I really like what the Twins did here, especially with their first couple of picks. Brooks Lee, in my opinion, was the best college player available in the entire draft and they got him for a small over slot bonus at #8, while Connor Prielipp has a top-ten profile if he had actually been healthy and Tanner Schobel should not have lasted to #68. That's a very, very good top three. Minnesota had to shift gears a little bit to save some money later on, picking up a slew of high-floor guys that should be able to contribute in reserve roles, in the back of the rotation, or in middle relief. I do think guys like fifth rounder Ben Ross and fourteenth rounder Omari Daniel come with interesting upside. In all, it was a middle infielder-heavy draft with seven players drafted as shortstops, and most of them have a chance to at least compete to stick there.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
1-8: SS Brooks Lee, Cal Poly. My rank: #5.
Slot value: $5.44 million. Signing bonus: $5.68 million ($232,600 above slot value).
The Twins have to be thrilled that Brooks Lee was still available to them after getting interest as high as the first overall pick. In my opinion the best college player available, period, Lee has a chance to fly through their system and be one of the first hitters from this class to reach the majors. A highly touted prospect out of San Luis Obispo High School in California, he priced himself out of the draft with a firm commitment to play for his father at Cal Poly. He continued to build his stock throughout his time at school, including a fantastic junior season in which he slashed .357/.462/.664 with 15 home runs and a 28/46 strikeout to walk ratio over 58 games. Lee perhaps stands out most for elite bat to ball skills, making a ton of contact both inside and outside the strike zone. He was a bit of a bad ball hitter early in his career, but he cut down on his chases in 2022 and his walk rate more than doubled from 7.2% to 16.1% while his strikeout rate dropped from 13.6%, which was already low, to 9.8%. Most guys with contact rates like that are slap hitters, but Lee shows above average raw power from both sides of the plate and taps all of it in games, with a chance for plus power down the line as he continues to develop. He regularly finds the barrel and hits screaming line drives around the field, and now that he's only swinging at pitches in the zone, there's not much soft contact to be found. He's a shortstop for now, with good feel for the position and the chance to stick there if he doesn't get bumped by a better defender, but his long term position may be third base because his build lends itself more to strength than quickness. The ceiling here is an Anthony Rendon-type of player, which ain't half bad given he's a high probability major leaguer with very low bust risk. He has taken to minor league pitching well, slashing .340/.386/.491 with two home runs and a 9/4 strikeout to walk ratio through 13 games between the Florida Complex League and High A Cedar Rapids.
2-48: LHP Connor Prielipp, Alabama. My rank: #30.
Slot value: $1.62 million. Signing bonus: $1.83 million ($202,300 above slot value)
Connor Prielipp is one of the more enigmatic arms in this class and it will be very interesting to track his progress. He was utterly untouchable when he first reached campus at Alabama, tossing 26 shutout innings on just nine hits, six walks, and 43 strikeouts over his first five career starts, between the four in the shortened 2020 season and his 2021 season opener. However, he went down with an elbow injury after that first start, then only threw one inning in each of his next two starts after a lengthy absence. The end result was Tommy John surgery, which subsequently wiped out his entire 2022 season as well. So now we're left with a kid who dominated for 26 innings against mediocre mid-major competition a long time ago, got knocked around by Auburn and LSU last year, and hasn't pitched in a game since. Though it is important to note that he came back and pitched at the MLB Draft Combine in June and left evaluators, particularly the Twins scouting department it appears, very impressed. When Prielipp is on the mound, he has nasty stuff that fist much better in the first round than the second. He sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and has been up to 97-98 at peak, coming in from a steeper slot. His best pitch is a true plus slider that just darts under bats at the last second, while he's flashed an above average changeup in his limited looks as well. It's an exceptional three pitch mix from a lefty, especially given that he repeats his delivery well and fills up the strike zone with above average command. The 6'2" lefty has projection remaining and is fully healthy now, showing everything you want to see from a potential frontline starter except the track record. Tommy John affects us all it seems and he appears durable otherwise, but it is a big risk to take a 21 year old pitcher whose entire track record consists of 28 innings a long time ago, with the 26 most effective coming against weaker competition. Additionally as a fun aside, Prielipp gives the Twins another Upper Midwesterner as a native of Tomah, Wisconsin, a small town on I-94 about halfway between Madison and Eau Claire only two and a half hours from the Twin Cities.
CBB-68: SS Tanner Schobel, Virginia Tech. My rank: #45.
Slot value: $1 million. Signing bonus: $1 million.
The Twins were heavily tied to Virginia Tech outfielder Gavin Cross with their first selection, and that may have been the pick had Brooks Lee not fallen into their laps. Instead, they'll grab another Hokie sixty picks later, and it's a good one. Tanner Schobel has been a steady riser throughout his two seasons in Blacksburg, culminating with a fantastic season in 2022 in which he slashed .362/.445/.689 with 19 home runs and a 40/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 59 games, at times outshining Cross himself. Schobel isn't a big guy at a listed 5'10", 170 pounds, but he plays much bigger. He takes big hacks from the right side of the plate and can really turn on the ball with above average power to the pull side, but he stays under control and can send line drives the other way as well. He's a patient hitter that is willing to work counts, keeping his strikeout rates down and his walk rates high. The power definitely plays best to the pull side, and some teams don't think it will play as well with wood bats, but the Twins (and I) certainly do and he knows how to get to it. The Williamsburg, Virginia native also plays a very solid shortstop with solid range and enough arm strength to stick, though like Lee, he might not stick. While Lee might be too physical for the position, Schobel might not be physical enough and could be pushed by someone with more explosive athleticism, though he does have enough arm. The floor here is that of a utility infielder but I think he'll be an every day guy that can pop for 15-20 home runs per season with high on-base percentages, whether that's at second base, shortstop, or third base. So far, he's slashing .207/.281/.224 with a 10/5 strikeout to walk ratio through 15 games between the Florida Complex League and Low A Fort Myers.
4-114: RHP Andrew Morris, Texas Tech. My rank: #216.
Slot value: $533,300. Signing bonus: $500,000 ($33,300 below slot value).
Andrew Morris was a sleeper on a lot of teams' boards, and the Twins were the first to pounce. He spent three years at Division II Colorado Mesa University before transferring to Texas Tech, where he put up a 4.58 ERA and a 91/28 strikeout to walk ratio over 88.1 innings. Despite playing four years of college ball, he's still somehow only 20 years old, making him three months younger than true sophomore Tanner Schobel. Morris sits in the low 90's with his fastball and gets up to around 96, adding a slider and changeup that both flash above average. He comes from a deep shoulder tilt in his delivery that puts some downward plane on his pitches, but the fastball still gets some solid riding action and the angle helps his slider play up. In my look in Lubbock, his slider looked consistently above average early on, but flattened out later in the start. There are relief concerns given his smaller 6' frame, but the Denver-area native has proven durable to this point and pounds the strike zone with above average control and average command, so there is still a good shot he winds up a #4 starter. Given his combination of experience and youth, he could move through the minors quickly and reach the majors at 22. He tossed a clean inning in his Florida Complex League debut, striking out one.
5-144: SS Ben Ross, Notre Dame College. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $398,500. Signing bonus: $220,000 ($178,500 below slot value).
No, not that Notre Dame. This one's in Cleveland. Ben Ross has been one of the better hitters in Ohio regardless of level, coming off two huge seasons at Notre Dame College including a 2022 in which he slashed .392/.452/.747 with 14 home runs and a 33/24 strikeout to walk ratio over 52 games. Looking for more exposure against higher level pitching than what he saw in the Division II Mountain East Conference, he went off to the Northwoods League this summer and put up more huge numbers over a large sample size, slashing .421/.502/.649 with ten home runs and a 28/27 strikeout to walk ratio over 42 games. That run through the Northwoods League is likely what sold the Twins on Ross, who signed below slot to help them afford Brooks Lee and Connor Prielipp. The Springfield, Ohio native takes big, healthy hacks from the right side that help him drive the ball in the air with authority, but he stays under control and still struck out in just 13.9% of his plate appearances in the Northwoods League after running a 14.9% rate at NDC. A good defender at shortstop, he'll compete with Lee and Tanner Schobel for the position while moving up the ladder. It may be a bit of a steep transition to pro ball, but he's young for the class and only turned 21 in June so there's no huge rush. So far, he's slashing .222/.344/.519 with two home runs and a 7/5 strikeout to walk ratio through seven games between the Florida Complex League and Low A Fort Myers.
6-174: SS Jorel Ortega, Tennessee. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $301,200. Signing bonus: $250,000 ($51,200 below slot value).
Jorel Ortega was a big reason why Tennessee outperformed initial expectations and became the best team in the country for much of the season. He didn't play in 2020 and barely saw the field in 2021, but broke out in 2022 to slash .323/.398/.672 with 18 home runs and a 40/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 66 games. Those numbers may have been a bit inflated hitting at Tennessee's hitter-friendly home park, but hitting in the SEC is never easy no matter where you're playing. While Ortega lacks a carrying tool, he does a lot of things well. He utilizes a simple, quick right handed swing to put barrel to baseball consistently, using the whole field effectively and showing some pop to the pull side. He's an aggressive hitter that walked in just 9.5% of his plate appearances this spring, but he still makes plenty of contact and only struck out in 15.2% while facing a ton of quality pitching. It's a balanced offensive profile that could lead to 15 or so home runs per season with decent on-base percentages at best, especially if he gets a little more patient at the plate. Defensively, he again shows average tools across the board and could wind up filling any position the Twins need him at. The Puerto Rican mainly played second base in Knoxville, but also saw some time at first base and has enough arm strength to make it work at shortstop or third base. It's probably a strong utility profile going forward. Through three games between the Florida Complex League and Low A Fort Myers, he has one hit in five at bats to go along with three strikeouts and two walks.
7-204: RHP Kyle Jones, Toledo. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $235,600. Signing bonus: $235,600.
Two rounds after drafting Ben Ross out of Notre Dame College in the Cleveland area, the Twins went back to the region to take another player out of a smaller northern Ohio school. Kyle Jones had a very solid season for Toledo, posting a 4.24 ERA and a 114/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 91.1 innings against a pretty solid MAC schedule. Jones sits in the low 90's with his fastball, which is fairly generic coming in with steep angle, but he's mainly noted for his offspeed stuff. His curveball has big 12-6 break and can send hitters diving down out of the zone to catch it, while his splitter has sharp diving action to elicit its fair share of chases as well. The 6'1" righty fills up the strike zone with above average command and has every chance to stick as a starter, though he will have to figure something out with his fastball in order to do so. That either means adding velocity to make up for its lack of bat missing qualities or finding a way to get some life on it. If he does move to the bullpen, he can pitch more effectively off his curveball and splitter as a junkballer of sorts, and given his command, he could be very effective in that role. The Detroit-area native could move fairly quickly given his advanced pitchability and the fact that he's already 22. He tossed a clean inning in his Florida Complex League debut.
10-294: SS Dalton Shuffield, Texas State. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $153,800. Signing bonus: $20,000 ($133,800 below slot value).
Dalton Shuffield is already 23, so this isn't exactly an upside play. A fifth year senior that has been a mainstay in the Texas State lineup since 2018, he broke out for his best year yet in 2022 by slashing .378/.444/.668 with 13 home runs and a 32/28 strikeout to walk ratio over 61 games. That made him a major factor in leading Texas State to a #2 seed at the Stanford regional as one of the best mid major programs in the country. He has a very unique setup at the plate, leaning on his back leg while extending his front leg almost straight towards the plate, holding his hands high while waggling the bat and bouncing that front foot. Still, he consistently gets into a good hitting position and uses exceptional barrel control to make consistent, hard contact to all fields. Very undersized at 5'9", 170 pounds, the power is below average even if he did crack 13 home runs this spring, so he'll focus more on a gap to gap approach in pro ball. Given his bat to ball skills and propensity to square the ball up, that should work out just fine. He's an aggressive hitter that makes a lot of contact even on pitches outside the zone, so even though he effectively kept the strikeouts down with a great 11.7% rate in 2022, he may want to be a little more selective in pro ball. The San Antonio native is an above average runner that shows plenty of range at shortstop, pointing to a future as a utility infielder that can slap some doubles and triples for you. So far, he's slashing .333/.474/.533 with one home run and an even 4/4 strikeout to walk ratio through five games between the Florida Complex League and High A Cedar Rapids.
14-414: SS Omari Daniel, Walker HS [GA]. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: $232,800 ($107,800 above slot value).
Omari Daniel was originally committed to Oregon, but changed at the last minute to Northwest Florida State JC and will now attend neither as the Twins borrowed more than $100,000 against their bonus pool to grab him with a fourteenth round pick. Daniel is a physical specimen at 6'2", 185 pounds, with plenty of strength already present in his still-projectable frame. He can really rope the ball from the right side, showing big time bat speed and great leverage with some uppercut action. As he gets stronger and learns to deploy his power in games, that could translate into plus power in time. The approach is a little bit raw and he may need to spend a year in complex ball to sort things out, but that's why these physical tools are available in the fourteenth round and he's pretty young for a high schooler anyways, only having turned 18 in May. In the field, Daniel stands out for a plus arm that he deploys well, naturally playing his momentum through ground balls and getting his body moving towards first base. The Atlanta-area native is an above average runner for now that should stick at the position, though if he bulks up any further third base could be a better fit. I think I'd like to see him get quicker about making throws without a shuffle/extra step, but again he's young and has plenty of arm strength to get to that point. Be patient with this one but there is a ton of upside.
20-594: OF Korbyn Dickerson, Trinity HS [KY]. My rank: #178.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: did not sign.
I have to think the Twins were offering the same money to Omari Daniel and Korbyn Dickerson, and it was Daniel who was willing to sign while Dickerson will head to Louisville. The Cardinals have to be ecstatic about getting Dickerson to campus, bringing with him tremendous upside that could help him emerge a first round pick in 2025, especially given that they lost outfielders Levi Usher (Royals) and Cameron Masterman (A's) to the draft this year. He is a great athlete with plenty of whippy bat speed and the chance at plus power as he fills out his 6'2" frame, though his pitch recognition is a bit behind and he'll need some mechanical cleanup to catch up to ACC pitching. For that reason he may not start right away, but it shouldn't be long before he's playing every day and mashing. The Louisville-area native is also a plus runner that could take over for Usher in center field.
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