While many teams played games with their bonus pool, the Twins went a little more straight up and stuck around slot value for nearly every pick. Minnesota targeted a wide variety of skill sets, from glove-first to big power to power arms, but size was a common thread. Their first six picks were 6'6" on average. Yes, 6'6" on average, including the tallest player in the entire draft in the 6'11" Jason Reitz. I like what they did here overall and I think this will be a strong class.
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Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. For example, "2-50" would indicate that a player was taken in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.
1-16: SS Marek Houston, Wake Forest
Slot value: $4.93 million. Signing bonus: $4.5 million ($432,100 below slot value).
My rank: #16. MLB Pipeline: #15. Baseball America: #14.
Previously known for drafting power bats early, Minnesota has moved off of that strategy a bit in recent years (besides Walker Jenkins in 2023) and certainly went a different route with Marek Houston. He's one of the more interesting prospects that got drafted in the first round this year. Recruited as a light hitting shortstop, he took the reins at the premium position for Wake Forest as a true freshman in 2023 despite hitting just .220/.328/.307 in 65 games (the most ever appearances for a Wake Forest freshman). When his bat took a step forward to the tune of a .326/.433/.516 line as a sophomore, scouts took notice. Then when he homered in his first three games of the 2025 season (while picking up ten hits in his first four games), igniting a red hot start to the season in which he carried a .400 batting average through 28 games into late March, his name rocketed towards the top of the draft. At one point he reached as high as #4 on my board, making him the top college bat in the class, but a mid-season slump in which he hit .154/.302/.192 over a 14 game stretch gave his stock a little market correction, bringing him back to the middle of the first round where he probably belonged. Houston stands out first for his glove. He is as slick as they come on the dirt, with all of the actions, body control, and twitch you look for in a plus major league shortstop. With an above average arm, he'll certainly stick there and provide value. The Tampa-area product has always been a competent hitter, with a great combination of patience and pure bat to ball to give him an above average hit tool. The approach played up in the Cape Cod League, too, where he hit .306/.465/.329 with an impressive 22.8% walk rate. In 2025, Houston traded some of his contact for power and managed to send fifteen baseballs over the fence, nearly doubling his previous career high of eight, and now looks like he could hit 10-15 home runs annually in the big leagues at peak. His power shows up almost exclusively to the pull side and plays much better with metal than with wood bats, so that piece of his game does remain a question mark. Overall, Minnesota will look to strike a balance between his previous line drive-oriented approach and his newer one in which he gets a little more coil in his load and a little more uppercut in his bat path, though he still posted very healthy contact rates with the new power-oriented approach. Houston's glove buys his bat significant slack and if he can continue to show impact with wood bats in pro ball, he should be Minnesota's every day shortstop in short order.
CBA-36: RHP Riley Quick, Alabama
Slot value: $2.69 million. Signing bonus: $2.69 million.
My rank: #33. MLB Pipeline: #38. Baseball America: #35.
Minnesota went big righty in the competitive balance round. We regularly hear about draftees starring in other sports – as quarterbacks, wide receivers, shooting guards, and sprinters – but we don't often get offensive linemen making the transition to the diamond. That's exactly what the 6'6", 255 pound Riley Quick did with such success that he earned four star recruiting grades in high school, but he's a pitcher now. The big guy missed most of the 2024 season with Tommy John surgery but was a reliable starter for Alabama in 2025 while showing big stuff to match. His fastball parks in the mid 90's with ease, touching 99 in short stints with sink though he can manipulate the shape into a more traditional four seamer or a cutter. His slider has taken a step forward this year and projects as comfortably above average, often. flashing plus with power snap. The changeup is a bit behind, but again he's working hard to gain consistency there and it should be a reliable third pitch at the big league level if a bit firm. Quick combines his size and athleticism to generate nice extension down the mound and make his already power stuff jump on hitters quicker. His command has come and gone, but it has improved with more consistent time on the mound and with a little fine tuning he could get to average in that regard. Ultimately, the ceiling here is that of a big, durable, hard throwing starting pitcher with two plus pitches and enough command to pitch deep into starts. If the changeup comes along and he holds his command, he has #2 starter upside.
2-54: SS Quentin Young, Oaks Christian HS [CA]
Slot value: $1.76 million. Signing bonus: $1.76 million.
My rank: #65. MLB Pipeline: #37. Baseball America: #56.
Here is the big power bat that we were waiting for. Quentin Young can tout Dmitri and Delmon Young as uncles, and he can swing it with both of them. Already listed at 6'6", 225 pounds, he possesses some of the loudest power in the prep class and he's shown it off everywhere he's gone. Using a big, pull-oriented swing aimed at sending the ball over the left field foul pole, he has launched pitches from high level pitchers on the showcase circuit and at home in Southern California into the stratosphere on more than a few occasions. His operation consists of a high handset, a subtle but tight coil in his hips, a slow leg kick, then a violent unwinding in which he gets his foot down about as late as any hitter I've seen. The moving parts in his swing combined with the violence in his operation does lead to fringy bat to ball, and his approach at the plate could use significant polish as well. Right now, he has the look of a 30+ home run bat with plus-plus power that could be derailed by strikeouts if he doesn't clean things up. Minnesota will work to get him more disciplined around the zone while perhaps streamlining his operation a bit to help him keep his prodigious power without selling out. Drafted as a shortstop, he almost certainly winds up at third base at some point given his size and his average speed that figures to regress a bit as he ages. Young has somewhat heavy feet that limit his range and his actions overall are somewhat raw, and his throws can get inaccurate when he's on the move. At the hot corner, he could more easily channel his massive arm strength (he has been up to 98 on the mound) and potentially become an average defender. The power and bloodlines are the real treat here and Young brings one of the more boom-or-bust profiles in this draft class. Pulling him away from an LSU commitment for slot value in the second round is nice value as well, even if I had him ranked a bit lower than most other boards.
3-88: RHP James Ellwanger, Dallas Baptist
Slot value: $893,000. Signing bonus: $1 million ($107,000 above slot value).
My rank: #91. MLB Pipeline: #76. Baseball America: #94.
James Ellwanger has been one of the better young arms in Texas for a while now, and he has done just enough to maintain that status while not fully putting things together. Elbow issues limited his freshman season at Dallas Baptist in 2024 but he put up a 2.77 ERA and an excellent 40% strikeout rate in the Cape Cod League over the summer, making up any prospect ground he lost in the spring and more. Dallas Baptist handled him very carefully this spring, and he didn't throw more than 75 pitches in a start until mid-April nor more than four innings until May. While he started strong, he hit a rough patch in the middle of the season to temper expectations until some excellent starts against Kennesaw State (6 IP, 2 ER, 1 H, 8 K) and Jacksonville State (6 IP, 1 ER, 12 K) in May gave teams something to work with. His mid 90's fastball touches 99 at peak, coming in with big riding life to blow past hitters. His hard slider has looked like his best out pitch at times in his college career, though his truer curveball seemed to eclipse that in 2025 and gives him another swing and miss offering. While he'll need to iron out the consistency, there is no question that he can spin the baseball well. His firm changeup is a fourth pitch. Ellwanger moves extremely well on the mound, showing a clean delivery that produces electric stuff when he's on with strong extension down the mound. The 6'4" righty still comes with additional projection even as a college arm, and overall if you see him on his best days you'd think he could be a #2 starter. However, his command has been very inconsistent throughout his career and his 13.8% walk rate in 2025 was well above what most teams look for. Given that he has also dealt with some nagging injuries that may have impacted his operation in ways we can't see, he'll need more consistent time on the mound to find his command. He certainly has the delivery and athleticism to get there. If Minnesota can keep him on the mound and get him throwing more strikes, the stuff is electric. It could play up even further in the bullpen.
4-119: RHP Jason Reitz, Oregon
Slot value: $635,700. Signing bonus: $633,200 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #191. Baseball America: #232.
The 6'11" Sean Hjelle grew up in the Twin Cities and has carved out a career for the San Francisco Giants. The 6'11" Jason Reitz grew up in the Bay Area, and now he'll look to follow the reverse path to the big leagues back in Minnesota. Reitz began his career at Saint Mary's and while he managed just a 6.85 ERA over two seasons, Oregon loved the size and brought him up north. He was blown up by Rhode Island in his second appearance and struggled with inconsistent command throughout much of the season, but seemed to hit his stride over the second half and was trending up in the lead up to the draft. Reitz doesn't look real on the mound. His towering frame struggles to stay in the camera frame if it's too zoomed in, while his rail-thin build accentuates some of the longest limbs you've ever seen. Should he reach the majors, he would tie Hjelle and Jon Rauch as the tallest pitchers of all time. Reitz' fastball sits in the low to mid 90's and touches the upper 90's, while he frequently cuts it into the upper 80's to avoid barrels. He can turn it over into a truer slider, though neither pitch stands out as a true swing and miss weapon. Reitz relies heavily on a solid changeup that can really slide off the table when he gets it right, though it can be inconsistent. Despite the long legs, he mostly just steps and throws from an upright delivery, so instead of extending way down the mound and releasing in front of the hitter's face, he instead comes straight down from the clouds. The ultra steep angle creates a unique look hitters that they don't often see or practice and gives all of his pitches downward plane. If Minnesota can help him continue to improve his command while perhaps pushing a secondary pitch forward, he could be a back-end starting pitcher. Given the higher bonus than many expected, they clearly believe they can get there with some of the most unique clay in the draft.
5-149: RHP Matt Barr, SUNY Niagara JC [NY]
Slot value: $475,000. Signing bonus: $762,500 ($287,500 signing bonus).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #136. Baseball America: #223.
The highest drafted JuCo prospect in this year's draft, Matt Barr signed for late third round money rather than attend Tennessee. Scouts don't usually go out of their way to watch Upstate New York JuCo ball, but every time Barr took the ball at SUNY Niagara, it became more and more apparent that they needed to make it happen. The NJCAA Division III Pitcher of the Year, he absolutely carved through the opposition up there with a 1.74 ERA and 94 strikeouts in just 57 innings. The fastball sits in the low to mid 90's and touches 97 with running action from a low slot, overpowering velocity for the competition he faced and enough to fit right into pro ball. He can really rip through a breaking ball, showing both a curve and a slider that have a chance to be above average with more consistency. For now, they stand out more for their high spin rates than their finish, and he also can drop his arm to get around the slider. At this point, Barr throws with significant effort in his low three quarters delivery and needs to tune up his command, but he is only 19 years old and has plenty of time to get thing streamlined. Meanwhile, the Buffalo-area native is extremely projectable at 6'6" and could easily hold the same velocity while easing up on his delivery as he fills out and gets stronger. It's a reliever-y profile at present, but given his age and projection, there is a ton of upside for Minnesota to tap into. Riley Quick is a stud, but Barr has a chance to be the best pitcher in this Twins class if things break the right way.
6-179: SS Bruin Agbayani, Saint Louis HS [HI]
Slot value: $361,600. Signing bonus: $380,600 ($19,000 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #234. Baseball America: #405.
The second of two high school bats taken by Minnesota, Bruin Agbayani is a very different player from Quentin Young. The son of former Met Benny Agbayani, a valuable outfielder around the turn of the century, Bruin brings a track record of performance and simply impressing scouts. His simple, direct left handed swing (albeit with some slight bat wrap) produces hard line drives around the field with consistency, playing up against strong showcase pitching even if he doesn't face the strongest competition back home in Hawaii. While the power is fringy for now, the ball is starting to jump off his bat a bit more and he could grow into average power as he fills out his 6'2" frame. It's a well-rounded offensive profile that projects to produce consistent if unremarkable numbers for the major league club. Defensively, he played shortstop in high school and figures to see time there at the outset of his pro career, but he figures to move to second base or left field in the long run. The arm strength is fringy and likely won't play on the left side of the infield, while his thicker lower half may cause him to slow down a hair as he ages. If he can stick at second base, he projects nicely as a bat-first starter there who can get on base and provide perhaps 10-15 home runs per season, though he'll be fighting an uphill battle if he is forced to the outfield where there would be more pressure on his bat. Agbayani had previously been committed to Michigan.
12-359: RHP Kolten Smith, Georgia
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $200,000 ($50,000 against bonus pool).
My rank: #172. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #330.
This is a buy low selection. Kolten Smith flashed a nice combination of stuff and pitchability over his first two years at Georgia even if his ERA began with a five in both, and coming into his junior season he was considered a top two to three round prospect. Unfortunately, the command stagnated in 2025 and he battled inconsistency on his way to his third straight 5+ ERA season, though he did run a nice 31.4% strikeout rate while again seeing time both in the rotation and bullpen. The fastball sits in the low 90's and peaks around 96, and he can work in different variations of running or riding life but overall it's an average pitch. More often than not, he'll cut the fastball a bit around 90 to keep it off barrels, and indeed he gets better results doing so. Beyond the cutter, Smith works in a full spectrum of breaking balls with a tighter slider and a truer curveball, giving him plenty of weapons with which to attack hitters. There's a changeup too, though it's fringy. There was hope that if he could maintain average command, his deep arsenal and strong 6'3" frame would make him a solid #3 or #4 starter. Instead, with his command remaining shaky and his fastball looking a bit generic, he projects more as a long reliever. There are a lot of building blocks here that could still bring the Central Florida native towards that ceiling as a back-end starting pitcher.
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