First five rounds: Keoni Cavaco (1-13), Matt Wallner (CBA-39), Matt Canterino (2-54), Spencer Steer (3-90), Seth Gray (4-119), Will Holland (5-149)
Also notable: Anthony Prato (7-209), Casey Legumina (8-239), Tanner Brubaker (11-329)
This was a position player-heavy draft early on for the Twins, as five of their first six picks and six of their first eight swing the bat. They transitioned to pitchers later on, taking 15 pitchers with their next 16 picks from the eighth through 23rd rounds. Overall, I think the Twins got a really nice talent pool here, grabbing some upside with guys like Keoni Cavaco, Will Holland, and Casey Legumina while also getting a couple of safer-bet impact guys like Matt Wallner and Matt Canterino. Cavaco has some holes in his game but he has the chance to turn into a franchise player if things go well, and Wallner and Canterino should be solid contributors in the not-too-distant future in Minneapolis.
1-13: SS Keoni Cavaco (Eastlake HS [CA], my rank: 26)
Keoni Cavaco, armed with arguably the coolest name in the upper portion of the 2019 draft (with apologies to Nasim Nunez, Kyren Paris, and Drey Jameson), had serious helium coming into the draft. Nobody had heard of the San Diego-area high schooler last summer, and it took until the season started in the spring for him to get his name even in the conversation for the first round. However, he played well and teams reportedly came away very impressed by his private workouts, and as the draft approached, he had pushed himself firmly into the middle of the first round. The Twins pounced on Cavaco with the 13th overall pick, and he comes with some of the best upside in the class. Cavaco stands 6'2" and hits the ball with authority, using his big right handed swing and quick hands to produce well above average power that will only improve with time. His hit tool leaves some to be desired, and part of that stems from his big swing, but he is strong enough that the Twins can tone him down a bit and still get 20-30 home runs out of him annually, if not more. Defensively, Cavaco shows a cannon arm, but as he grows, third base will probably be his end destination, where his arm will make him above average. He signed away from San Diego State for $4.05 million, which was $150,000 below slot, and he is slashing .222/.222/.333 with four strikeouts to no walks over his first five games in the complex-level Gulf Coast League.
CBA-39: OF Matt Wallner (Southern Mississippi, my rank: 56)
Twins fans, don't be fooled by the fact that Matt Wallner attended Southern Miss; he's a born and raised Minnesotan from Forest Lake, about 25 miles north of St. Paul. Wallner was a two-way player for the Golden Eagles and was heavily scouted as a pitcher as well, but he hurt his arm in 2019 and made it clear that he preferred to hit, anyways. He has put up some mind boggling numbers in Hattiesburg, this year slashing .323/.446/.681 with 23 home runs and a 50/48 strikeout to walk ratio over 61 games, giving him a total of 58 home runs for his career, 190 RBI, and a .337/.460/.652 slash line over 189 games in all. He's a big, 6'5", left handed power hitter who can absolutely crank a baseball if he gets into one, though there are questions about his hit tool despite the gaudy numbers. Wallner slashed a decent but uninspiring .250/.343/.417 with four home runs and a 24/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 23 games in the elite Cape Cod League this past summer, and his long swing led to a 17.5% strikeout rate against the average pitching he faced as part of the Conference-USA this year. That rate isn't crazy high and it's supplemented by his 16.8% walk rate, but it's enough to give some pause given that there is some length to his swing and that he doesn't have the world's quickest bat. On the bright side, he was heating up as the season went on. Defensively, he's not fast at all but he has a very strong arm, so he profiles as a right fielder. Wallner signed for $1.8 million, which was $110,000 below slot, and he's slashing .300/.397/.400 with one home run and a 17/3 strikeout to walk ratio over his first 12 games at rookie level Elizabethton.
2-54: RHP Matt Canterino (Rice, my rank: 37)
For the second straight pick, the Twins grabbed a Matt out of the C-USA, this time taking Rice ace Matt Canterino in the second round. The Dallas/Fort Worth-area native had a big year for the Owls, posting a 2.81 ERA, a 0.97 WHIP, and a 121/23 strikeout to walk ratio over 99.1 innings. Canterino is an interesting study, as he's a 6'2" right hander who uses his long arms and a delivery with lots of moving parts to generate low 90's fastballs and two very good breaking balls in a curveball and a slider, with his changeup lagging behind. Despite the fairly wild delivery, he actually has pretty good command, and a pitcher who can land three above average pitches in the zone for strikes has a good prognosis for future success. He's not a lock to stay in the rotation, though, because although he has remained durable at Rice and has thrown 289.1 innings over three seasons (with 348 strikeouts), it remains to be seen how his delivery will work starting every fifth day. For now, he projects as a mid-rotation starter, and if he can prove his durability at the next level, it's hard to see him as anything less than a #5 starter. Canterino signed for $1.1 million, which was $240,000 below slot.
3-90: SS Spencer Steer (Oregon, unranked)
Spencer Steer is a high-floor, utility infielder type with a chance for more. The Southern California native slashed .349/.456/.502 with six home runs and a 33/30 strikeout to walk ratio over 56 games for Oregon, showing a broad skill set that should translate up to the next level. He also had a great summer on the Cape, where he out-hit Wallner by slashing .304/.351/.481 with five home runs and a 19/7 strikeout to walk ratio over 36 games. Steer has good feel to hit as well as an advanced approach, which has enabled him to start all three years for the Ducks, and it's why he's having no trouble so far in his transition to the low minors. Standing 5'11" and without much power, Steer's ceiling is limited, but he has a chance to hit his way up and post strong on-base percentages in the major leagues. Defensively, he spent his time with Oregon playing second and third base, but he was extremely good there and may be able to handle shortstop in pro ball, which would boost his value. He signed for $575,000, which was $82,600 below slot, and he's off to a scorching start at Elizabethton where he is again out-hitting Wallner by slashing .333/.444/.556 with a pair of home runs and a great 3/8 strikeout to walk ratio through his first 11 games.
4-119: 3B Seth Gray (Wright State, unranked)
After two years of solid but unspectacular numbers at Wright State in Dayton, Ohio, Gray held his own but failed to make a big impression in the Cape Cod League last summer, where he slashed .246/.340/.333 with one home run and a 25/16 strikeout to walk ratio over 39 games. Then he got back to campus and put up a huge junior season, slashing .351/.483/.630 with 11 home runs and a 44/46 strikeout to walk ratio over 59 games against mediocre competition in the Horizon League, pushing himself into early Day Two discussion. Gray, who grew up just outside of Lima, Ohio, has some nice loft in his left handed swing and finally began to tap into it in 2019, also cutting down his strikeouts a hair while bumping up his walk rate significantly. He's a strong guy at 6'3", and while he doesn't have the quick twitch athleticism or huge raw power of most of the other guys in this draft range, he has a good feel for the game and plays above his tools. That enables him to be very good at third base despite below average speed. His outlook at this point is that of a bench or platoon bat, but if he transitions well to pro ball, he could outplay that and be a starting third baseman with 15-20 home runs per season and middling on-base percentages. Gray signed at slot for $483,000, and he's slashing .244/.401/.341 with one home run and a 9/10 strikeout to walk ratio over his first 11 games with Wallner and Steer at Elizabethton.
5-149: SS Will Holland (Auburn, my rank: 73)
The Twins saved about $582,000 on their first three picks, so they used some of that money to go overslot and grab one of the bigger fallers in the 2019 college group. Will Holland entered the 2019 season as a potential first round pick after slashing .313/.406/.530 as a sophomore at Auburn and .341/.431/.432 in a brief, 13 game stint in the Cape Cod League, but instead he came out of the gate ice cold and saw his stock drop significantly. The Atlanta-area native widened his stance this year and his swing got longer, and while he started to pick back up a little later in the season, he still finished the year with just a .246/.376/.401 line, nine home runs, and a 62/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 64 games while playing in the SEC. He's very athletic, and when you watch him play, he looks like a big leaguer even at 5'10" because of his quick hands and smooth actions on both sides of the ball. However, he's also fairly raw around most of his game and that was exposed this year, as his plate discipline is so-so and he struck out in 21.8% of his at bats this year. Holland is fast and stole 15 bases this season, and I think he still has the upside as a starting shortstop with a little luck. He's a solid defender and will stick at shortstop, taking some pressure off his bat, though ultimately he's going to have to get back to his sophomore form if he wants to work his way up and play every day in the big leagues. At best, Holland profiles as a guy who could hit 15-20 home runs with solid on-base percentages in the majors, but he has some work to do to get there. He took the same signing bonus as Steer at $575,000, which was $214,200 above slot in this case, and he's slashing .143/.143/.357 with one home run and a 9/0 strikeout to walk ratio over his first three games at Elizabethton.
7-209: SS Anthony Prato (Connecticut, unranked)
Anthony Prato is a contact hitter up at UConn, and he brings a fairly straightforward scouting report to the table. The Brooklyn native slashed .324/.441/.430 with three home runs and a 24/40 strikeout to walk ratio over 64 games for the Huskies this season, showing excellent bat to ball skills, strong plate discipline, and little in the way of power. He's a stocky 5'10" and is very content in using his quick swing to just poke line drives around the field, and he draws plenty of walks to give him a high on-base percentage. He won't stick at shortstop and profiles better at second base, and he has a chance to hit his way up as a utility infielder who can get on base consistently. Prato signed for $274,800, which was $59,900 above slot and actually the exact slot value for the Twins' sixth round pick, and he's slashing a solid .324/.368/.471 with a home run and a 6/3 strikeout to walk ratio over his first nine games at Elizabethton.
8-239: RHP Casey Legumina (Gonzaga, unranked)
Casey Legumina was very good out of the Gonzaga bullpen as a draft-eligible sophomore in 2018, when he posted a 2.77 ERA and a 52/7 strikeout to walk ratio over 48.2 innings, but he elected to return to school, where he would transition to the rotation. He made a brief but solid run through the Cape Cod League (9 IP, 1 R [0 ER], 9 K, 1 BB) and got off to a strong start in the Zags' rotation this year, posting a 1.50 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP, and a 29/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 24 innings. However, he went down with a forearm injury and didn't pitch the rest of the season, so it's a bit hard to project him. The Phoenix-area native sits in the low 90's and adds a good breaking ball and a changeup, and his delivery and command are both solid. However, he's unproven as a starter and the injury doesn't help things, so it remains to be seen whether he tries to fight his way up as a potential #4 starter or if he gets moved to the bullpen, where he could be a solid seventh or eighth inning guy. Legumina turned 22 in June, making him old for a junior. He signed for $250,000, which was $78,000 above slot.
11-329: RHP Tanner Brubaker (UC Irvine, unranked)
Brubaker transferred from California Baptist University to Saddleback JC for his sophomore season, pitched great, and transferred to UC Irvine for his junior year. The Southern California native had a good year for the Anteaters, posting a 2.99 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, and a 50/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 72 innings, albeit with a pitcher-friendly home park. Brubaker stands 6'5" with a strong build, and he can sit in the low 90's with his fastball and add a curveball and a changeup. None of his pitches really generate swings and misses, but he has good command for somebody so big and and the Twins hope they can smooth out his mechanics a bit to sharpen his stuff, in which case he could be a back-end starter. On the plus side, he only turned 21 in June, making him relatively young for a junior and a full year younger than Legumina. He signed for $200,000, which counts for $75,000 against the Twins' bonus pool.
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