Arizona Diamondbacks: Top five draft picks of all time, ranked
The Arizona Diamondbacks have developed a lot of their own talent over the years. Here are their top five draft picks ranked via WAR.
The Arizona Diamondbacks made their first draft selection in franchise history in 1996 and played their first meaningful regular-season games in 1998. In 1999 they were already division champions and by 2001 they had a World Series title to their name.
The Diamondbacks also won the National League West the following year, giving them an unprecedented three trips to the postseason in their first five years of existence.
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Even more impressive is the fact the team was built through a plethora of trades and free-agent signings. The D-Backs used the expansion draft to compile pieces and even though they had six draft classes prior to winning the World Series, there wasn’t one significant Series contributor who was drafted in the amateur draft by Arizona.
Since the World Series season, they have played nineteen seasons and won the division twice, with no other trips to the Fall Classic. Ironically they have drafted and developed some quality talent, unfortunately, while in an Arizona Diamondbacks uniform these players have not been able to push the team over the top.
They become too expensive and get traded away or sign elsewhere in free agency. Some of the names on this list have tasted postseason success, just not in a Diamondbacks uniform. Today we compile a list of the top 5 draft picks in team history.
Adam Eaton, 19th round pick in 2010 draft. 19.3 WAR
For someone who was selected in the 19th round of the draft, Adam Eaton has exceeded expectations. The Arizona Diamondbacks found him out of Miami University of Ohio and Eaton ascended to the top in just two years after the draft.
In parts of two years with the team, Eaton played just 88 games and provided little offensive production in a part-time role. He was then traded to the Chicago White Sox as part of a three-team deal that netted the Diamondbacks Mark Trumbo.
After taking over as the full-time center fielder with the Sox, Eaton put together three solid years and turned himself into a marketable player for a rebuilding team. The Sox traded high on Eaton, sending him to the Washington Nationals for a trio of pitchers including Lucas Giolito.
Eaton battled injuries his first two seasons in DC and with Giolito coming on strong in Chitown, the trade was looking like a bust for the Nationals. He was able to stay healthy the entire year this past season and hit .320 with two home runs in his first World Series action as he earned a championship ring.
From a middle round draft pick out of a small rust-belt college, Eaton has done well for himself.
Brandon Webb, 8th round pick in 2000 draft. 31.1 WAR
Another lower-level draft pick, Brandon Webb was able to make draft-day geniuses out of the Arizona Diamondbacks again. Taken in the 8th round out of the University of Kentucky, Webb proved to be a front line starter for several years.
He finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting after winning ten games. After struggling a bit his second go-around (leading the league in walks and wild pitches) he found his rhythm in 2005.
In a three year stretch, Webb won a Cy Young and was runner up twice, even leading the league in ’08 with 22 wins.
Webb pitched the team to the 2007 NLCS where they succumbed to the Colorado Rockies.
Never a strikeout pitcher, Webb was able to coax hitters into weak contact and for six years was the most durable member of the Diamondbacks rotation. Twice he lead the league in starts.
At one point in the 2007 season Webb had spun 42 consecutive scoreless innings.
Unfortunately the unexpected hit in 2009. After being the poster boy for longevity, injury set in. Webb made just one start before going down with shoulder issues. He was unable to come back and just like that, at age 30, he had thrown his last major league inning.
Brandon Webb played for the Diamondbacks his entire seven-year career, finishing with an 87-62 record and a 3.27 ERA. If the shoulder injury wouldn’t have set in, one wonders how far this arm could have gone.
Justin Upton, 1st round pick in 2005 draft. 34.4 WAR
Justin Upton was the first overall pick in the 1st round of the 2005 draft and shot through the minor league system. He appeared in the majors at age 19 after just two years of minor league ball.
Coming out of high school, Upton didn’t have the luxury of fine-tuning his skills at the college level. He didn’t need to. He was a five-tool player right out of the gate.
In year four, 2011, Upton was an All-Star for the division-winning Arizona Diamondbacks. He played in all but three games, hitting .289 and smacking 31 home runs. The D-Backs made a first-round exit in the playoffs, though were positioned well to repeat as division winners the following year.
Didn’t happen. Upton’s power numbers drastically dropped off and the Diamondbacks got no production from the shortstop position. The team finished 81-81 and Upton became too expensive.
Before the 2013 season, Upton was packaged to the Atlanta Braves in return for five players, headlined by Martin Prado.
Since then Upton has had stints with the Padres, Tigers, and is currently riding out a 5 year/$106M deal with the Los Angeles Angels.
He’s been an All-Star twice and made the postseason twice since his departure from the desert.
Paul Goldschmidt, 8th round in 2009 draft. 43.1 WAR
Had Paul Goldschmidt stuck around he would have owned every offensive record in the history of the Arizona Diamondbacks. As it stands, he falls into second place in the ones he doesn’t already own (that Luis Gonzalez was a beast).
Another gem found outside the top few rounds Goldschmidt has been a force to be reckoned with since the time he stepped on the field.
While wearing a Diamondbacks uniform he was a career .297 hitter with 209 home runs. A six-time All-Star with three Gold Gloves, Goldschmidt was the piece the team needed to build around.
Unfortunately for the D-Backs Goldy’s time with the team coincided with the Los Angeles Dodgers run through the National League West. The Dodgers have won the division seven years in a row and only once during that time has Arizona had the second-best record, to earn a wild-card spot.
Like Upton, Goldschmidt was about to become too expensive so he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. In his lone season with the Cards, Goldy’s OPS fell off drastically. The team was able to make it to the playoffs and survive the first round before losing in the NLCS to the Washington Nationals. Goldschmidt was 1-16 with 9 strikeouts during that series.
Max Scherzer, 1st round pick in 2006 draft. 60.1 WAR
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The man has two different colored eyes, with one looking at the prize and the other looking to the future. Max Scherzer was a highly touted first-round draft pick and he has lived up to the billing. Sadly for the Diamondbacks, it has not been with their organization.
Scherzer won just nine games in 37 starts in his time with the Arizona Diamondbacks and then was traded as part of a three-team trade which netted the team, Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy.
While blossoming into a superstar with the Detroit Tigers, partnering with Justin Verlander to take the Tigers to four straight playoff appearances and a World Series.
He signed a lucrative 7 year/$191.4M contract with the Washington Nationals and has exceeded the worth of his deal. Scherzer has amassed 79 wins in DC with a 2.74 ERA while winning two Cy Young Awards and finishing in the top three, two other times. For his career, he has lead the league in strikeouts three times and struck out more than 2600 in all.
In the 2019 postseason, he was 3-0, helping the Nationals win their first World Series in team history.
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Scherzer is the one which got away too soon, for the Diamondbacks’ liking