2012 MLB Draft: Minnesota Twins Must Take Best Player Available at No. 2

The Minnesota Twins find themselves in the cellar of Major League Baseball, and they have no one but themselves (and bad luck) to blame for their current standing in the MLB world. They haven’t drafted well and overpaid their two "superstars," who haven't lived up to their end of their contracts.

The Star Tribune eloquently documented the Twins’ drafting woes over the previous five years in this article. It also documented its own thoughts as to what the franchise needs to do with the No. 2 pick in the 2012 MLB Draft.

Which brings me to my take: the Twins need to take the best player available when they’re on the clock on June 4.

The census is that this is a weak draft. There is no Stephen Strasburg, David Price or Bryce Harper at the top waiting to be picked. There isn’t a Mark Prior-type talent waiting for the Twins at No. 2 either.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t players worth obtaining.

The census top-two prospects in this draft are Stanford pitcher Mark Appel and Georgia high school outfielder Byron Buxton.

The right-handed Appel would fill a MASSIVE need at starting pitcher for Minnesota.

According to the Star Tribune, his fastball sits consistently around 95 to 96 miles per hour and can occasionally reach 99 miles per hour. His fastball, slider and changeup are all “above average,” according to that same story.

The concern with Appel is that he may lack that competitive edge necessary to become an elite pitcher in the majors, his workload at Stanford was extreme (he threw 149 pitches against Oregon on April 13), and his stuff doesn’t fool as many hitters as it should (given the strength of it).

Of concern too, should the Twins draft him, would be the ensuing negotiations with his agent: Scott Boras. Boras is notorious for earning his clients top dollar and driving teams insane with his demands.

Now Buxton.

Buxton has drawn comparisons to Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen, Arizona’s Justin Upton and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Matt Kemp. All outfielders have been All-Stars at some point during their careers.

All three players are all also five-tool players: they can hit for average and power, run, field their position well and have strong arms.

In this profile by David Auguste, Buxton comes off as a humble, hard-working kid from the country who began to play baseball as a way to bond with his father.

He swiped 38 bases, drove in 35 runs and batted .513 with 17 doubles this year.

Buxton stands 6'1" and 175 pounds and has plenty of time to fill out his frame, which will increase his home run abilities.

The knock on Buxton is that he didn’t hit for much power this spring (but as I mentioned, he has a frame to grow into, which should help). Another concern is the competition he faced in Georgia. The league he played in didn't foster the state's greatest competition.

This brings us to Minnesota’s predicament.

The Houston Astros are expected to snag one of these two players with the No. 1 pick. Appel has been the consensus thus far for Houston (especially since he's a Texas native), but don’t be surprised if it’s Buxton at No. 1.

That should leave the Twins with an easy decision at No. 2: Take whomever the Astros left on the board (I have only heard Buxton's and Appel's names as a possibility with the No. 1 pick).

There are reports that the Twins aren’t in love with Appel or Buxton and that they are strongly considering Puerto Rican shortstop Carlos Correa and University of San Francisco pitcher Kyle Zimmer. There are also reports that the Twins are set on taking a pitcher to fill a need.

None of that can happen.

This is a draft where Minnesota MUST take the best player available. The franchise is in a tailspin with no top prospects ready to save the Twins in 2012 or 2013 (check out this profile of top prospect Miguel Sano by the Star Tribune, he won't be ready for at least two more years).

The minor league system needs to be refurbished with talented players, regardless of their position.

And the top two players in this draft are Buxton and Appel.

It’s simple, Minnesota: take the player the Astros opt not to. Your job couldn’t be any easier.