Colorado Rockies 1995 Draft: Todd Helton or a Hall of Fame pitcher?

With their second round pick in the 1995 Draft, the Colorado Rockies drafted catcher Ben Petrick. Petrick was drafted out of high school in Oregon and signed with the Rockies.

He made his MLB debut in 1999 and played with the Rockies through 2003 but after that 1999 season, Petrick was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and as the years carried on (particularly starting in 2001), his production significantly deteriorated due to the disease.

The Rockies traded the former #35 overall prospect entering 2000 according to Baseball America to the Tigers in July 2003 after Petrick played most of the season in Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Petrick retired after the 2003 season when he announced publicly that he was diagnosed with the disease.

The Rockies drafted him with 38th overall pick but with the 49th overall pick in the draft, the Kansas City Royals drafted a player with a Hall of Fame resume in Carlos Beltrán.

Beltran was a nine-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner, and a two-time Silver Slugger winner. He accumulated an rWAR of 70.1 in his 20-year career. The only thing that may keep him out of the Hall of Fame is his ties to the 2017 Astros and being a key part of their team that won the World Series while they were stealing signs electronically.

After the Rockies pick in that draft, Beltrán was, by far, the best MLB player. The best two players after Beltrán that came out of the second round were first baseman Sean Casey and pitcher Brett Tomko.