The Twins drafted 43 players in the 2012 First Year player draft. With the second overall pick, the Twins selected Appling County High School (Baxley, Georgia) outfielder Byron Buxton who has signed a baseball scholarship with Georgia. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Buxton, a true five-tool prospect, led Appling County to the Class AA state championship. Buxton, also pitched and has a fastball that has been clocked at 99 mph, struck out 18 batters in last week’s clinching game. He is expected to play centerfield in pro ball. Buxton, who said he expects to sign before the July 13 deadline, comes from a middle-class background, his father drives a truck for a living, while his mother works at a school cafeteria. This year’s No. 2 pick has a slotted signing bonus of $6.2 million. The last time the Twins went the high school route with their first round pick was back in 2008 when they took outfielder Aaron Hicks.
As of June 10th the Twins have signed 10 of their 43 picks including their second round pick LHP Mason Melotakis. According to a Twins source, they expect to sign 25-30 of their 43 picks and spend somewhere between $12.5-$13 million this year. Here is how the rest of their draft selections breakdown.
| Position | College | High School | Bats Right | Bats Left | Switch Hitter | LHP | RHP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a |
| 1B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a |
| 2B | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a |
| SS | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a |
| 3B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a |
| OF | 4 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a |
| P | 20 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 8 | 16 |
| TOTALS | 31 (72%) | 12 (28%) | 17 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 16 |
Picking 30th, the Twins drafted 52 players in the 2011 First Year player draft. The Twins selected Levi Michael a switch-hitting shortstop from North Carolina with their first pick. The Twins signed 33 of their 52 (63%) picks in 2011 and spent just under $5.9 million. Here is how the rest of their draft selections break down.
| Position | College | High school | Bats right | Bats left | switch hitter | LHP | RHP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a |
| 1B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a |
| 2B | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a |
| SS | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a |
| 3B | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a |
| OF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | n/a | n/a |
| P | 23 | 12 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 17 | 18 |
| TOTALS | 34 (65%) | 18 (35%) | 12 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 18 |
In 2010 the Twins signed 31 of 50 (62%) of the players they drafted.
In 2009 the Twins signed 23 of 51 (45%) of the players they drafted.
Let’s take a peek at the American League from 2009 through 2011 and see how many drafted players have actually been signed by the teams. It is really no surprise that MLB dropped to 50 rounds in 2012 as a very low percentage of the players drafted in rounds 41-50 were signed anyway. Between 2009 and 2011 only 3 first round picks chose not to sign and they were the first rounders for Texas and Tampa in 2009 and Toronto in 2011. If you are going to be drafted and want to sign, you have to hope that the Mariners draft you because they have the highest signing percentage while the Yankees have the lowest signing percentage. Only the Yankees at 46%, the Reds Sox at 48%, the Rangers at 50%, the Indians at 53%, and the Orioles at 56% have a lower signing percentage than the Twins 57% . Who would have thought that?
| TEAM | 2011drafted/signed | 2010drafted/signed | 2009drafted/signed | Totals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twins | 52/33 | 50/31 | 51/23 | 153/87(57%) |
| Tigers | 49/33 | 51/33 | 50/25 | 150/91(61%) |
| White Sox | 50/33 | 51/34 | 52/39 | 153/106(69%) |
| Indians | 50/27 | 50/27 | 50/26 | 150/80(53%) |
| Royals | 50/33 | 50/37 | 49/27 | 149/97(65%) |
| Yankees | 50/23 | 50/26 | 49/20 | 149/69(46%) |
| Rays | 60/48 | 53/38 | 50/25 | 163/111(68%) |
| Orioles | 50/22 | 49/39 | 50/22 | 149/83(56%) |
| Red Sox | 53/30 | 52/24 | 50/20 | 155/74(48%) |
| Blue Jays | 55/38 | 52/38 | 52/32 | 159/108(68%) |
| Angels | 49/39 | 55/43 | 54/30 | 158/112(71%) |
| A’s | 49/30 | 50/33 | 49/25 | 148/88(59%) |
| Mariners | 51/44 | 50/38 | 52/29 | 153/111(73%) |
| Rangers | 51/25 | 53/38 | 51/15 | 155/78(50%) |
| 719/458(64%) | 720/479(67%) | 709/358(50%) |