Minneapolis – The 2025 MLB Draft kicked off on Sunday night with Rounds 1 through 3, along with several compensation rounds. The Twins had the 16th pick in the draft and took Wake Forest University shortstop Marek Houston with their first pick.
Like many Day 1 draft picks, the day was a lifelong dream come true for Houston, 21, as he takes the first steps on his journey in professional baseball.
“I was sitting on the couch for about three hours just watching the TV, and it kind of just hits you right after,” Houston said, reflecting on when the Twins informed him they had picked him. “All the hard work and everything with your family around you, it’s just amazing, all the people around you. It’s awesome.”
Houston had a stellar junior year at the plate with Wake Forest, putting up a .354/.458/.597 slash line with 15 home runs, 66 RBI, 19 stolen bases, and a .243 ISO in 61 games. His stats were all career highs for Houston at Wake Forest. Still, his fielding abilities at shortstop most drew Minnesota’s scouting department to him.
“We’ve seen him for a long time at Wake Forest and really love to watch him play shortstop,” said Twins assistant general manager Sean Johnson. “I think sometimes… there’s always the question of ‘Can this guy stay at short?’ We really feel like he’s a really good shortstop, range, arm, all the things that we know are important for the position.”
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise how good Houston is with his glove at short when he’s modeled his game after two-time Gold Glove winner Dansby Swanson and 2024 American League Gold Glove winner Alex Bregman. He’s followed Bregman mostly through his major league career, but he had the chance to see Swanson earlier in his life when he was still the starting shortstop at Vanderbilt.
Watching how Swanson flashed the leather on the field drew Houston in awe of the similarities they had, even though he was just an 11-year-old kid.
“He reminded me of myself, kind of wanted to play the game the way he did,” said Houston. “There are definitely some similarities, looking at it now. Those guys are definitely the two guys I looked up to and look to model my game after.”
Having a Dansby Swanson defensive comp in the organization is certainly an eye-catching trait of skills that will draw the attention of Twins fans. However, Houston doesn’t want people to gloss over his improvements at the plate this season. He felt his maturity as a hitter last season propelled him forward in the 2025 Draft Class rankings.
“I think my first two years, I was always known as the shortstop,” said Houston. “My freshman year, I didn’t hit very well, but I was always the guy at short that pitchers should count on. So I always took pride in that, and it was just kind of developing as a person and a player to become the hitter I am.”
“Knowing that he’s put on weight since he’s been at Wake Forest, since he’s stepped on campus as a freshman, and then you’re layering on makeup,” Johnson said. “Marek’s a worker who’s driven to be a really good player, so we’re hoping to carry that forward.”
The level of competition he faced in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) also contributed to his growth as a hitter. Many of the best college players come from the ACC or SEC, where the Twins found another 2025 Draft pick, Riley Quick, out of the University of Alabama.
Johnson explained how the level of competition in those two conferences significantly contributes to the skills of the players who stand out in them, like Houston did at Wake Forest.
“I think it’s an important part of the decision-making process when you have players that have been able to survive and thrive in the ACC and the SEC,” he said. “It’s a pretty good signal that they’re going to be able to do well once they get into professional baseball.”
It’s something that Houston feels helped him keep motivated to improve upon his game on all sides of the ball, especially when other high draft picks from the ACC are playing at the same position as him. Seaver King, the Washington Nationals' first-round pick in 2024, played with Houston at Wake Forest.
“Going out there and competing with those guys, it really brings out the best in you, and I think that’s great about the game of baseball,” said Houston. “It’s that you can go out there, and there can be a guy with the same skillset, but one of you gets to play the same position, and the other one doesn’t. If not, kind of just works out the way it does.”
Minnesota’s player development department still has high hopes for Houston at shortstop. They believe what he’s accomplished over the years at Wake Forest is only the start of what he can do to hold down the position until he reaches the big leagues.
“He’s got great instincts, great reads off the bat,” said Johnson. “He’s got plenty of arm strength. He’s got range. He’s got feel for moving laterally. All the things you need to stay at short, we think he can do it. That was obviously another draw with Marek.”
In the meantime, the Twins have approximately $4,930,000 in pool money allocated for the 16th pick in the draft. More details will be hammered out in the coming weeks between the Twins, Houston, and his agent, to have him signed by the July 28* deadline.
Once the Twins sign him, they'll likely assign him to Low-A Fort Myers, an hour away from his home in Venice, Fla. He previously played in Hammond Stadium for a high school state tournament as a freshman in 2019.
He’ll likely get to keep his jersey number, seven, once he joins the Mighty Mussels. But when he arrives in the majors, he’ll have to wear a new one, given No. 7’s place in Twins history. However, that doesn’t faze Houston at all, given that Joe Mauer wore it.
“That’s fine. I’ve had all kinds of numbers growing up. Stuck at seven at Wake and loved it for the time being, and who knows what number I get?”
*An earlier version of this post listed August 1 as the deadline to sign drafted players. We regret the error.
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