15 biggest draft busts in Twins history
Here are the Twins’ biggest draft busts in history, in no particular order.
2019 - SS Keoni Cavaco (13th overall)
Cavaco, drafted out of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, Calif., hit .212/.267/.335 in 1110 plate appearances across parts of five minor league seasons, never making it past High-A ball. Now, he is a pitcher in the American Association of Professional Baseball for the Chicago Dogs.
2000 - RHP Adam Johnson (2nd overall)
Drafted out of Torrey Pines High School in San Diego, Johnson was ranked #41 pre-2001 and #85 pre-2002 in Baseball America’s prospect rankings. However, he only made nine major league appearances, posting a 10.25 ERA with seven home runs allowed in 26 ⅓ innings.
1999 - SS B.J. Garbe (5th overall)
Garbe won the 1999 Gatorade High School Baseball Player of the Year Award before getting the call from the Twins on draft day. Ranked #79 pre-2000 by Baseball America, Garbe failed to make it past Double-A, slashing .235/.313/.325 in 2910 plate appearances across parts of eight minor league seasons.
1998 - LHP Ryan Mills (6th overall)
Mills immediately struggled to pitch in professional baseball after getting drafted from Arizona State University, posting an 8.87 ERA in 95 ⅓ innings in his first full season with High-A Fort Myers. Mills, who never made it to the major leagues, stayed in the Twins organization through 2004 and never played for an MLB organization after. He has a career 5.79 ERA in 480 innings.
1985 - RHP Jeff Bumgarner (13th overall)
Bumgarner, who was drafted out of Hanford High School in Richland, WA, made it to Triple-A for the Twins but then found himself spending the rest of his career with the Mets and Orioles organizations, never making it to the big leagues. He has a career 4.26 ERA in 238 ⅔ innings over parts of eight minor league seasons.
1986 - C Derek Parks (10th overall)
Parks did not impress with his bat after getting drafted by the Twins, but he still earned a call to the majors in 1992, likely because he is a catcher. He only had eight plate appearances in ‘92, but posted a .913 OPS over 421 plate appearances in Triple-A the following season. He had 21 major league plate appearances in 1993 and 96 in 1994 before his career ended. He posted a .200/.258/.278 batting line with one home run in his MLB career, and hit .241/.339/.408 in 2674 minor league plate appearances.
1969 - OF Paul Powell (7th overall)
The Twins called up Powell, who was drafted from Arizona State University, in 1971, where he hit .161/.235/.258 with one homer in 35 plate appearances. His major league career was short-lived, only getting 12 more MLB plate appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He hit .260/.328/.425 in 2010 minor league plate appearances spanning from 1969-75.
1982 - LHP Bryan Oelkers (4th overall)
Oelkers earned the call to the big leagues at age 22 in 1983, putting up an 8.65 ERA in 34 ⅓ innings. His next big league stint came with the Cleveland Indians in 1986, where he pitched to a 4.70 ERA in 69 innings before spending the rest of his career in the minors. He had a 4.72 ERA in 771 minor league innings over parts of eight seasons.
2015 - LHP Tyler Jay (6th overall)
Jay, who was drafted out of the University of Illinois, was ranked #60 in MLB’s pre-2016 prospect rankings. He never made it past Double-A with the Twins and landed in the Reds’ system in 2019.
Jay, who has a career 3.51 ERA in 315 ⅓ innings at the minor league level, was diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis in 2019, which more than likely impacted his ability to pitch at the highest level possible. Jay, 31, eventually made it to the major leagues last season, allowing four runs in 4 ⅔ innings with the Mets and 3 innings with the Brewers. This year, he has seen success for Milwaukee's Triple-A affiliate, posting a 0.54 ERA in 16 ⅔ innings.
2013 - RHP Kohl Stewart (4th overall)
Stewart, who was selected by the Twins out of St. Pius X High School, was at one point a highly touted prospect, ranked #36 in MLB’s pre-2015 prospect ratings. He made his major league debut in 2018 for Minnesota, putting up a 3.68 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 36 ⅔ innings. He had a 6.39 ERA in 25 ⅓ innings for the Twins in 2019. His last major league season came in 2021 with the Chicago Cubs, where he posted a 5.27 ERA in 13 ⅔ innings.
2014 - SS Nick Gordon (5th overall)
Gordon was in MLB and Baseball America’s list of top-100 prospects four years in a row after getting drafted and played in the 2017 Futures Game, but he did not earn the call to the big leagues until 2021, where he hit .240/.292/.355 with four home runs and 10 stolen bases in 216 plate appearances. He had a decent 2022 season, slashing .272/.316/.427 with nine home runs and 50 RBI in 443 plate appearances. He only appeared in 34 games in 2023 due to a fractured right shin before getting dealt to the Miami Marlins in the Steven Okert trade. Miami DFA’d and outrighted Gordon at the end of the 2024 season, and he is currently a free agent after playing in Triple-A for Baltimore and Kansas City this year.
1981 - 3B Mike Sodders (11th overall)
From Arizona State University, Sodders never made it to the majors and spent four seasons in the minors with Minnesota and the Chicago White Sox. He hit .238/.321/.391 with 39 homers and 203 RBI across 1501 plate appearances.
1979 - OF Kevin Brandt (11th overall)
Brandt was drafted from Nekoosa High School in Wisconsin and shockingly never made it past rookie ball. He hit .161/.272/.204 with one home run, nine RBI and 41 strikeouts over 160 plate appearances in his first year of pro ball before going hitless in five at-bats the next year, his last in an MLB organization.
1973 - LHP Eddie Bane (11th overall)
Bane, who the Twins selected from Arizona State University, accumulated 168 major league innings, all for Minnesota, with a 4.66 ERA and 1.58 WHIP. His minor league career spanned over six seasons, where he allowed 410 runs, 318 earned, in 713 innings.
1975 - OF Rick Sofield (13th overall)
Sofield, who was drafted out of Morristown High School in New Jersey, played in parts of three major league seasons (1979-81) for the Twins, posting a .243/.293/.342 slash line with nine homers and 66 RBI in 678 plate appearances. His minor league career spanned over parts of seven seasons, where he hit .256/.360/.405 with 48 home runs and 286 RBI in 2243 plate appearances.