Ranking the Top-10 Prospects in Twins History (Part 2: 1-5)

[Cody Christie]

There are times when expectations need to be tempered, and there are times when players more than live up to the hype. Here’s a look back at the top-5 prospects in Twins history.

Baseball America became the first place to rank prospects on a national level in 1990. Since that time, other national outlets like Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com have also grown in popularity. The top-5 prospects in Twins history were all considered among baseball's top-10 prospects at some point in their professional careers. 

5. Francisco Liriano
Top-100 Peak: 6
Liriano came to the Twins in one most lopsided trade in franchise history. He was a top-100 prospect entering the 2003 season, but his 2005 minor league campaign put him on the prospect map. As a 21-year-old, he posted a 2.63 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 11 SO/9 at Double- and Triple-A. He was electric at the beginning of his career as he was an All-Star in 2006. Unfortunately, his elbow gave out, and he missed the end of 2006 and all of 2007. Some have argued the 2006 Twins had a chance to win the World Series with Johan Santana and Liriano at the top of the rotation.

4. Royce Lewis
Top-100 Peak: 5
Expectations are high for any player taken with the first overall pick. After a .788 OPS in his pro debut, Lewis was a consensus top-30 prospect. His 2018 performance moved him even higher as he posted an .803 OPS at Low- and High-A. Unfortunately, Lewis struggled through parts of the 2019 season, and he hasn’t played a professional game since that year. A knee injury took away his 2021 season on the heels of the pandemic canceling the 2020 campaign. His stock has dropped this winter as many evaluators have moved him off top-100 lists. Now, he will have plenty to prove when the lockout finally ends. 

3. Miguel Sano
Top-100 Peak: 4
Sano may or may not have lived up to his expectations, but he was clearly among the best prospects in Twins history. He appeared on national top-100 lists for five consecutive offseasons, and multiple lists included him as a top-15 prospect for consecutive seasons. Sano was an easy prospect to be intrigued by with light-tower power and a .932 OPS throughout his minor league career. His big-league career has had ups and downs, but the power he showcased as a prospect has been his greatest tool. He has the 12th most home runs in franchise history, and seven home runs this season will move him into the top-10. His .491 slugging percentage only ranks behind Harmon Killebrew in team history. 

2. Byron Buxton
Top-100 Peak: 1
Buxton‘s five-tool talent was evident early on in his professional career. All three national prospect rankings ranked him number one entering the 2014 season. Over the remainder of his minor league career, some ranking dropped him to second behind Chicago’s Kris Bryant. However, there were some tremendous prospects in the minors simultaneously as Buxton, including Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor, Corey Seager, and Lucas Giolito. Many of these players scored big contracts over the last couple of offseasons. Thankfully, Minnesota was able to work out a deal to keep Buxton in a Twins uniform for the prime of his career. 

1. Joe Mauer
Top-100 Peak: 1
Minnesota selected Mauer as the number one overall pick in 2001, so plenty viewed him as one of baseball’s best prospects. Baseball America immediately included him in baseball’s top-10 prospects as he ranked seventh entering the 2002 campaign. He ranked as baseball’s top prospect in two consecutive off-seasons. He’s the only player in Twins history to accomplish this feat. Mauer went on to a tremendous career as he is considered one of the best players in Twins history.

Do you feel like these are the best prospects in Twins history? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

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[Blyleven2011]

What about John castino  , Pete Redfern ,  Jim eisenrich and some others who were promising prospects  but   injury ended some careers  before they really got started  ,,,  Can't ignore past prospects if there was no top prospects list back then ....  

We didn't need prospects  list back then because we used the eye test  ....

Jim eisenrich went on in Kansas city to a career  after battling nervous disorders  ,

 think he was sold for a dollar , rumor has it  ......

I wouldn't go as far to say mauer was one of the best player in a twin uniform ...

Hometown boy that just didn't  quite have  what it took to LEAD the team to  a world series ,,, contract wasn't his fault  but he just didn't  seem to have the bulldog emotions as a leader , I would  have done more than just be an example on the field to lead ...

If mauer wasn't a Hometown boy , maybe I wouldn't be hard on him if he played for another team

 

[mikelink45]

Nice list and lots of recency.  Sano could still meet his potential if he stopped watching statcast to admire distance and speed.  He is one of those players who has more than enough power even if he cuts down on his stroke.  Lewis is the one who needs some of the bad luck that has plagued him to end - which means the strike this year.  What a terrible set of circumstances he has faced. 

Liriano was another who really provided what his ranking promised until fates stepped in.  He won 112 games so his career was a bust, but he was changed after the operation.  We have a long list of pitchers in MLB who have had great starts and were unable to maintain.  Bob Grim won 20 as a Yankee rookie and then arm trouble plagued him and he was made a relief pitcher.  Today they would have had a better diagnosis.  Herb Score was in his second year and heading to the HOF until a line drive hit him in the face.  Baseball is a cruel game. 

[RJA]

It seems like I just said the same thing about Jason Kubel, but boy, what a big "if only" attaches to Liriano due to his injury.  He was absolutely devastating in 2006 and was every bit Santana's equal.  Absent the injury, he would have had perennial all star attached to his name.  Add me to the list of fans who think with a healthy Santana and Liriano, 2006 would have played out differently.  Good topic.  It is enjoyable to delve into Twins history, especially during this crazy labor negotiation.  Nice job.

[Ctwink]

Really should have a qualifier in the title "...of the last 30 yrs".  You can't have a list like this, call it the best prospects in HISTORY and ignore the first 30 yrs of Twins history......

[DocBauer]

A little surprised Knoblauch wasn't on this list. 

And I could be mistaken, but I thought Jay Bell was highly regarded before being traded.

[tony&rodney]

Good list.

Mauer was a star from the start. He was rated highly on every list imaginable. He went on to a HoF career and is ranked by those who publish lists nationally as among the ten best catchers in the history of the game (high of #5, low of #10, consensus #7).

Just an aside ... before the draft there were many arguments back and forth concerning the choice of Mauer versus Mark Prior. Good natured jabs in all directions. I ended one with, "Prior will be coaching pitchers while Mauer is still behind the plate building his resume for Cooperstown". Just fun trash talk between players and their coaches and none of us really knew what direction the Twins would go in that draft.

These series are always fun to read and I appreciate the time and energy the writers put forth in accumulating the information for each player. Thank you to Cody Christie for this series.

[jmlease1]

2 hours ago, Ctwink said:

Really should have a qualifier in the title "...of the last 30 yrs".  You can't have a list like this, call it the best prospects in HISTORY and ignore the first 30 yrs of Twins history......

The first part of this list did have that disclaimer.

This is "best twins prospects since 1990", which is interesting in and of itself.

It's interesting to see where the boom & bust is with lists like this. Royce is the one where it's particularly interesting to see where he lands: he was super-hyped early and fallen off as injuries (and the pandemic and now the lockout) have limited his time on the field, so it'll be interesting to see where he "lands" compared to the others in this top 5. Liriano was a comet who lost his top end ability due to injury, but still had a long career in the majors. Sano is still playing and and has had some good years (and when he's hot he looks as good as any slugger in baseball. and when he's off, he looks like a poor man's rob deer). Buxton has shown all the ability in the world when healthy, but can't stay healthy, and Mauer had a HoF career.

I think the prospect lists have gotten better at being able to project future MLB success, but aren't any kind of guarantee of stardom. If you reach the top 5 on the BA prospect list, the odds of you having a long MLB career are increasingly good. But they can't predict injury.

[h2oface]

I didn't even consider Liriano..... as we didn't draft him but traded for him, and was only in the Twins' system for 2 of his 5 MiLB years - with the first 4 being not so special, and the first 3 being mediocre at best. Not that much of a comet until his 5th year in the minors. But he did get on the lists.

"Baseball America became the first place to rank prospects on a national level in 1990. Since that time, other national outlets like Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com have also grown in popularity. The top-5 prospects in Twins history were all considered among baseball's top-10 prospects at some point in their professional careers. "

Since we are only talking about actual rankings being in exsistence since 1990, it is not arbitrary, it is a fact.

[h2oface]

8 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

What about John castino  , Pete Redfern ,  Jim eisenrich and some others who were promising prospects  but   injury ended some careers  before they really got started  ,,,  Can't ignore past prospects if there was no top prospects list back then ....  

We didn't need prospects  list back then because we used the eye test  ....

Jim eisenrich went on in Kansas city to a career  after battling nervous disorders  ,

 think he was sold for a dollar , rumor has it  ......

I wouldn't go as far to say mauer was one of the best player in a twin uniform ...

Hometown boy that just didn't  quite have  what it took to LEAD the team to  a world series ,,, contract wasn't his fault  but he just didn't  seem to have the bulldog emotions as a leader , I would  have done more than just be an example on the field to lead ...

If mauer wasn't a Hometown boy , maybe I wouldn't be hard on him if he played for another team

 

Seriously? Not even one of the best? Lost me there.

I guess Ted Williams, who did get in a World Series, but wasn't enough of a bulldog to lead the team to win it, was not one of the best Red Sox?

And you have to take in account that Mauer was saddled with Gardenhire as a manager.......

[Nine of twelve]

10 hours ago, Ctwink said:

Really should have a qualifier in the title "...of the last 30 yrs".  You can't have a list like this, call it the best prospects in HISTORY and ignore the first 30 yrs of Twins history......

Yeah, for instance there was this 1954 bonus baby by the name of Killebrew.

[h2oface]

12 hours ago, Ctwink said:

Really should have a qualifier in the title "...of the last 30 yrs".  You can't have a list like this, call it the best prospects in HISTORY and ignore the first 30 yrs of Twins history......

 

1 hour ago, Nine of twelve said:

Yeah, for instance there was this 1954 bonus baby by the name of Killebrew.

 

"Baseball America became the first place to rank prospects on a national level in 1990. Since that time, other national outlets like Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com have also grown in popularity. The top-5 prospects in Twins history were all considered among baseball's top-10 prospects at some point in their professional careers. "

Does the first sentence work? I kinda missed it the first time, too, but there were no rankings of this sort until 1990. This is a historical list of how they were ranked, and the highest ranking Twins on prospect lists since it the prospect rankings began. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

Oh man, I forgot Liriano peaked that high. I knew the other four but forgot about him.