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| Friday, June 2 | |||||
| The 1995 NL draft in review Special to ESPN.com | |||||
| It takes five years, at least, for the results of the yearly amateur draft to be fairly assessed. Let's take a look at the 1995 National League draft class.
Right now, this draft class doesn't look particularly impressive.
Atlanta As usual, the Braves focused on high school talent in this draft class. The Braves failed to sign first-round pick Chad Hutchinson, who ended up going to Stanford and is now a prospect in the Cardinals organization. Second-rounder Jim Scharrer, a high school first baseman from Pennsylvania, hasn't developed. Third-round pick Rob Bell, from high school in New York, was traded to the Reds, and is developing into an excellent pitcher. Fifth-round selection Kevin McGlinchy, from high school in Massachusetts, reached the majors faster than anticipated, and is solid when healthy. Bell and McGlinchy demonstrate Atlanta's ability to develop high school pitchers. They have had less success recently with position players. Chicago Cubs The Cubs were happy to grab Texas high school phenom Kerry Wood with the fourth-overall pick in the draft. I believe you may have heard of him. It's a good thing they picked Wood, because no one else they drafted has done much. Fifth-rounder Ismael Villegas, from Puerto Rico, and 55th-round pick Justin Speier, from Nicholls State, have chances to develop into competent middle relievers. If Wood overcomes his elbow problems, which looks like a pretty good bet at this point, the Cubs have to be happy. But the draft didn't do much to help the depth in the farm system. Cincinnati The Reds gave up their first-round pick to sign Damon Berryhill as a free agent. Damon Berryhill? This left Brett Tomko, their second-round pick out of Florida Southern, as their top draftee. He lost favor with the Reds last year and is now with Seattle, but he still has a chance for a successful career. Fifth-rounder Jason LaRue, a catcher from Dallas Baptist, is in Triple-A and would make a good platoon catcher for someone. Ray King, drafted in the eighth round, and Jeff Sparks, drafted in the 24th round, came from small colleges. Both might be able to help someone's bullpen. Not a great draft, but not awful, either, by 1995 standards. Colorado First-round pick Todd Helton, from Tennessee, is a star. He'll win a batting title and may threaten a Triple Crown someday soon. Second-round pick Ben Petrick, an athletic catcher from high school in Oregon, is the Rockies' top prospect in Triple-A. 23rd-round pick David Lee, from a small college in Pennsylvania, already exceeded the expectations of scouts by reaching the major leagues. 11th-round pick Scott Randall is now with Minnesota, but he is a strike-throwing right-handed starter who impressed Tom Kelly in spring training. He may get a shot later this year. In Helton and Petrick, the Rockies got a star and a probable major league regular. This makes it a successful draft. Florida Jaime Jones, drafted in the first round out of high school in San Diego, has been a massive disappointment. His smooth swing hasn't translated into good numbers at the plate in the minor leagues, and his attitude has been questioned. Second-round pick Nate Rolison, from high school in Mississippi, signed for a then-record bonus for his draft slot. He has hit OK in the high minors, but doesn't seem to fit in Florida's plans. Third-rounder Randy Winn has great speed, but was lost in the expansion draft to Tampa. The Marlins went heavily for high school players in this draft, without much success. Houston First-round pick Tony McKnight's arm was overused in high school. He has been effective at times as a pro, but is still just in Double-A. He might contribute, but stardom looks unlikely. Second-round pick Eric Ireland, another high school pitcher, has a great curve and dominated in the low minors, but is still making the adjustment to the Texas League. Third-round pick Chad Alexander, from Texas A&M, and fourth-round pick Brian Sikorski, from Western Michigan, look like Quadruple-A players. A mediocre effort overall, which will be weak if McKnight doesn't turn into something useful. Los Angeles The Dodgers have a bad habit of wasting their first-round picks, and did it again in 1995. Florida State lefty David Yocum blew out his arm within a year of signing. About the only thing the Dodgers got out of the draft was Onan Masaoka, still a promising young pitcher, in the third round from a Hawaii high school. The rest of the draft, a mixture of college and high school players, failed to develop. Los Angeles' farm system is a far cry from what it used to be, due in no small part to a series of poor drafts. Milwaukee The Brewers were still in the American League in 1995, of course, but through the miracle of a time warp, I'm putting them here. Milwaukee got nothing from the second round on, but first-rounder Geoff Jenkins, the power-hitting USC outfielder, has developed into a fine player. He had injury problems early in his career and will never be especially durable, but he can really smack the ball. I'm a bit disturbed by Jenkins' extreme lack of patience, which keeps his on-base percentage lower than it should be and may leave him vulnerable to slumps. But he can hit. Montreal It took the Expos too long to figure out his position, but Michael Barrett, drafted in the first round out of an Atlanta high school, remains a valued young property. He'll never draw 100 walks a year or anything, but he makes contact, will hit for average, and should develop more power as he matures. The rest of the draft class was disappointing and/or uneventful, pretty typical for 1995. Raw high school hitters drafted in the second and third round failed to develop. New York Mets The Mets wasted their first-round pick on Ryan Jaroncyk, a good field/no hit shortstop from a California high school who retired within a year, pocketing his bonus in the process. It's a good thing they picked Grant Roberts out of high school in the 11th-round. He developed into a solid pitching prospect. 10th-rounder Dan Murray, from San Diego State, developed into a Quadruple-A starting pitcher. The Mets for the most part went for raw players in this draft, and got little to show for it. Philadelphia The Phillies took a pair of high schoolers early: Reggie Taylor, a raw outfielder from South Carolina, and Dave Coggin, a hard-throwing right-hander from California with a supplemental pick. Taylor has struggled with injuries and inconsistency, and is still trying to find his way. Coggin has had arm trouble and control problems. Both still have chances, albeit very small ones, to contribute in the majors. Second-rounder Marlon Anderson, a second baseman from South Alabama, was the regular last year, but lost his job and is back in Triple-A. Third-round pick Randy Knoll, a polished high school pitcher from California, looked like a prospect for awhile, but burned his arm out. Pittsburgh The Pirates picked shortstop Chad Hermansen, one of the best athletes in the draft, in the first round. From a Nevada high school, Hermansen had trouble finding a position, but is settled in as an outfielder now. He failed in his initial major league trial this year due to weak strike zone judgment. He has terrific power potential, but won't reach his ceiling unless he learns the zone. Second-rounder Garrett Long, a first baseman from high school in Houston, has hit well at times, but can't stay healthy and doesn't appear on many prospect lists. Third-round selection Bronson Arroyo, a high school pitcher from Florida, has done well in the minors and is currently in Triple-A. He should see Pittsburgh later this year, and may end up being the best player the Pirates selected in this draft. Fourth-round choice Alex Hernandez, a Puerto Rican outfielder, has great tools and is currently hitting .330 in Double-A. His weak strike zone judgment is a problem, just as it is for Hermansen. 11th-round choice Brian O'Connor, from high school in Ohio, made the majors earlier this year, but is a standard Grade C pitching prospect. St. Louis The Cardinals scored big with Seton Hall right-hander Matt Morris in the first round. He's an excellent pitcher, and hopefully the major league staff will be more careful with him this time around. Supplemental first-round pick Chris Haas has shown a power bat in the upper minors, but the Kentucky high school product is blocked at both corner infield positions. Second-round pick Jason Woolf, a high school shortstop from Florida, has been injured a lot, but impresses scouts with his athleticism, and still has a chance as a utility player. 19th-round pick Chris Richard, a first baseman from Oklahoma State, and 34th-round choice Kerry Robinson, an outfielder from Southeast Missouri State, are now well-established in Triple-A baseball. Both would have some use off the bench for the right teams. San Diego Before the 1995 draft, the Padres narrowed their choices to college star Jose Cruz, Jr., or Pennsylvania high school catcher Ben Davis. They chose Davis, and while the young catcher has shown excellent defensive skills, he may never be a consistent hitter and is currently working on his swing in Triple-A. I would compare him to Jim Sundberg. Second-round choice Gabe Alvarez, from USC, is now with Detroit. He has proven he can hit Triple-A pitching, but doesn't appear likely to earn a regular job in the Show. College pitchers picked in the third, fourth, and fifth rounds all failed to develop. 19th-round pick Brandon Pernell, a high school outfielder from California, impresses scouts with his athleticism and has played well at times, but is still a long way from the majors. 30th-rounder Dusty Allen, a first baseman from Stanford, can blast minor league pitching, and is waiting his turn in Triple-A. He is too old to be a "real" prospect now, but could help someone as a backup/pinch-hitter/DH type. San Francisco The Giants went heavily for pitching in this draft. First-round pick Joe Fontenot, from high school in Louisiana, is now with the Marlins and has had his share of arm trouble. Second-rounder Jason Brester, a Washington high school southpaw, has done well at times, but has a fragile arm and is now with the Phillies. Third-rounder Gonzaga product Darin Blood had an excellent 1996 season in the California League, but hurt his arm afterward and looks finished as a prospect. University of Oklahoma pitcher Russ Ortiz was picked in the fourth round. He has a great arm and pitched well for the Giants in 1999, but a heavy workload looks to have caught up with him this year. Joe Nathan, a sixth-round pick from SUNY Stonybrook, is a similar story. The Giants did a nice job picking up Ortiz and Nathan in the middle rounds. Hopefully they can stay healthy. John Sickels, who is the author of the STATS 2000 Minor League Scouting Notebook, writes a weekly feature, Down on the Farm, for ESPN.com. You can email him at JASickels@AOL.com. | ALSO SEE The 1995 AL draft in review  | ||||