Mark Buehrle pitching for the White Sox in 2005; CC by License 2.0
The artwork of scouting and drafting shouldn’t be an ideal science. Most of the time, excessive draft picks don’t stay as much as their perceived potential. Whether or not it may be attributed to organizational failure in growth, dangerous scouting, or just the damage bug, extremely drafted gamers bust on a regular basis. What doesn’t occur almost as typically is a workforce discovering a participant within the late rounds of the draft who turns into a contributor on the highest stage. Everybody is aware of the story of Mike Piazza getting taken by the Dodgers within the 62nd spherical as a favor to his father, however each single yr there’s a minimum of one participant taken within the again finish of the choice course of who defies the percentages and turns into a good-to-great MLB participant. As a brand new batch of first-year gamers put together to listen to their identify referred to as on July 14th, we glance again on among the most underrated draft steals of all time.
Jeff Conine, 1987 (Spherical 58, Decide 1,226)
Conine, a mediocre school pitcher at UCLA, was taken by the Royals late within the 1987 draft on the idea that he may need some hitting potential. The Royals group caught him at first base whereas he developed a robust bat, working his means by way of the minors with relative ease. Conine was scooped up within the 1992 growth draft by the Florida Marlins, who moved him to the outfield and performed him each day. Conine’s profession noticed him accrue 19.5 bWAR as he slashed .285/.347/.443 throughout 17 seasons. He made two All-Star groups with the Marlins, received All-Star MVP in 1995, and is the one participant in Marlins historical past to play for each the 1997 and 2003 World Sequence-winning groups. Conine’s 19.5 bWAR is by far probably the most in his spherical, and probably the most within the draft post-Thirteenth spherical, the place Steve Finley was chosen. Conine has the second most bWAR of any participant chosen within the 58th spherical or later, surpassed solely by Piazza.
Mark Buehrle, 1998 (Spherical 38, Decide 1,139)
Among the finest and most underrated pitchers of the 2000’s, Mark Buehrle was chosen by the White Sox on the tail finish of the 1998 draft, the identical yr that fellow All-Stars Mark Mulder, Brad Lidge, and CC Sabathia have been chosen within the first spherical. With 59.1 bWAR, Buehrle out-produced Mulder’s and Lidge’s bWAR totals mixed, as he greater than doubled Mulder’s 20 and Lidge’s 7.9. Even Sabathia accrued simply 3.2 extra bWAR than Buehrle, placing the thirty eighth rounder on the identical stage. Over his profession, Buehrle was a five-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove-winner, and loved a dominant 2005 season that noticed him end fifth in Cy Younger voting and win his solely World Sequence title with the White Sox. From 2001 to 2014, Buehrle by no means pitched lower than 200 innings in a season, and he began 30 or extra video games in each full season of his profession. Buehrle had a fame as a quick-working iron man on the mound, and he supplied Chicago with immense worth from his draft slot.
Seth Lugo, 2011 (Spherical 34, Decide 1,032)
Though not on the stage of Conine or Buehrle, Seth Lugo in 2024 has cemented himself as one of many extra notable late-round picks of the 2010s. Taken within the thirty fourth spherical of the 2011 draft by the New York Mets, Lugo made his large league debut in 2016 after persevering by way of the minors for 5 seasons. The Mets envisioned Lugo as a starter to assist solidify a rotation that already included names comparable to Noah Syndergaard, Jacob DeGrom, and Matt Harvey. Sadly, the 2015 NL Pennant winners couldn’t preserve the gifted rotation collectively and wholesome, and Lugo was a part of the downfall. After a robust rookie season that noticed him transition from a reliever to a starter, Lugo struggled in 2017, his first season as a full-time beginning pitcher. The Mets utilized Lugo out of the bullpen in 2018 and 2019, the place he put collectively two good years, earlier than attempting him once more within the rotation in 2020. Lugo struggled once more as a starter, however continued to wrestle even when New York despatched him again to the bullpen. Within the 2022 offseason, Lugo departed from New York to hitch the San Diego Padres, the place he put collectively a stable season within the again finish of their rotation. His true breakout has come for the Royals in 2024, nonetheless, as, going into July, he leads the American League in wins, video games began, and ERA+. Lugo’s 2024 bWAR of 4.2 has grown his profession bWAR to 14.9, far and away the most effective from the late rounds of his 2011 draft class.
