With the June Amateur Free Agent draft just a month or so away maybe it is time to look back and see who the Twins have drafted this century that has made an impact on the Minnesota Twins major league team. We all know that very few prospects make it to the big leagues and even fewer are stars, here is how the Twins have fared. Keep this in mind before you get overly excited about the Twins picks in this years drafts.
Twins draft choices since 2000
2000 draft – 52 drafted, 30 signed and 5 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform
Best Twins player – Jason Kubel (OF) was a 2nd round selection picked out of high school and debuted on August 31, 2004 and had a career WAR of 4.1. RETIRED
Wore a Twins uniform briefly – Josh Rabe (OF), J.D. Durbin (RHP), Adam Johnson RHP was 1st rounder and second pick overall) and Jason Miller (LHP)
2001 draft – 50 drafted, 33 signed, 3 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform and 1 played in big leagues for another team
Best Twins players – Joe Mauer (C) a Minnesota native was the number one overall pick out of Cretin High School and he debuted on April 5, 2004 and played with Minnesota throughout his career that ended after the 2018 season. Won an MVP, six time All-Star, five time Silver Slugger, three time Batting Champion and three time Gold Glove winner. Career WAR of 55.0. RETIRED
Best Twins players – Nick Blackburn was a collegiate right-handed pitcher drafted in round 29 and debuted on September 7, 2007. Blackburn pitched his entire career for the Twins from 2007-2012. RETIRED with a 3.1 career WAR.
Wore a Twins uniform briefly – Jose Morales (drafted as a shortstop but switched to catcher).
Played in big leagues for another team – Kevin Cameron (RHP).
2002 draft – 50 drafted, 22 signed, 3 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform and 3 played in big leagues for another team
Best Twins players – Denard Span (OF) was a first rounder out of high school and debuted on April 6, 2008. Span played for the Twins from 2008-2012 before being traded. I don’t think that Span is playing this year and has a career WAR of 26.2. RETIRED
Best Twins Players – Jesse Crain (RHP) was a second round pick out of college and debuted on August 5, 2004. Crain pitched for the Twins from 2004 through 2010 when he left as a free agent and pitched for the White Sox through 2013. Crain appeared in 532 games but never started a single game putting up a career WAR of 11.4 and made the All-Star team in his final year in the big leagues. RETIRED
Best Twins players – Pat Neshek was a sixth round pick out of college and debuted on July 7, 2006. Neshek pitched for Minnesota from 2006 through 2010 and was selected off waivers by the Padres in March 2011. Pat has pitched for seven big league teams and is currently with Philly and has 539 big league games on his resume with nary a start. The two time All-Star has a current career WAR of 11.1.
Played in big leagues for another team – Evan Meek (RHP), Kyle Phillips (C), and Brock Peterson (3B).
2003 draft – 50 drafted, 29 signed, 1 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform and 1 played in big leagues for another team
Best Twins player – Pitcher Scott Baker was picked in round 2 and made his debut on May 7, 2005. Baker pitched for the Twins from 2005 through 2011 when he injured his arm. Baker tried coming back with the Cubs in 2013, Rangers in 2014 and Dodgers in 2015 without a lot of success and ended his career with a 15.6 WAR. RETIRED
Played in big leagues for another team – Levale Speigner (RHP).
2004 draft – 54 drafted, 29 signed, 6 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform
Best Twins players – Native Minnesotan pitcher Glen Perkins was a round 1 supplementary pick out of the U of M and made his debut on September 21, 2006. Perkins was a three time All-Star from 2013-2015. The starter turned closer had injury issues late in his career and retired after the 2017 season with 12 big league seasons on his resume, all with the Minnesota Twins and a 8.7 WAR. RETIRED
Best Twins players – Trevor Plouffe drafted as a shortstop with the Twins first round pick and 20th overall out of high school. Plouffe made his debut on May 21, 2010 and played for the Twins in all or parts of sevens seasons between 2010 to 2016. Left as a free agent after 2016 and played for Oakland and Tampa in 2017 and briefly for Philly in 2018 and his career may be over with a 8.2 WAR. RETIRED
Best Twins players – High school pitcher Anthony Swarzak was drafted by Minnesota in round 2 and made his big league debut on May 23, 2009. Swarzak pitched for Minnesota in 2009 and 2011-2014 before leaving as a FA. Has since pitched for Cleveland, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee and is currently with Seattle and is sitting on a 4.4 WAR so far.
Wore a Twins uniform briefly – Matt Tolbert (SS), Kyle Waldrop (RHP), and Matt Fox (RHP).
Played in big leagues for another team – Steven Tolleson (SS).
2005 draft – 52 drafted, 22 signed, 5 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform and 1 played in big leagues for another team
Best Twins players – Pitcher Matt Garza was picked in round 1, 25th overall out of college. Garza made his debut ion August 11, 2006. Garza pitched for Minnesota in 2006 and 2007 and was traded to Tampa Bay after the 2007 season. Garza pitched in the big leagues for 12 years for the Twins, Rays, Cubs, Rangers and Brewers and won 2008 ALCS MVP award. Career WAR is 12.2. RETIRED
Best Twins players – Pitcher Brian Duensing was a 3rd round pick out of college and debuted on April 10, 2009. Duensing pitched for the Twins from 2009-2015 before leaving via FA. Pitched for Baltimore in 2016 and the Cubs in 2017-2018. Duensing is currently with the Cubs AAA team and has a 6.2 career WAR.
Best Twins players – Kevin Slowey was a collegiate pitcher drafted in round 2 and debuted with Minnesota on June 1, 2007. Slowey pitched for Minnesota from 2007 thru 2011 after which he was traded to the Rockies but never pitched for them and then was traded again to the Indians but never pitched for them in the big leagues either. He then became a FA and signed with Miami where he pitched in 2013 and 2014 at which point his big league career ended with a 4.4 WAR. RETIRED
Best Twins players – Alex Burnett was a RHP selected out of high school by the Twins in round 12. Burnett debuted on April 8, 2018 and pitched for the Twins from 2010-2012 before being selected on waivers in March 2013 by the Blue Jays. Career WAR is 0.0 and is RETIRED.
Wore a Twins uniform briefly – Rene Tosoni (OF).
2006 draft – 50 drafted, 22 signed, 7 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform
Best Twins players – Danny Valencia (3B) was 19th round pick out of college and debuted on June 3, 2010 and continued playing for the Twins thru August 2012 when the Twins sent him to the Red Sox. Valencia played in the big leagues for nine seasons wearing the uniforms of the Twins, Orioles, A’s, Blue Jays, Royals, Mariners and Red Sox. Career WAR is 5.6. Believed to be RETIRED.
Best Twins players – Chris Parmelee (OF) was the Twins first round pick and 20th overall out of high school and debuted on September 6, 2011. Parmelee played for the Twins from 2011-2014 before leaving as a FA. Is currently in the Dodgers organization with a 0.5 career WAR.
Best Twins players- Jeff Manship a RHP was the Twins 14th round selection and debuted on August 15, 2009. Pitched for the Twins off and on from 2009-2012 before leaving as a FA. Career AR is 0.0 and is RETIRED.
Wore a Twins uniform briefly – Anthony Slama (RHP), Brian Dinkelman (2B), Tyler Robertson (LHP) and Joe Benson (OF).
2007 draft – 50 drafted, 22 signed, 1 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform
Best Twins player – Outfielder Ben Revere was the 28th overall pick and the Minnesota Twins first round selection out of high school. Twins debut was on September 7, 2010 and Revere played for Minnesota thru 2012 after which he was traded to the Phillies. Revere played in the big leagues thru 2017 then spent 2018 in the minors and played a few games in the minors in 2019 but is believed to be out of baseball now and waiting for an offer. Career WAR is 6.7.
2008 draft – 52 drafted, 25 signed, 2 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform and 2 played in big leagues for another team
Best Twins players – Aaron Hicks a high school outfielder was the Minnesota Twins first pick and 14th overall. Hicks debuted with Minnesota on April 1, 2013 and wore the Twins uniform for three seasons before being traded to the New York Yankees where he seems to have blossomed and received a nice long term deal. Current WAR is 10.6.
Best Twins players – RHP Michael Tonkin was a 30th round pick out of high school and debuted on July 11, 2013 and played for Minnesota thru 2017 when he was released. Tonkin, a brother-in-law of Jason Kubel is still pitching in the Brewers minor league system and has a -0.3 career WAR.
Played in big leagues for another team – Danny Ortiz (OF), and Tyler Ladendorf (SS).
2009 draft – 51 drafted, 24 signed, 3 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform
Best Twins players – Brian Dozier was a collegiate shortstop the Twins picked in the 8th round and he debuted with Minnesota on May 7, 2012. Dozier played with the Twins from 2012 thru July 2018 when he was traded to the Dodgers. He left there after the 2018 season and is currently with the Nationals and currently has a 23.3 career WAR. Named All-Star in 2015.
Best Twins players – Kyle Gibson a right-handed pitcher was the Twins first round pick out of college and 22nd overall player selected. Just three picks later (25th) the Angels took a guy named Mike Trout as a compensation pick for losing Mark Teixeira to the Yankees. To be fair, the Angels also selected Randal Grichuk with the 24th pick overall as a compensation pick for losing Francisco Rodriguez to the Mets. Gibson debuted with Minnesota on June 29, 2013 and has been a starter with the Twins ever since and has a 9.2 WAR. The 58 wins and curren 9.6 WAR by Gibson in a Twins uni are far and away the most ever by a Twins pitcher picked in the first round. Matt Garza has 93 career wins but most of his wins came after being traded by Minnesota.
Best Twins players – Collegiate catcher Chris Herrmann was picked by Minnesota in the sixth round and debuted on September 16, 2012. Herrmann played for the Twins from 2012-2015 before being traded to the Diamondbacks in November 2015. Hermann is currently playing for the Athletics and has a career WAR of -0.4.
2010 draft – 50 drafted, 31 signed, 7 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform
Best Twins player – Eddie Rosario was a high school 4th round pick and debuted on May 6, 2015 and has been with the Twins ever since. Alex Wimmers, Niko Goodrum and Pat Dean were all picked ahead of Rosario that year. It looks like Rosario will be the cream of the 2010 crop and currently has a 10.2 career WAR and is the Twins starting left fielder and the face of the Twins now that Joe Mauer has retired.
Wore a Twins uniform briefly – Niko Goodrum (SS), A.J. Achter (RHP), Alex Wimmers (RHP), Ryan O’Rourke (LHP), Pat Dean (LHP) and Logan Darnell (LHP).
2011 draft – 52 drafted, 25 signed, 1 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform and 1 played in big leagues for another team
Wore a Twins uniform briefly – Jason Wheeler an 8th round pick who appeared in two games for Minnesota in 2017 and soon thereafter sold to the Dodgers and that was it for his big league career. Pitched in Korea in 2018 but is now RETIRED.
Played in big leagues for another team – The best player in that Twins draft is probably 6th round pick Dereck Rodriguez (Pudge’s son) who the Twins drafted as as outfielder and turned him into a pitcher in 2014 but let him walk away a FA in November 2014. Rodriguez has been a starter for the an Francisco Giants from 2018-2019. Current career war is 1.5.
2012 draft – 43 drafted, 27 signed, 5 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform and 1 played in big leagues for another team
Best Twins players – The Twins 1st round pick (2nd overall) was Byron Buxton who debuted on June 14, 2015 and has been with the Twins off and on ever since but 2017 was his only full season in the majors so far. This years he seems to have the hang of it and could blossom into the player everyone expected when he was drafted. Currently he has a 8.5 career WAR. Gold Glove, Platinum Glove and Wilson Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.
Best Twins players – Pitcher Jose Berrios was a high school pick as a supplementary 1st round selection (32nd overall) for the loss of FA Michael Cuddyer. Berrios debuted on April 27, 2016 and has been a staple in the Twins starting rotation ever since. Currently his career war stands at 5.3. Made All-Star team in 2018.
Best Twins players – LHP Taylor Rogers a collegiate pitcher was taken in round 11 and turned into a reliever in the AFL in 2015 and then made his big league debut on April 14, 2016 and has been in the Twins bullpen stalwart ever since putting up a career 4.7 WAR.
Best Twins players – RHP Tyler Duffey was drafted in the 5th round out of college and made his big league debut on August 5, 2015 and has been pitching on and off for the Twins ever since. Duffey probably holds a world record for frequent flyer miles between AAA Rochester and the Twin Cities. Duffey has a -1.0 career WAR.
Wore a Twins uniform briefly – JT Chargois (RHP)
Played in big leagues for another team – Pitcher Luke Bard a 2nd round pick now with the Angels is again on their Injured List.
2013 draft – 40 drafted, 28 signed, 5 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform and 1 played in big leagues for another team
Best Twins players – Catcher Mitch Garver was a collegiate 9th round selection and debuted August 19, 2017. Garver caught a lot in 2018 due to Jason Castro being injured and Garver has been having a breakout season in 2019 until he was recently injured in a home-plate collision. Current career WAR is 2.6.
Wore a Twins uniform briefly – The Twins 1st round pick and 4th overall is pitcher Kohl Stewart who was picked out of high school and debuted on August 12, 2018 and has spent most of his time in AAA Rochester but has made six spot starts for the Twins. Career WAR so far is 0.6.
Wore a Twins uniform briefly – Zack Granite a collegiate outfielder was a 14th round pick who debuted on July 18, 2017 and appeared in 40 games that season but he has since been traded to Texas and is in their AAA system. Career WAR so far is 0.3.
Wore a Twins uniform briefly – Aaron Slegers a collegiate RHP was picked in round 5 and debuted with the Twins on April 17, 2017 and played in a handful of games in 2017 and 2018 and selected on waivers by the Pirates in January 2019 and then sold to the Tampa Rays in March of 2019 and is pitching in AAA. Career WAR so far is -0.2.
Wore a Twins uniform briefly – Stephen Gonsalves a high school LHP pitcher who debuted on August 20, 2018 but only has 7 games on his Twins resume, all in 2018. He is toiling in AAA Rochester after being injured most of this year. Career WAR so far is -0.6.
Played in big leagues for another team – Catcher Stuart Turner was selected in round 3 as a collegiate catcher and was drafted by the Reds as a Rule 5 pick in November 2016 and debuted with them on April 6, 2017 and was released in March 2019 and resigned in April 2019. Currently playing in AAA for the Reds. Career WAR is -1.2.
2014 draft – 40 drafted, 30 signed, 2 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform and 1 played in big leagues for another team
Best Twins player – Trevor Hildenberger a collegiate pitcher was the Twins 22nd round selection and debuted on June 23, 2017. Hildenberger has been part of the Twins bullpen since but has struggled in 2019 and was recently sent to AAA Rochester. Career WAR is -0.8.
Wore a Twins uniform briefly – Collegiate RHP John Curtiss was selected in round 6 and debted with the Twins on August 25, 2017. Appeared in 17 games all in relief in 2017-2018 and then was traded to the Angels in January 2019 and is currently in AAA but has pitched for the Angels this season. Current WAR is -0.2.
Played in big leagues for another team – Nick Burdi was the Twins 2nd round pick but was drafted by the Phillies in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft and then traded to the Pirates where he pitched in parts of 2018-2019 before getting injured. Career WAR is -0.7.
2015 draft – 40 drafted, 27 signed, 1 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform
Wore a Twins uniform briefly – The only player drafted by Minnesota that year that has appeared in the big leagues is collegiate pitcher Andrew Vasquez, a 32nd round selection and he debuted on September 1, 2018 and appeared in nine games in 2018 and just one so far in 2019. He is currently with AAA Rochester.
2016 draft – 42 drafted, 33 signed, zero have put on a Minnesota Twins uniform so far
2017 draft – 41 drafted, 29 signed, zero have put on a Minnesota Twins uniform so far
2018 draft – 39 drafted, 30 signed, zero have put on a Minnesota Twins uniform so far
SUMMARY
(2016-2018 numbers not included)
Players drafted from 2000-2015 = 776
Players signed from 2000-2015 = 426 (54.9% of drafted players signed)
Drafted players that put on a Twins uniform from 2000-2015 = 57 (13.4% of signed players)
Twins regular position players = 11
Twins starting pitchers = 6
Twins relievers = 9
Position players drafted that made All-Star team – Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier
Starting pitchers that made All-Star team – Jose Berrios
Relief pitchers that made All-Star team – Glen Perkins (Jesse Crain and Pat Neshek made All-Star teams but they did so with other organizations and not the Twins)
Worst Twins draft of this century is easily 2011
Best Twins draft of this century could turn out to be 2012. 2015 thru 2018 we obviously don’t know as yet.
Tomorrow I will publish the Twins top 10 draft choices (position and pitching) from this century.