The Twins appear to have an easy decision to make as they hold the first overall pick of the June 12 first-year player draft.
Draft shortstop-pitcher Hunter Greene from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He'll likely pitch as a pro, where his 101-mph fastball could devastate opponents. And he would be the first prep righthander ever to be taken with the top pick.
Or … the Twins could tab Louisville lefthander-first baseman Brendan McKay, who is considered one of the finest college baseball players in recent years. His polish at both positions have him projected as a fast mover through a farm system.
Break down the tape. Dive deep into the numbers. Do background checks. Flip a coin. Greene or McKay, take a stand.
Twins scouting director Sean Johnson is not there yet. He spent part of Monday on conference calls with area scouts from across the country as they examine more players for the first pick than Greene and McKay. The Twins, in reality, are far from reaching a consensus for the first pick.
Indications are that a handful of officials have seen all the top prospects — and all of them have different rankings.
"We're getting closer," Johnson said. "Everybody who is in the room is going to have a different list than the other guy, but there's not an unanimous vote in sight, that would be my guess today. It's going to come down to the end. We're just sorting it through and working each guy until the very end.
"I know that's a company line, but that's the truth."
Some national draft analysts have the Twins leaning toward McKay, who is 8-3 with a 1.80 ERA for the Cardinals as a pitcher and is batting .372 with 15 homers and 46 RBI as a first baseman. He usually pitches Fridays, is the designated hitter Saturdays then plays first base Sundays. Many teams view him as a pitching prospect.
But the Twins have not settled on McKay and have a list of options that, in addition to McKay and Greene, includes Royce Lewis, a shortstop from JSerra High School in San Juan Capistrano, Calif; Kyle Wright, a righthander from Vanderbilt; Mac- Kenzie Gore, a lefthander from Whiteville (N.C.) High School; Pavin Smith, a first baseman from Virginia; and Shane Baz, a righthander from Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball, Texas.
"Right now, we're working a lot of guys," said Mike Radcliff, Twins vice president of player personnel.
New special assistants Torii Hunter, LaTroy Hawkins and Michael Cuddyer either have traveled to see the top prospects or have watched video of them. Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey and General Manager Thad Levine sneaked away to scouting trips.
The list likely won't be narrowed until scouts arrive June 5 for a week of pre-draft meetings. The Twins also will hold workouts for prospects in Atlanta; Waco, Texas; Orange County, Calif.; and Target Field as part of the run-up to the draft.
Greene might be the most intriguing player in the pool because of his powerful arm and careful development. The Twins have had him on their radar for three years, and former scouting director Deron Johnson was in the Greene family's living room in Stevenson Ranch, Calif., last August.
Greene has been shut down from pitching for the rest of the season and only will play shortstop for his prep team. He's a prospect as a position player, but more teams view him as a starting pitcher.
And the Twins are not concerned about the high school righthander phobia.
"That's a historical fact for sure," Radcliff said, "but you look back and see a lot of guys who should have been drafted first. Kerry Wood should have been drafted first. Josh Beckett should have been drafted first."
High school or college player. Pitcher or position player. The Twins don't feel it's quite the time to shrink the pool. Their options remain wide open, with just less than a month until the draft.
"As soon as you make up your mind on May 15 something changes two weeks later," Falvey said. "We want to make sure that we keep the pool of players in the mix and scout them all the way to the end."
