5 players the Twins could select in the 2023 MLB Draft
With a pair of high school phenoms and a trio of stars that headlined the College World Series, the 2023 MLB Draft is one of the most anticipated in recent history. The Minnesota Twins are especially interested as they hold the fifth overall pick in Sunday's draft.
While the consensus believes that the Twins should select one of the top five players available, there's also a chance to select someone else, saving bonus money to pay over slot on a selection later in the draft. With that in mind, it creates several possibilities when the Twins go on the clock Sunday night.
Wyatt Langford
Langford was one of the stars of the College World Series, leading second-ranked Florida to the national championship series. Spending most of his time as a left fielder, Langford was one of the top hitters in the country, hitting .373'.498/.784 with 21 homers, 57 RBI and nine stolen bases while finishing with more walks (92) than strikeouts (89) during his three-year career.
"Langford has five-tool potential," MLB.com said in its scouting report that has him listed as the No. 3 player in the draft. "He can really hit, with excellent swing mechanics and a very good approach at the plate, one that helped him limit strikeouts while drawing walks. It also aided in his ability to tap into his considerable raw power, which some area scouts said is plus-plus. Strong and muscle-bound, he's capable of being at least an above-average runner as well."
Langford's most popular destination in mocks has been the Detroit Tigers, who hold the third overall pick in the draft but it's possible that high school outfielders Max Clark or Walker Jenkins could make their way into the top 3. If that happens, Langford could slide down the board and be available for the Twins at No. 5.
Dylan Crews
Crews was considered to be a lock for the No. 1 overall pick a few weeks ago but momentum has shifted toward his LSU teammate, pitcher Paul Skenes. While Skenes falling to No. 5 would give the Twins the ace they've lacked since Johan Santana, it's highly unlikely as ESPN's Jeff Passan dubbed him the best pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg.
That makes Crewes the ultimate dream scenario for the Twins. The 21-year-old hit .426/.567/.713 with 18 homers and 70 RBI while winning the Golden Spikes Award as the nation's top player and leading the Tigers to the national championship. Even in his early years, Crews's play screamed potential as Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman dubbed Crews the No.1 overall pick in this year's draft shortly after he hit his first collegiate home run in February 2021.
Crews' reported high bonus demands are part of the reason he is unlikely to be selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates at No. 1 but even if he costs more than expected, he's worth the price for the Twins at No. 5.
Max Clark
If the Twins aren't lucky enough for Langford or Crews to make it to No.5, they'll have their choice of two high school outfielders that could have been the top choice in a different draft class. That includes Clark, who was Gatorade's National Baseball Player of the Year this season.
Clark hails from Franklin, Ind., and is projected by Mayo as a four-tool outfielder. While opposing pitchers didn't dare to pitch to him much, Clark made them pay when they did displaying his elite power at the plate.
If you couldn't tell by that bat flip, Clark also has a knack for making the game fun. He already has 336,000 followers on Instagram and his highlights are plastered all over YouTube, making him a viral superstar before he hits a professional baseball field.
Of course, what happens on that field is more important and Clark hit .646 with six homers, nine doubles and five triples during his senior season at Franklin Community High School.
Walker Jenkins
Jenkins is another possibility if the Twins go the high school route as a power-hitting corner outfielder with loads of potential.
Jenkins, who attended South Brunswick High School last season and is committed to his home state North Carolina Tar Heels, is known for his advanced bat and is a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in North Carolina.
"He already shows the ability to turn on quality fastballs and drive them out of the park to right field," MLB.com said in its scouting report which has him ranked as the No. 4 prospect in this year's draft. "His pop extends to the opposite field as well. While his hitting ability doesn't stand out quite as much as his double-plus raw power, he has a sweet swing and makes consistent hard contact."
ESPN's Kiley McDaniel also pegged Jenkins to the Twins with the fifth overall pick in his two-round mock draft, suggesting that Jenkins's upside is too good to pass up.
"There's interest in Jacob Gonzalez and Kyle Teel as leading options if they decide signing Jenkins or Clark isn't the right move," McDaniel wrote. "There's also a mess of high school players, maybe enough to make it to the Twins' next two picks...everything seems to be on the table but I'm still thinking right now that they won't pass on one of the top five talents when faced with that decision."
Jacob Gonzalez
Even if McDaniel believes will select one of the top five prospects in the draft, there are growing whispers that the Twins could pass on Clark and Jenkins for a collegiate bat.
This lines up with the history of Derek Falvey and Thad Levine, who hit on Trevor Larnach (2018) and Brooks Lee (2022) but missed on Aaron Sabato (2020). Twins vice president of amateur scouting Sean Johnson also acknowledged their preference of college bats in an interview with Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic.
"That’s certainly one of our MOs, is to take college performers,” Johnson said. “They do resonate well with our model and have for a while. … Making sense of these (college) performances we’re seeing is really a key conversation we have in the room. Whether our scouts like the player or don’t, it’s a nice place to start a conversation or a narrative to try to get to the right answer.”
In the likely event Crews, Langford and Skenes are off the board, the Twins could look elsewhere for a college bat and the most likely target seems to be Mississippi shortstop Jacob Gonzalez.
Gonzalez hit .327/.435/.564 with 10 homers and 51 RBI for the Rebels last season and is currently mocked to the Twins by B/R's Joel Reuter and The Athletic's Keith Law. But he is also ranked 18th on MLB.com's big board and 21st in Law's top 100 prospects for this year's draft.
"Gonzalez came into the year with a lot of top-five buzz, and he might very well still go in the top 10, but he doesn't offer the ceiling of the college hitters I have listed above him here," Law wrote. "He's a very solid player for what he is, but with limited potential for more. ... I think he's a solid regular at short, not a star, and in some drafts that's a top 10 pick, but this year it's probably less."
The idea of taking a lesser prospect at No. 5 is to sign someone at below slot value and use that additional money to sign a player above their slot later in the draft. This strategy could also see the Twins drafting Virginia catcher Kyle Teel or drafting pitchers such as Wake Forest's Rhett Lowder or Tennessee's Chase Dollander.
Either way, the Twins have plenty of options when they're on the clock Sunday night making it another turning point in the direction of the franchise.
