Minnesota Twins 2018 MLB Draft first round selection roundtable discussion
By Nate Palmer
The Minnesota Twins have the 20th selection in the first round of the 2018 MLB Draft. We at Puckett’s Pond like these four players if they are available.
The Minnesota Twins are set to select 20th in the 2018 MLB Amateur draft come Monday, June 4th. After years of top 10 selections due to losing seasons, this will be the lowest the franchise has selected a player since 2010 when they selected 21st. In last year’s draft the Twins had the largest amount of draft pool money out of any team and had an excellent draft. Something we recently highlighted here.
Now with a bottom five amount of draft pool money in the league the Twins front office will have a tall task to try to find some impact players in the 2018 draft. History and a bit of luck may be on the Twins side as they have had success drafting in this spot and around this spot in past drafts.
Most recently in 2016 with the 15th pick, the Twins selected outfielder Alex Kirilloff who is performing very well for the Twins at Single-A Cedar Rapids this season. In 2009 the Twins selected starting pitcher Kyle Gibson with the 22nd selection. Even with Gibson’s early struggles as a major league pitcher that pick looks like a pretty solid MLB draft pick with his performance over the past year. And again at 22nd in 2004 the Twins found a Minnesota kid in Glen Perkins.
Other 20th overall selections include an encouraging group of former Twins. In 2004 the Twins selected then shortstop Trevor Plouffe. 2002 saw the selection of outfielder and current Seattle Mariner Denard Span. And it is impossible to leave out the Twins 1993 selection in none other than outfielder Torii Hunter.
In a draft that isn’t nearly as deep as 2017 and with much less money it may be hard to grab as many impact players in 2018. If they with that 20th overall selection can find a player like the three just listed they would likely consider that a successful selection and draft. The worry is for any team is that they might completely whiff and end up with a player that has the career path more like that of Alex Whimmers who the Twins selected 21st overall in 2010.
The following words are a collaboration of your favorite Puckett’s Pond writers and a player that grabs their attention out of the players that could be available for the Twins when their name is called.