Puckett's Pond
Fansided

A recent history of Twins’ First-Round Picks

By Chris Schad

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 17: Number one overall draft pick Royce Lewis speaks at a press conference on June 17, 2017 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 17: Number one overall draft pick Royce Lewis speaks at a press conference on June 17, 2017 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Minnesota Twins
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JUNE 17: Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey of the Minnesota Twins holds up a jersey with number one overall draft pick Royce Lewis and agent Scott Boras at a press conference on June 17, 2017 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

2017: SS Royce Lewis (1st Overall)

Coming off the 2016 “Total System Failure,” the Twins found themselves in the fortunate situation of owning the top overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft. While many across the nation wanted the team to select prep phenom Hunter Greene, the Twins decided to take prep shortstop Royce Lewis, which left many Twins fans up in arms (more on this on the next slide).

Nearly two years later, Lewis is proving that the Twins made the right decision. Lewis raked between Low-A Cedar Rapids and High-A Fort Myers last season (.292, 14 HR, 74 RBI, 28 SB) in 2018 and came into this season ranked ninth on Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects list.

Lewis has gotten off to a slower start with Double-A Pensacola in 2019, but it may not be anything that a couple of push-ups can’t fix. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds selected Hunter Greene with the second pick overall and after a solid start, the team recently announced that he would be undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Lewis and Greene might be compared for the next decade, but it’s a real possibility that both teams got a great player with their selection, which is a deal that the Twins will take every time.

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