Season 1 Draft Review

With the Amateur Draft having just finished, I was curious about how some historical draft classes have fared, and what changes would have occurred knowing everything after the fact.  My plan is to review all of the first round picks (including Type D picks), but not the Supplemental Round picks for now.  Ideally, I would like to get to within 10 seasons of the current season, and have this be an annual lookback of 10 seasons prior.  Then I might expand to more picks.

It makes sense to start at the beginning, so let's recap the Season 1 draft!  There are technically still 5 players active from the original draft, but all 5 are in the minors and 4 of the 5 have never played in the major leagues.  I'm including the actual team name who made the pick, and the current city of the franchise in parentheses as of Season 23, if the team has changed cities.  One thing to note about Season 1 is that it was the first season of two worlds merging together, so the draft order was randomized for this year.

I'll be honest, this draft class seems fairly weak, but once I review other classes I'll have a better idea.  It definitely lacks superstar talent, but there were some players that had mostly solid careers.  Ten players ended up with at least one All Star appearance, with half of those receiving multiple trips.  Four 1st round picks received at least one Silver Slugger award and three won a Gold Glove.

1. Atlanta Major Duckies (Wichita) - Gregorio Blanco (3B)

• 2x All Star, 1x Silver Slugger 2B
• Blanco was a dependable 3B who excelled against left handed pitching, but was wasn't as successful against righties.  He finished his career with 1,546 hits, 246 HRs, 769 RBIs and a slash line of 0.263/0.334/0.439.  A pretty good player overall, but definitely taken too high at #1 overall.

2. Fresno Fuego (Anaheim) - Yoervis Almora (P)

• 3x All Star, 2x Gold Glove P
• Was an All Star in Season 6 and then had a 12-year gap between his next two All Star appearances
• He was traded twice in the early part of his career, including for HOF candidate Chadd Kendrick.  Almora was a very dependable SP for Iowa City for 13 seasons and won 192 games in his career to the tune of a 3.55 ERA.  He also struck out 2,581 batters for his career.  A fairly solid pick at #2.

3. Norfolk Sellswords (Baltimore) - Terry Leius (P)

• Leuis did not sign, and Norfolk did not receive a Type D pick.  It's very likely that Norfolk was in win-now mode, having a player budget of $125M and a prospect budget of only $6M.  It almost worked out for them as they made it to the World Series, but they ultimately fell to Seattle in 7 games.  They didn't sign any picks from the first 10 rounds of this draft.

4. Toronto Schmenges - Robb Grieve (C)

• 6x All Star, 1x Gold Glove C, 1x HRD Champ
• With the #4 pick, Toronto found a catcher that would be on their roster for 14 seasons in Grieve.  He would play two more seasons elsewhere to to finish a very solid career.  He amassed 1,760 hits, 369 HRs, 1,061 RBIs with a slash line of 0.288/0.351/0.514.  He also threw out 36% of stolen base attempts for his career, showing his prowess on both offense and defense.  Grieve turned out to be a great pick for Toronto at #4.

5. Cincinnati Red Stockings (Salt Lake City) - Curt Simms (P)

• 1x All Star
• Simms spent six seasons with the Cincinnati/Salt Lake City franchise before getting released and moving on to a couple other teams.  He was a serviceable pitcher for his career, finishing with just over 100 wins and a 4.26 ERA in a 12-year career.

6. Jackson Schlemiels - Giomar Azocar (P)

• 1x All Star
• Azocar started his 12-year career with Jackson, and that's where he had most of his success with three sub-4 ERA seasons and played in his only All Star game.  He was traded in his 5th year in the majors and he was never the same.  He would only once achieve a sub-4 ERA (3.99) in his remaining seasons, and finished his career with a 4.56 ERA.

7. Houston Astros - Ahmad Barney (3B)

• 4x All Star, 3x Silver Slugger 3B, Hit for the Cycle x2
• Ahmad Barney was a solid all around 3B for Houston for several seasons, and was part of their championship winning team in Season 7.  He was an All Star for 4 straight seasons (6-9) and won his 3 Silver Slugger awards during that stretch.  He spent the final 5 years of his 13-season career with other teams.  He wasn't as successful there, but his OPS never dropped below 0.730 for any individual season.  His final slash line was 0.274/0.339/0.495 with 1,741 hits and 347 HRs.  Houston got tremendous value with this pick.

8. Pittsburgh Saints (London) - James Bergen (P)

• 3x All Star, 1x Fireman of the Year
• He's lacking in accolades, but James Bergen was a fantastic reliever for several teams.  In a little over 1,400 IP, Bergen struck out 1,295 batters and finished his career with a 1.15 WHIP and 3.13 ERA.  Charlotte was the team that allowed Bergen to win awards by using him exclusively as a closer, and he made the all star team for three straight seasons.  Another tremendous value pick, given how effective Bergen was his entire career.

9. Arizona Artists - Cal Jordan (P)

• No awards
• Jordan was traded to Kansas City before making it to the majors and spent half of his career there.  He never put up fantastic numbers, but was good enough to pitch for 14 seasons with a 4.28 ERA.

10. Los Angeles Legends (Kansas City) - Roscoe Kramer (P)

• 1x All Star
• Kramer played for 7 different teams in a 9-year career, and he had some ups and downs in that time.  His best season came in Season 14 when current day Chicago got a fantastic showing from Kramer leading to his only All Star game.  He finished his career with a 4.86 ERA, winning 65 games and losing 67.

11. New York Creasy Bear (Sioux Falls) - Lester Rojas (COF)

• No awards
• Rojas was a decent hitter, but never had an OPS over 0.800 in his career, finishing with a career slash line of 0.265/0.327/0.391.  

12. Austin Jiveturkeys - Tomas Espinosa (P)

• Espinosa ended up not signing, and Austin received a Type D pick in the Season 2 draft

13. Washington D.C. Rebels (New York-NL) - J.D. Kluber (3B)

• 1x Gold Glove 3B
• Kluber was known for his glove rather than his bat as his career slash line was a meager 0.253/0.308/0.377.  He was definitely a plus defender who only won one Gold Glove award, but could have managed to win more in the right seasons.

14. Anaheim Angels (Salem) - Alvin Manship (P)

• Rookie of the Year, 1x All Star
• In his rookie year, Alvin Manship was 18-9 with a 3.12 ERA winning Rookie of the Year and making the All Star team.  That was his best year though as he failed to replicate that success for his entire career.  That being said, his final numbers weren't too shabby, finishing with a 4.29 ERA and nearly 1,800 strikeouts.  There is just some disappointment given how it started for him.

15. Fargo Freaks (New York - AL) - Donn Trammell (1B/DH)

• No awards
• Trammell played a tough position to win awards, but he had pretty solid numbers for his entire career.  He had just over 2,000 hits and 359 HRs for his career with a final OPS of 0.806.

16. Kansas City Bush Leaguers (Philadelphia) - Garry Foulke

• Foulke never made it to the majors and is still swinging in the Arizona AAA system at 40 years young.

17. Montgomery Moonshiners (El Paso) - Jimmie Franklin

• No awards
• Franklin never had an ERA better than 4.34 and finished with a career ERA of 5.26, but he managed to keep getting roles with teams as he played for 11 seasons in the majors.

18. Seattle Totems - Endy James (C)

• James ended up not signing, and Seattle received a Type D pick in the Season 2 draft

19. Portland IPAs (Tacoma) - Eddie Craig (RF)

• Craig ended up not signing, and Portland received a Type D pick in the Season 2 draft

20. Montreal Marauders - Jay Bowman (SS)

• No awards
• Bowman spent 5 seasons in the majors after spending 11 seasons in the minors.  Good enough to play 3B, but probably overmatched at SS, he lacked the offense or defense to really stick around in the majors.

21. Louisville Laser Show (Texas) from Santa Cruz - Graham Gagne (P)

• No Hitter
• Gagne finished with a career ERA of 5.51 but somehow managed to throw a no hitter.  Go figure.

22. Jackson Schlemiels from New Orleans - Doug Ducey (RF)

• No awards
• Ducey spent his entire career with Jackson, finishing with a slash line of 0.263/0.329/0.471.  He played most of his career in RF where he had 1 "+" play and 54 "-" plays.  His defense could have been better, but his offense was good enough to overcome that when he did play.

23. Norfolk Sellswords (Baltimore) from Burlington - Phil Cannon

• Similar to pick #3, Norfolk did not sign pick #23

24. Augusta Admirals - Jarred Tresh (3B)

• No awards
• Tresh played most of his career at 3B where he had 1 "+" play to 33 "-" plays.  He was better served to play RF, but his offense really didn't justify it.  He finished with a career slash line of 0.257/0.320/0.425.

25. Sacramento Savages (Fresno) - Matt Sewell (P)

• No awards
• Only pitched 97 innings in the majors with an 8.48 ERA.

26. Monterrey Diablos Verdes (New Orleans) - Brandon Mays (3B)

• No awards
• Similar to Jarred Tresh, Mays was not good enough offensively to play RF and not good enough defensively to play 3B.  He finished his career with just 722 hits and 98 HRs and a slash line of 0.256/0.311/0.410.

27. Trenton Diamond Stars (Cincinnati) - Sam Richard (3B/COF)

• 1x All Star, 1x Silver Slugger RF, Hit for the Cycle
• Sam Richard carved out a really solid career and was good value at pick #27.  He finished his career with 1,849 hits and 438 HRs.  He managed to receive some recognition late in his career with an All Star appearance in Season 14 and a Silver Slugger award in Season 16.

28. Iowa City Farmers - Angel Small (P)

• Played 16 years in the minors but never made it to the bigs.

29. Chicago Bears - Reid Greene (P)

• No awards
• Greene spent almost his entire career with Chicago and put up respectable numbers for the majority of his career.  In 1,500 IP, Greene won 75 games with an ERA of 4.34.  All things considered, a pretty solid pick for Chicago late in the 1st round.

30. Syracuse Frozen Yeti (Buffalo) - Rico Cortez (SS)

• Cortez only played 5 seasons for the minors before retiring.  It looks like he was stuck in High-A, and it's a shame because he definitely should have made it to the majors as a defensive utility player.  When he retired, Cortez had a speed rating of 99 and baserunning rating of 76, as well as a contact of 91, so he definitely would have found use on some teams.

31: Louisville Laser Show (Texas) - Bernard Hooper (2B)

• No awards
• He had all but 3 ABs in his 7-year major league career with Texas.  He was out of his depth at 2B, but his offense was pretty solid, finishing his career with an OPS of 0.772.

32. Chicago Eagles (Madison) - Cesar Benitez

• No awards
• Best known for his power, the last pick of the 1st round was Cesar Benitez who played for 13 seasons in the majors finishing with 359 HRs and a final slash line of 0.246/0.313/0.486.

Other Notable Picks:

34. Jackson Schlemiels - Darrell McCorley (P)

• McCorley spent 12 seasons in the majors, playing the majority of his career.  He started 269 games and appeared out of the bullpen in another 154.  His career ERA was an unimpressive 4.73, but he managed to do well enough to hang around the majors for awhile.

62. Sacramento Savages (Fresno) - Spencer Hellickson (SS)

• Never known for his bat, Hellickson was an excellent defender who finished his career with 66 "+" plays at SS to 1 "-" play.  He would win one Gold Glove at 3B later in his career.

65. Seattle Totems - Clay Perkins (RF)

• Mostly a platoon hitter, Perkins had a pretty good career finishing with a career OBP of 0.348 and 1,034 hits.

131. Montreal Marauders - Esteban Rondon (1B)

• The college senior was drafted but didn't sign with Montreal.  The following offseason, he signed with Fargo.  He mostly stuck in the minors until Charlotte traded for him in Season 8, where he spent the next 7 seasons.  He finished with 949 hits, 250 HRs, and a career OPS of 0.804.  Not bad for the 131st pick who was not a DITR.

329. Monterrey Diablos Verdes (New Orleans) - Brandon Mays (P) - DITR

• Only pitched 732 innings in his 8-year career, but Mays finished his career with a respectable 3.69 ERA.

384. Montgomery Moonshiners (El Paso) - Pedro Jacquez (P) - DITR

• In his 8-year career, Jacquez pitched 1,140 innings with an ERA of 4.33.  Not bad for a 12th round pick.

519. Augusta Admirals - Stan Workman (P) - DITR

• Augusta never gave him a chance, but after becoming a Rule 5 draft pick, Workman managed to pitch 10 years in the majors.  However, I'm not sure why as he had a 5.02 ERA.