Mark Buehrle pitches for the White Sox in 2005; Licensed by CC 2.0
The art of exploration and design is not a perfect science. More often than not, high draft picks don’t live up to their perceived potential. Whether it can be attributed to an organizational failure in development, poor scouting, or simply an injury bug, many drafted players are consistently busts. What happens almost as often is that a team finds a player in the late stages of the draft who becomes a top-tier contributor. Everyone knows that Mike Piazza was taken by the Dodgers in the 62nd round as a favor to his father, but every year there is at least one player behind the draft who defies the odds and becomes a good player. – A great MLB player. As a new group of freshmen prepares to hear their name called on July 14th, we’re taking a look back at some of the most underrated draft picks of all time.
Jeff Cohn, 1987 (58th round, selection 1226)
Cone, a mediocre college pitcher at UCLA, was taken late in the 1987 draft by the Royals on the basis that he might have some hitting potential. The Royals organization stuck him at first base while he developed a strong bat that moved through the minors with relative ease. Coney was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 1992 expansion draft, who moved him to the outfield and played every day. During Conine’s career, he amassed 19.5 bWAR as he slashed .285/.347/.443 over 17 seasons. He made two All-Star teams with the Marlins, won the 1995 All-Star MVP and is the only player in Marlins history to play on both the 1997 and 2003 World Series winning teams. Conine’s 19.5 bWAR is by far the most in his season and the most since the 13th round pick, Steve Finley. Conine has the second-most bWAR of any player drafted in the 58th round or later, surpassed only by Piazza.
Mark Buehrle, 1998 (Round 38, Pick 1,139)
One of the best and most underrated pitchers of the 2000s, Mark Buehrle was selected by the White Sox late in the 1998 draft, the same year All-Stars Mark Mulder, Brad Lidge and CC Sabathia were drafted. first stage. With 59.1 bWAR, Buehrle surpassed Mulder’s and Lidge’s bWAR totals combined, as he more than doubled Mulder’s 20 and Lidge’s 7.9. Even Sabathia amassed just 3.2 bWAR more than Buehrle, putting the 38th rounder on par. During his career, Buehrle was a five-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner and enjoyed a dominant 2005 season that saw him finish fifth in Cy Young voting and win his only World Series title with the White Sox. From 2001 to 2014, Buehrle never pitched fewer than 200 innings in a season, and he started 30 or more games in every full season of his career. Buehrle had a reputation as a quick-fire ironman on the mound, and he provided Chicago with tremendous value from his bullpen.
Seth Lugo, 2011 (34th round, pick 1032)
While not on the same level as Conine or Buehrle, 2024 Seth Lugo has cemented himself as one of the more notable draft picks of the late 2010s. Drafted by the New York Mets in the 34th round of the 2011 draft, Lugo made his debut in 2016 after five seasons in the minors. The Mets envisioned Lugo as a starter to help bolster a rotation that already included names like Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey. Unfortunately, the 2015 NL Pennant winners couldn’t keep a talented rotation together and healthy, and Lugo was part of the slump. After a strong rookie season that saw him move from reliever to starter, Lugo struggled in 2017, his first season as a full-time starter. The Mets used Lugo in 2018 and 2019, where he put together two solid years before trying him back into the rotation in 2020. Lugo again struggled as a starter, but continued to struggle even after New York sent him back. the bull. In the 2022 offseason, Lugo left New York to join the San Diego Padres, where he put together a solid season in the back of their rotation. His real breakthrough came for the Royals in 2024, but as he heads into July, he leads the American League in wins, games started and ERA+. Lugo’s 2024 bWAR of 4.2 brings his career bWAR to 14.9, a far cry from his late 2011 draft class.
