For Dodgers, 2009 MLB Draft was a swing and a miss

I'm not sure just how long one must wait before accurately measuring the performance of a single draft, but let's assume it's slightly longer than immediately after the draft is over. Five years seems reasonable enough, and the Dodgers' draft in 2009 looks like one huge disappointment.

The first ingredient of a bad draft is to not have a first-round pick. The Dodgers forfeited their No. 17 pick in the 2009 draft when they signed second baseman Orlando Hudson to a one-year, $3 million deal plus incentives and he pretty much gave them exactly what they wanted: an All-Star, a Gold Glove winner at second base and even the franchise's first cycle in 39 years. Hudson was a cog of a 95-win team, though one who ended his year riding the pine in favor of red hot Ronnie Belliard.

The Dodgers got a pair of picks when fellow Type-A free agent Derek Lowe signed with the Braves. Because Atlanta had a top 15 pick (No. 7 overall), their first-round pick was protected, so the Dodgers got the Braves' second-round pick (No. 56) plus a supplemental pick between the first and second rounds (No. 36).

Those picks were used on Aaron Miller and Blake Smith, both of whom converted in 2013 to the outfield and the mound respectively. The Dodgers' own second-round pick was used on right-handed pitcher Garrett Gould, who is still a pitcher but has a 6.33 ERA in 300 innings between Class-A and Double-A since the start of 2012. His claim to fame just might be getting nearly dealt to Houston in 2012, a deal that died when Carlos Lee exercised his no-trade clause.

Of the 31 draft picks the Dodgers signed in 2009, only one to date has reached the majors. Steve Ames, the 17th-rounder who was traded to the Marlins last year for Ricky Nolasco, pitched four games in relief for Miami in 2013. He pitched in two games for Triple-A New Orleans in April before getting shut down with a right shoulder injury.

A total of 109 players drafted and signed in 2009 have at some point made the major leagues, an average of 3.63 per team. Those players have accumulated a total of 190.8 Wins Above Replacement (the Baseball-Reference version).

Like the Dodgers, the Rays and Marlins also had one player each reach the majors. The one Tampa Bay draftee to reach the majors, Zac Rosscup, did so with the Cubs, not the Rays. The Mets and Orioles haven't yet had a single player reach the majors but Baltimore at least had a pair of 2009 draftees (Tim Berry and Michael Ohman) among its top 10 prospects by Baseball America.

Ames has accumulated 0.0 WAR to date.

Outside of Ames, only three Dodgers 2009 draftees have even reached Triple-A. That includes Bryant Hernandez, who played five games with the Isotopes at the end of 2011, his final professional season; and Steve Cilladi, who played two games in two years with Albuquerque as a player/coach.

Brian Cavazos-Galvez has played 62 total games in Triple-A, but is now 27 and since the beginning of 2013 has only played five games with Albuquerque, mostly confined to Double-A Chattanooga.

There are eight players signed and drafted by the Dodgers still playing organized minor league baseball in 2014. Outside of minor parts in deadline trades for pitchers Ted Lilly and Ricky Nolasco, it seems like the most memorable pick by the Dodgers in 2009 is their current bullpen catcher.