The Biggest Draft Busts in Twins History

Buster Posey, Buster Olney and Buster Bluth from Arrested Development are all pretty successful Busters. Even Buster Brown, both the comic strip and the musician varieties, are on the list of top Busters. They are not on the list of busts, which is nothing like being a Buster.

A bust is simply defined as something or someone that had high expectations put upon them and did not meet those marks.

We’ve all been a bust once in twice in our lives, right?

But we’re not here to talk about my failures…unless this article goes horribly wrong. No, we are here to talk about the busts that have occurred in the Minnesota Twins’ draft picks.

This list focused on the last 20 years of Twins first-round draft picks. Stats are from each player’s respective Baseball-Reference minor league profile page.

So what are we waiting for? Just bust a move and click on that begin slideshow button.

Ryan Mills, LHP, 1998

If the New York Yankees took a flyer on you out of high school, you have to be good after some seasoning in college, right?

Wrong, at least in the case of Ryan Mills.

Mills was drafted by the Yankees in 1995 out of high school, but Miles optioned to attend Arizona State University instead. This lead to Mills being drafted sixth overall by the Minnesota Twins in 1998.

Mills lasted seven years in the Twins minor league system, plateauing at Triple-A Rochester in 2003 and 2004.

Projected as a starter until reaching Rochester, Mills never amounted to what is expected of a sixth overall pick. This is highlighted in a career record of 17-40 and 5.79 career ERA.  

Mills' most wins in a season was five as a reliever in 2003. Other than that season, Mills never won more than three games in a season.

B.J. Garbe, OF, 1999

Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez, Zack Greinke, Justin Upton, Clayton Kershaw and B.J. Garbe all have something in common, and sadly it’s not a level of major league success. No, all of these players have won the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year given annually to the best player in high school.

Garbe played in eight minor league seasons—five-and-a-half of which were in the Twins minor league system—after being drafted fifth overall in 1999.

He was ranked 79th on Baseball America’s list of top prospects before the 2000 season after Garbe hit .316 in 41 games of rookie ball in 1999. Garbe would never reach a batting average of .316 again.

In 2000, Garbe’s average dropped to .233. It totally bottomed out at an average of .178 at Double-A New Britain in 2003.

Double-A is as far as Garbe got in the minor league system. He was traded to the Seattle Mariners during the 2004 season for major league catcher Pat Borders.

Borders appeared in 19 games behind the plate for the Twins in 2004.

Adam Johnson, RHP, 2000

Let’s give Adam Johnson some credit; he made nine appearances in the big leagues.

That being said, nine major league appearances is not quite enough to justify the second overall selection that the Twins used on him in 2000.

Johnson didn’t exactly have a great minor league career, with his ERA always hovering around five, but it is so much more fun to look at his major league numbers.

Johnson debuted for the Twins in 2001 and played in seven games, including four starts on the mound. The season resulted in a 1-2 record in 25 innings and an 8.28 ERA for Adam Johnson.

2003 was the next time Johnson got to the big leagues, when he appeared in two games, pitching 1.1 innings. Over that little span, Johnson gave up eight runs, which results in a season ERA of 47.25.

Johnson ended his major league career with a 10.25 ERA and one win.

He had two wild pitches in his career. It’s never good when you have twice as many wild pitches as wins in your career.

Matt Moses, 3B, 2003

Third base is just a gaping black hole for this Twins franchise. Drafting a third baseman in the first round didn’t help that hole disappear.

Really, this third base black hole is the only thing keeping Miguel Sano from being inducted into the Hall of Fame before he even plays.

Moses was the 21st overall pick in 2003 and played seven seasons in the Twins’ minor league system. Most of those games were at Double-A New Britain; 427 of his 596 career minor league games were played as a member of the Rock Cats.

Moses did reach Triple-A playing 48 games for Rochester in 2007.

All in all, Moses’ average wasn’t horrible. He finished with a .249 career batting average, though he did not have much power. He had 47 home runs throughout his career and 310 RBI, which breaks down to just above 44 RBI a year (inflated by two years of 72 RBI).

Moses also had a higher strikeout ratio. Moses only had 72 more hits than strikeouts in his seven-year career.

Kyle Waldrop, RHP, 2004

I was going to say how 2004 was just yesterday, but then I realized that Waldrop was drafted nine years ago in June.

Waldrop was drafted 25th overall that year and is one of the players on this list to make the big league squad eventually. Waldrop appeared in 24 games split between 2011 and 2012, resulting in a record of 1-1 and a 3.62 ERA.

Good, but not great.

Waldrop never really found that denominating stuff most major leaguers find somewhere in the minors.  He really appears to be that "Quadruple-A" pitcher that we often hear about.

In fact, that’s where Waldrop is right now. Waldrop signed as a free agent this January with the Pittsburgh Pirates and is currently pitching for their Triple-A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians.

Matthew Fox, RHP, 2004

Foxy!

I can only assume that Matthew Fox’s nickname is Foxy, mainly because that is almost as good as The Vanimal. Both The Vanimal, Vance Worley, and Foxy find themselves in the same spot, Triple-A.

Fox was chosen with the 35th pick in the 2004 draft and has been perfectly mediocre ever since.

From his days in Single-A to Triple-A, Fox had an ERA in the high threes and a win-loss record always around .500. In 2008, he had a 7-7 record for Single-A Beloit and in 2009 he had a 9-9 record for Double-A New Britain.

Fox made one appearance for the Twins in 2010 and received a no-decision in his start.

Later in 2010, Fox was designated for assignment to make room for Ben Revere on the 40-man roster. Fox was claimed by the Boston Red Sox and pitched in three games out of the bullpen for Boston in 2010 as well.

Fox is currently on the Triple-A team for the New York Mets.

Jay Rainville, 2004, RHP

“And I wonder, still I wonder. Who’ll stop the rain?”

If the rain was Jay Rainville, 39th overall pick for the Minnesota Twins in 2004, it was Double-A opponents.

Despite the first-round draft selection, Rainville never made it higher than Double-A in five seasons of minor league ball.

Rainville started all but nine of his 106 minor league appearances, finishing with a career record of 37-31. But a high ERA did him in. Rainville’s career ERA is 4.08, highlighted by the 5.78 and 5.56 ERAs he put up in his two years at Double-A New Britain.

Hank Sanchez, 1B, 2005

Hank Sanchez played in only 102 games in his minor league career. Those 102 games were nicely stretched out over five seasons.

How?

Injuries mostly. The 39th overall pick in 2005 needed left hand surgery in 2006, suffered a left knee sprain in 2007 and was limited to seven games in 2008.

The injuries aren’t what made Sanchez hang up the old cleats, though. In 2009 as a member of the Single-A Beloit Snappers, Sanchez was suspended 50 games for failing a drug test. Whoops.

You know Hank Sanchez’s baseball career didn’t go as planned when the first result in Google when you search "Hank Sanchez" is the profile of an associate director of a consulting firm in Virginia.

Shooter Hunt, RHP, 2008

Shooter Hunt could have been a Cy Young award winner had he not made this list just because Shooter Hunt may be the best name ever.

Shooter’s real name is Steven Daniel Hunt, but obviously you want a cooler name than Steven on your baseball card. Sorry to all you Stevens out there.

Shooter never made it farther than Single-A Fort Myers after being drafted 31st overall in 2008. His career minor league record is 4-14 with a career ERA of 6.85. His last two seasons were pitched for Fort Myers. He had a 7.35 and 7.38 ERA in those two campaigns.

If you have a Shooter Hunt card, please contact me. Possessing a Shooter Hunt card is now a life goal of mine. 

Carlos Gutierrez, RHP, 2008

Not at the table, Carlos!

Carlos Rafael Gutierrez was the 27th overall draft pick in the 2008 draft and has not yet made the major leagues.

Gutierrez has pitched five seasons in the minors and has gotten as high as Triple-A Rochester. He is currently sporting a 15-20 career record and a 4.11 ERA. Most of Gutierrez's appearances have been out of the 'pen, 104 of 136.

Gutierez is now currently property of the Chicago Cubs and has yet to make an appearance in 2013.