Colorado Rockies 2004 Draft: A very good draft after some bad ones

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Colorado Rockies, 2004 MLB Draft, Chris Nelson

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – APRIL 08: Chris Nelson #4 of the Colorado Rockies walks back to the dugout after striking out against the San Francisco Giants in the ninth inning at AT&T Park on April 8, 2013 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

We continue our series on looking back at each draft for the Colorado Rockies with the 2004 Draft.

If you’ve been following along thus far, you know that in 2003, the Rockies did not have a great draft. In 2002, they had an average draft. In 2001, they had a bad draft and the 2000 Draft was a mixed bag.

But in 2004, they had the 9th overall pick in the draft for the second time in three years. In 2002, they had the 9th overall pick and in 2003, they had the 10th overall pick.

Ahead of the Rockies, there was only one really good draft pick: the 2nd overall pick of the draft.

The Detroit Tigers hit a grand slam with drafting pitcher Justin Verlander out of Old Dominion University. He was the only pick among the first 10 picks that an rWAR of at least 6.0 in the majors.

That included the Rockies 1st round draft pick.

The Colorado Rockies drafted shortstop Chris Nelson in the 1st round of the 2004 Draft

The Colorado Rockies drafted shortstop Chris Nelson with their first round pick in the 2004 Draft.

Nelson spent parts of five seasons in the majors (four with the Rockies). His best season came in 2012 when he played in 111 games with a .301/.352/.458 slash line with an OPS+ of 105. However, his poor defense (-22 Defensive Runs Saved) brought his rWAR down to -0.8 for the season. In his career, he had a -2.6 rWAR.

He rejoined the Rockies in 2016 but he never got back to the majors after the 2014 season. Currently, he is a minor league hitting coach for the Royals.

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