A long drought ended last year for folks in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. No, not the lack of Minnesota sports betting – that has still not been made legal statewide. We’re talking about the Minnesota Twins.
The Twins finally advanced in the postseason in 2023, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 in the American League Wild Card series before falling to the Houston Astros 3-1 in the Division Series.
And a lot of the players who helped the Twins get that far were either drafted by the organization or signed by the team as amateurs. But how does Minnesota’s homegrown talent compare to other Major League Baseball teams?
As spring training approaches, we consulted FanGraphs.com to discover how many players on each MLB team were homegrown (drafted or signed by that team) on the website’s projected 40-man rosters for the 2024 regular season. MinnesotaBets.com, where you’ll find the best Minnesota sportsbook promo codes when they’re available, used that information to compile this top 10 list:
MLB Teams with Most Homegrown Talent
How Homegrown Twins Have Led Resurgence
You wouldn’t find this at Minnesota sports betting apps when they launch, only at MinnesotaBets.com.
Minnesota’s series win over Toronto not only ended an MLB-record postseason losing streak at 18 games, dating to 2004, it was also the first time since 2002 that the Twins advanced in the playoffs.
Many players who contributed to the team’s AL Central Division title last season came through the organization’s farm system, including second baseman Edouard Julien, an 18th-round draft pick in 2019. Julien led the Twins in OPS at .839 (among players with at least 300 plate appearances) in his rookie season.
Third baseman Royce Lewis, the No. 1 overall pick by the Twins in 2017, had 15 home runs and 52 RBIs with an OPS of .921 in just 239 plate appearances in 2023. Lewis, just 24, had two homers in Minnesota’s 3-1 win over the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the Wild Card series.
Other players drafted by the team who are projected to be on the 2024 roster include veteran outfielders Max Kepler and Byron Buxton, catcher Ryan Jeffers and starting pitcher Bailey Ober.
Twins World Series Odds
In neighboring Iowa, Caesars Sportsbook offers +3500 odds on the Minnesota Twins winning their first World Series title since 1991. The Los Angeles Dodgers are favored at +350, followed by the Atlanta Braves (+550), New York Yankees (+800) and Houston Astros (+900).
As for our list, according to Fangraphs statistics, the Cleveland Guardians lead MLB with 25 members of their projected 40-man roster, or 62.5%, having been developed in their farm system. Minnesota’s AL Central rival finished just ahead of the Colorado Rockies (24 players, or 60%) in second and the Houston Astros (23, 57.5%) third.
The Twins are tied for seventh on the list with 19 homegrown players, slightly less than half of the projected 40-man roster. That’s even with the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants.
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