1. Chicago Cubs
Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
The Cubs managed to secure four picks inside the top 110 of the 2005 draft. Donnie Veal (pictured) is the only one who reached the majors, never as a pitcher for the Cubs though. He was re-drafted as a Rule-5 player in 2008 by the Pirates and pitched from 2012-14 for the crosstown rival White Sox. His career ERA of 4.87 is nothing to write home about.
With the 20th overall pick in the draft, the Cubs selected LHP Mark Pawelek out of Springville High School in Utah. The southpaw never managed to even reach Double-A ball, accumulating only six total wins in his minor league pitching career over 32 appearances.
After that, it gets really bad. Only OF Tyler Graham (14-430) has appeared in a game for a MLB club. His career has been Moonlight Graham-esque, with two at-bats in 2012 for the D-backs. In 2013, Graham played for five different independent league teams with no affiliation to MLB. In 2014, playing in 106 games for the Giants’ Double-A affiliate as a 31-year old, he hit .255 with three HRs and 27 RBI. Graham is the definition of a career minor leaguer.
51 players were drafted by the Cubs in 2005, with only two of them reaching the majors. That’s a three percent efficiency rate, combining for a total big league WAR of 0.3 — absolutely pitiful. And Cubs fans wonder why they have not won a World Series in over a century?