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Value Added

How much have a decade of top MLB picks been worth?

THE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL draft, which starts on Thursday, is as much a cautionary tale as it is an opportunity for the worst teams—this year's top five picks belong to the Phillies, Reds, Braves, Rockies and Brewers—to turn their fortunes around. Below is a chart showing how long it took players drafted at spots 1 through 5 from 2000 to '09 to reach the majors, along with the total value those players produced for the teams that chose them, as measured by Wins Above Replacement.

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

PICK

YTRM*

WAR†

BEST PICK

WORST PICK

1

3.5

106.8

C Joe Mauer, 2001, Twins (49.5 WAR)

RHP Bryan Bullington, 2002, Pirates, (--0.3 WAR)

2

1.6

140.5

RHP Justin Verlander, 2004, Tigers (45.0)

RHP Greg Reynolds, 2006, Rockies (--1.8)

3

3.3

50.3

3B Evan Longoria, 2006, Rays (43.9)

Three players failed to reach majors

4

2.9

46.4

3B Ryan Zimmerman, 2005, Nats (35.2)

Mike Stodolka, 2000, Royals, (never reached MLB)

5

2.3

112.0

C Buster Posey, 2008, Giants (30.1)

Three players failed to reach majors

*YEARS TO REACH THE MAJORS; ONLY APPLIES TO PLAYERS WHO DID

†WINS ABOVE REPLACEMENT