Tag: Alex Kirilloff

Not all first round picks are born to be stars

For some baseball fans the MLB June Amateur Draft is one of the highlights of the season. They can’t wait to see who their favorite team drafts and then can’t wait to see that player wear their favorite team colors. Who knows, maybe their team just landed the next great baseball superstar, but few consider the fact that even first round selections can turn out to baseball “duds”.

If you pick a player in round one you expect him to be a bona-fide big league star, an All-Star type of player. Sadly, a lot of them will not meet those expectations for one of many different reasons.

The 2018 June Amateur Draft is just around the corner so it is time to take a look at the Minnesota Twins previous first round selections for the last ten years and see how they are doing.

 

The Minnesota Twins have had 18 first round selections in the last ten years (2008-2017). 

  • Three of the picks are playing for the Minnesota Twins at this time. Gibson, Buxton and Berrios
  • One of the picks is playing for another big league team. Hicks
  • One of the picks was selected in the Rule 5 draft, pitched briefly in the big leagues but was returned to the Twins minor league system. Bard
  • Seven of the picks are in the Twins system and still have a shot at wearing Twins colors at some point in the future. Lewis, Rooker, Kirilloff, Jay, Gordon, Stewart and Bard
  • Three of the picks are no longer with the Minnesota organization and are playing in the minors elsewhere. Michael, Harrison and Wimmers
  • Four are no longer playing pro baseball. Boyd, Bashore, Gutierrez and Hunt

 

Twins first round picks for last 10 years

2017 – Royce Lewis (shortstop) – First pick overall out of high school. Has been at Cedar Rapids (Low A) all season and is hitting .315 with a .368 OBP in 124 at bats with one home run and 13 stolen bases in 14 attempts. Signing bonus – $6.725 million

2017 – Brent Rooker – (outfielder) – 35th selection overall out of college. Has spent the season in Chattanooga (AA) and is hitting .233 in 163 at bats with four homers and 20 and has struck out 53 times. Has shown power in the past but no so much this year. The Twins seem to be grooming him to play first base. Signing bonus – $1.935 million

2016 – Alex Kirilloff – (outfielder) – 15th overall pick out of high school. Missed all of 2017 with TJ surgery and has played with Cedar Rapids all of this season hitting .325 in 151 at bats and a slick .959 OPS. Signing bonus – $2,817,100 million

2015 – Tyler Jay (LHP) – Selected sixth over all out of college. Pitched as a starter in 2015 and 2016 and strictly a reliever since. Injuries have plagued Jay and last season he pitched a total of just 11.2 innings for three different teams. He also pitched in the AFL where he threw 9.2 innings and had a 5.59 ERA. This year in AA Chattanooga he has thrown 14 innings striking out 9, walking 5,  has allowed 16 hits and has an ERA of 1.93. Signing bonus – $3,889,100 million

2014 – Nick Gordon (shortstop) – Selected fifth overall out of high school. The son of Tom “Flash” Gordon is in his fifth season of pro ball and was just promoted to AAA Rochester after hitting .333 in AA Chattanooga with 7 stolen bases, 10 doubles and 5 homers in 162 at bats. I would expect to see him put on a Minnesota Twins uniform at some point this season. In my opinion with Jorge Polanco suspended and the team hitting poorly why not bring Gordon up and see if he can provided a spark? Signing bonus – $3.851 million

2013 – Kohl Stewart (RHP) – Selected fourth overall out of high school. Finished the 2017 season in AA Chattanooga and is calling it home again this season. Has a 3-1 record but sports a 4.70 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 41 hits in 38.1 innings. Injuries has also plagued Stewart in his career. He is going to need a breakout season real soon…. Signing Bonus – $4.544 million

2012 – Byron Buxton (outfielder) – Selected second overall out of high school and has been with the Twins off and on since his big league debut in June of 2015. Great outfielder with speed to burn but hitting has been sub par. For a second overall pick you have to consider him “disappointing” so far. Signing bonus – $6 million

2012 – Jose Berrios (RHP) – Selected 32nd overall out of high school in Puerto Rico and debuted with Minnesota in 2016. Berrios is having a great season in 2018 with the Twins. Looks to be the ace the Twins hoped he would be. Signing bonus – $1.55 million

2012 – Luke Bard – (RHP) – Selected 42nd overall out of college and has had some injury issues including TJ surgery that caused him to miss all of 2014. Selected by the Angels as a Rule 5 selection last November and pitched 11.2 innings with 13 strikeouts in the bigs but was returned to Minnesota in late April and is pitching in AAA Rochester and I would not be shocked to see him at least get a cup of coffee with the Twins in 2018. Signing bonus – $1.227 million

2011 – Levi Michael – (shortstop) – Selected 30th overall out of college and was released by Minnesota after the 2017 season and currently playing AA ball in the New York Mets system. Signing bonus – $1.175 million

2011 – Travis Harrison – (Third Baseman) Selected 50th overall out of high school and released by Minnesota after the 2017 season and currently playing in an Independent league. Signing bonus – $1.050 million

2011 – Hudson Boyd (RHP) Selected 55th overall out of a Ft. Myers high school and signed for one million dollars and was released by Minnesota in 2014. Boyd had many issues including his weight, booze, and attitude. A major flop! Signing bonus – $1 million

2010 – Alex Wimmers (RHP) – Selected 21st overall out of college. Pitched in a total of 24.2 innings for the Twins between 2016 and 2017 and posted a 1-3 record with a 4.38 ERA but those 19 walks were horrific and he is now in the Marlins system where at last look he had a 9.82 ERA. Signing bonus – $1.332 million

2009 – Kyle Gibson (RHP) – Selected 22nd overall out of college. Debuted with Minnesota in 2013 and has been in the starting rotation since 2014. Signing bonus – $1.8 million

2009 – Matt Bashore (LHP) – Selected 46th overall out of college. Missed all of 2010 with TJ surgery and released by the Twins after the 2011 season. Bashore pitched a total of 18.2 innings in the Twins minor league system before the organization gave up on him and out of baseball after the 2012 season. Signing bonus – $751,500

2008 – Aaron Hicks (outfielder) – Selected 14th overall out of high school and opened the season in Minnesota as the starting center fielder in 2013. Hitting woes caused the Twins to give-up on Hicks and trade him to the New York Yankees for catcher John Ryan Murphy in November 2015 but he too turned out to be a dud and was sent packing to Arizona. Hick is still playing with the Yankees in a semi-regular role. Signing bonus – $1.78 million

2008 – Carlos Gutierrez (RHP) – Selected 27th selection overall out of college and advanced as high as AAA in the Twins system before he moved on to the Cubs in 2013 but left pro ball after that season. Signing bonus – $1,290 million

2008 – Shooter Hunt (RHP) – Selected with the 31st pick overall out of college and didn’t get higher than high A in Ft. Myers before moving on to a different career after the 2011 season. Signing bonus – $1.080 million

Continue reading Not all first round picks are born to be stars

Twins Minor League Players of the Week – Alex Kirilloff, Edwar Colina & Jovani Moran

The Twins have named Single-A Cedar Rapids outfielder Alex Kirilloff ML Player of the Week and Single-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Edwar Colina and left-handed pitcher Jovani Moran Co-ML Pitchers of the Week.

Kirilloff

This past week the 20-year old Kirilloff who was the Twins first round pick in 2016 and 15th overall hit .333 (8-for-24) with 4 doubles, a home run had 6 RBI helping lead the Kernels to a 4-1 record. Season-to-date the lefty outfielder is hitting .278 with 4 home runs and 23 RBI. Kirilloff has struck out 19 times in 90 at bats.

Colina and Moran overcame six walks and two errors, combining for the Kernels’ first no-hitter in five years as Cedar Rapids beat South Bend, 10-0, on Tuesday at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. 

Colina

The right-handed Colina earned his second win of the season when he tossed 6.0 innings with five walks and two strikeouts just two days before his 21st birthday. This season the Venezuela native has pitched 15 innings in his 3 starts and is 2-0 with a miniscule 0.60 ERA while striking out 7 and walking 11. Colina is in his third season of organized ball in the Twins system. 

Moran

Moran, a lefty, being used strictly as a relief pitcher finished the no-hitter game with 3.0 innings facing only 9 batters with a walk, HBP, and a strike-out in his longest outing of the season. Moran was the Twins seventh round selection in 2015 from Puerto Rico and is also in his third season working for the Twins.

 

 

Twins Minor League Report 050518

Analyzing Minnesota Twins First Round Picks – Part 1

Since the June Amateur Draft began in 1965 the Minnesota Twins have selected 72 players in round one, some are their regular first round selections and other are supplemental picks for the loss of a free agent or failure to sign a round one selection. 

Over the years the Twins have failed to sign seven first round selections, about 10% of their total first round picks. The seven players that did not sign were four position players and three pitchers. You would think most of these would be high school players that chose to go on to college but that is not the case here, six were college players and only one was a high school player. The last time the Twins organization failed to sign a player was 2000 supplemental pick RHP Aaron Heilman.

Minnesota Twins first round draft picks 1965-2016

POS HS COLLEGE
C 2 1
1B 1 1
2B 0 1
SS 8 3
3B 4 2
OF 12 2
RHP 9 10
LHP 1 8
DID NOT SIGN 1  6
  38 34

 

Continue reading Analyzing Minnesota Twins First Round Picks – Part 1