2005 Draft- the ones who got away

[Crash2303]

I'm sure this has been brought up here before, but i was glancing at our recent drafts and was surprised to see Jake Arrieta (26th), Jemile Weeks (8th), & Andrew Bailey (16th) among our unsigned players that year. they'd be great to have in our system right now! along with these guys it seemed there were more than usual unsigned players as well. I know when Melvin took over - he made it a priority to sign our picks to avoid just this type of regret- as that killed us in the past ie Nomar. How did this happen? Why didn't we sign more guys that year?

[Mass Haas]

From last June -- Andrew Bailey So Close to Being A Brewer – and Other Tales from the 2005 Draft

[TooLiveBrew]

Every time I look at that '05 draft, I see Troy Tulowitzki lower than Ryan Braun, & I wish for what might have been.

[Crash2303]

thanks for the article about bailey- i am then assuming jemile weeks and jake arrieta were in similar situations- about the money. but, still i wonder why so many of those picks were left unsigned that year.

[CheezWizHed]

Every time I look at that '05 draft, I see Troy Tulowitzki lower than Ryan Braun, & I wish for what might have been.

 

Then imagine you were a Royals fan and see Zimmerman, Braun, and TT lower than Alex Gordan...

[TooLiveBrew]

Haha, true. I remember hoping that Gordon would fall to the Brewers at the time.

[colbyjack]

Tulowitzki vs. Braun is an interesting discussion in hindsight. If you remember correctly, prior to the draft the Brewers asked Tulo if he would be willing to slide over to 3B (they had J.J. Hardy at the time who seemed like the Brewers SS of the next 5-10 years). Tulo said no, and of course Braun was willing (and unfortunately not able) to play anywhere.

 

All the more reason to never let positional strength play into drafting decisions. Anything can, and will happen, and as nice as Braun is to have, Tulo would be that much better.

 

However, you can't knock the Brewers selection of Braun here, as they nailed the pick even if Tulo is a better overall player. Thank goodness most everyone's wish for Cameron Maybin didn't happen.

[TooLiveBrew]

I'll preface this post by saying that I linked anything I thought was interesting or relevant, so yes there are a lot of links to threads. I included some quotes with the threads; I'm not out to make anyone look bad, just 20/20 hindsight stuff. Wanted to include the thoughts at the time of & leading up to the '05 draft.

 

Why the Brewers ever asked Tulowitzki if he'd move to 3B is just beyond me. Seems like it was a very poor analysis of defensive tools & ability. But, then again, this was the braintrust that felt Braun could play 3B.

 

- You're Doug Melvin & you take (insert name) at #5: "I wouldn't touch [braun] with the 5th pick after seeing the video."

- Patrick's 2005 BF.net Draft Preview: "Braun is having yet another good season offensively for the Miami Hurricanes. He quickly made a name for himself as a freshman after going undrafted out of high school, and hasn't stopped hitting since. Braun currently plays third base after playing shortstop his first two seasons at Miami, and there are some rumblings that he will be moved to the outfield upon signing as a pro. There is a hitch in his swing along with concerns about how well he'll do with a wood bat, and to be honest I don't see the Brewers drafting the third best college third baseman."

- Maybin Vs. McCutchen: interesting to me that the now-Pirates CF was looked at by BF.netters back then; this thread is just one of many spots where the love for Maybin was on full display

- Exciting Draft Potential: "Ricky Romero, Troy Tulowitzki and Andrew McCutchen would probably fall in right after those 5 [upton, Gordon, Maybin, Zimmerman, Clement], and I would be happy with any one of these guys."

- With the 5th pick Milwaukee selects...: "One GM predicts that after Justin Upton, the next five picks will be Nebraska third baseman Alex Gordon to Kansas City, Tennessee right-hander Luke Hochevar to Seattle, Long Beach State shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to Washington, Virginia third baseman Ryan Zimmerman to Milwaukee and Fullerton State left-hander Ricky Romero to Toronto." -- Peter Gammons, quoted by RyDogg66

- Question for the experts 2005 draft: "This year I too would like to see a college player selected, but Maybin could very well be the example of a real special HS player. He's that good." (in response to a post of "I'd like to see them take the best college player available, unless there's a REAL special HS player at their slot."

- Top high school prospects for 2005: "According to Baseball America ... Keep in mind, these top prospect lists aren't necessarily top prospects overall for the 2005 draft, just the top prospects for the event."

- 2005 top ten?: BA top ten, as of 10/8/04: Upton, Maybin, Gordon, Clement, Tyler Greene (SS, Ga. Tech), Wade Townsend (RHP, Rice), Luke Hochevar (RHP, Tenn.), Mike Pelfrey (RHP, Wichita St.), Stephen Head (1B/LHP, Miss.), Tulowitzki

- Our 2005 pick: there was plenty of Alex Gordon love to go around, too

[StearnsFTW]

^^

 

Thanks a lot. That was a very interesting read.

[HiAndTight]

Every time I look at that '05 draft, I see Troy Tulowitzki lower than Ryan Braun, & I wish for what might have been.

When I look back on "what might have been," in disappointment, that usually doesn't include a player who's currently on a HOF trajectory.

 

It's kinda hard to be too upset about taking Braun over Tulo.

Not to mention, it's not as though Tulo has been that much more valuable than Braun thus far. Tulo has been worth just .5 more WAR thus far.

 

 

Plus.....Braun's been here for 5 years now. At this point the sentimental value makes up for that half of win for me.

[brewmann04]

I am so glad the Royals and the Nats took Gordon and Zimmerman instead of Braun.

[TooLiveBrew]

It's kinda hard to be too upset about taking Braun over Tulo.

 

Oh, I'm not upset about Braun at all (see my avatar http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif ). I would just rather to have the SS over the LF.

[jjfanec]

It's kinda hard to be too upset about taking Braun over Tulo.

 

Oh, I'm not upset about Braun at all (see my avatar http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif ). I would just rather to have the SS over the LF.

The Tulo love on this board seems over the top sometimes. He is injured quite a bit and his OPS this year is about .180 behind Braun. I like Tulo a lot and I am sure some advanced stats I dont know about have him way ahead of Braun, but right now I am very happy with the one we have. Braun is staring at a 30 - 30 season while batting .300

[davego]

Total guess here, but I wonder if Tulo would have signed the team-friendly contact, then the long-term commitment that Ryan has made. No way to really tell, but all-in-all I'm glad that we have Ryan Braun.

 

In '05 I wanted Zimmerman, so shows you what I know...

[JoeHova]

Total guess here, but I wonder if Tulo would have signed the team-friendly contact, then the long-term commitment that Ryan has made.

I think Troy is the only guy in baseball with a longer contract than Ryan's, so I think the answer to that is yes, he would have been willing to commit.

[reillymcshane]

I was all over Ryan Zimmerman this year. I remember the initial reports had him lower in the 1st round, but he hit so well that year that he kept going higher and higher in the prospect rankings. I am a bit enamored with great fielding players who can hit. He's been a great fielder. I thought he'd hit for a higher avearge - but less power than he's shown. Still a super player (when healthy).

[CheezWizHed]

I am a bit enamored with great fielding players who can hit.

 

And you call yourself a Brewer fan? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif