Twins have selected righthander Tyler Duffey from Rice University in the fifth round. Duffey shared closing duties with third-round pick J.T. Chargois. But the folks at mlb.com speculated that Duffey could be made a starter because he has the makings of a solid change up. Duffey is 21 and a junior.
Twins select a second pitcher from Rice University
Twins have drafted six pitchers in the draft
By lavelle neal
June 5, 2012 at 6:34PM
Hmmmm. Baseball America has Duffey ranked 388th on their list.
J.T. Chargois is Rice's main closer and projects as a top-two-rounds selection, but it's Duffey who's having a better season in the Owls' bullpen. Entering the Conference USA tournament, Duffey had a superior ERA (1.84 to 2.27), strikeout rate (11.7 per nine innings to 8.8) and opponent average (.172 to .214). He doesn't have Chargois' pure stuff, but Duffey has an 88-92 mph fastball that touches 94 and backs it up with an average slider. He has the makings of a changeup and a durable 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame, so a pro team could give him a chance to start. Scouts also love the way he competes.
That's eight picks for the Twins. Six of them pitchers.
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lavelle neal
After an incredible 25-year career that saw him become MLB's all-time stolen bases leader and the greatest leadoff hitter ever, Rickey Henderson died Friday at age 65.
