Article: Ranking The Twins First-Round Picks (Part 4: 1-10)

[Seth Stohs]

Today we conclude our series ranking the Minnesota Twins first-round draft picks. (At the bottom of this list, you’ll find the previous articles) The major league draft is one way for teams to add talent to their organization. However, it is not a perfect science. Unlike other sports, the trek to the big leagues can be a long and winding road.

 

With that, let’s look at the Top Ten Minnesota Twins First-Round draft picks:#10 – 1972 – Dick Ruthven – RHP

With the eighth overall pick, the Twins selected Ruthven out of Cal. St.-Fullerton. He chose not to sign. He was then selected by the Phillies with the first overall pick in the January draft of 1973. He signed and made his debut that April. In his career, he played for the Phillies, the Braves, the Phillies again and the Cubs. He combined to go 123-127 with a 4.14 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He won 15 or more games twice in his career and was twice named an all-star. MLB WAR: 18.6.

 

#9 – 1983 – Tim Belcher – RHP

Twins fans will have to try their best as they read this to look past the fact that the #1 overall pick of the 1983 draft chose not to sign with the Twins. In the 1984 January draft, the Yankees took him in the first round and signed him. He was traded to the Dodgers and in September of 1987, he made his big league debut. He went on to play 14 years in the big leagues. Besides the Dodgers, he pitched for the Reds, the White Sox, the Tigers, the Mariners, the Royals and the Angels. In other words, he played for everyone in the AL Central except the Twins (and Cleveland). In his career, he went 146-140 with a 4.16 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Nine times he won ten or more games in his career, with three 15-win seasons. MLB WAR: 26.2.

 

#8 – 2002 – Denard Span – OF

With the 20^th overall pick in the 2002 draft, the Minnesota Twins selected an outfielder from Tampa, Denard Span. He signed with the Twins, though he had a football scholarship offer too. Span was raw and it took him some time to work his way up the system. In 2008, he had a big spring training but the decision was made that Carlos Gomez would be the team’s center fielder. Less than a week later, Span was in the big leagues. As a 24 year old, he hit .294/.387/.432 (.819) and finished sixth in rookie of the year voting. The next season, he hit .311/.392/.415 (.807). The next season, his production fell and in 2011, a concussion cost him most of his season. He returned solid in 2012, but after the season, he was traded to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Alex Meyer. In 2013, he hit .279 and led the league – for the second time in his career – in triples. In 2014, he led the National League with 184 hits and batted .302. He is currently hitting .308 for the Nationals. In his eight-year career, he has hit .287/.352/.395 (.747) with 186 doubles, 55 triples and 37 homers. He has also stolen 149 bases. MLB WAR: 23.7.

 

#7 – 1997 – Michael Cuddyer – SS

 

With the ninth overall pick in the 1997 draft, the Twins drafted a high school

shortstop from Virginia named Michael Cuddyer. He debuted with the Twins late in the 2001 season as an outfielder. For the first few years of his big league career, he played all over: third base, second base, first base, left and right field. Almost everywhere but the position he was drafted. In 2006, he was moved to right field and he took off. That season, he hit 41 doubles, 24 homers and drove in 109 runs. In the Twins late-season run to the playoffs in 2009, Cuddyer led the way. He hit .276 with 34 doubles, seven triples, 32 homers and 94 RBI. A lot of that production came late in the season. He made his first All- Star Game appearance in 2011. Following the season, he signed a three-year deal with the Rockies. He was an All -Star in 2013 and won the Silver Slugger. He led the league with a .331 batting average. This past offseason, he signed a two-year deal with the Mets. In his 15-year big league career, he has hit .277/.345/.462 (.807) with 326 doubles, 42 triples, 193 home run. MLB WAR: 16.5.

 

#6 – 1993 – Jason Varitek – C

The Twins used the 20^th pick in the 1993 draft on Torii Hunter. One pick later, the Twins selected Jason Varitek, a highly-touted catcher from Georgia Tech. As you know, Varitek did not sign and went back to school. A year later, the Red Sox drafted him with the 14^th overall pick. He debuted with the team with one at-bat (a hit) in 1997. He stayed up for good in 1998 and was the team’s primary catcher through the 2008 season. He was credited with being one of the team’s big leaders as they won a couple of World Series titles. He was an all-star three times and won one Gold Glove and one Silver Slugger award. In 15 seasons with the Red Sox, he hit .256/.341/.435 (.776) with 306 doubles and 193 home runs. MLB WAR: 24.3.

 

#5 – 2004 – Glen Perkins – LHP

Two picks after taking Trevor Plouffe with the 20^th overall pick in 2004, the Twins kept it local, selecting Stillwater grad and University of Minnesota alum Glen Perkins. He had been the Big Ten’s Pitcher of the Year that season. He worked very quickly up the Twins minor league system and debuted in September of 2006. He split time between the big leagues and Triple-A in 2007, pitching 19 games out of the bullpen for the Twins. In 2008, he made 26 starts for the Twins and went 12-4 despite a 4.41 ERA. He struggled in 2009 and spent a significant amount of 2010 in the minor leagues. Out of options, Perkins moved to the bullpen full-time and has been one of baseball’s best relievers ever since. Since that time, he has posted a 2.61 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP and struck out 314 batters in 286.2 innings. He has been an all-star the last two years and was on the mound to record the save for the American League team at Target Field in the 2014 game. He is certainly on his way to another All-Star appearance in 2015 as he is 23-23 in save opportunities. MLB WAR: 9.3.

 

#4 – 1984 – Jay Bell – SS

With the eighth overall pick in the 1984 draft, the Minnesota Twins went with a prep shortstop from Pensacola, Florida. They signed Jay Bell and he spent that summer in Elizabethton. He played the 1985 season at Visalia before he was traded to Cleveland with three other players in exchange for Bert Blyleven. On September 29, 1986, a 20-year-old Bell made his major league debut, ironically against the Twins. More ironic, his first major league hit was also his first major league home run… hit off of Bert Blyleven (who would likely tell you that he was the winning pitcher in a Twins 6-5 win that day). Bell was a part-timer with Cleveland for a couple of years before being traded to Pittsburgh where his career took off. From 1990 through 1996, he was a leader and stabilizing force for some very strong Pirates teams. He spent 1997 with the Royals before spending five seasons with the Diamondbacks. He ended his career with 72 games in 2003 with the Mets. His best season was 1993. He hit .310/.392/.437 (.830) with 32 doubles, nine triples and nine home runs. He was an all-star and won the Gold Glove and the Silver Slugger. He went to his second and final All-Star Game in 1999 for Arizona. MLB WAR: 36.9.

 

#3 – 1989 – Chuck Knoblauch – SS

The Twins used the 25^th overall pick in the 1989 draft to select Chuck Knoblauch, a shortstop from Texas A&M. He moved very quickly and was the Twins Opening Day second baseman in 1991. That was a great year for “Knobby” and the Twins. He won the AL Rookie of the Year and was an instigator near the top of the Twins World Series championship lineup. He spent seven seasons with the Twins. He was an all-star four times. He won two Silver Slugger Awards. Despite being an excellent fielder, he won just one Gold Glove because he played in the same league as Roberto Alomar. In his time with the Twins, he hit a combined .304/.391/.416 (.807) with 210 doubles, 51 triples and 43 home runs. He also stole 276 bases. He played great, but the Twins were really bad. He requested a trade and following the 1997 the Twins traded him to the Yankees in exchange for Eric Milton, Cristian Guzman, Brian Buchanan and Danny Mota. In his four years with the Yankees, he developed the inability to throw the ball accurately from second base to first base. He DH'd some and played in the outfield. In those four years, he went to four World Series and the team won three titles. He spent one season with the Royals before his career ended. In his 12 year career, he hit .289/.378/.406 (.783) with 322 doubles, 64 triples and 98 home runs. He also stole 407 bases. His post-career has been filled with turmoil. Despite being one of the greatest Twins players ever, he is not in the Twins Hall of Fame, though he was supposed to be added in 2014. MLB WAR: 44.6.

 

#2 – 1993 – Torii Hunter – OF

With the 20^th overall pick in the 1993 draft, the Twins drafted Hunter out of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He was very athletic and toolsy, but very raw. He debuted with a pinch-running appearance in August of 1997, just after he turned 22. He got into six games in 1998. In 1999, he played 135 games for the Twins and posted a .689 OPS. It has been well documented that he was sent back down to Triple-A in 2000 because of his struggles. It’s also used as an example of not giving up on prospectswhen they struggle because when he came back, he came back strong and has been up ever since. He won his first Gold Glove in 2001. He went on to win seven straight with the Twins. He became famous when he robbed Barry Bonds of a home run during the 2002 All-Star Game. Following the 2007 season, he signed a five-year, $90 million deal with the Angels. He played in two All-Star games and won two more Gold Gloves and his first Silver Slugger. He spent 2013 and 2014 with Detroit. He played in the All-Star Game in 2013 and won a Silver Slugger Award again. In the offseason, Hunter returned to the Twins on a one-year contract. He will turn 40 next month. In parts of 12 seasons with the Twins, he has hit .271/.324/.466 (.790). In his 19 big league seasons, he has hit .279/.334/.463 (.797). MLB WAR: 50.7.

 

#1 – 2001 – Joe Mauer – C

The Twins earned the first overall pick in the 2001 draft by being the worst major league team in 2000. They had a difficult decision to make. Would they take the sure-fire, top-of-the-rotation Mark Prior from USC, or the local, prep catcher? The Twins went with Cretin-Derham Hall star Joe Mauer. Mauer gave up a football scholarship to Florida State to sign with the Twins. He moved quickly up the Twins farm system and debuted with the Twins on Opening Day 2004 as a 20-year-old. He hurt his knee in the opening home series and played in just 35 games that season. He hit .294/.372/.411 (.783) in 2005, his first full season. And then he took off. He won his first of three batting titles in 2006 when he hit .347. He won his second in 2008 (.328) and 2009 (.365). He went to his first of six All- Star games in 2006. He won his first of five Silver Slugger Awards in 2006. It was also the first of four times in which he finished in the top eight in MVP voting. 2009 was his greatest year, and frankly, one of the greatest seasons in Twins history. He hit .365/.444/.587 (1.031) with 30 doubles, 28 homers and 96 RBI. Along with future Hall of Famers Mike Piazza and Ivan Rodriguez, Mauer put up offensive numbers from a catcher that had not been seen in a couple of generations. Not only that, but he was also very good behind the plate. He won three Gold Glove awards. And, though advanced stats for catchers may not have been available at the time, he's been proven to be a terrific pitch framer. Concussions forced a move to first base before the 2014 season. His production has dropped precipitously in the last season-and-a-half. However, in his nearly 12 years with the Twins, he has hit .316/.397/.455 (.853, 131 OPS+). He has 323 doubles, 24 triples and 726 RBIs. MLB WAR: 46.4.

 

 

So there you have it, a ranking of the top Minnesota Twins first-round draft picks since the Rule 4 draft began in 1965. It is an interesting list on its own. It would be interesting to compare the Twins list to the first-round draft picks of the other Major League organizations. My assumption is that it would look pretty similar.

 

Please feel free to discuss.

 

Part 1: 31-53

Part 2: 21-30

Part 3: 11-20

 

Click here to view the article

[nater79a]

Yeah, that 1983 draft still sticks in my craw. Besides the Belcher non-signing we also failed to sign Oddibe "Young Again" McDowell as the 1st pick in the June Secondary and our 2nd round pick in the amateur portion, Billy Swift.  One wonders if the Twins would have had a nice run of playoff appearances (beyond '87 & '91) if we had added those three to our core group. Especially the pitchers as we needed to fill out our staff in the late 80's/early 90's with reclamation projects like Neal Heaton, John Candelaria and Shane Rawley.

 

Guess we'll never know.

[Blackjack]

Thanks Seth for the trip down memory lane!!!

 

Its amazing to me the number of players that didn't sign, keeping most of those players would have made a big difference for the Twins!!

[HitInAPinch]

Great series, Seth!

[puckstopper1]

Was wondering why Kirby was not on the list and had to research to determine he was taken in a "January" draft.  

 

Wasn't sure what that was so I looked it up.  Here is what Wikipedia states "Originally, three MLB drafts were held each year. The first draft took place in June and involved high-school graduates and college seniors who had just finished their seasons. The second draft took place in January for high school and college players who had graduated in December. The third draft took place in August and was for players who participated in American amateur summer leagues. The August draft was eliminated after two years, and the January draft lasted until 1986.

 

This makes me wonder if there are some others that fall into those other "non June" drafts that are worth a mention?

[puckstopper1]

Seth - thanks for the walk down memory lane - as good and bad as some of those memories were!

[Brandon]

I think Varitek was drafted by Seattle and traded for Heathcliff Slocumb wasn't he?

[puckstopper1]

 

I think Varitek was drafted by Seattle and traded for Heathcliff Slocumb wasn't he?

 

Yes - with Derek Lowe for Heathcliff Slocumb.  Boy did the Mariners get fleeced in that deal!

[Seth Stohs]

That's right. I missed that. Great catch.