Mike Trout and 3 Other Stars the Twins Passed On in the MLB Draft

[Matthew Taylor]

A Cy Young Award winner, a 583 career home run hitter, the 2018 NL MVP and the future GOAT. What do these four players have in common? The Twins passed on each of them in the first round of the draft. In honor of the MLB Draft tonight, let’s look back at four players the Twins could have had in the draft but passed on.In this exercise of “What could have been”, we’ll be looking back at drafts from the past to see which players the Minnesota Twins reasonably could have drafted. To define ‘reasonably’, we’ll be looking at players who were taken within three picks following the Minnesota Twins first round selection. Using these parameters will give a realistic look at who the Twins were probably considering and could have had at the time.

 

1982 Draft

Minnesota Twins selected: Bryan Oelkers (4th Overall)

Could have selected: Dwight Gooden (Selected 5th Overall)

 

Coming out of Pattonville High School in Missouri, the Minnesota Twins selected left-handed pitcher Bryan Oelkers with the fourth overall pick in 1982. Pretty much immediately, the draft pick looked like a flop as Oelkers struggled from the get go in a Twins uniform. Oelkers only pitched one season for the Twins, throwing a total of 34.1 innings with a 8.65 ERA.

 

What makes the Oelker pick sting even more is that with the pick directly following the left-hander, the New York Mets drafted Dr. K himself, Dwight “Doc” Gooden. Gooden won the Rookie of the Year award in 1984 before winning the Cy Young in 1985 with one of the greatest single season pitching performances in baseball history. In 1985, Gooden won the pitching triple crown, highlighted by his 1.53 ERA. The second-lowest ERA for a starting pitcher in the expansion era. Substance abuse and addiction ultimately derailed his career and kept him out of the Hall, but at his peak, he was one of the greatest pitchers of all time.

 

1984 Draft

Minnesota Twins selected: Jay Bell (8th Overall)

Could have selected: Mark McGwire (Selected 10th Overall)

 

Even though he never played a game for the Minnesota Twins, Jay Bell still played a big role in the history of the Minnesota Twins franchise. Bell was the center-piece of the trade that brought Bert Blyleven back to the Minnesota Twins in 1985. While that deal in and of itself validated the Twins taking Bell with the eighth overall pick, one can’t help but look just two spots down the draft order to see who they could have taken, Big Mac himself.

 

While steroid use will forever put Mark McGwire’s legacy into question, it’s impossible to ignore the impact that McGwire had in his time with Oakland and St. Louis. McGwire was awarded Rookie of the Year in 1987, was a 12-time all-star and a World Series Champion. McGwire’s 583 career home runs stands as the 11th most of all time.

 

2009 Draft

Minnesota Twins selected: Kyle Gibson (22nd Overall)

Could have selected: Mike Trout (Selected 25th Overall)

 

Mike Trout could have been a Minnesota Twin. Yes, you read that right.

 

When the Minnesota Twins were selecting 22nd in the 2009 MLB draft Mike Trout was on the board and available to be drafted. Obviously, the Twins went in a different direction and took Mizzou baseball standout, Kyle Gibson. What should be made clear with the Twins selection of Gibson was that it was not a poor pick at the time. Prior to Gibson’s forearm stress fracture, Gibson was ranked fourth on Baseball America’s draft list. Additionally, Keith Law had Gibson slotted as the 10th overall pick in his final 2009 mock draft. Gibson was highly thought of as a potential top of the rotation arm.

 

Trout, on the other hand, wasn’t quite the top draft prospect that you would imagine. Trout was thought to be lacking in power and seen as more of a contact-type hitter with limited upside.

 

Obviously, the pick didn’t work out for the Twins. Gibson had an OK but disappointing tenure with the Twins in his seven seasons, tossing a 4.52 ERA over 1,000 innings. Trout on the other hand, is well on his way to becoming the greatest baseball player of all time. Although he is only 28-years-old, Mike Trout already ranks 56th in career WAR.

 

2010 Draft

Minnesota Twins selected: Alex Wimmers (21st Overall)

Could have selected: Christian Yelich (Selected 23rd Overall)

 

Arguably the most glaring miss on an abysmal draft resume for Bill Smith, Alex Wimmers was a complete zero for the Minnesota Twins after being selected 21st overall in the 2010 MLB Draft. Wimmers pitched a total of 24.2 innings with the Minnesota Twins before being waived and out of the Majors in 2017.

 

Just two selections following Wimmers, the Miami (then Florida) Marlins selected outfielder Christian Yelich. Yelich had a slow start to his MLB career prompting a trade to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018. Since being sent to Milwaukee, though, Yelich has turned into one of the best players in baseball. Yelich has earned top-two MVP finishes in each of his seasons in Milwaukee, winning the award in 2018. Yelich is still only 28-years-old, with prime years still ahead of him. That the Twins drafted Wimmers over Yelich will bite the Twins for years to come.

 

Which MLB draft miss stings the most to you as a Twins fan? How differently could history have played out if the Twins would have nabbed any of the players listed above? Leave a comment below and start the conversation!

 

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[jimbo92107]

Calling the MLB draft a "crap shoot" is a wild understatement. Try predicting a random number between one and 150. Even with scouting, you can't tell who is going to shine and who is going to flop after a draft. 

 

The Twins doubtless scouted Trout, and had him assessed as an athletic outfielder with not much power. How were they to know he would turn into baseball Hulk? Same with all these flop picks. Scouting will always be limited, and nobody can predict injuries. Wimmers went down from injuries. Gibson almost flopped from injuries. You just. Can't. Tell. 

[Trov]

The Doc Gooden one stings because maybe if he was living in mid-west he could have stayed clean, not saying he would have but being in different environment could have helped. 

 

Big Mac does not hurt, for two reasons.  We many not have got bert back to win the 87 series, and Big Mac most likely would have been traded as well because he would have been blocked by Hrbek. 

 

Trout hurts a ton.  Of course may pass on him, but when you miss on best of all time it will sting.  At least Gibson did make the majors unlike the first and last on your list.

 

Think about Trout and Yelich on the same team?  Well in reality no way would Twins have signed both to the contract they have gotten, but for a few years man that could have been a nice lineup. Of course, we never know if the Twins would have made them develop the same way. 

[mikelink45]

This is why I do not follow the draft - who knows - think about it. Trout was passed by 24 teams - not just the Twins.  Yelich was passed over by 22 teams.  I do not know these players and obviously MLB doesn't either.  The lottery is not easy to predict and that is why they used to need so many rounds in hopes that someone would work out.  Now we have skipped all the extra rounds and the percent of washouts will continue, but those who might have made it will never be known.

 

 

[ashbury]

Oelkers stings the most. Once you are past the first few picks, every player has been passed on by many front offices, so it's cherry picking or 20/20 hindsight to critique. As high as Oelkers was chosen, you have to assume Gooden was on the short list too, and they guessed wrong; if not, then that would be even worse.

 

Of course any individual pick could just be bad luck. Prediction is hard, especially where it concerns the future.

[DocBauer]

Articles like this are always fun/interesting in a perverse kind of way. But they always remain pointless at the end of the day. The Trout example has always made me shake my head when brought up because most teams passed, therefore, all but 1 team made the same mistake.

 

The Oelkers pick does hurt though as it proved to be so bad, and it was such a high pick.

[nclahammer]

To make the Trout pick by the Angels even more amazing IMO, is they drafted another outfielder right before Mike Trout, Randal Grichuk, who has also shown he can hit the long ball.

[Doctor Gast]

I wish Sabato all the luck in the world & I believe he`ll achieve the vast majority  of his expectations. My choice was Carmen Mlodzinski, South Carolina. I saw he was chosen 31st by the Bucs, that strengthen my choice since PIT has a great eye on past pitching talent but sadly not able to develop it. 

[Shaitan]

 

The Doc Gooden one stings because maybe if he was living in mid-west he could have stayed clean, not saying he would have but being in different environment could have helped. 

 

I get what you're going for...but those mid '80s clubhouses led by Hrbek/Gaetti weren't exactly clean living either.