With all of the opportunities the Keystones had, there were bound to be some “hits”. Of course, there were some misses, too, especially in some of the early drafts.
Here are the Keystones’s first draft picks during the “pre-play” era (first round picks in parentheses, players still with the franchise in bold):
- 1911: 4th overall pick (2B Newell Winn: 16.5 WAR with the Keystones (1915-20), traded to the Philadelphia Sailors in 1920, 27.1 career WAR)
- 1912: 1st overall pick (2B Eddie Andrews: 2.2 WAR with the Keystones (1916-18), traded to the Pittsburgh Miners in 1918, 27.5 career WAR)
- 1913: 2nd overall pick (3B Blackie Mefford: never appeared with Keystones, traded to the Washington Eagles in 1919, 7.4 career WAR)
- 1914: 5th overall pick (SS Rube Blair: 13.2 WAR with the Keystones (1915-present), currently the backup shortstop)
- 1915: 6th overall pick (CF Phil Brothers: -1.1 WAR with the Keystones (1921-23), split time last year between AA Richmond and AAA Louisville)
- 1916: 3rd overall pick (RHP Ernie Henderson: 1.5 WAR with the Keystones (1921-23), traded to the Boston Minutemen in 1923, 5.3 career WAR)
- 1917: 1st overall pick (3B Elmer Lambert: 0.6 WAR with the Keystones (1919-present), currently the starting third baseman for AA Richmond)
- 1918: 5th overall pick (RHP Bob Paxton: 6.4 WAR with the Keystones (1919-24), traded to the Detroit Dynamos in 1924, 7.5 career WAR)
- 1919: 12th overall pick (CF Roy Myers: never appeared with Keystones, traded to the Boston Minutemen in 1923, 0.6 career WAR)
- 1920: 2nd overall pick (SS Cliff Herman: 1.3 WAR with the Keystones (1925-present), #4 ranked prospect ahead of hitting .280/.326/.434 in rookie season of 1925, currently the starting shortstop)
- 1921: 1st overall pick (2B Howie Shifflett: #14 rated prospect entering 1926 Spring Training, hit .300/.375/.449 with 2.7 WAR with AA Richmond in 1925)
- 1922: 1st overall pick (1B Rankin Kellogg: 7.2 WAR with the Keystones (1925-present), #1 ranked prospect ahead of finishing 2nd in the FA Whitney Award voting, hitting .328/.443/.619 with 35 HR, 133 RBI, and a WAR of 7.2, currently the starting first baseman)
- 1923: 1st overall pick (CF Lee Smith: 3.6 WAR with the Keystones (1925-present), #8 ranked prospect ahead of solid rookie season in 1925, hitting .313/.372/.447 with 89 runs scored and 80 RBI, currently the starting centerfielder)
- 1924: 1st overall pick (LHP Walker Moore: #6 rated prospect entering 1926 Spring Training, 4-16 with a 4.85 ERA and 1.82 WHIP in his first professional season with Class-A Allentown in 1925)
The Keystones had the #1 overall pick for four straight drafts (1921-24), as well as two top selections 1912 and 1917 and two #2 overall draft slots (1913, 1920). Early draft picks Newell Winn and Eddie Andrews were traded away and, in Andrews’s case, traded before he became a star, as he took home the Whitney Award in 1919 for Pittsburgh.
Starting in 1920, the draft picks have been solid and will form the foundation of the team heading into the second half of the 1920s. Of course, Rankin Kellogg was the big prize of the last few drafts and he was the top pick of 1922, with his impressive rookie year this past season heralding good things to come. But, what should not be overlooked was the solid rookie campaign of CF Lee Smith, as well as other useful pieces, specifically the anticipated 1926 debut of second-sacker Howie Shifflett, starting shortstop Cliff Herman.
In the last couple of drafts, the goal was to improve the pitching. Walker Moore, despite a tough season that ended in a shoulder injury last September, is still ranked as the #6 ranked prospect. In this past offseason’s draft, high school lefthander Art Myers was the #11 overall pick.