2022 Minnesota Twins MLB Draft Guide

How To Watch The 2022 MLB Draft

The 2022 MLB Draft will kick off tomorrow, Sunday July 17th at 6 P.M. CT in Los Angeles for All-Star week. The first round, competitive balance A picks, second round, and competitive balance B picks will all take place on the first day. Rounds 3-10 will be on Monday at 1 P.M., and rounds 11-20 will be on Tuesday at 1 P.M. Both ESPN and MLB Network will cover the first day, while days two and three will take place exclusively on MLB.com.

What picks do the Twins have?

After a down year, the Twins will have the 8th overall selection in the draft. The Twins will select at number 48 overall in round two, and number 68 overall due to a competitive balance round B pick. After that, the Twins will select a player every 30 selections starting at pick number 114 in round four.

It’s also important to note that the Twins forfeited their third round pick due to the Carlos Correa signing.

How much can the Twins spend on draft picks?

MLB’s draft is a bit more complicated than the other major sports leagues. Each draft slot is assigned a dollar value, and each team can spend no more than their total allotted value on all their picks without incurring a tax on the overage and potentially losing draft picks if they exceed their allotment by five percent.

According to MLB.com, the Twins have $10,036,000 of bonus pool money to spend on their picks in the first 10 rounds, 12th most in MLB this season, with the following slot values:

• Round 1, Pick No. 8: $5,439,500
• Rd. 2, Pick No. 48: $1,621,900
• CBA Round B, Pick No. 68: $1,001,500
• Rd. 3: Pick forfeited for signing Carlos Correa
• Rd. 4, Pick No. 114: $533,100
• Rd. 5, Pick No. 144: $398,200
• Rd. 6, Pick No. 174: $301,000
• Rd. 7, Pick No. 204: $235,400
• Rd. 8, Pick No. 234: $187,700
• Rd. 9, Pick No. 264: $164,000
• Rd. 10, Pick No. 294: $153,700

Will the Twins select a player who can help them this year?

While Twins fans have speculated on this possibility online, it’s not very likely to happen. This draft is considered pretty weak on the pitching front, where the Twins need the most help. Additionally, the chances of a player being ready to contribute to the major league roster immediately after high school or college is minuscule, but there’s been a few recent examples.

Garrett Crochet of the rival White Sox was drafted in 2020 and made his debut in September of that year to help Chicago in a playoff push. Brandon Finnegan did the same for the Kansas City Royals in their run to the World Series in 2014. If the Twins do choose to go this route, Kumar Rocker should be the first name on their list. Rocker was an elite pitcher at Vanderbilt who was selected by the Mets in the first round last year. The two sides ultimately couldn’t agree on a contract when Rocker’s medicals revealed some lingering health concerns. Rocker has spent the last year pitching in an independent league to great results, and should be ready to face big league competition soon.

With a huge need in the bullpen, the Twins should definitely consider all their options, but I wouldn’t count on a 2022 draftee contributing this year.

Who will the Twins select in the draft?

Trying to predict the MLB Draft, especially beyond the first round, is a fickle exercise. However, we have rounded up the top expert’s mock drafts to let you know who they think the Twins will be selecting in the first round.

Keith Law, The Athletic: Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola

Collier is a 17-year-old JUCO player, which is going to boost him substantially for teams with analytical models that weigh age relative to level of competition, and Minnesota is one of those teams. I’ve heard the Twins with interest in a broad mix of college and high school (and JUCO) hitters all spring, including Neto, Berry, Gavin Cross and Parada. I haven’t heard them specifically with Green, but I think there was such a strong belief Green was going top four that any team below that was presumed to have no chance to draft him.

Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com: Jacob Berry, 3B/OF, Louisiana State

I’ve really only heard hitters here throughout this process, with the top choices looking like college hitters: Berry or Gavin Cross.

Kiley McDaniel, ESPN: Brooks Lee, 3B, Cal Poly

The Twins are basically sitting at the end of this tier and hoping for some kind of surprise before them so one player makes it down here. I think Lee is exactly that, and I’m not sure Minnesota would take Elijah Green if he’s the one from the top tier that got here — especially if he’s trying to get a few picks down the board to bigger money. The Twins are hoping for Cam Collier here and I think Gavin Cross is a consideration while Zach Neto is a longer-shot option. I think they’d like to get SS Eric Brown to their next pick at 48th overall and prep SS Demetrio Crisantes at a later pick.

Mike Axisa, CBS Sports: Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech

The Twins are an analytics model-driven team and they have been linked to Cam Collier a bunch because his age relative to competition makes him a model favorite. With Collier (and Jacob Berry, another model darling) off the board in our mock draft, we’ll give them Parada, who seemed unlikely to be available this deep into the draft most of the summer. Virginia Tech outfielder Gavin Cross is another name frequently connected to Minnesota.

Joe Doyle, Prospects Live: Gavin Cross, OF, Virginia Tech

The Twins are said to be out on the likes of Dylan Lesko, Connor Prielipp and Blade Tidwell, but as always, their interest in college sluggers remains high. Gavin Cross simply fits the Twins calling card from the last half-decade, and we don’t think that changes this year. He’ll join the likes of Alex Kirilloff, Brent Rooker, Trevor Larnach and, to a lesser degree, Aaron Sabato as corner-type first round pick bats with big power and some tools. The Twins have spent a hefty chunk of time at Termarr Johnson games this spring, so should he happen to still be on the board at 8, it’s hard to imagine he goes any further. LSU slugger Jacob Berry has been connected to the Twins as well, but it’s been suggested to me that is not currently a fit.

As you can see, the opinions on who the Twins will select vary widely. However, they all agree that the Twins are looking for a corner infield/outfield bat that can produce runs.

We’ll have updates for you throughout the MLB Draft to let you know who the Twins selected and how they factor into the organization’s plans going forward. As always, go Twins!