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A Look At the #1 Overall Picks in the MLB Draft in the 2000s

By Benjamin Chase

Jun 7, 2017; Seattle, WA, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman Joe Mauer (7) hits an RBI-single against the Seattle Mariners during the fifth inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 7, 2017; Seattle, WA, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman Joe Mauer (7) hits an RBI-single against the Seattle Mariners during the fifth inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Florida Marlins, 43.6 bWAR

Gonzalez was a rare first base prospect that was so overwhelmingly good that he was the top prospect in the draft season, especially a high school first baseman. The Marlins took him first overall out of high school in California.

The Marlins started him with their GCL club, and he made a late-season run at the New York-Penn League, hitting .297/.404/.365, showing his advanced approach at the plate, with everyone assuming his power would come naturally. He was ranked as the #89 prospect in baseball by Baseball America.

Gonzalez spent his first full season with the low-A Midwest League, where he exhibited excellent skills, hitting .312/.382/.486 with 37 doubles and 17 home runs. This bumped him up to the #31 prospect with BA. The next season was spent as a 20 year old in AA, where he hit .266/.344/.437 with 34 doubles and 17 home runs, and he remained at the #31 overall prospect.

2003 saw Gonzalez change organizations for the first time in his career. He was traded to the Texas Rangers as the key piece of the deal that sent closer Ugueth Urbina from the Rangers to the Marlins on the Marlins’ way to a World Series title.

Gonzalez spent the next two seasons at the Rangers’ AAA level, getting late call ups each season to the major leagues, not exactly blowing away the team with power, but hitting with good contact skills and doubles. In the offseason before the 2006 season, he was moved to his third organization, the San Diego Padres.

The Padres inserted Gonzalez into their lineup as their starting first baseman in the 2006 season, and he rewarded them with a .304/.362/.500 season with 24 home runs. He would not finish with under 30 home runs in any other season he played in San Diego. His best season with the Padres came in 2009, when he made a legit case for the MVP, hitting .277/.407/.551 with 40 home runs, leading the league in walks, but the Padres team was not very good, and his MVP argument was not heard well.

The Padres traded Gonzalez in the offseason after the 2010 season to the Boston Red Sox for four players, including Anthony Rizzo. The Red Sox immediately gave Gonzalez a contract extension, however, he never quite performed to the level that the Red Sox seemed to desire, in spite of leading the league in hits in 2011 and hitting .321/.382/.513 in his time in Boston.

The Red Sox dumped a significant amount of salary in a 2012 trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, sending Gonzalez along with other highly paid players Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, and Nick Punto for a collection of prospects.

Gonzalez will see his contract with the Dodgers end in 2018, and it will be interesting to see what his next step is. The Dodgers seem to have his future replacement in Cody Bellinger, and at age 36 when his contract runs out, Gonzalez will need to consider either retirement or moving to the American League where he can spend some time as DH.

Over his career, Gonzalez has hit .289/.361/.489 with 309 home runs. He has been selected to 5 All Star games (2008-2011, 2015), 4 Gold Gloves (2008, 2009, 2011, 2014), and two Silver Slugger awards (2011, 2014).

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