Monday, February 6, 2012

2012 Twins Draft Preview- Pick #32

After letting Cuddyer walk the Twins gained the #32 pick in the draft and hopefully should be able to land another talented prospect to help reestablish the farm system. Below are 3 options I believe the Twins will be considering assuming a preferred option doesn't slide to them.

Brandon Kline - RHP School: Virgina Ht: 6'3" Wt: 190

Kline fits the Twins profile as a polished college arm but may have slightly more upside then previous draft options. He was the closer for the Cavaliers College World Series teams in 2011, but is expected to transition to the rotation this spring. He has a big projectable frame and features a hard fastball that usually sits 90-93 with a really good slider in the low 80's. It will be important to see if he can develop a feel for a change up while starting otherwise he may end up as a two pitch reliever. If he can show feel for a change up or something else to get lefthanders out and improve his control/command he could profile as a solid #3 starter in the majors similar to a Edwin Jackson.

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Video Analysis: Kline has a good amount of effort in his delivery and strides slightly towards third base causing him to throw across his body. He does repeat his delivery well and if the stride can be corrected his control/command should improve. It will be interesting to see how he handles a starters workload and how he performs this spring could cause him to move up or down in the draft.

Courtney Hawkins- OF B/T: R/R School: Carroll High Corpus Christi,TX Ht: 6'3" Wt: 210

Hawkins fits the Twins mold as an athletic high school outfielder with a strong arm and good speed. As he is already pretty large the chances of him staying in CF are zero but his arm and power would profile in right. His best tool is that power and he puts on big time power shows in BP and was one of only two players to homer in last years area code games. He has a really aggressive approach and its doesn't always benefit him as he is prone to expand the zone. He also had struggled against off speed stuff but has shown the ability to handle high velocity guys. He also pitches and shows a strong low 90's arm, with that and his batting profile I think his upside is 2009 Delmon Young but his downside is every other year of Delmon but hopefully with better defense.

Video Clip: Click Here

Video Analysis: He shows good leverage and strength in his swing but he gets onto his front foot too early and needs to let the ball get deeper in the hitting zone. I would have him widen his base a little more and try and remove that toe tap he is currently using as I can only think of a couple of major leaguers who can successfully hit that way.

Luke Sims- RHP School: Brookwood HS, Snellville, Ga. Ht: 6'2" Wt: 195

Sims is one of the better high schools arms in these years draft has a chance to be a steal this late in the draft if he doesn't improve his stock over the course of the spring. He doesn't have the prototypical frame but according to Baseball America repeats his delivery really well and gets good leverage from using his legs well. He offers the potential for three plus pitches with a fastball that sits 90-93, A very good curve in the high 70's, as well a potentially plus changup in the low 80's. He throws a lot of strikes which is obviously something the Twins love their pitchers to do. If he can keep developing his off speed stuff he has the potential to be a solid #3 start ala Scott Baker.

Video Clip: None Available

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