Twins take shortstop with top pick in MLB draft

No Canadians selected in 1st round, but pitcher taken at top of 2nd round

SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) — The Minnesota Twins think they’ve got their shortstop of the future in the speedy and slick-fielding Royce Lewis.

The California high school star was taken with the No. 1 pick in the Major League Baseball draft on Monday. It was the third time the Twins were up first — the last time was 2001, when they grabbed hometown high school catcher Joe Mauer with the top choice.

“My body just went numb,” Lewis said during an interview with MLB Network. “It was an unbelievable feeling.”

The Toronto Blue Jays took North Carolina shortstop Logan Warmoth with the 22nd overall selection. Toronto also had the No. 28 pick, choosing right-handed pitcher Nate Pearson from Central Florida.

The Blue Jays were one of only three teams picking twice in the first round Monday. They received a compensation pick from Cleveland after Edwin Encarnacion signed with the Indians as a free agent. Toronto also picked high school catcher Hagen Danner with their second-round selection (61st overall).

The first Canadian selected, right-handed pitcher Landon Leach of Pickering, Ont., went to the Twins in the second round (37th overall). High school shortstop Adam Hall of London, Ont., went to Baltimore with the 60th overall pick.

Lewis played both shortstop and outfield in high school. But the Twins, who lead the AL Central after going 59-103 last year, classified him as a shortstop when Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement at MLB Network studios.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Lewis hit .377 with four homers and 25 stolen bases for JSerra Catholic High School, establishing himself as a top prospect with excellent speed and a solid bat.

“He’s got that ‘it’ factor that a No. 1 pick needs to survive and move forward and have success at the end of the journey,” said Mike Radcliff, the Twins’ vice-president.