2017 MLB Draft: Twins are reportedly deciding between two players for No. 1 pick

The Twins hold the first pick in Monday's draft and 'signability' may be a factor in their selection

Monday night, all 30 baseball teams will look to acquire their next franchise cornerstone when the 2017 First-Year Player Draft begins. It's a three-day even that covers 40 rounds. Here are all the first round details.

The Minnesota Twins hold the first overall pick for the third time in franchise history. They used their previous No. 1 selections on Tim Belcher (1983) and Joe Mauer (2001). As it stands, the Twins are still deciding who to take with that top pick Monday night, though they are reportedly down to two players:

There's a strong sense the Twins are down to two choices with the No. 1 pick tonight: Louisville LHP/1B Brendan McKay and HS SS Royce Lewis.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 12, 2017

In our mock draft, we projected the Twins to take Vanderbilt RHP Kyle Wright. That was before Wright allowed seven runs on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings in his Super Regionals start over the weekend. While one game is never enough to completely change a team's opinion, clubs will surely take Wright's weekend performance into consideration before the draft.

The Twins are basing their No. 1 pick decision on money as much as talent. As teams with the No. 1 pick have done in the past, the Twins could cut a pre-draft below-slot deal with one player -- those are not allowed, by the way, but they happen all the time -- and use the savings on another player later in the draft. MLB.com's Jim Callis has more:

At $14,156,800, the Twins have the largest bonus pool for the first 10 rounds of any club, including $7,770,700 for the top choice. Saving money there would allow them to spend more on talented players who drop to their supplemental first-round pick at No. 35, their second-rounder at No. 37 or to later rounds.

If Lewis would give Minnesota a significant discount compared to McKay, that could swing the decision in his favor. The Reds are locked in on California prep right-hander Hunter Greene at No. 2 and the Padres may prefer North Carolina high school lefty MacKenzie Gore at No. 3, so either McKay or Lewis could drop to the Rays at No. 4 or the Braves at No. 5 if Minnesota passes on them.

Regardless of whether the Twins take McKay or Lewis or Wright or whoever, they are going to draft an incredibly talented player Monday night. They're just trying to determine how they can leverage their draft position into the most talent possible, which sometimes means cutting a deal with that No. 1 pick.