2005 Draft, One for the Ages

The early returns on the players taken early in the 2005 draft are rather promising.  The first five players selected have all made their MLB debuts, as well as eight of the top 10 selections.  Overall, 14 of the first round picks from the 2005 draft have already had a taste of the big-leagues.

The talent at the top of that year’s draft was notable even at the time, highlighted by phenom Justin Upton, the first pick of the 2005 draft, now patrolling the outfield for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Cameron Maybin (selected 10^th overall) is doing the same inDetroit for arguably the most potent offense at the Major League level.

Alex Gordon (second overall) is considered the cornerstone for the Royals franchise, and while he isn’t hitting as well as many expect him to in the future, he still has 47 extra-base hits on the season.

The third overall pick, Jeff Clement, was called up by the Mariners as the rosters expanded on September 1st, and while he has only received one plate appearance so far, big things are expected from him after he hit 35 doubles and 20 home runs for AAA Tacoma

Ryan Zimmerman, the fourth pick of the draft, didn’t miss a beat after spending just 67 games in the minor leagues before reaching Washington the same summer he was drafted.  He was one of the most notable rookie of the year candidates a year ago as part of arguably the best rookie class ever, and he too is considered a fixture as the Nationals third baseman.

Fifth overall pick Ryan Braun is having the most impressive season of any rookie this year, and possibly one of the most impressive rookie seaons ever.  He’s currently hitting .334 with 28 home runs and 76 RBI with a .649 slugging percentage, all of that with less than 400 at-bats under his belt.

Troy Tulowitzki was taken seventh overall, and he has been red-hot bringing his average up to .290 with 19 home runs on the year for the surging Rockies .

Taken later in the first round, but still having just as big of an immediate impact for his parent club, Jacoby Ellsbury is doing a little bit of everything for the Red Sox by hitting for average, power, stealing bases and showing his defensive prowess in centerfield.

The Red Sox have yet another promising rookie from the 2005 draft making a strong, early impression:  Clay Buchholz, who tossed a no-hitter in his second ever start at the highest of levels.

Other notable pitchers that have already been called up include Mike Pelfrey of the Mets, Matt Garza and Kevin Slowey of the Twins and Garrett Olson of the Orioles.

More on the way

What makes the talent from the 2005 draft even more special is just how quickly so many of them are making an impact just two years after being drafted.  More often than not, young players need three to five years of minor league baseball under their belt before they get promoted, and even then their impact usually isn’t as immediate.

So with that said, please don’t judge some of the talented players from the 2005 draft that haven’t made it to the big-leagues based on the success of their peers.

The most notable player from the ’05 draft that hasn’t made it to the big-leagues yet, but is awfully close, is Jay Bruce, who soared through three levels this season to finish the year at AAA Louisville.  Between those three levels he collectively hit .319 with a .587 slugging percentage with 46 doubles, eight triples and 26 home runs.  He would seem to be the early favorite for rookie of the year next season adding another potent bat to the Big Red Machine.

Andrew McCutchen and Colby Rasmus are two other promising farmhands for NL Central teams from the first round of the 2005 draft that are on the verge of making their mark.  McCutchen finished the year at AAA Indianapolis, where he hit .313, while Rasmus spent the entire season at AA Springfield clubbing 37 doubles and 29 home runs.  The Pirates and Cardinals respectively are hoping they can have the same impact as the rest of the bats listed above for them to enjoy success in years to come.

Jordan Schafer isn’t as much of a household name to those that follow prospects, but he is making sure that more and more people are aware of him.  The talented outfielder from the Braves system hit .312 with 49 doubles, 10 triples and 15 home runs between two levels of A-ball to cement his status as a legitimate prospect on the rise.

While the bats clearly have dominated this list from top to bottom, one arm from the first round of the 2005 draft, Chris Volstad, the first prep pitcher selected that year (16^th overall), continues his rapid ascent to Florida .  A groundball machine with a heavy sinker, Volstad went 12-11 on the year with a 4.16 ERA between two levels.

Second-best draft ever?

While it will take a while to properly gauge just how successful the talent from the 2005 draft pans out, at this point in time the talent could rival that of the 1985 draft, which many consider to be the strongest draft class ever, at least as far as first round talent is concerned.

That year saw B.J. Surhoff, Will Clark, Bobby Witt, Barry Larkin, Barry Bonds, Pete Incaviglia, Walt Weiss, Brian McCrae, Joe Magrane, Gregg Jefferies and Rafael Palmeiro selected in the first round, another draft that favored big bats early.

Randy Johnson, Bobby Thigpen, David Justice, Mike MacFarlane, Chad Kreuter, Mike Devereaux, Jeff Brantley and Brady Anderson were other notable long-standing big-leaguers from the first 10 rounds of that year’s draft.

So, it may take another 20 years until we see a talent-laden draft like the one we saw just two years ago, but the talent we’re watching now only adds to the incredible amount of young talent that has graduated to the Major Leagues the past few years.

The thoughts and opinions listed here do not necessarily reflect those of Perfect Game USA .  Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and Brewerfan.net, and can be contacted via email at pebert@brewerfan.net.