Sean Forman has added an amazing tool to the Baseball-Reference.com site, an application that allows the user to search through the entire history of the draft on practically any criteria.
Some fun facts, here are a list of some of the best #6 picks in draft history (I stopped in 2003 because it is still too early to make honest assessments):
- 1967 OF John Mayberry by the Houston Astros. Mayberry had a 15-year major league career with his best years in Kansas City from 1972-1977 when he averaged 261/374/448 with 77 runs, 23 home runs, and 92 RBI
- 1976 OF Ken Landreaux by the California Angels. Landreaux’s best years were with the Los Angeles Dodgers
- 1977 CA Terry Kennedy and 1979 OF Andy Van Slyke by the St Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals made two very solid picks at #6 two years apart. Kennedy had a fourteen year career with his best years in San Diego where he was traded for Rollie Fingers, Bob Shirley, and Gene Tenace in 1980. Van Slyke also was more known for his performance elsewhere. He in Pittsburgh where he combined with Barry Bonds (more later on him) and Bobby Bonilla to make up an All-Star OF from 1987-1991.
- 1981 OF Kevin McReynolds by the San Diego Padres. McReynolds never lived up to the hype surrounding him coming out of college but managed a 12 year career where he averaged 265/328/447 with 23 home runs and 87 RBI.
- 1985 OF Barry Bonds by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The creme de la creme of all the #6 picks through history.
- 1986 SS Gary Sheffield by the Milwaukee Brewers. Yes, Gary Sheffield began his career as a SS. He has bounced around from team to team. While his attitude has been questioned, his talent is remarkable as he closes in on 500 home runs this year.
- 1992 SS Derek Jeter by the New York Yankees. The Yankees captain is a amidst a Hall of Fame career.
- 2000 OF Rocco Baldelli by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. It’s still early and injuries have been an issue but he reached the majors in his third season.
And now some of the worst picks. The focus here is on players who never reached the major leagues:
- 1968 SS Robert Weaver by the Cleveland Indians
- 1978 OF Tito Nanni by the Seattle Mariners
- 1983 P Jackie Davidson by the Chicago Cubs.
- 1989 OF Paul Coleman by the St Louis Cardinals
- 1995 OF Jamie Jones by the Florida Marlins
- 1997 P Geoff Getz by the New York Mets
- 1998 P Ryan Mills by the Minnesota Twins
- 1999 P Josh Girdley by the Montreal Expos
- 2001 P Josh Karp by the Montreal Expos
- 2003 OF Ryan Harvey by the Chicago Cubs
Breakdown by college versus high school (then position)
| Class | Pos | Drafted | Made Majors |
|---|---|---|---|
| College | CA | 1 | 1 |
| CI | 2 | 1 | |
| MI | 3 | 3 | |
| OF | 4 | 4 | |
| P | 10 | 6 | |
| Total | 20 | 16 | |
| High School | CA | 2 | 2 |
| 1B | 2 | 2 | |
| SS | 4 | 3 | |
| OF | 7 | 4 | |
| P | 7 | 4 | |
| Total | 22 | 15 |
Breakdown by hitters versus pitchers
| Pos | Drafted | Made Majors |
|---|---|---|
| Hitters | 25 | 21 |
| Pitchers | 17 | 10 |
Historically, the sixth pick favors hitters over pitchers with a better success rate among the collegians than the prep players. So if this is to be used as any guide, the Nationals would have the greatest chance of success targeting Matt Wieters or Beau Mills with the #6 pick on Thursday.
Update: Great minds blah blah blah. Chris at CapPun breaks out #6 a bit differently (and better in this author’s opinion)
Shawn | 05-Jun-07 at 9:55 am | Permalink
From what I hear Weiters could be there,Wonder if the Nats have a Boras phobia like so many other teams??
Kevin (Fairfax) | 05-Jun-07 at 11:29 am | Permalink
I read a column in which the reporter says the Nats are interested in Moustakas. In rsponse to a subsequent comment, about why the Nats wouldn’t take Wieters instead, since he is supposedly better, the writer said that he is out of the Nats’ price range.
This would be a terrible message for the ownership to send, since they have cut the major league salary pool supposedly because they want to spend the money instead on building the club from the bottom.
Brian Oliver | 05-Jun-07 at 11:54 am | Permalink
While I agree in general with the sentiment that the Nationals should have an open pocketbook, I don’t necessarily fault them if they have limits on how over-slot they are willing to go for any one player. I have seen reports where Wieters may be asking for a major league contract and a bonus of upwards of $7-8 million. There are limits for every organzation. If they do not believe it a wise investment to spend $x million on any one player regardless of talent level, then it is in their best interest to draft the best available talent that falls within that range. I’m not saying that it should be a signability pick alone but if a player is asking for a ridiculous bonus, a team should exercise caution.
Ryan Sullivan | 05-Jun-07 at 12:12 pm | Permalink
Brian-
Have you heard any rumors about whom the Nats are targeting on Thursday, either specific names or general philosophy?
Chris | 05-Jun-07 at 12:47 pm | Permalink
Keith Law had a first round projection on ESPN.com with the Nats taking Porcello, who fell for signability reasons. He also hinted they would look at Pete Kozma, a HS SS from OK at 31
Mike Morris | 05-Jun-07 at 4:10 pm | Permalink
Where are Colton Willems, Glenn Gibson, & Esmailyn Gonzalez? I haven’t heard anything on them. Are they still at Extended Spring Training? Thanks.
Brian Oliver | 05-Jun-07 at 8:02 pm | Permalink
Mike - Yes, they are still in extended spring training. I’d expect them to be in Vermont