Monday, June 12 is the MLB Draft. Who were the best players taken with the 5th pick in the 2000s?
One week from today, 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!
We’ll open each of our 2000s look back threads with the top performing pick of the millennium thus far, then review by year, so we’ll start with the best #5 selection of the 2000s:
Mark Teixeira, 3B, Texas Rangers, 2001, 51.8 bWAR
In 2001, the two big names that everyone loved were Mark Prior, a right hander out of Southern California, and Teixeira, at the time a third baseman at Georgia Tech. Both wanted too much money for the Minnesota Twins, who were selecting first that season, who also had the option of selecting home town hero Joe Mauer with the #1 selection.
In the end, the Mauer pick was a pretty good one, but Teixeira is the guy who has tallied the most bWAR in his career out of the first round in that draft.
Teixeira went on to reach the Rangers as an opening day starter in 2003, and by the time he was traded in 2007, he was already established as one of the premier sluggers in the major leagues.
Teixeira played for the Rangers for 4 1/2 seasons, the Atlanta Braves for 1 season, the Los Angeles Angels for 1/2 season, and finished his career with 8 seasons with the New York Yankees.
He totaled a career .268/.360/.509 slash line for a 126 career OPS+ with 408 doubles and 409 home runs. He was selected to the All-Star game 3 times (2005, 2009, 2015), won 5 Gold Gloves (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012), and won 3 Silver Sluggers (2004, 2005, 2009).