Twins See Helton Similiarities In Kirilloff
MINNESOTA—Deron Johnson didn’t have to look far for what he believes the Twins may have secured by drafting Alex Kirilloff with the 15th overall pick on Thursday.
Minutes after Johnson said Kirilloff, a high school outfielder from suburban Pittsburgh, reminded him of Christian Yelich, with perhaps a bit more power potential, the Marlins’ star outfielder smashed a double to left field in Target Field, roughly 150 feet from where Johnson was standing.
Yeah, just like that, Johnson seemed to say.
“He takes competitive at-bats, even against advanced pitching,” Johnson, the Twins’ scouting director, said of the first outfielder the Twins drafted in the first round since Byron Buxton in 2012. “He’s a guy we targeted. We’re happy as a group.”
That group of scouts have drafted five other outfielders in the first round since 2000, and all five—Denard Span, Chris Parmelee, Aaron Hicks, Ben Revere and Buxton—are currently in the majors. Kirilloff, a lefthanded hitter who batted .544 and played center field for Plum High this spring, could join that group, or he might wind up at first base, Johnson said.
Which reminds him of another comparison. “One of my scouts compared his swing to Todd Helton’s,” Johnson said.
Kirilloff is the son of a batting coach, and it shows, the Twins believe. “He’s got a really good technical swing. He squares up every ball,” Johnson said. “Very smooth swing.”
The 18-year-old’s father, Dave Kirilloff, owns an indoor training facility, including a batting cage, “so to have that accessible to me any time I wanted to train has been great. It’s been a key part of my development,” Kirilloff said after being drafted. “Baseball is something that was instilled in me at a very young age.”
And the reward came Thursday, when family and friends gathered to watch the draft. When Kirilloff, a home-schooled student who accepted a scholarship to Liberty, heard his name called, “we were super excited,” he said. His father “was the first person I hugged. This is a dream come true for him, too.”
Which is why the Twins believe Kirilloff will forego college and sign; the value assigned his draft slot is $2,817,100.
Twins scouts believe Kirilloff’s smooth swing will eventually give him above-average power. He won a showcase home-run derby in 2015, and has a good command of the strike zone, Johnson said.
“We did our work with this kid. We like his makeup,” Johnson said. “He’s a mature guy who gets along well with his teammates.”
TWIN KILLINGS
• The Twins had been linked to catchers before the draft, and they didn’t wait long, choosing Ben Rortvedt in the second round, No. 56 overall. Rorvedt, from Verona Area (Wis.) High, was rated the top prep catcher in the draft. His slot is worth $1.14 million.
• The Twins had two supplemental second-round picks, Nos. 73 and 74, and used them to draft Puerto Rican high school shortstop Jose Miranda and Conyers, Ga., high school outfielder Akil Baddoo. Miranda has the size to eventually move to third base, Johnson said, while the Twins were impressed with Baddoo’s speed and ability to play center field.
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