FanPost

2009 Draft Re-Do

2009 Draft
1. Nationals - Stephen Strasburg
2. Mariners - Dustin Ackley
3. Padres - Donavan Tate
4. Pirates - Tony Sanchez
5. Orioles - Matt Hobgood
6. Giants - Zack Wheeler
7. Braves - Mike Minor
8. Reds - Mike Leake
9. Tigers - Jacob Turner
10. Nationals - Drew Storen
2009 Draft Re-Do
1. Nationals - Mike Trout
If the 2009 draft were to be re-done it would not take longer than the time it takes to say "Michael Nelson Trout" for the Nationals to draft Mike Trout. Trout was originally taken 25th overall by the Anaheim Angels in what could be considered one of the few best draft picks of all-time. Trout has gone on to be the best overall player in baseball, finally winning his first MVP award in 2014 in the 'worst' of his 3 full-time seasons. There are a couple of other franchise level players from this draft, but Trout is THE man.
2. Mariners - Paul Goldschmidt
Dustin Ackley was a big-time player coming out of North Carolina, but he just hasn't been able to live up to the hype since making the majors. Ackley has been very up and down in his career, but mostly down. For the second pick of the 2009 draft re-do, I had a hard time going back and forth between Stephen Strasburg and Paul Goldschmidt. On the one hand, a 1-2 of Felix and Strasburg is unbelievable. Add Iwakuma, Paxton, and Walker and you've got the best rotation in baseball. On the other hand, Goldschmidt finished second in the 2013 MVP voting and kept up his torried hitting until getting hit with a pitch and breaking his hand during the 2014 season. An elite hitter is something the Mariners have been craving for years and I believe would ultimitely be the better choice for them.
3. Padres - Stephen Strasburg
In 2009 the Padres gave Donavan Tate a massive signing bonus of 6.7 million to sign with them. Unfortunately for the Padres, Tate hit only .238/.355/320 in 4 minor league seasons. The on base skills were good, but nothing else ever amounted. He hasn't played since 2013 in the minor leagues. If the Padres had been able to take Stephen Strasburg instead, their post 2014 all-in rebuild may have happened sooner. Strasburg would be leading an already good pitching staff and would have been a fun home-town pick out of San Diego State University.
4. Pirates - Kyle Seager
Kyle Seager has gone from a player with little to no hype, to one of the best 3B in baseball. He is an above average fielder with a bat that has improved each year of his career. Seager is not a superstar, but he is one of the more valuable players in all of the MLB. A player like Seager would help be able to help the Pirates quite a bit, allowing Harrison to continue to be a super utility man or possibly traded for a more pressing need. Tony Sanchez has had a faily good minor league career, but still isn't even an option to start with the Pirates trading for Francisco Cervelli from the Yankees this winter.
5. Orioles - Jason Kipnis
Matt Hobgood. Does anyone outside of friends and family of Matt know the name? He pitched 315.1 minor league innings with a 4.94 ERA thus far and has still only reached A+ ball. Hobgood was a wasted pick for the Orioles in 2009. The Orioles have not had a good 2B since the healthy days of Brian Roberts back in the same 2009 season. Kipnis did have a down season in 2014 hitting just .240/.310/.330 with only 6 home runs, but the previous 2 and a half seasons before that he had hit .270/.349/.424 with 38 home runs. If Kipnis rebounds, he would plug the hole in the Orioles' ship that is 2B.
6. Giants - Matt Carpenter
The Giants made a very good pick in 2009 when they took Zack Wheeler, but the mistake they made was trading him for Carlos Beltran in 2011 only fall short of the playoffs with 86 wins. Beltran had a .920 OPS in his time with SF, but was just a one year rental that cost them a good young pitcher. Wheeler would not be a bad pick for this re-do, but Matt Carpenter would be a better pick for the Giants. Of course the Giants traded for Marco Scutaro in 2012 who hit .362/.385/.473 in 61 regular season games and helped them to their second of three championships in five seasons, but Scutaro has battled injuries ever since and Carpenter would have settled in nicely at 2B for the Giants since then. Carpenter has an excellent eye at the plate with a career .379 OBP, and even hit 55 doubles in 2013. You could argue that Carpenter deserves to go ahead of Jason Kipnis, but the reason I have Kipnis higher is his home run potential. Carpenter bests Kipnis when it comes to getting on base, I just don't believe you would go wrong either way.
7. Braves - Nolan Arenado
At the time of the 2014 draft there were some who believed Mike Minor was an overdraft. Throughout his major league career, which has spanned five seasons, Minor has one season with an ERA+ above 100, when in 2013 he went 13-9 with a 3.21 ERA in 204.2 IP. Everyone could see the potential finally reached with that season, but he took a major step back in 2014 with a 6-12 season and 4.77 ERA in 25 starts before being shut down late in the season. Had the Braves taken Nolan Arenado instead, they would have a player who is not only above average with the bat, but an excellent fielder. Arenado has won the NL gold glove at 3B in each of the last 2 seasons (2013-2014) as well as seen his offense take a large step forward. Arenado would be a huge upgrade over current Braves 3B Chris Johnson.
8. Reds - Aj Pollock
The Reds drafted Mike Leake 8th overall in the 2009 draft and by the end of the following season had already started 22 games for the Reds in the major leagues. Leake has never been a great pitcher, but he's been consisentently pitching more innings all the way up to 214.1 this season. Leake is a pitcher who doesn't walk many (career 2.28 BB/9), but he allows home runs and doesn't strike out many. A better pick for the Reds would have been AJ Pollock. Pollock is not only a top outfield defender, but he a good bat for a CF hitting .278/.331/.437 in 243 MLB games so far. Pollock would be a huge help to a Reds outfield that could use the help.
9. Tigers - Zack Wheeler
Like the Giants trading their first round pick from this draft in Zack Wheeler, the Tigers used their 2009 first round draft selection in Jacob Turner to acquire Anibal Sanchez in 2012 from the Marlins. Unlike the move the Giants made, this move helped the Tigers make it all the way to choke in the World Series against some NL team. While that move worked out very well for the Tigers, if they had a re-do, they might have taken Zack Wheeler if he had been available for the 9th pick. Wheeler is a young, hard-throwing righty who has been a strikeout machine at every level. Wheeler's problems like most hard-throwing pitchers is walks, so if he could bring his walks down from the high three per nine innings to the low three's then he would become one of the better number 2 starters in baseball.
10. Nationals - Garrett Richards
Drew Storen has had a good career so far in the majors. Storen owns a 2.94 ERA with 66 saves in 279 innings thus far. The problem is that he was drafted 10th overall and is not as good as Craig Kimbrel, Ardolis Chapman, Kenley Jansen or Greg Holland. A real impact draft selection would have 2014 breakout Garrett Richards. Richards was able to keep his walks in line with his 2013 numbers, but up his K/9 by 2.5 and cut his HR/9 by 2/3. Richards did have a serious, season-ending injury to his leg, but could be back by April. Richards has serious potential, and if you think is was not a mirage then he will be an underrated pick here in the 10th spot. Originally I had Wil Myers in this spot, but with the selection of Trout it would mean Myers isn't really necessary here.
Other players considered:
JD Martinez, Yan Gomes, Shelby Miller, Wil Myers, Billy Hamilton, Mike Leake.

This is a fan-written post that is in no way affiliated with or related to any of the authors or editors of True Blue LA. The opinions reflected in this post do not necessarily reflect those of True Blue LA, its authors or editors.