The Minnesota Twins are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, playing in the American League Central division. Since the institution of MLB's Rule 4 Draft, the Twins have selected 70 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur clubs to its franchises. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.
Of the 70 players picked in the first round by Minnesota, 30 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 22 of these were right-handed, while 8 were left-handed. Twelve outfielders were selected, while twelve shortstops, seven third basemen, four catchers, four first basemen and one second baseman were taken as well. Thirteen of the players came from high schools or universities in the state of California, nine came from schools in Florida, and six came from Arizona, including five players selected from Arizona State University.
Two of the Twins' first-round picks have won championships with the franchise: Willie Banks (1987) and Chuck Knoblauch (1989) won a World Series title on the 1991 championship team. Knoblauch is also the only first-round draft pick of the Twins to win the MLB Rookie of the Year award, taking home the award in 1991. Catcher Joe Mauer (2001) is the only Twins first round draft pick to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, earning enshrinement in 2024. In 2009, Mauer won the American League Most Valuable Player award, the only first-round pick of the Twins to win the award. Mauer has also won three Silver Slugger Awards and two Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, and he is the only catcher in MLB history to win three batting titles.
The Twins have made 16 selections in the supplemental round of the draft and have made the first overall selection three times (1983, 2001, and 2017). They have also had 18 compensatory picks since the institution of the First-Year Player Draft in 1965. These additional picks are provided when a team loses a particularly valuable free agent in the previous off-season, or, more recently, if a team fails to sign a draft pick from the previous year. The Twins have six times failed to sign their first-round pick. Eddie Leon (1965), Dick Ruthven (1972), Jamie Allen (1976), and Tim Belcher (1983) all failed to sign with the Twins without the team receiving compensation. The Twins did, however, receive a compensatory pick when they failed to sign Jason Varitek (1993), who instead chose to enter the draft again the following year and was taken by the Seattle Mariners. Additionally, Travis Lee, the Twins' only selection in 1996 and the second-overall pick of that draft, did not sign with the team. Lee's agent, Scott Boras, did not communicate with the Twins for the first two weeks after the draft and then invoked a rarely used rule that a team was required to make a contract offer within 15 days of the draft or relinquish their rights to the player. As a result, Lee and 3 other 1996 first-round picks who were Boras clients were granted free agency and he ultimately signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Key Year Each year links to an article about that year's Major League Baseball draft. Position Indicates the secondary/collegiate position at which the player was drafted, rather than the professional position the player may have gone on to play Pick Indicates the number of the pick* Player did not sign with the Twins § Indicates a supplemental pick† Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame
Picks
YearNamePosition School (Location)Pick Ref 1965 * Shortstop University of Arizona(Tucson, Arizona) 1966 Third baseman (Dawson, Georgia) 20 1967 Third baseman St. Elizabeth High School(Oakland, California) 17 1968 Outfielder Luther College(Decorah, Iowa) 16 1969 Outfielder Arizona State University(Tempe, Arizona) 1970 Shortstop Mount Pleasant High School(Calumet, Pennsylvania) 22 1971 Shortstop Miami Coral Park High School (Miami, Florida) 21 1972 * Right-handed pitcher California State University, Fresno(Fresno, California) 1973 Left-handed pitcher Arizona State University(Tempe, Arizona) 11 1974 Shortstop Vanderbilt University(Nashville, Tennessee) 14 1975 Shortstop Morristown High School(Morristown, New Jersey) 13 1976 * Third baseman Davis High School(Yakima, Washington) 10 1977 Outfielder Morristown High School(Morristown, New Jersey) 15 1978 Shortstop Jefferson High School(Tampa, Florida) 16 1979 Outfielder Nekoosa High School(Nekoosa, Wisconsin) 11 1980 Catcher Joliet West High School(Joliet, Illinois 12 1981 Third baseman Arizona State University(Tempe, Arizona) 11 1982 Left-handed pitcher Wichita State University(Wichita, Kansas) 1983 * Right-handed pitcher Mount Vernon Nazarene College(Mount Vernon, Ohio) 1984 Shortstop Gonzalez Tate High School(Pensacola, Florida) 1985 Right-handed pitcher Hanford High School(West Richland, Washington) 13 1986 Right-handed pitcher Montclair High School(Montclair, California) 10 1987 Right-handed pitcher (Jersey City, New Jersey) 1988 Right-handed pitcher Manatee Community College(Bradenton, Florida) 1989 Shortstop Texas A&M University(College Station, Texas) 25 1990 Right-handed pitcher Duncanville High School(Duncanville, Texas) 12 Outfielder Edison High School(Miami, Florida) 29§ 1991 First baseman Stanford University(Stanford, California) Third baseman Creighton University(Omaha, Nebraska) 27§ 1992 Left-handed pitcher Serra High School(San Mateo, California) 26 1993 Outfielder Pine Bluff High School(Pine Bluff, Arkansas) 20 * Catcher Georgia Institute of Technology(Atlanta, Georgia) 21 Right-handed pitcher Arizona State University(Tempe, Arizona) 33§ Outfielder Lawrenceburg High School(Lawrenceburg, Indiana) 38§ 1994 Second baseman Louisiana State University(Baton Rouge, Louisiana) Left-handed pitcher Kent State University(Kent, Ohio) 34§ 1995 Left-handed pitcher University of Oklahoma(Norman, Oklahoma) 13 1996 * First baseman San Diego State University(San Diego, California) 1997 Shortstop Great Bridge High School(Chesapeake, Virginia) Catcher Clemson University(Clemson, South Carolina) 50§ 1998 Left-handed pitcher Arizona State University(Tempe, Arizona) 1999 Outfielder Moses Lake High School(Moses Lake, Washington) 2000 Right-handed pitcher California State University, Fullerton(Fullerton, California) * Right-handed pitcher University of Notre Dame(Notre Dame, Indiana) 31§ 2001† Catcher Cretin-Derham Hall(St. Paul, Minnesota) 2002 Outfielder Tampa Catholic High School(Tampa, Florida) 20 2003 Third baseman Mills E. Godwin High School(Richmond, Virginia) 21 2004 Shortstop Crespi Carmelite High School(Encino, California) 20 Left-handed pitcher University of Minnesota(Minneapolis, Minnesota) 22 Right-handed pitcher Farragut High School(Knoxville, Tennessee) 25 Right-handed pitcher University of Central Florida(Orlando, Florida) 35§ Right-handed pitcher Bishop Hendricken High School(Warwick, Rhode Island) 39§ 2005 Right-handed pitcher California State University, Fresno(Fresno, California) 25 First baseman Mission Bay High School(San Diego, California) 39§ 2006 Outfielder Chino Hills High School(Chino Hills, California) 20 2007 Outfielder Lexington Catholic High School(Lexington, Kentucky) 28 2008 Outfielder Wilson High School(Long Beach, California) 14 Right-handed pitcher University of Miami(Coral Gables, Florida) 27 Right-handed pitcher Tulane University(New Orleans, Louisiana) 31§ 2009 Right-handed pitcher University of Missouri(Columbia, Missouri) 22 Left-handed pitcher Indiana University Bloomington(Bloomington, Indiana) 46§ 2010 Right-handed pitcher Ohio State University(Columbus, Ohio) 21 2011 Shortstop University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill(Chapel Hill, North Carolina) 30 Third baseman Tustin High School(Tustin, California) 50§ Right-handed pitcher Bishop Verot High School(Fort Myers, Florida) 55§ 2012 Outfielder Appling County High School(Baxley, Georgia) Right-handed pitcher Papa Juan High School(Bayamón, Puerto Rico) 32§ Right-handed pitcher Georgia Institute of Technology(Atlanta, Georgia) 42§ 2013 Right-handed pitcher St. Pius X High School(Houston, Texas) 2014 Shortstop Olympia High School(Orlando, Florida) 2015 Left-handed pitcher University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign(Champaign, Illinois) 2016 Outfielder Plum High School(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) 152017Royce LewisShortstopJSerra Catholic High School(San Juan Capistrano, California)1Brent RookerOutfielderMississippi State University(Mississippi State, Mississippi)352018Trevor LarnachOutfielderOregon State University(Corvallis, Oregon)202019Keoni CavacoShortstopEastlake High School(Chula Vista, California)132020Aaron SabatoFirst basemanUniversity of North Carolina(Chapel Hill, North Carolina)27 2021 Right-handed pitcher Mainland Regional High School(Linwood, New Jersey) Noah Miller Shortstop Ozaukee High School(Fredonia, Wisconsin) 36§ 2022 Brooks Lee Shortstop Cal Poly(San Luis Obispo, California)8 2023 Walker Jenkins Outfielder South Brunswick High School(Southport, North Carolina)5 Charlee Soto Right-Handed pitcher Reborn Christian Academy(Kissimmee, Florida) 34§ 2024 Kaelen Culpepper Shortstop Kansas State University(Manhattan, Kansas)20 2025 Marek Houston Shortstop Wake Forest University(Winston-Salem, North Carolina)16 Riley Quick Right-Handed pitcher University of Alabama(Tuscaloosa, Alabama) 36§ 2026 Vahn Lackey Catcher Georgia Institute of Technology(Atlanta, Georgia)3
See also Minnesota Twins minor league players
Footnotes Through the 2012 draft, free agents were evaluated by the Elias Sports Bureau and rated "Type A", "Type B", or not compensation-eligible. If a team offered arbitration to a player but that player refused and subsequently signed with another team, the original team was able to receive additional draft picks. If a "Type A" free agent left in this way, his previous team received a supplemental pick and a compensatory pick from the team with which he signed. If a "Type B" free agent left in this way, his previous team received only a supplemental pick. Since the 2013 draft, free agents are no longer classified by type; instead, compensatory picks are only awarded if the team offered its free agent a contract worth at least the average of the 125 current richest MLB contracts. However, if the free agent's last team acquired the player in a trade during the last year of his contract, it is ineligible to receive compensatory picks for that player. The Twins gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1990 for losing free agent Jeff Reardon. The Twins gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1991 for losing free agent Gary Gaetti. The Twins gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1993 from the Cincinnati Reds for losing free agent John Smiley. The Twins gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1993 for losing free agent John Smiley. The Twins gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1993 for losing free agent Greg Gagne. The Twins gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1994 for failing to sign 1993 first-round pick Jason Varitek. The Twins gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1997 for failing to sign 1996 first-round pick Travis Lee. The Twins gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2000 for losing free agent Mike Trombley. The Twins gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2004 from the Seattle Mariners for losing free agent Eddie Guardado. The Twins gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2004 from the Chicago Cubs for losing free agent LaTroy Hawkins. The Twins gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2004 for losing free agent Eddie Guardado. The Twins gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2004 for losing free agent LaTroy Hawkins.