The Twins have signed shortstop Marek Houston, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com. Houston was just selected with the 16th overall pick in last week’s draft. His $4,497,500 signing bonus is below the $4,929,600 slot value for that pick.
Houston, 21, spent the past three years playing for Wake Forest. Pre-draft rankings from MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, ESPN, FanGraphs and The Athletic’s Keith Law all put Houston in the 14-26 range of the class.
All outlets heap praise upon his defense. The larger question seems to be what he can do with the bat, where his contact is better than his power. He has shown some progress in the latter category, as his home run total went from four to eight and then 15 in his three seasons with the Demon Deacons. However, even that jump in power may need an asterisk. “The power is kind of an illusion, as Wake Forest plays in a shoebox, and 11 of Houston’s 15 homers this year came at home,” Law writes, “mostly wall-scrapers that would be doubles or outs in a typical ballpark.”
The Twins have Carlos Correa at shortstop now, with plenty of other guys capable of manning the position on the big league roster. As is the case with many clubs, there are a few notable shortstop prospects in the system who could factor into the future plans. Houston seems like a lock to stay at the position based on his defense, though he may get moved into a utility role if he doesn’t hit enough to be a regular.
Photo courtesy of Saul Young, Imagn Images
While teams need utility players to hear that is what your first round pick may turn into is a little disappointing.
It looks like the draft did not have a lot of high end talent this year.
So many players are drafted as Shortstops and end up at other positions. So it’s not a big deal.
I understand that the short stops change positions. Changing positions is one thing becoming a utility player is another. Very few utility players have ever become players you build your franchise around.
I don’t know about Keith Law, I watched him hit on youtube, he looks powerful to me, I see a 25HR upside in MLB, listed at 6’3 / 205 and solid, and his swing is short and fast, Id bet he gets great marks on his bat speed. He’s only 21, when gets to be about 25 or 26, he’s going to be strong and going to hit a ton.
.354/.458/.597 in the ACC – 46BB/46K – going to be a good player. The power is legit.
You may be right, but his Wake Forrest numbers are with aluminum bats. Looking at his Baseball Reference page, he played in wood bat leagues during the summers of 2023 and 2024. He hit zero HRs in 44 total games during these two summers. That is probably why people wonder about his future power in MLB.
His player comp is Orlando Arcia
Arcia is 5’11 185 – Houston is 6’3 / 205 – if his glove is as good as Arcia all the better.
There are a few highlight reels on youtube, Houston hit a few homers to right field in ’25 looks to have opposite field power. He pulled one that was long gone. I think the Twins got a good player. Twins got Quentin Young too, I watched his tape, he is a big kid, huge power, they have him at the infield in the combine highlights but looks like a RF too me. He has a laser arm.