Making Good With No. 1

I wrote about the Diamondback’s 2007 first round pick Jarrod Parker yesterday. After researching him, I decided to take a look back at Arizona’s other recent No. 1 picks, from 2003 to 2006, and came away impressed. Taking players in the first round of the Major League Baseball amateur draft is not as foolproof as some people might think… there have been a lot of first round busts over the past five years.

First baseman Conor Jackson was the club’s first pick of the 2003 draft out of the University of California as the 19th overall selection. He is not a superstar but Jackson made it to the majors as a full-time player within three years of the draft. He has an OPS+ of 105 during his major league career and has been consistent.

Shortstop Stephen Drew was taken 15th overall in the 2004 draft out of Florida State University. He actually slid in the draft due to signability concerns. He sat out for a while during contract negotiations and finally signed on the dotted line in 2005. After 148 minor league games Drew was in the majors to stay. Like Jackson, he has been solid but unspectacular. He has a career OPS+ of 91 but is only 25 and has time to mature. The tools are there and, as long as the motivation is also there, he should appear in a few All-Star games.

Justin Upton is arguably the best pick that the Diamondbacks organization has made in the last five years. He was drafted first overall in the 2005 draft out of a Virginia high school. In less than two full minor league seasons, the infielder-turned-outfielder was in the majors (seemingly) to stay. So far this season, his first full year in the majors, Upton is hitting .304/.389/.500 with an OPS+ of 126. At only 20 years of age, he has the makings of a superstar.

Right-hander Max Scherzer has been the latest first rounder to impact the major league club. He was drafted 11th overall in the 2006 draft out of the University of Missouri. Scouts have been split on whether Scherzer should be a starter or reliever at the major league level but he is currently being used as a starter. His first major league appearance, though, was as a reliever and he got a lot of people excited by pitching 4.1 scoreless, hitless innings with seven strikeouts. He got knocked around in his next appearance and allowed five earned runs. His last two starts have resulted in zero earned runs, along with three unearned runs. Overall, he has a 2.33 ERA in three starts (four appearances) and has allowed 16 hits along with seven walks in 19.1 innings. He has struck out 23.

It will be interesting to see who the Snakes target for the first pick (26th overall) of the 2008 draft of June 5.