Post by Exposgm on Nov 21, 2010 17:01:38 GMT -5
A look back on the ’80 draft
The 1980 Amateur draft will probably be remembered as one of the strangest ones I witnessed. It’s not that there wasn’t any quality, but looking at it five seasons later, we can certainly wonder if the players taken would go out in the same order. Probably not, considering some of the best first round picks occurred late in the round. Half the players that were taken in the top 10 may not have the type of career they were expected to back then. One of the other things that will characterize this first round in particular is the low number of pitchers that were taken. Only 8 of the 26 first round picks were pitchers, and not all of those pitchers will be good. An odd, but interesting draft, here are the first of the two rounds.
#1 – SP Roger Clemens – Blue Jays – The first player selected in the 1980 draft spent only one season in the minors before making his debut at 18 years old from the Blue Jays rotation. “Rocket” packs a ton of talent, but he has yet to prove it. Over his first five seasons in the big leagues, he has not had a single winning season, topping 10 wins only once and his best ERA ever was a 4.93 mark. Clemens will continue to polish his game a bit, but may not become the star some would have expected. He needs to cut down on the homeruns he allows if he wants to be better than ordinary.
#2 – SS Tony Fernandez – Cardinals – Several teams probably wanted the chance to select SS Tony Fernandez, but it was the Cardinals that grabbed him with the 2nd overall pick. Showing a steady progression as well as a solid minor league career, Fernandez broke into the Cards starting lineup in 1985, where he was one of the better rookies in TMBL, batting .297 and playing great defense at SS and 2B. There’s no doubt that Fernandez will be one of the top players at his position in the league for seasons to come.
#3 – SP Jamie Moyer – Rangers – Moyer had ups and downs in the minors after the Rangers made him the third overall selection in 1980, but the 1984 campaign he put up at AAA convinced the team that he was ready. His rookie season wasn’t very good, at 6-13 with a 6.46 ERA, but Moyer is only 22 and will get much better. His control is already excellent and he probably doesn’t belong in the minors anymore. He could be among the upcoming elite lefty pitchers in the league, especially when the Rangers start contending.
#4 – 1B Wally Joyner – Royals – Picked fourth overall by the Royals, Joyner’s sophomore season in 1983 may have looked promising (.299, 16 HR, 79 RBI), but by then at 21 years old, he wasn’t a prospect anymore and wasn’t going to get any better. He played only part-time in 1984, and spent the last season on the Mariners bench. A wasted pick, Joyner will have a career as a backup.
#5 – CF Eric Davis – Giants – Drafted by the Giants, Davis was shipped to the A’s just prior to the last campaign after batting .268 with 12 homeruns and 35 RBI for San Francisco over 164 AB (.530 slugging percentage) in 1984. He didn’t do as well in Oakland, where he batted .227 with 21 homeruns and 56 RBI while leading TMBL with 152 strikeouts. That’s probably what we’re going to see from this guy: a ton of strikeout, some power and a low average.
#6 – RF Darryl Strawberry – Phillies – Picked by the Phillies, Strawberry played only 15 games with Philadelphia before the Angels acquired his services in a trade prior to the 1984 season. Although his minor league numbers were promising, the huge outfielder has too many holes in his swing to be a dominant figure. In two seasons in California, he hit on average for a .234 mark with 18 homeruns and 65 RBI, striking out close to 300 times over that stretch. He won’t get any better. He’ll find work, probably more as a platoon player, but he’s not expected to be a star.
#7 – C Terry Steinbach – Dodgers – The Dodgers traded Steinbach, their 1980 first round draft pick, to their San Francisco rivals just over a month after the draft had ended. There, he developed very well in the minors. 1984 was going to be his rookie season, but a broken hip cut his season real short. Still, in his very first complete season, Steinbach batted .279 with 18 homeruns and 72 RBI, doing extremely well in the postseason (.433) and being voted the NLCS MVP. Steinbach won’t play until his late thirties, but while he’s around, he’ll be great.
#8 – SP Doug Drabek – Yankees – Even though Drabek had some fine years in the minor leagues, it didn’t show on his Overall progression. Selected 8th overall, he shows an awful 1-8 record and 8.94 ERA through 11 starts with the Yankees. He has long hit peak and is not even good enough to be claimed through waivers.
#9 – SP Chuck Finley – Cubs – The Cubs first round pick in 1980, Finley was sent to their rotation as early as 1982 and he has stayed there since. The 6’6 lefty hasn’t done anything to prove he’ll be a good starter. After his first four seasons with the Cubs, he’s 31-42 with a 5.67 ERA and is getting hurt quite a bit by walks and homeruns. No longer a prospect, Finley will find work but don’t expect to see him at the All Star game.
#10 – CF Devon White – Mariners – The Mariners must have been delighted to obtain CF Devon White with the 10th overall pick. A complete player, “Devo” can do it all both with the bat and the glove. He made his debut in 1984 with the Mariners, hitting .280 with 11 homeruns and 52 RBI over 90 games. He’s already very good, but he’ll get even better. The third outfielder selected in the 1980 draft is by far the best of the three.
#11 – 2B Randy Velarde – Angels – The Angels first round pick that year, Velarde has done really well in the minors where he never batted below .292. Although his peak number dropped early on, it increased annually since, turning Velarde into a serious prospect. He’ll be known more for his hitting skills than what he does with the glove. He hasn’t reached the bigs yet, but we can expect him to find his way on a big league roster for Opening day of 1986.
#12 – LF Kevin Mitchell – White Sox – Mitchell wasn’t bad in the minors but he wasn’t dominant either. When he batted .230 in 42 games with the White Sox in 1983, some people may have thought he wasn’t going to be good. But one needs to take a closer look at “World” because he packs more than what the numbers can tell. By 1984, he was putting himself on the map by belting 33 homeruns and driving in 117 runs. For years, Andre Dawson was carrying the White Sox all by himself, but with picks like Andy Van Slyke and Kevin Mitchell, that team isn’t afraid of anyone anymore.
#13 – 3B Kelly Gruber – Mets – Although we’ve seen some doubtful picks so far in this first round, none were as bad as the Mets selection of 3B Kelly Gruber. Even if he was doing well in the minors, Gruber’s peak number was taking a dive each year. Finally, in May of 1984, the Mets released him. That’s a first round pick that didn’t even face a single big league pitch.
#14 – 2B Robby Thompson – Padres – Thompson did a great job improving on his skills, as his 14 point improvement on his peak number shows. Posting solid numbers most of the time in the minors, he was traded from the Padres to the Blue Jays late in 1982. He played in 28 games for Toronto in 1985, batting for .357 with 4 homeruns and 19 RBI. Thompson remains a major prospect at this point. Once he takes over second base in Toronto, he’ll hit for power, drive in a lot of runs and play solid defense. We’re probably looking at the next best thing from Ryne Sandberg in terms of 2B.
#15 – RF Danny Tartabull – Athletics – Selected in the middle of the first round in the 1980 amateur draft, Danny Tartabull quickly found his way to AAA. His second season there was a regression from the first one, but by 1983 he had found his stroke back and was soon going to spend more time with the big club. Through his first 164 games with the A’s, Tartabull batted .232 with 19 homeruns and 82 RBI. His best seasons lie ahead, and he’ll be playing a key role in the upcoming seasons for this young franchise.
#16 – 3B Darnell Coles – Pirates – Drafted by the Pirates, Coles was traded to Baltimore last season when the O’s acquired CF Dave Henderson. His peak number never moved since the draft, which is rather rare, and his overall progression has been very slow. At this point of his development, Coles is still a few years away from big league action, and unless he starts doing something about it, he may not be good enough to be a starter for any team. The good news he still has a lot of time ahead of him to change that.
#17 – RF Alan Cockrell – Astros – The 17th overall selection was Alan Cockrell, an outfielder picked up by the Astros. Cockrell hasn’t really been impressive in the minors so far, but his development has gone well with 3 increases on his peak number since draft day. He spent the last two seasons sleeping on the Astros bench instead of continuing his development in the minor leagues and has seen very limited action. He needs a few more seasons in AAA to work on his power. Once he pays his dues, he’ll have a career, although not that of Bobby Bonds or Dave Parker.
#18 – SP Urbano Lugo – Rangers – The 2nd first round pick made by the Rangers in 1980, Urbano Lugo has just reached AA. He hasn’t been bad in the minors, but an overall 19-21 record in five years as a starter isn’t eye-popping either. Lugo has worked well on improving his sinker twice, and by the time he makes it to the majors, he’ll have solid control and some good stuff. He won’t be an ace, but should make a decent #3 or 4 starter.
#19 – C Darren Daulton – Indians – In need of an eventual replacement to take over C Dave Duncan, the Indians turned to Darren Daulton and made him the 19th overall pick in the 1980 draft. “Dutch” displayed solid power in the minors but his development didn’t go as well as expected and he’ll be confined to a backup role from now on.
#20 – RF Ivan Calderon – Tigers – Tigers management was extremely happy to select RF Ivan Calderon so late in the first round. Despite some ordinary seasons early on in the minors, Calderon quickly raised his peak to 100. By 1984, he was tearing up AAA with a .384 average, 28 homeruns and 146 RBI. Despite this display, Detroit chose to start him in AAA at the start of the 1985 campaign, but after 25 games (.438, 7 HR, 28 RBI) it became obvious he was more than ready. He batted .282 with 14 homeruns and 72 RBI and was one of the league’s better rookies. The scary thing is that he will get even better, especially power-wise. Lucky are the pitchers who play in the NL as they won’t face this guy unless they meet him in late October.
#21 – CF Oddibe McDowell – Braves – Even though McDowell batted over .300 only once in six minor league seasons, his development went really well, particularly the peak number which increased 4 times during that span. He’s not ready to play in the bigs at this point of his career, but time isn’t a factor in his case yet. Once he pays his dues in the minors, he’ll be a real star, an outfielder that will do it all.
#22 – SP Sid Fernandez – Brewers – A 6’1, 235 lbs lefty, Fernandez posted really impressive numbers in the minors on his way up the ladder. But in August of 1983, after only 1 inning of 1 game in Milwaukee, the Brewers released him into free agency where the Yankees quickly signed him to a long-term deal. Was that a mistake by the Brewers? As impressive as the numbers in the minors were, the Brew-crew had nothing to hope from him. His 2 seasons from the Yankees rotation are proving that he’s ordinary, at best. His 10-12 season and 5.77 ERA he had in 1985 could very well be his best-ever numbers.
#23 – SP Bill Wegman – Expos – A huge righty at 6’5, 225 lbs, Wegman had ups and downs in the Expos minor leagues. His peak number stayed almost identical all along his development, and he eventually reached the team’s rotation last season where he went 6-8 with a 6.06 ERA over 19 starts. Wegman should be better than that, with his awesome control and solid stuff, but he may need help from the players behind him some more.
#24 – RF Cory Snyder – Red Sox – A late first round pickup by the Red Sox, Snyder has done a great job improving on his peak number which he pushed all the way up to 100. His numbers in the minors have yet to be as impressive as they should be, but Snyder still has some time ahead of him. His game will evolve around his power, but we’re still waiting for a breakthrough season at AAA in his case. Don’t expect him to Boston for another couple of seasons at the very least, but once he reaches the bigs, it won’t be fun at all to count him as an opponent.
#25 – SP Jose Cano – Tigers – Selected by the Tigers, Cano was sent to San Francisco in 1983. His development wasn’t great, as his peak number decreased a few times, but it was nothing catastrophic. Still, he never managed a winning season in the minors, and he seems to have kept his had habit of allowing a lot of gopher balls. He’s good enough to be part of any team’s rotation, although probably not as one of the top two aces.
#26 – 3B Kevin Seitzer – Reds – The last pick of the 1980 first round, Seitzer did well in the minors where he never batted lower than .305. He had done a good job improving on his peak number, but fell short a bit. He remains a better than average player, but power is what he lacks of. If he doesn’t start, he’ll be a deluxe backup, as reflected by his career .326 mark for the Reds over the last three seasons.
The 1980 Amateur draft will probably be remembered as one of the strangest ones I witnessed. It’s not that there wasn’t any quality, but looking at it five seasons later, we can certainly wonder if the players taken would go out in the same order. Probably not, considering some of the best first round picks occurred late in the round. Half the players that were taken in the top 10 may not have the type of career they were expected to back then. One of the other things that will characterize this first round in particular is the low number of pitchers that were taken. Only 8 of the 26 first round picks were pitchers, and not all of those pitchers will be good. An odd, but interesting draft, here are the first of the two rounds.
#1 – SP Roger Clemens – Blue Jays – The first player selected in the 1980 draft spent only one season in the minors before making his debut at 18 years old from the Blue Jays rotation. “Rocket” packs a ton of talent, but he has yet to prove it. Over his first five seasons in the big leagues, he has not had a single winning season, topping 10 wins only once and his best ERA ever was a 4.93 mark. Clemens will continue to polish his game a bit, but may not become the star some would have expected. He needs to cut down on the homeruns he allows if he wants to be better than ordinary.
#2 – SS Tony Fernandez – Cardinals – Several teams probably wanted the chance to select SS Tony Fernandez, but it was the Cardinals that grabbed him with the 2nd overall pick. Showing a steady progression as well as a solid minor league career, Fernandez broke into the Cards starting lineup in 1985, where he was one of the better rookies in TMBL, batting .297 and playing great defense at SS and 2B. There’s no doubt that Fernandez will be one of the top players at his position in the league for seasons to come.
#3 – SP Jamie Moyer – Rangers – Moyer had ups and downs in the minors after the Rangers made him the third overall selection in 1980, but the 1984 campaign he put up at AAA convinced the team that he was ready. His rookie season wasn’t very good, at 6-13 with a 6.46 ERA, but Moyer is only 22 and will get much better. His control is already excellent and he probably doesn’t belong in the minors anymore. He could be among the upcoming elite lefty pitchers in the league, especially when the Rangers start contending.
#4 – 1B Wally Joyner – Royals – Picked fourth overall by the Royals, Joyner’s sophomore season in 1983 may have looked promising (.299, 16 HR, 79 RBI), but by then at 21 years old, he wasn’t a prospect anymore and wasn’t going to get any better. He played only part-time in 1984, and spent the last season on the Mariners bench. A wasted pick, Joyner will have a career as a backup.
#5 – CF Eric Davis – Giants – Drafted by the Giants, Davis was shipped to the A’s just prior to the last campaign after batting .268 with 12 homeruns and 35 RBI for San Francisco over 164 AB (.530 slugging percentage) in 1984. He didn’t do as well in Oakland, where he batted .227 with 21 homeruns and 56 RBI while leading TMBL with 152 strikeouts. That’s probably what we’re going to see from this guy: a ton of strikeout, some power and a low average.
#6 – RF Darryl Strawberry – Phillies – Picked by the Phillies, Strawberry played only 15 games with Philadelphia before the Angels acquired his services in a trade prior to the 1984 season. Although his minor league numbers were promising, the huge outfielder has too many holes in his swing to be a dominant figure. In two seasons in California, he hit on average for a .234 mark with 18 homeruns and 65 RBI, striking out close to 300 times over that stretch. He won’t get any better. He’ll find work, probably more as a platoon player, but he’s not expected to be a star.
#7 – C Terry Steinbach – Dodgers – The Dodgers traded Steinbach, their 1980 first round draft pick, to their San Francisco rivals just over a month after the draft had ended. There, he developed very well in the minors. 1984 was going to be his rookie season, but a broken hip cut his season real short. Still, in his very first complete season, Steinbach batted .279 with 18 homeruns and 72 RBI, doing extremely well in the postseason (.433) and being voted the NLCS MVP. Steinbach won’t play until his late thirties, but while he’s around, he’ll be great.
#8 – SP Doug Drabek – Yankees – Even though Drabek had some fine years in the minor leagues, it didn’t show on his Overall progression. Selected 8th overall, he shows an awful 1-8 record and 8.94 ERA through 11 starts with the Yankees. He has long hit peak and is not even good enough to be claimed through waivers.
#9 – SP Chuck Finley – Cubs – The Cubs first round pick in 1980, Finley was sent to their rotation as early as 1982 and he has stayed there since. The 6’6 lefty hasn’t done anything to prove he’ll be a good starter. After his first four seasons with the Cubs, he’s 31-42 with a 5.67 ERA and is getting hurt quite a bit by walks and homeruns. No longer a prospect, Finley will find work but don’t expect to see him at the All Star game.
#10 – CF Devon White – Mariners – The Mariners must have been delighted to obtain CF Devon White with the 10th overall pick. A complete player, “Devo” can do it all both with the bat and the glove. He made his debut in 1984 with the Mariners, hitting .280 with 11 homeruns and 52 RBI over 90 games. He’s already very good, but he’ll get even better. The third outfielder selected in the 1980 draft is by far the best of the three.
#11 – 2B Randy Velarde – Angels – The Angels first round pick that year, Velarde has done really well in the minors where he never batted below .292. Although his peak number dropped early on, it increased annually since, turning Velarde into a serious prospect. He’ll be known more for his hitting skills than what he does with the glove. He hasn’t reached the bigs yet, but we can expect him to find his way on a big league roster for Opening day of 1986.
#12 – LF Kevin Mitchell – White Sox – Mitchell wasn’t bad in the minors but he wasn’t dominant either. When he batted .230 in 42 games with the White Sox in 1983, some people may have thought he wasn’t going to be good. But one needs to take a closer look at “World” because he packs more than what the numbers can tell. By 1984, he was putting himself on the map by belting 33 homeruns and driving in 117 runs. For years, Andre Dawson was carrying the White Sox all by himself, but with picks like Andy Van Slyke and Kevin Mitchell, that team isn’t afraid of anyone anymore.
#13 – 3B Kelly Gruber – Mets – Although we’ve seen some doubtful picks so far in this first round, none were as bad as the Mets selection of 3B Kelly Gruber. Even if he was doing well in the minors, Gruber’s peak number was taking a dive each year. Finally, in May of 1984, the Mets released him. That’s a first round pick that didn’t even face a single big league pitch.
#14 – 2B Robby Thompson – Padres – Thompson did a great job improving on his skills, as his 14 point improvement on his peak number shows. Posting solid numbers most of the time in the minors, he was traded from the Padres to the Blue Jays late in 1982. He played in 28 games for Toronto in 1985, batting for .357 with 4 homeruns and 19 RBI. Thompson remains a major prospect at this point. Once he takes over second base in Toronto, he’ll hit for power, drive in a lot of runs and play solid defense. We’re probably looking at the next best thing from Ryne Sandberg in terms of 2B.
#15 – RF Danny Tartabull – Athletics – Selected in the middle of the first round in the 1980 amateur draft, Danny Tartabull quickly found his way to AAA. His second season there was a regression from the first one, but by 1983 he had found his stroke back and was soon going to spend more time with the big club. Through his first 164 games with the A’s, Tartabull batted .232 with 19 homeruns and 82 RBI. His best seasons lie ahead, and he’ll be playing a key role in the upcoming seasons for this young franchise.
#16 – 3B Darnell Coles – Pirates – Drafted by the Pirates, Coles was traded to Baltimore last season when the O’s acquired CF Dave Henderson. His peak number never moved since the draft, which is rather rare, and his overall progression has been very slow. At this point of his development, Coles is still a few years away from big league action, and unless he starts doing something about it, he may not be good enough to be a starter for any team. The good news he still has a lot of time ahead of him to change that.
#17 – RF Alan Cockrell – Astros – The 17th overall selection was Alan Cockrell, an outfielder picked up by the Astros. Cockrell hasn’t really been impressive in the minors so far, but his development has gone well with 3 increases on his peak number since draft day. He spent the last two seasons sleeping on the Astros bench instead of continuing his development in the minor leagues and has seen very limited action. He needs a few more seasons in AAA to work on his power. Once he pays his dues, he’ll have a career, although not that of Bobby Bonds or Dave Parker.
#18 – SP Urbano Lugo – Rangers – The 2nd first round pick made by the Rangers in 1980, Urbano Lugo has just reached AA. He hasn’t been bad in the minors, but an overall 19-21 record in five years as a starter isn’t eye-popping either. Lugo has worked well on improving his sinker twice, and by the time he makes it to the majors, he’ll have solid control and some good stuff. He won’t be an ace, but should make a decent #3 or 4 starter.
#19 – C Darren Daulton – Indians – In need of an eventual replacement to take over C Dave Duncan, the Indians turned to Darren Daulton and made him the 19th overall pick in the 1980 draft. “Dutch” displayed solid power in the minors but his development didn’t go as well as expected and he’ll be confined to a backup role from now on.
#20 – RF Ivan Calderon – Tigers – Tigers management was extremely happy to select RF Ivan Calderon so late in the first round. Despite some ordinary seasons early on in the minors, Calderon quickly raised his peak to 100. By 1984, he was tearing up AAA with a .384 average, 28 homeruns and 146 RBI. Despite this display, Detroit chose to start him in AAA at the start of the 1985 campaign, but after 25 games (.438, 7 HR, 28 RBI) it became obvious he was more than ready. He batted .282 with 14 homeruns and 72 RBI and was one of the league’s better rookies. The scary thing is that he will get even better, especially power-wise. Lucky are the pitchers who play in the NL as they won’t face this guy unless they meet him in late October.
#21 – CF Oddibe McDowell – Braves – Even though McDowell batted over .300 only once in six minor league seasons, his development went really well, particularly the peak number which increased 4 times during that span. He’s not ready to play in the bigs at this point of his career, but time isn’t a factor in his case yet. Once he pays his dues in the minors, he’ll be a real star, an outfielder that will do it all.
#22 – SP Sid Fernandez – Brewers – A 6’1, 235 lbs lefty, Fernandez posted really impressive numbers in the minors on his way up the ladder. But in August of 1983, after only 1 inning of 1 game in Milwaukee, the Brewers released him into free agency where the Yankees quickly signed him to a long-term deal. Was that a mistake by the Brewers? As impressive as the numbers in the minors were, the Brew-crew had nothing to hope from him. His 2 seasons from the Yankees rotation are proving that he’s ordinary, at best. His 10-12 season and 5.77 ERA he had in 1985 could very well be his best-ever numbers.
#23 – SP Bill Wegman – Expos – A huge righty at 6’5, 225 lbs, Wegman had ups and downs in the Expos minor leagues. His peak number stayed almost identical all along his development, and he eventually reached the team’s rotation last season where he went 6-8 with a 6.06 ERA over 19 starts. Wegman should be better than that, with his awesome control and solid stuff, but he may need help from the players behind him some more.
#24 – RF Cory Snyder – Red Sox – A late first round pickup by the Red Sox, Snyder has done a great job improving on his peak number which he pushed all the way up to 100. His numbers in the minors have yet to be as impressive as they should be, but Snyder still has some time ahead of him. His game will evolve around his power, but we’re still waiting for a breakthrough season at AAA in his case. Don’t expect him to Boston for another couple of seasons at the very least, but once he reaches the bigs, it won’t be fun at all to count him as an opponent.
#25 – SP Jose Cano – Tigers – Selected by the Tigers, Cano was sent to San Francisco in 1983. His development wasn’t great, as his peak number decreased a few times, but it was nothing catastrophic. Still, he never managed a winning season in the minors, and he seems to have kept his had habit of allowing a lot of gopher balls. He’s good enough to be part of any team’s rotation, although probably not as one of the top two aces.
#26 – 3B Kevin Seitzer – Reds – The last pick of the 1980 first round, Seitzer did well in the minors where he never batted lower than .305. He had done a good job improving on his peak number, but fell short a bit. He remains a better than average player, but power is what he lacks of. If he doesn’t start, he’ll be a deluxe backup, as reflected by his career .326 mark for the Reds over the last three seasons.