The Minnesota Twins will add to their farm system on Sunday night when they make the fifth and 34th overall selections in the 2023 MLB Draft.
With a loaded draft class, there’s a good chance the Twins will add another piece to a farm system but the main focus will be on how their first-round selections turn out.
Since Derek Falvey and Thad Levine arrived in 2017, the Twins have had some hits, some misses and some ones that got away. Here’s a look at Minnesota’s recent first-round selections and how they turned out.
2017: Royce Lewis (No. 1 overall), Brent Rooker (No. 35 overall)
The Twins came into the 2017 draft with the No. 1 overall pick for the third time in franchise history, selecting Tim Belcher in 1983 and Joe Mauer in 2001. The hype coming into the draft suggested that prep phenom Hunter Greene should be the choice, but the Twins went in a different direction, selecting shortstop Royce Lewis.
Royce Lewis = Instant Impact#MNTwins x #Birdland pic.twitter.com/akBdnoQ9JI
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) July 1, 2023
Lewis’s career has been checkered so far. He’s shown tremendous potential, hitting .319/.343/.496 with six homers and 20 RBI in 38 major league games but has also dealt with multiple injuries including two ACL tears in a span of 15 months.
At age 24 and currently on the injured list with an oblique injury, Lewis’s story with the Twins has time to play out, but that’s not the case with Rooker.
The Twins selected Rooker after he hit 23 homers during his junior year at Mississippi State and he made his major league debut in 2020. With Max Kepler and Trevor Larnach blocking his path, playing time was hard to come by and the Twins eventually sent him to San Diego along with Taylor Rogers as part of the infamous trade that brought Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagán to Minnesota.
Rooker split time with the Padres and Kansas City Royals last season but has found a home with the Oakland Athletics, hitting .237/.331/.459 with 14 home runs and 42 RBI to earn his first All-Star appearance this season.
2018: Trevor Larnach (No. 20)
The Twins tapped into a loaded Oregon State roster that included Adley Ruschman, Steven Kwan and Nick Madrigal but Larnach hasn’t found a way to become a regular in the majors.
Larnach got off to a great start after being named the Twins Minor League Player of the Year in 2019, hitting .316/.382/.459 with six homers and 44 RBI with Single-A Fort Myers. Like many prospects, Larnach missed time during the COVID-impacted 2020 season but made his major league debut early in 2021.
To this point, Larnach hasn’t panned out, splitting time between Minnesota and Triple-A St. Paul. While he’s hitting .294/.410/.600 with seven homers and 21 RBI in 24 games with the Saints this season, he’s hitting just .211/.311/.388 with six homers and 31 RBI in 47 games with the Twins.
Trevor Larnach with an absolute missile, a 446-foot blast to right that took out a video board panel. His 3rd straight game with a home run, seventh of the season. pic.twitter.com/G67F5oDUQ5
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) July 5, 2023
Already 26 years old, it’s fair to question how the Twins view Larnach in their future plans and whether he’ll be in Minnesota long enough to become a regular contributor.
2019: Keoni Cavaco (13th overall)
Cavaco was considered to be a “helium” (or rising) prospect in the days leading into the draft and the Twins bit hard, reaching for the high school third baseman out of California with the 13th overall pick.
In 221 career minor league games, Cavaco is hitting .217/.273/.338 with 17 homers, 100 RBI and 15 stolen bases and has never advanced past High-A Cedar Rapids. Things have gotten especially bad this season as Cavaco is hitting .175/.254/.290 with three homers and nine RBI in 34 games.
According to The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman, Cavaco has been moved to first base to make way for “more promising prospects to develop at more important positions and with National League MVP candidate Corbin Carroll (16th overall by Arizona) and first-time All-Star George Kirby (20th overall) still on the board, this is one of the current regime’s biggest whiffs.
2020: Aaron Sabato (27th overall)
The Twins believed that Sabato could be a fast riser through the system after hitting .344/.453/.696 with 18 homers and 63 RBI during his sophomore season at North Carolina and chose the Tar Heels. But despite showing massive slugging potential with the Tar Heels, it hasn’t translated to his professional career.
Sabato has 45 homers in his first three professional seasons but is hitting .211/.356/.426 in 242 minor league games. Currently hitting .224/.366/.439 with four homers and 19 RBI with Double-A Wichita, Gleeman also believes that Sabato should be considered a minor leaguer rather than a prospect.
This is another pick that stings as Bobby Miller (No. 8 prospect per MLB.com) was selected 29th overall pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers and Jordan Westburg (No. 32 prospect) was selected 30th overall by the Baltimore Orioles.
2021: Chase Petty (26th overall), Noah Miller (36th overall)
Petty’s draft-day interview went viral but he didn’t spend much time in the Twins organization as he was traded for Sonny Gray prior to the 2022 season.
A hard-throwing right-hander, Petty walks the line between being a potential starter or an eventual reliever. Whatever his role, he appears to be effective, going 0-1 with a 1.53 ERA and 39 strikeouts in nine starts for High-A Dayton this season.
Currently, the Reds’ No. 2 pitching prospect and No. 7 prospect overall, it appears Petty will at least have a career in the majors, which is more than the Twins can say about Miller.
Miller is hitting .214/.321/.290 with six homers, 61 RBI and 32 stolen bases in 201 career minor league games and has seen his average drop in each of the past three seasons. Currently hitting .209/.280/.280 with two homers, 23 RBI and eight steals in 71 games at High-A Cedar Rapids, Miller’s status as a prospect is already in jeopardy.
2022: Brooks Lee (No. 8 overall)
The Twins were reportedly ecstatic when Lee fell to them in last year’s draft and the early reviews are encouraging for the Twins’ top-ranked prospect.
Brooks Lee collects his second four-RBI game of the month!
The top @Twins prospect notched three hits and reached base four times for the @WindSurgeICT: pic.twitter.com/cgEKZiUUpP
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 29, 2023
Lee hit .303/.389/.451 with four homers and 15 RBI in 31 minor league games last season and while his numbers have declined (.265/.349/.423, 6 HR, 44 RBI in 71 games) at Double-A Wichita, he has impressed many in the organization including Carlos Correa.
“Man, that kid is a stud,” Correa said of Lee during Spring Training. “I really, really, really like this kid. I’m very, very high on him. Don’t be surprised if we see him up this year.”
Lee’s major league debut is unlikely to happen this year but a promotion to St. Paul isn’t out of the question as is an arrival to the big leagues in 2024.
