Ranking the Minnesota Twins First Round Picks of the Last Decade
By Kasey Kuhrts
Number 5: Minnesota Twins select Nick Gordon 5th Overall in 2014
Nick Gordon comes in 5th on our list, and there might be some surprise due to the fact that Gordon has been in the system for what will be his seventh season and has not yet made his MLB debut.
Nick, the younger brother of Dee Gordon, was a staple on the MLB.com Top 100 prospects list from 2016-2018, but he no longer appears on that list.
From 2014-2017, Nick spent a full season in Rookie, Full Season A, A Advanced, and AA in that order. In those years, Nick had a batting average no lower than .270 at any stop, and scored more than 50 runs in three of the four seasons. The only season he didn’t was in 2014, because he only played in 57 games, and scored 46 runs.
Gordon started the 2018 season in AA, but after hitting .333 in the first 42 games of the season, he was promoted to AAA, and finished out the season there. However, in those 99 AAA games, Gordon hit only .212 with an on base percentage of .262.
Falling lower and lower on the depth chart, Gordon played the entire 2019 season in AAA. He only appeared in 70 games, but hit .298 in that time, had an OBP of .342 in that time. He also tied his career high in doubles with 29, cut down his strikeouts from 109 to 65 from the previous season.
Which brings us to 2020, at only 24 years old, Gordon still has plenty of time to make an impact. Although many believed he would have already made his MLB debut by now, there should be no reason to give up on Gordon.
But as I have done with everyone else, I have to look at what could have been if the Twins didn’t select Gordon. At pick seven, the second selection after Gordon, the Phillies selected Aaron Nola. The Mets selected Michael Conforto at 10, and Trea Turner and Matt Chapman were selected before the end of the first round.
It should be mentioned, the four players selected before Gordon were Brady Aiken, Tyler Kolek, Carlos Rodon, and Kyle Schwarber. Aiken famously did not sign with the Astros after being selected first overall, and Kolek has a minor league career record of 5-16 with a 5.66 ERA. So compared to those picks, the Twins aren’t looking so bad.