MLB: When Teams Draft Signability, Not Talent

When the Montreal Expos moved to Washington in the fall of 2005, they had by far and away the worst major league farm system at the time.

Since becoming the Nationals, however, the team's minor league ranking has jumped from 30th to 9th, one of the largest single-year increases of the draft era.

Things are looking a whole lot brighter these days for the Nationals.

That said, there is no guarantee that Chris Marrero or Justin Mawell or Michael Burgess or Colton Willems or Jordan Zimmermann will ever make it to the major leagues, let alone make some kind of impact when they get there.

But one thing is for sure: The last four drafts couldn't have been any worse than the previous ten, when choices were made using the eeny-meeny-miney-mo method.

No. Forget that. Eeny-meeny-miney-mo would have worked a lot better.

Can you imagine the Nationals fielding the following team in 2008?

CF - Curtis Granderson (.280-11-66)

RF - Alex Rios (.291-15-79)

2B - Chase Utley (.292-33-104)

3B - David Wright (.302-33-124)

LF - Garrett Atkins (.286-21-99)

C -  Brian McCann (.301-21-87)

1B - Prince Fielder (.276-34-102)

SS -  J.J. Hardy (.283-24-74)

And how about including a starting rotation that featured the likes of CC Sabathia, Danny Haren, Jeremy Bonderman, and Barry Zito?

This "Twilight Zone" alternative-universe version of the Washington Nationals would have played well into October and could easily have been the eventual World Series champions instead of the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Nationals wouldn't have had to trade for, or sign as free agents, any of these players. They would only have needed to select them in the amateur draft from 1998-2002. Each player listed was available in the first four rounds, and was still there for the picking after the Expos made their selection.

Incredible, huh?

In the first round of the 2000 draft, the Expos chose pitcher Justin Wayne, bypassing Utley and outfielder Rocco Baldelli.

In 2001, with Aaron Heilman, Bobby Crosby, Jeremy Bonderman, Noah Lowry and David Wright waiting to be chosen, Montreal went with pitcher Josh Karp.

In 1998, infielder Josh McKinely was chosen ahead of Brad Lidge, Jeff Weaver, CC Sabathia, and Aaron Rowand.

Three rounds later, first-baseman Clyde Williams was taken by the Expos instead of Zito, Mike Maroth, and Ryan Langerhans.

2002, however, was the worst. With one of the top picks in the draft, Montreal chose pitcher Clint Everts, a pitcher who is today still toiling in the low minors. In that same first round, they could have chosen Zack Greinke, Prince Fielder, Jeremy Hermida, Khalil Green, Scott Kazmir, Nick Swisher, Jeff Francoeur, or Matt Cain.

There can be only two reasons for the team picking lumps of coal for their draft stockings when candy and toys were still readily available.

Either general managers Jim Beattie (1995-2000) and Omar Minaya (2001 - 2004) were stupid and couldn't find a major-league prospect in a barrel of fish or they were told by owner Ebeneezer Scrooge to draft only "signable" players and not the best player available.

I vote the latter.

Jeff Loria was so cheap and difficult to work with that the city of Montreal withdrew it's funding for Labatt Park, the state-of-the-art stadium that was to keep the team in Quebec. The following season, no English-speaking radio station would carry the Expos because of the rights fees that Loria demanded.

Both owners saw the amateur draft as a drain of resources and told the team's general manager to only draft players that would sign within a particular financial parameter.

That kind of draft philosophy destroyed the Expos farm system, once one of the richest and deepest in the major leagues.

Justin Wayne (No. 1, 2000) is out of baseball having fashioned a 25-34, 3.97 career record. He started only eight games in the major leagues.

Tom Mitchell (No. 5, 2000), the guy chosen over Garrett Atkins, never played professionally. Josh McKinley (No. 1, 1998), the 11th player chosen, never made it above 'AA' and retired in 2004.

Josh Karp is the poster-boy for the team's low-budget draft philosophy. Karp, a 6'5" right-hander, was drafted in the eighth round out of high school by the Atlanta Braves in the 1998 draft. Not wanting to sign for 8th round money, he played three years for UCLA (8-3, 4.29 in '99, 10-2, 5.08 in '00 and 5-2, 3,26 in '01).

Though he did strike out 10 batters per nine innings during his college career, he also walked four and gave up 8.50 hits. He was considered a mid-round pick at best.

Yet the Expos, having the sixth pick of the draft, weren't about to pay some whipper-snapper a bonus that could reach $3 million. They instead chose Karp, a player they assumed would be so grateful to be a first round pick that he'd sign quickly and easily. He signed all right, and for very little money.

Karp lasted four seasons in professional ball, returning home to Bothell Washington in 2005 with a 24-32, 4.74 record. That No. 6 pick could have brought the Expos Jeremy Bonderman...or David Wright...or Aaron Heilman...or Bobby Crosby...or...well, you get the idea.

The Nationals, having clearly expressed a commitment to draft the best amateur players available and then do whatever was needed to sign them, will come away from next spring's draft with the top player in the nation plus the 10th pick in the first round.

And yes, I know that the team didn't sign Aaron Crow, their No. 1 draft pick this past season. But the Nats were right not to. Crow and his agent priced themselves into oblivion. Not signing him was nothing more than good business sense.

Thankfully, the Justin Wayne's and Josh McKinley's and and Josh Karp's of the world are now a footnote in the team's history.

Sure, the players they sign from this point on may never make it to the major leagues. But they also might end up being stars for years to come.

That is what is fun about the draft.