SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. – Brandon Winokur, by the literal and figurative definitions, was the biggest prospect the Twins sent to the Arizona Fall League.
He stands 6-foot-6 and is arguably the best athlete in the Twins farm system. He’s a fast runner with a strong arm who can play shortstop and center field. His power matches his height with some towering home runs and loud exit velocities.
And he might not even be the best athlete in his family.
Winokur’s younger brother, Ben, was a high school All-American volleyball player who now plays at Loyola in Chicago. His dad, Keith, was a decathlete at San Francisco State, and his mom, Christine, was a hurdler at California-Irvine.
There were a lot of household competitions, as one could imagine, and Brandon is known as a good bowler. Winokur credits his mom for keeping peace at home.
Winokur, a third-round pick in the 2023 amateur draft, says his brother was the better youth baseball player — “I think he got bored,” Winokur said, laughing — before he gave up the sport and focused on volleyball.
It was that athletic background that drew the Twins to Winokur, giving him a $1.5 million bonus to bypass a commitment to UCLA. It was the same amount of money they gave second-round pick Luke Keaschall, who made his major league debut this year.
Winokur starred at Edison High School in Huntington Beach, Calif., and the Twins were enamored with his potential when he put on a batting practice show during the MLB draft combine where he hit 430-foot homers at Arizona’s Chase Field.
