2003 Prospects: Wha', wha', wha' happened?

A friend of mine recently brought over the February 2003 issue of Beckett, and who was on the cover?  None other than our starting catcher Joe Mauer.  Inside I found a list of 500 of the top prospects at that time and their profiles.  13 of these profiles belonged to our beloved Twins, so I decided to do a little investigation into what exactly happened to these 13 particular prospects.

Ricky Barrett - P - Best compared to Antonio Osuna

Barrett was drafted by the Twins in the 7th Round of the 2002 draft, and started working his way up in the Twins farm system.  Eventually he made in to AAA Rochester in 2005.  That was as far as he would go, sticking around at Rochester through 2008 and never throwing a pitch for the Twins.  In 2009 he signed to play in Japan's Central League with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.  Needless to say, he never panned out to be the Antonio Osuna we hoped he would be.

Rob Bowen - C - Best compared to Ben Davis

First of all, who the heck is Ben Davis?  Either way Bowen bounced around in the majors between 2003 and 2008 with the Twins, Padres, Cubs, and A's.  He was a career .209 hitter on 378 at bats, hitting 9 home runs and driving in 43 RBI.  I don't think any of us really expected Bowen to compete with young Mauer, but these statistics hardly make me think he lived up to his potential as a top prospect.

Jesse Crain - P - Best compared to Jeff Zimmerman

Crain was called up by the Twins in 2004 and became one of our top relievers over the next 6 or 7 years.  His best year arguably was this past year (2010) in which he posted an ERA of 3.04 striking out 62 batters in 68 innings.  Crain was a staple in the bullpen in 2010 after struggling in 2009.  This off-season he left in free agency to our hated rival on the south side of Chicago.  I, for one, will really miss Crain, despite his ups and downs.

Kevin Frederick - P - Best compared to Ricky Bottalico

Frederick was drafted by the Twins twice, actually, both in 1997 and 1998.  He made his major league debut for the Twins in 2002, but pitched only 8 games that year for the Twins.  From there he bounced around to the Blue Jays and Red Sox farm systems until 2006 when he finally retired.  I vaguely remember Federick and hearing about how great he was; unfortunately, he never panned out either.

Garrett Guzman - OF - Best compared to Trot Nixon

Guzman spent 7 years in the Twins organization making it as far as Class AA New Britain in 2006.  In 2008 he was traded to the Nationals organization where he played 1 year playing part of that year at AAA Columbus.  The last 2 years he has spent in the independent Atlantic League with the Camden Riversharks.  Guzman unfortunately never got a shot at the big leagues, but has been a solid minor leaguer with a career batting average of .284.

Jeff Lincoln - P - Best compared to Dave Borkowski

Again I ask, who the heck is Dave Borkowski?  Lincoln made it as high as A ball at Fort Myers for the Twins in 2003.  His best season came in 2001 with Class A Quad Cities where he posted a 7-4 record with a 3.63 ERA in 96.2 innings.  He never made it higher than Fort Myers in the Twins system and is no longer in baseball.

Jake Mauer - 3B - Best compared to Luis Alicea
Joe Mauer's older brother spent 5 seasons in the minor leagues for the Twins, making it as far as AA New Britain in 2005.  Jake did not enjoy the same success as Joe has, and actually never hit a home run in his 5 seasons.  He batted a career .256 in 1,040 career at bats.  Mauer has since remained with the Twins organization as a manager the past 3 seasons for the Gulf Coast Twins and the Fort Myers Miracle.  Jake has a career 133-116 record as a manager for the Twins.  Maybe, just maybe, Jake is next in line when Gardy decides to hang up the cleats!

Joe Mauer - C - Best compared to Dale Murphy
Dale Murphy obviously presents a high standard for Mr. Mauer to live up to, but I think most would agree that Joe has met and exceeded those expectations with ease.  Mauer has won 3 batting titles, 1 MVP, 4 all-star appearances, 3 gold gloves, and 4 silver slugger awards in only 7 seasons in the majors so far.  In his 2009 MVP season, Mauer hit a career-high .365 and launched 28 home runs in a season where he missed all of April with an injury.  Mauer quickly became one of the best if not the best player all-around in the league.

Alex Merricks - P - Best compared to Casey Fossum
Merricks spent 3 years with the Gulf Coast Twins, never pitching more than 15 innings in a season.  In 2008 at the age of 24, Merricks came back and played for the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League as well as the San Angelo Colts of the United League.

Gerard Oakes - P - Best compared to Brett Jodie
I have to admit, I have never heard of either of these two guys (Oakes or Jodie).  My research turned up absolutely nothing on Mr. Oakes.  Beckett says that he was drafted by the Brewers in 2000, traded to the Twins in 2002 and pitched 113 innings at Class A Beloit in 2002.  It also says he is "still experiencing control problems" which tells me he didn't last too much longer in the Twins organization.

Jose Rodriguez - P - Best compared to Rich Rodriguez
Rodriguez lasted about 8 years in baseball spending time with the organizations of the Cardinals, Twins, Expos, Orioles, and Marlins.  Jose pitched only 4 innings total in the major leagues, all in 2002 with the Cardinals and Twins.

Denard Span - OF - Best compared to Kenny Lofton
My favorite Twin, Mr. Span was drafted in 2002 and worked his way up through the minor leagues before being called up mid-way through the 2008 season.  Span broke out in 2009 playing all 3 outfield positions, hitting .311 and leading the league with 10 triples.  Denard has shown great versatility, speed, and a great eye in the leadoff spot in his first 3 seasons with the Twins.  I can't wait to see what he and Nishioka can do this season hitting and running in front of that Mauer guy mentioned above.

Brian Wolfe - P - Best compared to Rick Reed
After being released by the Twins in 2005, Wolfe was signed by our neighbors to the east - the 'Sconnies - the Brew Crew - the Milwaukee Brewers.  Luckily for him, he was traded in 2006 to Toronto for one of my favorite former Twins Corey Koskie.  He spent 3 years with the Blue Jays, with his best season coming in 2007 when he posted a 2.97 ERA in 45.1 innings of relief.  Wolfe has a career ERA of 3.81, but was released by the Jays in 2009.

I was very surprised at the way these so-called "prospects" turned out in the long run.  With the exception of Mauer and Span, we haven't seen much have any of these guys which disappoints me a little.  I am really hoping this isn't a sign of things to come for guys like Ben Revere, Miguel Sano, Kyle Gibson, Carlos Gutierrez, Aaron Hicks, Kyle Waldrop, and Alex Wimmers.  I am relieved that this was Beckett that was analyzing these prospects, as I don't know that I would consider that an extremely credible source.  I did find this 9 year old analysis very entertaining, though, so we may have to put together a look into the next group of prospects for the Twins and see if our projections turn out differently.