Swol: How Twins and other teams #1 draft picks have fared
From SABR member John Swol at Twins Trivia on January 2, 2017:
The 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft is still a long ways off but since my hometown Minnesota Twins have the first overall pick in the draft it got me to thinking. I spent some time recently researching how MLB teams have fared with their first round picks in the June Amateur draft that first started in 1965.
The very first pick in the very first draft was made by the Kansas City Athletics and they chose Arizona University Rick Monday who went on to a nice 19-year career with three teams with two All-Star selection and a career WAR of 33.1 but he was not Hall of Fame worthy.
Drafting back in 1965 was an inexact science just like it is today. HOF pitcher Nolan Ryan was drafted in round 12 and ended up with a career WAR of 81.8 and HOF catcher Johnny Bench who ended up with a 75.0 WAR was selected in round two. Other first round picks that year that you might remember were RHP Joe Coleman, catcher Ray Fosse, and third baseman Bernie Carbo.
Read the full article here: http://twinstrivia.com/2017/01/02/how-have-teams-fared-with-their-first-round-picks-in-the-june-amateur-draft/
Originally published: January 12, 2017. Last Updated: January 12, 2017.