The Twins have signed supplemental first-round pick Matt Wallner, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets, adding the outfielder will receive $1.8MM. That checks in below slot, as Wallner’s selection (No. 39) came with a $1,906,800 value.
The Twins finally got their man in Wallner, a Minnesota native whom they first selected in the 32nd round of the 2016 draft. Wallner, then the state’s Mr. Baseball, chose not to sign. He instead elected to attend Southern Mississippi, where he wound up significantly boosting his stock.
This time, Minnesota grabbed Wallner higher than where most draft pundits ranked him. The 21-year-old didn’t make the top 50 of ESPN’s Keith Law entering the draft, while FanGraphs placed Wallner at No. 44, Baseball America had him 49th and MLB.com put him 60th. Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs note Wallner has “huge power” and suggest he profiles as a right fielder. Callis, meanwhile, points out Wallner also “intrigues” as a right-handed pitcher who can throw up to 97 mph.
With Wallner under wraps, the Twins have now locked up their first three draft choices. They previously signed 13th overall pick Keoni Cavaco for $4.05MM and 54th selection Matt Canterino for $1.10MM. The club went into this year’s draft with just under $9.91MM to spend on its picks.
Are the Twins getting MadBum and Will Smith?
Doubt it, yankees going to be going hard for Bumgarner
Twins have better prospects to offer. New York doesn’t always get what they want.
depends on what New York offers. they may be willing ro give more, and they certianly have enough to give for a rental.
I think the giants want way too much currently. He isn’t the ace he was and that fan base won’t like him being traded.
I would say they don’t. Bumgarner has a say in where he goes, they have an outside shot at smith if they can be the high bidder but as a package deal…I can’t see it happening.
Twins are not on Bumgarner’s no-trade, so if a deal lines up, he can’t say no.
Twins have built up a very nice stable of power outfield prospects in their system. Alex Kirilloff, Brent Rooker, Trevor Larnach, and now Matt Wallner can all hit and hit with power. This organization is positioned quite well for sustained success. Very fun to follow!
Really looking forward to seeing Kirilloff getting back on track. He’s lost way too much time this year to a mysterious wrist injury. Larnach has certainly impressed so far. I’d expect him to see a promotion to AA this year at this rate.
Rooker is a borderline prospect at this point, though. He just doesn’t make enough contact and while his slash and wRC+ in AAA looks solid enough, his .444 BABIP isn’t remotely sustainable and the near 40% K rate says Rooker is due for some major regression.
Does he have any chance of doing the two way player thing? And I think the twins are looking, hoping anyway, at a trade with Toronto for some controllable arms instead of the rentals.
A 0.1% chance, I suppose. He pitched well in 2016 with very limited appearances, but the 2017 season he got rocked and stopped pitching so no appearances in 2018.
I don’t think the Twins are going to spend any significant time on checking his pitching out. They might not even perform due diligence in seeing him throw a bullpen.