As promised, here’s a look at players we either didn’t sign that we drafted or players who were drafted as a result of us giving up our draft pick to that team to sign one of their free agents. Of course, this is an exercise in hindsight, but also an important one when understanding the draft. If you find one that I missed, drop it in the comments and I’ll add it to the list. Just a note, I’m not going to bother writing up every guy we didn’t sign, only the ones of note. I’m going to start in 2001, so let’s get this show on the road.

2001

2001, Rd 2 (#48, to Boston for Cormier) — Kelly Shoppach, C
2001, Rd 3 (#80, to Seattle for Mesa) — Lazaro Abreu, C

These were the two picks we sacrificed for middle relievers. Shoppach was a pretty good catching prospect a few years ago, but he’s basically settled in as a backup in Cleveland now, but could see more regular time if V-Mart moves to 1B at some point. He probably would have reached the majors sooner in Philly, and could have prevented signing guys like Rod Barajas. Abreu logged a total of 8AB in his debut and was never heard from after that.

2001, Rd 10 — Rocky Cherry, P

Cherry didn’t sign and went back to Oklahoma. He ended up dropping to the 14th round in 2002 where the Cubs picked him. He was sent to the Orioles along with Scott Moore, a much better prospect, in the Steve Trachsel deal last August. Still a major league reliever.

2001, Rd 21 — Julian Williams, OF

Williams is kind of a funny story. The Phillies took him in the 21st round but he didn’t sign. He went back into the draft in 2002 and was taken in the 35th round by St Louis. Again he didn’t sign, and eventually the Phillies ended up signing him as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He hasn’t been very good at all.

2001, Rd 39 — Jason Jaramillo, C

The Phillies of course drafted him out of high school, and then again drafted him when he was eligible out of college.

2002

2002, Rd 8 — Steve Doetsch, OF

If you’ve followed Phillies drafts, you remember Doetsch. The Phillies ended up not signing him, he went back into the draft and Atlanta took him in the 14th round and signed him. After a good debut, he completely fizzled and appears to be out of baseball now.

2002, Rd 11 — TJ Beam, P

Beam was eventually drafted and signed by the Yankees, and so far has served as a fungible middle reliever in the big leagues. Not a big loss here.

2002, Rd 22 — Brad McCann, 3B

Shocking that the Phillies would draft the less talented brother…..gotta keep with tradition. Brad, unlike his brother, hasn’t done much of anything in the minors to date, sans a good 2005 as a 22 year old in the SAL.

2002, Rd 45 — Sam LeCure, P

LeCure is now in the Reds system, and is a marginal prospect, with a chance at being a good 7th inning reliever or a #5 starter. He was a pretty good prospect prior to the draft, so it wasn’t too surprising to see him pass on the Phillies and head to Texas.

2003

2003, Rd 1 (#18 to Cleveland for Thome) — Brad Snyder, OF

This pick became Brad Snyder, who was a Top 10 prospect for the Indians a few years ago, but his prospect status has diminished a bit as he’s stagnated in the high minors. The Indians also ended up with pitcher Adam Miller in the compensation round. Some people love Miller and think he’s an ace, I think he’s got some really ugly mechanics, and won’t make an impact in the majors. Some guys taken after #18 include Chad Billingsley, Connor Jackson, Chad Cordero, Brandon Wood, Daric Barton, and Carlos Quentin, as well as Matt Murton, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Adam Jones in the compensation round. *sigh*

2003, Rd 2 (#55 to San Fran for Bell) — Jeff Jennings, C

Jennings is pretty much a non-prospect and barely hanging on at this point. Who else could the Phillies have taken in Rd 2? Scott Baker, Jason Hirsh or Andre Ethier. A bunch of guys also in there that haven’t amounted to anything, but those three guys are all pretty interesting.

2003, Rd 6 — Jordan Parraz, OF

After losing their first two picks, for the Phillies to not sign their 6th rounder is pretty inexcusable. Parraz has been slow to develop, but has put together two good seasons, albeit he’s been old for his league. Still, you gotta sign the guy here, especially after wasting your 3rd round pick on Tim Moss.

2003, Rd 11 — Myron Leslie, 3B/P

Again, the Phillies don’t sign one of their first 10 picks, in a draft where they lost their top 2 picks. A headscratcher. Leslie hasn’t done a whole lot in Oakland after his strong debut, but come on.

2003, Rd 28 — Blair Erickson, P

The Phillies took Erickson as a prepster but couldn’t keep him away from U Cal-Irvine. He was a good college closer, taken by St Louis in the 10th round of the 2006 draft, but returned to school for his senior year. He lost his effectiveness, but the Twins popped him in the 10th round of June’s draft and hope to get him back on track.

2003, Rd 41 — Greg Reynolds, P

Typical late round flier on a guy you basically know you can’t sign. He ended up going to Stanford, and was then controversially taken by the Rockies ahead of Evan Longoria in the first round of the 2006 draft. He had minor shoulder surgery last summer, but is considered one of the Rockies best prospects and is a favorite of both PECOTA and Baseball America, despite the lack of strikeouts. Could be the next Roy Halladay, if he can stay healthy.
2004

2004, Rd 13 — James Adkins, P

Adkins went to Tennessee and was eventually taken in the compensation round by the Dodgers last June. I’m not a big fan, I think his fastball is too short for him to be a quality big league starter, though he does have good secondary stuff.

2004, Rd 36 — Andrew Romine, SS

Romine went to Arizona State and had an excellent college career before being drafted by Angels in the 5th round of June’s draft. He’s a spark plug type, doesn’t have a whole lot of power but is considered a grinder and should make it as at least a backup. Wasn’t a realistic sign, not that disappointing all things considered.

2005

2005, Rd 19 — David Huff, P

The Phillies took Huff when he was at U Cal-Irvine, and he chose not to sign, taking it down to the deadline, if I remember correctly. He went to UCLA his junior year, and the Indians took him in the compensation round in 2006. He’s similar to Adkins, and this past summer he was shut down with elbow soreness, though he pitched in the AFL. I don’t really think he’s going to end up becoming an impact guy, won’t be a major loss.

2006

2006, Rd 15 — Riley Cooper, OF

Cooper was seen as a very difficult sign, and of course he went to Florida. He’s a football guy as well, not sure how much he’s going to focus on baseball in college, so his future draft status will be interesting to watch.

2006, Rd 31 — Bruce Billings, P

Billings turned the Phillies down as a junior and went back to San Diego State for his senior year. He ended up dropping all the way to the Rockies in the 30th round in 2007, and he ended up with a really nice debut, albeit in a short season league as a college senior. Still could prove to be a good reliever in the big leagues.

2006, Rd 34 — Josh Thrailkill, P

Thrailkill was a really intriguing prospect but it was always going to be really hard to keep him away from Clemson. He barely pitched his freshman year, and wasn’t good when he was on the mound. We should know more about him this season.

2006, Rd 36 — Kyle Gibson, P

This is one that might come back to bite us. I have no idea how close the team was to signing him, but they should have given him a 6 figure bonus to keep him away from Missouri. His name is already being mentioned as a possibility as a #1 overall pick in 2009, though that’s still a ways away.

So there ya go. Kind of a hit and miss list, as you’d expect. Some interesting guys we passed on, some interesting guys that could have been taken with our lost picks. Thought this would be fun to look at.