Today kicks off a series that will run over the winter where we look back at past drafts and try to figure out what went right and what went wrong, and why. For this, I’m only going back to the 2005 draft and working forward, as that is really about as far back as my draft information goes in terms of having first hand information on what was happening and the information on the players.

The Raw Numbers

The Cincinnati Reds selected eight future Major Leaguers in the 2005 draft. Seven of them would sign with the Reds, while one would go unsigned and be drafted in a different year (John Axford – 42nd round). Jay Bruce, Travis Wood, Sam LeCure, Jeff Stevens, Carlos Fisher, Adam Rosales and Logan Ondrusek all signed with the Reds and would eventually make their Major League debuts.

The Decisions

With the first round pick, drafting 12th overall, the team would take outfielder Jay Bruce. He was viewed as a late riser in the draft class, showing off big tools who really stepped forward his senior year of high school. Looking back, you can easily argue that he turned out to be the best player remaining in the draft when the Reds got to make their selection.

In the second round they stuck with the high school route and went with left handed pitcher Travis Wood with the 60th overall pick. He was a bit underszied, but he had slightly above-average velocity for a left hander, a solid breaking ball and an outstanding change up coming out of high school. He wound up being one of 12 second rounders to make the Major Leagues from 2005, but is only one of three to provide more than 8.0 WAR for his career (to this point). It’s hard to call this pick anything but a success.

In the third round the team pegged right hander Zach Ward out of Gardner-Webb. He didn’t last long with the organization, being flipped for Kyle Lohse in a trade a year later. He never made the big leagues. After good control in his first two seasons as a pro he seemingly lost his ability to throw strikes, walking 100 batters in 143.1 innings in 2008 and 2009, which was his last year in affiliated baseball.

The organization followed that up by going with right handed pitcher Sam LeCure in the 4th round. This was an interesting pick at the time, as LeCure was thought to be a higher caliber pick than a 4th rounder, but was ineligible to play during his junior year at Texas due to academic reasons. At this point in the draft, most players don’t make it, though 16 players from the 2005 drafts fourth round would make it to the Majors – only one would provide more than 3.0 WAR. Sam LeCure’s 3.0 WAR ranks him second best from the round, trailing just Jeremy Helickson.

Later on in the draft the team would take Jeff Stevens (sixth round) who was eventually flipped for Brandon Phillips and would pitch in parts of three big league seasons. In the eleventh through thirteenth rounds they team picked up Carlos Fisher (74 big league games pitched in over parts of three big league seasons), Adam Rosales (533 big league games and counting) and Logan Ondrusek (288 big league games and maybe counting).

The Conclusion

It’s hard to rate the Cincinnati Reds 2005 draft as anything but a success. The team drafted five players who wound up having long big league careers with Jay Bruce, Travis Wood, Sam LeCure, Adam Rosales and Logan Ondrusek. They also picked up two other guys who saw big league action in multiple seasons. The draft, for just about every team, is made on how they do with their first round pick as that pick is far more likely to provide value than any other pick the team makes (historically speaking, with each pick you move down, the less value you get). A typical draft is probably a successful one if you can land an every day player or starting pitcher that sticks around for a while and a good reliever or part-time player. Looking back at 2005, the Reds did much better than that.