Rox Pile
Fansided

Colorado Rockies 2003 Draft: Trading their 1st round pick a few years later pays off

By Noah Yingling

DENVER, CO - APRIL 17: Ian Stewart #9 of the Colorado Rockies looks on from the dugout prior to facing the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field on April 17, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - APRIL 17: Ian Stewart #9 of the Colorado Rockies looks on from the dugout prior to facing the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field on April 17, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
Colorado Rockies, Ian Stewart, 2003 MLB Draft
PHOENIX, AZ – MAY 03: Ian Stewart #9 of the Colorado Rockies warms up on deck during the Major League Baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on May 3, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks defeated the Rockies 4-3. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

In the first round of the 2003 Draft, the Colorado Rockies selected third baseman Ian Stewart out of high school in Westminster, California.

Stewart was up with the Rockies by the 2007 season. He became a bigger contributor to the team in 2009 and 2010, combining to play in 268 games and a 2.8 rWAR.

However, by 2011, he had fallen out of favor in Colorado as he spent the season between Triple-A and the majors. After the 2011 season, the Rockies traded Stewart and a minor leaguer to the Chicago Cubs. In return, the Rockies got outfielder Tyler Colvin … and infielder DJ LeMahieu.

Stewart floundered as he played fewer than 80 games in the rest of his MLB career but LeMahieu flourished. While with the Rockies, LeMahieu won three Gold Glove awards, was a two-time All-Star, won the 2016 NL batting title. He became a free agent after the 2018 season and joined the Yankees where he came in 4th and 3rd in AL MVP voting in 2019 and 2020.

After the pick of Stewart, the Rockies did not have a single one of their picks make it to the majors until the 19th round.

In the rest of the draft, the Rockies draft picks that signed and later made it to the majors were Ryan Mattheus (19th round) and Eric Young, Jr. (30th round). That’s it. Mattheus never even played for the Rockies. They traded him to the Nationals for reliever Joe Beimel in 2009.

Eric Young, Jr. played in parts of five seasons with the Rockies and parts of 10 in the majors, playing 651 games and 1.4 rWAR in his career.

Home/Colorado Rockies History