I think reviewing the players' worth based on All-Star appearances misses out on some fairly good players that were probably worth the pick. With baseball having 50+ rounds in the draft compared to only 26 on the active roster, the expectations are a little lower than in other sports where football has a 7-round draft and 53 active players and basketball has a 2-round draft and 12 active players. Players without an All-Star appearance from the 2003 1st round include Nick Markakis, Paul Maholm, John Danks, Tim Stauffer, David Murphy, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. And in 2005, that would add Alex Gordon, Mike Pelphrey, Cameron Maybin, Matt Garza, Craig Hansen, and Cliff Pennington.
I still think the point that there is a high % of 1st rounders who amount to next to nothing is true but I'd put the rate at +/- 50%.
I still think the point that there is a high % of 1st rounders who amount to next to nothing is true but I'd put the rate at +/- 50%.