May 23, 2017; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria (3) throws the ball to first base for an out against the Los Angeles Angels at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Monday, June 12 is the MLB Draft. Who were the best players taken with the third pick in the 2000s?
In just six 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!
While the #3 picks are by far the least impressive group of the 2000s picks in the top 5, Longoria is certainly comparable of the best top 5 picks of the millennium.
A star third baseman at Long Beach State, Longoria was considered the best talent in the 2006 draft by many when two pitchers were drafted ahead of him (and four more were drafted behind him). His advanced approach and highly regarded third base defense allowed him to make an impressive first impression in his draft season, hitting .315/.360/.597 with 18 home runs across three levels, finishing in AA. That impressive performance had him rated the #7 prospect by Baseball America and the #10 prospect by Baseball Prospectus.
Longoria split 2007 between AA and AAA. He combined to hit .299/.402/.520 with 26 home runs before posting a 1.000+ OPS with the Arizona Fall League. He was widely considered a “can’t-miss” prospect at that point, rated #2 by BA and #3 by BP.
Longoria spent a week in Durham before coming up to Tampa Bay for good in 2008. He was an innovator in the early contracts that the Rays signed, signing an unprecedented 9-year contract less than a week after he debuted with the Rays. While many felt that this sold Longoria short on his career earnings, the Rays rewarded him handsomely before the contract had completed in 2012 with a $100M extension to the contract.
Over his big league career, Longoria has hit .270/.343/.486 with 249 home runs. He’s played in three All-Star games (2008, 2009, 2010), won the 2008 AL Rookie of the Year, the 2009 AL Silver Slugger for 3B, and two Gold Gloves (2009, 2010).
As the Cubs found themselves in the midst of a down season among other competitive years, they decided to go for a pick that was completely understandable based on reputation. Montanez had comments comparing him to Alex Rodriguez coming out of high school in Miami, and though he didn’t have the physical build, he offered power, speed, and defensive abilities that would work at short or third.
Instead, Montanez showed that about the only thing he shared with A-Rod was a “z” at the end of their name. After an impressive performance with the Cubs rookie ball team in Arizona, Montanez was rated as the #73 prospect in baseball by Baseball America.
T reality sank in quickly after. His first full season was played at Lansing in the low-A Midwest League, and Montanez struggled to recognize pitches or the zone, leading to a terrible strikeout rate and walk rate, though his raw speed and power were on display at times.
The next two seasons were spent at high-A Daytona in the Florida State League, but instead of taking steps forward, Montanez took a small step forward in 2002’s first year at high-A before taking a step back in 2003 as the team moved him to second base. A similar issue showed up as the Cubs moved him to the outfield with his bat.
A shift happened for Montanez occurred when he was moved to the outfield. He found a defensive home that allowed his natural athleticism to play well, and while he still didn’t have great peripherals, he had better batting averages as he moved quickly as a defensive-focused outfielder.
A move to the Orioles organization as a minor league free agent allowed him to ascend quickly, making his major league debut in 2008 and bouncing between the majors and minors for the next four years with the Orioles and then back with the Cubs as a 5th outfielder. After minor league runs with the Cardinals, Phillies, and Angels over 2012-2013, Montanez was out of baseball at age 31 with a total of 323 plate appearances.
Coming out of small school Middle Tennessee State, there was nothing small about the person of Dewon Brazelton. A large man on the mound, Brazelton possessed big stuff with the ability to move quickly in the eyes of many evaluators who considered him a legit option as the top pick among great names in the 2001 draft like Mark Teixeira, Joe Mauer, and Mark Prior.
Without having ever throwing a professional pitch, Brazelton was ranked the #57 prospect in all of baseball. He then threw very well between AA and AAA in his first pro season to earn a call up to the majors in his first professional season, keeping him in the top 100 prospects, though down to #74 overall.
Brazelton was up to the majors a month into the 2003 season to take a rotation spot, but it did not go well, as he posted a 6.89 ERA (and a 9+ FIP!) over 10 starts before being demoted to work on his mechanics.
Brazelton spent the next season bouncing between AAA and the majors before moving to the bullpen in 2005. The Rays traded him that offseason to the Padres for Sean Burroughs in an exchange of disappointing prospects. He bounced between AAA and San Diego in 2006 before finishing his career with a minor league season split between the Royals organization and Pirates organization in 2007.
He played his last game for an affiliated team at age 2007, but he did make some appearances in independent leagues in 2009 and 2010.
Chris Gruler, RHP, Cincinnati Reds, no major league experience
Coming out of high school in California, Gruler was a guy who had a ridiculous curve along with a fastball that reached 96 MPH. The Reds were enamored with their new righty when they brought him into the organization, and no less than Johnny Bench hurled praise on the young pitcher upon first viewing.
Gruler’s pro career started out promising enough, as he made 11 starts in his draft season, working a lot in low-A straight out of high school and not being overwhelmed, striking out more than a batter per inning at the level. He ended up ranked the #77 prospect in baseball after the season by Baseball America.
2003 was when the issues started. Gruler’s shoulder began to balk, and after a few attempts to pitch through the pain, he underwent surgery. Returning in 2004, he was initially encouraged by his feel in Gulf Coast League games in rehab, but when he took one step up to advanced rookie league games, things went bad in his first game and he missed the entire 2005 season. After just 5 games in 2006, he had to shut it down again, throwing his last affiliated pitch at just 22 years old.
Instead of sitting on his laurels and crying about his poor luck, Gruler instead turned his focus into a new business, Protege Branding, which focuses on working with professional athletes primarily (among other interests) to help build their personal brand. One of his clients is Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar.
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
Kyle Sleeth, RHP, Detroit Tigers, no major league experience
The Orioles originally Sleeth out of high school in the 2000 draft’s 18th round, but he chose instead to sign with Wake Forest, which turned out great as he was then selected #3 overall.
Sleeth was considered very possibly the best college pitcher to have come out of college when he was drafted, with many saying he showed as much stuff on the mound as presence to allow him to be a sure top pick. Before he ever threw a professional pitch, he was already rated the #36 prospect in baseball according to Baseball America.
His first professional season was a sign of just how many innings his arm was expected to handle, as he was aggressively moved to high-A to open the season and split the season between high-A and AA, struggling with control in AA, but still flashing plenty of that “grit” that many discussed in going deep in games without his best stuff to give his team a chance to win. He was still rated the #86 prospect by BA after some of the struggles in AA.
Sleeth’s elbow popped before the 2005 season after extensive college workload and the heavy first year of pro ball, and he didn’t come back until the middle of 2006, when he struggled with feel for the ball once he did return.
Sleeth struggled through a poor 2007 where he simply couldn’t get the feel back on the ball, throwing to an 8.11 ERA between high-A and AA, with a 40/46 BB/K ratio over 77 2/3 innings. In spring training of 2008, he retired from baseball at age 26.
After the failure of “Generation K”, the Mets were in search of building up their team through pitching, and Humber became another example of Rice pitching issues after he was selected by the team in 2004 with the #3 overall pick.
Based on just his college reputation, Humber was rated the #50 prospect in baseball by Baseball America before the 2005 season. In that first season, Humber was moved aggressively to high-A and showed some of that wear from his college experience, missing a number of starts, though he did finish the season in AA.
Humber moved up quickly in 2006, showing excellence on the mound once healthy, throwing well enough to make his major league debut out of the bullpen in September of that season. His quality performance once he was healthy allowed him to re-appear on BA’s rankings at #73 and rate #26 overall with Baseball Prospectus.
After a season spent primarily in AAA in 2007, Humber was a key piece of the trade that brought Johan Santana from Minnesota to the Mets. Minnesota tried for multiple seasons to get him into the major league rotation, but he spent most of his time in AAA.
After a season with the Royals, Humber became a DFA candidate the offseason of 2010-2011, finally ending up with the Chicago White Sox, where he finally found a modicum of success, making 26 starts in 2011 for the Pale Hose, posting a 3.75 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with a 41/116 BB/K ratio over 163 innings.
Humber opened his 2012 season with the high point of his career, a perfect game thrown against the Seattle Mariners, but that was really the last high point in his career. He posted a 6.44 ERA that season with the White Sox before posting a 7.90 ERA with the Astros in 2013. Humber spent 2014 in the Oakland Athletics system, never making the major leagues, before heading to the Korean League. He last pitched in 2015.
A big bat even in high school, the Twins drafted Clement in the 12th round out of high school in Iowa, but instead he chose to go to college at USC, where he smashed the ball from the left side of the plate, earning a first round selection by the Mariners in 2005.
Clement made a big impression his draft season, working up to low-A, hitting .315/.387/.508 with 6 home runs in 142 plate appearances. He then went to the Arizona Fall League against the best prospects in the game, where he slashed .269/.347/.478, holding his own and showing his prodigious power. Baseball America took notice, ranking Clement the #33 overall prospect in the game before the 2006 season.
His first full season in the minor leagues was one of mixed reviews. Clement showed good ability to handle the catcher position, but that big power was nowhere to be found, as he slugged just .382 in 342 plate appearances between AA/AAA. He was still rated the #62 prospect by BA and #59 prospect by Baseball Prospectus.
The power showed back up in 2007 in Tacoma, earning a promotion to the major leagues, where Clement showed very well. After 20 minor league home runs (and only 88 strikeouts in 530 plate appearances with that power) along with a .375/.474/.813 line in his 19 plate appearance audition in Seattle, he was viewed quite highly, ranking as the #42 prospect by BA and #33 prospect by BP.
Clement split 2008 between AAA and the major leagues, pounding the ball in AAA, but unable to translate that success to the major leagues, and in an era where things like framing weren’t highly valued, Clement’s struggles with base runners became a major issue behind the plate.
In 2009, the Mariners were moving him to first base in the minor leagues before trading Clement to the Pirates along with 4 prospects for Ian Snell and Jack Wilson. He bounced between the majors and minors with the Pirates over the next three seasons, and finished his career with a season in the Minnesota Twins minor league system in 2013.
Considered the next great hitter in Chicago-land for many years, this name incited pain in many Cubs fans’ hearts until the current third baseman came along.
Vitters was a big-time hitter coming out of high school in California, certainly worthy of the selection of #3 overall. His pre-draft reputation allowed him to rank #43 with Baseball America and #45 with Baseball Prospectus after a poor showing in his draft season work with the Cubs’ Arizona Rookie League and Northwest League affiliates.
Returning to the Northwest League in 2008, Vitters hit very well, though his peripherals were nothing to write home about as he struck out 3 times as much as he walked. However, he slashed .322/.357/.495 between advanced rookie and low-A ball in 2008, earning him a #51 ranking with BA and #34 ranking with BP.
The walk rates never came around with the Midwest League in 2009, but he hit well enough that the Cubs pushed Vitters up to Daytona in the Florida State league, putting him in high-A as a 19 year old. On top of that, they sent him to the Arizona Fall League, where he hit very well against hte game’s best prospects, going .353/.380/.485.
Vitters began to show a slow adjustment at each level, primarily due to the low walk rate, but he had worked to improve his strikeout rate, keeping it in check at each level. He made his major league debut in 2012, but struggled to establish himself.
After injuries hampered his 2013, Vitters was pushed aside by other prospects in the Cubs’ system, and was allowed to leave in free agency after the 2014 season. He signed on with the Colorado Rockies, but he could not make the team, and was released by the Rockies at the end of spring training.
Vitters sat out the 2015 season and attempted to make a baseball come back of sorts in independent league ball in 2016, though his hitting really didn’t wow anyone, and he returned to indy ball this summer. He last played affiliated ball at age 24 in 2014.
A rare high school first baseman taken in the top 5 of the draft, Hosmer showed his skills at prestigious American Heritage High School before the Royals selected him 3rd overall in 2008.
Hosmer made a good impression in just 3 games in 2008 in advanced rookie ball, hitting .364/.533/.545 over those three games, and that, along with his draft pedigree, had him rated as the #24 prospect by Baseball America and #18 prospect by Baseball Prospectus.
Hosmer struggled through a shuffling first full season in minor league ball, putting up a .241/.334/.361 line over 106 games split between low-A and high-A. The Royals started him at high-A Wilmington in the Carolina League, and he worked his way up to the AA Texas League. His performance in 2010 combined was .338/.406/.571 with 43 doubles, 9 triples, and 20 home runs, even stealing 14 bases. That stellar performance rocketed him back up rankings to #8 overall with BA and #12 overall with BP.
After a month in AAA, Hosmer went to Kansas City and had a very good rookie season. Royals fans were likely frustrated with their first baseman’s lack of power before last season’s breakout, when he hit 25 home runs and drove in 104 runs.
Hosmer heads into free agency this offseason with a career .279/.335/.430 line (at present, as 2017 is not completed) with 107 home runs in 944 major league games. He was an All Star in 2016 (winning the MVP of the All Star game) and as won three Gold Gloves (2013, 2014, and 2015).
Donavan Tate, OF, San Diego Padres, no major league experience
Arguably the most gifted athlete in the 2009 draft, Tate still is a Georgia prep legend in many circles for his exploits on the field. When the Padres drafted him 10th overall, they knew they were getting a raw player, but they had no idea just how raw he’d be.
Tate struggled in his draft season in Arizona Rookie League, but he flashed the athleticism he was well-known for. This led to him ranked the #53 prospect by Baseball America and #29 prospect by Baseball Prospectus.
The Padres sent Tate to the Northwest League in 2011, and he hit well, though he didn’t show much power, earning a promotion to low-A Midwest League to finish the season. Overall he hit .288/.410/.411 on the season.
Tate then began a career derailment of injury issues, playing through injury in 2012, before succumbing to injuries in 2013 and missing all of the 2014 season. He attempted with the Padres and then the Dodgers to work through the injuries and come back, but could never quite make it.
This spring, Tate announced that he will return to his other highly-touted sport in high school, football. He will begin play with the University of Arizona as a quarterback. He will attempt to follow in the lines of players like Brandon Weeden and Chris Weinke, who played minor league baseball before going on to college football and eventually the NFL.
While Longoria is the current leader for #3 picks, the guy who could quickly take over that spot is Baltimore Orioles infielder Manny Machado. Drafted out of high school in Florida, Machado had the build and skills that reminded many of Alex Rodriguez.
He showed well with the New York-Penn League as a 17 year-old, even just in 7 games. Baseball America was impressed enough between his performance and his draft pedigree to rank him as the #14 overall prospect and Baseball Prospectus ranked him the #16 overall prospect.
Machado quickly established himself among the elite players in all of baseball, not just the minor leagues, as he hit well in low-A and high-A as an 18 year-old, combining for 20 doubles, 11 home runs, and 11 stolen bases over 101 games. His performance and age had him ranked the #11 prospect by BA, #6 by MLB Pipeline, and #8 by BP.
Machado worked his way to the major leagues the next season after starting in AA Bowie. In 51 games, he acquitted himself well, showing excellent power at the big league level.
At age 20, in his first full season in the major leagues, Machado showed signs of what was to come as he smacked 51 doubles and hit .283. While a stellar third baseman, Machado was able to ably man shortstop last season when the Orioles needed coverage at the position.
Machado has hit .278/.330/.473 over his major league career with 117 home runs, including 35 or more the last two seasons. He made 3 All-Star games (2013, 2015, 2016), 2 Gold Gloves (2013, 2015), and won the 2013 AL Platinum Glove – and he is not 25 until July 6th.
One of a pair of excellent young pitchers on the UCLA staff in 2011, Bauer was selected two picks after fellow UCLA hurler Gerrit Cole. Known for his training methods, widely considered bizarre at the time, Bauer scared away some teams worried that his practices could lead to future injury.
Bauer was pushed to high-A and AA in his draft season, and though he was hit hard, he struck out hitters at a tremendous rate, fanning 43 in 25 2/3 innings. His pedigree and the big strikeout performance had hiim ranked as the #9 prospect with Baseball America, #9 with MLB Pipeline, and #11 with Baseball Prospectus.
In 2012, Bauer was near dominant in two minor league stops, posting a 2.42 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 130 1/3 innings between AA and AAA before getting 4 starts to end the season. Rumors of being eclectic and difficult to work with began to surface from Arizona, however, and Bauer actually fell in the rankings after that dominant season to #14 with BA, #17 with MLB, and #24 with BP.
Bauer was traded to Cleveland in the offseason before the 2013 season as part of a three-team deal that sent Didi Gregorius to the Diamondbacks, Shin-Soo Choo to Cincinnati, and Bauer and reliever Bryan Shaw to Cleveland (among many other pieces in the deal). He spent most of the season with AAA Columbus before working his way into the Cleveland rotation to finish the season. After a month in Columbus to open 2014, Bauer was in Cleveland’s rotation for good.
While he’s not been an elite starter, Bauer has been a consistent back or the rotation type of pitcher in his career thus far, averaging 175 innings, an exact 100 ERA+, and a 70/160 BB/K ratio over his first three full seasons in the rotation.
Coming out of high school Zunino was good enough to draw a 29th round selection by the Oakland Athletics, but he was strong in his commitment to the University of Florida, where the Mariners selected him from in 2012.
Zunino came out and put up big stats in the Northwest League and finished his season hitting well in AA in 2012, putting up a regular season line of .360/.447/.689 line with 13 home runs in 44 games before going to the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .288/.337/.463 in 19 games. Coming off that strong performance and with his draft pedigree, Zunino zipped up the prospect rankings, rating #17 with Baseball America, #23 with MLB Pipeline, and #33 with Baseball Prospectus.
Seattle moved Zunino aggressively, having him split time with AAA and the major league club in 2013, in spite of him not hitting tremendously well, outside of power, at the AAA level.
Zunino hit similarly the next two seasons at the big league level before being demoted when he did the same to open the 2016 season. He was reported to have made some adjustments that would allow him to succeed in the major leagues, and he showed well to end 2016, but he’s struggled again to begin the season in 2017.
Over his career, he’s hit .198/.265/.373 with 54 home runs over 387 games. His positive bWAR number is a testament to his excellent defense, and Zunino actually rates even better in other metrics with more attention given to framing, something Zunino is considered elite in as a catching skill.
While he may never develop into the hitter that many were hoping for, his defense will give him a productive major league career.
Drafted 3 times in his career, Gray was selected in the 13th round out of high school by the Royals. He then was selected the next season in the 10th round out of community college by the Yankees. He instead chose to attend Oklahoma and was selected 3rd overall by the Rockies.
Gray went into games in his draft season and blew hitters away, making 9 starts, posting a 1.93 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and 8/51 BB/K ratio over 37 1/3 innings. His pre-draft pedigree along with his performance up to high-A in his draft season had Gray rated as high as #12 overall (Baseball America) before the 2014 season.
In his first full season, he was pushed to AA Tulsa in the Texas League, where he showed his elite fastball and worked through using his secondary stuff better, posting a 3.91 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and a 41/113 BB/K ratio over 124 1/3 innings. He was rated as high as the #13 prospect after that first season (Baseball Prospectus).
In 2015, Gray got to the major leagues after spending most of the season pitching for Colorado’s AAA club before moving up to the major leagues for a run at the end of the season.
Gray really broke through last season, and while his ERA wasn’t pretty at 4.61, he made 29 starts for Colorado, throwing 168 innings with a 1.26 WHIP and a 59/185 BB/K ratio.
Gray came out this season and was injured after 3 seasons. He is expected to be a key figure in the Rockies rotation along with other young arms that are keying a Rockies revival this season.
Selected in the 16th round out of high school by the Brewers, it was fairly clear that Rodon made the right choice by going to college, as he was projected as a top 5 selection by the end of his first year starting for North Carolina State. Rodon was projected as high as #1 that season, and the White Sox were more than happy to select Rodon at #3 overall.
Rodon was expected to move fast with an experienced background and a repertoire that appeared to work as a major leaguer straight out of college, and he did make 3 appearances in AAA in his draft season and didn’t look bad in those appearances either. Rodon was ranked as the #15 prospect by Baseball America after his big season, #14 by MLB Pipeline, and #41 by Baseball Prospectus.
Concerns about his control of his elite stuff were the only thing holding Rodon back, and the White Sox chose to have him work on those concerns at the big league level after making just two starts for AAA Charlotte. He acquitted himself quite well, with a 3.75 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and 71/139 BB/K ratio over 139 1/3 innings with the White Sox.
In 2016, Rodon made 28 starts for the White Sox, throwing 165 innings with a 4.04 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and a 54/168 BB/K ratio, leading many to believe Rodon was ready to take the next step toward becoming a front line starter coming into this season.
Obviously, the White Sox felt comfortable in that as well, as they traded away ace Chris Sale and shopped #2 starter Jose Quintana heavily, which would have put the rotation in the hands of Rodon. Rodon has been injured and has not made his major league debut yet this season, having just thrown his first rehab start this week.
Brendan Rodgers, SS, Colorado Rockies, no major league experience
In a season where a number of elite college shortstops decorated the top of the draft board, Rodgers stuck out as the one high school guy among those college guys ranked at the top of boards.
The Rockies were happy to see him fall to #3 and pushed him to their advanced rookie league team to challenge him in his draft season, where he hit .273/.340/.420 and flashed some impressive raw power.
Standing just 6′ even, Rodgers doesn’t have the prototype of the new-age long, athletic shortstop, and he’s not really the small, quick-trigger guy either, more of an in-between frame, though he can pack plenty of power into that frame.
That was evident in his first full season, spent at low-A Asheville in the South Atlantic League. He hit .281/.342/.480 and slugged 31 doubles with 19 home runs. The most impressive part was that he kept his strikeout rate manageable while showing that power. His impressive numbers put him among the elite prospects in the game, ranking as high as #11 (Baseball Prospectus).
Rodgers has come out slugging this season for high-A Lancaster, slashing .387/.407/.675 with 16 doubles and 9 home runs.
Rodgers did play a significant amount of games at second base last season, and he’s already played a couple of games there again this season. While he’s a solid shortstop that would rate as average to above-average across the board defensively, he doesn’t really profile as a plus defender at short, whereas his skills could play to a plus level at second base.
Ian Anderson, RHP, Atlanta Braves, no major league experience
Many didn’t have Ian Anderson ranked beyond the top 15 on draft boards coming into draft night, but the Braves had seen a lot of Anderson late in the season after he was finally healthy. They were enamored of him as a pitcher and more as a person, and they made him their #3 pick.
Anderson was tremendous across two levels last season, making 10 appearances combined between GCL and Danville in the Appy League, posting a 2.04 ERA in 39 2/3 innings with a 12/36 BB/K ratio.
He was rated the #66 prospect with Baseball America, his highest ranking among the three ranking services, though he was rated in the top 100 with all three major services.
Just 19, Anderson opened this season in Rome, and he’s shown dominance of South Atlantic hitters, striking out 68 hitters in 50 1/3 innings so far on the season, though he’s struggled with giving up too many free passes, leading to a 4.65 ERA.
