Here’s a list of the first 18 players selected by the Twins in this year’s MLB draft from mlb.com, which may grow as the Twins continue to draft players.
The players selected thus far look like what we’ve come to expect from the Twins: a lot of college pitchers and athletic high school position players.
Of the college pitchers the Twins have selected so far (excluding Alex Wimmers, who I have already written about), the ones who most intrigue me are Steve Maxwell of Texas Christian (375th pick) and Ryan O’Rourke of Merrimack College (405th pick).
Maxwell blew out his elbow and had to have Tommy John surgery two years ago. In 2010 he was a fourth year junior and had a terrific season, going 11-1 with a 2.51 ERA for a top program.
The rest of Maxwell’s line was also good: 97 IP, 79 hits, 31 walks allowed, and 87 Ks. Even with the past elbow problems, it’s surprising that Maxwell would go this low after the season he had at a high-level college program.
Ryan O’Rourke played for a very small school and put up some ridiculous numbers. He had a 1.25 ERA for the year with a line of 79 IP, 44 hits, 14 walks allowed, and 93 Ks. It will certainly be a big jump to the pros for O’Rourke, but he at least appears to have some talent.
The college position players the Twins selected are all kind of interesting.
With the 165th pick (5th round) the Twins took outfielder Nathaniel Roberts of High Point. Playing for a small school, Roberts had a 1.319 OPS and stole 36 bases in 39 attempts.
With the 255th pick, the Twins selected outfielder Lance Ray from Kentucky. Ray hit .365 and had a 1.178 playing for a big school, but he may have had injury problems this year as he appears to have played only about 60 percent of the season.
Finally, with the 285th pick, the Twins chose local catcher Kyle Knudsen from Minnesota. Knudsen had a solid year for a catcher, hitting .342 with a .911 OPS. However, he is a senior who turns 23 on September 12, which means he’s already getting up there for player just entering professional ball.
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