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Recent Twins Draft What-If's

A friend of mine and I were discussing Harper and Machado the other day, and we fell down a bit of an MLB draft wormhole. It is very fascinating to take a look at recent first rounds of drafts and see where the studs were picked up, who the Twins whiffed on drafted, and what could've been. So here's a summary of my findings, starting in 2010 (the Harper-Machado draft).

2010 Draft

#1 Pick: Bryce Harper, OF, Nationals

Twins Pick (#21): Alex Wimmers, RHP

Wimmers is currently a free agent. He only ever pitched 24.2 innings for the Twins in the big leagues.

What could've been: 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich was drafted by the Marlins with the #23 pick. Stud pitchers Aaron Sanchez (#34) and Noah Syndergaard (#38) were also drafted after Wimmers.

Other notable selections: Machado (#3), Matt Harvey (#7), Yasmani Grandal (#12), Chris Sale (#13)

2011 Draft

#1 Pick: Gerrit Cole, RHP, Pirates

Twins Pick (#30): Levi Michael, SS

Michael is currently in the Giants organization. He was released by the Twins after the 2017 season. He has made no big-league appearances to date.

What could've been: World Series Champion Jackie Bradley Jr. (#40), Former Rookie of the Year pitcher Michael Fulmer (#44), and All-Star shortstop Trevor Story (#45) were all drafted after Michael. The Twins actually had the #50 pick as well, and took somebody named Travis Harrison. 2018 AL Cy Young Blake Snell was drafted at #52.

Other notable selections: Trevor Bauer (#3), Anthony Rendon (#6), Archie Bradley (#7), Francisco Lindor (#8), Javi Baez (#9), George Springer (#11), Jose Fernandez (#14), Current Twin C.J. Cron (#17), Sonny Gray (#18). Would have been a nice draft to not pick 30th in.

2012 Draft

#1 Pick: Carlos Correa, SS, Astros

Twins Picks (#2 & #32): Byron Buxton, CF; Jose Berrios, RHP

Buxton has shown flashes of huge potential at the plate in the bigs, but struggled last year. He is the best defender in baseball when healthy. Berrios is a blossoming ace with a terrific work ethic and lofty goals. The Twins did well in this draft.

What could've been: Former Rookie of the Year SS Corey Seager (#18) and stud pitchers Michael Wacha (#19) and Marcus Stroman (#22) were drafted between Buxton and Berrios. Wacha notably made it to the majors full-time in 2013. All-Star pitcher and World Series standout Lance McCullers Jr. (#41) was drafted after Berrios.

Other notable selections: Joey Gallo (#39), Twins selection Luke Bard (#42)

2013 Draft

#1 Pick: Mark Appel, RHP, Astros (out of baseball)

Twins Pick (#4): Kohl Stewart, RHP

Stewart got his feet wet in the majors last year, showing some potential with some quality outings. He was mainly used as the primary pitcher in Molitor's "opener" experiment games. He could be a rotation fixture in the near future.

What could've been: Yankees (yuck) stud rightfielder Aaron Judge was drafted with the #32 pick. Pitchers Sean Manaea and Corey Knebel were taken #34 and #39, respectively. Many players are still developing from this draft (and the ones following).

Other notable selections: Kris Bryant (#2), Jon Gray (#3)

2014 Draft

#1 Pick: Brady Aiken, LHP, Astros (player did not sign) It's notable that the Astros completely whiffed on two consecutive #1 overall picks and still won the World Series with a core of homegrown players in 2017.

Twins Pick (#5): Nick Gordon, SS

Gordon shredded AA pitching last year before moving up to AAA Rochester. He struggled some, but improved throughout his time there. He's regarded as a strong defender at second base and we could see him in the majors sometime this season.

What could've been: 2018 NL Cy Young contender Aaron Nola (#7), Stud Pitcher Kyle Freeland (#8) and All-Star Michael Conforto (#10) were all drafted after Gordon. Promising young players who have broken into the majors we also could've taken include Trea Turner (#13), Matt Chapman (#25), and Jack Flaherty (#34). Top prospects Justus Sheffield (#31) and Michael Kopech (#33) were also available.

Other notable selections: Kyle Schwarber (#4)

2015 Draft

#1 Pick: Dansby Swanson, SS, Braves

Twins Pick (#6): Tyler Jay, LHP

Jay pitched for AA Chattanooga last year, recording a 4.22 ERA. He hasn't really burned up any level, but he has made steady progression. Still a couple years away, he was considered the Twins' #22 prospect by MLB.com last year.

What could've been: Studs Andrew Benintendi (#7), and Ian Happ (#9) were taken shortly after Jay. #8 pick Carson Fulmer quickly reached the majors as well but has struggled. #24 pick Walker Buehler was a stand-out pitcher for the NL Champion Dodgers last year, and could be an ace for years to come.

Other notable selections: Alex Bregman (#2)

The drafts following 2015 have had very few players reach the majors, so I won't be covering those today. In conclusion, the Twins have done just okay at drafting in the first round in my opinion. They did pretty well in the 2012 and 2013 drafts, missed trying to find diamonds in the rough in 2010 and 2011, and are still waiting to see on their 2014 and 2015 picks. Berrios is far and away our best draft pick from the period, considering the value at #32.

What do you guys think? Who would you like to have seen in a Twins uniform that we could've drafted?