There have been too many strikeouts when it comes to the Indians and the amateur baseball draft.
Former second-round pick Brian Tallet contributed one win (and two losses) to the Indians' organization from 2002-05, becoming just another failure in the team's unproductive efforts in the annual amateur draft. For the franchise to ever rebound, those failures must end, and soon, says Terry Pluto.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- With Grady Sizemore injured, Trevor Crowe now appears at the top of the Indians' batting order. Good for Crowe, who was the Tribe's first-round draft pick in 2005.
But think about this: Between 2000-06, the Indians have drafted 28 players in the first and second rounds. Of those 28, Crowe is the only non-pitcher in the majors.
You can say, "Well, they did draft a lot of pitchers back then."
Try these names: Jeremy Guthrie (2002), Brian Tallet (2000) and David Huff (2006). Guthrie's next start will be his 100th in the bigs, the most made by any Tribe draft pick since 1998 first-rounder CC Sabathia. But Guthrie, who was waived by the Indians, is not exactly a star. Now with Baltimore, his career record is 29-38 with a 4.27 ERA.
As for the other two, Tallet has a 15-18 record and 4.37 ERA in 192 career games for Toronto. A member of the Tribe's rotation, Huff is 13-14, 5.51 in 31 career starts.
Jeremy Sowers (first round, 2004) was 18-30 with a 5.18 ERA for the Tribe over several seasons, but he's now in the minors.
So Crowe, Tallet, Huff and Guthrie are the only four out of those 28 high picks.
Corey Smith was the Indians' top choice -- 26th overall -- in the 2000 draft, but never threatened to make the Indians' big club before being released in 2004. He is now with the Dodgers' Class AA team in Chattanooga, in his 11th pro season, still chasing the majors.I bring this up because the Tribe will be selecting fifth on June 7. It's the third draft for Brad Grant, who can't be blamed for the past failures. His top pick in 2009 is Alex White, just promoted to Class AA Akron (two earned runs in seven innings). His 2008 first rounder is Lonnie Chisenhall, who was impressive early in the season at Akron before landing on the disabled list with a sore shoulder.
It's far too early to evaluate Grant's work. Most players need three to five years after being drafted to reach the majors. But think about this: Crowe's 214 big-league at-bats is the most of any Tribe first-round pick since Manny Ramirez in 1991.
First-round strikeouts between Ramirez and Crowe are Mike Aubrey (2003), Brad Snyder (2003), John Drennen (2005), Corey Smith (2000), Danny Peoples (1996) and David Miller (1995). Only Aubrey (135 at-bats) made the majors.
Remember the powerful Tribe teams of the 1990s? Jim Thome (13th round, 1989), Albert Belle (second, 1987), Charles Nagy (first, 1988), Richie Sexson (24th, 1993), Brian Giles (17th, 1989), Russell Branyan (seventh, 1993) and Jaret Wright (first, 1994) were all products of the draft.
But the Indians have not drafted and signed a player in any round who has made an All-Star team since Sabathia was the 1998 first rounder.
In the last decade, the best picks have been Kevin Kouzmanoff (sixth, 2003), Ryan Garko (third, 2003), Ryan Church (14th, 2000) and Ben Francisco (fifth, 2002). Only Kouzmanoff has been a regular player in the last five seasons. Also on this list is Luke Scott (9th, 2001), who hit 48 homers over the previous two seasons for Baltimore.
Garko is now in the minors. Francisco (Philadelphia) and Church (Pittsburgh) are backup outfielders. On the current roster, Tony Sipp (45th, 2004) and Aaron Laffey (16th, 2003) have contributed. Jensen Lewis (third, 2005) is expected to be recalled from the minors at some point.
Luck is part of it. Adam Miller (2003) would have been a major leaguer, but had a freak finger injury that may end his career. Aubrey was a big-league hitter, but could never stay healthy. Matt Whitney (2002) was a very promising third baseman until he shattered his leg in a pickup basketball game.
But middle-market teams must draft well make up for their lack of dollars to spend on high-priced free agents.
The Tribe has fared much better in the Latino market -- Fausto Carmona, Victor Martinez, Jhonny Peralta, Bartolo Colon. They have made superb trades for other teams' prospects: Shin-Soo Choo, Asdrubal Cabrera, Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips and Jake Westbrook are some examples.
Maybe Crowe will bloom at the age of 26. He entered Tuesday's game heading .286. But when it comes to drafting, signing and developing talent American talent, the Indians have been in a 10-year slump.