After back-to-back years where a combined 53 of the 30 first-round picks made the majors, the 2006 Draft saw 23 selections make the majors. Of those, five saw a career with negative bWAR value, including the second-overall pick. But there were three guys who were the clear cream of the crop among the top 100 selections and in a nod to the draft skills displayed this year, they all went in the top 11 picks.

Here is the chronological list of the top 100 picks. All WAR totals cited in this piece come from Baseball-Reference:

OvPck Tm Signed Name WAR Type
1 Royals Y Luke Hochevar 3.1  
2 Rockies Y Greg Reynolds -1.6 4Yr
3 Devil Rays Y Evan Longoria 50 4Yr
4 Pirates Y Brad Lincoln 0.5 4Yr
5 Mariners Y Brandon Morrow 9.7 4Yr
6 Tigers Y Andrew Miller 8.4 4Yr
7 Dodgers Y Clayton Kershaw 59.4 HS
8 Reds Y Drew Stubbs 8.3 4Yr
9 Orioles Y Billy Rowell   HS
10 Giants Y Tim Lincecum 21.1 4Yr
11 Diamondbacks Y Max Scherzer 45.5 4Yr
12 Rangers Y Kasey Kiker   HS
13 Cubs Y Tyler Colvin 1 4Yr
14 Blue Jays Y Travis Snider 4.6 HS
15 Nationals Y Chris Marrero -1.5 HS
16 Brewers Y Jeremy Jeffress 4.6 HS
17 Padres Y Matt Antonelli -0.3 4Yr
18 Phillies via Mets Y *Kyle Drabek -0.1 HS
19 Marlins Y Brett Sinkbeil -0.2 4Yr
20 Twins Y Chris Parmelee 0.5 HS
21 Yankees via Phillies Y *Ian Kennedy 15 4Yr
22 Nationals via Athletics Y *Colton Willems   HS
23 Astros Y Maxwell Sapp   HS
24 Braves Y Cody Johnson   HS
25 Angels via Indians Y *Hank Conger 2.1 HS
26 Dodgers via Angels Y *Bryan Morris 2.6 JC
27 Red Sox Y Jason Place   HS
28 Red Sox via Yankees Y *Daniel Bard 4.3 4Yr
29 White Sox Y Kyle McCulloch   4Yr
30 Cardinals Y Adam Ottavino 6.1 4Yr
31 Dodgers Y *Preston Mattingly   HS
32 Orioles Y *Pedro Beato -1 JC
33 Giants Y *Emmanuel Burriss -2.7 4Yr
34 Diamondbacks Y *Brooks Brown 0.9 4Yr
35 Padres Y *Kyler Burke   HS
36 Marlins Y *Chris Coghlan -0.2 4Yr
37 Phillies Y *Adrian Cardenas -0.3 HS
38 Braves Y *Cory Rasmus 0.5 HS
39 Indians Y *David Huff -1.8 4Yr
40 Red Sox Y *Kris Johnson 0 4Yr
41 Yankees Y *Joba Chamberlain 8 4Yr
42 Cardinals Y *Chris Perez 4.6 4Yr
43 Braves Y *Steve Evarts   HS
44 Red Sox Y *Caleb Clay   HS
45 Royals Y Jason Taylor   HS
46 Rockies Y David Christensen   HS
47 Devil Rays Y Josh Butler -0.1 4Yr
48 Pirates Y Michael Felix   4Yr
49 Mariners Y Chris Tillman 11.4 HS
50 Tigers Y Ron Bourquin   4Yr
51 Braves via Dodgers Y *Jeff Locke -1.6 HS
52 Reds Y Sean Watson   4Yr
53 Padres via Orioles Y *Chad Huffman -0.1 4Yr
54 Cardinals via Giants Y *Brad Furnish   4Yr
55 Diamondbacks Y Brett Anderson 6.7 HS
56 Indians via Rangers Y *Steven Wright 2 4Yr
57 Indians via Cubs Y *Josh Rodriguez -0.1 4Yr
58 Orioles via Blue Jays Y *Ryan Adams -0.3 HS
59 Nationals N Sean Black   HS
60 Brewers Y Brent Brewer   HS
61 Padres Y Wade LeBlanc 2.7 4Yr
62 Mets Y Kevin Mulvey -0.6 4Yr
63 Marlins Y Thomas Hickman   HS
64 Twins Y Joe Benson -0.7 HS
65 Phillies Y Drew Carpenter -0.8 4Yr
66 Athletics Y Trevor Cahill 10.6 HS
67 Astros Y Sergio Perez   4Yr
68 Braves Y Dustin Evans   4Yr
69 Indians Y Wes Hodges   4Yr
70 Nationals via Angels Y *Stephen Englund   HS
71 Red Sox Y Justin Masterson 9.3 4Yr
72 Braves via Yankees Y *Chase Fontaine   JC
73 White Sox Y Matt Long   4Yr
74 Cardinals Y Jon Jay 13.1 4Yr
75 Indians Y *Matt McBride -1.2 4Yr
76 Cardinals Y *Mark Hamilton -0.3 4Yr
77 Royals Y Blake Wood 0.7 4Yr
78 Rockies Y Keith Weiser   4Yr
79 Devil Rays N Nicholas Fuller   HS
80 Pirates Y Shelby Ford   4Yr
81 Mariners Y Tony Butler   HS
82 Tigers Y Brennan Boesch 0.4 4Yr
83 Red Sox via Dodgers Y *Aaron Bates 0 4Yr
84 Reds Y Chris Valaika -0.4 4Yr
85 Orioles Y Zach Britton 11.3 HS
86 Diamondbacks via Giants Y *Dallas Buck   4Yr
87 Diamondbacks Y Cyle Hankerd   4Yr
88 Rangers Y Chad Tracy   4Yr
89 Giants via Cubs Y *Clayton Tanner   HS
90 Marlins via Blue Jays Y *Torre Langley   HS
91 Nationals Y Stephen King   HS
92 Brewers Y Cole Gillespie -0.8 4Yr
93 Padres Y Cedric Hunter -0.8 HS
94 Mets Y Joe Smith 12.2 4Yr
95 Marlins Y Scott Cousins -0.5 4Yr
96 Twins Y Tyler Robertson -0.5 HS
97 Phillies Y Jason Donald 1.4 4Yr
98 Athletics Y Matthew Sulentic   HS
99 Astros Y Nicholas Moresi   4Yr
100 Braves Y Chad Rodgers   HS

Hochevar, the top overall pick, came with an interesting story. He was selected out of high school in the 39th round by the Dodgers in 2002 but elected to go to the University of Tennessee. After his junior season in 2005, Hochevar was a supplemental first-round pick, again selected by the Dodgers. What followed was a bunch of intrigue involving agent switches and reneging on contracts. Hochevar and the Dodgers were unable to come to terms and he ended up pitching for an Independent League team in Fort Worth, instead.

The Royals took a crack at him in the ’06 Draft and were able to come to terms with him, in part due to offering him a major league contract. He made his MLB debut in 2007 and pitched all or parts of the next five years in the majors but without any great success. Finally, in 2013 he moved to the bullpen and had an outstanding year, posting a 1.92 ERA and a 0.825 WHIP.

Just when it looked like things were going good, Hochevar needed TJ surgery and missed the entire 2014 season. He came back and was solid the next two years but nowhere near as good as he was in ’13. Late in the 2016 season, Hochevar required TOS surgery and he missed all of the 2017 campaign. Right now he is a free agent and has what can best be described as an unknown future.

In the recent past, the third overall pick had been a wasteland. But this time Longoria came through in a big way, providing to date the second-most value of any of the top 100 picks. As good as he’s been, the prize of the draft came four picks later, when the Dodgers plucked Kershaw, the first high school player taken in the ’06 Draft.

Two of the next three picks had solid or better MLB careers. At one point, it looked like Lincecum would be one of the jewels of the draft. He won back-to-back CY Awards in ’08 and ’09 and had top 10 finishes the next two years. But things fell apart from him in 2012 and after going 2-6 with a 9.16 ERA in 2016, it appears his career is over.

Meanwhile, it was the exact opposite for Scherzer. It took a while for him to get established in the majors but once he did, he’s been terrific. Since 2011, he has a 120-49 record with a 3.19 ERA. He’s led the NL in strikeouts the past two years and has shown no signs of slowing down. If he can add three more top years to his resume, he’ll vault into Hall of Fame territory.

Things fell off significantly after Scherzer but there were still a handful of good players scattered throughout the rest of the top 100 picks.

As for the Mets, they lost their first pick for signing free agent Billy Wagner. The Phillies used that selection on the son of former Pirates star DaveDrabek. Kyle came with a terrific pedigree but he never made his own mark on the majors. The team’s first actual pick was Mulvey, who was sent to the Twins in the Johan Santana deal. With the 94th pick, the Mets tabbed Smith, who has returned the seventh-most value so far from this draft, although the majority of it with other teams.

Here’s the top 100 sorted by WAR:

OvPck Tm Signed Name WAR Type
7 Dodgers Y Clayton Kershaw 59.4 HS
3 Devil Rays Y Evan Longoria 50 4Yr
11 Diamondbacks Y Max Scherzer 45.5 4Yr
10 Giants Y Tim Lincecum 21.1 4Yr
21 Yankees via Phillies Y *Ian Kennedy 15 4Yr
74 Cardinals Y Jon Jay 13.1 4Yr
94 Mets Y Joe Smith 12.2 4Yr
49 Mariners Y Chris Tillman 11.4 HS
85 Orioles Y Zach Britton 11.3 HS
66 Athletics Y Trevor Cahill 10.6 HS
5 Mariners Y Brandon Morrow 9.7 4Yr
71 Red Sox Y Justin Masterson 9.3 4Yr
6 Tigers Y Andrew Miller 8.4 4Yr
8 Reds Y Drew Stubbs 8.3 4Yr
41 Yankees Y *Joba Chamberlain 8 4Yr
55 Diamondbacks Y Brett Anderson 6.7 HS
30 Cardinals Y Adam Ottavino 6.1 4Yr
14 Blue Jays Y Travis Snider 4.6 HS
16 Brewers Y Jeremy Jeffress 4.6 HS
42 Cardinals Y *Chris Perez 4.6 4Yr
28 Red Sox via Yankees Y *Daniel Bard 4.3 4Yr
1 Royals Y Luke Hochevar 3.1  
61 Padres Y Wade LeBlanc 2.7 4Yr
26 Dodgers via Angels Y *Bryan Morris 2.6 JC
25 Angels via Indians Y *Hank Conger 2.1 HS
56 Indians via Rangers Y *Steven Wright 2 4Yr
97 Phillies Y Jason Donald 1.4 4Yr
13 Cubs Y Tyler Colvin 1 4Yr
34 Diamondbacks Y *Brooks Brown 0.9 4Yr
77 Royals Y Blake Wood 0.7 4Yr
4 Pirates Y Brad Lincoln 0.5 4Yr
20 Twins Y Chris Parmelee 0.5 HS
38 Braves Y *Cory Rasmus 0.5 HS
82 Tigers Y Brennan Boesch 0.4 4Yr
40 Red Sox Y *Kris Johnson 0 4Yr
83 Red Sox via Dodgers Y *Aaron Bates 0 4Yr
18 Phillies via Mets Y *Kyle Drabek -0.1 HS
47 Devil Rays Y Josh Butler -0.1 4Yr
53 Padres via Orioles Y *Chad Huffman -0.1 4Yr
57 Indians via Cubs Y *Josh Rodriguez -0.1 4Yr
19 Marlins Y Brett Sinkbeil -0.2 4Yr
36 Marlins Y *Chris Coghlan -0.2 4Yr
17 Padres Y Matt Antonelli -0.3 4Yr
37 Phillies Y *Adrian Cardenas -0.3 HS
58 Orioles via Blue Jays Y *Ryan Adams -0.3 HS
76 Cardinals Y *Mark Hamilton -0.3 4Yr
84 Reds Y Chris Valaika -0.4 4Yr
95 Marlins Y Scott Cousins -0.5 4Yr
96 Twins Y Tyler Robertson -0.5 HS
62 Mets Y Kevin Mulvey -0.6 4Yr
64 Twins Y Joe Benson -0.7 HS
65 Phillies Y Drew Carpenter -0.8 4Yr
92 Brewers Y Cole Gillespie -0.8 4Yr
93 Padres Y Cedric Hunter -0.8 HS
32 Orioles Y *Pedro Beato -1 JC
75 Indians Y *Matt McBride -1.2 4Yr
15 Nationals Y Chris Marrero -1.5 HS
2 Rockies Y Greg Reynolds -1.6 4Yr
51 Braves via Dodgers Y *Jeff Locke -1.6 HS
39 Indians Y *David Huff -1.8 4Yr
33 Giants Y *Emmanuel Burriss -2.7 4Yr
9 Orioles Y Billy Rowell   HS
12 Rangers Y Kasey Kiker   HS
22 Nationals via Athletics Y *Colton Willems   HS
23 Astros Y Maxwell Sapp   HS
24 Braves Y Cody Johnson   HS
27 Red Sox Y Jason Place   HS
29 White Sox Y Kyle McCulloch   4Yr
31 Dodgers Y *Preston Mattingly   HS
35 Padres Y *Kyler Burke   HS
43 Braves Y *Steve Evarts   HS
44 Red Sox Y *Caleb Clay   HS
45 Royals Y Jason Taylor   HS
46 Rockies Y David Christensen   HS
48 Pirates Y Michael Felix   4Yr
50 Tigers Y Ron Bourquin   4Yr
52 Reds Y Sean Watson   4Yr
54 Cardinals via Giants Y *Brad Furnish   4Yr
59 Nationals N Sean Black   HS
60 Brewers Y Brent Brewer   HS
63 Marlins Y Thomas Hickman   HS
67 Astros Y Sergio Perez   4Yr
68 Braves Y Dustin Evans   4Yr
69 Indians Y Wes Hodges   4Yr
70 Nationals via Angels Y *Stephen Englund   HS
72 Braves via Yankees Y *Chase Fontaine   JC
73 White Sox Y Matt Long   4Yr
78 Rockies Y Keith Weiser   4Yr
79 Devil Rays N Nicholas Fuller   HS
80 Pirates Y Shelby Ford   4Yr
81 Mariners Y Tony Butler   HS
86 Diamondbacks via Giants Y *Dallas Buck   4Yr
87 Diamondbacks Y Cyle Hankerd   4Yr
88 Rangers Y Chad Tracy   4Yr
89 Giants via Cubs Y *Clayton Tanner   HS
90 Marlins via Blue Jays Y *Torre Langley   HS
91 Nationals Y Stephen King   HS
98 Athletics Y Matthew Sulentic   HS
99 Astros Y Nicholas Moresi   4Yr
100 Braves Y Chad Rodgers   HS

Overall, 61 of the top 100 picks made the majors, with 34 of those contributing a WAR greater than zero.

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