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Keith Law, ESPN Senior Writer 8y

The first-round 'misses' of 2006 MLB draft

The draft is a time of hope and promise, and after it's all over, a scout sits with his staff and marvels over the players the team just picked. Well, sometimes they don't work out as planned, as is the case for most of these 24 first-rounders who didn't make the top 30 in my re-draft of the 2006 class -- although in that year's case, a few of these players have had respectable major league careers, even if they didn't quite become what was expected of them.

You can see the 2005 "misses" column for comparison (spoiler alert: There weren't nearly as many misses). And to look at how I would re-draft the first round, click here.

Note: All WAR figures come from the indispensable Baseball-Reference.com.

Pick No. 1: Luke Hochevar, RHP

Tennessee

WAR to date: 2.9

Hochevar has found a niche as a capable middle reliever, although nothing close to the expectations when he was drafted first overall in 2006 that he'd be a durable mid-rotation starter. Hochevar had been a potential top-10 pick the previous year, but fell due to signing-bonus demands. He was picked by the Dodgers in the sandwich round and ended up in a did-he-or-didn't-he signing saga that winter that included multiple agents and ultimately his withdrawal from Tennessee and a stint in independent ball. He got his money, but can we wonder what might have been if he had signed with LA in 2005?


2. Greg Reynolds, RHP

Stanford

WAR to date: -1.8

I hope you're sitting down, but Reynolds is a(nother) Stanford pitcher who got hurt in pro ball. The Rockies' baseball folks wanted to take Evan Longoria (who went third), but word came down from above to take a pitcher.

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