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.
