Wednesday, October 10, 2007
A Look Back:
The Twins 2003 Draft
Good morning! It is now time for another Look Back at a Twins draft class. Previously I have reviewed the 2004 draft and the 2005 drafts of the Twins and today, we will take a look at the 2003 class. Prepare yourself... it isn't exactly pretty! If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.
1st - Matt Moses - High School Hitter - Moses was the Twins 3rd straight high school bat taken out of high school. He has fought a few injuries, and yet the Twins have pushed him way too fast. He could have used more time in the Twins lower levels, but instead he was promoted to New Britain for half of the 2005 season. He spent all of 2006 with the Rockcats and struggled. The team felt the need to promote him to Rochester to start this season, but he was sent back to New Britain where he continued to play poorly. The team has a tough decision this next month or so. Will Moses be added to the team's 40 man roster? Do we care? Does he care? I hate to mention such things, but Moses was taken with the 21st pick. Others taken later in the first round, guys the Twins could have drafted include, Brandon Wood, Chad Billingsley, Daric Barton, Carlos Quentin, Adam Miller, Matt Murton, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Adam Jones.
2nd - Scott Baker - College Pitcher - He went right to Quad Cities after he was selected for the rest of the season. In 2004 then, he started at Ft. Myers and moved up to New Britain before ending the year with Rochester. In 2005, he got into 10 games for the Twins. In 2006, he again split time between the Twins and Red Wings, and he went 5-8 with a 6.38 ERA with the big club. After again starting this season in Rochester, Baker came up and made 23 starts. He went 9-9 with a very respectable 4.26 ERA. Not bad considering many Twins fans had given up on him. He now should have a spot given to him in the starting rotation in 2008.
3rd - Johnny Woodard - High School Hitter - Woodard is a large man who has tremendous power! He has fought injuries most of his career. He played just 60 games with Beloit in 2005. He played in just 22 games for Ft. Myers in 2006. In 2007, he started back at Beloit and hit 10 homers in 66 games. He was promoted to Ft. Myers where he hit seven more homers in 51 games. If he has the injury problems behind him, now all he has to do is worry about cutting down the strikeouts. Probably won't be added to the 40 man roster, but he wouldn't be drafted in the Rule V draft, so he should be back. 2008 will be a huge year for him.
4th - David Shinskie - High School Pitcher - After moving up a level a year for his first three season, Shinskie repeated Beloit in 2006. In 2007, he was at Ft. Myers where he went 7-4 with a 3.36 ERA. However, in 64.1 innings, he issued 19 walks to go with just 38 strikeouts. Shouldn't be added to the 40 man roster.
5th - Brandon McArthur - High School Hitter- McArthur didn't sign and instead opted for the University of Florida. In the fall of his freshman year, he was hit by a punch outside a local bar and it nearly killed him. He had to have three brain surgeries and was in a coma for quite some time. He did recover, and in 2005, he hit .268 in 64 games for the Gators. In 46 games in 2006, he hit .262. He played in just one game his junior year before an elbow injury, but he is said to be healthy and will play his senior year in the spring.
6th - Errol Simonitsch - College Pitcher - The lefty from Gonzaga moved quickly up the ladder, but he has really stalled at AA. In fact, he missed much of the 2007 season with injury. When he did come back, he stayed with Ft. Myers where he went 5-0. It will be interesting to see if he is kept on the team's 40 man roster.
7th - Chris Schutt - College Pitcher - Schutt and Simonitsch climbed up the Twins system for awhile, and then Simonitsch shone while Schutt was sent to the bullpen. The Ivy Leaguer (Cornell) was released after the 2006 season. He spent the 2007 season with the Calgary Vipers of the independent Northern League.
8th - Brandon McConnell - High School Pitcher - He spent 2003, 2004 and 2005 with teh GCL Twins. In 2006, he moved up to Elizabethton where he went 1-1 with a 7.30 ERA. In 2007, he spent most of the year with the Arizona Rookie League team of the Seattle Mariners. He turned into an OF and hit .274/.349/.434 on the year.
9th - Kevin Culpepper - College Pitcher - Culpepper had been the Cubs 43rd round pick in 2001 out of high school. In 2005, his second season in the Midwest League, he went 7-6 with a 4.45 ERA in 49 games in relief. He was released after the season. He spent 2007 with the New Haven Cutters.
10th - Chris Marini - CC Pitcher - Marini spent 2003 and 2004 with Elizabethton. He was let go and spent 2005 with the Rangers single A affiliate. In 2006, he was with Independent Reno.
11th - Ryan Schroyer - College Pitcher - Schroyer had been drafted in the 16th round in 2000 out of high school. Schroyer didn't sign with the Twins out of Arizona State. He went back for his senior year and in 2004 was selected by the Red Sox in the 5th round. In 2006, he went 1-5 with a 4.70 ERA in 31 games at High-A. He got into four games at AAA and did not play in 2007.
12th - Steven Duguay - CC Pitcher - Duguay had excellent strikeout numbers. He played for E-Town in 2004 and then for Beloit in 2005. However, he missed a lot of time because of injuries. He pitched for the Hi-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2006.
13th - David Winfree - High School Hitter - Winfree should be added to the Twins 40 man roster. He was the team's Minor League Player of the Year in 2005 after driving in over 100 runs for Beloit. In 2006, he missed some time early, but put together a very strong season when he played. 2007 was really the first year that Winfree struggled at the plate. But then you look at his numbers at the end of the season. He hit .267/.308/.426 with 27 doubles and 12 homers. He can hit. Let's just hope that his shoulder is OK!
14th - Levale Speigner - College Pitcher - Speigner pitched at both levels of A ball in 2004. In 2005 and 2006, he split time between New Britain and Rochester. Then following the 2006 season, the Washington Nationals took him in the Rule V draft. He pitched well in the spring and the pitching-starved Nationals kept him. He spent the first half of the season with the big league club. I'm sure the highlight for him was a win against Johan Santana and the Twins in inter-league play. But he struggled a bunch and the Nats sent him to AAA. The Twins really didn't want him back, but they were able to acquire Darnell McDonald in a trade.
15th - Trey Shields - CC Pitcher - Shields did not sign. He was then taken by the Oakland A's in the 9th round in 2005. He went 3-3 with a 3.34 ERA for their A-ball team in 2005. In 2006, he went 10-9 with a 4.90 ERA in 28 games for Kane County. He did not play in 2007, but he does have a Bowman card!
16th - Michael Rogers - High School Pitcher - He signed. In 2004, he went 3-3 with a 4.02 ERA for the GCL Twins. And then they let him go.
17th - Danny Vais - CC Pitcher - Vais signed and spent two years at Rookie League ball. He then went 3-4 with a 2.23 ERA in 47 games for Beloit in 2006. Despite the excellent year, he stayed at Beloit in 2007 and was 5-4 with a 4.15 ERA in 41 games.
18th - Eli Tintor- High School Hitter - The Hibbing native spent 2003-2005 in the rookie leagues. In 2006, he moved from behind the plate to the outfield and became a very good all-around player. In 2007, he moved up to Ft. Myers and really struggled. He was sent back to Beloit where he came up with some big hits. He will begin the 2008 season by serving a 50 game suspension.
19th - Jon Uhl - College Pitcher - He had been drafted by the Phillies in 1999. The Twins took him out of South Florida. He spent 2003 with E-Town, 2004 with Quad Cities. There ,he went 3-2 with a 5.52 ERA in 17 games. In 29.1 innings, he gave up 34 hits and walked 17 hitters. He was released at that point.
20th - Gregory Najac - High School Hitter - The Catcher/Outfielder spent 2003 and 2004 with the GCL Twins.
21st - Scott Leffler - High School Hitter - Did Not Sign - In 2007, the Toronto Blue Jays took him in the 8th round... as a pitcher.
22nd - Joe Gault - High School Pitcher - Gault spent 2003 and 2004 with the GCL Twins. He spent 2005 with the E-Twins. In 2006, he pitched for Independent League Sussex.
23rd - Charles Smith - High School Pitcher - Did Not Sign -
24th - Patrick Ortiz - High School Hitter - The shortstop from Puerto Rico played for the GCL Twins in 2003 and the E-Twins in 2004.
25th - John Gaub - High School Pitcher -from South St. Paul, he did not sign. Pitched for the Gophers from 2004 to 2006. In 46 games, he made one start. He was the 21st round pick of the Indians in 2006.
26th - Jason Bowlin - CC Pitcher- Spent 2003 with the GCL Twins and 2004 with the E-Twins. He then pitched for Florence of the Independent Frontier League in 2005 and 2006.
27th - Peter Taraskevic -High School Pitcher - Did Not Sign
28th - Josh Oslin - High School Pitcher - Did Not Sign - The Mora (MN) native pitched for the Gophers from 2004 to 2007. Appeared in 57 games. In 2007, he recorded 11 saves.
29th - Bo Pettit - College Pitcher - In 2005, the LSU product pitched in six games for Beloit. In 10.2 innings, he had nine strikeouts... and 11 hits and eight walks allowed. He was let go.
30th - Josh Gray - College Pitcher - Gray spent 2004 and 2005 with the Ft. Myers Miracle. He has pitched out of the bullpen for the Fargo/Moorhead Redhawks the last two seasons.
31st - Kris Lankford - College Pitcher - Spent 2003 with the GCL Twins. Spent 2004 with Elizabethton. Well, spent enough time there to pitch in five games and give up seven earned runs in five innings.
32nd - Nicholas Bleau - High School Pitcher - The Canadian did not sign out of high school. when the Twins took him again in the 49th round in 2004, he again didn't sign.
34th - Quentin Andes- High School Pitcher - Did Not Sign. Pitched for Arizona State in 2004 and 2005. Transferred to New Mexico for 2006 season.
35th - Phillip Utley - High School Pitcher - Did Not Sign - Pitched for the University of Mexico.
36th - Marquez Smith - High School Hitter - Did Not Sign - He was the Angels 46th round pick in 2004. The Cubs selected him in the 35th round of the 2006 draft. The Diamondbacks took him in the 8th round in the 2007 draft, and he pitched at two levels of A ball after signing.
37th - Heath Anderson - JC Hitter - The catcher signed and spent 2003 with the GCL Twins. He hit .095 (4-42) with Elizabethton in 2004. He spent part of 2005 with SW Michigan which was an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at that time.
38th - Travis Metcalf - College Hitter -Metcalf went back to school for his senior year and in 2004, the Rangers took him in the 11th round. He hit .221 at AA in 2006. That's where he started 2007 before being promoted to AAA. When Hank Blalock was hurt and had surgery, Metcalf came up to the Rangers and played in 57 games. He hit .255 with five homers, including one against Joe Nathan late in the year.
39th - Jesse Collins - College Hitter - Collins, a catcher, did sign with the team and hit .215/.354/.327 for the E-Twins. He then played in the Northern League, for Schaumburg, in 2005 where he hit .188 in 25 games.
40th - Adam Hawes - JC Pitcher - Hawes signed as a draft-and-follow the next year. He had been taken in the 17th round in 2002 as well. In 2005, he pitched for Beloit. In 2006, he was with Beloit. He started 2007 in Beloit before being moved up to Ft. Myers where he went 2-1 with a 6.34 ERA.
41st - John Rumsey - College Hitter - He hit .261/.342/.398 for the 2003 GCL Twins team, and that was it.
42nd - Mitchell Zamojc - College Hitter - Known better as Mark, Zamojc came from the University of British Columbia. He pitched for Quad Cities in 2004. He split 2005 with Beloit and Ft. Myers before being let go.
43rd - Travis Kalin - High School Hitter - The infielder spent 2003 and 2004 hitting under .245 for the GCL Twins. He moved up to Elizabethton in 2005 where he hit .265 and had an OPS of .757.
44th - Larry Jones - High School Hitter - The Outfielder spent 2003 and 2004 hitting .239 and .171 for the GCL Twins. He moved up to E-Town for 2005 and hit .287 with an .806 OPS. He was then released.
45th - Steve Pearce - CC Hitter - Did Not Sign. Also didn't sign when the Red Sox selected him in the 10th round in 2004.
46th - Brant Rustich- High School Pitcher - Pitched four years at UCLA. He was the 13th round pick of Cleveland in 2006. The Mets took him in the 2nd round in 2007. In 23 innings at two levels this year, he struck out 22 and walked just two.
47th - Clayton Trenary - CC Hitter - Did Not Sign. He had been taken in the 36th round of the 2002 draft by Colorado. He was also drafted in the 37th round by the Angels in 2004.
48th - Jared Swart - High School Pitcher - Did Not Sign. After two years at a junior college, he pitched in five games for Oklahoma State in 2006.
49th - Michael Hollimon - College Hitter - Did Not Sign - Had been drafted by the Dodgers in the 32nd round of the 2001 draft. The Twins drafted him out of Texas. He transferred to Oral Roberts, and in 2005, he was the Tigers' 16th round pick. In 2007, at AA, he had 56 extra base hits and got to play five AAA games.
50th - Andy Delagarza - High School Pitcher - Did Not Sign - He went to Coastal Carolina where he pitched for four years. He was not drafted again. He signed as a free agent and went 9-3 in 18 relief appearances for Salem-Keizer.
So, what do you think? I think it was an interesting draft, but to this point, only Scott Baker has made an appearance at the big league level. It appears that the team drafted a lot of college players and gave them quick tryouts only to let them go. They drafted a few guys in the later rounds that appear to have a shot with other teams. Overall, unlike the 2004 and 2005 drafts, I think it's fair to say that the 2003 draft is more than a little disappointing.
If you have any questions, comments or ideas for future postings, please e-mail me.