MLB Draft: Best and Worst Picks of Each Team in the 2000s
Milwaukee Brewers
Best – Ryan Braun, First Round, 2005 – The 5th overall pick needs a big career to end up here, and Braun has certainly provided that since coming out of the University of Miami, tallying 264 home runs and a .304 career average with the Brewers in that time, making 6 All-Star games.
Worst – Mark Rogers, First Round, 2004 – The 5th overall pick the year before Braun was a start contrast as the high school righty with a mature build and big stuff ended up taking 6 seasons to debut, and he was out of professional baseball in 2013 at 28 years old.
St. Louis Cardinals
Best – Yadier Molina, Fourth Round, 2000 – Has there been a more important player to a franchise than Molina? He’s been the anchor of the team behind the plate early in his career until his bat caught up to make him one of the most dynamic dual threats as a catcher.
Worst – Shaun Boyd, First Round, 2000 – The 13th overall selection, Boyd just never could make it as a hitter. He was an incredible athlete that was to be able to add power and baseball skill in the Cardinals system, but he remained a raw athlete all the way. He left professional baseball in 2007 at 25 years old and has played some Indy ball since, but that’s it.
Chicago Cubs
Best – Josh Donaldson, First Round, 2007 – A compensatory pick, Donaldson was traded just barely a year after being drafted, not really getting a chance to be a Cub, but his trade was really the piece of a change that needed to happen in the Cubs organization that eventually brought in Theo Epstein and a change in philosophy.
Worst – Luis Montanez, First Round, 2000 – In one of the most incredible things to me, Montanez struggled to make his mark so much after being selected 3rd overall that he was allowed to leave as a minor league free agent after six years in the Cubs system. He did make the majors with the Orioles as a backup, but he’s totaled 323 plate appearances in the major leagues. By 2013, he was out of professional baseball.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Best – Brandon Webb, Eighth Round, 2000 – Webb was up within 3 seasons after being selected in the 3rd round, a rare thing for such a “late” pick. He then rattled off an incredible run of pitching from 2003-2008, peaking with three seasons in a row from 2006-2008 when he finished in the top 2 of Cy Young Award voting all three seasons. Webb blew out his shoulder in the first game of the 2009 season and has sadly never made it back to the major leagues.
Worst – Barret Loux, First Round, 2010 – With the #6 overall selection, the D’backs tabbed Loux, and he chose instead to declare himself a free agent, meaning that their selection was never realized. Of course, Loux’s career has never really been what he was expected to be either, as he’s now in Independent ball as a 27 year-old after no teams offered him a contract this offseason.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Best – Clayton Kershaw, First Round, 2006 – He’s only the greatest pitcher of his generation, so he must have been the #1 overall selection, right? Try the 7th overall selection in the draft. By spring training of 2008, it was clear he was going to be a superstar before he was even 20, and he was up a couple months into the 2008 season at 20.
Worst – Ben Diggins, First Round, 2000 – For the second time in his career, Diggins was selected in the first round in 2000 as the 17th overall selection. His huge 6’7, 230 pound frame had teams dreaming on him. His first two seasons were great, but then the Dodgers traded him to the Brewers as part of a minor league deal, and after 2005, he was out of baseball.
Next: Giants, Indians, Mariners, Marlins, Mets