At least a year ago, maybe longer, I had an idea: wouldn’t it be cool to go through every draft pick in major league history, pick the best player for each one, and create sort of an Ultimate Draft? (NFL.com did something like this a couple years ago, so maybe that’s where I got the idea from, but they only did the first round. I can’t find anyplace that’s done it for baseball.)
There are over 1,200 players listed here, so I broke this up into rounds of fifty picks each. We’ll run one round each day.
All-Time Draft: Picks 251-300
Total WAR: 840.9 (16.8 per player)
High WAR: Nolan Ryan (80.5)
Low WAR: Duane Theiss (0.0)
Hall of Famers (1): Nolan Ryan (295)
Most Valuable Players: None
Cy Youngs: None
Rookies of the Year: ScotT. Williamson (1999); Ted Sizemore (1969)
251 – Jerry Reed, RHP, Minnesota Twins (1973)
252 – Joe Kennedy, LHP, Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998)
253 – Fernando Vina, 2B, New York Mets (1990)
254 – Ryan Madson, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies (1998)
255 – Jim Dwyer, OF, St. Louis Cardinals (1971)
256 – Keith Foulke, RHP San Francisco Giants (1994)
257 – Brady Anderson, OF, Boston Red Sox (1985)
258 – Jack Wilson***, SS, St. Louis Cardinals (1998)
259 – Austin Jackson, OF, New York Yankees (2005)
260 – Bill Madlock, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals (1969)
261 – Kevin Ohme, LHP, Minnesota Twins (1993)
262 – Mike Sweeney, C, Kansas City Royals (1991)
263 – Randy Johnson, SS, New York Mets (1978)
264 – Tony Graffanino, SS, Atlanta Braves (1990)
265 – Darrell Evans, 3B, Chicago Cubs (1965)
266 – Jackson Todd, RHP, Chicago Cubs (1970)
267 – Greg Cadaret, LHP, Oakland Athletics (1983)
268 – Steve Finley, OF, Atlanta Braves (1986)
269 – Darryl Hamilton, OF, Milwaukee Brewers (1986)
270 – Chili Davis, OF, San Francisco Giants (1977)
271 – Mark Ellis, SS, Kansas City Royals (1999)
272 – Morgan Ensberg, 3B, Houston Astros (1998)
273 – Mike Caldwell***, LHP, San Diego Padres (1998)
274 – Tyler Clippard*, RHP, New York Yankees (2003)
275 – Lou Merloni, SS, Boston Red Sox (1993)
276 – Mark Littell, RHP, Kansas City Royals (1971)
277 – Luke Scott*, OF, Cleveland Indians (2001)
278 – Scott Williamson, RHP, Cincinnati Reds (1997)
279 – Rusty Greer***, OF, Texas Rangers (1990)
280 – Bill North, OF, Chicago Cubs (1969)
281 – Kelly Stinnett, C, Cleveland Indians (1989)
282 – Duane Theiss, RHP, Atlanta Braves (1979)
283 – Kevin Seitzer, 3B, Kansas City Royals (1983)
284 – Jason Hammel*, RHP, Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2002)
285 – Mike Difelice, C, St. Louis Cardinals (1991)
286 – Jeff Cirillo, 3B, Milwaukee Brewers (1991)
287 – Clint Barmes, SS, Colorado Rockies (2000)
288 – Joe Randa, 3B, Kansas City Royals (1991)
289 – John Wetteland***, RHP, New York Mets (1984)
290 – Trevor Hoffman, SS, Cincinnati Reds (1989)
291 – Luis Matos**, OF, Baltimore Orioles (1996)
292 – Joe McIntosh*, RHP, San Diego Padres (1973)
293 – Doug Davis, LHP, Texas Rangers (1996)
294 – Jack Clark, RHP, San Francisco Giants (1973)
295 – Nolan Ryan, RHP, New York Mets (1965)
296 – Pete Falcone, LHP, Minnesota Twins (1972)
297 – Rick Dempsey, C, Minnesota Twins (1967)
298 – Cory Wade*, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (2004)
299 – Ted Sizemore, C, Los Angeles Dodgers (1966)
300 – John Smiley, LHP, Pittsburgh Pirates (1983)
Active Players Who Are Close To The Best WAR (Denoted By Single Asterisk)
274 – Edwin Encarnacion (4.3)
277 – R.A. Dickey (9.9)
284 – Mark Melancon (1.3)
292 – Mike Stutes (0.6)
298 – Craig Gentry (1.0)
Two Players With The Same High WAR (Denoted By Double Asterisk)
291 – Dustan Mohr (3.5)
Player Listed Was Second-Highest; First Highest Already Appeared (Denoted By Triple Asterisk)
258 – Scott Sanderson
273 – Mike Mussina
279 – Doug Drabek
289 – Roger Clemens
