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Colorado Rockies 2002 Draft: They miss out on Cole Hamels and Joey Votto

By Noah Yingling

PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 16: Joey Votto #19 of the Cincinnati Reds in action against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the game at PNC Park on September 16, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 16: Joey Votto #19 of the Cincinnati Reds in action against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the game at PNC Park on September 16, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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Jeff Francis, Colorado Rockies, 2002 MLB Draft
DENVER – SEPTEMBER 3: Starting pitcher Jeff Francis #26 of the Colorado Rockies delivers against the San Francisco Giants and earned the win as the Rockies defeated the Giants 7-4 at Coors Field September 3, 2007 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

The Colorado Rockies drafted Jeff Francis in the 2002 Draft, a key piece to the 2007 NL Champion Rockies.

With their first round draft pick in 2002, the Colorado Rockies drafted left-handed pitcher Jeff Francis out of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

Francis signed with the Rockies and he ended up getting to the majors with the Rockies by 2004.

For their 2007 championship run, Francis was their ace as he went 17-9 with a 4.22 ERA (114 ERA+) with 34 starts and 215 1/3 innings. He started Game 1 of the NLDS, NLCS, and World Series for the Rockies in the playoffs and he pitched well in the NLDS and NLCS (2.13 ERA) but, just like the Rockies, he did not do well in the World Series. He went four innings and allowed 10 hits and six runs in Game 1 of the eventual sweep of the Rockies by the Red Sox.

The problem was that after that 3.9 rWAR season, Francis was a shell of his former self. Like the Rockies, in general, in 2008, they could not repeat their 2007 season. Francis went from a pitcher that came in 9th in NL Cy Young Award voting to a pitcher with an ERA over 5.00.

He missed the entire 2009 season due to shoulder surgery. He returned in 2010 and still had a 5.00 ERA in just 20 games (out, again, for injury). He signed with the Royals in 2011 but returned to the Rockies via free agency in 2012 and 2013. From 2011 through 2015 (the final season of his career), he had a 5.40 ERA (80 ERA+). For his entire career, he had a 9.6 career rWAR.

Between Francis and their second round pick, there were six players who had at least 20.0 rWAR but the best two players were Cole Hamels and Joey Votto.

Hamels was drafted by the Phillies with the 17th overall pick. He had a 59.3 rWAR career, four All-Star selections, four top 10 NL Cy Young voting, and the 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP.

Votto, who was drafted as a catcher by Cincinnati with the 3rd pick in the 2nd round, is still playing with Cincinnati after 15 years in the majors with a 64.6 rWAR, a career .302/.416/.520 slash line, a 148 OPS+, six All-Star selections, and six top 10 NL MVP votes.

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