Top 300 Minnesota Twins of all time: Updated through 2021

The Minnesota Twins have now completed 61 years of baseball and it is year 10 of putting my pet project on the WGOM site.

2021 was a very disappointing team as the two time defending division champs fell to 73-89 and in last place in the AL Central. Despite the team failures, there was quite a bit of movement within the top 300 list as well as 3 newcomers adding to the list. This year's newcomers are Josh Donaldson, Willians Astudillo, and Ryan Jeffers

In the top 100, the highest rising star was Jorge Polanco, leaping 22 spots into the top 40 with an all star caliber year. Right behind him is former teammate Nelson Cruz who moved up 27 spots to land just outside the top40 after an all star first half of the season. Byron Buxton's spectacular 60 game season pushed him up 27 spots as well and he lands just outside the top50. Jose Berrios also jumped into the 50s, moving up 24 spots, with his partial season (another top performer moved at the deadline). #60 Miguel Sano and #64 Max Kepler have the exact same rankings as last year, but they actually passed several former Twins only to be passed by the teammates listed above. Mitch Garver and Taylor Rogers move up 37 and 20 spots respectively to just tip their toes into the top 100 at #93 and #95 respectively.

Luis Arraez moves up 61 spots to find himself just outside the top 100 at #110. Michael Pineda moved up 44 spots to join Arraez in the 100s. Newcomer Josh Donaldson moved all the way up to #173 from an un-ranked position. Kenta Maeda also jumped into the 100s, moving up 38 spots from last year. Jake Cave moved back 3 spots with his poor 2021 season.

In the 200s, Tyler Duffey jumped 52 spots to land at #204 and Caleb Thielbar moved up 71 spots to #225. Newcomers Willans Astudillo (296) and Ryan Jeffers (298) just found their way into the top 300. Sliding back 7 spots is Randy Dobnak to land at the last spot on the list, #300.

Falling out of the top300 this year are Mike Pelfrey, Tommy Millone, and David West.

I stole the idea from when Aaron Gleeman started his top40 list over a decade ago, but just decided to expand to a nice big round 300. The below quote is his, and the rest is an excerpt from a book I put together at the 50 year mark. I’ve updated the list and stats through 2021.

“The rankings only include time spent playing for the Minnesota Twins. In other words, David Ortiz doesn’t get credit for turning into one of the best players in baseball after joining the Red Sox and Paul Molitor doesn’t get credit for being one of the best players in baseball for the Brewers and Blue Jays. The Twins began playing on April 11, 1961, and that’s when these rankings start as well.”

I used a variety of factors, including longevity and peak value. Longevity included how many years the player was a Twin as well as how many plate appearances or innings pitched that player had in those years. For peak value, I looked at their stats, honors, and awards in their best seasons, as well as how they compared to their teammates. Did they lead their team in OPS or home runs or ERA for starters or WPA? If so, that got some bonus points. I factored in postseason heroics, awards (gold gloves, silver sluggers, MVPs, Cy Youngs), statistical achievements (batting titles, home run leaders, ERA champs, etc), and honors (all star appearances), and I looked at team success as well. If you were the #1 starter on a division winning champ, that gave you more points than the #1 starter on a cellar dweller. I looked at some of the advanced stats like WPA, WAR (as calculated by fan graphs and baseball-reference.com), WARP (as calculated by Baseball Prospectus), and Win Shares (as calculated by Bill James). For hitters, I also looked at OPS and the old school triple crown statistics like batting average, home runs, stolen bases, and RBI (and not only where you finished within the AL in any given year, but where you appear on the top25 lists amongst all Twins in the last 60 years). For pitchers I looked at strikeouts, innings pitched, win/loss percentage, ERA as well as ERA+). If there was a metric that was used for all 61 years of Twins history, I tried to incorporate it. I tended to give more credit to guys who were starters instead of part time/platoon players, more credit to position players over pitchers (just slightly, but probably unfairly) and starters over relievers (and closers over middle relievers). There’s no formula to my magic, just looking at a lot of factors and in the end going with the gut in all tie-breakers. Up in the top10 I’m looking at All star appearances, Cy Young and MVP votes, batting average or ERA titles or top10 finishes, etc, and placement in the top25 hitting and pitching lists in Twins history as well. In the middle 100s, it’s more about who started a few more years or had 2 good seasons rather than 1 with possibly an occasional all-star berth or top10 finish in SB or strikeouts. Once you’re in the latter half of the 200s there are none of those on anyone’s resume, so its basically just looking at peak season in OPS+ or ERA+, WAR, Win Shares, and who started the most years, had the most at bats, or pitched the most innings. What the player did as a coach, manager, or broadcaster is not taken into consideration for this list, so Billy Martin, Tom Kelly or Billy Gardner weren’t able to make the top 300 since they were poor players and Frank Quilici and Paul Molitor didn’t improve his status due to his managing career.

Feel free to pick it apart and decide in your opinion, who was slighted, and who's overrated. Columns are sort-able if you want to see how each player ranks by any of the metrics or "years as a starter" or their last year with the team to see the more recent players.


RankPlayerAB or IPYrSERA+ or OPS+HR or WERA or AVGRBI or KfWARrWARWARPWSASAwardsTop 10 statistical finishesLast Year
1 Harmon Killebrew659391484750.260132559.353.85631810MVP: 11,3,4,10,15,4,2,1,3,21AVG: 5 OPS: 4,2,2,4,2,3,2,4,10,10 R: 10,7,3,8,2,4,8 HR: 3,1,1,1,8,2,1,1,2,5,3 RBI: 6,1,3,3,2,2,1,4,11974
2 Kirby Puckett7244121242070.318108544.951.251.2281106 GG, 6 SS, MVP: 21,6,3,3,7,7,2,7,21, ALCS MVPAVG: 3,4,2,1,10,8,2 OPS 4,6,8 R: 2,5,4 HR: 6, RBI: 2,6,11995
3 Rod Carew623511137740.33473356.963.855.928212ROY, MVP: 10,14,4,7,9,5,1,11AVG: 6,1,5,1,1,1,1,3,1,1 OPS: 4,4,3,2,1 R: 4,2,5,7,2,1 SB: 4,2,4,61978
4 Joe Mauer6930131241430.30692352.555.245.831063 GG, 4 SS, MVP: 6,4,1,8,19AVG: 1,1,1,3,4,2,7 OPS 7,1,10,82018
5 Tony Oliva6301111312200.30494740.743.048.62458ROY, 1 GG, MVP: 4,2,6,19,19,15,2,10AVG: 1,1,2,8,3,3,3,1 OPS: 5,3,6,6,7,2 R: 1,2,2,9,8 HR: 6 RBI: 9,3,10,5,7,5 SB: 61976
6 Kent Hrbek6192131282930.282108637.638.631.62301MVP: 2, 16AVG: 7,6 OPS: 5,8,7,7 HR: 3,10,10 RBI: 71994
7 Johan Santana13084141933.22138132.036.026.212331 GG, CY: 7,1,3,1, 5, MVP: 6,7ERA: 1,2,1,7 W: 2,5,1 IP: 2,2,1,6 K: 8,1,1,1,22007
8 Jim Kaat2959131121893.28182458.336.832.6185212 GG, MVP: 5,20ERA: 6,6 W: 6,8,3,1,6 IP: 2,10,4,1,4 K: 4,10,2,61973
9 Bert Blyleven2567101191493.28203554.948.939.31781CY: 7,3, MVP: 26ERA: 5,2,4,6,5 W: 7,5,6 IP: 9,5,4,7,1,4 K: 4,4,2,2,2,1,4,81988
10 Frank Viola177381111123.86121426.227.022.71171CY: 6,6,1, MVP: 10, WS MVPERA: 10,2,3 W: 4,3,9,8,1 IP: 5,8,9,10,6 K: 8,8,7,31989
11 Bob Allison392671302110.25464231.030.638.91692MVP: 15,23OPS: 6,1,3,9,10 R: 3,1,9 HR: 7,8,3,6,9,7,8 RBI: 7,7,41970
12 Brad Radke2451121131484.22146738.545.327.91591CY: 3, MVP 25ERA: 4,4 W: 2 IP: 8,4,6,4,8,5 K: 72006
13 Chuck Knoblauch39397114430.30439133.638.021.31614ROY, 1 GG, 2 SS, MVP: 20,17,16AVG: 2,4 R: 4,8,8,2,3 SB: 9,4,4,4,21997
14 Justin Morneau474981212210.27886020.022.915.815642 SS, MVP: 1, 20, 2AVG: 7 OPS: 8 HR: 5 RBI: 2,9,22013
15 Torii Hunter501391032140.26879222.726.422.114927 GG, MVP: 21,6,21,15HR: 7 RBI: 10 SB: 9,8,92015
16 Jim Perry188381131283.15102527.428.720.51252CY: 3, 1, MVP: 9,9ERA: 8,4,8,8 W: 3,1 IP: 8,5 K: 101972
17 Gary Gaetti499091002010.25675825.827.127.414624 GG, ALCS MVP, MVP: 16,10,22OPS: 8,8 HR: 3,4 RBI: 5,71990
18 Earl Battey27626109760.27835018.414.41711442 GG, MVP: 7,10AVG: 6,10 OPS: 9 HR: 9 RBI: 91967
19 Zoilo Versalles4148788860.2524011615.316.611922 GG, MVP: 21, 1R: 4,1 SB: 8,7,31967
20 Joe Nathan4636204242.1656114.118.411.7954CY: 4,5, MVP: 12,18SAVES: 3,3,6,6,4,22011
21 Rick Aguilera6949130403.5058612.215.58.81013MVP: 18SAVES: 6,3,2,6,3,3,9,51999
22 Camilo Pascual12856116883.3199427.620.519.1873MVP: 15,12ERA: 10,3 W: 6,2,2 IP: 5,4,8,4 K: 1,1,1,21966
23 Cesar Tovar41425102380.28131921.625.828.71420MVP: 7,23,17,18,24AVG: 4 R: 3,3,7,2,2,5 SB: 10,6,3,3,6,71972
24 Brian Dozier374271091670.24849122.522.819.512611 GG, MVP: 26,13,11R: 2,5,5 OPS: 9 HR: 3,102018
25 Jack Morris2461125183.431634.14.33.1181MVP: 13, WS MVP, CY: 4W: 4, IP: 3 K: 101991
26 Shane Mack21615130670.30931517.919.621.8920AVG: 5,7 OPS 9,8 R: 71994
27 Roy Smalley399791041100.26248520.920.8191281MVP: 161987
28 Mike Cuddyer407261111410.27258011.912.812.31171MVP: 21HR: 102011
29 Corey Koskie278861151010.28043723.222.121.21080MVP: 252004
30 Tom Brunansky331361091630.25046915.716.114.8981HR: 8,6,9 1988
31 Brian Harper25035110480.30634613.313.414.3750AVG: 91993
32 Larry Hisle24374127870.28640916.117.316.7891MVP: 12OPS: 10 R: 10 HR: 10 RBI: 4,11977
33 Dave Goltz16386112963.4888727.324.391040CY: 6ERA: 8,5 W: 1 IP: 2,7 K: 6,81979
34 Eddie Guardado7053105374.556105.59.57.8722MVP: 15SAVES 1,22008
35 Greg Gagne3386883690.24933514.617.912.28801992
36 Kevin Tapani11716108754.0672422.619.115.9740CY: 7ERA: 7 W: 10,10,10 IP: 51995
37 Jimmie Hall18854124980.26928815.014.815.6762MVP: 13AVG: 8 OPS: 6 R: 7,9 HR: 4 RBI: 6 SB: 101966
38 Jacque Jones349261011320.27947611.211.916.99802005
39 Rich Rollins30485101710.27236913.411.814.5831MVP: 8,21AVG: 10,3 R: 7 RBI: 91968
40 Jorge Polanco24795110820.27634311.912.412.5961MVP: 13R:102021
41 Mudcat Grant7804107503.353779.96.35.4441MVP: 6W: 1 IP: 3,71967
42 Nelson Cruz9353162760.3041918.08.37.34112 SS, MVP: 9,6AVG: 6,7 OPS: 2,4 HR: 3,5 RBI: 72021
43 Matt Lawton26725107720.2773849.311.312.68712001
44 Scott Erickson9795104614.2252712.212.73.7561CY: 2, MVP: 17W: 11995
45 Dave Boswell10365101673.4986514.513.18.6610W: 10,3 IP: 9 K: 8,7,41970
46 Al Worthington4735134372.623995.59.76.7620SAVES 7,6,6,5,11969
47 Dan Gladden2470590380.2682384.35.710.15701991
48 Butch Wynegar2746589370.25432515.215.311.6822MVP: 281982
49 Eddie Rosario266151091190.27738811.411.910.4730MVP: 18,17RBI:6,62020
50 Steve Braun24293116350.28427314.715148601976
51 Byron Buxton16155102700.24820412.916.213.05201 GG, MVP: 18,16 SB: 42021
52 Chili Davis9782135410.2821595.15.26.3360MVP: 14OPS: 7 HR: 81992
53 Randy Bush30455102960.2514091.61.45.87601993
54 Dean Chance6643126412.6750413.911.34.2461MVP: 13ERA: 9 W: 3,8 IP: 1,2 K: 3,41969
55 Lyman Bostock14363127180.3181799.310.39540MVP: 27AVG: 4,2 R: 41977
56 Leo Cardenas1720398390.26321010.911.19.6641MVP: 12,211971
57 Denard Span23544104230.28423015.117.213.2780AVG: 92012
58 Jose Berrios7816107554.0877913.49.49.6472CY: 9W: 9, ERA: 8, IP: 8,82021
59 Glen Perkins6246108353.885047.78.96.1613SAVES: 9,6,82017
60 Miguel Sano244261191610.2384159.58.49.07512021
61 Jason Kubel271541101050.2694421.53.66.9760MVP: 24RBI: 82014
62 Scott Baker9585102634.1577015.815.812.1560ERA: 8 W: 102011
63 Eric Milton9875101574.7671513.41514.5551K: 9,102003
64 Max Kepler256761031200.23335712.714.89.1680MVP: 20HR: 72021
65 John Castino2320596410.27824912.815.214.3700ROY1984
66 Jeff Reardon2263116153.701852.84.23.6361CY: 8, MVP: 11,15SAVES: 2,2,71989
67 Paul Molitor17003103230.3122712.45.24.84101 SS, MVP: 13AVG: 31998
68 Ron Perranoski3592120253.002031.64.20410CY: 7, MVP: 13,12SAVES 1,11971
69 Bill Campbell4602121323.133225.17.54.8450CY: 7, MVP: 8W: 8 SAVES: 3,31976
70 Don Mincher15112125900.2442659.88.88.55701966
71 Jerry Koosman6013115393.7736110.711.07440CY: 6ERA: 8 W: 3,10 IP: 4 K: 5,71981
72 A.J. Pierzynski14283105260.3011937.99.58.4581AVG: 82003
73 Marty Cordova23225103790.2773854.85.711.4580ROY1999
74 Dan Ford19994114570.2722875.36.86.2570R: 10 HR: 91978
75 LaTroy Hawkins819595445.055328.28.06.7500SAVES: 82003
76 Allan Anderson8184102494.113397.48.65.6430ERA 1 W 8,61991
77 Geoff Zahn8524106533.9034811.78.83.8500ERA: 9,10 1980
78 Mike Marshall2742141212.991504.16.82.1370CY: 7, 5, MVP: 11SAVES: 4,11980
79 Gary Ward15433115510.2852199.310.611.4481MVP: 321983
80 Shannon Stewart13731102290.2941623.84.95.4390MVP: 4AVG: 102006
81 Doug Mientkiewicz21475103430.2752666.76.44.16201 GG, MVP: 142004
82 Francisco Liriano783597504.3378813.49.39421CY: 11K: 52012
83 Joe Mays946698484.854877.710.84.7441ERA: 3 W: 6 IP: 32005
84 Kyle Gibson 1087694674.5284513.29.54.4510IP: 72019
85 Ervin Santana5253116303.684147.39.97.6351CY: 7W: 7 ERA: 5,10 IP: 22018
86 Rich Reese1918499500.2602413.03.24.7520MVP: 291973
87 Bobby Darwin18173107700.2572824.85.32460HR: 7,4 RBI: 6,51975
88 Carlos Silva7734102474.423066.78.80420ERA 5, W: 82007
89 Cristian Guzman3277676390.2662894.87.68.2761MVP: 16SB: 72004
90 Eduardo Escobar 2228497630.2582848.55.74.26802018
91 Mike Smithson816497474.464388.34.63.1440IP: 7,6 K: 101987
92 Jim Merritt6862112373.0352712.711.17.3440ERA: 5 K: 91968
93 Mitch Garver9383124530.2561546.17.36.04001 SS2021
94 Trevor Plouffe2638599960.2473576.18.04.36402016
95 Taylor Rogers3142139173.153617.16.16.0391SAVES: 4,52021
96 Ron Coomer2397288770.2783642.62.50.34412000
97 Mickey Hatcher2366389260.2842603.03.74.34701986
98 Tim Laudner2038384770.2252634.03.24.44111989
99 Gene Larkin2321298320.26626611.63.15401993
100 Josh Willingham11322121610.2321925.54.86.44001 SS HR: 7, OPS: 8, RBI: 32014
101 Juan Berenguer4180116333.703793.46.46.53501990
102 Juan Rincon4410122303.694125.85.973802008
103 Dick Stigman6433101373.695385.05.63.5330W: 10 K: 31965
104 Jack Kralick5102111263.742899.57.96.2310IP: 8,71963
105 Doug Corbett2462170102.491643.78.31.5371SAVES: 6,41982
106 Kyle Lohse908593514.885617.26.64.64002006
107 Carl Pavano579295334.323117.75.82.4280W: 7, IP: 62012
108 Ted Uhlaender1846487230.2621862.53.25.1500MVP: 27AVG: 51969
109 Lenny Green1514298270.2681405.85.08.1480R: 6 SB: 71964
110 Luis Arraez866111360.313834.75.95.53602021
111 Delmon Young18453103470.287273-0.81.01.5480MVP: 10RBI: 52011
112 David Ortiz14774107580.2662382.22.63.53702002
113 Ken Landreaux10482105220.2941451.11.82.72911980
114 Vic Power1197289260.27811621.71.62502 GG, MVP: 21 1964
115 Mike Trombley6452104304.535284.47.66.24502002
116 Matt Guerrier5000127193.403220.37.92.64102014
117 Pat Meares2464676410.2653034.36.02.34901998
118 Mark Guthrie4892103294.193886.54.58.13001995
119 John Smiley2411126163.211635.05.12.7180ERA: 10 W: 10 IP: 8 K: 101992
120 Tom Hall4552122253.004319.16.86.4340K: 81971
121 Eric Soderholm13453105360.2571611010.26.53801975
122 Jim Thome4822159370.266993.54.53.8230MVP: 182011
123 George Mitterwald1578488500.2391766.366.44901973
124 Tom Johnson2731116233.391662.63.33.2240MVP: 27W: 9 SAVES: 71978
125 Dick Woodson5612107333.353033.54.21.43101974
126 Roger Erickson7124101314.103218.874.8330ERA: 8 IP: 101982
127 Nick Blackburn818586434.853883.83.1-0.83002012
128 Phil Hughes489292324.433607.65.53.0230CY: 7W: 4, IP: 10, K: 72018
129 Ron Davis381495194.513491.90.15.4390SAVES: 5,3,5,71986
130 Bernie Allen1595486320.24616333.10.43901966
131 Lew Ford1514396320.2721725.88.35.2440MVP: 242007
132 Brian Duensing6491100414.134285.36.34.73702015
133 Ken Schrom494399294.342032.93.40.72601985
134 Dave Engle1371394280.2681543.03.93.62911985
135 Jake Odorizzi3372107224.113526.94.42.1191W: 82020
136 Kevin Slowey532390394.663956.74.46.42602011
137 Nick Punto2365374120.24819411.610.34.25202010
138 Tom Burgmeier3801101243.77155-0.23.51.1260SAVES: 81977
139 Ray Corbin652595363.843483.53.12330SAVES: 81975
140 Rick Reed3903101254.472353.83.73.22102003
141 Todd Walker1374292230.2851380.11.82.73102000
142 Danny Thompson2022571140.2511812.52.4-2310MVP: 231976
143 Pedro Munoz15873101610.275234-0.7-0.42.23701995
144 Rob Wilfong1591385220.2621524.25.33.64601982
145 Mike Cubbage1681397290.2662266.06.97.34601980
146 Jason Bartlett1087287100.271928.29.08.63502014
147 Tim Teufel10802103270.2651175.45.52.83301985
148 Kurt Suzuki1230388160.263160-1.13.31.12912016
149 Terry Steinbach1207384300.2561503.33.22.52901999
150 Albert Williams642399354.242624.46.3-0.13301984
151 Pete Redfern714490424.544266.21.54.63101982
152 Mark Salas6632102200.279832.82.73.21901987
153 John Butcher502296244.482046.02.50.72501986
154 Matt LeCroy1321398580.2612090.50.41.73402007
155 Craig Kusick11844107440.2361643.43.63.13101979
156 Eduardo Nunez7630100200.280913.01.92.9201SB: 52016
157 Jesse Crain3820128333.422641.95.42.13602010
158 Carl Willis2860120203.651795.23.94.72801995
159 Michael Pineda2823116223.802535.14.12.41802021
160 Rich Becker1465388250.2671575.26.55.93601997
161 Bill Dailey124113372.767812.71.5170MVP: 23SAVES: 31964
162 Joe Decker503294294.093104.44.712501976
163 Bobby Castillo4022107233.982202.94.21.12301984
164 Dave Winfield8412100310.264119-0.10.30.81501994
165 Glenn Adams1387297290.281196-1.3-11.32501981
166 Jim Hughes441288254.302262.60.8-0.31501977
167 J.C. Romero4070108254.353362.84.73.33102005
168 Scott Leius1373385260.2521553.04.82.22701995
169 Luis Castillo93329230.299673.63.71.3250SB: 92007
170 Ron Jackson1154296230.2681382.92.83.52501981
171 Lee Stange3511105203.612342.62.43180ERA: 61964
172 Bobby Kielty6310116230.269923.13.93.42502003
173 Josh Donaldson5382128320.243833.13.73.82002021
174 Mike Pagliarulo72328890.272682.944.41901993
175 Danny Valencia989291240.2601290.80.90.12302012
176 Luis Rivas1884480300.2621770.6-0.9-1.5330SB: 82005
177 Steve Lombardozzi 1226375190.2331043.342.13001988
178 Jim Holt1444387170.2721591.00.20.92901974
179 Robbie Grossman11103109250.2661302.22.92.43302018
180 Johnny Roseboro741281110.239711.20.82.82011969
181 Al Newman164715900.231135-0.32.1-2.23001991
182 Scott Stahoviak1019391270.2561191.01.01.52301998
183 Dustan Mohr782291220.258852.52.43.21802003
184 Bob Randall132537410.257912.43.80.42901980
185 Kenta Maeda1732110123.741933.61.93.0110CY:2ERA:5, W:4, K:72021
186 Steve Brye1641290220.2611563.34.73.53601976
187 Ryan Doumit9692104320.261130-2.71.731902013
188 Bombo Rivera62718980.266642.52.53.81301980
189 Johnny Klippstein1610147102.451240.73.61.61501966
190 Stan Williams1910129142.871230.51.9-0.2190SAVES: 101971
191 Hosken Powell1468383130.2611271.32.342701981
192 Roy Smith389298194.282122.13.92.72001990
193 Darrell Jackson411297204.382293.73.22.72001982
194 Keith Atherton2351111193.911530.42.72.32001988
195 Danny Santana924187100.266761.90.50.82202017
196 Kenny Rogers195199134.571162.51.92.61102003
197 Jake Cave758195280.240982.51.70.82002021
198 Bob Tewksbury3172105154.491525.96.55.21701998
199 Brant Alyea4160107180.248760.50.511301971
200 Mike Redmond86308720.2971061.21.31.52802009
201 Roberto Kelly5691105110.308841.31.821501997
202 Alex Cole424110650.304371.52.12.1130SB: 61995
203 Jose Morales6742106120.2971010.20.10.91301980
204 Tyler Duffey431195274.534275.71.96.82402021
205 Jason Castro656191240.229803.73.14.12002019
206 Ben Revere98928000.278643.43.20.4200SB: 7, 32012
207 Orlando Hudson49719660.268373.02.91.81402010
208 Les Straker2371105104.22991.431.21301988
209 Pedro Ramos2641108113.951743.33.62.5150IP: 4 K: 61961
210 Ehire Adrianza788087130.253882.11.52.02102020
211 Bill Zepp156111493.34661.71.3-1901970
212 John Moses62009140.276570.70.011501990
213 Greg Myers494190110.279751.91.71.3901997
214 Alexi Casilla1566473110.2481471.83.60.63102012
215 Carlos Gomez892272100.248873.72.62.8190SB: 72009
216 Glenn Borgmann1207279140.2291375.352.63701979
217 Frank Rodriguez509394255.202825.32.23.82001998
218 Scott Diamond343292194.431612.82.2-0.21302013
219 Mark Redman2131104154.861572.63.52.71302001
220 Dennis Hocking2204070250.252215-2.50.4-14302003
221 Ron Washington1258280170.2651180.41.50.72301986
222 Marwin Gonzalez600087200.248771.61.81.01602020
223 Bob Miller191012052.91982.02.80.21201969
224 CJ Cron4581103250.253780.31.71.31202019
225 Caleb Thielbar1820145142.861782.53.82.51602021
226 Otis Nixon44818510.29720-0.60.20.880SB: 81998
227 Brendan Harris956179140.25190-0.1-0.61.81902010
228 Boof Bonser392284185.123172.9-0.22.71102008
229 Ray Moore159283134.90141-0.2-0.11.5120SAVES: 4,71963
230 Vic Albury372293184.11193-0.41.70.71601976
231 Willie Banks259193164.611913.21.631201993
232 Fernando Arroyo234197134.30701.51.4-0.81001982
233 Pat Neshek1290143113.051511.73.02.11502010
234 Terry Leach149012633.38782.32.52.41101991
235 J.J. Hardy34019360.268382.11.31.91002010
236 Dennys Reyes1260204102.141091.24.30.51602008
237 Jim Lemon457190150.249580.3-0.21901963
238 Luis Tiant92111273.40501.220.7801970
239 Jason Tyner57808610.299452.52.41.41202007
240 Jim Dwyer329111260.289430.80.91.7901990
241 Ryan Pressley3170113173.752822.73.62.92102018
242 Bob Wells3000109184.4719913.82.32502002
243 Pete Filson3230108143.981640.63.51.82201986
244 Hector Carrasco2560108144.492082.43.42.31802001
245 Greg Swindell1820130103.611201.54.71.41701998
246 Chip Hale56308960.281781.11.51.61301996
247 Dave Hollins422192130.242532.33.13.31101996
248 Sam Deduno279195164.261981.13.0-0.71402014
249 Tony Fiore1330116113.9283-0.11.911002003
250 Jose Mijares153013333.161180.73.11.11202011
251 Casey Fien2370107173.792093.12.93.42002016
252 Joe Crede333183150.225481.72.31.4602009
253 Frank Quilici68206150.21453-0.2-0.5-0.61301970
254 Junior Ortiz30408500.280291.61.70.4901991
255 Brandon Kintzler99214622.98621.32.30.9151SAVES: 72017
256 Trevor May316095234.443674.62.21.02202020
257 Jeff Reboulet101607490.2481004.25.82.42601996
258 Bill Pleis280095214.071840.7-0.51.71601966
259 Jim Roland2441103103.421510.41.40.71201968
260 Brad Havens367284185.002122.60.32.11401983
261 Bill Singer17219693.77631.40.4-0.2701976
262 Bill Krueger161194104.30861.711.7801992
263 Bill Hands257199113.921523.82.31.11301974
264 Phil Roof619075130.228712.42.20.61701976
265 Jerry Terrell143707030.2591150.20.9-0.92201977
266 Tom Edens109012983.21762.02.22.21001992
267 Jared Burton192011783.471621.92.31.91702014
268 Matt Capps122111373.61730.21.9-0.11702012
269 Oswaldo Arcia8842101400.2401200.1-1.10.81902016
270 Kennys Vargas7831102350.2521160.81.70.01302017
271 Travis Miller26709875.051992.41.33.21302002
272 Gary Wayne170012183.441050.62.51.81301992
273 Jon Rauch73115082.82601.51.91.41202010
274 Rich Robertson385295175.172212.01.80.81401997
275 Aaron Hicks819280200.225782.52.52.41902015
276 Jonathan Schoop4331102230.256591.31.60.3902019
277 Rick Renick553089200.221710.70.61.11001972
278 Jim Deshaies297280175.711580.71.51.31001994
279 Johnny Briggs264010670.231391.41.81.9901975
280 Don Lee167111063.83931.12.31.11001962
281 Kevin Correia314290144.491622.52.61.61202014
282 Jamey Carroll66107610.257491.23.20.51602013
283 Tom Herr30408910.263211.11.50.9701988
284 Orlando Cabrera24219450.289360.5-0.11.3502009
285 Anthony Swarzak439091164.482671.82.91.71702014
286 Johnny Goryl290087110.221271.110.6701964
287 Brian Buscher43618880.266690.10.50.91302009
288 Neal Heaton124110843.98660.71.90.3701986
289 Mike Morgan98113743.49500.93.80.7801998
290 Rick Lysander242010594.081062.00.31.11401985
291 Gary Serum271185104.721252.51.51.1901979
292 Bobby Mitchell60617830.244430.81.31.51201983
293 Chris Parmelee812096240.249850.8-0.2-0.41302014
294 Dave LaRoche95011452.83790.11.20.8801972
295 Paul Thormodsgard 285185124.741182.60.40.31001979
296 Willians Astudillo 507089150.27066-0.2-0.12.0802021
297 Tom Prince361077130.219441.61.61.31202003
298 Ryan Jeffers322189170.211421.21.01.2902021
299 Graig Nettles304099120.224341.51.11.2801969
300 Randy Dobnak12518894.94771.4-0.30.760W:42021

34 thoughts on “Top 300 Minnesota Twins of all time: Updated through 2021”

  1. This year's newcomers are Josh Donaldson, Willians Astudillo, and Ryan Jeffers

    Am I reading this correctly that Rodney Dobnak also is a newcomer this year?

    1. Dobnak made the top300 last year, so he is not a newcomer this year. He actually slid back several spots and is barely hanging on to a top300 spot.

  2. Hindsight is 20/20, but Graig Nettles at 299 really stings. Rich Reese never came remotely close to approximating his 1969 batting line. Meanwhile, Harmon was basically done as a third baseman after 1970, and Nettles immediately became a 5-win player in Cleveland. Between 1970–76 Nettles put up 40.6 rWAR, effectively splitting the difference between Tony O.’s & Hrbek’s career rWAR.

    Simply put, the Twins traded the wrong Nettles brother for El Tiante, then compounded the mistake by cutting bait on Tiant when he was coming back from his arm injury.

  3. that fWAR/rWAR difference on Kaat...wow.

    What is driving that? By fWAR, he ranks second in Twins history (including Senators' time for players who made the move), but by rWAR, only 10th. Almost entirely because rWAR likes him so much less.

    1. If you would have asked me to guess, without looking, which system would like Kaat’s career more, I think I would have picked rWAR, not fWAR.

    2. Not knowing all the ingredients that make up the various WAR stews, I think Kaat's issue with b-ref is a high number of unearned runs he gave up. He had some fairly high rWAR numbers for example in Chicago after we traded him and his ERA+ and IP numbers were similar to Twins years with low rWAR numbers. The difference was he seemed to give up a lot of unearned runs a lot of his years in Minnesota and I believe rWAR does not differentiate between earned runs and unearned runs. Fangraphs calculation may not even look at runs at all right? They focus on K/BB/HR rate?

      Butheway, Kaat's Senator numbers (or Allison/Battey/Harmon/Zoilo/Green/Lemon/etc) are not included in my charts or rankings. I'm only looking at starts starting once the franchise moved to the Twin Cities in 1961.

      1. When I started the list 15+ years ago, anyone with a pulse who even was remotely attached to the 87/91 champs was considered. Don Baylor was in the top300 for a while despite only 49 regular season at bats. As more new players improve the bottom of the list, just being the #4 starter on the 91 team (and winning a playoff game) aren't enough to hang around.

  4. Five players have played 12 or more seasons for the Twins. Four of them: Mauer, Puckett, Hrbek, and Oliva, played their entire career in Minnesota. The fifth, Kaat, played about half his career in Minnesota.

    1. Harmon Killebrew played fourteen seasons for the Twins (not counting his seasons for the Senators).

      1. The YRS column represents how many seasons the player was a "starter" for the Twins (IE started the most games at one of the 9 positions or was in the top5 in starts as a pitcher (or led the team in games finished). Harmon was a Twin for 14 years, but only "started" 9 of them. 1965 for example, he lost quite a bit of time to injury and didn't start the most games at either 1st or 3rd (although he was awesome when he played). SImilar in 1968/1971/1973/1974 (although in 1971 he played a lot, he just split between 1st and 3rd)

        1. I would say that if a player didn't start the majority of games at a single position but started a majority of games at any position, that should count (ie: Killebrew 1971). Seems off not counting a year where a player lead the league in RBI and BB.

          1. Harmon definitely deserved a "years started" for 1971. Cesar Tovar probably lost a season started or two as well (I do combine all OF positions and look at who started the most 3 games in OF which helps him a little). In the end, I obviously didn't punish Killer too much as he was still #1 on my list.

            In terms of actual "years" in Twins uniform, it goes

            TonyO/Mauer: 15
            Harmon/Hrbek; 14
            Kaat: 13
            Puckett/Carew/Radke/Hunter/Eddie/Bush: 12
            Morneau/Cuddyer/Aggie/Bert: 11

  5. NTR, I’m wondering if team-conferred honors factor into your rankings at all. For example, there are over 20 player members of the Twins’ Hall of Fame*, but a much smaller set of those have their actual numbers retired. Blyleven is in both Cooperstown & the Twins’ Hall and the Twins eventually retired his number, while Kaat is only in the Twins’ HoF. Would the individual honor of the Twins’ decision to retire Bert’s number elevate him over Kaat, if that was one of your criteria? Or Cuddyer over Smalley?

    The Twins have distinctly set the threshold for number retirement somewhere between status as a Twins HoFer and induction into Cooperstown, with Hrbek being the clearest example of that standard, and Radke, Johan, Allison, or Kaat (pick your era & position) its flip side. (I think the team is slow-walking a decision on i-i, who is eligible for the first time in 2022. I may be wrong (I hope I am), given that they issued #48 to Alexander Colomé this past season.) It seems like there’s clearly some winnowing that happens along the way.

    * The Twins’ Hall of Fame needs a better shorthand name.

    1. I do not use the Twins HOF standards or Twins retired numbers as a guide to my rankings. However, until Bert was elected into Cooperstown, the top of my list matched the retired numbers (My original top5 was the 5 retired numbers. Mauer has since been added to both my top6 and retired numbers). I think Bert's number retirement was more about a celebration for him (and the organization since he was a prominent TV guy at the time) and less about him "deserving". He made the baseball HOF, but just looking at his Twins 11 year career it is not Cooperstown worthy (wheras Kirby, Puck, Carew were HOF-worthy with just their Twins time alone in my opinion. I go back and forth a lot between Kaat and Bert and who to rank higher. I think they are very close. Bert was clearly a better pitcher than Jim, but I like the longevity, defense, and hitting that Kaat brings to his Twins resume just a little bit more and I've never moved them from my original rankings.

      I actually don't think the Twins are close to retiring Hunter's number. I'm curious what you are seeing/hearing makes you think they would do that? Is it that he may get some Cooperstown buzz even though (like Bert) a lot of his resume was padded outside of a Twins uniform?

      As to the Twins HOF, the top of my list is close to who they've elected, but I clearly think they reached with Eddie and Gagne (34 and 35 on my list). Cuddyer is more defensible (I have him at 28) but nobody outside my top22 is currently in the Twins HOF. Hopefully Tovar is added soon (He's been deserving forever) and maybe Dozier is added in a few years. I have Polanco at 40, but he could be in Cuddyer territory at the end of his current contract. And fingers crossed they extend Buxton and we are talking about him as a Twins HOFer in a few years? We can only hope. We need some new blood to keep them from reaching again with guys like Gladden (who's finished 2nd in a lot of votes in the past)

      1. Thanks NTR for continuing to put this list together - very enjoyable and I agree about Tovar. Glad to see the fresh faces on the list as well.

      2. Gladden's last act as a Twin was scoring the winning run in the 1991 World Series. He was a laughable choice as a leadoff hitter, but he had a certain je ne sais quoi. I bet he eventually gets in.

        1. Over his 5 seasons with the club, Gladden had an OPS+ of 98 and he averaged 1.1 rWAR (5.7 rWAR in 2,698 PA). He was pretty much the definition of "meh."

              1. And you're overselling it. He actually only had a 90 OPS+ in his 5 years in Minnesota.

                1. I stand corrected. Must have misread.

                  Oy. 5 seasons of 90 OPS+ from your LFer is...not good. By year: 76, 102, 103, 88, 80.

                  That first year, the glorious 1987, he played 105 games in LF. Bruno had 58 in LF and 107 in RF and Mark Davidson had 36 in LF, 20 in CF and 33 in RF.

                  Davidson: 267/321/327 and 71 OPS+. The other option was Billy Beane (267/267/400 in a cup of coffee). Unfortunately, there were no hidden gems lurking in the minors at that point. Both the AAA and the AA clubs were terrible and had no OFers worth promoting. (Gene Larkin spent 35 games in Portland and played in 85 with the Twins and had an 89 OPS+ as a spot starter and PHer; I guess he is the exception, but he had no appearances in the OF in 1987 with the Twins--DH and 1B only).

          1. over a similar span (6 seasons, 2,830 PA), Eddie Rosario had an OPS+ of 109 and 11.9 rWAR. Although 4.3 rWAR came in one season (2018, in large part because he was a +10 in Rfield).

        2. At this point, Gladden has been part of the radio broadcast for over 23 years, including 19 as an analyst. I think 2022 will mark the 15th season he’s been a sole partner of a traditional broadcaster (Gordo/Provus). I know he was part of the crew of guys who won in ‘87 & ‘91, but his eventual induction should be about the totality of his contribution to the franchise, rather than just his playing career.

          1. I guess I can live with Gladden being added more as a "Twins lifer" with 50/50 resume for his playing/announcing career. Then, it doesn't seem as big of a reach. Admittedly I have him ranked too high (in the top50) based on his pedestrian regular season stats with a lot of bonus points for his postseason heroics. Flags fly forever, and as we are now 30 years removed from our last championship (and almost 20 years removed from our last postseason series win) I have not softened on that, giving big boosts to Gladden, Morris, Chili, and even Mudcat based on their October heroics that led to championships (or in Mudcat's case, just on the cusp)

            As BrianS pointed out, Eddie Rosario was a far superior left fielder(offensively at least) in a similar amount of playing time and I have Eddie 2 spots behind Dazzle. If Eddie had channeled some of his heroics from earlier this month in 17/19/20 and was a postseason MVP for a series, he'd probably find himself up quite a few spots on my list.

      3. My sense with i-i is just a hunch. I don’t think the BBWAA is likely to vote him into Cooperstown, but he’s close enough that it’s not a foregone conclusion. While his peak spanned his time with the Twins and Angels, he spent 12 seasons in Minnesota, more than twice anywhere else. His rate stats were better in Anaheim, but he has a clear lead in both traditional counting stats and metrics like rWAR and fWAR (thanks to defensive value) during his Twins career, so he’s almost certain going to go in as a Twin if he is inducted. The twins have only issued #48 once since i-i retired, and Colomé was an eight year player who had worn that number with his two previous teams.

        Beyond that, the front office continues to list him as one of four Special Assistant(s) to Baseball Operations, so there’s some kind of ongoing player development or operations relationship there. There are other Special Assistants in the Administration portion of the FO’s directory: Bert, Carew, Hrbek, Morris, TK, & Tony O, so I don’t think i-i’s position is purely the function of him having a services clause in his last Twins contract. They want the guy around (for some reason).

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