Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 55 | Run: 60 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50

Every Draft class has its fair share of high school outfielders who fall in the “five-tool potential” bucket. Winokur, a product of an Edison High School (Huntington Beach, Calif.) program that has produced big leaguers like Kyle Higashioka and Tim Lopes, has the chance to be one of the best in the class of 2023 after showcasing his tools at summer showcase events like the PDP League, the Area Code Games and the Perfect Game All-American Classic.

Winokur certainly looks the part at 6-foot-5 and has the chance to have multiple plus tools in the future. The right-handed hitter will have easily plus raw power and has shown he can tap into it at times against good competition. For a young player with such long levers, he’s also shown he can be pretty short to the ball, with a more compact swing than you’d expect. He’s a plus runner with a strong arm.

While his ability to use his raw tools consistently in games is one question, another is where he plays defensively long-term. The UCLA recruit plays a lot of shortstop for his high school team, but most see a better fit in an outfield corner, where his power and speed could profile very well.

Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 55 | Run: 60 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45

As the 2023 Draft approached, there were teams who were no doubt interested in Winokur’s size and the raw tools he showed, albeit inconsistently, the summer prior on the showcase circuit and then during his senior year at Edison High School in California. When the first day of the Draft came and went and Winokur’s name had not been called, many expected he would head on to UCLA. The Twins had other ideas, going over slot ($1.5 million) in the third round to sign him, then sent him out for a brief debut in the Florida Complex League.

During his 17 games in the FCL, the 6-foot-5 Winokur showed off some of his tools, namely his power, and also some of what he has to work on, striking out in more than 32 percent of his plate appearances. That’s obviously a very small sample size, but there’s long been concern about his swing-and-miss, as the right-handed hitter has long levers and employs a big leg kick, though he had shown at times as a prepster that he can be short to the ball. The raw power is legitimately at least plus and he’s already done a lot of work since signing on making adjustments and his bat-to-ball skills so he can tap into it more consistently.

Winokur is a tremendous athlete who runs very well, especially once he gets going. The Twins have been pleasantly surprised with how well he’s moved on the dirt and they aren’t ruling it out that he plays shortstop for longer than anyone anticipated. He’ll get some reps at third and in the outfield, in center or perhaps a corner in deference to first-rounder Walker Jenkins.

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 55 | Run: 60 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50

Every Draft class has its fair share of high school outfielders who fall in the five-tool potential bucket. Winokur, a product of an Edison HS (Huntington Beach, Calif.) program that has produced big leaguers like Kyle Higashioka and Tim Lopes, was one this year, albeit his tools were often on the raw side as he demonstrated them at showcase events last summer and into his senior year of high school. The Twins get to be the organization that helps him sharpen them after taking him in the third round of the 2023 Draft and going well over slot in the third round to sign him away from his UCLA commitment for $1.5 million.

Winokur certainly looks the part at 6-foot-5 and has the chance to have multiple plus tools in the future. The right-handed hitter will have easily plus raw power and has shown he can tap into it at times against good competition. For a young player with such long levers, he’s also shown he can be pretty short to the ball, with a more compact swing than you’d expect. He’s a plus runner with a strong arm.

His ability to use his raw tools consistently in games is one question, another is where he plays defensively long-term. He was announced as an outfielder when he was drafted, but he played a lot of shortstop in high school and the Twins let him play the premium position in the Florida Complex League, with encouraging early results. He also saw some time in the outfield. A corner spot, where his power and speed could profile very well, might be the best long-term fit.

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	07/10/2024	Fort Myers Mighty Mussels activated OF Brandon Winokur from the 7-day injured list.
	06/29/2024	Fort Myers Mighty Mussels placed OF Brandon Winokur on the 7-day injured list.
	04/01/2024	OF Brandon Winokur assigned to Fort Myers Mighty Mussels from FCL Twins.
	03/07/2024	Minnesota Twins Prospects activated OF Brandon Winokur.
	07/27/2023	OF Brandon Winokur assigned to FCL Twins.
	07/18/2023	Minnesota Twins signed OF Brandon Winokur.
	06/06/2023	3B Brandon Winokur assigned to College Workout.
	07/19/2022	High School Workout activated 3B Brandon Winokur.
	07/19/2022	RHP Brandon Winokur and assigned to High School Workout.