In Alex Kirilloff, the Twins got the young hitter they were looking for in the MLB draft. How did their AL Central rivals do? Here’s a look:
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Picking one spot ahead of the Twins, Cleveland also chose a high school outfielder, one who projects to exhibit more power than Kirilloff. Will Benson, a 6-6, 220-pounder from Atlanta, batted .455 with eight home runs as a senior and led Westminster School to its first Georgia state championship in decades.
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Another player named Puckett to star in the big leagues? Kansas City hopes so, after choosing Pepperdine righthander A.J. Puckett with the 67th overall pick, the Royals’ only first-day selection. Puckett went 9-3 with a 1.27 ERA as a starter for the Waves, showing a fastball that can touch 95 miles per hour.
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Matt Manning is a natural athlete, so it’s no surprise he’s turning pro. That it’s as a baseball player, that might be the shock. Manning, a righthander from Sacramento taken by the Tigers with the ninth pick, is 6-6 and the son of a former NBA center. He averaged 26 points in high school, but it’s his 98 mph fastball that excited scouts — and caused Detroit to take a high school pitcher for a second year in a row.
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The highest-rated catcher in the draft, the University of Miami’s Zack Collins and his .355 average and 13 homers in the ACC, went with the 10th overall pick, and the White Sox immediately provided him with a batterymate. Zack Burdi, brother of Twins pitching prospect Nick Burdi, was taken with the 26th pick, a dream selection for the suburban Chicago native. Like his brother, Burdi was Louisville’s closer with a 98 mph fastball.
