Dodgers have history of finding pitching talent in Draft By Ken Gurnick | MLB.com -- 3 minutes ago In the first 15 rounds of the MLB First-Year Player Draft, the Dodgers have repeatedly demonstrated a knack for landing stars, notably pitchers, most often in the first round. One currently heads the starting rotation, two-time National League Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw. Two others -- Rick Sutcliffe and Bob Welch -- went on to win Cy Young Awards elsewhere. Another -- John Franco -- became the greatest lefty closer ever. One they drafted in the 10th round, but couldn't sign -- Tom Seaver -- is in the Hall of Fame. The Dodgers also have landed significant position players. Matt Kemp, a sixth-rounder, in the eyes of many was an MVP. Bill Buckner won a batting title. Bill Russell was a fixture in a record-breaking infield. They also drafted Chase Utley, but like Seaver, couldn't sign him. And they let Shane Victorino get away repeatedly. The 2014 Draft will take place on June 5-7, beginning with the Draft preview show on MLB.com and MLB Network on Thursday, June 5, at 3 p.m. PT. Live Draft coverage from MLB Network's Studio 42 begins at 7 p.m., with the top 74 picks being streamed on MLB.com and broadcast on MLB Network. MLB.com's exclusive coverage of the second and third days will begin with a live Draft show at 9:30 a.m. PT on June 6. MLB.com's coverage includes Draft Central, the Top 100 Draft Prospects list and Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of Draft-eligible players. Every selection will be tweeted live from @MLBDraftTracker, and you can also keep up to date by following @MLBDraft. And get into the Draft conversation by tagging your tweets with #mlbdraft. Here's a Dodgers Draft "best ofs," Rounds 1-15: Round 1: Clayton Kershaw, 2006 Two Cy Young Awards at age 26 already make comparisons to Sandy Koufax legit, so even though he's mid-career, he still gets the nod over Cy Young Award-winning first-rounders Sutcliffe and Welch. Round 2: Bill Buckner, 1968 One error (OK, a really big error) obscured a 20-year career that included a batting title. Round 3: Sid Fernandez, 1981 The Dodgers gave up on him fast because of his weight, but the Mets were more forgiving and were rewarded with a two-time NL All-Star. Round 4: Steve Yeager, 1967 He got lost on a team full of stars, but Yeager's defense was so valuable he lasted 15 years. Round 5: John Franco, 1981 On the list of all-time worst Dodgers trades, Franco's might be only one notch below Pedro Martinez. Management thought it was set at lefty reliever with Steve Howe and kept the wrong one. Round 6: Matt Kemp, 2003 If Kemp can't regain his form after serious injuries, Victorino will deserve the nod here for maximizing his potential. But Kemp is the better scouting story, a raw, five-tool projection that should have won an NL MVP Award, and still might. Round 7: David Ross, 1998 He's never duplicated the offense of 2006, but his defense has been dependable enough to carve out a decade-long career behind the plate. Round 8: Charlie Hough, 1966 Los Angeles fans were harsh on Hough as a reliever, but he took his knuckleball to Texas and became an American League All-Star starter and workhorse. Round 9: Russell, 1966 With apologies to Doyle Alexander, Russell wins the tiebreaker, because he spent his entire career with his drafting team. Round 10: Tom Seaver, 1965 Oh, what might have been had the Dodgers met his $70,000 asking price to turn down a USC scholarship. Round 11: Nathan Eovaldi, 2008 His stuff is no fluke, if he can just stay healthy. He was dealt to Miami in the Hanley Ramirez trade. Round 12: Billy Grabarkewitz, 1966 Only two players from this round made the bigs. Grabarkewitz was an everyday player only one season, but he made the All-Star Game that year. Round 13: Greg Brock, 1979 He was never able to fulfill giant expectations created by Minor League stardom. Round 14: Scott Van Slyke, 2005 He might need a new team to get sufficient playing time, but 13 homers in 237 at-bats are intriguing. Round 15: Ted Sizemore, 1966 Although he was a solid defensive NL Rookie of the Year Award winner, he was a Dodger for only three seasons in two stints. Ken Gurnick is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. __
Lmfao at Gurnick including The Cryin' Hawaiian in the article. Fuck him, he's where he belongs, in Beantown on the DL. Also, no mention of drafting Roberto Clemente?
Yes, they have found talent over the years.....but so have other teams, like the SF Giants, unfortunately. And our recent finds and draftees (is 25 years recent-IDK anymore what the criteria is) has left us without a world championship, as others have had theirs, even multiple times. I can't see tooting the "LAD great finds by whomever" horn if they culminate in mediocrity. BB is not boxing, it's a team effort, and collabrative victory. The talent may be there for this player and that one, but the championships all go elsewhere. So in the end, you can make a list and it looks impressive I guess, but what has it all done? Perhaps it's all in the future with players like Kemp, Dee, SVS, Segar, Pederson, et al...but the present doldrums were the future of the past , too. If that makes any sense... maybe it's the leadership...y'know the "whole new blue" thing.... Sure is new. Different. There have been great Dodger players come down the line, but they tire of the teams losing legacy, and move on. Done deal. Back in the day, we used to win once in a while. At least we used to get there, like the 70's. Now, we get not even the chance to lose.
Keith laws latest mock 22 Derek Fisher SCHOOL: Virginia HT: 6-3 WT: 215 POS: OF I've heard team president Stan Kasten wants a college guy, whereas the scouting department would prefer to just take the best player available. You can guess which side I'm on. If they go prep, I've heard them with Derek Hill, Alex Verdugo and Cole Tucker, but they're also open to the right college arm if one appears here. Scouting video
