Since the baseball draft is this week, I’m running draft related columns all week.
Part 1 of draft week: The Top 25 Worst Draft Picks in the Last 10 Years (1998-2007):
25. Russ Adams (#14, 2002) – Adams was supposed to be the Blue Jays shortstop of the Future; instead he’s been the shortstop of the present for Triple A Syracuse. I think the Blue Jays paniced on this pick because they were planning on taking Khalil Greene, who was taken with the previous pick.
Players taken after him: Nick Swisher, Cole Hamels, Jeff Francoeur.
24. Drew Meyers (#10, 2002) – The Rangers took Meyers even though he doesn’t have the typical third baseman mold – he lacks power, but hits for high average. He’s spent a whole 5 games up with the Rangers.
Players taken after him: Khalil Greene, Scott Kazmir, James Loney.
23. Bill Bray (#13, 2004) – The National-Expos took Bray early, especially for a college closer. He hasn’t made the jump to the major as well as they hoped and netted Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez when they moved him.
Player taken after him: Billy Butler, Stephen Drew, Josh Fields.
22. Matt Campbell (#29, 2004) – The Royals took this pitcher that never advance higher than A Ball. They were pretty lost in this period as far as player personel goes.
Players taken after him: Eric Hurley, Zach Jackson, Gio Gonzalez.
21. Dave Krynzel (#11, 2000) – The Brewers drafted this speedy high school outfielder to have him make it through the system and stall at Triple A. He was eventually traded to the Diamondbacks, but still had no success. He’s now playing independent ball.
Players taken after him: Chase Utley, Sean Burnett, Chris Bootcheck.
20. Eric Duncan (#27, 2003) – The Yankees believed Duncan was the future of the organization. He showed a ton of promise as he rose through the system; but he could never get over that Triple A hump. He’s never hit above .250 at the level. The reason he’s been so disappointing – any decent prospect in the Yankee systems get more hype than top guys in other systems.
Players taken after him: Daric Barton, Carlos Quentin, Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
19. Scott Moore (#8, 2002) – The Tigers took the proto-typical 4A player in Moore. He’s been brilliant in the Minors, but it doesn’t translate in the Majors. He’s been traded twice since drafted and still can’t get his ability to show.
Players taken after him: Jeff Francis, Jeremy Hermida, Joe Saunders.
18. Adam Johnson (#2, 2000) – The Twins selected Johnson with the second pick and he flew through the system. He was up with the Twins the year after he was draft – which turned out to be a disaster. In his 2 stints in the Majors, he had 10.25 ERA in 26.1 innings.
Players taken after him: Justin Wayne, Rocco Baldelli.
17. Bryan Bullington (#1, 2002) – The Pirates decide to go cheap on this draft and go with the Ball State product. While he’s seen limited time in the majors, he’s not #1 material (at this point, he doesn’t look 1st round material).
Players taken after him: BJ Upton, Zach Greinke, Prince Fielder.
16. Chris Lambert (#19, 2004) – The Cardinals saw something in Lambert that no one else saw; everyone is still waiting to find out what it is. This pick summed up the Cardinals draft (and to show how they fixed the pick, they traded him for Mike Maroth).
Players taken after him: Phil Hughes, Taylor Tankersley, Blake DeWitt.
15. Kyle Sleeth (#3, 2003) – Sleeth was a can’t miss prospect coming into the draft, so it was a no brainer for the Tigers to draft him. Unfortunately, the pitcher got injured and could never come back to the level expected of him. After making it to Double A last season, he retired this past spring.
Players taken after him: Nick Markakis, Paul Maholm, Jon Danks.
14. Jon Poterson (#37, 2004) – From first rounder by the Yankees to the Frontier League in 3 seasons. For some reason, high school catchers taken early in the draft don’t fare well in professional ball (unless you are Joe Mauer).
Players taken after him: Huston Street, Reid Brignac, Yovani Gallardo.
13. Chris Gruler (#3, 2002) – The Reds took this raw high school pitcher and watched him fizzle right off the bat. He spend part of ’02 and all of ’03 in Lo A, and spent the rest of his career in Rookie level ball.
Players taken after him: Adam Loewen, Greinke, Francis.
12. Matt Harrington (#7, 2000) – The Rockies took Harrington, a high school pitcher, in a weak draft; of the 40 guys drafted in the first round, 19 made it to the majors. Most made it in professional ball. Harrington didn’t sign with the Rockies, was drafted again in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004, each time moving further down the picks (36th round in ’04). He never played a game in affiliated baseball.
Players taken after him: Joe Borchard, Chase Utley, Billy Traber.
11. Casey Fossum (#48, 1999) – Fossum was a top prospect for Boston after being drafted – he even made his MLB debut after a little over 50 starts in the minors (none above Double A). The sky was the limit. He was the centerpiece in the deal that brought Curt Schilling to the Red Sox. The only problem was he couldn’t find consistancy. He moved from the rotation to the bullpen and back for a few years with the Rays before he couldn’t make a MLB roster this spring.
Players taken after him: Brian Roberts, Carl Crawford, Brandon Phillips.
10. Michael Garciaparra (#36, 2001) – The Mariners thought Michael would be like Nomar, only the Nomar that started his career and not the Nomar of today. Michael took 4 seasons to develop and make it higher than Hi A ball. When he finally did start to hit, the Mariners were in a roster crunch and had to place him on waivers to get him of the 40 man roster. The Phillies claimed him on waivers, where he spent most of his season with Double A Reading. He hasn’t played this year and is a safe bet to never make the majors.
Players taken after him: John Rheinecker, David Wright, Todd Linden.
9. Chris Smith (#7, 2001) – Smith was considered a stretch at this pick and he showed why. He only pitched 24 games in the minors for the Orioles, getting as high as Lo A. His career ended as a 4-5 pitcher with a 6.15 ERA (including half a season with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League).
Players taken after him: Chris Burke, Casey Kotchman, Gabe Gross.
8. Ryan Wagner (#14, 2003) – There were 2 closers coming into this draft that were can’t miss players; the Reds took Wagner, their closer of the future, 6 picks before the Nationals took Chad Cordero. After Wagner was rushed to the Majors, he didn’t have good command and lost his confidence. He was in the deal mentioned above that sent Bray to the Reds (moving him with Cordero, ironically).
Players taken after him: Brian Anderson, Conor Jackson, Chad Cordero.
7. CJ Henry (#17, 2005) – The Yankees made a puzzling selection taking this speedy SS ahead of many great names. Henry showed his speed, but little else in the Yankee system before he was the centerpiece of the Bobby Abreu trade with the Phillies. He looked worse after the trade.
Players taken after him: Cesar Carrillo, Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Garza.
6. Eric Munson (#3, 1999) – Munson was a top prospect out of high school, being drafted in the 2nd round by the Dodgers. Instead he went to college and was taken 3rd overall 3 years later. Munson was up with the Tigers a year after he was drafted and stuck with the team for the next couple of years. The problem was he is couldn’t hit like he did in college. Since then, he’s the classic 4A player which is why he’e with this 3rd team in 4 years.
Players taken after him: Barry Zito, Ben Sheets, Brett Myers.
5. Corey Patterson (#3, 1998) – Cubs fans can fill you in on Patterson. Top high school hitter who flashed the abilities to be a starting CF for a major league team. Those flashes started to dim as time when on. Some blamed it on rushing him up. Other never thought he was as good as advertised. It all looked like he had it all together in 2003, but an injury cut that season short. He’s since been traded to the Orioles and signed as a free agent with the Reds. He’s currently been displaced by Jay Bruce with the Reds and is working in Triple A (I also want to mention that some are worried Felix Pie is headed down this road).
Players taken after him: JD Drew, Austin Kerns, Felipe Lopez.
4. Sean Burroughs (#9, 1998) – The chubby face of the Little League World Series tried to do what most of those kids couldn’t: make it to the big leagues. Burroughs started well, making it to Triple A 2 years after being drafted (and at the age of 20, no less). He started a pretty good career, but soon lost his hitting stroke. The Padres tried to get him going, but eventually gave up by sending him to the Devil Rays for…
Players taken after him: Carlos Pena, Adam Everett, Jeff Weaver.
3. Dewon Brazaelton (#3, 2001) – What better way to get noticed in the draft than to go 13-2 with 1.42 ERA in your last season at college. Unfortunately, he only had 2 winning seasons after that: 1-0 in 1 start in AA in 2002 and 2-0 in 2 starts in AA in 2003. He’s currently looking for work.
Players taken after him: Gavin Floyd, Mark Teixeira, John Van Benschoten.
2. Jeff Allison (#16, 2003) – The Marlins know that high school pitchers are risky, but this was their first one that had a drug problem. He’s played on and off since being drafted, but it doesn’t look like he could be another Josh Hamilton at this point.
Players taken after him: David Aardsma, Brandon Wood, Chad Billingsley.
1. Matt Bush (#1, 2004) – The Padres went with the home town, cheap option here. The results were a .219 hitter that didn’t get past A ball. In a last ditch effort to continue his career, he converted to a pitcher and has still done squat.
Players taken after him: Justin Verlander, Phil Humber, Jeremy Sowers.
