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Will the Minnesota Twins be the best team to draft #1 overall?

By Benjamin Chase

Apr 13, 2017; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Twins hat and glove in the dugout during the game against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 13, 2017; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Twins hat and glove in the dugout during the game against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
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2001 Minnesota Twins

By a good amount, the best record at the time of the draft was the 2001 Twins, who were 37-19 when they selected Joe Mauer first overall. The Twins’ .661 winning percentage at the time of the draft was the highest by any team with the first selection by over 40 percentage points.

That 2001 team was the last that long-time Minnesota Twins manager Tom Kelly managed, and it was the first in the run of Twins teams that would be at or near the top of the AL Central for the first half of the first decade of the millennium behind players like Corey Koskie, Cristian Guzman, Torii Hunter, and Doug Mientkiewicz.

The downfall of the 2001 team was their bullpen. Led by LaTroy Hawkins, the team had a veteran filled bullpen that would have been assumed to do very well, but of the six pitchers who appeared in more than 40 games for the Twins bullpen, none posted an ERA under 3.50, and four posted an ERA over 4.50.

As the season wore on, the Twins team fell off, finishing at 85-77, second in the AL Central that season. However, that Twins team was loaded with future talent. 2001 was the first full season for A.J. Pierzynski, and the Twins had a future multiple-time All-Star (Michael Cuddyer) and multiple-time Cy Young Award winner (Johan Santana) buried in their depth that season.

Oh, and that Mauer guy ended up doing okay as well.

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