Stephen Strasburg generated headlines as the consensus first overall pick of the 2009 draft, though that draft has taken on a different historic import almost ten years later, as that was the night Mike Trout officially became a Major League player. MLB.com’s Jim Callis looks back at the 2009 draft with a decade of hindsight, re-drafting the first round with the top players who were selected (and signed contracts) from that year’s class. In this scenario, the Nationals take Trout first overall instead of Strasburg, who falls to the Pirates with the fourth overall pick. The Mariners take Nolan Arenado with the second pick, while the Padres take Paul Goldschmidt third overall.
The actual draft spots of these superstars (Trout went 25th overall, Arenado in the second round, and Goldschmidt not until the eighth round) is indicative of the draft’s unpredictable nature, as teams and pundits simply never know which unheralded youngster might develop into a gem. Callis includes several interesting notes and scouting opinions about various players at the time of the 2009 draft, including the item that only the Athletics, Diamondbacks, and Tigers were known to be linked to Trout, among teams who had a chance to select him before the Angels. Many clubs didn’t have interest due to rumors that Trout was seeking a $2.5MM draft bonus, which would’ve exceeded the slot price for all but the top five picks, though in the end Trout signed with the Angels for the $1.215MM league-recommended slot price attached to the 25th overall selection.
More from around the baseball world…
- Correcting one of his own reports from the offseason, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link) notes that the Twins “were very much in on” Charlie Morton before the veteran righty signed a two-year, $30MM deal with the Rays. Since Morton was only looking for a short-term deal as he nears the end of his career, he fit the model of what the Twins were looking for this past winter, as the club inked the likes of Nelson Cruz, Martin Perez, Jonathan Schoop, and Marwin Gonzalez to contracts consisting of no more than one or two guaranteed years. It isn’t known how close Morton and the Twins might have come to an agreement, though the Rays did have a geographical ace up their sleeve, as Morton has stated that the Rays’ close proximity to his family’s home in Florida was a factor in his decision. Given that the Twins have already posted the best record in baseball, it’s hard to imagine how much better things could have been for the club with Morton in the rotation.
- After two seasons as an important weapon out of the Diamondbacks’ bullpen, Archie Bradley has struggled to a 4.63 ERA over 23 1/3 innings in 2019. As a result, manager Torey Lovullo told the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro and other media that Bradley will continue to handled carefully so he can get back on track, and likely won’t see many high-leverage moments. “We might get him some (appearances with) multiple innings to continue to develop a feel. We might give him some really short spurts to walk off the mound and have a good result,” Lovullo said. While a .409 BABIP is a big factor in Bradley’s issues, a lack of control has been his biggest problem, as his 5.79 BB/9 is more than double his walk numbers from the previous two seasons.
- Marlins fans bemoan the fire sale that saw the likes of Christian Yelich, Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna, J.T. Realmuto, and Dee Gordon leave the team over the last 18 months, yet as The Athletic’s Marc Carig (subscription required) observes, Miami also parted ways with a wealth of pitching talent in recent years. Luis Castillo, Domingo German, Trevor Williams, and Chris Paddack were all somewhat unheralded prospects when the Fish traded them in various deals for veterans who ultimately didn’t help the team return to contention. Between all of these names and some other notables (Derek Dietrich, Nick Wittgren, Anthony DeSclafani), Carig comprises a startling what-if of a 2019 Marlins roster that would be on pace to win 102 games, as per Baseball Reference WAR calculations. “By simply securing the talent, they’d accomplished the hardest part of assembling a dynasty,” Carig writes. “Then, all of it slipped away. No team bats 1.000 when it comes to trades. Few teams hit near .000. For a period, the Marlins were seemingly one of those.”
Remember, right before the 2018 season there were those lamenting the Rays’ “Fire Sale”? Then they had their first winning season four years.
That’s the difference between Tampa and Miami. Competent versus Incompetent.
Good job catching up to everyone else that realized Loria was a terrible owner
1 year into new ownership and you call Miami “Incompetent”..hmm How many pathetic losing years has Tampa had in their history? How many World Series trophies do the Rays display in their trophy case?
the marlins have made the postseason twice, ever…. they still are and have always been the most poorly run incompetent front office in baseball, no matter who is running them..
if they made the postseason “twice”…… how many times did they win the World Series? Twice!
The fact that the Marlins have had two good seasons in their entire history doesn’t really dispell the belief that they’ve been a joke of a franchise.
Two world series wins are nice and all, but those are the only two bright spots any Marlins fan has known.
“Two world series wins are nice and all” Dude that’s why they play the game..Win It All!! You sure have a really low bar for a fan otherwise.
I think the Marlins are one of the few teams in professional sports where I’d rather cheer for a team that’s never won than them. Zero titles > that dumpster fire with two trophies.
I mean, it’s literally all the Marlins fans have to talk about, 2 world series wins and then a lot misery and mismanagement. And there’s nobody left from the last world series team in the organization.
If that’s the kind of team you’d want to root for, I’m not sure it’s my bar that’s low…
Why not try Bradley as an “opener” and see how it goes. Maybe he’ll be good enough to go back to being a regular starter.
Thats what the Rangers are doing with LeClerc and he’s actually doing better as an opener.
Arizona has given up just like last September , they went from 2nd place to 4th place. and 2 game below 500. . Most player are under performing.
I love going back and reading draft reports. If you go back and read a draft analysis from 2009, I think it was Sports Illustrated, maybe ESPN, Mike Trout’s paragraph read that if everything worked out perfectly for him he’d compare nicely to Aaron Rowand. That’s why I don’t put much stock into draft analysis. It’s all a guessing game.
I mean stock in anything like scouting is difficult.
But Aaron Rowand was a great player and projecting that onto a high school outfielder was probably fair given the area and lack of data they had on him.
What a waste of time by Jim…..
That Marlins article made me sad for all Marlins fans, that was some depressing stuff about their transaction history.
At least they draft well?
It’s what happens when you have an owner who makes shortsighted trades (Straily) or doesn’t fund analytics that can tell the team a players run isn’t sustainable (Rodney).
Imagine if they still had Fernandez
They wouldn’t. He’d have been traded by now.
Marlins would have contended for a playoff spot in 2017 had Fernandez been with the team, and healthy. His death changed everything. Wouldn’t be quick to dismiss his presence on that team.
Was on track to be eligible for free agency last offseason
Who cares? He’d be in prison now if he had survived. The Marlins should be doing everything they can to distance themselves from Jose Fernandez.
Jose Fernandez would have fail drug test and been suspended for 80 days also.
You really believe Fernandez wouldn’t have beat the test? Less than 1% chance he would have failed.
Two crazy facts. First that Trout was by chance the only drafted player to show up to the first televised baseball draft. So Espn was coincidentally gifted the best player of the past few decades being their first on camera.
Second the Angels had locked in Arenado as their next pick (he played high school ball a few miles from the stadium). There was a story from Eddie Bane (then scouting director) about them being nervous they were gonna get swooped before their next pick.
That draft would have netted; Trout, Richards, Corbin, Grichuk and Arrenado, Skaggs and Jake Locker.
One of the truly best drafts of all-time got Eddie Bane fired exactly a year later by the dude who made the worst trade in Angel History (Vernon Wells deal). I wont even say teh GMs name.
The 2009 draft was broadcast on MLB Network.
The Draft has never been on ESPN but should be to and some where different each year and in Offseason so then Trades would be in it.
Yep and that “truly best draft of all time” has gotten them precisely ZERO playoff wins, so really what good did it do?
The Angels are completely content with just being mentioned about something…
Road Arenado, away from Colorado, not a #2 pick from that draft. Not a chance.
No, just no.
Good luck arguing against it.
I don’t even bother arguing when it is such a weak argument against me.
True arguments aren’t weak. Find a mirror.
A .280 hitter on the road. Would still average 30 homers with 100 RBI’s along with being the best defensive third baseman in the majors. Yeah no team would want that guy on their team.
Keep in mind that if the Twins signed Morton, they may not have signed a different pitcher, say…Martin Perez?
Not complaining about Martin Perez, but having Morton yesterday would’ve been really nice…
Then again, perhaps the Twins FO made the right decision after all…
Stroman/Perez > Morton
Arizona has lost 5 games in a row and 3-7 in last 10. Arizona may be having fire sale.