Scouts. Inc. - Cobs had worst 2002 draft in MLB

[Have a seat, Neifi]

FWIW, just posted on ESPN.com...did give us at least some credit for nabbing Rich Hill in the 4th, but we take a beating everywhere else (particuarly with the Brownlie pick)...read at your own risk:

 

If you talk to a scouting director the day after a draft ends and ask him how he felt the draft went for his club, you'll get some variation of the answer, "We'll see in five years." So let's step in the way-back machine and evaluate the 2002 draft, five years on. The book isn't quite closed on some of the first-round draft picks from 2002, but enough time has passed for some trends to become apparent and for us to label some picks as obvious busts.

 

The stiffs

 

Whether the causes were injuries or ineffectiveness, it is clear that nearly half of the players taken in the first round have been busts:

 

No. 21: Bobby Brownlie, Chicago Cubs. Brownlie came into his junior spring as a consensus top-10 guy, but struggled with shoulder soreness. He blew it out completely, and now is out of baseball.

 

The rest of the 2002 draft

 

Fourth round: Josh Johnson (Florida), the 2006 NL ERA champ, and Rich Hill (Cubs) are the only regulars here, although a few others have gotten big league time: Jeff Baker (Colorado), Lance Cormier (Arizona) and Kevin Correia (San Francisco). Boston's pick, right-hander Chris Smith, hurt his arm in a dune buggy accident and hasn't been the same since.

 

The five worst drafts

 

Cubs: Their major league haul from this draft is Rich Hill and 14th-rounder Rocky Cherry. True, other clubs got less from their 2002 drafts (more on them in a moment), but none of them had the six extra picks that the Cubs had that year: three supplementals, plus one extra pick in the second, third and fourth rounds. None of their first eight selections has reached the majors.

 

Note: Edited by moderator for copyrighted content.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Yep. That draft had lots of promise for the Cubs, and so far only Rich Hill to show for it.

[Soriano12]

Rich Hill is a nice consolation prize. 8-)

[NCCubFan]

It's against NSBB policy to post entire articles due to copyright issues (especially one like this which comes from premium pay content). It's OK to post brief excerpts from articles and/or a link to the web site with the article.

[Have a seat, Neifi]

Ok, sorry about that. I wasn't sure, so I just posted the whole thing...my apologies.

[Guest]

1.21 RHP Bobby Brownlie

1.32 LHP Luke Hagerty

1.36 RHP Chadd Blasko

1.38 RHP Matt Clanton

2.56 1B Brian Dopirak

2.62 LHP Justin Jones

3.93 RHP Billy Petrick

3.96 IF Matt Craig

4.112 LHP Rich Hill

4.123 C Alan Rick

5.153 OF Shawn Scobee - didn't sign

 

Ouch. Only Billy Petrick looks like he can join Hill in contributing in the big leagues - and that to as a reliever after his labrum surgery a few years ago. And, 7 of these guys were (at various times) on top-10 Cubs prospect lists.

[inari]

Whatever happened to Dopirak anyway? He was so promising and he just... never got going.

[Exile on Waveland]

Just read the article. Sad to see so many prospects fail to pan out. What's worse is a lot of those guys were highly thought of at one point and not even traded for productive players. They were just hung onto until they flamed out.

[VicCub]

I think Justin Jones was part of the Nomar/Murton trade. Wasn't Dope being talked about pretty good just last year? Is it really over for him?

[Exile on Waveland]

I think Justin Jones was part of the Nomar/Murton trade. Wasn't Dope being talked about pretty good just last year? Is it really over for him?

 

Yes, Jones went to Montreal in the Nomar/Murton trade. I should've said "except Jones." My bad.

[Guest]

I think Justin Jones was part of the Nomar/Murton trade. Wasn't Dope being talked about pretty good just last year? Is it really over for him?

 

Correct. Jones has topped out at AA and hasn't played this season. Just like Brownlie, Hagerty, Blasko, Clanton, Dopirak and Petrick, Justin Jones has had his share of injury problems.

 

Dope was talked about after a fantastic 2004 season at Lansing but he has struggled ever since and had some injury problems to boot. He was recently demoted from Tennessee to Daytona and has had an awful season. It's close to being over for him.

 

And here's an interesting story on Matt Clanton: http://cubs.scout.com/2/527823.html

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Wow, 6 of the top 62 picks, and only one of them made it to AAA, where he was a colossal failure.

[cubfan1955]

Whatever happened to Dopirak anyway? He was so promising and he just... never got going.

The Fall of Brian Dopirak

[NCCubFan]

Ok, sorry about that. I wasn't sure, so I just posted the whole thing...my apologies.

Not a problem; I took care of it.

[Soul]

I see nothing but wasted potential after wasted potential with those picks.

 

Gentlemen, something is seriously wrong with our developmental system. It's not just the draft, it's what we aren't doing afterwards.

[NewUserName]

I see nothing but wasted potential after wasted potential with those picks.

 

Gentlemen, something is seriously wrong with our developmental system. It's not just the draft, it's what we aren't doing afterwards.

 

I agee. This is not the only draft that has failed the Cubs. They are littered with players who have not made it. Their has got to be something wrong with the player development system.

[Guest]

This is one draft where injuries did much more damage than poor player development, imo.

[Soul]

This is one draft where injuries did much more damage than poor player development, imo.

 

I have no reason to disagree. However, I don't subscribe to the "injuries are just accidental" school of thought.

 

Some organizations suffer more injuries on the whole than others. It's not totally a matter of chance, IMO.

[jjgman21]

This is one draft where injuries did much more damage than poor player development, imo.

 

I think an appropriate metaphor for this draft is the Cubs #9 pick and how his career panned out.

 

 

 

it's pretty lame to criticize a draft where 6 of the team's top 7 picks are pitchers that blew out their arms before reaching AA. this certainly isn't a case of busts or improper development. certainly there can be criticism for picking Clanton and Brownlie due to known or knowable injury problems, but even taking that into account, I imagine the odds against so many injuries is astronomical.

[rawaction]

I thought 2001 and 2002 would be the best back-to-back drafts in MLB history. So, much talent drafted in those 2 drafts.

[KingKongvs.Godzilla]

1.21 RHP Bobby Brownlie

1.32 LHP Luke Hagerty

1.36 RHP Chadd Blasko

1.38 RHP Matt Clanton

2.56 1B Brian Dopirak

2.62 LHP Justin Jones

3.93 RHP Billy Petrick

3.96 IF Matt Craig

4.112 LHP Rich Hill

4.123 C Alan Rick

5.153 OF Shawn Scobee - didn't sign

 

Ouch. Only Billy Petrick looks like he can join Hill in contributing in the big leagues - and that to as a reliever after his labrum surgery a few years ago. And, 7 of these guys were (at various times) on top-10 Cubs prospect lists.

 

Christ I remember how excited everyone was back then.

 

Within two years Blasko and Jones (I think) had multiple shoulder problems, Hagerty went under the knife for TJ surgery, and then Petrick followed Hagerty.

 

But back then...all those guys had low to mid 90's fastballs and all had a close to plus breaking ball.

 

So....we don't have to change any orginizational philosophies on how to handle pitchers...

 

:roll:

[abuck1220]

it's hard to be too mad at a draft that gets you a top of the rotation starter in the 4th round...but this draft does it. yuck.

[rawaction]

This is one draft where injuries did much more damage than poor player development, imo.

 

I think an appropriate metaphor for this draft is the Cubs #9 pick and how his career panned out.

 

 

 

it's pretty lame to criticize a draft where 6 of the team's top 7 picks are pitchers that blew out their arms before reaching AA. this certainly isn't a case of busts or improper development. certainly there can be criticism for picking Clanton and Brownlie due to known or knowable injury problems, but even taking that into account, I imagine the odds against so many injuries is astronomical.

 

I don't think it's necessarily abnormal to see all the injuries that group has had. Pitchers get injured all the time. I would say, though, that it is abnormal that all of them suffered so badly, so soon.

[Andy]

It's hard to criticize Justin Jones considering the Cubs got Mientkewicz for him to spark the Nomar/Murton deal.

[Exile on Waveland]

Well, if pitching prospects are basically drafted to get injured, maybe the Cubs should focus on positional prospects. Much less risk involved. Plus, the Cubs have plenty of money to sign free agents to plug in pitching holes. If not, then the organization must trade more of the pitchers before they get hurt.