[Westheim]

Originally Posted by UltimateAverageGuy

Who are your highest draft picks ever and how'd they do for you?

For a while I maintained a semi-regular draft history post, but I have neglected that for at least 20 seasons and good luck finding it now...

But I went through the draft history and pulled out all of our top 5 picks.

1977 - LF Daniel Hall (#2) – Dan The Man was the early fan favorite despite a career that ultimately lacked big achievements, but he was one of the CL's prime hitters in his 20s before injuries slowly grinded him down. Won a stolen base title in '79, a home run title in '84, and two rings while batting .263/.366/.437 with 223 HR, 980 RBI as a career Critter.
1978 – CL Richard Cunningham (#2) – Elite stuff without a doubt, Cunningham had an 18-year career for seven different teams. He was only rarely the closer, and never in Portland, trapped behind Grant West for all of his 7 1/2 seasons with the Raccoons. 89-75, 2.86 ERA, 173 SV. He was traded to Dallas with others for Matt Higgins, which was not exactly a great deal.
1979 – CL Grant West (#4) – HALL OF FAME – Career Raccoons closer, great control and not overwhelming, but ample stuff. West, who went 43-34 with a 2.12 ERA and 522 SV for his career, didn’t lose a game until his fifth season, and three tims led the league in saves. Also took part in two rings with the Critters.
1980 – SP Carlos Gonzalez (#1) – The first dud on the list, Gonzalez should have one of those “one hit wonder” baseball cards. He went 16-3 with a 2.83 ERA in ’86, but never re-connected with that success and before long blew out his elbow. His career was cut short and he did last appear in the majors for the Titans in ’91 at age 28. For his career he was a dire 48-57 with a 3.91 ERA.
1981 – 2B/3B Orlando Lantán (#4) – The second dud on the list, Lantán did even worse, amounting to only 65 games in the majors, batting .200 with 1 HR and 10 RBI. Never-ending knee problems and other ailments piled up to the distinct lack of hitting, and he was eventually claimed off waivers by the Blue Sox.
1982 – OF Alejandro Lopez (#2) – Highly touted outfielder whose power never really broke out, and when it did, it was initially not for the Raccoons, because he had been traded in a big deal with the Blue Sox in late 1983 that sent Raúl Herrera and a few prospects to Portland. the prospects all busted, Herrera was terrible, and Lopez was at least serviceable for the Blue Sox. He *would* come back to the Coons later, after signing a *minor-league* contract when the 1993 season had already begun, and was promoted to the majors before long, hitting 18 homers in 103 games. For his career, which ended at age 31, he was a .258/.305/.408 hitter with 106 HR and 564 RBI and got that ring in ’93.

1998 – OF Chris Roberson (#4) – After 16 years of avoiding the basement, the Raccoons got a top 5 pick again in ’98 and drafted perpetually infuriating Chris Roberson, who was not a great hitter, but in the darkest decade of the team at least served diligently as a punchline or punching bag, whatever was required. Most of his 12-year lackluster career came with the Buffaloes after a forgettable trade there. Career .264/.308/.402 batter with 60 HR, 366 RBI, but at least he won a Gold Glove.

2000 – 3B Daniel Sharp (#5) – Sharpie debuted the year he was drafted, and before long settled into the groove of being a dependable and capable, but not overwhelming third baseman. Had a 16-year career, in ten of which he played for the Coons, but that included being sent away, and reclaimed a number of times. He became a free agent after ’07, signed with the Miners, was reclaimed by the Raccoons, then traded with Ryan Miller and Jimmy Oatmeal for Ron Alston eight weeks later. We claimed him off waivers by the Buffaloes again the following year, then traded him to the Gold Sox for Bruce Boyle and Orlando Valdez the next season. Bounced around a lot after that, but had a respectable career, batting .276/.355/.376 with 76 HR, 635 RBI and a Gold Glove. Won a title with the 2013 Crusaders.
2001 – OF Chris Beairsto (#2) – Another “one hit wonder” case, Beairsto hit .241 with 17 homers in a half-season in ’03 that was sparkling, if only when compared to what the rest of the team was doing. Had another 18 homers with the Bayhawks in 2006, but never hit for any sort of average and was chewed up by the time he was 28, although he played in the minors for another five years after that. Batted .237/.303/.398 with 49 HR, 171 RBI.

2006 – OF Jimmy Eichelkraut (#3) – Could have been an endless source of puns, but was traded away in the aforementioned Ron Alston deal in 2008 before being flipped from the Indians to the Condors again the winter after that. When he eventually made his debut in 2012 he went 0-for-10, but clicked at age 27 (!) and became a premier power hitter as he closed in on 30. His 24+ homers for five years running with Tijuana, and was an All Star twice. The late bloomer hit .266/.349/.466 with 158 HR, 510 RBI in a 10-year career that was cut short by a torn labrum.

2023 – C Elijah Bean (#4) – Another 17 years passed without a top 5 pick before the Coons took Elijah Bean, who didn’t hit in the minors, then was exchanged, with others, for Kevin Harenberg at the deadline in 2026, which of course netted a title. Score Bean an assist on that. On his own, he’s been a sporadic major leaguer, who has been in the majors from 2027 through 2036, with plenty of gaps in between, and never for a full season. Most of his .248/.310/.353 clip with 13 HR and 79 RBI has come with the Wolves, and he is currently 33 and in AAA for the Loggers. If the Loggers don’t see you as an improvement…

2031 – OF Manny Fernandez (#5) – Finally a good pick again! Connected for at least a decent clip from the time he was drafted at age 21, and reached the majors only two years later. While it took his power a bit longer to break out, he hit .326 with 19 HR and 90 RBI to become the Player of the Year in 2036, the first the Raccoons got in *decades*. Currently as of May 31, 2037 he is a .292/.339/.443 batter with 54 HR and 306 RBI and is close to nipping his 100th base, sitting at 98.

2033 – SP Mike Lang (#4) – Oh boy. He was traded to the Knights the first opportunity we got to land Adam Avakian. So, yeah, this has been a bit of a tire fire. Lang, now only 22, has yet to appear above AA and seems to have major issues with command, but it’s not like we got anything out of that ****ty deal (except, ultimately, Gene Tennis).

I deliberately limited this to the top 5, because else this would have been a task for a whole week. This cut off a few Hall of Famers taken in the top 10: Yoshi Nomura (2002) and Angel Casas (2003), who were both #7 picks.