2023 MLB Draft Tracker

Well, that weekend wasn’t ideal. Let’s take an optimistic eye toward the future with Draft which kicks off here shortly. The Twins have the 5th pick and the chance to take a top level prospect to build their future around.

The 2023 MLB Draft begins today at 6 P.M. CT in Seattle 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. You can find everything you need to know about the draft here, in our draft preview.

Follow along on this post for the next few days. We’ll track all of the first round picks and break down each of the Twins picks that they make along the way.

2023 MLB Draft First Round Picks

1. Pittsburgh Pirates: Paul Skenes, RHP, LSU
2. Washington Nationals: Dylan Crews, OF, LSU
3. Detroit Tigers: Max Clark, OF, Franklin HS (IN)
4. Texas Rangers: Wyatt Langford, OF, Florida
5. Minnesota Twins: Walker Jenkins, OF, South Brunswick HS (NC) See below for more.
6. Oakland Athletics: Jacob Wilson, SS, Grand Canyon
7. Cincinnati Reds: Rhett Lowder, RHP, Wake Forest
8. Kansas City Royals: Blake Mitchell, C, Sinton HS (TX)
9. Colorado Rockies: Chase Dollander, RHP, Tennessee
10. Miami Marlins: Noble Meyer, RHP, Jesuit HS (OR)
11. Los Angeles Angels: Nolan Schanuel, 1B, FAU
12. Arizona Diamondbacks: Tommy Troy, SS, Stanford
13. Chicago Cubs: Matt Shaw, SS, Maryland
14. Boston Red Sox: Kyle Teel, C, Virginia
15. Chicago White Sox: Jacob Gonzalez, SS, Ole Miss
16. San Francisco Giants: Bryce Eldridge, RHP, James Madison HS (VA)
17. Baltimore Orioles: Enrique Bradfield Jr., OF, Vanderbilt
18. Milwaukee Brewers: Brock Wilken, 3B, Wake Forest
19. Tampa Bay Rays: Brayden Taylor, SS, TCU
20. Toronto Blue Jays: Arjun Nimmala, SS, Strawberry Crest HS (FL)
21. St. Louis Cardinals: Chase Davis, OF, Arizona
22. Seattle Mariners: Colt Emerson, SS, John Glenn HS (OH)
23. Cleveland Guardians: Ralphy Velazquez, C, Hunting Beach HS (CA)
24. Atlanta Braves: Hurston Waldrep, RHP, Florida
25. San Diego Padres: Dillon Head, OF, Homewood-Flossmoor (IL)
26. New York Yankees: George Lombard Jr., SS, Gulliver Prep HS (FL)
27. Philadelphia Phillies: Aidan Miller, SS, J.W. Miller HS (FL)
28. Houston Astros: Brice Matthews, SS, Nebraska

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Round 1, Pick No. 5: Walker Jenkins, OF, South Brunswick HS (NC)

MLB Pipeline Scouting Report, Ranked 4th Overall

Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 60 | Run: 55 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 60

Jenkins has slipped past Indiana’s Max Clark as the top high schooler in the 2023 Draft this spring and is North Carolina’s best prep position prospect since Josh Hamilton went No. 1 overall in 1999. A hamate injury hampered him on the showcase circuit during the summer and prevented him from making the U.S. national 18-and-under team after he did so in 2021, but his physical ability was still obvious. Scouts also praise his makeup as much as his considerable tools.

Gatorade’s North Carolina player of the year in both 2022 and 2023, Jenkins is built to hit for power with a strong 6-foot-3 frame and a quick left-handed stroke. He already shows the ability to turn on quality fastballs and drive them out of the park to right field, and 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.

Though Jenkins displayed plus speed earlier in his high school career, he has slowed a bit as he has gotten stronger and now is more of a solid runner. His instincts may allow the North Carolina recruit to remain in center field, with his reads and routes enhancing his range. If not, his plus arm strength will help him to fit the profile of a slugging right fielder.

Comp Round A, Pick No. 34: Charlee Soto, RHP, Reborn Christian HS (FL)

MLB Pipeline Scouting Report, Ranked 28th Overall

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50

Soto entered the summer showcase circuit as an intriguing high school pitcher, one who had outgrown shortstop to become one of those projectable right-handers worth keeping an eye on. By the end of it, after stops at events like the PDP League and Major League Baseball’s High School All-American Game, not to mention a dominant outing at the East Coast Professional Showcase, he had a huge up arrow next to his name, though he wasn’t quite as dominant during his senior year.

Now 6-foot-5, Soto does check off a lot of boxes, including his size, stuff and the fact that he’ll still be 17 come Draft time. All of his stuff is trending upwards, starting with an electric fastball that has flirted with triple digits and was regularly up to 98 mph over the summer, thrown with excellent life. Both of his secondary offerings have the chance to be at least better-than-average, with a hard slider that features late, hard bite and a splitter he uses as a changeup.

With a very quick arm, the Central Florida recruit throws everything hard, all from a prototypical starting pitcher’s frame, while showing off solid command. The Florida prepster’s name is still coming up in conversations about the top high school pitchers in the class with a strong spring.

Round 2, Pick No. 49: Luke Keaschall, 2B, Arizona State

MLB Pipeline Scouting Report, Ranked 90th Overall

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 45 | Run: 55 | Arm: 50 | Field: 45 | Overall: 45

Keaschall spent his first two seasons of college at the University of San Francisco, posting a .916 OPS as a mainstay in the Dons’ lineup and infield. He has also spent two summers showing off his offensive skills and defensive versatility with Orleans in the Cape Cod League. After entering the transfer portal and moving to Arizona State, he’s showing scouts what he can do in a bigger conference.

A right-handed hitter, Keaschall has shown a good feel to hit throughout his college career and on the Cape. He makes a ton of contact and doesn’t panic with two strikes, with a solid approach that helped him walk as much as he struck out in his first two years at San Francisco, something that’s continued this spring. He started to tap into his power a bit as a sophomore and hit five homers on the Cape last summer, but he’s definitely hit-over-power with perhaps average future pop at best.

Keaschall can run a little and is aggressive on the basepaths. The big question is where he profiles best defensively. He played shortstop exclusively as a sophomore, but has played second base since moving to ASU, as he doesn’t have the arm to handle short long-term. He’s also seen time in the outfield on the Cape, but he might best fit as an offensive-minded second-base type at the next level.

Round 3, Pick No. 82: Brandon Winokur, OF, Edison HS (CA)

MLB Pipeline Scouting Report, Ranked 74th Overall

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 55 | Run: 60 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50

Every Draft class has its fair share of high school outfielders who fall in the “five-tool potential” bucket. Winokur, a product of an Edison High School (Huntington Beach, Calif.) program that has produced big leaguers like Kyle Higashioka and Tim Lopes, has the chance to be one of the best in the class of 2023 after showcasing his tools at summer showcase events like the PDP League, the Area Code Games and the Perfect Game All-American Classic.

Winokur certainly looks the part at 6-foot-5 and has the chance to have multiple plus tools in the future. The right-handed hitter will have easily plus raw power and has shown he can tap into it at times against good competition. For a young player with such long levers, he’s also shown he can be pretty short to the ball, with a more compact swing than you’d expect. He’s a plus runner with a strong arm.

While his ability to use his raw tools consistently in games is one question, another is where he plays defensively long-term. The UCLA recruit plays a lot of shortstop for his high school team, but most see a better fit in an outfield corner, where his power and speed could profile very well.

Round 4, Pick No. 114: Tanner Hall, RHP, Southern Miss

MLB Pipeline Scouting Report, Ranked 92nd Overall

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 60 | Control: 55 | Overall: 45

Southern Mississippi has produced a top-three-rounds pick in four of the last five Drafts and may do so again in 2023 with Hall. Despite averaging slightly less than 90 mph with his fastball, he ranked third in NCAA Division I in K/BB ratio (10.4) and fourth in strikeouts (146 in 109 innings) in 2022. He also pitched for the U.S. collegiate national team during the summer, spinning four scoreless innings against Cuba at Honkbalweek Haarlem in the Netherlands, then won Sun Belt conference pitcher of the year honors while tying for second in D-I with 12 victories this spring.

Hall’s two best assets are his changeup and his command, though neither has been quite as sharp in 2023 as they were a year ago. Some scouts hang double-plus grades on his changeup when at its best, and it sweeps and sinks in the low 80s. His ability to locate his entire arsenal where he wants helps his pitches play up, especially an 88-90 mph fastball that maxes out at 95 but still misses bats and generates weak contact with plenty of sink and angle from his low three-quarters arm slot.

Hall works mostly with his fastball and changeup, occasionally mixing in a decent low-80s slider with sweep and depth. He’s not very physical, yet his efficient delivery and ability to repeat it allow him to work deep into games. He doesn’t have a classic starter’s look, but he continues to exceed expectations and has a high floor as at least a multi-inning reliever with a legitimate out pitch.

Round 5, Pick No. 150: Dylan Questad, RHP, Waterford HS (WI)

MLB Pipeline Scouting Report, Ranked 194th Overall

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40

Questad turned in a series of strong performances on the showcase circuit last summer, including three perfect innings while sitting in the mid-90s with his fastball at the Area Code Games in August. His stuff wasn’t as sharp during his Wisconsin high school senior season, though he did earn Gatorade’s state player of the year award. He still has a chance to become the first Badger State high school pitcher taken in the top five rounds since 2006 third-rounder Tony Butler.

Questad leans heavily on his fastball, which sat at 92-94 mph and peaked at 97 last summer before dropping a tick or two this spring, albeit still with plenty of run and downhill plane coming out of his high arm slot. He gets good depth on his upper-70s curveball and low-80s slider, though he’s still learning to land them for strikes. He can impart some nasty late fade on his low-80s changeup but struggles to control it as well.

Questad is strong and athletic, but he may be physically maxed out at 6 feet and 200 pounds. His arm works well but to succeed as a starter at higher levels, he’ll need to improve the quality of his secondary pitches and his ability to locate them where he wants. He has had more of a reliever look in 2023, which could land him in college as part of Arkansas’ top-rated recruiting class.

• Round 6, Pick 177: Jay Harry, SS, Penn State
• Round 7, Pick 207: Nolan Santos, RHP, Bethune-Cookman (FL)
• Round 8, Pick 237: Jace Stoffal, RHP, Oregon
• Round 9, Pick 267: Jack Dougherty, RHP, Ole Miss
• Round 10, Pick 297: Ross Dunn, LHP, Arizona State
• Round 11, Pick 327: Ty Langenberg, RHP, Iowa
• Round 12, Pick 357: Paulshawn Pasqualotto, RHP, Cal
• Round 13, Pick 387: Jeremy Lee, RHP, South Alabama
• Round 14, Pick 417: Xander Hamilton, RHP, App State
• Round 15, Pick 447: Spencer Beggared, RHP, California Baptist
• Round 16, Pick 477: Anthony Silvas, RHP, Riverside CC
• Round 17, Pick 507: Kade Bragg, LHP, Angelo State
• Round 18, Pick 537: Hector Garcia Jr., RHP, Hope International
• Round 19, Pick 567: Sam Parker, 1B, Kennesaw Mountain HS (GA)
• Round 20, Pick 597: Ashton Larson, Saint Thomas Aquinas HS (KS)