Grading every Rockies’ first round pick in franchise history

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

1994 – Doug Million LHP (7th overall) Sarasota High School (Florida)

The Rockies again selected a pitcher with the first pick in 1994. Doug Million, a crafty lefty, never made it to the Major Leagues, but not for lack of performance. In his first season in the organization, Million split time with the Arizona League Rockies and Bend Rockies, with a combined 6-3 record with a 2.20 ERA over 69.2 innings. Prior the 1995 season, Baseball America ranked Million the 19^th best prospect in the minor leagues. In 1997, while playing a video game with a teammate, Million suffered a severe asthma attack and died shortly after at the age of 21.

 Numbers with Rockies: (Minor League numbers) 26-32, 4.12 ERA, 395 K, 478.1 IP

Where Are They Now? After battling asthma his entire life, Million died just hours after suffering a severe asthma attack while playing an electronic trivia game in a restaurant in Mesa, Arizona. Former Rockies’ manager Don Baylor was quoted in Million’s Hastings Star Gazette obituary, saying, “I was in shock when I heard it and I’m still in shock. Here is a man who will never get the chance to fulfill his boyhood dreams.”

Grade: Hard to grade someone who died so tragically and young. He had a promising minor league career but sadly never made it to the big leagues.