Chipola College has turned out some talent through the years, like Russell Martin, Tyler Flowers and Jose Bautista. The Twins hope Andrew Bechtold will follow in their footsteps.
Bechtold was selected in the fifth round on Tuesday, a player who started his career at Maryland before getting injured, falling back in the depth chart and moving to Chipola to prove himself. He did, batting .421 with 11 home runs. He does have the option of returning to a four-year program and is set up to head to LSU. So the Twins might have to give him more than the $378,000 he's slotted to receive.
Here's Baseball America's take:
Bechtold batted just .218 as a redshirt freshman at Maryland in 2016. He transferred to Chipola and took off under the tutelage of head coach Jeff Johnson. Bechtold is a righthanded hitter capable of generating plus bat speed with a compact swing path. He's able to drive the ball to all fields and he has grown into more power this spring. Bechtold got off to a hot start to the season and put up excellent numbers for Chipola, batting .421/.535/.683 and hitting 11 home runs. Most scouts project him to develop an average bat with plus power, though his limited track record creates some uncertainty. Bechtold is an above-average runner, has plenty of arm strength for the left side and scouts believe he can stick at third base.
BA had Bechtold ranked as the 95th best prospect. MLB.com had him at 142. Twins took him at 136.
