Minnesota Twins select Carlos Gutierrez, RHP, University of Miami, 09/22/1986
From Keith Law :
Now this is the biggest surprise of the first round so far. Gutierrez is another college closer whose fastball tops out at 94 with sink. But he doesn't have a viable second pitch, not even a breaking ball. I don't think a team should take a player with only one pitch in the first round. But the Twins have always had success with power arms out of their bullpen.
Stats at the University of Miami
| Season | W | L | SV | ERA | IP | H | K | BB | BA | WHIP | WP | HBP | APP | CG | SO | R | ER |
| 2008 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 2.70 | 43.1 | 34 | 64 | 17 | .206 | 1.18 | 11 | 3 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 13 |
| 2007 | Did not pitch - Recovering from Tommy John Surgery |
||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 4.40 | 88.0 | 81 | 62 |
33 | .245 | 1.30 | 9 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 43 |
From John Manuel at BA:
Count on Mike Radcliff and the Twins to make waves. After taking Aaron Hicks as an outfielder at 14, the Twins took BA’s No. 82 ranked player in our Top 200, with Carlos Gutierrez, the Hurricanes’ righthander. No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Miami has now placed three players in the first round.
Gutierrez is the biggest surprise in the first round but honestly I like Gutierrez as much as several of the other closers taken ahead of him. He doesn’t have Ryan Perry’s pure velocity, but I’d take Gutierrez’s fastball due to its superior movement, sink and command, plus he’s no soft-tosser at 90-93 mph. Plus his slider can be an average pitch at times. He’s had Tommy John surgery but he’s also been money for Miami this year.
That said, Gutierrez likely would have been available later. The Twins obviously were convicted in Gutierrez, but it’s a surprising pick, one of a string of surprises in the last five picks.