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Colorado Rockies 2006 Draft: The worst draft in their history … by a mile

ByNoah Yingling|
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 25: Starting pitcher Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals throws to a Colorado Rockies batter in the first inning at Nationals Park on July 25, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 25: Starting pitcher Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals throws to a Colorado Rockies batter in the first inning at Nationals Park on July 25, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
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Colorado Rockies, Zach Britton, 2006 MLB Draft
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 18: Zack Britton #53 of the New York Yankees pitches in the eighth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on August 18, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

The Colorado Rockies did not draft a single MLB player until the 7th round of the 2006 MLB Draft.

In that span, the Colorado Rockies could have drafted some of these players.

  • Pitcher Trevor Cahill, 2nd round, 66th overall by Oakland (1x All-Star, 11.2 rWAR)
  • Pitcher Justin Masterson, 2nd round, 71st overall by Boston (1x All-Star, 10.1 rWAR)
  • Pitcher Zach Britton, 3rd round, 85th overall by Baltimore (2x All-Star, 14.1 rWAR)
  • Pitcher Joe Smith, 3rd round, 94th overall by the Mets (13.6 rWAR)
  • Pitcher Alex Cobb, 4th round, 109th overall by Tampa Bay (14.4 rWAR)
  • 1st baseman Chris Davis, 5th round, 148th overall by Texas (11.8 rWAR)
  • Pitcher Jeff Samardzija, 5th round, 149th overall by the Cubs (1x All-Star, 14.5 rWAR)
  • Pitcher Chris Archer, 5th round, 161st overall by Cleveland (2x All-Star, 13.1 rWAR)

The only MLB players that signed with the Rockies from the 7th round on and made it to the majors with the Rockies were catcher Michael McKenry and pitcher Will Harris.

McKenry spent parts of seven seasons in the majors and three were with the Rockies. He was a backup catcher as he never played in more than 58 games in any season with the Rockies and never more than 88 with another team in the majors. He had a career 2.4 rWAR.

Harris was drafted in the 9th round by the Rockies. He only appeared in 20 games with the Rockies and pitched to an 8.15 ERA but from 2015 through 2019 with Houston, he had a 2.36 ERA with an average of 62 appearances per season. In his career, he has a career 7.8 rWAR.

By the first round alone, the Colorado Rockies had their worst draft ever. The Rockies have been lean on pitching for most of their history and could have had Max Scherzer or Clayton Kershaw for, at least, a few years but they came up empty.

Next up on our list is the 2007 Draft, when the Rockies did draft a potential future Hall of Fame pitcher, who came in the top six in Cy Young voting between 2012 and 2018 … but they didn’t sign him.

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