MLB Draft: Grading every Twins first round pick since 2010

If there’s one identifiable feature about the Minnesota Twins, it’s how the small ball club is always setting up moves for the future. Fans across Twins Territory have heard all their lives about what the future holds, but rarely have we seen it arrive.

There have been successes over the years, notably the talent developed in the late-90s that turned into a perennial division-winning playoff team in the 2000s. As the Twins have demonstrated over the last decade, though, it’s hard to replicate that sort of success.

This year the Twins once again owned a top draft choice thanks to the new MLB Draft Lottery literally bouncing in their favor. They landed one of the best players in the draft class, Walker Jenkins, who was talked about as a potential No. 1 overall pick at numerous points in the pre-draft process.

All of this got us thinking about other first round picks the Twins have made over the years, and whether or not they’ve panned out the way everyone was hoping they would at the time.

MLB Draft: Grading every Twins first round pick since 2010

2010 MLB Draft

We're far enough away from some of the early-2010s picks to have a pretty good idea of how well they've aged. The Alex Wimmers isn't the worst pick of the last decade by any stretch, but that still doesn't mean it's a good one.

His career with the Twins and in baseball was rather short, as Wimmers bounced around Minnesota's farm system until making his debut in 2016. Injuries are really what derailed his career, as Wimmers underwent Tommy John surgery back in 2012 and needed another elbow surgery a year later. The Twins eventually released him in 2017, after which he spent a stint in Miami before dropping out of the majors.

2011 MLB Draft

While the 2011 MLB Draft was absolutely stacked with talent, which should make this pick infuriating. However, Minnesota didn't go on the clock until No. 30 overall, and all of the future Hall of Fame talent that made this class so iconic was long off the board.

If we're going to nitpick, though, the Twins did miss on a better prospect at the same position. Trevor Story was selected by Colorado fifteen picks after Minnesota ran their card up to the podium. Given how the next few years panned out in terms of Twins potentially finding a shortstop of the future, things turned out alright.