Colorado Rockies 2000 Draft: They could have drafted Yadier Molina

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Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, Yadier Molina

DENVER, CO – JULY 03: Yadier Molina #4 of the St. Louis Cardinals hits an eighth inning RBI single against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on July 3, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

The Colorado Rockies could have drafted future St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina

In the fourth round of the 2000 Draft with the 107th overall pick, the Colorado Rockies drafted left-handed pitcher Cory Vance. Vance made 11 appearances in the majors with the Rockies and had a 5.74 ERA. That was his entire MLB career.

Two of the picks directly ahead of Vance were:

104th overall pick outfielder David DeJesus, Royals, 23.4 rWAR
105th overall pick pitcher Cliff Lee, Expos, 43.2 rWAR (four-time All-Star, 2008 AL Cy Young Award, four other top 7 Cy Young Award votes

But the Rockies had an opportunity to draft future St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.

Molina is still playing in the majors as 2022 will be his final season in the majors. Thus far, he has played in 18 seasons with 10 All-Star selections, nine Gold Glove Awards, four Platinum Glove Awards, a Silver Slugger, and two World Series titles. He has a career 42.1 rWAR.

The Rockies have had a history of some not-so-great catchers. Molina has been the Cardinals Opening Day catcher for every season since 2005 and since then, the Rockies have nine. The most frequent has been Chris Iannetta with six Opening Day starts but in his Rockies career (eight seasons) was 7.0 rWAR.

In the fifth round, the Rockies drafted first baseman Garrett Atkins. The Rockies moved Atkins to third base since Todd Helton was at first base but Atkins’ 4.0 rWAR was the second-highest in the round.

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