The Twins yesterday selected high school SS Royce Lewis with the No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft, a move that "immediately sparked debates on social media and likely will continue throughout Minnesota over the next several years," according to La Velle Neal III of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. The first draft pick by Twins Scouting Dir Sean Johnson and Chief Baseball Officer & Exec VP Derek Falvey will be "viewed as controversial, given the hype surrounding" P Hunter Greene, who was selected No. 2 by the Reds. As yesterday unfolded, various reports had the Twins "linked to Lewis, Greene" and Louisville 1B-P Brandon McKay. Twins VP/Player Personnel Mike Radcliff said the final decision was "made five minutes before the draft began." All indications are that Lewis’ bonus will be "less than the league-recommended amount" of $7.7M -- even with agent Scott Boras advising him. That will give the Twins the "flexibility to sign a player later in the draft who might be viewed as hard to sign" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 6/13). In St. Paul, Mike Berardino notes the Twins in some respects "made Lewis a compromise selection as they sought to stretch their available" $14.16M bonus pool and "maximize three picks in the first 37 spots" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 6/13). McKay said that he "had an offer from the Twins." McKay: "They offered a (contract) number that we felt we could get a better offer from another team or whatnot. It ultimately came down to another team was able to give a better offer, so we went with that." In Tampa, Roger Mooney notes the slot for the fourth overall pick is $6.15M, and it is "likely" the Rays and McKay have "agreed to a deal" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 6/13).
HEIMLICH STILL ON THE BOARD: USA TODAY's Kevin Santo noted Oregon State P Luke Heimlich, projected as a potential first-round pick before news came to light last week of sexual assault conviction when he was 15, "went undrafted" last night. Teams "would not be locked into a minimum signing bonus allocation should they draft Heimlich any time after the 10th round" (USATODAY.com, 6/12). ESPN's Keith Law noted many MLB teams he talked to indicated that they "would not draft the player because of the revelations of the criminal past and, I think, because of the limited amount of time that they had to do anything to try to figure out" how to handle the situation. He said he had not seen anything "of this severity" regarding a player falling in the Draft ("OTL," ESPN, 6/12).
