Headlines

  • Tigers Fire General Manager Al Avila
  • Matt Carpenter Expected To Miss 6-8 Weeks With Foot Fracture
  • Braves Select Top Prospect Vaughn Grissom, Activate Kirby Yates
  • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings: August Edition
  • Tim Anderson Out 4-6 Weeks Due To Torn Ligament In Hand
  • Blue Jays Sign Jackie Bradley Jr., Designate Matt Peacock
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Arbitration Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

2004 Draft Throwdown

By Howard Megdal | June 16, 2010 at 12:33pm CDT

Now that six years have passed since the 2004 draft, let's take a look at a few of the choices teams made between prospects at the same position to get a sense of who came out ahead in the great pick-by-pick spin of fate.

  • Justin Verlander (Tigers) vs. Phil Humber (Mets) vs. Jeff Niemann (Rays): Here we have a textbook study in the perils of pitching prospects. In Verlander, the second overall pick, the Tigers got a true ace. He has posted three top-seven finishes in the Cy Young voting already, and struck out an incredible 269 batters in 240 innings last year. Picking third, the Mets got an ace as well, sort of: Humber was eventually traded in the deal that landed them Johan Santana. Needless to say, Humber has not been an ace himself, pitching to an ERA over 5.00 at Triple-A for a second straight year in 2010. Niemann, meanwhile, has profiled somewhere in-between, though his 2010 so far suggests he may be fulfilling the promise of his status as fourth overall pick. He's pitching to a 2.83 ERA in 2010, though the strikeout rate (just 5.8 per nine innings) suggests that ERA will likely rise. Overall winner here? Everyone except the Twins.
  • Billy Butler (Royals) vs. Josh Fields (White Sox): Well, it certainly appears the Royals got the better of this battle of third basemen. Butler, picked 14th, didn't stick at third, but he is finally getting some attention as a legitimately excellent bat, putting up a .341/.396/.494 line in 2010 so far. Meanwhile, Fields, picked 18th, has struggled to remain on the field, and is actually now property of the Royals as well, coming over this winter in the deal for Mark Teahen. But he will miss most, if not all, of the 2010 season after having hip surgery in April. Fields, 28 in December, has had some impressive Triple-A seasons, so he may eventually fulfill his promise. Butler, however, is clearly here to stay. Overall winner? The Royals. Almost makes up for Alex Gordon!
  • Glen Perkins (Twins) vs. Phil Hughes (Yankees): Lost in the many months of Johan Santana trade talks back in 2007-2008, which centered around whether the Yankees would deal Phil Hughes, was the realization that the Twins could have drafted Hughes themselves. Instead, at pick 22, Minnesota took Glen Perkins, a college product out of University of Minnesota. The outlook isn't brilliant for Perkins at this point, with a 7.76 ERA in Triple-A, though his strikeout rate is at least relatively strong. Meanwhile, Phil Hughes has become one of the best pitchers in the American League, with a fantastic 74 strikeouts and 22 walks in 75.1 innings in support of his 3.11 ERA. Hughes won't be 24 until later this month. And among those who won't be celebrating his birthday? The Twins.
Share 1 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals Minnesota Twins New York Mets New York Yankees Tampa Bay Rays Billy Butler Glen Perkins Jeff Niemann Josh Fields Justin Verlander Phil Hughes Phil Humber

Berkman’s Preferred Destinations
Main
John Russell On The Hot Seat In Pittsburgh?
View Comments (13)

Comments

  1. Michael Eskin

    12 years ago

    What’s missing from this post is the realization that EVERYBODY passed on Dustin Pedroia.

    Reply
  2. P W

    12 years ago

    phil humber…hhahahaha

    Reply
    • adropofvenom

      12 years ago

      Thing about Humber is he lost his velocity when he had Tommy John Surgery.

      If anything, his story was more a referendum on drafting an abused college pitcher.

      Reply
  3. BK

    12 years ago

    Phillip Hughes has not become one of the best pitchers in teh league. He is having a good season. Lets wait it out.

    Reply
    • jwredsox

      12 years ago

      Well his xFIP is 3.70 which is good. Coming from a Red Sox fan I think he will be a very good pitcher in his career. Not a best in the league guy but he will be a guy who is always on the cusp. Plus his peripherals look good. Normal K rate for him, normal BABIP. Only thing that is somewhat low is HR rate (not by much) and his LOB% a bit. I think he is a consistent 3.50 ERA guy that occasionally gets good years that are in the lower 3.00s so I think he can keep this up for the season.

      Reply
      • jon

        12 years ago

        Whole-heartily agree with you. Textbook example of a number 2 pitcher, and that’s more than enough for me.

        Reply
        • Civilization

          12 years ago

          What I think BK was trying to point out however, is that one good season doesn’t determine how good a pitcher really is going to be. Case in point is Zack Greinke. This guy had an amazing 2009 posting 2.16/2.33/3.15 (ERA-FIP-xFIP) line. This year he’s posting a 3.94/3.87/3.94 line.

          Also worth keeping in mind is Hughes has a career high of 86 innings pitched in a single season. Phil Hughes can become one of the best pitchers in the league, but he’s not there yet.

  4. Bob

    12 years ago

    Ouch, the Alex Gordon comment stings. Well, at least the earlier discussions didn’t center on Hochevar.

    Reply
    • Cameron Nelson

      12 years ago

      Hochevar and Gordon had the same problem, not enough time in the minors to work on their flaws. Now that Gordon’s insanely good, wait for what the Royals are (dealing DeJesus and shifting Gordon into the OF) and designate Hochevar for assignment and let him dominate the minors and fix his problems.

      Rinse, repeat, profit.

      Reply
  5. jbowen24

    12 years ago

    The hard part about reading this article as a Padres fans is that they had the number one overall pick that year and went with Matt Bush. They could have had any of these guys but John Moores was so scared to draft guys that might cost a little bit of money.

    Reply
    • Onewildman

      12 years ago

      Literally, that night of the draft, Matt Bush was arrested at a bar for drinking underage. It was all down hill from their.

      Last I heard the Rays had converted him into a middle reliever. And just last year he was part of a professional baseball first…Tim Beckham (#1 overall 2008) and (#1 overall 2004) Matt Bush were on the same team. And for the record…both were struggling and falling way short of expectations.

      It may have been a first in the MLB, but David Carr formerly of the Houston Texans, New York Giants, Carolina Panthers and current San Francisco 49er. Has completed the task numerous times.

      For instance, in Carolina Carr #1 overall played with former #1 overall Vinny Testaverde. Ditto in NY while backing up #1 overall Eli Manning. And then again in SF with #1 overall Alex Smith.

      Reply
  6. East Coast Bias

    12 years ago

    That post made me “aww” and “lol” at the Twins at the same time. A year the Twinkies would like to forget, I’m guessing.

    Reply
    • Onewildman

      12 years ago

      Say what you will… but the Twins clean up in the draft every year. Their former GM Terry Ryan was the last old school talent evaluator. And the fruit’s of his labor have given the Twins a great farm system.

      They are like the Indianapolis Colts. (Last year all 22 of the Colts starters had NEVER player for another organization.) I know the Twins sprinkle in a free agent here and there (Pavano, Hudson, etc.), but for the most part they are all home grown.

      They may have missed on Glen Perkins, but just look at the rest of the organization. Mauer goes down and his rookie replacement gets 4 hits in his first start. The organization is very deep and well run.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Tigers Fire General Manager Al Avila

    Matt Carpenter Expected To Miss 6-8 Weeks With Foot Fracture

    Braves Select Top Prospect Vaughn Grissom, Activate Kirby Yates

    2022-23 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings: August Edition

    Tim Anderson Out 4-6 Weeks Due To Torn Ligament In Hand

    Blue Jays Sign Jackie Bradley Jr., Designate Matt Peacock

    Chris Sale Fractures Wrist, Will Miss Remainder Of Season

    Cubs To Release Jason Heyward At End Of Season

    Cubs Claim Franmil Reyes From Guardians

    Fernando Tatis Jr. To Begin Rehab Assignment

    Rockies Claim Dinelson Lamet, Designate Ashton Goudeau

    Cubs Release Andrelton Simmons

    Alex Kirilloff To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

    Guardians Designate Franmil Reyes For Assignment

    Justin Verlander Reaches 130 Innings Pitched, Vests 2023 Player Option

    Red Sox Release Jackie Bradley Jr.

    Phillies Release Didi Gregorius

    Vin Scully Passes Away

    Padres Acquire Juan Soto, Josh Bell; C.J. Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Luke Voit Among Six Players Back To Nationals

    Braves To Acquire Raisel Iglesias

    Recent

    Tigers Fire General Manager Al Avila

    Michael Brantley Going For Second Opinion On Injured Shoulder

    Marlins Sign Josh Rogers To Minor League Contract

    MLBTR Poll: Justin Verlander’s Next Contract

    Guardians To Promote Peyton Battenfield

    Previewing Upcoming Club Option Decisions: American League

    MLBTR Chat Transcript

    Matt Carpenter Expected To Miss 6-8 Weeks With Foot Fracture

    Red Sox Notes: Paxton, Wacha, Houck, Sale

    Cardinals Designate T.J. McFarland For Assignment

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Cubs Decline To Trade Contreras, Happ
    • Giants Keep Rodon, Pederson
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • MLB Player Chats
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version