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MLB: MLB Draft: Best #1 Pitcher in the last 15 years?

mplscyclone

mplscyclone

Well-Known Member
Jul 8, 2008
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Ames, IA
Hey all,

With the MLB draft and all of the Strasburg hype, I thought I'd list the #1 picks who were pitchers to see how they panned out:



1973: David Clyde
1976: Floyd Bannister
1981: Mike Moore
1983: Tim Belcher
1988: Andy Benes
1989: Ben McDonald
1991: Brien Taylor
1994: Paul Wilson
1996: Kris Benson
1997: Matt Anderson
2002: Bryan Bullington
2006: Luke Hochevar
2007: David Price

This list has some good names and some busts, but none were franchise-changing for the better, none were HOF, and I don't know if any were All-Stars. I think Hochevar and Price cannot be judged yet.

History and hype are not on Strasburg's side. He's going to have tremendous pressure and MLB hitters will make adjustments to him. For his sake, I hope he's able to re-adjust to that.

EDIT: I realize the thread name is wrong. I meant to change it to "Of All Time" instead of "last 15 years"
 
Last edited:
Belcher had a long and decent career but I agree that Benes is probably the best one.
 
Where's the best place to track who's being drafted?
Any idea on Iowa kids? I know the best H.S. prospect is probably the Koch kid from Cherokee.
 
I remember back in the early-mid 90's when the Mets had Paul Wilson, Jason Isringhausen and Bill Pulsipher. All three threw in the upper 90s and they were billed as the second coming of Atlanta's "3 Aces" of Maddux, Glavine & Smoltz.
 
Mitch Mormann grew up near me, he got picked in the 17th round this year and is projected to go much higher than that.

Currently playing in Cape Cod for the summer and slated to go to LSU if he doesn't sign with anyone.
 
mplscyclone said:
Hey all,

With the MLB draft and all of the Strasburg hype, I thought I'd list the #1 picks who were pitchers to see how they panned out:



1973: David Clyde
1976: Floyd Bannister
1981: Mike Moore
1983: Tim Belcher
1988: Andy Benes
1989: Ben McDonald
1991: Brien Taylor
1994: Paul Wilson
1996: Kris Benson
1997: Matt Anderson
2002: Bryan Bullington
2006: Luke Hochevar
2007: David Price

This list has some good names and some busts, but none were franchise-changing for the better, none were HOF, and I don't know if any were All-Stars. I think Hochevar and Price cannot be judged yet.

History and hype are not on Strasburg's side. He's going to have tremendous pressure and MLB hitters will make adjustments to him. For his sake, I hope he's able to re-adjust to that.

EDIT: I realize the thread name is wrong. I meant to change it to "Of All Time" instead of "last 15 years"
Click to expand...
You could probably add Mark Prior to that list as he would have gone #1 if it wasn't for concerns with signability.

There are some real "whatever happened to..." names on that list.
 
I saw Ben McDonald pitch in the college world series and I've been inundated with Strasburg coverage here in San Diego. Strasburg reminds me a lot of McDonald. I hope he has a better career.
 
djcubby said:
There are some real "whatever happened to..." names on that list.
Click to expand...

The list for position players looks a lot better during that time frame. But Bannister, Moore, and Benes were the only All-Stars from that list.

Over that time frame though, there have been 14 All-Stars drafted with the first pick overall, 11 of them position players, including Harold Baines, Ken Griffey, Chipper Jones, A-Rod, Josh Hamilton, and Joe Mauer.
 
djcubby said:
You could probably add Mark Prior to that list as he would have gone #1 if it wasn't for concerns with signability.

There are some real "whatever happened to..." names on that list.
Click to expand...

I still won't put Prior as a #1... It's not my fault that the Twins were smart enough to not pay a pitcher $10+ mil before doing anything. Still, even if you throw him in the list, that's just another bust.....

My point is that there hasn't been a #1 Pitcher EVER to end up being all that great. Just something to think about when spending $50+ mil on a pitcher who hasn't thrown an MLB pitch yet....
 
djcubby said:
You could probably add Mark Prior to that list as he would have gone #1 if it wasn't for concerns with signability.

There are some real "whatever happened to..." names on that list.
Click to expand...

The only thing that Prior had going for him was being closer to MLB ready. This also works against him as you have to factor in the arm abuse that college pitchers have to endure. Mauer has proven to be the right pick and would also be so even without the injury factor.

If you want to bring up signability, then remove Belcher from the list. He was a head scratcher #1 pick who only ended up there because he was considered signable. He turned out to have a big league arm and developed into a decent pitcher, but his stats going into the draft were very questionable.
 
Benson is probably the biggest "winner" of any in that group so far...

120540720_f742db55a9_o.jpg
 
price26 said:
Mitch Mormann grew up near me, he got picked in the 17th round this year and is projected to go much higher than that.

Currently playing in Cape Cod for the summer and slated to go to LSU if he doesn't sign with anyone.
Click to expand...
I'm confused, you mean last year, right? Has it gotten to 17th round already?
 
Decent draft for the Sox so far, not great. Would have liked to have seen them take Rex Brothers round 1 but I'm coming around on Jared Mitchell (in the av.) This draft becomes a lot better if they can sign Trayce Thompson. Phegley from Indiana will be nice - another power bat at C to push Flowers.
 
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