Those two first-round pitchers

Last month, a friend shared a Max Scherzer rookie card in a group. Back then, Scherzer was in the Diamondbacks uniform. In the 2006 MLB draft, Scherzer was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round. That makes me think of a key thing. Are those players, who were selected by the D-backs in the first round of the MLB draft, playing well in the big league? Did the team select the right players?

Looking back at the draft in the Diamondbacks franchise history, 43 players were selected in the first round (including compensation and competitive balance picks). Among those 43 players, 23 players were pitchers, 13 players were infielders, 5 players were outfielders and 2 players were catchers.

The Diamondbacks were an expansion franchise and began to play in 1998. In 1996, Nick Bierbrodt, who was a high-school pitcher, became the team’s first-ever selection in the MLB draft. He made it into the big league in 2001, however, he only tossed 23 innings for the Diamondbacks in his career.

Nick Bierbrodt didn’t contribute a lot to the Diamondbacks, but at least he used to pitch for the D-backs. Some players didn’t even make it into the big league.

Nonetheless, we can’t ignore some household names. The D-backs selected Max Scherzer in 2006 and two years later, Scherzer made it into the big league. He tossed 56 innings in 2008, posting a 3.05 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. In 2009, Scherzer earned 9 wins and took 11 losses. He owned a 4.12 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP over 170.1 innings. After the 2009 season, he was traded to the Tigers in a three-team trade. In 2010, Scherzer made 31 starts for the Tigers and finished the season with a 3.50 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Moreover, it was Scherzer’s first season to record at least 10 wins in a single season. We might be familiar with the rest of the story. He won the AL Cy Young award in 2013 with the Tigers. Furthermore, he won back-to-back NL Cy Young awards in 2016 and 2017.

 

In addition, the Diamondbacks selected Trevor Bauer in the first round of the 2011 draft. Bauer didn’t let the D-backs wait too long and he made his MLB debut in 2012. He threw 16.1 innings in 2012, finishing with a 6.06 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP in his rookie season. After the 2012 season, another 3-team trade happened. Bauer was traded to the Indians. Bauer’s story is a bit different. He only pitched 17 innings for the Indians in 2013. But, in 2014, he made 26 starts for the Indians, posting a 4.18 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. In 2018, he was selected to the All-Star for the first time. Furthermore, he won the NL Cy Young award in 2020.

A team must be confident in a player's potential. Well, the Diamondbacks probably believed that Scherzer and Bauer would be good players, so they selected these two players in the first round. Nonetheless, it’s quite interesting to see that they didn’t have enough time to show their potential in the D-backs jersey. Scherzer only tossed 226.1 innings for the D-backs and Bauer only made 4 starts. Two three-team trades. The Diamondbacks sent two pitchers who later became Cy Young award winners.