A teenage Carlos Correa 'hit bombs' all over Target Field, and it almost made him a Twin

La Velle's 3-2 Pitch: Three observations and two predictions on Sundays.

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Most Twins talent evaluators in 2012 identified prep outfielder Byron Buxton as the best player available in that year's draft. Some, however, had another player rated higher.

That player was shortstop Carlos Correa out of the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy.

That group had their beliefs confirmed right before the draft when the club brought in Correa and a handful of other prospects for a workout at Target Field.

The Twins tried to get Buxton, then a senior at Appling County High School in Baxley, Ga., to come up for the workout too, but scheduling didn't work out. That would have been quite a showcase of the top two players selected in the draft that year. Instead, Correa seized the moment to create a bit of a legend.

"He had an unbelievable workout," said Twins senior adviser of scouting Deron Johnson, who was scouting director that year. "That was the year Adam Brett Walker nearly hit one out of Target. But Correa put on an absolute show, hitting bombs out to right-center field.

"It was impressive because he was just 17 years old, but he was hitting them out."

Correa asked the batting practice pitcher to throw baseballs on the outer half of the plate so he could drive the ball the other way.

What did Correa remember about that day?

"That I hit a lot of bombs into the upper deck in that workout," Correa said in a 2016 interview. "That's all I remember; it was a nice stadium and I hit a lot of bombs."

Correa is 6-4 now and weighs 220 pounds. Johnson was a little nervous then that Correa's body would not hold up at short and force him to third base. But Correa has handled short well, making terrific stops and showing off a powerful arm.

Houston had the first overall pick that year and took Correa. The Twins would have gladly taken Correa if the Astros had selected Buxton but were more than pleased to take Buxton second overall. That ended up being a productive draft, as the Twins later selected Jose Berrios, Tyler Duffey and Taylor Rogers.

But the star of the class was Correa, whose 34.1 career WAR is the highest of any player selected in that round. And that workout ended up a portent, as he is batting .413 with five home runs and 20 RBI in 15 games at Target Field with a 1.205 on base-plus-slugging percentage.

The Twins had hoped Correa and Buxton would have worked out together that day at Target Field. It took a few years and one big free-agent signing last week, but Correa and Buxton will play together there when they face the Mariners on Opening Day in less than two weeks.

Before becoming the Vikings general manager in January, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had already spoken to a sports team from the Twin Cities.

During the week of the Vikings-Browns Week 4 matchup at U.S. Bank Stadium, Adofo-Mensah and members of the Browns staff had a Zoom conversation with the Minnesota Twins about scouting and development.

"We are always trying to tap into people in sports and performance-oriented businesses to see what we can learn about cutting edge ways of evaluating and developing talent," said Derek Falvey, the Twins' director of baseball operations.

The meeting was the result of classic networking. Falvey knew Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski from his time as a Vikings assistant coach. Adofo-Mensah's college roommate at Princeton was current Cleveland GM Mike Chernoff, where Falvey worked before joining the Twins. The teams have met on more than one occasion.

One reason the Wild couldn't get past the Golden Knights in the playoffs last season was Marc-Andre Fleury. The veteran goaltender was in top form throughout the series, which Las Vegas won in seven games, and posted a tidy 2.04 goals-against average in 16 games that postseason, the second-lowest of his playoff career.

Fleury's playoff success — he won three Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh — is a reason he's in Wild colors now. He's a difference-maker on the biggest stage. The man has played in 162 postseason games.

"He is what I call a stealer," former Gophers star and current radio analyst Pat Micheletti said. "He can go out and steal you a win in a big game when you need it. The Wild have never had a goaltender like that."

They do now.

... AND TWO PREDICTIONS ...

Look for disgruntled Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield to end up in New Orleans. The Saints can't trust Jameis Winston, and the best quarterback prospects will be gone before the Saints' 18th pick in the first round.

The Wild has immediately responded to the moves General Manager Bill Guerin made before the trade deadline. The call here is that the newcomers make a difference Sunday and the team hands Colorado a loss at Xcel Energy Center.