The Minnesota Twins have a long history of problems developing starting pitching. Using 100 starts as a barometer, since 1961 the Twins have signed and developed just 11 pitchers in their system that have gone on to get 100 or more starts in a Twins uniform. The only first round pick in the bunch is Pete Redfern, three round tw0 picks, two round three picks, one fourth round pick, one fifth round pick, Brad Radke was an eighth round pick, one 29th round pick and an amateur free agent (Dave Boswell).
Since the June amateur free agent draft started in 1965 the Twins have drafted 31 pitchers in round 1 or as round 1 supplementary/compensation picks. Actually part of the Twins issues with starting pitching relates to spending money or the lack there of. The first two right-handed pitchers drafted by the Twins in round 1 were Dick Ruthven in 1972 and Tim Belcher (first overall pick) in 1983 who both refused to sign with Minnesota and went on to have long careers in MLB. The first left-handed pitcher drafted in round 1 to start any games was Eddie Bane and his Twins career lasted 25 starts. As I mentioned earlier, the draft started in 1965 but the Twins only drafted starting pitching in round 1 twice (Ruthven in 1972 and Bane in 1973) between 1965-1981. The first RHP that they drafted in round 1 that actually started a number of games (45 in Twins career) was Willie Banks who the team drafted in 1987. Since 2000 they have drafted a pitcher in round 1 a total of 17 times.
Starting pitching signed and developed by the Twins since 1961
| Rk | Player | GS | From | To | Age | G | W | L | IP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Brad Radke | 377 | 1995 | 2006 | 22-33 | 378 | 148 | 139 | 2451.0 | 4.22 |
| 2. | Bert Blyleven | 345 | 1970 | 1988 | 19-37 | 348 | 149 | 138 | 2566.2 | 3.28 |
| 3. | Frank Viola | 259 | 1982 | 1989 | 22-29 | 260 | 112 | 93 | 1772.2 | 3.86 |
| 4. | Dave Goltz | 215 | 1972 | 1979 | 23-30 | 247 | 96 | 79 | 1638.0 | 3.48 |
| 5. | Scott Baker | 159 | 2005 | 2011 | 23-29 | 163 | 63 | 48 | 958.0 | 4.15 |
| 6. | Scott Erickson | 153 | 1990 | 1995 | 22-27 | 155 | 61 | 60 | 979.1 | 4.22 |
| 7. | Dave Boswell | 150 | 1964 | 1970 | 19-25 | 187 | 67 | 54 | 1036.1 | 3.49 |
| 8. | Nick Blackburn | 137 | 2007 | 2012 | 25-30 | 145 | 43 | 55 | 818.2 | 4.85 |
| 9. | Allan Anderson | 128 | 1986 | 1991 | 22-27 | 148 | 49 | 54 | 818.2 | 4.11 |
| 10. | Pete Redfern | 111 | 1976 | 1982 | 21-27 | 170 | 42 | 48 | 714.0 | 4.54 |
| 11. | Roger Erickson | 106 | 1978 | 1982 | 21-25 | 114 | 31 | 47 | 712.0 | 4.10 |
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If you can’t find, sign, and develop your starting pitching, you only have a few options at your disposal, you could make a trade, you can sign a free agent, or you can find one on the waiver wire (ha, ha, ha).
The option I want to write about here is the Twins attempts to trade for starting pitching since the turn of the century, a total of 17 years. Trading for starters hasn’t exactly gone as planned either.