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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
