Twins 2023 MLB mock draft roundup North News

The MLB draft is like no other among the major sports. 

Unless you’re a real college and/or high school baseball junkie, you’ve probably not heard of most (if not all) of the players who will be selected. 

In addition, MLB’s draft is a real crapshoot. There are first-round picks who never make The Show and late-rounders who emerge as stars.

The MLB draft begins Sunday, July 9 with the first two rounds and goes until Tuesday, with Rounds 3-10 selected Monday and 11-20 the following day.

Minnesota hit the lottery – literally – moving up from No. 13 to No. 5 in the first round of this year’s draft. The Twins also have a selection in the Competitive Balance A round. 

Among those selected with the 5th pick this century include Ryan Braun (2005), Buster Posey (2008) and Mark Teixeira (2001), who each had over a career 44 fWAR. Other notable picks since 2000 are Drew Pomeranz (2010, 12.4 WAR), Kyle Tucker (2015, 14.6 WAR) and Matt Wieters (2007, 18.3 WAR).

Minnesota has two former No. 5 picks in its system: Nick Gordon and Austin Martin, the latter acquired from Toronto and hindered by injuries. 

Three of the last five No. 5 overall selections are already in the majors: Cincinnati’s Jonathan India (2018), Detroit’s Riley Greene (2019) and Baltimore’s Colton Cowser (2021), the latter of whom debuted this week.

Of course, there’s also picks like Clint Frazier, Corey Ray and Kyle Zimmer, all of whom saw limited time in the majors and had a 0.0 WAR or even guys like Bubba Starling (-1.8 WAR) and Matt Hobgood (never made the bigs).

As we said, it’s a crapshoot.

Here’s a look at those mock drafts – and some analysis of those picks when given – from around the web for the Twins’ first-round pick as we close in on selection day:

Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline: Walker Jenkins, OF, South Brunswick (N.C.) HS. “This is the first spot where things could start going a little bit 'off-script' in terms of one of the top five not going here. There still is plenty of interest in whichever high school outfielder is here, but the industry buzz is about a possible deal here for Mississippi’s Jacob Gonzalez or another college bat (Virginia catcher Kyle Teel, Grand Canyon shortstop Jacob Wilson). The Twins will keep kicking the tires on the next two college arms (Wake Forest’s Rhett Lowder and Tennessee’s Chase Dollander) with high school right-hander Noble Meyer still in the mix a bit.”; Comp. A round: Dillon Head, OF, Homewood-Floossmoor (Ill.) HS.

Mike Axisa of CBSSports.com: Kyle Teel, C, Virginia. “The Twins moved up from No. 13 to No. 5 in the draft lottery and the consensus is five players (Clark, Crews, Jenkins, Langford, Skenes) stand out from the pack in this draft class, so Minnesota can simply take whichever one is still available. That's Jenkins in our mock draft. However, recent draft history indicates Minnesota's model prefers college hitters, and they've been connected to Teel, TCU slugger Brayden Taylor, and Mississippi shortstop Jacob Gonzalez the last few weeks.”

Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs: Walker Jenkins, OF, South Brunswick (N.C.) HS. “Jenkins has had some injury issues, most significantly a procedure to repair a hip impingement he was born with, but Texas cleared Kumar Rocker last year and Minnesota cleared Brooks Lee, so it’s hard to imagine that being a barrier for either team. There is some buzz about the Twins taking a contact-oriented college prospect here, but I am also getting indications from teams picking deeper in the first round that some of those players (like Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez and Grand Canyon shortstop Jacob Wilson) are still looking for homes in that range. I think Jenkins goes with one of these picks, though if he goes fourth, it’s more likely the Twins cut a deal.”

Dan Zielinski III of Baseball Prospect Journal: Max Clark, OF, Franklin (Ind.) Community HS. “The top five players in the 2023 MLB draft class are in a tier of their own. The Twins could easily take the last one remaining. But they are also eyeing up college bats, most notably Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez and Virginia catcher Kyle Teel.”

Brian Sakowski of Perfect Game: Wyatt Langford, OF, Florida. “The Twins are in a solid spot here, given the general belief that the top tier of the class is a group of 5, they can just sit back and take whoever falls. In this scenario it’s Langford, our No. 2-ranked prospect in the class. If the board doesn’t break this way, MIN is a player for any of the top 5 with Ole Miss infielder Jacob Gonzalez and Tennessee righthander Chase Dollander as potential dark horses.”

Keith Law of The Athletic ($): Jacob Gonzalez, SS, Mississippi. “Several sources have told me that if Crews and Langford are gone, Gonzalez is the top player in the Twins’ draft model and he’d be the pick over the high schoolers, although they’re more likely to take Clark than Jenkins if either gets to this pick.”

Jordan Shusterman of FOXSports.com: Jacob Gonzalez, SS, Mississippi. “If I were Minnesota, I’d keep it simple here, be grateful for the incredible lottery luck and take the best available player in Clark among the clear-cut top five in the class. However, there are rumors that the Twins might feel more comfortable opting for some college certainty and pick from the plethora of options from that demographic. This route could presumably save them some bonus pool space to try to land some other high school talent later on Day 1 at pick Nos. 34 or 49. It’d be a bold strategy to pass on Clark (or Jenkins), but I could certainly see it. And hey, let’s have some fun with this mock, why don’t we?”; Comp. A round: Josh Knoth, RHP, Patchogue-Medford (N.J.) HS.

Matt Johnson of SportsNaut: Jacob Gonzalez, SS, Mississippi. “He’s not a typical top-10 pick for Minnesota in a 2023 MLB mock draft, but there’s a level of appeal to a safe bet at shortstop. Gonzalez projects as an above-average hitter with plus power relative to his position and offers great instincts at the plate and at short. Plus, he could make the fastest MLB debut of anyone in this class.”

Lyndon Suvanto of Sportskeeda: Walker Jenkins, OF, South Brunswick (N.C.) HS. “Arguably the top high school prospect in the 2023 MLB Draft, Walker Jenkins is an all-around talent that could be special for the Minnesota Twins. With a strong 6-foot-3 frame, Jenkins could develop into a top-tier, left-handed batter for the Twins. It will not be surprising to see him selected at pick number five based on his elite upside.”

Michael Dault of Through The Fence Baseball: Max Clark, OF, Franklin (Ind.) Community HS. “Clark wowed this season in Indiana. He’s currently committed to Vanderbilt, and it’s no wonder why. He has the best all-around toolset in the 2023 class. Raw power, plus arm, the bat speed is there and his exit velos get scouts excited for what he could become. This isn’t Blaze Jordan 2.0. This is Max Clark 1.0.”

Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report: Walker Jenkins, OF, South Brunswick (N.C.) HS.

Mark Schofield of SB Nation: Walker Jenkins, OF, South Brunswick (N.C.) HS. “If the draft ends up this way, the Twins likely take the other high school outfielder in Jenkins. Jenkins is more of a power hitter than Clark, who projects more as a line driver hitter but has shown some pop recently.”

Edward Sutelan of the Sporting News: Max Clark, OF, Franklin (Ind.) HS. “If any team in the first five picks passes on a top-five talent, it seems likely to be the Twins. If Clark isn't here, Minnesota could look at some other college bats like Kyle Teel or Jacob Gonzalez. In this mock, Clark is around, and the Twins opt to pick him up. Minnesota has gone high school with seven of its past 12 first-round selections, and with Clark available, they'll land a clear top-five talent with plenty of upside.”; Comp. A round: Alexander Clemmy, LHP, Bishop Hendricken (R.I.); Round 2: Eric Bitonti, SS, Aquinas (Calif.) HS; Round 3: Steven Echavarria, RHP, Milburn (N.J.) HS.

Bryan Mcwilliam and Michael Bradburn of theScore: Max Clark, OF, Franklin (Ind.) HS. “The Twins have a history of success drafting prep outfielders in the first round, selecting Alex Kirilloff in 2016 after picking Byron Buxton second overall in 2012. Clark is arguably better than Jenkins, with higher grades in run, arm, and fielding. The Vanderbilt commit looks like a sure bet for Minnesota if he's still available. Gatorade's National Baseball Player of the Year has been mentioned as a wild card to go first overall if the Pirates spread out their bonus pool money.”

Jeffrey May of AS.com: Max Clark, OF, Franklin (Ind.) HS. “The Twins are another team on the lookout for a prep bat and Clark has four of the five tools with potential for development. I think that they will grab him here and in fact, he is an option for every team from now on if he doesn’t go this high. Minnesota have a few other players that they are looking at, all of them prep players, but only Clark or Walter Jenkins have the toolset to go top ten.”