February 21, 2002  

2002 Draft by the Numbers

Now that the draft is over, we can break it down a little and see what happened.

Positional Scarcity?

By far, the most players drafted were starting pitchers. 57 starters were selected in the regular rounds, plus 16 in the supplemental rounds. In the first round alone, six starters were selected, including three of the first four players. Roy Oswalt was the highest selected pitcher, taken at number two overall by Honolulu. Relievers were in abundance in the draft as well. 37 relief pitchers and six closers were selected. Newark's Chad Fox was the only one selected in the first round, number 14 overall. Armando Benitez was the first closer taken in the second round (26 overall) by Philadelphia. Overall there were 95 pitchers selected.

It's no surprise that the outfielders led the hitters, in terms of number of players taken. 31 outfielders were taken, yet not until the third round was the first one taken (Mark Kotsay by Hoboken wiht the number 32 pick overall). Catchers were next with a whopping 21 players taken. Paul Lo Duca would be the first taken at his postion - number 7 overall by Brooklyn. The rest of the positions and their respective numbers: First base (11); Second Base (15); Third Base(17) and Shortstop(15). In addition to the aforementioned batters, five hitters that fit the utility or designated hitter role were also taken. Overall there were 115 hitters selected.

Team Preference?

It appears that drafters did not favor either league, as there was a fairly even split between AL and NL players selected. 110 ALers were selected and 100 NLers were picked. Accounting for the DH for extra qualifiers, this comes as no surprise. The team that offered up the most players was Oakland with 12. Pitcher Erik Hiljus and catcher Ramon Hernandez were taken early on by Stanhope and Tijuana, respectively. After Oakland, Texas, Milwaukee (surprisingly) and Los Angeles had the most players taken, with 10 apiece. Tampa Bay, Toronto, and the Chicago White Sox all had nine players selected.

On the other side of the lot, we have the Montreal Expos, with only two players taken -- shortstop Orlando Cabrera went to Phoenix in the middle of the draft and pitcher Scott Stewart was taken by Arkansas near the end. Other teams that had only four players selected are Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Houston, and San Francisco. Atlanta was next with only five players taken.

Looking Toward Next Year

Thirty players were taken in the draft who did not qualify for play this season. Seventeen more were taken in the supplemental rounds. Though many will likely be cut, there will be many that find themselves in the Minors of the DMBL. Phoenix had great success with this strategy last year, boasting both Juan Pierre and Ichiro Suzuki as their farm club's jewels. Josh Beckett was the first such player selected, as early as the second round by Tijuana. Four such players were selected by the time round five had finished.

Wheeling and Dealing

Seventeen draft positions changed hands, including one that changed hands twice. Vancouver's fifth round pick went to Philadelphia then subsequently was traded to Newark last season. No first round picks were traded, but three second rounders were re-shuffled. The Newark Sugar Bears struck a coup when they amassed four picks in the fifth round of this year's draft. The Endzone Animals were no slouch either with three valuable second round picks.

Cecil Fielder was the first selection in the DMBL's inaugural draft in 1991. Since then he's enjoyed a solid career as a member of seven DMBL teams. He is now retired and serves as the color man for the Columbia Rattlesnakes radio team. Click Here for past articles.