Ranking the Top-10 Prospects in Twins History (Part 1: 6-10)

[Cody Christie]

National prospect rankings can help fans understand how much depth is in each organization. These prospects were considered among baseball’s best as they worked towards the big leagues.

Multiple players are in the discussion for the top prospect in Twins history. Some honorable mentions to this list include Michael Cuddyer, Aaron Hicks, and Kyle Gibson. Baseball America started ranking prospects in 1990, so who cracks the back half of the top-10 prospects in Twins history?

10. Jason Kubel
Top-100 Peak: 17
Most of the players on this list were high draft picks, but Minnesota took Kubel in the 12th round. During the 2004 season, he hit .353/.414/.590 (1.004) with 42 doubles and 22 home runs. He was only 22-years old at the time, so he was over five years younger than the average age of the competition at Triple-A, where he played 90 games. Minnesota sent him to the Arizona Fall League that winter and suffered a severe knee injury that cost him the entire 2005 season. Kubel ended up playing a decade at the big-league level, but he was trending at being one of the best prospects in team history before the knee injury. 

9. David McCarty
Top-100 Peak: 16
After finishing in last place in 1990, the Twins took Dave McCarty with the third overall pick in the 1991 Draft. Minnesota was aggressive with him as they sent him directly to High-A for his pro debut, and he finished at Double-A. His college experience at Stanford helped him to a .907 OPS, and Baseball America ranked him as baseball’s 22nd best prospect before the 1992 season. He’d make it to Triple-A that next season, and he combined to hit .284/.370/.448 (.818) with 39 extra-base hits in 136 games. His big-league career was underwhelming as he had a .676 OPS and a -2.1 WAR in 11 seasons. 

8. Justin Morneau
Top-100 Peak: 14
Minnesota took Morneau with their third-round pick in 1999, but it took him a couple of seasons for him to make his mark in the prospect world. Baseball America got excited about Morneau following his 2001 minor league season as he posted an .886 OPS between three levels. Over the next three winters, they included Morneau as one of their top-25 prospects. He entered the 2002 season at #21, the 2003 season at #14, and the 2004 season at #16. Morneau also appeared in two Futures Games during that stretch. He became one of the most critical players in Twins history and helped the team to multiple division titles. 

7. Willie Banks
Top-100 Peak: 13
Banks may be an unfamiliar name to younger Twins fans, but Minnesota selected him with the third overall pick back in 1987. He allowed 51 earned runs in 65 2/3 innings in his professional debut. However, he bounced back nicely the following season and posted a 3.72 ERA with 113 strikeouts in 125 2/3 innings. In 1990, Baseball America’s inaugural top-100 list had Banks as baseball’s 13th best prospect. He improved at High- and Double-A the following season as his ERA dropped by more than a run, and his WHIP decreased from 1.72 to 1.20. Banks pitched nine years at the big-league level with seven different organizations. 

6. Todd Walker
Top-100 Peak: 7
Minnesota selected Walker with the eighth overall pick in the 1994 MLB Draft out of LSU. He ranked as one of baseball’s top-40 prospects in every minor league season, but his 1996 season was unbelievable. In 135 Triple-A games, he hit .339/.400/.599 (.999) with 28 home runs, 41 doubles, and nine triples. For his entire minor league career, he posted a .905 OPS, which he wasn’t able to replicate at the big-league level. Still, he hit .289/.348/.435 (.783 OPS) across 12 seasons.

Did any of these names surprise you? Leave a COMMENT, start the discussion, and stop by later this week to see the top-5.  

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[mikelink45]

Interesting to see these rankings and then know who really shined.  Wasn't Buxton in the top 25?  Morneau is the shining star in the group and this is reminder that prospect rankings are not necessarily a guarantee of success. 

[peterb18]

Todd Walker was a really good player. His problem was Tom Kelly. They didn’t get along…if I remember right.

[RJA]

My initial reaction to your list was to think about Jason Kubel and how good he might have been if it weren't for the injury.  He had a fine career, but I think he would have been an all star caliber player had the knee injury not happened.  My second reaction is recalling how people compared Willie Banks to Dwight Gooden when he was drafted.  He was never able to harness all the talent as his lack of control killed him.  Baseball America did an article about him a few years back and how he put his life back together after crashing emotionally.  This article shows how hit and miss drafting truly is.  "If only" applies to a lot of prospects.  For every Morneau there is a McCarty.

[Seth Stohs]

23 minutes ago, peterb18 said:

Todd Walker was a really good player. His problem was Tom Kelly. They didn’t get along…if I remember right.

Not at all...  That said, there were pitchers who didn't want him in the field when he was pitching too. the defense was that bad. 

[Seth Stohs]

22 minutes ago, RJA said:

My initial reaction to your list was to think about Jason Kubel and how good he might have been if it weren't for the injury.  He had a fine career, but I think he would have been an all star caliber player had the knee injury not happened.  My second reaction is recalling how people compared Willie Banks to Dwight Gooden when he was drafted.  He was never able to harness all the talent as his lack of control killed him.  Baseball America did an article about him a few years back and how he put his life back together after crashing emotionally.  This article shows how hit and miss drafting truly is.  "If only" applies to a lot of prospects.  For every Morneau there is a McCarty.

Think about this... Jason Kubel, as a prospect, was touted as being able to "hit for average like Mauer with the power of Morneau." He was getting there too before the devastating injury. Still have a nice career, but absolutely... what could have been. 

David McCarty was supposed to be a sure thing, the replacement for Hrbek when he would retire, but able to play the OF until then. He had a decent career after leaving the Twins but never became a star.  Do you remember he was given an opportunity as a lefty reliever too? 

[tony&rodney]

Willie Banks is a name to cause caution regarding pitching prospects. I remember him well.

[Sean.h]

So who's in the top 5? Mauer, Buxton, and Sano, for sure. I think Royce Lewis and AK were ranked pretty high at some point, and AK did have that monster season a few years ago.

[TPetter]

Travis Lee?

[Devilsadvocate]

1 hour ago, TPetter said:

Travis Lee?

Travis Lee was in the organization for a grand total of about 2 weeks. I kinda doubt that he made it into any prospect lists during that time. 

[se7799]

8 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Interesting to see these rankings and then know who really shined.  Wasn't Buxton in the top 25?  Morneau is the shining star in the group and this is reminder that prospect rankings are not necessarily a guarantee of success. 

I believe Buxton was at least top 5 for sure.

[whosafraidofluigirussolo]

2 hours ago, se7799 said:

I believe Buxton was at least top 5 for sure.

Pretty sure there was one offseason where Buxton was a consensus #1 or close to it in global prospect rankings.

[DocBauer]

I also wonder just how much better Kubel might have been if he hadn't tore up his knee.

Banks was part of a GREAT collection of young pitchers that basically did nothing; Baumgartner (?), Nivens, Gasser, Nivens, Pittman, and Newman. Newman, IIRC, found some success as a coach.

McCarty and Walker seemed like can't miss hitters. I'm still surprised that neither approached projections.

[RJA]

4 hours ago, Devilsadvocate said:

Travis Lee was in the organization for a grand total of about 2 weeks. I kinda doubt that he made it into any prospect lists during that time. 

Travis Lee, now there is someone I haven't thought about for a long time!  What a mess that situation was.

[Brandon]

wasnt hrbeck a top prospect?  infact the 1980 - 1982 Twins minor league system was full of them.