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With the 128th pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, the Twins have selected Marco Raya, a right handed pitcher from United South High School in Laredo, Texas.
Raya is a 6 foot, 160 lb right handed pitcher whose stuff plays above his size. He can already get his fastball into the 90-94mph range and has good spin on both a curveball and a slider. He also throws a changeup that has a chance to be a useful pitch.
Raya is listed as Baseball America’s 291 best prospect in the draft and is not rated by MLB Pipeline, Keith Law, or Fangraphs.
We have talked about the Twins tendency to focus on bats, specifically college hitters with high exit velocities. When they do select pitchers, which isn’t particularly often, they often come with good spin rates on their pitches. If the Twins think they can help improve Raya’s velocity and utelize the spin on his pitches, they could end up with another starting pitcher a bit on the short side, a la Jose Berrios.
Raya is committed to Texas Tech, so the bonus negotiations will be important to watch for the Twins.
The Twins next pick will be pick 158 in the 5th round