Tomorrow will be the first year players draft. Thanks to a horrendous 2006 campaign the Cubs will have the opportunity to draft third for the first time since the year 2000 when they took the great Luis Montanez. The other two times that the Cubs have had the third pick did not go that well. In 1998 they selected Corey Patterson and in 1984 they took Drew Hall. Both players would have high expectations, but never met the hype.
When you take a look at the third overall pick through the years you see many players you have heard of and many that you never have. Some of the guys were good productive players throughout their careers. A few were stars. One was an NFL quarterback. You will even find two ballplayers that made it all the way to Cooperstown. Besides the three players selected by the Cubs, you will see a few players who spent some years wearing the blue pinstripes. Here are all players selected with the third overall pick in the MLB Draft:
Year--Team--Name--Position--School--Hometown
2006--Devil Rays--Evan Longoria--3B--Cal. St. Long Beach--Downey, CA
2005--Mariners--Jeffrey Clement--C Univ. of Southern Cal.--Marshalltown, IA
2004--Mets--Philip Humber--RHP--Rice U.
2003--Tigers--Kyle Sleeth--RHP--Wake Forest U
2002--Reds--Chris Gruler--RHP--Liberty HS--Brentwood, CA
2001--Devil Rays--Dewon Brazelton--RHP--Middle Tennessee State U
2000--Cubs--Luis Montanez--SS--Miami, FL
1999--Tigers--Eric Munson--C--U. of Southern California
1998--Cubs--Corey Patterson--OF--Kennesaw, GA
1997--Angels--Troy Glaus--3B--UCLA
1996--Cardinals--Braden Looper--RHP--Wichita State U
1995--Mariners--Jose Cruz,Jr.--OF--Rice U
1994--Padres--Dustin Hermanson--RHP--Kent State U
1993--Angels--Brian Anderson--LHP--Wright State U
1992--Expos--Billy Wallace--LHP--Mississippi State U
1991--Twins--David McCarty--OF--Stanford U
1990--Phillies--Mike Lieberthal--C--Westlake, CA
1989--Mariners--Roger Salkeld--RHP--Saugus, CA
1988--Braves--Steve Avery--LHP--Taylor, MI
1987--Twins--Willie Banks--RHP--Jersey City, NJ
1986--Giants--Matt Williams--SS--U of Nevada-Las Vegas
1985--Rangers--Bobby Witt--RHP--U of Oklahoma
1984--Cubs--Drew Hall--LHP--Morehead State U
1983--Rangers--Jeff Kunkel--SS--Rider College
1982--Padres--Jimmy Jones--RHP--Dallas, TX
1981--Angels--Dick Schofield--SS--Springfield, IL
1980--Braves--Ken Dayley--LHP--U of Portland
1979--Blue Jays--Jay Schroeder--C--Pacific Palisades, CA
1978--Mets--Hubie Brooks--SS--Arizona State U
1977--Brewers--Paul Molitor--SS--U of Minnesota
1976--Braves--Ken Smith--3B--Youngstown, OH
1975--Tigers--Les Filkins--OF--Chicago, IL
1974--Phillies--Lonnie Smith--OF--Compton, CA
1973--Brewers--Robin Yount--SS--Woodland Hills, CA
1972--Phillies--Larry Christenson--RHP--Marysville, WA
1971--Brewers--Tom Bianco--SS--Elmont, NY
1970--Expos--Barry Foote--C--Smithfield, NC
1969--White Sox--Ted Nicholson--3B--Laurel, MS
1968--Astros--Marty Cott--C--Buffalo, NY
1967--Red Sox--Mike Garman--RHP--Caldwell, ID
1966--Astros--Wayne Twitchell--RHP--Portland, OR
1965--Senators--Joe Coleman--RHP--Natick, MA
Where are the recent picks?
Of the players selected this decade, last years third pick, Evan Longoria looks like a real gem for the Rays. The 21 year old is hitting .291 with 12 HR and 43 RBi for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits. Longoria has an impressive .937 OPS and looks like the Rays third sacker of the future.
Catcher Jeff Clement is playing for the Mariners AAA affiliate in Tacoma. He's hitting .246 with 7 HR and 25 RBi. Philip Humber has climbed all the way to the Mets AAA team in New Orleans. He is 5-4 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.
The three pitchers taken with the third overall pick between 2001 and 2003 have not had much success. Kyle Sleeth is struggling in the bullpen for the AA and high A ball clubs in the Tigers system. Chris Gruler blew his arm out after being drafted by the Reds. He was released in February and never made it out of low-A ball in his minor league career. Dewon Brazelton is struggling at AAA Omaha (Royals). He's 0-4 with a 7.11 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP in 4 starts. The brightside for Brazelton is it is the Royals, so he's only a few good starts away from the KC rotation.
Importance of early rounds
On Tuesday's crappy/unpopular blog comments 1060w guru gaius marius pointed out the importance of the first few rounds of the MLB draft. On Opening Day 2007, 650 players on Opening Day Rosters (including the DL) were selected in the MLB Draft. Here are the number of MLB players from the first 11 rounds of the draft:
147 Picks#1-30
69 Picks#31-60
47 Picks#61-90
37 Picks#91-120
40 5th Round
33 6th Round
23 7th Round
31 8th Round
12 9th Round
16 10th Round
20 11th Round
After the 11th round the numbers fall off quickly. Here is the link to the full list for all the drafted players at MLB.com. As gm stated in his commenst the early rounds are of great importance. To answer Klute's question about how many players come from other countries. 246 of the 849 MLB players were born outside of the states.
MLB Draft coverage on 1060west...just like Wilken, we have no idea
Our crappy coverage continues all week
Tuesday: Cub first round picks through the years
Today: Overall number three picks through the years
Thursday Morning: An inexact science
Thursday Afternoon: It's a live open forum
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