Best Pitchers Drafted by Reds the past 30 years

by obc2 on May 30, 2011 4:30 PM EDT

It sure seems to the average fan that the recent drafts have begun to bring in considerably better MLB results from the pitching prospects the Reds have drafted, no? Is that the case? Which year did the Reds draft the most pitchers who made the majors? Was Tom Browning the best pitcher the Reds selected the year he was drafted? And...who had the worst WAR from all those selected the past two decades? You be the judge!

1981

(none)

1982

7th rd - Bobby Witt 142W 157L (13.1 WAR)

9th rd - Tom Browning 123 W 90L (19.7 WAR)

12th rd - Rick Luecken 2W 5L (-0.4 WAR)

1983

9th rd - Jeff Montgomery 46W 52L (21.0 WAR)

1984

1st rd - Pat Pacillo 4W 3L (-0.8 WAR)

1985

17th rd - Mike Roesler 1W 1L (0.2 WAR)

1986

1st rd - Scott Scudder 21W 34L (-2.0 WAR)

17th rd - Keith Brown 2W 2L (0.1 WAR)

27th rd - Paul Miller 1W 0L (-0.1 WAR)

1987

1st rd - Jack Armstrong 40W 65L (0.7 WAR)

14th rd - Bill Risley 15W 13L (3.1 WAR)

15th rd - Butch Henry 33W 33L (7.5 WAR)

28th rd - Milt Hill 5W 1L (-0.5 WAR)

1988

3rd rd - Tyler Green 18W 25L (-0.7 WAR)

12th rd - Steve Foster 3W 3L (1.5 WAR)

13th rd - Paul Byrd 109W 96L (16.1 WAR)

19th rd - Jerry Spradlin 17W 19L (0.1 WAR)

32nd rd - Mo Sanford 2W 4L (0.0 WAR)

60th rd - Don Wengert 14W 32L (-0.5 WAR)

1989

3rd rd - Ross Powell 0W 5L (-0.5 WAR)

6th rd - Tim Pugh 25W 28L (1.2 WAR)

11th rd - Trevor Hoffman 61W 75L (30.4 WAR)

43rd rd - Sean Lowe 23W 15L (-0.3 WAR)

1990

8th rd - Larry Luebbers 5W 10L (-0.2 WAR)

12th rd - John Roper 8W 7L (0.1 WAR)

20th rd - Marc Vakes 12W 15L (-1.7 WAR)

1991

8th rd - John Courtright 0W 0L (0 WAR)

21st rd - Kevin Jarvis 34W 49L (-5.1 WAR)

1992

6th rd - Kurt Lyons 2W 0L (0.2 WAR)

21st rd - Will Brunson 1W 1L (-0.1 WAR)

23rd rd - Chad Fox 10W 12L (2.2 WAR)

28th rd - Rickey Pichett 0W 0L (-0.3 WAR)

43rd rd - Kevin Beirne 3W 3L (-0.4 WAR)

1993

2nd rd - Scott Sullivan 40W 28L (4.9 WAR)

1994

1st rd - CJ Nitkowski 18W 32L (-2.3 WAR)

9th rd - Eddie Priest 0W 1L (-0.5 WAR)

16th rd - Kevin Grybowski 12W 8L (-0.8 WAR)

22nd rd - John Riedling 17W 13L (-0.6 WAR)

34th rd - Paul Rigdon 8W 10L (0.5 WAR)

1995

2nd rd - Brett Tomko 100W 103L (7.2 WAR)

4th rd - Mark Correy 2W 7L (-1.0 WAR)

8th rd - Ray King 20W 23L (3.4 WAR)

12th rd - Justin Atchley 0W 0L (0 WAR)

24th rd - Jeff Sparks 0W 1L (0.5 WAR)

32nd rd - Scott McRae 0W 1L (0.1 WAR)

1996

2nd rd - Buddy Carlyle 11W 12L (-2.4 WAR)

1997

9th rd - Scott Williamson 28W 28L (8.1 WAR)

1998

6th rd - Bobby Maditsch 6W 4L (2.3 WAR)

7th rd - Josh Hall 0W 2L (-0.8 WAR)

12th rd - John Koronka 8 W 13L (-0.8 WAR)

17th rd - BJ Ryan 21W 28L (12.2 WAR)

40th rd - Lance Cormier 24W 28L (-2.2 WAR)

41st rd - Todd Coffey 20W 17L (2.1 WAR)

1999

5th rd - Mike Espositio 0W 2L (-0.1 WAR)

10th rd - Scott Dunn 1W 0L (-0.6 WAR)

21st rd - Brad Salmon 0W 1L (0.2 WAR)

29th rd - Michael Neu 0W 0L (0.3 WAR)

36th rd - Rich Hill 22W 20L (2.0 WAR)

2000

1st rd - Dustin Moseley 13W 17L (2.2 WAR)

2nd rd - Ryan Snare 0W 0L (-0.1 WAR)

46th rd - Chris Shroder 2W 5L (-0.2 WAR)

2001

1st rd - Jeremy Sowers 18W 30L (1.7 WAR)

2002

none

2003

1st rd - Ryan Wagner 11W 9L (-0.6 WAR)

7th rd - Carlos Guevara 1W 0L (-0.2 WAR)

18th rd - Josh Newman 0W 0L (-0.6 WAR)

2004

1st rd - Homer Bailey 19W 17L (-0.1 WAR)

13th rd - Jake Arrieta 12W 8L (1.9 WAR)

2005

2nd rd - Travis Wood 8W 7L (1.7 WAR)

4th rd - Sam LeCure 2W 6L (0.6 WAR)

6th rd - Jeff Stevens 1W 0L (-0.7 WAR)

11th rd - Carlos Fisher 2W 4L (0.2 WAR)

13th rd - Logan Ondrusek 8W 2L (1.3 WAR)

42nd rd - Justin Axford 9W 3L (2.3 WAR)

2006

6th rd - Jordan Smith 3W 2L (-0.3 WAR)

10th rd - Josh Roenicke 1W 0L (-0.6 WAR)

2007

none

2008

none

2009

1st rd - Mike Leake 12W 6L (0.6 WAR)

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Comments

Carlos Fisher with more WAR than Homer so far.

Hmmm….

No problem, fuckweasel! - jch24

by Kevin Mitchell is Batman on May 30, 2011 4:55 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

That is a lot of suck.

That’s not a list to be proud of. Hopefully, Bailey, Wood, Leake, and the present company will develop enough to make us forget just how awful our pitching has been the past couple of decades.

by wanderinredsfan on May 30, 2011 9:58 PM EDT reply actions

I wonder how an international signing list looks.

Wear something sexy to my funeral.

by Pops Daniels on May 30, 2011 11:07 PM EDT reply actions

It's probably a thin list for most of this time

Before Cueto, I’m not sure if there is any int’l pitching signing of note going back to … Soto? Seems like Marge abandoned the Latin market.

by ken on May 31, 2011 9:22 AM EDT up reply actions

Accevado!

I don't argue I correct.

by Yossarian22 on May 31, 2011 9:47 AM EDT up reply actions

I never knew we drafted Hoffman

LTP is for Stubbs only!

by OGC Reds on May 30, 2011 11:40 PM EDT reply actions

He was drafted a's a shortstop.

We Are ... Marshall!

by Thundering Turtle on May 30, 2011 11:45 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

but was transitioned to pitcher during his time with us

LTP is for Stubbs only!

by OGC Reds on May 30, 2011 11:47 PM EDT up reply actions

I would have expected his WAR to be higher

I guess Saves are not such a terribly important statistic.

by Brendanukkah on May 31, 2011 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions

Arrieta huh, interesting

Does it count since he didn’t sign? Whats with the O’s taking guys we draft out of high school, the Reds drafted Markakis before he headed to college.

by pack_fan on May 31, 2011 1:44 AM EDT reply actions

2005 is a pretty solid draft, I'd say

Bruce and Rosales round it out. I had no idea we had drafted Axford, but it looks like it was a shot in the dark because of signability issues.

by ken on May 31, 2011 9:24 AM EDT reply actions

Yeah, Axford was a longshot to sign.

He also had been extraordinarily wild. That pick was worth a shot.

2005 was an amazing draft as a whole. Talent galore.

We Are ... Marshall!

by Thundering Turtle on Jun 1, 2011 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions

I was surprised that there was a 60th round

Boy, talk about filling up the Outback Steaks roster.

The baby under the basket is a very powerful talisman, only to be used in times of great distress.

by johnu1 on May 31, 2011 10:07 AM EDT reply actions

The draft isn't 50 rounds anymore

I have no idea when that changed. I didn’t realize it was ever more than 50.

by pack_fan on May 31, 2011 11:07 PM EDT up reply actions

In 1990, the draft went a record 101 rounds.

In 1998, it was limited to 50 rounds and has remained there since.

We Are ... Marshall!

by Thundering Turtle on Jun 1, 2011 12:20 PM EDT up reply actions

oh really? wow.

So I guess they just didn’t have a cap prior to 98.

by pack_fan on Jun 1, 2011 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions

Mike Piazza was drafted by the Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft as the 1,390th player picked overall in the draft.

"Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching." - Satchel Paige

by PeteyHendrix on Jun 1, 2011 3:44 PM EDT up reply actions

I think part of the problem is the third most productive pitcher on that list is a reliever.

I don't argue I correct.

by Yossarian22 on Jun 1, 2011 7:18 AM EDT reply actions

No, the top two highest WAR on the list are both closers (Hoffman & Montgomery)

Followed by Browning and then 2 guys who didn’t sign (Byrd and Witt).

The problem is that of the top 6 WAR earners on the list, the Reds had 19.3 total WAR actually contributed to the team, with all of the positive coming from Browning. They did a lousy job of evaluating talent when they drafted and a lousy job of evaluating which talent to keep.

Follow on Twitter: @jluckhaupt. Buy The Wire-to-Wire Reds and The MSP Reds Annual today!

by Slyde on Jun 1, 2011 2:20 PM EDT up reply actions