The Twins spent the 71st overall pick on Niko Goodrum.
Follow the jump for his pre-draft profile.
Niko Goodrum Position: SS School: Fayette County HS State: GA Height: 6’4’’ Weight: 180
Bats: B Throws: R Birth Date: 2/28/92 Seiler Rating: 1C2 Commitment: Kennesaw State
Niko Goodrum is an intriguing athlete from Fayette County High School in Fayetteville, Georgia, a southern suburb of Atlanta. Goodrum offers a number of tools in the middle infield, and much of his draft stock relies on projection and ability to move to center field. At the plate, he offers very high upside. His hit tool is probably one of his weakest tools, but some scouts look at him as an average hitter in the future. Nevertheless, most give him fringe-average grades for his hit tool and look at him as a .260 hitter. Despite that lack of confidence, most scouts believe in his power, which is consistently rated as above-average. His frame is so tall and lanky that scouts think he could add strength while keeping his speed. He’s just a skinny kid right now, but he could be very close to a level where strength will come quickly. He’s a plus runner right now and that’s what makes him even more interesting. His combination of power and speed is hard to find up the middle even in center field. However, there is a debate about whether he will stay at short long term. Some think he will gain so much strength that he’ll slow down enough to fit better at third base. In other words, some think he will not even be able to transition to center field if this scenario plays out. Either way, as of now a transition to center is the most likely outcome. If he ends up there, he should be an average fielder because his arm is above-average to plus. If a team believes they have a high-ceiling starting shortstop or center fielder for the future, he could go in the top three rounds where he’ll be signable. His draft range, though, is more in the second to fourth round range.