Washington Nationals' Ryan Zimmerman: Best Pick in the 2005 Amateur Draft?

(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

As much as I love the Washington Nationals, I think it’s fair to say that they haven’t done much right since moving to D.C. five seasons ago.  Too many of the team’s personnel decisions have backfired, leading to several very long, very ugly, very bad years.

One of Jim Bowden’s first moves was to trade a part-time outfielder and a poor-hitting shortstop to the Angels for the volatile Jose Guillen.  At the time, it seemed like a steal.

And it was, but not for the Nationals.

Guillen gave the Nationals one good year (.283-24-76) in his two seasons in Washington.  Juan Rivera has been a fixture for the Angels since the trade and batted .287-25-88 this year while playing a flawless right field.

And that light-hitting shortstop, Maicer Izturis, has been the Angels’ starting shortstop since the trade, batting .300-8-65 in 2009 and making just four errors all year.

I could go on, but really, why make your day any worse?

Within that boiling cauldron of mismanaged player transactions, however, is one very good, very lucky move that the Nationals can bank on as the cornerstone of future seasons.

That would be, of course, Ryan Zimmerman.

Oh, wait; you want another lousy personnel decision? 

Jim Bowden didn’t like outfielder Endy Chavez very much and traded him to the Phillies for Marlon Byrd, an outfielder they didn’t like very much.  He played for two seasons with Washington before leaving via free agency; the Nationals didn't want him anymore.

He signed with the Rangers that winter.

This season, Marlon Byrd batted .283-20-89 while providing the Rangers with solid defense.

Do you think the Nationals might have liked to have an outfield of Josh Willingham, Marlon Byrd and Juan Rivera this year?

All they have to show for the loss of those three players is minor-leaguer Michael Burgess, who the Nationals drafted in the 2007 amateur draft as a compensation pick for the loss of Guillen.

Okay, back to Zimmerman.

When the Nationals picked fourth in the 2005 amateur draft, they chose from a pool of over 2,000 high school and college amateurs.  Just three players (the three picks ahead of the Nationals) were unavailable.

How did the Nationals do?  In the words of that ancient knight from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," they "chose wisely."

Let’s take a close look at the top five picks of that draft and see how the Nationals fared compared to the other four teams:

Justin Upton was the top pick of the draft, going to the Arizona Diamondbacks.  In his first full season in the major leagues this past year, Upton hit .300-26-86 with 20 steals.  However, he is a defense liability in the outfield, which is surprising considering his excellent speed.  He committed 12 errors and had just four assists.

Upton is only 21, however, and will get better.  While he may not end up being the best player in the draft, the Diamondbacks will never be disappointed with their pick.

The Kansas City Royals, however, are another story entirely.

The Royals had the second pick in the draft and were in need of a third baseman.  Kansas City had three top players to choose from: Alex Gordon from the University of Nebraska, Ryan Zimmerman, and Ryan Braun out of the University of Miami.

Gordon was considered the best of the three and the Royals used their second pick to select him.

Four years later, it seems that the Royals made a big mistake.

Gordon’s first professional season came in 2006 when he tore up the AA Texas League, batting .325-29-101 with 22 stolen bases for Wichita.  He made it to the majors the next season, but so far has had difficulty hitting major league pitching.

This past season, Gordon batted just .232-6-22 in 49 games and has had problems defensively—he had a .920 fielding percentage in 2009.

His scouting reports still say that Gordon will one day be an All-Star.  He may eventually turn it around and reach his potential, but I wouldn’t count on it.

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