The Ones That Got Away: American League West

Los Angeles of Anaheim

Meet the megaton of getaways. Here’s a list:

Aaron Hill (2000: Round 7, Pick 200)
Bobby Crosby (1998: Round 34, Pick 1,021)
David Murphy (2000: Round 50, Pick 1,439)
Rich Hill (2001: Round 7, Pick 209)
Brian Matusz (2005: Round 4, Pick 133)
Buster Posey (2005: Round 50, Pick 1,496)

2010 draft connection: Matt Harvey (2007: Round 3, Pick 118), who went to the University of North Carolina and should be a first round pick.

Oakland

Best positional player: Justin Smoak (2005: Round: 16, Pick 491). Undoubtedly mentioned every time Smoak hits a homer against the Athletics.

Best pitcher: Jonathan Papelbon (2002: Round 40, Pick 1,208)

Honorable mention: Daniel Schlereth (2007: Round 8, Pick 270)

Seattle

Best positional player: Juan Pierre (1995, 1996: Rounds 30 and 48, Picks 818 and 1,406) was drafted twice by the M’s, although later in the second year which is counterintuitive, and signed neither time. He’d wind up in Colorado instead.

Best pitcher: Barry Zito (1996: Round 59, Pick 1,587). Undoubtedly mentioned every time Zito pitched a gem against Seattle throughout his Oakland career.

Honorable mention: Rich Harden (1999: Round 38, Pick 1,145)

Texas

Barry Zito is a nice fellow, I’m sure, but he’s not interesting enough to write about twice. Instead, let’s focus on the Rangers’ two 2010 draft ties.. In the 2007 draft the Rangers really went to work in the 16th round, selecting Anthony Ranaudo and Drew Pomeranz. For those living under a rock for the last several months, Ranaudo and Pomeranz are two of the top three or four college arms in this year’s draft and will go in the first round.