25 Minnesota Twins Drafts in 25 Days: 1991

In June of 1991, the Twins were in the middle of a Championship season.  They were coming off a pretty terrible draft in 1990, but again had two first-round picks to work with.  In fact, the Twins would draft three very popular players in 1991, but not where you would expect.

1st Round Picks

With the 3rd overall pick, the Twins selected... David McCarty!  David McCarty was the prize from a last place 1990 season.  We shall discuss McCarty extensively later in this post, but the Twins were also awarded a pick for losing Gary Gaetti to free agency.  Their reward:  a second first-round draft pick spent on Scott Stahoviak!  Whooo!  Needless to say, these picks did not work out as planned.

Ah, but what if? 

Well, Manny Ramirez went 13th.  Of course, he wasn't always great in the clubhouse and did have some steroid issues.  McCarty had neither issue.  So, who was the better pick?  Time for a BREAKDOWN!

• Career Home Runs:  Ramirez - 555, McCarty - 36
• Career RBI - Ramirez - 1831, McCarty - 175
• Career WAR - Ramirez - 69.1, McCarty - -2.0
• Times Suspended - Ramirez - 2, McCarty - 0

I guess it just depends on what you value in a player.

Best Player Drafted

Brad Radke was drafted in the 8th round and went on to become one of the best pitchers in Twins' history.  He softens the blow of the McCartyiasco. In addition, the Twins drafted LaTroy Hawkins in the 7th round and Matt Lawton in the 13th round.  All in all, the Twins did a good job in the 1991 draft. 

Worst Player to Reach MLB

McCarty, and I'm too sad to discuss him further.  :'(

The One Who Got Away

T.J. Mathews, I guess.  The Twins drafted Mathews in the 38th round, but he wisely went back to school for a year and then was drafted in the 36th round in 1992 by the Cardinals.  Success!  Mathews wasn't bad as a reliever in his early career.  Oddly enough, he would have been a better pick at 3 than McCarty.  But then, you could say that about just about every player in MLB history.

Best Name

David Baine, drafted in the 33rd round.  Eventually, he would magically conjure an "l" for his name and forge a career staring creepily at people and pulling cards out of places.

Fun Facts

• The Twins drafted Scott Stahoviak twice.  Drafting players twice is a trend that will continue.
• Stahoviak delivered a .4 WAR per time drafted by the Twins
• Again, a kid I went to high school with somehow had a Scott Stahoviak jersey.  It still baffles me to this day.
• David McCarty went to Stanford.  David McCarty pitched a few games in the Majors.  David McCarty was horrible.
• Pat Wright was drafted in the 47th round out of the University of Minnesota. I went to The University of Minnesota.  Pat Wright and I are practically brothers. 

All those drafted who made it to the Bigs

Brad Radke, LaTroy Hawkins, Matt Lawton, T.J. Mathews, Tim Davis, Scott Stahoviak, Mike Durant, and yes, Dave McCarty

One Sentence Summary

David McCarty was the 3rd overall pick in the 1991 draft and yet, the draft was still a success for the Twins somehow.