3rd/4th Round Wonders

[spicoli306]

In honor of George Lukon doing his best impression of Aaron Judge through a quarter of a season, I figured I'd look to see if I could find any good 3rd rounders (or 4th rounders, although those were even more rare). I only went back to players drafted before 1989, since that pretty much covers most of the players since I've been around the DDL (2003).

Player---------Team------------Pick Drafted--------Accomplishments
Jim James ----- Milwaukee ------- 37th (1991) -- 3 Fireman, 8 AS, 397 Saves, 3.39 ERA (48th All-Time)

Roswell Ripley - New York (A) ----- 36th (1997) -- 1 Cy Young, 2 AS, 172 Wins, 2500+ SO

Jim Munoz ----- Milwaukee ------ 40th (1989) -- 4 AS, 5 GG, 2200+ Hits, 300+ HR, 250+ SB

Paul Lanahan -- Boston ---------- 33rd (2017) -- 1 Cy Young, 1 AS, led league in ERA twice and WHIP once

Jeff Taylor ----- Baltimore ------- 41st (2007) -- 2 AS, 1 WS ring, 136 Wins, 1.27 WHIP (132nd All-Time)

Abner Doubleday - New York (A) -- 45th (1990) -- 2 AS, 4 GG, 1600+ Hits, 250+ 2Bs, 200+ SBs as a Catcher

Johnny Fryman --- Atlanta ------- 34th (2007) -- 1 WS ring, 10 Playoffs, 2 GGs, 1950 Hits, 300+ 2Bs, 250+ SBs

Troy Kores ------ Oakland ------- 38th (2005) -- 1 AS, 1800+ Hits, 1000+ Runs, 88 3Bs

Eddie DeMaestri -- Toronto (former WAS) - 47th (1994) -- 1 WS ring, 1 GG, 1800+ Hits

John Wicker ----- Toronto (former WAS) - 56th (2012) -- 1 AS

Feel free to add to the list (Has to be 3rd round or later).

-Michael

[spicoli306]

Dang, just realized this guy is 2nd place in the NL MVP voting. I doubt he keeps it up, but it should be noted as another accomplishment for a 3rd rounder.

[spicoli306]

And Jimmy Geyer is having a breakout year as well. 3rd round is the new 1st!

[spicoli306]

Player _______Hits____Runs___RBI_____HR_____SB____OPS______BA
George Lukon_ 75_____50_____50_____22_____7_____1.053____.315
Jimmy Geyer__ 77_____38_____32_____6______7_____.885_____.332
Hank Benjamin 71_____50_____41_____10_____10____1.047___.362

I'll try to update this. Among current league leaders, Lukon is 1st in HR (22 to 16 being the next best) and T-2nd in RBI (50 to 51 as the leader). Lukon and Benjamin are both in a 4 way tie for Runs scored with 50 each. Lukon has the top SLG% (.672) while Benjamin is 2nd in OBP (.430). Lukon is 2nd in OPS & Benjamin is 3rd. Benjamin is currently in 1st in the batting title race (.362).

[spicoli306]

An update with a little over a month left.

Player _______Hits____Runs___RBI_____HR_____SB____OPS______BA
George Lukon_ 130_____92_____86_____33_____17_____.916____.285
Jimmy Geyer__ 135_____67_____54_____7______14_____.794_____.305
Hank Benjamin_123_____82_____69_____18_____12____.906___.315

Benjamin and Geyer are currently slightly behind the backups in their respective league's All-Star voting. Lukon is currently still the starting CF in the NL. Doesn't look like that's a title he'll lose.

Not quite the same as 3rd rounders, but I figured I'd point out that both of the current MVP vote leaders are former 2nd Round picks. Clarence Wainhouse and Al Smith have both put together great seasons.