Now it's virtually impossible to turn every high draft choice into a major league all-star. In baseball it takes three, four or more years for a pick to even make his debut in the bigs. So much can happen in that timeframe that a bust or two are bound to happen. The objective is not to let this go on for years on end like the Detroit Tigers did throughout the 90s and early part of this decade.
Looking back at the Tigers’ first-round draft choices from the last 20 years it's obvious why they were so horrible. Since 1989 the Tigers have had four winning seasons (two in the last three) and nine 90-plus loss seasons with four of those over 100 losses.
Not counting this year’s pick, of their 19 first-round picks (none in 1991), the Tigers have had 12 busts. Two had average careers, one is an all-star, two were traded for a superstar and two are in their rookie seasons in Detroit.
The Busts: (Year selected, name, position, pick) All are MLB stats.
1989, Greg Gohr, P, 21st.
Gohr pitched for four years going 8-11 with a 6.21 ERA.
1992, Rick Greene, P, 16th.
Greene never pitched for Detroit, and only one game with Cincinnati.
1993, Matt Brunson, SS, 9th.
Brunson never played in the majors.
1994, Cade Gaspar, P, 18th.
Gaspar never played in the majors.
1995, Mike Drumright, P, 11th.
Drumright never pitched in the majors. He once was a very highly ranked prospect before throwing 150 pitches in a game. The result was an injured arm, fired manager and an early retirement.
1996, Seth Greisinger, P, 6th.
Greisinger showed some promise in two seasons with Detroit until arm injuries ruined his career.
1997, Matt Anderson, P, 1st.
Anderson could throw 100 mph and saved 22 games for the Tigers in 2001. He pitched seven years in the majors before, yes, an arm injury ended his career. The injury occurred while throwing an octopus during a fundraiser with the Red Wings and Tigers. Had he not been a #1 pick I might have given him the status of an average career.
1999, Eric Munson, C, 3rd.
Munson played five years in Detroit although the most he played in a season was 109 games. He did hit 37 homeruns over the 2003-04 seasons before ending his career elsewhere. Like Anderson, the third pick in the draft should help you out more the he did.
2000, Matt Wheatland, P, 8th.
Wheatland never pitched in the majors because of arm injuries. He did receive a few million to sign with Detroit out of high school.
2001, Kenny Baugh, P, 11th.
Again arm injuries ended the career of a Tigers first-round draft choice. Baugh did pitch for the Whitecaps.
2002, Scott Moore, SS, 8th.
Moore never wore a Tigers uniform but did reach the majors briefly with Chicago (NL) and Baltimore.
2003, Kyle Sleeth, P, 3rd.
Sleeth never reached the bigs due to, yes, arm injuries.
The Average: (Year selected, name, position, pick) All are MLB stats.
1990, Tony Clark, OF, 2nd.
Clark was an above average Tiger for a few years. In seven seasons with Detroit Clark hit 30 plus homeruns three times, with100 RBI twice. Clark is still playing with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
1998, Jeff Weaver, P, 14th.
Weaver was the ace on some horrible teams. He spent four years in Detroit, nine overall, going 93-114 with a 4.72 ERA. Weaver was involved in a three-team trade that netted the Tigers Jeremy Bonderman. Currently the only Weaver in the majors is Jeff's brother Jared.
The Star: (Year selected, name, position, pick) All are MLB stats.
2004, Justin Verlander, P, 2nd.
I don't think an explanation is needed. After a bad third year, JV is back to normal. Normal meaning dominating games and winning.
Too Early to Tell: (Year selected, name, position, pick) All are MLB stats.
2005, Cameron Maybin, OF, 10th.
Maybin, traded to Florida for Miguel Cabrera, is a five-tool prospect currently bouncing back and forth between the minors and majors.
2006, Andrew Miller, P, 6th.
Miller, also traded to Florida for Cabrera, is in the rotation with a 2-2 record and a 4.30 ERA. For his career he's 13-18 with a 5.49 ERA.
2007, Rick Porcello, P, 27th.
Porcello soon could be added to the stars list. In his rookie season (only 20 years old) Porcello is 6-4 with a 3.98 ERA.
2008, Ryan Perry, P, 21st.
Perry for the time being is in Toledo. He spent most of the season in Detroit. In 23 innings, Perry has 22 K's with 5 holds and a 3.13 ERA. Once he gets his control (19 walks) fine-tuned, Perry will be a fixture in the Tigers bullpen. Quite possibly the future closer.
Overall the last four or five years under President Dave Dombrowski the Tigers have improved their fortunes with good draft choices. Not just in the first round, but throughout the draft. The result is a better product on the field.
As for the most recent draft, only time will tell. Being a high draft choice with a large signing bonus doesn't guarantee a major league career. Hopefully the Tigers wrapped up another stellar draft this week.
Keywords: Detroit Tigers, MLB Baseball, MLB draft
