The Twins’ 2026 draft class is built around one name at the top, and Vahn Lackey shows up everywhere in the report card for a reason.
Georgia Tech’s catcher was Minnesota’s first pick, and Baseball America’s breakdown makes clear why he stood out in so many different lanes. He earned the nod as the best pure hitter in the class for the Twins, thanks to a swing that has long found the barrel and a junior season power surge that may have overshadowed the hit tool. Lackey finished his college career hitting .347, posted an 87.2% in-zone contact rate this spring at Georgia Tech and then followed that with an 83.5% in-zone contact rate in his pro debut.
He also took home best defensive player, best athlete, fastest runner and closest to the majors, which tells you how complete the profile looked from the jump. Lackey’s defense is the loudest part of his game: elite hands, strong receiving, the mobility to block at a high level, plus arm strength and a quick exchange that can produce 80-grade pop times in games.
Baseball America even noted he could grow into a 70-grade defender with Gold Glove upside. And for a catcher, he moves like he was built for something other than the position.
Lackey went 34-for-38 on stolen-base attempts at Georgia Tech and 13-for-15 between Low-A and High-A in his debut. He also played all eight non-pitcher positions in a game for Georgia Tech early in the season, which only adds to the athletic profile.
The Twins also used their first two picks on catchers, and Texas backstop Carson Tinney brought a completely different kind of thunder. Tinney won best power hitter honors because his bat is built around raw force rather than pure contact.
He homered 42 times across three college seasons, then tied for the lead among 2026 draftees with eight homers in a 24-game pro debut. Baseball America described him as having some of the most extreme raw power in the class, with the kind of easy pop that can send balls out to either foul pole.
On the mound side, Colorado high school right-hander Ethan Wachsmann earned best fastball. He was the most expensive pitcher the Twins signed in the class, and his heater has already reached 100 mph.
The report also pointed out there’s still room to unlock more with mechanical adjustments that could improve his ground force and efficiency. For present fastball quality, though, Texas right-hander Thomas Burns was right there too.
Burns sits 96-97 mph, touches 100 and pairs it with elite riding life that produced a miss rate north of 40% in both 2025 and 2026.
Best secondary pitch went to UC San Diego right-hander Steele Murdock, whose mid-to-upper-80s gyro slider gave hitters problems from both sides this spring. The pitch generated a 22.9% swinging-strike rate and projects as an above-average weapon.
The class also got a strong note for its early pro performance. The Twins had four hitters with more than 90 plate appearances and an OPS above .850, and Lackey’s .859 mark stood out because he did it while getting 10 games of High-A work. Tinney, Michigan second baseman Colby Turner and NAIA Hope International shortstop Isaiah Lane all hit well in Low-A Fort Myers.
Turner also picked up the Twins’ most intriguing background nod. The Huntington Beach native comes from a surfing family, and his father, Ryan, was inducted into the Surfers Hall of Fame in 2016.
Turner himself was part of the Huntington Beach High School surfing team. He was also one of the better hitters in the Big Ten in 2026, landed as a back-end member of Baseball America’s BA 500 and turned in a .366/.432/.625 spring with career highs of 14 homers and 18 doubles.
That production made him the Twins’ best 11+ round pick or nondrafted free agent.
Taken together, Minnesota’s class had a clear identity: athleticism, catching, impact bats and some real arms at the top.
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