Over the last decade, the Twins have made the playoffs four times and won the AL Central three times. Minnesota’s roster has changed over significantly over the years, going from the “Bomba Squad” of 2019 to a mix of homegrown and acquired talents. And, some of those homegrown players helped push the Twins to their first playoff series win in over 20 years in 2023. Here’s a look at the Twins’ best and worst MLB Draft picks over the last 10 years.
Best Twins Draft Picks Over Last 10 Seasons
| Name | Position | Year Drafted | Round | Career bWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LaMonte Wade Jr. | 1B/OF | 2015 | 9 | 5.9 |
| Griffin Jax | P | 2016 | 3 | 3.3 |
| Tyler Wells | P | 2016 | 15 | 3.3 |
| Royce Lewis | 3B/SS/OF | 2017 | 1 | 3.4 |
| Brent Rooker | OF | 2017 | 1 | 6.8 |
| Bailey Ober | P | 2017 | 12 | 8.0 |
| Trevor Larnach | OF | 2018 | 1 | 3.2 |
| Ryan Jeffers | C | 2018 | 2 | 7.2 |
| Matt Wallner | OF | 2019 | 1 | 4.2 |
| Spencer Steer | INF/OF | 2019 | 3 | 4.5 |
One would like to think that with several top-five picks over a three-year period, a MLB team would hit on at least one. The Twins did with Royce Lewis, the top pick in the 2017 MLB Draft.
Lewis has had his health issues. Between 2022-24, Lewis suffered a right knee bone bruise, an oblique strain, a left hamstring strain, a right quad strain, and a right adductor strain. But when on the field, Lewis has flashed premium power. The 25-year-old cracked 33 home runs over his first 152 MLB games and added four more to his ledger in the 2023 Postseason.
While Lewis doesn’t have a high career bWAR, it doesn’t showcase his true value.
Minnesota’s also hit on several pitchers. Griffin Jax was an electric reliever at Air Force and turned into a key setup man for Minnesota. Jax struck out a career-high 95 over 71 innings in 2024.
Tyler Wells and Bailey Ober were both tall college pitchers taken by Minnesota in the middle of the MLB Draft. In Ober’s case, Minnesota snatched him one year after he opted not to sign with the Dodgers.
While neither throw hard, both have become adept at changing speeds and making things difficult for hitters. Wells struck out 117 over 118.2 IP for the O’s in 2023. Ober, meanwhile, struck out 337 over 323 innings between 2023-24 and posted a 3.88 FIP.
The Twins also hit with several college outfielders, two of whom are poised to be controllable contributors for years to come.
Brent Rooker was drafted twice by the Twins. Rooker was a 38th-round pick in 2016 out of Mississippi State. He opted to stay for his redshirt junior season and Rooker’s bet worked out. The MSU product hit 23 home runs and 1.306 OPS, and Minnesota took him 35th overall in 2017.
Rooker steadily moved up the Minor League ladder and put up good numbers, including a 28-home run season in 2022. However, he couldn’t find a home, as he shuttled across the Twins, Royals, and Padres organizations from 2022-24. Oakland gave him an opportunity in 2023 and thrived. Rooker hit a career-high 39 home runs with the A’s in 2024.
Also in that 2016 MLB Draft, the Twins picked Forest Lake product Matt Wallner in the 32nd round. Wallner opted to go to Southern Miss and thrived, and Minnesota took him 39th overall in the 2019 Draft. He’s been a barrel machine since joining the Twins, posting 17.0%+ Barrel% rates in 2023-24. However, he’s also had significant swing-and-miss issues, particularly with breaking balls.
Trevor Larnach, the 20th overall pick in 2018, accumulated a career-high 32 extra-base hits with Minnesota in 2024.
Worst Twins Draft Picks Over Last 10 Seasons
| Name | Position | Year Drafted | Round | Career bWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Gordon | SS/OF | 2014 | 1 | -0.4 |
| Nick Burdi | P | 2014 | 2 | -0.3 |
| Tyler Jay | P | 2015 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Landon Leach | P | 2017 | 2 | Never played in MLB |
| Blayne Enlow | P | 2017 | 3 | Never played in MLB |
| Keoni Cavaco | SS | 2019 | 1 | Never played in MLB |
| Matt Canterino | P | 2019 | 2 | Never played in MLB |
| Aaron Sabato | 1B | 2020 | 1 | Never played in MLB |
The 2014 MLB Draft was not successful for the Twins by any means. No players, aside from semi-regular Nick Gordon, became a regular contributor at the MLB level. The only two who did have reasonably successful careers were John Curtiss (6th), who went up and down the Minors and Majors between 2017-24, and Sam Hilliard (31st). Hilliard did not sign with the Twins.
One year later, the Twins picked Tyler Jay sixth overall. Jay didn’t make his MLB debut until 2024, almost nine years after his selection. Jay never lived up to the hype after he dominated at the University of Illinois. But, his career was derailed by health issues that forced him to lose weight and went unresolved for years.
Arguably the two biggest whiffs by the Twins over the last decade, drafting-wise, were Keoni Cavaco and Aaron Sabato.
Cavaco was a surprising pick from the onset. Minnesota took him 13th overall in 2019 after a strong senior season in high school. However, he wasn’t invited to many of the major high school showcase events in 2018 and some had him pegged to go later in the first round.
Cavaco struggled mightily in the pros. The infielder struck out 408 times over 1,110 MiLB plate appearances (36.8% K%) across five seasons. He never posted an OPS higher than .672 in a season. Cavaco, now transitioning into a pitcher, was released by the Twins in 2024.
Sabato, meanwhile, was a New York high school product who thrived at UNC. He posted a 1.149 OPS with the Tar Heels in 2019, enough to make him a first-round pick in 2020. Sabato, a hefty first baseman with fringe athleticism, needed his bat to carry him to the Majors. However, his swing-and-miss problems have held him back.
Sabato hit .199/.308/.336 with 113 strikeouts over 90 games between Low-A and Double-A in 2024.
Draft picks who did not sign are included in these lists. bWAR figures as of October 2024. Check out how other AL Central teams, including the Guardians and Tigers, have done in the MLB Draft over the last decade.