\n\tDay two is here! After a busy opening night in Philadelphia, the Minnesota Twins are back at the table today to work through the back half of the 2026 MLB Draft. This is the spot to follow along, react to the picks, and talk through the board together as the Twins fill out their class.\n<\/p>\n
\tHow Day 2 Works<\/p>\n
\n\tThe draft was trimmed to a two-day event for the 2026 cycle. Day 1 handled Rounds 1\u20134 on Saturday; Day 2 covers Rounds 5 through 20 today. That’s the bulk of the picks, and it’s where front offices get creative \u2014 mixing high-upside prep gambles, senior-sign value plays, and money-saving college seniors to make the bonus pool math work.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tSpeaking of the pool: Minnesota came into the draft with a $16,929,600 bonus allotment, fourth-largest in baseball. Slot values across the board rose about 2.5% from 2025, and the Twins’ Day 1 investment at No. 3 overall ($9.74M slot) means how they spread the rest of the money around today will be worth watching.\n<\/p>\n
\tQuick Day 1 Recap<\/p>\n
\n\tBefore we get into Day 2, here’s how the Twins opened things up:\n<\/p>\n
\n\tRound 1 (No. 3 overall): Vahn Lackey<\/a>, C, Georgia Tech. The 2026 Johnny Bench<\/a> Award winner as the nation’s top catcher, Lackey hit .397 with 20 homers and 78 RBIs this spring, and pairs plus power with strong defensive tools behind the plate. The area scout who recommended him was Jack Powell. He has also recommended Byron Buxton<\/a>, Niko Goodrum<\/a>, Akil Baddoo<\/a>, Edouard Julien<\/a>, Sawyer Gipson-Long<\/a> and many other Twins players and prospects.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tSean Johnson said, “We’ve never talked about Vahn Lackey being safe. we just think he’s extremely talented… We just see tremendous upside and impact on our major-league team. Those are the things we probably woke up every day in the last couple of months thinking about him is how he can impact our major-league team and our organization more than the safety of it all.”\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tRound 2 (No. 43): Carson Tinney<\/a>, C, Texas. A Notre Dame-to-Texas transfer with legit 70-grade raw power (22 HR, exit velos north of 115 mph) and a patient approach, though with some swing-and-miss in the profile. Trevor Brown was the area scout who recommended Tinney. Brown is also responsible for the signing of current Twins like Kody Funderburk<\/a>, Andrew Morris<\/a>, and Marco Raya<\/a>, and prospects such as James Ellwanger<\/a> and Dasan Hill<\/a>,\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tSean Johnson talked to media after Day 1 was complete. “We take the best player on the board, and that’s what we did. I think it’s the first time it’s ever happened. But we weren’t trying to make history or not make history. It was just where we were at on the board; That’s who were thought was the best player to take. We’re excited to have both of them.”\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tOf Tinney, Johnson mentioned his exit velocities and huge power. He also talked about his arm and defense. It wasn’t long ago (2018) that the Twins drafted Ryan Jeffers in a similar spot in that draft, and he was said to be an offense-first catcher. However, the Twins scouts believed all along that with development, he could be good. Is the same true for Tinney? “The raw ingredients are there. He can really throw. From everything we’ve looked at, his defensive stuff under the hood was solid. From the Combine, his background as a catcher, he’s wired to really want to work at it and improve and take steps forward.”\n<\/p>\n \n\tCompetitive Balance B (No. 74): Brett Renfrow<\/a>, RHP, Virginia Tech. The 6-foot-3 Hokies starter sits 94 and has touched 97 while working at the top of the strike zone. He’s got upper-80s slider and cutter. He also throws a pretty low-80s, over-the-top curve. He also has a changeup. What can the Twins pitcher development staff do with him? John Wilson is the legendary Twins scout that recommended Renfrow. He’s been in the Twins organization for more than 35 years. He’s responsible for current Twins David Festa<\/a> and Cody Laweryson<\/a>, and prospects like Kyler Fedko<\/a>, Tanner Schobel<\/a>, Xavier Kolhosser<\/a>, Callan Fang<\/a>, and Jonathan Stevens<\/a>. One of his best draft picks was LHP Ryan O’Rourke<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tSean Johnson: “Really fits our mold of college starter, really good strike thrower, full mix of pitches that we think we can enhance and optimize more once we sign him. Really good make up.”\n<\/p>\n \n\tRound 3 (No. 79): Ethan Wachsmann<\/a>, RHP, Grandview HS (Colorado).\u00a0The Twins first prep pick was this 6-foot-4 right-hander sits in the mid-90s but had touched triple digits at the Combine. He throws both a curveball and a slider. He has a commitment to Wake Forest. Will he follow in the footsteps of fellow Grandview alum Kevin Gausman by going to college (LSU), or wills the Twins find enough to meet his asking price? He was recommended by area scout Chandler Wagoner. He also recommended Luke Keaschall<\/a> in 2023.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tSean Johnson: “A player we scouted heavily. We had a lot of people going in and out of Denver this spring. He really checks a lot of the boxes for a high school pitcher. He’s got a really tremendous body, and it’s only going to get better.\u00a0 He’s a very athletic kid with really good arm action. He’s got multiple spin pitches. He’s got a changeup that can be really good that’s only going to get better once he uses it more in pro ball. Obviously up to 100 at the Combine. We don’t try to overreact to what we see at the Combine. We saw him throw plenty hard this spring. He’s committed to Wake Forest. It’s a guy you could easily see going to Wake Forest and coming out the other side looking like a first-round pick. To get him in the spot we did feels like a real win for the room.”\n<\/p>\n