First-Year Player Draft History

Draft Report: 2000s

The Florida Marlins made Adrian Gonzalez of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, CA the first overall selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft. Gonzalez, who was rated as the best pure high school hitter in the draft by Baseball America, was the first high school first baseman taken first overall since the New York Yankees chose Ron Blomberg in 1967. In his senior year, Gonzalez hit .645 with 13 home runs and 34 RBI.

Among the college players chosen was David Parrish, son of former major leaguer Lance Parrish, by the New York Yankees with the 28th pick. In addition, David Espinosa, a high school shortstop from Miami, FL, became the first RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) alumnus ever selected in the first round of the draft.

Infielder Xavier Nady, second round pick of the San Diego Padres out of the University of California, went straight to the Major Leagues in 2000. He became the 19th player to do so since the draft started in 1965.

First Round

2001

The Minnesota Twins selected St. Paul, MN native Joe Mauer with the number one pick in the 2001 draft. The 18-year-old Mauer, a catcher from Cretin High School in St. Paul, became the seventh Minnesotan to be selected in the first round and the first to be chosen number one overall. The switch-hitting back-stop was a member of the USA Junior National Team and won a gold medal at the world tournament in Taiwan in 1999. He was also a High School football standout as a quarterback and signed a letter of intent to play football at Florida State University before being drafted.

Right-handed pitcher Mark Prior of the University of Southern California was selected by the Chicago Cubs with the second overall pick in the draft. Prior, who was previously selected in the supplemental first round of the 1998 draft by the Yankees, was the first college player chosen in the 2001 draft. Prior won numerous National Player of the Year awards after going 15-1 with a 1.69 ERA and 202 strikeouts to lead the Trojans to a College World Series berth in his junior year.

First Round

2002

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected 21-year-old right-handed pitcher Bryan Bullington with the first overall pick in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft. The 6'5", 225-pound hurler was ranked by Baseball America as having the best breaking ball and best command among all college pitchers.

In his three-year career at Ball State, Bullington posted a 29-11 record, 13 complete games and a 3.36 ERA in 46 games (42 starts). He is the university's all-time leader in strikeouts (357) and was a member of the 2001 USA National team. As a freshman, Bullington garnered all-conference honors and led the MAC in strikeouts. He was also named MAC Pitcher-of-the-Year for 2001 and 2002. Bullington set a MAC record in strikeouts and led the league in victories and ERA in 2002.

Other notable selections in the first round included Prince Fielder (Brewers), son of former Major Leaguer Cecil Fielder; and John Mayberry Jr. (Mariners), son of former Major Leaguer John Mayberry.

First Round

2003

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected Camarillo High School outfielder Delmon Young with the first overall pick.

Young (6-3, 205 pounds) batted .541 (33-for-61) with seven home runs, 28 RBI in 22 games as a senior this spring for Camarillo. He was named Baseball America's High School Player of the Year in 2002 and was one of only three juniors selected as first team 2002 All-Americans. He became the first junior to be named California State Player of the Year since Eric Chavez in 1995.

At the World Junior Championships in Sherbrooke, Quebec, he helped lead Team USA to a bronze medal while batting .513 with a tournament-record eight home runs and 19 RBI in 38 at-bats.

The 17-year-old Young is the younger brother of Dmitri Young of the Detroit Tigers, who was an expansion draft pick of the Rays, but never played in the organization. They became the first set of brothers to be taken within the first five selections of the draft. Dmitri was the 4th player selected by the Cardinals in the 1991 draft.

Pitchers Ryan Wagner (Cincinnati), Chad Cordero (Montreal), David Aardsma (San Francisco) and infielder Rickie Weeks (Milwaukee) all reached the Major League level in less than a year.

First Round

2004

The San Diego Padres stayed close to home with the first overall pick of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft, tabbing high school shortstop Matthew Bush from Mission Bay (CA) High School. Bush, the first high school shortstop taken first overall since the Seattle Mariners chose Alex Rodriguez in 1993, batted .450 with 11 home runs, 35 RBI and 12 stolen bases during his senior year. The 18-year-old helped lead the Buccaneers to two San Diego Section Division III championships in three years, setting state records for career hits (211) and runs scored (188) in the process.

Pitchers from Rice University were the most popular choices in the early going of the draft. Three Owl hurlers went among the top eight selections.

The 2004 amateur draft saw 31 players drafted whose fathers played professional baseball at some point in their career. One such player was the Pittsburgh's top pick, Neil Walker, the son of former Expos pitcher Tom Walker. In addition, two younger brothers of Major Leaguers went in the first round. The Angels selected Jered Weaver, brother of Dodgers right-hander Jeff. The Arizona Diamondbacks went with Stephen Drew, brother of J.D. and Tim.

First Round

2005

The D-backs used the top overall pick on high school shortstop Justin Upton and thus made him and older brother, B.J., the highest selected pair of brothers in the history of the draft. The Devil Rays selected B.J. with the second overall pick of the 2002 draft. With the fourth overall pick, the Nationals chose one of Upton's AAU teammates, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman of the University of Virginia. Zimmerman and B.J. Upton played in the same AAU infield as New York Mets third baseman David Wright in their youth.

College third basemen accounted for three of the top five selections. A total of 13 pitchers went in the first round, 10 of whom came from the college ranks.

Rice pitcher Wade Townsend was the eighth overall pick in the first round for the second straight year. After failing to reach terms with the Orioles last year, Townsend re-entered the draft pool and was selected by Tampa Bay.

Three 2005 first-round draft choices saw action before the conclusion of the Major League season. Atlanta's Joey Devine became the first Brave since Bob Horner in 1978 to appear in the Majors the same year he was drafted. Devine joined Ariel Prieto (OAK-1995), Chad Cordero (MON-2003) and Ryan Wagner (CIN-2003) as the only draftees of the last 15 years to reach the Majors before September 1st the same year. Zimmerman and Boston's Craig Hansen joined their Major League clubs in September 2005.

Stanford outfielder John Mayberry, the son of the longtime Major League first baseman of the same name, was drafted by the Rangers with the 19th overall pick.

2006

Pitching accounted for 18 of the 30 selections in the first round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, including the top choice, righthander Luke Hochevar, who was chosen by the Kansas City Royals. The University of Tennessee product pitched for the Fort Worth Cats of the Independent League after not reaching terms with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who selected him in the sandwich round (40th overall) of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft.

Six of the first seven picks and nine of the first 12 selections were pitchers. In addition to the 18 hurlers, seven outfielders, three third basemen and two catchers made up the rest of the first round.

The first six picks were from the college ranks. University of North Carolina pitchers Andrew Miller (6th overall, Tigers) and Daniel Bard (28th, Red Sox) and University of Texas teammates Drew Stubbs (8th overall, Reds) and Kyle McCulloch (29th, White Sox) went in the first round.

Detroit’s Miller would become the first player from the 2006 Draft to reach the Major Leagues. He debuted in relief during a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on August 30. He would make eight relief appearances for the Tigers during their pennant-winning season.

Kyle Drabek, the son of longtime Major League pitcher Doug Drabek, was chosen by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 18th pick.

2007

When 17 high school players were selected in the opening round of the First-Year Player Draft, it seemed as if the young would rule the two days at Disney World. But as the second day of the Draft unfolded, it became apparent that the new rules eliminating draft-and-follows as well those setting a firm signing date for draftees were having an impact on the proceedings.

When the 1,453rd and final pick was made, there were some significant changes in the approach to drafting high school players. For starters, there were only 476 prep players chosen, which represents the lowest total since 415 high school players were chosen in 1987. It was also only the second time in the past two decades that the number of high school players chosen dipped below 500.

There were 66 fewer prep players chosen than last year. In addition, high school players represented only 32.7 percent of those drafted, which is the lowest percentage since 32.8 percent of players chosen in 1987 came from the prep ranks.

2008

Georgia high school shortstop Tim Beckham grabbed the top spot in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, but all 30 clubs went college heavy in the 50-round affair, and a record-tying 21 collegiate players were chosen in the first round -- an indication of what was to come. Only 485 prep players were selected out of the 1,504 names that were called, the 485 prep players drafted representing the second-lowest total in 21 years. High school players represented 32.2 percent of the players drafted, the lowest since 32.8 percent of the players selected in 1987 came from the prep ranks.

Vanderbilt third baseman Pedro Alvarez was the obvious choice at No. 2 and, despite the prospect of a hefty bonus and the possibility of a Major League contract, the Pirates took him. For the third straight Draft, the Royals took a Boras-advised player with their first pick, selecting first baseman Eric Hosmer from American Heritage High School in Florida. The Giants took Buster Posey at No. 5 overall despite huge demands being floated in the hours prior to the Draft, and the Reds took Yonder Alonso at No. 7 because they believed he was the best player on their board, ignoring what many thought was a high price tag.

2009

The Draft enjoyed its prime-time television debut in 2009, with the first round broadcast live from MLB Network's Studio 42, and expanded to a three-day affair for the first time. The excitement that built in the weeks leading into the Draft about presumptive first overall pick Stephen Strasburg, the San Diego State star, came to a peak when Commissioner Bud Selig announced that, indeed, the Washington Nationals had taken the 21-year-old wunderkind with that pick.

The first night was certainly not lacking in star power, as Commissioner Selig read off the names of the 32 first-round picks and a host of baseball luminaries -- including Hall of Famers Al Kaline, Billy Williams and the irrepressible Tommy Lasorda -- announced the rest of the picks. One of the night's highlights was the warm welcome afforded to New Jersey prep outfielder Mike Trout, who was on hand at Studio 42 with a host of family and friends. When the Angels took him with the 25th overall pick, the room erupted in cheers as he strode to the podium to receive his first Angels cap and jersey from Commissioner Selig.

The first round was a perfect split: 16 pitchers and 16 position players; 16 polished college products and 16 promising high school prospects. A total of 1,521 players were drafted and, again, nearly an even split: 765 pitchers, 756 hitters.

Second overall pick Dustin Ackley, regarded as the top college bat in the Draft, was taken by Seattle. Rounding out 2009's top five picks were: Five-tool outfielder Donavan Tate, the first high school player taken, who went third overall to San Diego; polished Boston College catcher Tony Sanchez, the No. 4 pick by Pittsburgh; and right-hander Matt Hobgood from Norco (Calif.) High School, the first high school pitcher off the board at No. 5 by Baltimore.