Pitchers Drafted First

Of the 48 men who were chosen first in baseball's amateur draft, only 13 (27 percent) were pitchers. Given their underwhelming track record, it's not hard to see why teams have traditionally been wary of taking hurlers with the number one draft pick.

1973 David Clyde
Texas Rangers owner Bob Short, desperate to boost attendance for a team bound for 105 losses, instantly promoted his 18 year-old phenom to the Show without letting him throw so much as one minor league pitch. The results were disastrous, for Clyde soon developed arm troubles and made his last MLB appearance at age 24.

1976 Floyd Bannister
A one-time All-Star, Bannister had the misfortune of wallowing for terrible teams throughout most of his 15-year career. The 1982 American League strikeout champion was a solid starter for most of the 1980s, but his unwillingness to pitch inside resulted in hitters teeing off on him for lots of long balls.

1981 Mike Moore
Struggled initially but eventually found his way. An All-Star and a workhorse, Moore averaged over 227 innings per season from 1984 through 1993, leading the league in starts three times despite posting a 100 ERA+ over that span.

1983 Tim Belcher
Belcher got off to a great start to his career with the Dodgers, compiling a 2.82 ERA through his first three seasons and leading the majors in shutouts in 1989. His career spiraled downward after he left Hollywood following the '91 campaign as he regressed into a merely average starting pitcher.

1988 Andy Benes
Benes, known as Rain Man, recorded double digit win totals in every year from 1990 through 2000 except one--the strike shortened '94 campaign. His 31.7 bWAR is still tops among the 13 pitchers that have gone first in the draft.

1989 Ben McDonald
Threw a shutout in his first major league start and produced a 115 ERA+ in his nine-year career, but was never anything special.

1994 Paul Wilson
Part of "Generation K" along with Jason Isringhausen and Bill Pulsipher during his rise through the Mets minor league system, only to disappoint at the major league level.

1996 Kris Benson
Was a perfectly average starting pitcher, as his 100 ERA+ attests. He's more well-known for marrying model Anna Benson, possibly the hottest baseball wife of all time.

1997 Matt Anderson
The only pitcher here not to make a single big league start. Anderson was worth -0.6 bWAR for his career, which doesn't seem so bad compared to his 5.19 ERA and 1.58 WHIP.

2002 Bryan Bullington
Pitched a grand total of 81 and two-thirds major league innings across five seasons for four different teams. Is now playing in Japan.

2006 Luke Hochevar
Hochevar had a 5.44 ERA in 128 starts for Kansas City before the Royals finally came to their senses and converted him to a reliever. He's thrived out of the bullpen here in 2013, so perhaps he's finally found his calling.

2007 David Price
The Tampa Bay Rays scored an ace with Price, winner of the AL Cy Young award last year (over Justin Verlander). He was also the runner-up for the trophy in 2010 to Felix Hernandez. Interestingly, Price was the first lefty starting pitcher drafted first overall since Floyd Bannister in '76.

2009 Stephen Strasburg
Strasburg was a stud from the start, whiffing 14 Pittsburgh Pirates in his first big league appearance. One of the most dominant pitchers in the game today, he's averaged 10.7 K/9 for his career and is primed to be an annual Cy Young candidate for years to come.

Baseball's Best Number One Draft Picks

The MLB Amateur Draft has always been a crapshoot, so much so that multiple number one draft picks fizzled out in the minor leagues and never even made it to the Show. However, every now and then a can't miss prospect comes along, a once-in-a-generation talent who makes good on his potential  and dominates at the big league level.

With that in mind, here's my list of the ten best number one draft selections in baseball history. Notice that there are no pitchers--more on that later.

1. Alex Rodriguez (1993)
A-Rod delivered on the otherworldly promise he displayed as a high school prodigy by becoming the best shortstop since Honus Wagner, winning three American League MVP awards and leading the New York Yankees to the franchise's 27th World Series championship in 2009.

2. Ken Griffey Jr. (1987)
Baseball's best and most decorated player of the 1990s, Griffey was a perennial All-Star nod and Gold Glove winner.  Even though injuries sabotaged the second half of his career, the fan favorite still rates as the fifth best center fielder of all time (behind Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, and Mickey Mantle) according to JAWS.

3. Chipper Jones (1990)
Originally drafted as a shortstop, Jones switched over to the hot corner and became one of the five best third basemen who ever lived (along with Mike Schmidt, George Brett, Eddie Mathews, and Wade Boggs). Among switch-hitters, only Mantle (and maybe Eddie Murray) were better than the lifelong Atlanta Brave.

4. Joe Mauer (2001)
The only catcher in MLB history to win three batting titles (.347 in 2006, .328 in '08 and .365 in his '09 MVP campaign), the Twins franchise player has already cemented his status as one of the best backstops of all time.

5. Darryl Strawberry (1980)
The 1983 NL Rookie of the Year made eight All-Star squads prior to his 30th birthday and appeared on his way to Cooperstown before drug abuse ruined his career.

6. Harold Baines (1977)
The prototypical professional hitter, Baines enjoyed a 22 year career in the majors that produced 2,866 hits, 384 home runs and 1,628 RBI. The six-time All-Star holds the MLB record for most games as a Designated Hitter with 1,652.

7. Adrian Gonzalez (2000)
The Florida Marlins and Texas Rangers have to be kicking themselves. Both teams traded the sweet-swinging first baseman during his formative years, only to watch him emerge as one of the best two-way first basemen in the game.

8. Josh Hamilton (1999)
Like Strawberry, Hamilton's personal demons overwhelmed his supernatural talent. It took him eight years to reach the Show, but since arriving for good in 2007 he's become one of baseball's biggest stars.

9. Rick Monday (1965)
The first pick in baseball's first amateur draft, Monday was much more than an answer to a trivia question. The centerfielder lasted 19 years in the bigs, made two All-Star teams and retired with a 125 OPS+, same as Yogi Berra.

10. Pat Burrell
Pat the Bat was one of baseball's most underrated power hitters of the new millennium. Overshadowed by teammates Bobby Abreu, Scott Rolen, Jim Thome Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley, Burrell never got the attention he deserved for averaging 28 home runs, 92 RBI and 87 walks per year from 2000 through 2008.

Honorable Mention: B.J. Surhoff (1985), Darin Erstad (1995), and Bob Horner (1978)

Likely to join the list: Justin Upton (2005), David Price (2007), Stephen Strasburg (2009) and Bryce Harper (2010)