
The Phillies aren’t an organization known for drafting players that turn into high-end talent.
In past drafts, the Phillies haven’t hit on many of there first round talents. Of course, it is hard to determine how good a player will be when drafting kids that are still teenagers. They did hit on Aaron Nola, Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, Cole Hamels, and Brett Myers, but there are more busts than All-Stars in recent memory.
Here are some past draft picks that the Phillies just missed on.
2001 MLB DRAFT: Mark Teixeira
In the 2001 MLB Draft the Phillies had the fourth overall pick and took RHP Gavin Floyd out of Mt. St. Joseph High School in Maryland. He had a good pitch mix with the fastball and curveball being favorites to throw along with a sinker and cutter.
Floyd made his Phillies debut in 2004 but his tenure didn’t last long. He totaled three seasons in Philadelphia starting in 19 games with 108.2 innings pitched. Floyd left Philadelphia with an ERA of 6.96 (6.17 FIP), 75 strikeouts and 64 walks. He played 13 seasons in the MLB ending his career playing for five total teams. He finished with 1,250 innings under his belt, 196 games started, an ERA of 4.37 and a WAR of 15.7.
With the very next pick in the draft the Texas Rangers took 3B Mark Teixeira out of Georgia Institute of Technology. Teixeira made his MLB debut in 2003 playing 146 games slashing .259/.331/.480 with 26 home runs. Most people know he didn’t stop there.
After a solid rookie campaign he went 10 seasons without his OBP being lower than .370, four of those seasons it was .400 or higher. In 2005 his primary position became 1B and his combination of power and above-average first base defense showed why he was taken early in his draft class.
Mark Teixeira finished his career as a five time Gold Glover, three time Silver Slugger, three All Star selections and as we all know too well a World Series Champion in 2009. He slashed .268/.360/.509 in his career with 1,298 RBIs, 1,862 hits and 409 home runs.