Top Picks and Phenoms Do Not Always Make It

Since the Dodgers came to Los Angeles, they have had 67 first round picks. More than half, 37, have been pitchers. 25 were right handed and 12 left handed. 9 shortstops, 9 outfielders, 5 catchers, 3 first baseman, 3 third basemen and 2 second basemen.

7 came from universities or high schools in the state of Texas.  They got 6 from California. 9 first round picks have been with World Series winners. Stubbs, Howe, Anderson, Welch, Kershaw, Buehler, Seager and Smith. Mike Scioscia, the 9th player, was on both the 81 and 88 teams.

Howe Seager and Sutcliffe were first rounders who were ROY’s. The Dodgers have made 11 selections in the supplemental round, but have never had an overall number one pick.

Now there can be many reasons most of these guys never pan out. Better competition, injuries, bad work habits, not adaptable to coaching.

Some just never make it out of single A ball. The 65 draft featured Rick Monday, the #1 choice and a kid named Tom Seaver. The Dodgers drafted # 8 and took John Wyatt, a SS from Bakersfield. Wyatt does not even have a minor league page which should tell you all you need to know.

Their 66 selection, Larry Hutton, made it to AA ball. Don Denbow, picked in 67 never made it past single A. In 1968, with the #5 pick, they got Bobby Valentine. The 1968 draft has long been considered the best in Dodger history. While Valentine was the top pick, he never would achieve the same success in his career that some of his fellow draft class would.

Bill Buckner, Tom Lasorda, Steve Garvey, Bobby Valentine – Lasorda with 3 of the prized 1968 LAD Draft

The Dodgers traded him after the 72 season to the Angels as part of the deal for Andy Messersmith and Ken McMullen. Granted, a serious injury after catching his spikes in the chain link fence in Anaheim cost him his speed as his bones never healed correctly.

He did go on to manage the Mets and the Rangers and is well known for donning a disguise and returning to the dugout after being tossed from a game. He also had two stints managing in Japan.

It would be 1971 before they would have another pick who would make it to the majors, Rick Rhoden (Pictured). Rhoden pitched for LA from 74-78. Then he was traded to the Pirates for Jerry Reuss at the beginning of the 79 season.

In 74, the first round pick was Rick Sutcliffe. Sut would become the ROY in 1979.  He won 17 games, and was traded to Cleveland in the Orta deal. He would win a Cy Young with the Cubs in 84.

Mark Bradley was drafted as a SS and he began to show real promise when he made it to AA and AAA ball. But he only played parts of three seasons in the majors, most of his games coming as a Met. He played all of his MLB games as an outfielder. He was traded to the Mets for 2 minor leaguers and cash.

With their next three draft picks, they had much better luck as all three were part of World Series winners. They had no first rounder in 78. Scioscia, Welch and Howe were those three picks.

Scioscia had a 13 year playing career then managed the Angels from 2000-2018. Welch would win a Cy Young with the A’s, but he is best remembered as a Dodger for his epic duel in the 1978 World Series with Reggie Jackson that ended with Jackson striking out. Howe came out of nowhere to win the ROY in 1980.

Both he and Welch had abuse problems. Both passed away way too young. Over the next 10 years, four of their first rounders went on to play in the majors, Anderson, Stubbs, Tony Gwynn Jr. and Tom Goodwin.

But third rounder, Billy Ashley, drafted in 1988, had more hype than any of those guys. Ashley was supposed to be the next big thing as a power hitter when he crushed 26 homers in 92, and 2 more for the Dodgers. He then slammed 37 at AAA in 93. He would spend parts of 6 seasons with the Dodgers and 1 with the Red Sox. He hit 28 total in the majors and was out of the league at 28 years old.

They drafted Greg Luzinski’s son Ryan with their first round pick in 92. But he was blocked by Piazza and never really reached the potential they saw in him.

Then came 1993 and they drafted Darren Dreifort at #2. Their highest pick ever in Los Angeles. Dreifort was one of the few players who made his first pro appearance as a major leaguer. He did spend some time in the minors after his debut in 94.

He was out all of 1995 with injuries.  From there on he would be plagued by multiple injury issues that kept him out several times in his career. He also missed the entire 2002 season. He never reached the heights expected. He was under .500 for his career. His 5 year deal signed in 2000 for 55 million ranks as one of the team’s least productive contracts. Dreifort would pitch in only 3 of the 5 seasons. He retired at 32 after the 2004 season.

It has been learned since that Dreifort’s injury problems may be traceable to a degenerative condition that may have weakened his connective tissues as well as a deformed femur which may have been the root of his hip problems.

That directly affected his ability to rotate his body correctly which could lead to elbow and arm trouble. Dreifort has had 22 surgeries. 20 of those came after he turned pro. He now is a Dodger spring training instructor.

Their next first rounder was Paul Konerko, drafted as a catcher. Blocked by Piazza, Lasorda traded him to the Reds. He went on to have a stellar career as a first baseman for the White Sox blasting over 400 homers in his career. Whoops, we blew that one!

Since Konerko, the Dodgers have drafted twenty-one players who have spent time in the majors. Three players they drafted, Hochevar, Funkhouser and Ginn did not sign with the team. Of those 21, Loney, Billingsley, Kershaw, Seager, Buehler, Lux and Smith, made significant contributions to the Dodgers. Kersh will no doubt be in the Hall of Fame.

Some were traded for players who made impacts like Zack Lee for Chris Taylor. Bobby Miller is the latest first rounder to impact the team. And we will see how he progresses over the next few years.

Some had cups of coffee with the team. And as usual, some were total busts or have not quite made it yet. The way the Dodgers have played over the last 11 seasons, all of their picks have come later in the first round.

With the way ownership thinks at this point, it is doubtful that will change.