MLB Draft: Nine Hall of Fame-Caliber Players Who Wouldn't Be Picked This Year

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Yesterday we took a look at some of the top prospects for the 2020 MLB Draft, which kicks off tonight at 7:00 p.m. EST. The draft this year is reduced to just five rounds, down from the usual 40, with the first round taking place tonight and the final four rounds happening tomorrow. The quirky structural rules for the MLB Draft and how picks relate to free agent signings render teams like the Yankees with only two picks in the entire draft.

Taking 35 rounds out of a draft is going to have a massive impact in any sport, but perhaps in baseball more than any other. As I mentioned yesterday, baseball is a sport that requires time. We’ve seen top prospect after top prospect come in to the minor league system through the draft or via international free agency, never to be seen again. Conversely, unheralded prospects routinely rocket up organizational prospect rankings, surprising even the scouts who discovered them.

In some of the latter cases, the emergent talent turns into not just an MLB regular, but an All-Star, or even a Hall of Famer. In a five-round draft, all of these players would have been skipped over. This year, that means weighing a potential $20,000 signing bonus against all of life’s other opportunities and requirements. There are likely All-Stars who would have been drafted today whose names we will never know.

Hall of Fame-Caliber Players Who Wouldn’t Get Picked in this MLB Draft

We’re focusing the search exclusively on players who were drafted in the sixth round or after. In previous years, the draft has had as many as 65 rounds, while the current draft is ordinarily 40 rounds.

Wade Boggs – Hall of Fame – Sixth Round

Boggs was one of the best pure hitters of the 80s and early 90s. Over his 18-year career, he compiled a slash of .328/.415/.443. Boggs was known for his hit tool, reaching 3,010 total career hits in his 10,740 plate appearances for the Red Sox, Yankees and Rays. The third baseman would win a World Series title with the Yankees in 1996 following a long career as a Red Sox icon, then allegedly accepted money to wear a (Devil) Rays cap on his Hall of Fame bust. For his career, Boggs had 91.4 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), made 12 All-Star teams, won two Gold Gloves, eight Silver Sluggers and five American League batting titles.

Paul Goldschmidt – All-Star – Eighth Round

Taken in the eighth round of the 2009 MLB Draft, Goldschmidt is currently manning first base for the St. Louis Cardinals. In eight full seasons with the Diamondbacks and Cardinals, Goldschmidt has put together a .292/.391/.524 slash with 243 home runs in 5,390 plate appearances. He has won four Silver Slugger awards — given to the top hitter at each position — as well as three Gold Gloves and the 2013 National League home run crown. With six All-Star appearances and a career WAR of 43.1 the 32-year-old is on a near-Hall-of-Fame track.

Goose Gosssage – Hall of Fame – Ninth Round

Richard Michael “Goose” Gossage was the prototype for what we consider the modern power closer. He did it long before closing games and big bullpens were in vogue, pitching for nine teams from 1972-1994. A dominant reliever with a light-out fastball, Gossage racked up 310 saves in his career, which was second all-time when he retired. Gossage is third all-time in relief pitcher wins as well as innings pitched in relief, and he is second all-time in strikeouts for relievers. The closer made eight All-Star teams, won three saves titles and won a World Series with the 1978 Yankees. During a mind-blowing stretch from 1977 through 1983, Gossage never posted an earned run average over 2.62, and finished third in voting in the American League for both the Cy Young and MVP Awards in 1980.

Jacob deGrom – All-Star – Ninth Round

The reigning back-to-back National League Cy Young Award winner didn’t come into the league with high expectations. Initially taken by the Mets in the ninth round of the MLB Draft, deGrom took a gradual four-year path to the big leagues. He dominated upon his arrival, winning the 2014 National League Rookie of the Year Award. In the six years since, deGrom has made three All-Star teams and led the National League in ERA once and strikeouts once, while winning the 2018 and 2019 Cy Young.

Nolan Ryan – Hall of Fame – 12th Round

Only the greatest strikeout artist of all time, Nolan Ryan somehow dropped all the way to the 12th round of the 1965 MLB Draft, where he was selected by the Mets. The superstar would go on to pitch for the Mets, Angels, Astros and Rangers over the course of a career that spanned four decades. Ryan made eight All-Star appearances while posting an eye-popping 5,714 strikeouts. To put this in perspective, Randy Johnson is second in this category, trailing by 839 strikeouts, or more than 2 1/2 seasons of apex performance. He has also walked 50% more hitters than any other pitcher in MLB history. Ryan won two National League ERA titles and led the league in strikeouts 11 times, yet never won a Cy Young Award. He remains MLB’s all-time leader in no hitters with seven, three more than the next-closest pitcher.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5nhcIYK1Ig

Albert Pujols – All-Star – 13th Round

The 1999 MLB Draft was an exercise in exactly how unpredictable the sport of baseball can truly be. With most of the top-10 picks failing to ever even reach the major leagues, this is a year that looks upside-down in review. Pujols, one of the greatest hitters of his generation, fell to the 13th round amidst concerns about his true age. The slugger rocketed through the Cardinals system, debuting in 2001, and proceeded to win two World Series titles with St. Louis. The first baseman turned designated hitter has made 10 All-Star teams, won the National League MVP three times, six Silver Sluggers, two Gold Gloves, a National League batting title and two home run crowns. We tragically are losing one of the last seasons of Pujols’ career this year, as he continues his assault on the record books. Coming into this season, he is sixth on the all-time home runs list with 656, next stop Willie Mays’ 660. This is a first-ballot Hall of Famer in the waiting.

J.D. Martinez – All-Star – 20th Round

One of the best current examples of a player who needed some time to round into form, Martinez was selected by the Houston Astros in the 20th round of the 2009 MLB Draft. The Astros gave Martinez several opportunities over the course of three years, before eventually releasing the struggling hitter in 2014. Martinez caught on with the Tigers, tweaked his approach, and is now one of the best power hitters in the game. A three-time All-Star, the masher has won three Silver Slugger Awards and a World Series with Boston in 2018. The 32-year-old still has time to pad his already impressive career numbers, but keep an eye out for his coming decline if you’re a dynasty league owner.

John Smoltz – Hall of Fame – Round 22

A Hall-of-Fame-caliber pitcher who could flip between a front-line starter and the league’s best closer, in the 22nd round of the MLB Draft? Yes please. Smoltz was initially drafted by the Detroit Tigers as the 574th player picked in the 1985 draft. The pitcher spent several seasons in their minor league system before an ill-fated (for Detroit) trade to the Braves in 1987. Smoltz would debut for Atlanta in 1988 and go on to make eight All-Star teams and win a World Series with the Braves. Smoltz won a National League Cy Young Award, an NLCS MVP, a Rolaids Reliever of the Year Award, and led the National League in wins and strikeouts twice each, and saves once. He is one of only two pitchers in MLB history with both a 20-win season and a 50-save season (Dennis Eckersley). Smoltz excelled in the postseason with a 15–4 record and a 2.67 earned run average over 41 postseason appearances.

Mike Piazza – Hall of Fame – 62nd Round

The all-time example, Piazza is going to be on every list of these picks forever. Originally taken as a favor to then-manager Tommy Lasorda, Piazza would only go on to become one of the greatest offensive catchers of all time, making the Hall of Fame in 2016. Known primarily as a Dodger and a Met, Piazza played for five teams over his 16-year career. He mashed 427 career home runs, a record 396 of which came as a catcher, and collected a .308 lifetime average and 1,335 RBI. The catcher was quick to prove doubters wrong when he made it to MLB, winning the 1993 National League Rookie of the Year Award, and would go on to make a dozen All-Star teams and win 10 Silver Slugger Awards on his way to a career WAR of 59.6.

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MLB Draft: Nine Hall of Fame-Caliber Players Who Wouldn’t Be Picked This Year