A Look At the #2 Overall Picks in the MLB Draft in the 2000s
Monday, June 12 is the MLB Draft. Who were the best players taken with the second pick in the 2000s?
In just three days, on June 12, the MLB Draft will begin. We will have a live thread that evening here at Call to the Pen with instant analysis of the selections from our own Benjamin Chase throughout the first night.
As we prepare for the draft, here is the schedule for some draft information to get you ready for the big day when the MLB draft kicks off next Monday night:
Monday, June 5 – A look at the #5 picks of the 2000s
Tuesday, June 6 – A look at the #4 picks of the 2000s
Wednesday, June 7 – Mock Draft 6.1
Thursday, June 8 – A look at the #3 picks of the 2000s
Friday, June 9 – A look at the #2 picks of the 2000s
Saturday, June 10 – A look at the #1 picks of the 2000s
Sunday, June 11 – Final Mock Draft: What Ben Would Do
Monday, June 12 – Live Draft Thread!
2004. Justin Verlander, RHP, Detroit Tigers, 50.7 bWAR
In this millennium, #2 picks have been the most consistently productive playsers, with 7 players who have double digit bWAR career totals and only three having not reached the major leagues. To be the best of that group is certainly saying something, and Verlander has had an impressive career with Detroit.
Verlander was selected 2nd by the Tigers out of Old Dominion University in 2004. He didn’t pitch that season, but in his first professional season, he opened in high-A Lakeland in the Florida State League, moved up to AA Erie in the Eastern League and finished his first professional season with the Tigers, making two starts.
Across the minor leagues that season, Verlander made 20 starts, with a 1.29 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and a 26/136 BB/K ratio over 118 2/3 innings. His major league debut was more rough, giving up 9 runs over 11 1/3 innings. His big season had him ranked the #8 prospect in baseball by Baseball America.
Verlander joined the rotation in 2006, and he’s been a model of consistency ever since, making at least 30 starts all but one season since 2006, throwing 200 or more innings in every season but one starting in 2007. His page is decorated with “black ink” on Baseball Reference, the indication of major league or AL-leading statistics.
Verlander has participated in 6 All Star games (2007, 2009-2013), starting two of them. He was the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year.
In 2011, Verlander enjoyed arguably the best pitching season in the American League in the last half century, as he won the pitching triple crown, leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts, earning Verlander not just the Cy Young Award that season, but also the AL MVP, a rarity for pitchers.