A quick refresher on the MLB Draft and where the Twins stand ahead of tonight’s first three rounds.
The MLB Draft is a very different event from the other sports leagues. Where the NBA and NFL drafts have become transaction-filled spectacles, the MLB Draft has always been a more closed-door affair. In recent years, MLB has made a concerted effort to bring the draft to the forefront, including making it part of All-Star Week, kicking off the break tonight at 6 PM EST (5 PM CDT).
How to Watch the 2025 MLB Draft
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Last season, MLB held the draft over three days with the first two rounds taking place on day one. In 2025, the draft has been condensed to two days with rounds 1-3 being held tonight (including all compensatory and competitive balance round selections), while rounds 4-20 will take place tomorrow.
You can watch the first three rounds tonight on ESPN, MLB Network, and MLB.com starting at 6 PM EST. Both networks will air all 43 first-round selections, while rounds two and three will move exclusively to MLB Network. Day two of the draft (rounds 4-20) will be streamed exclusively on MLB.com starting at 11:30 AM EST on Monday.
Twins Draft Order and Bonus Pool
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Why are there 43 picks in the first round despite having just 30 MLB teams? Glad you asked!
MLB’s Collective Bargaining Agreement includes various means to incentivize prospect promotion, compensate teams for losing star free agents (while penalizing the teams acquiring the players), and balance the lower revenue teams through more draft picks and draft bonus pool space.
The Twins have an extra first this year in the Competitive Balance Round A, which is held between the official first and second rounds. Since the Twins neither signed nor lost any players given the Qualifying Offer in the 2024-2025 offseason, that pick will be their only additional one beyond their usual 20 selections. Their bonus pool of $12,653,000 ranks 12th out of 30 MLB teams, putting them in a strong position to cut some deals for talented prospects in the early rounds.
See below for the Twins’ total list of picks and slot values. They will also pick 14th in rounds 11-20, but those rounds don’t have specific slot values assigned to them. As a reminder, slot values are simply what make up the Twins’ pool, not what a player selected there would make. This gives team the chance to negotiate under-slot deals in early rounds while luring in talented players with first-round talent later on, like the Twins did with the fast-rising prospect Dasan Hill in the 2024 draft. The Twins can spend their pool however they see fit, but it does all have to be spent.
- Round 1 (16th overall): $4,929,600
- Comp Round A (36th overall): $2,692,000
- Round 2 (54): $1,761,600
- Round 3 (88): $893,000
- Round 4 (119): $635,700
- Round 5 (149): $475,000
- Round 6 (179): $361,600
- Round 7 (209): $282,900
- Round 8 (239): $227,800
- Round 9 (269): $202,900
- Round 10 (299): $190,900
Potential Twins First-Round Targets
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Trying to connect teams to prospects outside of the top 10 picks is pretty difficult. A lot can happen before pick 16, so the Twins are undoubtedly prepared for a host of scenarios. With two picks relatively close together, Derek Falvey and co. will also have to prioritize players on their boards that other teams will rank highly as well. The best we can do is take into account the player profiles the Twins have preferred in past drafts and organizational needs, to a lesser extent.
If the Twins go with a hitter, plan on a college bat. Outside of Walker Jenkins, an exception due to his extreme talent, the Twins love high-floor college hitters with flaws they believe they can fix. In the eight drafts Derek Falvey has overseen, the Twins have taken six college hitters in the first round (Brent Rooker, Trevor Larnach, Aaron Sabato, Brooks Lee, Kaelen Culpepper, Kyle DeBarge). There are a range of players that could be available around 16 including Arizona OF Brendan Summerhill, Arkansas SS Wehiwa Aloy, Tennessee 2B Gavin Kilen, and Wake Forest SS Marek Houston.
One other player I would look at for at either 16 or 36 is Costal Carolina catcher Caden Bodine. Defensively, his framing is already considered MLB-caliber though he needs some work throwing out runners. The switch-hitting Bodine also might have the best contact skills in the entire draft, with the potential to turn into a mid-order bat should his power develop. Prospect development is so fickle that teams don’t often draft for organizational need, but I don’t think there is a single MLB-caliber catcher in the Twins’ entire system after Jair Camargo’s regression and the Diego Cartaya fiasco. Bodine has been climbing draft boards with the expectation he won’t make it past Arizona at 18, so the Twins will have to be aggressive if they want him.
A lot can change before the Twins are on the clock, so don’t be surprised if the Twins take a swing on a player they have graded significantly higher than consensus. Outside of the Keoni Cavaco disaster, the Twins have been pretty good on draft night, after all.