Looking back: 2004 MLB Draft

[BrewCrewFan]

1 Matt Bush San Diego Padres SS Mission Bay High School
2 Justin Verlander Detroit Tigers RHP Old Dominion
3 Philip Humber New York Mets RHP Rice University
4 Jeff Niemann Tampa Bay Devil Rays RHP Rice University
5 Mark Rogers Milwaukee Brewers RHP Mount Ararat High School (ME)
6 Jeremy Sowers Cleveland Indians LHP Vanderbilt University
7 Homer Bailey Cincinnati Reds RHP La Grange High School
8 Wade Townsend Baltimore Orioles RHP Rice University
9 Chris Nelson Colorado Rockies SS Redan High School
10 Thomas Diamond Texas Rangers RHP University of New Orleans
11 Neil Walker Pittsburgh Pirates C Pine-Richland High School
12 Jered Weaver Anaheim Angels RHP Long Beach State University
13 Bill Bray Montreal Expos LHP The College of William & Mary
14 Billy Butler Kansas City Royals 3B Samuel W. Wolfson High School (FL)
15 Stephen Drew Arizona Diamondbacks SS Florida State University
16 David Purcey Toronto Blue Jays LHP University of Oklahoma
17 Scott Elbert Los Angeles Dodgers LHP Seneca High School (MO)
18 Josh Fields Chicago White Sox 3B Oklahoma State University
19 Chris Lambert St. Louis Cardinals RHP Boston College
20 Trevor Plouffe Minnesota Twins SS Crespi Carmelite High School
21 Greg Golson Philadelphia Phillies CF Connally High School (TX)
22 Glen Perkins Minnesota Twins LHP University of Minnesota
23 Philip Hughes New York Yankees RHP Foothill High School
24 Landon Powell Oakland Athletics C University of South Carolina
25 Kyle Waldrop Minnesota Twins RHP Farragut High School
26 Richie Robnett Oakland Athletics CF Fresno State University
27 Taylor Tankersley Florida Marlins LHP University of Alabama
28 Blake DeWitt Los Angeles Dodgers 2B Sikeston High School (MO)
29 Matthew Campbell Kansas City Royals LHP University of South Carolina
30 Eric Hurley Texas Rangers RHP Samuel W. Wolfson High School (FL)


Thoughts on the 04 draft?

 

[RipCity32]

Not much to say about Verlander. Currently our best pitcher, ace status, Cy-Young candidate.
Bout time we picked the right guy lol.

 

[playmaker7]

Matt Bush lmfao the Padres fail

This guy isn't even performing in the minors I believe

 

[snipezo]

David Purcey hasn't lived up to the expectation imo. I think he'll be either a spot starter or a reliever at best.

 

[cruzg24]

We traded Humber and other spects for Santana. Im so glad we made that trade, definitely won it.

 

[Cejis33]

Another Blue Jays bust, pretty weak draft, although there are some big names, Verlander, Bailey, Hughes

 

[The Guid]

I wouldn't call this a bad draft. Sure, there aren't many superstars but there are some good and decent players that still have some time to show their stuff.

Verlander, Drew, Bailey, Hughes, Walker, Butler, Niemann, Weaver, Perkins

 

[Gtown81]

damn I never knew we took Purcey in the first round

 

[Rios15]

Purcey is a decent pitcher.

 

[snipezo]

Purcey is a decent pitcher.

The guy has no control at all

 

[Mexi]

Blake DeWitt, 28th, will be (well you never know with Torre) the Dodgers starting 2B this season

in 2008 Nomar and Andy LaRoche got hurt at the same time so DeWitt had to come up early and start at 3B. he did really well for about a month, then just couldnt hit.

he was the Dodgers starting 2B in the 08 playoffs too.
now is his time to shine. we'll see how he does. he's got a great swing and i know ST doesnt mean anything, but he's hitting well there too

 

[Gtown81]

The guy has no control at all

he still puts up solid numbers though

he's a lot like Tallet, can only go around 6 innings on a good day, his best fit is in the bullpen in the long relief position

 

[Elite]

Pretty weak draft, but still some nice players in there.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

I wouldn't call this a bad draft. Sure, there aren't many superstars but there are some good and decent players that still have some time to show their stuff.

Verlander, Drew, Bailey, Hughes, Walker, Butler, Niemann, Weaver, Perkins

aside from Verlander, Drew and Bailey, this draft class blows. Weaver and Niemann might pan out ok, but even the top 10 guys aren't that great.

 

[Elite]

What do you mean Weaver "might" pan out OK?

http://espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=6479

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Ok... good record but the rest of the numbers aren't much to get all excited about. My point is, he's doing good but he'll probably improve even more. I guess the phrase "might pan out" was a little excessive for him,

Just because Weaver had 16 wins last year doesn't mean much. John Maine and Oliver Perez both had 15 win seasons and are currently train wrecks. Now of course that doesn't mean much, but it's just a comparison that one season with a good record doesn't make you a lock in a rotation.

when I say pan out, i mean they'll be "great", but right now I only see him as an "ok" pitcher, but nothing special.

 

[Elite]

He certainly isn't an ace, but I'd sure like to have him as my 2nd or 3rd starter. He is kind of like a Dan Haren, pitches great the first half of the year, then is pretty bad the 2nd half of the year. But he obviously doesn't put up Dan Haren like stats.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Exactly. When I said pan out i meant like, he's good but can still be great. Usually people will say that by his age a player has probably peaked but I think he still has room to improve, and can improve.

 

[Yankees2772]

I think this is a good class..

Verlander has been a cy young candidate (3 top 7s, 2 top 5s)

Stephen Drew is coming off a bad year, but I think he's got the talent to hit .290+, 20 hr, 90 runs, 70 RBI for a long time to come which is pretty good for a SS - and he's done some of that already in his career.

Homer Bailey finally got more than 9 starts in the MLB, and had a mid 4 ERA in 100+ IP last year. He still has some promise.

Jered Weaver has had a few good seasons, going 51-27 to start his career, with a 3.73 in 4 years.

Billy Butler is a BEAST. You will all see this season.

Phil Hughes is tank - one of the best setup men last year, and is starting this season.

Without checking the stats, I think Niemann did pretty well last year for a youngster and showed a lot of promise.

Maybe no stand-outs, but I think if you look from an educated perspective you will see a class that has a few good/great pitchers, some solid hitters, and mostly a bunch of guys who have still yet to peak and can be great. Not as bad of a class as you may think.

 

[The Guid]

See, I'm not the only one..