3. Tampa Bay Rays
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Rays — or Devil Rays as they were known in 2005 — have the unfortunate distinction of being the only team whose top 10 draft pick did not make the big leagues. Before getting things right in 2007 by selecting an NCAA pitcher in the form of David Price from Vanderbilt with their first overall pick, the Rays missed hugely on RHP Wade Townsend out of Rice University.
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Townsend was oddly enough also drafted eighth overall the year before by the Orioles, but terms could not be agreed upon. Baltimore’s lucky miss became Tampa Bay’s ultimate loss. Plagued by injuries that included Tommy John surgery and a torn labrum in the minors, Townsend never played higher than Double-A ball and was out of baseball by 2011.
There were a few positives the Rays can take away from the 2005 draft, though. They picked up Jeremy Hellickson (pictured) 118th overall. Hellickson won 40 games for the Rays and now is a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Rays also used some draft picks on pretty good high school players who opted not to sign with them and instead went on to play collegiately. Tommy Hunter (18-538) played for the University of Alabama before being drafted again by the O’s in 2007. Ike Davis (19-568) played for Arizona State and signed with the Mets in 2008. Lastly, Wade Miley (20-598) pitched for Southeastern Louisiana and signed with the D-backs in 2008.
While seven of the 50 players drafted by the Rays made the majors — when you factor in the three above never played in their organization and Townsend was a huge bust — the total WAR of 7.9 is not a very impressive number. Hellickson can be thanked for contributing 86 percent to that number.