Colorado Rockies 2005 Draft: The drafting of Troy Tulowitzki

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SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 18: Troy Tulowitzki #2 of the Colorado Rockies yells after turning a double play during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park July 18, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

We continue our series of looking back at the Colorado Rockies and their draft picks with the 2005 Draft.

The Rockies were coming off what ended up being a good draft in 2004 as they drafted a few future everyday players.

They were also coming off of an awful 2004 season, in which they went 68-94. That was their worst season in franchise history since their inaugural 1993 season when they went 67-95. They traded Larry Walker to St. Louis and let go of a lot of their veteran players (Vinny Castilla, Jeromy Burnitz, Royce Clayton, Shawn Estes, Steve Reed, and Charles Johnson) all go via free agency or (in the case of Johnson) trade at the end of the 2004 season.

As a result, the Rockies turned over a new leaf in 2005 when they went much younger. The team was even worse (67-95) but it set things in motion for their 2007 season, when they got to the World Series.

One of the key contributors to that team was drafted just two years prior.

The Colorado Rockies drafted Troy Tulowitzki with the 7th overall pick in the 2005 Draft.

Troy Tulowitzki was drafted by the Colorado Rockies with the seventh overall pick in the 2005 Draft.

Tulowitzki, affectionately known as “Tulo,” started out his minor league career in Advanced-A ball. By 2006, he was in Double-A. He skipped Triple-A completely and made his MLB debut on August 30.

He played in parts of 10 seasons with the Rockies and he was an All-Star five times and won two Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards. He came in 2nd in NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2007, and received MVP votes in six seasons, including two top-five finishes in 2009 and 2010.

PITTSBURGH, PA – AUGUST 02: Andrew McCutchen #22 of the Pittsburgh Pirates bats against the Colorado Rockies during the game on August 2, 2013 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Troy Tulowitzki was traded from the Colorado Rockies to Toronto, which did not make him happy.

Relations soured between Tulo and the Rockies (primarily then-GM Jeff Bridich) when they traded him to Toronto at the trade deadline in July 2015.

He ended up last playing in the majors in 2019 with the Yankees after extensive injuries throughout his career, both with the Rockies and after. He had a career 44.5 rWAR and 39.5 of that came with the Rockies.

Some of the players that were drafted after Tulo in the first round include:

Outfielder Andrew McCutchen, 11th overall pick, Pirates (2013 NL MVP, three more top 5 NL MVP finishes, five-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger winner, Gold Glove winner, 46.5 rWAR).
Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, 23rd overall pick, Red Sox (one-time All-Star, Gold Glove winner, Silver Slugger winner, 31.2 rWAR)
Pitcher Clay Buchholz, 42nd overall pick, Red Sox (two-time All-Star, 16.7 rWAR)

The Rockies had another first-round pick, as they had a comp pick for losing Vinny Castilla in free agency. With the 32nd overall pick, they drafted pitcher Chaz Roe.

Roe never made it to the majors with the Rockies as they traded him to Seattle after the 2010 season for infielder José Lopez but Roe has spent parts of nine seasons in the majors with 245 relief appearances.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 30: Chris Martin #55 of the Atlanta Braves delivers the pitch against the Houston Astros during the sixth inning in Game Four of the World Series at Truist Park on October 30, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

The Colorado Rockies made some bad picks after Troy Tulowitzki

The Colorado Rockies also had two second round draft picks: the 4th and 7th picks of the round. The fourth pick came from the new team in the league, the Washington Nationals, who signed the aforementioned Vinny Castilla.

However, neither of their second round picks made it to the majors … or any of the other players that they signed in that draft.

They drafted pitcher Chris Martin in the 21st round of the draft and didn’t sign him. However, he made his MLB debut with the Rockies nearly a decade later. Martin didn’t sign with the Rockies because he got injured. He eventually went into indy ball and signed a contract with the Red Sox. The Red Sox traded Martin to the Rockies after the 2013 season.

He has spent parts of six seasons in the majors, including with the World Champion Atlanta Braves last season in their bullpen.

Some of the best players to be drafted and sign with their team in the 2005 Draft include:

Outfielder Brett Gardner, 3rd round, Yankees (one-time All-Star, Gold Glove winner, 44.3 rWAR)
Outfielder Michael Brantley, 7th round, Brewers (five-time All-Star, Silver Slugger, 32.9 rWAR)
Outfielder Austin Jackson, 8th round, Yankees (22.1 rWAR)
Pitcher Sergio Romo, 28th round, Giants (one-time All-Star, three-time World Series champion, 10.4 rWAR)

dark. Next. Picturing who could play in a Colorado Rockies Old Timers’ Day

Next up in our series is the 2006 Draft, when the Rockies had their worst draft in team history. In fact, a reader’s discretion may have to be advised on how badly the Rockies did in that draft and who they missed out on.

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