MLB Draft Rumors: Minnesota Twins down to two options with No. 1 pick
The Minnesota Twins have the No. 1 overall pick Monday night, and they’ve reportedly narrowed their choice down to two options.
After winning 59 games last season, the Minnesota Twins earned the No. 1 pick in this year’s MLB Draft. A rebuild led by new front office top dogs Derek Falvey and Thad Levine has born some fruit already this year, as the Twins lead the American League Central entering Monday’s action.
This year’s draft has no sure-fire No. 1 pick, like Stephen Strasburg or Bryce Harper, so the Twins have lots of options. There’s a high school phenom (Hunter Greene) and a two-way college player (Brendan McKay), but a lot of recent mock drafts have the Twins taking Vanderbilt right-hander Kyle Wright first overall.
With the clock ticking toward 6 p.m. CT Monday night, the Twins are reportedly down to two options with the first pick.
There's a strong sense the Twins are down to two choices with the No. 1 pick tonight: Louisville LHP/1B Brendan McKay and HS SS Royce Lewis.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 12, 2017
Race for #1 pick is not over. #Twins giving serious late consideration to taking Royce Lewis. Down to the wire on him & McKay #MLBDraft
— Frankie Piliere (@FPiliereD1) June 12, 2017
Hearing Royce Lewis chatter at 1 as well. Twins official still says signability will be a significant consideration. But Lewis def. in play
— John Manuel (@johnmanuelNC) June 12, 2017
The aforementioned McKay is a left-hander pitcher/first baseman out of the University of Louisville, and Royce Lewis is a high school shortstop/outfielder of San Juan Capistrano, California. Signability is usually a factor with any high draft pick in the MLB Draft, and it stands to be a factor here. The Twins could use less than their allotted $7.7 million bonus for the No. 1 pick, then use that difference to sweeten the pot for a supplemental first-round pick at No. 35 overall or a second-round pick at No. 37. Minnesota has a $14.156 million bonus pool for the first 10 rounds of the draft, the largest of any club.
Next: MLB Mock Draft: Hunter Greene draws intrigue
Baseball’s draft is by far the biggest shot in the dark of the four major sports, as teams try to project what high school players will become. The Twins will get an intriguing talent No.1 overall for sure, but it will likely be a few years before anyone can say if they got it right or not.