Next Thursday and Friday June 5th-6th will be the annual First Year Player Draft. The baseball draft is not as popular or followed as much as ones in football or basketball for a number of reasons. Last year’s draft was the 1st ever shown live on TV, so there’s not alot of exposure for the event, although that’s changing. Another reason is that the return on draft picks is longer in baseball. Whereas a 1st round pick in the NFL could start immediately and have an impact, in baseball it’s much more likely for that 1st rounder to spend a few years in the minors before making it to the majors. Each team has its system for how to handle draftees and bringing them up through the various levels of the minors. Nevertheless the Draft is an important event every season.
It is much harder to predict who will be drafted where in baseball then in other drafts due to the nature of bonus demands, slotting and other factors. Last year Rick Porcello was considered one of the top players in the draft but fell to the Tigers near the end of the 1st round, due to his monetary demands. Sliding does tend to happen to Scott Boras clients.
This year the Twins have a few extra picks in the early going. Their original pick is 14th overall, but because the Angels signed away Torii Hunter, the Twins received their 1st rounder, 27th overall and the first pick of the 1st supplemental round, 31st overall. This should allow the team to stock up since the organization feels this is a draft deep with college position players. The Twins have good depth in pitching but not so good when it comes to position players. This would lead one to think they would focus on those players. However, the team will look at both need and who they feel is the best player available at the time.
Given that there appears to be alot of college talent, the players most connected to the Twins are two high school outfielders from Southern California, Zach Collier and Aaron Hicks. This is not surprising given that the team will most likely focus on the best player available with their first picks, regardless of whether that player is a high school or college one. They might even select a pitcher or two, but they might not get a shot at one the top arms at pick 14. It all depends on what the team feels is best. Check back after the draft for a recap of how the Twins fared.
