Review of the 2001 Baseball Draft
by John Sickels on May 7, 2008 5:34 PM EDT
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PrintHere's a review of the 2001 Baseball Draft.
1) Twins: Joe Mauer, C, Minnesota HS: He's had some injury problems but when healthy he's excellent, and picking the "affordable" hometown choice over Mark Prior turned out to be the right move.
2) Cubs: Mark Prior, RHP, USC: He proved he could be a very effective major league pitcher until his arm fell off. "Perfect" mechanics weren't enough to save him.
3) Devil Rays: Dewon Brazelton, RHP, Middle Tennessee State: Scouts loved his arm but warned that he needed a better breaking ball. He never developed it.
4) Phillies: Gavin Floyd, RHP, Maryland HS: Erratic, has had flashes of good performance but hasn't been able to put it together yet.
5) Rangers: Mark Teixeira, 3B, Georgia Tech: Consensus best hitter available turned into a really great hitter.
6) Expos: Josh Karp, RHP, UCLA: He threw hard but never lived up to expectations in college. This remained true as a pro, undone by command issues and injury.
7) Orioles: Chris Smith, LHP, Cumberland University: Small college guy did nothing in the pros.
8) Pirates: John VanBenschoten, RHP-OF, Kent State: The Pirates made him a pitcher when most everyone else thought he should be a hitter. Injuries cost him his fastball, in this case consensus was probably right.
9) Royals: Colt Griffin, RHP, Texas HS: The Royals were seduced by a 100 MPH high school fastball that was never replicated in the pros. Injuries, command problems, loss of velocity, and bad makeup made this a pick to be regretted.
10) Astros: Chris Burke, SS, Tennessee: He has been disappointing, but I don't think the Astros handled him well and under different circumstances I think he could have developed.
11) Tigers: Ken Baugh, RHP, Rice: Ruined by injuries.
12) Brewers: Mike Jones, RHP, Arizona HS: Ruined by injuries.
13) Angels: Casey Kotchman, 1B, Florida HS: On his way to an excellent career.
14) Padres: Jake Gautreau, 3B, Tulane: Injuries, including intestinal problems and skin cancer, were issues. Bat topped out in Triple-A.
15) Blue Jays: Gabe Gross, OF, Auburn: Developed into a reserve outfielder, platoon guy, and pinch-hitter.
16) White Sox: Kris Honel, RHP, Illinois HS: Injuries, loss of velocity and confidence.
17) Indians: Dan Denham, RHP, California HS: Command issues, injuries.
18) Mets; Aaron Heilman, RHP, Notre Dame: A solid major league reliever.
19) Orioles: Mike Fontenot, 2B, LSU: A solid major league infielder.
20) Reds: Jeremy Sowers, LHP, Kentucky HS: Did not sign
21) Giants: Brad Hennessey, RHP, Youngstown State: A solid major league reliever.
22) Diamondbacks: Jason Bulger, RHP, Valdosta State: Injuries and command problems.
23) Yankees: John-Ford Griffin, OF, Florida State. Was supposed to be a pure hitter, .300+ guy with some power. Instead he developed into a Triple-A slugger with a low batting average.
24) Braves: Macay McBride, LHP, Georgia HS: Has had some success as a major league reliever.
25) Athletics: Bobby Crosby, SS, Long Beach State: Moments of success, but hitting has been dragged down by injuries.
26) Athletics: Jeremy Bonderman, RHP, Washington HS: Traded quickly, has had flashes of dominance but still putting his game together. At worst an inning-eating starter.
27) Indians: Alan Horne, RHP, Florida HS: Didn't sign. Now a prospect in Yankees system.
28) Cardinals: Justin Pope, RHP, University of Central Florida: Injuries.
29) Braves: Josh Burrus, SS, Georgia HS: Tools, raw, never learned to hit.
30) Giants: Noah Lowry, LHP, Pepperdine: A solid major league starter.
Other picks of note:
38) Mets: David Wright, 3B, Virginia HS: When all is said and done, could be the best player in the draft.
56) Brewers: J.J. Hardy, SS, Arizona HS
72) Cardinals: Dan Haren, RHP, Pepperdine: Obviously excellent.
5th round, Phillies, Ryan Howard, 1B, Southwest Missouri State; 5th round, Cubs, Brendan Harris, 2B, William and Mary; 5th round, Rangers, C.J. Wilson, LHP, Loyola Marymount; 7th round, Athletics, Dan Johnson, 1B, University of Nebraska; 8th round: Red Sox: Kevin Youkilis, 3B, University of Cincinnati; 9th round, Indians, Luke Scott, OF, Oklahoma State; 11th round: Arizona: Dan Uggla, 2B, University of Memphis; 11th round, Cubs, Geovany Soto, C, Puerto Rico HS.
Obviously the '01 draft wasn't a great one in the first round. You have the usual injury attrition for pitchers, both high school and college. Mauer and Teixeira are great. Wright, a supplemental pick, could be the best guy of all. And you have a terrific power hitter lasting until the 5th round in Ryan Howard. The draft day scoop on Howard was that he had enormous raw power but struck out too much, didn't field well, and wasn't as dominant as he needed to be for Southwest Missouri.
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The Best Pitcher
And the best pitcher of this draft is probably Dan Haren, a second round pick by the cards
#269
haren
yeah, i don’t know he wasn’t one of the “other picks of note.”
cardinals
its too bad, the cardinals make one of the best picks in the draft and then blow it by giving him away for a washed up mark mulder.
if i am a GM
I make it a point to never trade with Beane. For every not so great trade he makes there are others where he just hoses the other team.
Oh, I dunno
The Braves don’t seem to mind much. :-)
braves
that’s the worst part. the braves give up nothing and get tim hudson, and the cardinals have to give up an ace and an everyday player to get mulder. those packages weren’t even close, and the two players were pretty much equal in talent at the time of the trades.
That's why I love the accounts of him dealing with Steve Phillips in Moneyball...
everytime I see him on ESPN, I think “Why would I ever listen to a thing you say?”
Perfect machanics
I always thought Prior had funky mechanics. Herky-jerky motion, all arms and legs. I wonder where the idea that he had perfect mechanics came from. I’ve heard it and read it many times, but it didn’t jive with my observations.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
Reading the whole list
It’s a myth that that was a great draft. I know going in, scouts said it was the best draft in 20 years. Only a handful of these guys have long major league careers ahead of them.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
Actually i think the observations about the top level talent were fairly correct
You can’t expect scouts to predict Prior showing all kinds of talent and then going to crap after a couple years. If Prior had maintained the performance he showed early in the bigs you could have two MVP-type players and a Cy Young in the top 5. That ain’t bad. And Floyd has shown enough that the idea of him becoming a quality MLBer is a reasonable one.
As for Brazleton i think his confidence let him down as much, or more, than a lack of breaking ball.
And then of course there are some other young could-be stars further down (Kotchman, bonderman) in the first round plus some ‘solid ballplayer’ types.
I think this draft also proves the adage of ‘every draft has about the same talent, it just isn’t always seen” when you look at David Wright in the supp round, Hardy in rd 2, Haren in the 70s and an MVP in round 5
by nms on May 8, 2008 6:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah!
Herky-jerky motion, all arms and legs.
Exactly, he needed to use more spleen and chest hair in his delivery.
Expression
Not familiar with the expression: He’s all arms and legs? I’ve heard it applied to tall lanky guys without smooth deliveries who throw across their bodies a little. Jack McDowell, for example. That’s who I thought of when I watched Prior pitch.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
I find it interesting
that Billy Beane took Dan Johnson in the 7th round when Kevin Youkilis went in the 8th. For years Beane tried to acquire Youk, but he thought that Johnson was better back in 2001?
I won’t criticize him for a “mistake” when it comes to 7th/8th round picks or anything, but it’s very curious that he missed out on Youk and took a similar, but much worse, player earlier.
http://bocropleasestopswingingatbadpitches.blogspot.com/
by thejd44 on May 8, 2008 3:58 PM EDT reply actions
I assume they wanted both
Beane and the A’s probably wanted both, the info they had probably said Johnson was the player that teams would most likely take first, so they prolly took Johnson 7 assuming Youk would still be there in the 8th and they would get both.
LOL
Bean is infallible, therefore, perceived mistake is really just bad luck. That’s rich. We’re talking about the 7th and 8th round. If they wanted both of them, they could have picked them in the 6th and 7th round.
"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot
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