First Round Picks- Season 1 (Picks 1-10)

Just for curiosity's sake, I wanted to see how the 1st Round draft picks from the inaugural season are doing....what level they are, if they are still in the league, if they are stars or just role players, and if they are on the original franchise who drafted them. Here is a list of those draft picks and their statistics from last season:

1. Ned Gold (2B)- Originally picked by the forerunner of the Cincinnati Reds (the Rochester Xerographics), Ned Gold moved up to the majors in Season 4 and is the starting second baseman for the NL Central defending champions. He batted .297 last season with 44 HRs, 117 RBIs, and 146 runs in 144 games for Cincinnati, the team who drafted him. (Season 5 All-Star; Season 5 Silver Slugger-2B)


2. Vin Rincon (SP)- Chosen 2nd overall by the Los Angeles Stars, Rincon has been racking up wins ever since Season 5 for his parent club who drafted him. His ERA has steadily fallen since his rookie days but he continues to be solid in getting victories. Last year, he compiled a 21-7 record in 33 games, pitching 208.1 innings with a 4.36 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and 204 Ks (Season 5 ROY; Season 6 All-Star)


3. Russ Jackson (RF)- Drafted by the Sacramento Giant Sacs and now on the 4th reincarnation of the same team, the Oklahoma City Mobsters. Jackson has had a great career with OKC to fill his trophy case although he has slipped a little from his All-Star seasons of the past. Last season, he put together a fine season in 116 games as the Mobsters' starting RF. He batted .299 with 39 HRs, 124 RBIs, and 87 runs. (Season 4 ROY; Season 4 & 5 All-Star; Season 4 & 5 Silver Slugger- RF)


4. Cookie Tavarez (2B)- Picked by the now defunct Austin City Limits which became the St. Louis Pee Beer Brewers. Tavarez was never signed and pinchemateo1 probably wishes his predecessor had ponied up the dough for this high pick.


5. Otis Randolph (SP)- Originally taken by the Colorado Springs Scumpuppies/now the Colorado Gamecocks, Randolph was traded to the Los Angeles Stars in the midst of his rookie ML year in Season 5. He has been a solid contributor for the Stars ever since with 56 ML wins. Last year he had an alright performance with a 14-7 record in 32 starts, finishing with a 4.13 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 164 K's. (Season 6 All-Star; Season 8 Gold Glove)
6. Dave Gunderson (SP)- The 6th pick of the Sioux Falls Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots in the original draft didn't see the majors until his 5th season, but has been the workhorse for Sioux Falls since Day One. Although only a part of the majors for half of the league's existence, Gunderson boasts the most career complete games of any pitcher at a whopping 36. In the last 4 seasons, when Sioux Falls needed a big pitching spot for their playoff drive to save the bullpen, Gunderson more than obliged to eat up innings. Last season, he started 37 games and ate up 250.2 innings while compiling a 18-9 record, giving up an ERA of 4.42, 1.26 WHIP, and striking out 173 in leading Sioux Falls to another postseason. (Season 7 & 8 All-Star)
7. Valerio Mesa (SP/LRP)- Chosen by the Boise Hawks (which recently became the Tucson Trailblazers after their stint as Cheyenne in between), Mesa dominated the minors for several years before being inserted at the ML level. With the deep rotation Cheyenne held, he found his role as a spot starter and long relief pitcher for the Wolves. Although he hopes to claim more of a spotlight role in the future, Mesa is happy to do whatever role is needed of him to help Tucson try to advance to an elusive World Series they've come so close to in recent years. Last season he started 11 games and relieved in 21 more games. He had a 13-2 record and 4 saves with a 4.06 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP, and 82 K's in 99.2 innings.
8. Casey Diaz (SP)- This draft choice fell to the Iowa City Iowa Hucksters, who most recently were the Chicago Black Sox failed to sign out of JuCo ball and was never heard from again. He could've been a valuable asset to whoever takes over this open franchise as the former Black Sox are looking to improve from a 4th place AL North division finish.
9. Theodore Jacobsen (SP)- Drafted by the Burlington Bones, another of the open franchises, who last year was the Iowa City Flying Webelos, is the first true bust of the inaugural 1st round. He has been mired in the minors and has yet to see major league action and might never get "the call." Even his minor league career has been mediocre and Jacobsen has been passed up in the Rule 5 Draft...not good for a former top 10 pick. Perhaps he'll turn things around in the future or mentor the younger arms in this plummeting franchise.
10. Erick Venafro (SP)- The last pick of the blog for the night at number 10 was Erick Venafro, who went to my home franchise, the Louisville Twin Spires. Similar to Gunderson at #6, Venafro has been the rock, ace, and workhorse for Louisville ever since he stepped on the major league stage in his first full season in year 5. He doesn't have the complete games (10), but eats up innings just the same with 873.1 innings pitched in just 4 full seasons in the bigs. A 3.78 career ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 62 wins are respectable numbers. Last season, he broke out of a previous season slump to complete an 18-8 season in 31 starts with a 3.30 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 151 K's as the ace of the NL South champions. (Season 6 All-Star)