The Minnesota Twins are one of the stranger evaluations in this entire draft.
On paper, the offense wasn’t terrible. In fact, several underlying rankings were actually pretty intriguing. But then you look up and realize they still finished just ninth in runs scored, which is baseball’s way of saying, “Congratulations on all those baserunners, shame about the complete inability to cash them in.”
This lineup is basically Darin Erstad and Frank Thomas alternating between carrying the offense and staring into the void while the bottom third of the order grounds weakly to shortstop for the 400th time.
And speaking of shortstop: Rey Ordonez remains one of the more fascinating players in baseball if your hobbies include watching offensive rallies die in real time.
Still, despite the offensive inconsistencies, the bigger issue here is clearly the pitching staff.
Minnesota finished with a 4.96 ERA as a team, which somehow feels generous if you actually watched the games. Juan Guzman largely handled his business, but beyond that? Woof.
So the Twins pivot toward pitching here, even if the remaining arms all come with varying degrees of “this could age horribly.”
Carl Pavano becomes the pick.
And yes, there’s risk involved.
Pavano isn’t fully developed yet, particularly when it comes to command, where there’s still meaningful growth required before he reaches his ceiling. That alone will make some evaluators nervous, especially for a pitcher expected to anchor a rotation eventually.
But the upside is difficult to ignore.
At 21 years old, Pavano already possesses the framework teams look for in durable frontline starters. The movement profile is excellent, the stamina jumps off the page, and while he may not currently feature one singular wipeout pitch that makes scouts faint dramatically into their radar guns, the overall package works.
This is a horse.
And in today’s game, where half the league treats six innings like a humanitarian achievement, that matters.
The Twins don’t necessarily need an instant ace here. They need stability. They need innings. They need someone capable of eventually slotting near the top of the rotation and preventing the bullpen from entering games in the fourth inning every night.
Pavano fits that vision.
Could there be prettier pitching prospects available stylistically? Sure. Some scouts will prefer flashier arsenals or more polished command profiles. But Minnesota feels like the kind of organization willing to bet on durability, projection, and long-term value over immediate polish.
And frankly, with the state of this rotation, they almost have to.
PICK #8
Minnesota Twins select SP Carl Pavano