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Colorado Rockies: A look back on Dan O’Dowd’s 1st round draft picks

By Noah Yingling

DENVER, CO - APRIL 13: (L-R) Dick Monfort, Owner/Chairman and CEO of the Colorado Rockies and Dan O'Dowd, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Colorado Rockies watch pregame festivities as the Rockies host the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field on April 13, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - APRIL 13: (L-R) Dick Monfort, Owner/Chairman and CEO of the Colorado Rockies and Dan O'Dowd, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Colorado Rockies watch pregame festivities as the Rockies host the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field on April 13, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /
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DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 02: Relief pitcher Jeff Francis #26 of the Colorado Rockies works against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field on September 2, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The Dodgers defeated the Rockies 10-8. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 02: Relief pitcher Jeff Francis #26 of the Colorado Rockies works against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field on September 2, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The Dodgers defeated the Rockies 10-8. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

Dan O’Dowd and the Rockies had the ninth overall pick in the 2002 draft. They decided to go with a left-handed pitcher Jeff Francis. In his 11 year career, he had a 72-82 record with a 4.97 ERA (93 ERA+) and a 9.6 WAR.

While not great, his career year was in 2007 and was big reason why the Rockies made the World Series. He had an ERA of 2.13 in the NLDS and NLCS but he did not pitch well in the World Series.

Notable 1st round picks after Francis

There were plenty of first round picks after Francis that were successful in the major leagues.

Scott Kazmir: left-handed pitcher, 15th overall pick, 12 year MLB career, 22.8 WAR, 108-96 record, 4.01 ERA, 104 ERA+, three-time All Star

Nick Swisher: first baseman/outfielder, 16th overall pick, 12 year MLB career, 22.0 WAR, 245 home runs, 803 RBI, .249/.351/.447 slash line, one-time All Star.

Cole Hamels*: left-handed pitcher, 17th overall pick, 13 year MLB career, 54.3 WAR, 150-106 record, 3.37 ERA, 124 ERA+, four-time All-Star, ranked four times in Cy Young Award voting, 2008 NLCS MVP, 2008 World Series MVP

Denard Span*: outfielder, 20th overall pick, 11 year MLB career, 25.2 WAR, .282/.348/.396 slash line, ranked in MVP voting once

Matt Cain: right-handed pitcher, 25th overall pick, 13 year MLB career, 29.1 WAR, 104-118 record, 3.68 ERA, 108 ERA+, three-time All Star, ranked in NL Cy Young Award voting three times

Other notable draft picks in the second round or after include Joey Votto*, Jon Lester*, Brian McCann*, and Curtis Granderson*.

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