If there's a silver lining to the Minnesota Twins losing 90 or more games for the fourth straight year last season, it will come in the form of next week's Major League Baseball Draft.
For the fourth season in a row, the Twins will be picking in the top six overall in the amateur draft, which awards the top pick to the worst record from the previous year. Only the Houston Astros have also had a top-six pick in the 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 drafts (the Astros had the No. 1 overall pick three times). In the first round of Monday's draft, Minnesota will have the sixth overall pick after finishing 2014 with a 70-92 record.
The baseball draft is not only a bit of a crapshoot, but it also doesn't provide instant relief like drafts in the National Basketball Association or National Football League. It takes years for MLB draft picks to reach the majors, if they do at all. The last first-round pick of the Twins to play in the big leagues is right-hander Kyle Gibson, who was taken 22nd overall in 2009 and debuted in 2013. Minnesota has had a total of nine first-round picks since then, none of which have yet made it to the majors.
Just because the Twins' recent first-round picks have yet to put on a Minnesota uniform doesn't mean things haven't -- or won't -- pan out, of course. In fact, the three most recent first-round picks, all taken in the top five, have had mixed results in the minors.
The highest pick the Twins have made in recent years was 2012 when Minnesota had the No. 2 overall pick. After the Houston Astros took shortstop Carlos Correa with the No. 1 pick, the Twins made the no-brainer decision to take high school outfielder Byron Buxton from Georgia. Despite having not yet played in the majors, Buxton has become almost a household name in Minnesota as the Twins' top prospect and arguably the top prospect in all of baseball.
Buxton's first full minor league season in 2013 saw the five-tool outfielder bat .334/.424/.520 with 12 home runs, 77 RBI, 18 triples and 55 stolen bases in 125 games between Low-A Cedar Rapids and High-A Fort Myers. Those numbers were good enough to earn Buxton the honor of Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year. The 2014 season was a disappointment, though, as Buxton played just 31 total games due to injuries.
Now healthy again, Buxton is once again putting up impressive numbers in the minors, this time with Double-A Chattanooga. Through 49 games, Buxton is batting just .256 but has 11 triples, six home runs, 35 RBI and 15 stolen bases. Twins fans continue to ponder the possible arrival of Buxton to the majors, which could happen in 2015 if things keep going well for the 21-year-old outfielder.
One year after Minnesota drafted Buxton No. 2 overall, the Twins took a pitcher with the No. 4 pick in the 2013 draft. That was high schooler Kohl Stewart, who also had a scholarship to play quarterback at Texas A&M but ultimately chose baseball. A hard-throwing right-hander from Houston, Stewart spent his first full minor-league season with Low-A Cedar Rapids in 2014. In 19 starts, Stewart was 3-5 with a 2.59 ERA and struck out 62 batters while walking 24. He also dealt with a shoulder injury that limited him for part of the season.
Stewart was promoted to High-A Fort Myers to begin the 2015 season, and he's seen his share of ups and downs with the Miracle. In seven starts, Stewart is 1-3 with a 3.49 ERA, tallying 19 strikeouts and 11 walks. Before the 2015 season, he was pegged by Baseball Prospectus as the No. 28 overall prospect in the minors. Stewart was briefly on the disabled list this year with elbow inflammation but has since returned to action.
Last year, the Twins once again found themselves picking in the top five for the third straight year and took high school shortstop Nick Gordon with the No. 5 pick. Gordon has baseball in his bloodlines. His father, Tom, was a longtime major-league pitcher, and his brother, Dee, currently leads the National League in batting average as a second baseman with the Miami Marlins.
The youngest Gordon was taken as a highly touted shortstop prospect from Orlando, Fla. He batted .294 and scored 46 runs in 57 games in rookie ball last year in Elizabethton. The transition to his first full minor-league season has been an adjustment for Gordon, though. As of Wednesday, the 19-year-old Gordon is batting just .230 with seven extra-base hits in 46 games for Low-A Cedar Rapids and has committed eight errors at shortstop in that stretch. Still, the Twins are optimistic that Gordon can factor into their plans in the future and are willing to be patient with him, as they have been with many of their draft picks.
Whichever player Minnesota drafts on Monday will have the distinction of being a top-six pick, joining Buxton, Stewart and Gordon in that group. And that player taken No. 6 overall may not make it to the majors in the next few years, but he'll provide the Twins' fan base with yet another glimmer of hope.
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