But a pair of teams with five first-day picks -- and a great deal of financial flexibility as a result -- interceded. Tampa Bay selected prep lefty Matthew Liberatore with the 16th pick and Kansas City claimed University of Florida ace Brady Singer with the 18th pick.
The Twins wound up using their two first-day selections on a pair of college bat-first position players., Oregon State outfielder Trevor Larnach with that No. 20 pick and North Carolina Wilmington catcher Ryan Jeffers at No. 59. (The Twins could have had another first-day pick but surrendered their Competitive Round B pick in the Phil Hughes trade last week,)
The Jeffers pick was, at least to outsiders, a bit of a surprise. Baseball America barely had him in their top 300; MLB.com didn't have him in their top 200. He was, I believe, the one first-round pick for which MLB Network didn't have a highlights package premade.
That this choice wasn't foreseen doesn't make it a mistake. Two possibilities that can combine to make this a savvy choice:
- The Twins think he can develop as a defensive catcher, and really like his bat even if he can't catch in the majors.
- They have the financial parameters in place for a significantly below-slot deal that sets up an above slot selection today. (The Twins forfeit their third-round choice to sign Lance Lynn.)
The Twins reportedly already have an agreement in principle with Larnach, whose team plays the University of Minnesota in a superregional this week.
This is the second draft for the "Falvine" regime (and for scouting director Sean Johnson). It is also the second year in which their first two selections were position players (Royce Lewis and Brant Rooker last year). There is a principle gaining credence these days of "Draft bats, buy arms," the leading example of that being the Chicago Cubs. It's too soon to tell if that's what's going on here with the Twins, or if that's just the way these two first days fell.
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