Class Of 2006: A Look Back To 2003
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PrintHere's Baseball America's early take on the top 25 players in this year's college draft class, and how the same players stacked up when last eligible for the draft out of high school:
| Rank | Player, Pos., College | Drafted '03 (Round) | Then vs. now |
| 1. | Andrew Miller, lhp, North Carolina | Devil Rays (3) | Highest unsigned '03 pick slipped to third round when late-season control issues scared off clubs. |
| 2. | Drew Stubbs, of, Texas | Astros (3) | Astros would have signed multi-tooled athlete if commissioner's office hadn't squashed over-slot deal. |
| 3. | Max Scherzer, rhp, Missouri | Cardinals (43) | Scherzer has gained strength, velocity and consistency since his prep days, when he topped at 94 but worked in the 80s. |
| 4. | Daniel Bard, rhp, North Carolina | Yankees (20) | Bard wanted a reported $2 million to pass on college, but has battled control lapses while going 15-8, 3.99 in two seasons. |
| 5. | Ian Kennedy, rhp, Southern California | Cardinals (14) | A broken kneecap and commitments to USC and Scott Boras caused clubs to pass on the polished prep. |
| 6. | Matt LaPorta, 1b/3b, Florida | Cubs (14) | LaPorta lacked size and a true position as a prep, but an NCAA-best 26 homers in '05 addressed those issues. |
| 7. | Evan Longoria, 3b, Long Beach State | Not drafted | A product of Nomar Garciaparra's high school, Longoria wasn't overlooked; he's just worked hard and improved rapidly |
| 8. | Wes Hodges, 3b, Georgia Tech | White Sox (13) | A broken left wrist sapped Hodges' power as a prep senior, knocking him out of the early rounds and into college. |
| 9. | Brandon Morrow, rhp, California | Angels (40) | Morrow hit 92-93 mph three years ago, but weighed only 165 pounds and struggled with consistency and command. |
| 10. | Dallas Buck, rhp, Oregon State | Pirates (19) | A commitment to play defensive back at OSU and questions about makeup forced Buck from the top five rounds. |
| 11. | Kyle McCulloch, rhp, Texas | Mets (18) | McCulloch had all the ingredients at affluent Bellaire High, but his Texas commitment forced him down 12-15 rounds. |
| 12. | Joba Chamberlain, rhp, Nebraska | Not drafted | Chamberlain started his college career at Division II Nebraska-Kearney before losing about 40 pounds and blossoming. |
| 13. | Brad Lincoln, rhp, Houston | Rangers (28) | Scouts liked everything about Lincoln in high school aside from his sub-6-foot stature, which won't be an issue in June. |
| 14. | Mark Melancon, rhp, Arizona | Dodgers (30) | Melancon was the top-rated high school player in Colorado in 2003; he hit 90 mph consistently with command |
| 15. | Jared Hughes, rhp, Long Beach State | Devil Rays (16) | A star on the showcase circuit, Hughes lost the feel for his secondary stuff and raised questions about his toughness. |
| 16. | Greg Reynolds, rhp, Stanford | Phillies (41) | His size and power stuff made him a second-round option, but a Stanford commitment always scares off suitors. |
| 17. | Jason Donald, ss, Arizona | Angels (20) | Donald was a legit third-round talent as a high school senior, but he wanted more compensation to pass on college. |
| 18. | Blair Erickson, rhp, UC Irvine | Phillies (28) | Erickson broke his ankle in a pickup basketball game in February of his senior year, killing his chances of going early. |
| 19. | Colin Curtis, of, Arizona State | Reds (50) | A shoulder injury limited Curtis to a DH role as a senior; when he fell from the top two rounds, college was an easy choice. |
| 20. | Brennan Boesch, of, California | Not drafted | Scouts wanted to see more power and speed from the 6-foot-6 Boesch to meet his second-round asking price to forgo college |
| 21. | Brian Jeroloman, c, Florida | Not drafted | His exquisite defensive skills were recognized by scouts in high school, but he just wasn't willing to sign at the time. |
| 22. | Chris Perez, rhp, Miami | Not drafted | Academics and an inability to hold his power stuff longer than two to three innings caused teams to pass on Perez |
| 23. | Justin Masterson, rhp, San Diego State | Not drafted | Masterson hit 90 as an Indiana prep, but was very raw with just two years of pitching under his belt |
| 24. | Gary Daley, rhp, Cal Poly | Not drafted | Natural evolution from a mid-80s fastball in high school to mid 90s as a college junior has sent his stock soaring. |
| 25. | Chad Tracy, c, Pepperdine | Not drafted | He slipped under the radar, even though he had power potential and was the son of Dodgers manager Jim Tracy. |
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