Nick Burdi Rumors

Twins Sign Second-Rounder Nick Burdi

By Steve Adams [June 24, 2014 at 2:14pm CDT]

JUNE 24: The deal is official, tweets Twins’ director of communications Dustin Morse. Burdi will head to Class-A Cedar Rapids. He will indeed receive a full-slot bonus of $1,218,800, reports John Manuel of Baseball America (via Twitter).

JUNE 17: The Twins and second-rounder Nick Burdi are closing in on a deal, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter links). Burdi, a right-hander who spent this past season as Louisville’s closer, will receive close to the full slot value of $1,218,800, according to Heyman. He adds that Burdi is scheduled to take his physical for the Twins within the week.

Burdi was thought by most to be the top college reliever in this year’s draft class. He ranked 34th on MLB.com’s Top 200 draft prospects list, 36th on Baseball America’s Top 500 and 56th on the Top 100 of ESPN’s Keith Law. Burdi’s blistering fastball has reached otherworldly heights, touching 103 mph and sitting comfortably in the 96-100 mph range. BA’s scouting report adds that he throws a power slider that can run as high as 92-93 mph but sits more in the 87-90 mph range with good depth. Law noted his ability to miss bats and generate ground-balls, adding that he has a good chance to be a big league reliever and perhaps even a closer.

This is actually the second time the Twins have drafted Burdi, as they took him in the 24th round out of high school back in the 2011 draft. He was the first of many high-profile college relievers selected by the Twins. Many reports on the Twins’ draft noted that they landed the two hardest-throwing relievers in this year’s class in Burdi and third-round selection Michael Cederoth. The Twins have already signed Cederoth as well as first-rounder Nick Gordon, so bringing Burdi into the fold would secure their top three picks. Fans that are interested in learning more about Burdi can check out the conversation he had with MLBTR’s own Zach Links for our Draft Prospect Q&A series.

Full Story | Comments | Categories: 2014 Amateur Draft | Minnesota Twins | Nick Burdi

Draft Prospect Q&A: Nick Burdi

By Zach Links [June 1, 2014 at 12:05pm CDT]

MLBTR is re-launching its Draft Prospect Q&A series this season in order to give our readers a look at some of the top names on the board in this year’s draft. MLBTR will be chatting with some of the draft’s most well-regarded prospects over the next couple of weeks as they prepare for the 2014 draft on June 5-7.

Teams looking to draft a future closer with serious velocity will be taking a long look at Louisville pitcher Nick Burdi. In fact, with a fastball that hits 96-100 mph on the radar gun, Burdi stands as the hardest thrower in college. To complement the heat, Burdi also boasts a plus slider that can develop into a premium pitch.

You could say that hard throwing runs in the family. Burdi’s older brother, Drew, was a quarterback at Western Michigan. His younger brother, Zack, is a promising pitcher in his own right for the Cardinals. Burdi has shown that he can hold that velocity over two- and three-inning outings, leading some to believe that he could blossom into a starter. Baseball America has Burdi pegged as the No. 27 prospect in the draft, MLB.com has him ranked at No. 34, and ESPN.com’s Keith Law has him at No. 52. Burdi spoke with MLBTradeRumors on Friday about his skill set, whether he’d be interested in starting, and more:

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