Ranking the Minnesota Twins First Round Picks of the Last Decade
By Kasey Kuhrts
Number 7: Minnesota Twins select Alex Wimmers 21st Overall in 2010
In a draft that included Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Matt Harvey, Chris Sale, and six other future All Stars drafted in the first round, the Twins selected Alex Wimmers. Now don’t worry Twins fans, they didn’t have the opportunity to select most of these players, but they did pass on three of them.
The Twins selected right-handed pitcher Alex Wimmers from The Ohio State University with the 21st pick in the 2010 draft, and like Stewart, Wimmers did pitch for the Twins in the MLB.
Wimmers reported to Fort Myers after being drafted, and started four games for the Miracle, going 2-0 with a 0.57 ERA in that time. Wimmers spent a full season in Fort Myers in 2011 before having a strange 2012 season.
Wimmers pitched in only two games in 2012 due to a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, but the Twins medical staff had a hard time diagnosing the injury. Wimmers would eventually have Tommy John surgery, which saw him only pitch in six games in 2013.
In 2014, Wimmers was fully healthy for the first time since 2011, and he pitched in both A Advanced, and AA, going 4-3 with a 3.96 ERA in both leagues. In 2015, Wimmers spent the entire season in AA, making 18 starts, and 12 relief appearances, going 8-4 with a 4.53 ERA.
Wimmers would never make another start in his professional career after 2015, as he spent the entire 2016 season as a reliever in both AA and AAA before making his MLB Debut for the Minnesota Twins on August 26, 2016. In 2016, Wimmers pitched in 16 games for the Twins, gathering one hold, with a 4.15 ERA.
Wimmers spent most of his 2017 in AAA, where he was very solid, going 7-3 with a 3.23 ERA, and again saw time in the MLB. This time it was only six games with the Twins, pitching to a 4.91 ERA in 7.1 innings. After being designated for assignment by the Twins, he became a free agent, and signed with the Marlins in the offseason. However, he never pitched a game with the Marlins in the MLB.
Having Wimmers above Stewart on this list all came down to the MLB stats, and although neither guy has any impressive stats, Wimmers has a lower career ERA, and more games played. But as I mentioned above, which All-Stars could the Twins have drafted instead of Wimmers?
That would be 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich, who went two selections after Wimmers, Aaron Sanchez, and Noah Syndergaard.