Atlanta’s Chipper Jones only seems to get better with age. With a .453 batting average,
the veteran Braves third baseman leads the major leagues in hitting. He is also
tied for fourth with six home runs and tied for second with 19 RBIs. At .747, he
has the majors’ second-best slugging percentage.
His strong start to the 2008 season only reinforces the astute selection made by
the Braves with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1990 draft. Then general manager Bobby
Cox and scouting director Paul Snyder had targeted Texas schoolboy pitcher Todd
Van Poppel to be the top pick that year, but switched gears to Jones in the final
24 hours when they couldn’t get a handle on Van Poppel’s bonus demands.
Jones, a high school shortstop from The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., was
quick to agree to a signing bonus of $275,000. Van Poppel lasted until the 14th
pick and was ultimately given a $1.2 million major league contract that provided
for a $500,000 bonus. While Jones has spent his entire career with Atlanta building
a Hall of Fame resume, Van Poppel retired after the 2004 season. He proved to be
little more than a journeyman righthander with a 40-52, 5.58 record in 11 big league
seasons.
Led by Jones, the 1990 draft turned out to be one of the most successful in big
league history with 22 of 26 first-rounders reaching the big leagues. No first round
in history has been so productive. Only three first-rounders remain active and the
ranks of lower-round picks has also dwindled considerably. The accompanying list
identifies the highest picks from the 1990 draft who remain active, and the list
includes only nine players from the top 10 rounds.
It’s interesting to note that catchers seem to be the biggest survivors from the
1990 draft. Still going strong are Jason Varitek, an unsigned 23rd-rounder from
that draft, and Jorge Posada, a 24th-rounder who signed with the Yankees as a draft-and-follow.
The accompanying list also includes Paul Bako, Raul Casanova and Gary Bennett, who
continue to hang on to big league jobs in backup roles. It also should be mentioned
that Troy Percival originally signed as a catcher.
Following are the 10 highest picks from the 1990 draft who are playing in the big
leagues this season, the order they were selected and their signing bonuses:
|
|
Rank |
Player, Pos., Team |
Overall Order |
Signing Bonus |
Current Team |
|
1 |
Chipper Jones, ss, Braves |
1 |
$275,000 |
Braves |
|
2 |
Tony Clark, 1b, Tigers |
2 |
$500,000 |
Padres |
|
3 |
Mike Mussina, rhp, Orioles |
20 |
$250,000 |
Yankees |
|
4 |
Garret Anderson, of, Angels |
123
|
$60,000 |
Angels |
|
5 |
Ray Durham, 2b, White Sox |
129 |
$30,000 |
Giants |
|
6 |
Paul Bako, c, Indians |
159 |
Did not sign |
Reds |
|
7 |
Troy Percival, c, Angels |
175 |
$25,000 |
Rays |
|
8 |
Greg Norton, 3b, Giants |
198 |
Did not sign |
Mariners |
|
9 |
Raul Casanova, c, Mets |
220 |
$30,000 |
Mets |
|
10 |
Gary Bennett, c, Phillies |
284 |
$16,000 |
Dodgers |
|
|
|
|
--ALLAN SIMPSON |
Top Ten List Archives |
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