MLB #2 Draft Picks All-Time Dream Team

Issue #29

Back in July, soon after the latest annual MLB Draft, I wrote and article titled “MLB #1 Draft Picks All-Time Dream Team.” My plan is to do similar articles for at least the next several picks, to compare the dream teams and lineups from the 57 years of draft results.

Like the #1 pick, this year’s #2 pick was a son of a former major league star: outfielder Druw Jones, son of Andruw Jones, went to the Arizona Diamondbacks. It will take several years before we get a sense of how good (or not) that selection was. But what about all of the other #2 picks, dating back to 1965? Who are the best of the bunch (see the complete list of 57 players at Baseball-Reference.com), and how does that roster compare with the dream team of #1 picks?

A few elite names jump out right away, such as Reggie Jackson and Justin Verlander, though fewer than the #1 picks dream team had in Ken Griffey Jr, Alex Rodriguez, Chipper Jones, Bryce Harper, Joe Mauer, and Gerrit Cole.

Unlike the #1 picks dream team which had A-Rod, Correa, Swanson, and Dunston as major-league shortstops, the pickings here for SS were very thin. So I gave Bobby Witt Jr. the nod after just one strong rookie season. One reason for the lack of SS candidates amongst the #2 picks is that many who were drafted as shortstops ended up playing mostly or entirely other positions once they reached the majors, including Mike Moustakas (2007), B.J. Upton (2002), Rick Manning (1972), and most notably Alex Bregman who of course makes this dream team at 3B. Speaking of which, you could debate how to rank Bregman and Bryant at 3B, or even list Bryant as the starter in LF to make room for Bregman.

If SS is a major contrast position between the #1 and #2 picks dream team rosters, 2B is consistent in its lack of stars. Rickie Weeks has been the only player drafted #2 as a 2B, but I was able to include Dustin Ackley as his backup here, since Ackley was drafted as an OF but ended up playing more at 2B.

Unlike the #1 picks all-time dream team, which had Joe Mauer at Catcher, this roster is fairly weak behind the plate with the only options being John Stearns, Tyler Houston, Ben Davis, and most recently, Joey Bart. Stearns is clearly the most accomplished of the bunch, and for now I’m going with Houston as the backup as Bart hasn’t been very impressive so far.

I found the pitching candidates amongst #2 picks to be fairly similar to those for the #1 picks dream team. Verlander is the clear ace of the bunch, with J.R. Richard and Josh Beckett pretty solid, which is similar to how the #1 picks dream team had Gerrit Cole, David Price, and Stephen Strasburg at the top. For both rosters there is then drop in star power, and you could argue who should be chosen to round out a five-man rotation. And just as with #1 picks, most #2 picks are chosen and groomed to be starters, not relievers.

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As for batting lineups, here is what I'd propose:

Against RHP:

1. Lloyd Moseby CF (L)

2. Alex Bregman 3B (R)

3. Will Clark 1B (L)

4. Reggie Jackson RF (L)

5. J.D. Drew DH (L) or Kris Bryant or Joe Carter

6. Alex Gordon LF (L)

7. Bobby Witt Jr. SS (R)

8. Rickie Weeks 2B (R)

9. Tyler Houston C (L)

Against LHP:

1. Byron Buxton CF (R)

2. Alex Bregman 3B (R)

3. Kris Bryant LF (R)

4. Reggie Jackson RF (L)

5. Joe Carter DH (R)

6. Will Clark 1B (L)

7. Bobby Witt Jr. SS (R)

8. Rickie Weeks 2B (R)

9. John Stearns C (R)

I found a few platoon possibilities, starting with Buxton and Moseby leading off and playing CF. In considering defense, I would want to mostly play Bregman at 3B, but then that raises the question of where to get Bryant at-bats between 3B, LF, and DH.

Similarly, I’d want Gordon and his many Gold Glove Awards to play LF at least against RHPs. Besides Bryant, other DH candidates include J.D. Drew as a lefty, Joe Carter as a righty, and Tony Clark as a switch-hitter. And speaking of the Clarks, surely Will Clark deserves the majority of the at-bats at 1B, but Tony Clark could sub in against the most dangerous LHPs as he had pretty even splits.

The bottom three spots in the order were pretty straightforward, with Stearns and Houston able to platoon as catchers, and Ackley available as a left-handed hitter to sub in for Weeks at times.

As I noted earlier, fleshing out a five-man rotation beyond Verlander, Richards, and Beckett is not so obvious:

• Mark Mulder: 103-69, 4.18 ERA, 106 ERA+, 1.342 WHIP (two-time all-star in 2003 and 2004, but had his best season in 2001 when he runner-up for the AL Cy Young Award after going 21-8 with a 3.45 ERA and 126 ERA+)

• Greg Swindell: 123-122, 3.86 ERA, 107 ERA+, 1.260 WHIP (went 18-14 with 12 complete games and 180 strikeouts in 1988, then was an all-star in 1989. 17-year career, first as a starter from 1986-95, then a reliever from 1996-2002)

• Bill Swift: 94-78, 3.95 ERA, 106 ERA+, 1.372 WHIP (13 year career, but was most effective from 1990-93. Posted relief ERAs of 2.39 and 1.99 in 1990/91, then as a starter led AL in ERA with a 2.08 mark in 1992. Came in 2nd in AL Cy Young voting in 1993 after going 21-8 with 2.82 ERA, 138 ERA+, and 1.074 WHIP.)

• Bill Gullickson: 162-136, 3.93 ERA, 98 ERA+, 1.282 WHIP (14 year career, won 12+ games in nine seasons, including leading the league in wins with a 20-9 record in 1991).

• Mark Pryor: 42-29, 3.51 ERA, 124 ERA+, 1.225 WHIP (was an all-star in 2003 and posted an 18-6 record, 2.43 ERA, and 245 K)

• Jameson Taillon: 50-34, 3.84 ERA, 107 ERA+, 1.216 WHIP

• Tim Leary: 78-105, 4.36 ERA, 90 ERA+, 1.411 WHIP (13 year career with best season coming in 1988 when he went 17-11 with a 2.91 ERA and 180 strikeouts).

Overall, I’d give the edge to the #1 picks over the #2 picks, with hitting more than pitching being the reason. I’ll continue this series soon with the #3 pick all-time dream team.

All data is from Baseball-Reference.com, and also their subscription service Stathead.com. If you are a big sports fan, be sure to check out the latest features at Stathead and the Sports Reference family of sites.