lottery pick in three consecutive cycles. As such, the Oakland West Sacramento Athletics will pick 11th in 2025. The Mets, Yankees, and Dodgers will likely receive a ten-pick penalty for being in the luxury tax, but since each made the playoffs, that won't affect the Twins. What are the Twins' chances of Moving Up? I’m not going to lie to you: it’s extremely unlikely. You can find teams' current odds of landing the top pick listed below: 22.45 -- Rockies (.377) 22.45 -- Marlins (.383) 17.96 -- Angels (.389) 10.20 -- Nationals (.438) 7.48 -- Blue Jays (.457) 5.31 -- Pirates (.469) 3.67 -- Reds (.475) 2.45 -- Rangers (.481) 1.90 -- Giants (.494) 1.50 -- Rays (.494) 1.22 -- Red Sox (.500) 1.09 -- Twins (.506) 0.82 -- Cardinals (.512) 0.68 -- Cubs (.512) 0.53 -- Mariners (.525) 0.27 -- D-backs (.549) 0.0 -- White Sox (.253 – ineligible for lottery pick) 0.0 -- A’s (.426 – ineligible for lottery pick) Moving up has an outsized impact for payor clubs. Teams like the Cubs and Red Sox do not benefit from compensation picks in Competitive-Balance Rounds A or B, which act to bolster the farm systems of small-market teams. This limits their reach in the draft in terms of both picks and bonus pool. However the lottery shakes out, it’s worth paying attention to. At the least, a team that moves from the middle of the first round to a lottery spot has a good chance to add a top-50 global prospect to their system. If the Twins move up, we’ll have all the details here at Twins Daily. View full article