List of Colorado Rockies first-round draft picks

The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National League West division. The Rockies have participated in MLB's annual June draft since 1992. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft",[1] the Rule 4 Draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur clubs to its franchises. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick.[1] In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.[2] Since the franchise was established as an expansion team in 1992, the Rockies have selected 31 players in the first round. The First-Year Player Draft is unrelated to the 1992 expansion draft through which the Rockies filled their roster.

Jason Jennings is the only one of Rockies first-round draft picks to win the Rookie of the Year Award (2002).

Of the 31 players selected in the first round by the Rockies, 18 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 12 of these have been right handed, and 6 have been left-handed. The Rockies have also selected six outfielders, four shortstops, and one player each at catcher, first base, and third base. The Rockies have never selected a second baseman in the first round.[3] The Rockies have drafted 16 players out of high school, and 14 out of college. Colorado has drafted seven players from high schools or colleges in the state of California, with five coming from Texas and three from Tennessee.[3] The Rockies' 2002 selection—Jeff Francis—is the only selection from outside the United States.

None of the Rockies' first-round picks have won a World Series championship with the team, and no pick has been elected to the Hall of Fame. The Rockies' first-round selection in 1999—Jason Jennings—won the MLB Rookie of the Year award with the franchise in 2002, his first full season in the Major Leagues.[4] Todd Helton—the Rockies' 1995 selection—has won four Silver Slugger Awards and three Gold Gloves, as well as being named to five All-Star teams.[5] Casey Weathers, the Rockies' 2007 selection, won a bronze medal in baseball with the United States team at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[6] The Rockies have never held the first overall pick in the draft, but held the second overall pick once, which they used in 2006 to select Greg Reynolds.[3]

The Rockies have received nine compensatory picks, including seven selections made in the supplemental round of the draft since the franchise's first draft in 1992.[3] These additional picks are provided when a team loses a particularly valuable free agent in the previous off-season,[2][7][V] or, more recently, if a team fails to sign a draft pick from the previous year.[8] The Rockies have failed to sign their first round pick only once—2000 selection Matt Harrington—for which they received the 44th overall pick in the 2001 draft.[9]

Key

YearLinks to an article about that year's Major League Baseball Draft
PositionIndicates the secondary/collegiate position at which the player was drafted, rather than the professional position the player may have gone on to play
PickIndicates the number of the pick
*Player did not sign with the Rockies
§Indicates a supplemental pick
Indicates a competitive balance pick

Picks

Todd Helton (1995) is a five-time All-Star selection.
Jake Westbrook (1996) is the Rockies' only selection out of Georgia.
Jeff Francis (2002) is the Rockies' only selection from outside the United States.
Troy Tulowitzki (2005) turned an unassisted triple play in 2007, the 13th in history.[10]
YearNamePositionSchool (location)PickRef
1992John BurkeRight-handed pitcherUniversity of Florida
(Gainesville, Florida)
27[11]
1993Jamey WrightRight-handed pitcherWestmoore High School
(Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
28[12]
1994Doug MillionLeft-handed pitcherSarasota High School
(Sarasota, Florida)
7[13]
1995Todd HeltonFirst basemanUniversity of Tennessee
(Knoxville, Tennessee)
8[14]
1996Jake WestbrookRight-handed pitcherMadison County High School
(Danielsville, Georgia)
21[15]
1997Mark MangumRight-handed pitcherKingwood High School
(Kingwood, Texas)
18[16]
1997Jason FitzgeraldOutfielderTulane University
(New Orleans, Louisiana)
41§[e][16]
1998Matt RoneyRight-handed pitcherEdmond North High School
(Edmond, Oklahoma)
28[a][b][17]
1998Choo FreemanOutfielderDallas Christian School
(Rowlett, Texas)
36§[c][17]
1998Jeff WinchesterCatcherArchbishop Rummel High School
(Metairie, Louisiana)
40§[d][17]
1999Jason JenningsRight-handed pitcherBaylor University
(Waco, Texas)
16[18]
2000Matt Harrington*Right-handed pitcherPalmdale High School
(Palmdale, California)
7[19]
2001Jayson NixShortstopMidland High School
(Midland, Texas)
44§[e][f][20]
2002Jeff FrancisLeft-handed pitcherUniversity of British Columbia
(Vancouver, British Columbia)[g]
9[21]
2003Ian StewartThird basemanLa Quinta High School
(La Quinta, California)
10[22]
2004Chris NelsonShortstopRedan High School
(Stone Mountain, Georgia)
9[23]
2005Troy TulowitzkiShortstopCalifornia State University, Long Beach
(Long Beach, California)
7[24]
2005Chaz RoeRight-handed pitcherLafayette High School
(Lexington, Kentucky)
32§[h][24]
2006Greg ReynoldsRight-handed pitcherStanford University
(Stanford, California)
2[25]
2007Casey WeathersRight-handed pitcherVanderbilt University
(Nashville, Tennessee)
8[26]
2008Christian FriedrichLeft-handed pitcherEastern Kentucky University
(Richmond, Kentucky)
25[27]
2009Tyler MatzekLeft-handed pitcherCapistrano Valley High School
(Mission Viejo, California)
11[28]
2009Timothy WheelerOutfielderCalifornia State University, Sacramento
(Sacramento, California)
32[i][28]
2009Rex BrothersLeft-handed pitcherLipscomb University
(Nashville, Tennessee)
34§[j][28]
2010Kyle ParkerOutfielderClemson University
(Clemson, South Carolina)
26[29]
2010Peter TagoRight-handed pitcherDana Hills High School
(Dana Point, California)
47§[k][29]
2011Tyler AndersonLeft-handed pitcherUniversity of Oregon
(Eugene, Oregon)
20[30]
2011Trevor StoryShortstopIrving High School
(Irving, Texas)
45§[l][30]
2012David DahlOutfielderOak Mountain High School
(Birmingham, Alabama)
10[31]
2012Eddie ButlerRight-handed pitcherRadford University
(Radford, Virginia)
46§[m][31]
2013Jon GrayRight-handed pitcherUniversity of Oklahoma
(Norman, Oklahoma)
3[32]
2014Kyle FreelandLeft-handed pitcherUniversity of Evansville
(Evansville, Indiana)
8[33]
2014Forrest WallSecond basemanOrangewood Christian School
(Maitland, Florida)
35[33]
2015Brendan RodgersShortstopLake Mary High School
(Lake Mary, Florida)
3[34]
2015Mike NikorakRight-handed pitcherStroudsburg High School
(Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania)
27§[n][34]
2015Tyler NevinThird basemanPoway High School
(Poway, California)
38[34]
2016Riley PintRight-handed pitcherSt. Thomas Aquinas High School
(Overland Park, Kansas)
4[35]
2016Robert TylerPitcherUniversity of Georgia
(Athens, Georgia)
38[35]
2018Ryan RolisonPitcherUniversity of Mississippi
(Oxford, Mississippi)
22[36]
2019Michael TogliaFirst basemanUniversity of California, Los Angeles
(Los Angeles, California)
23[37]
2020Zac VeenOutfielderSpruce Creek High School
(Port Orange, Florida)
9[38]
2021Benny MontgomeryOutfielderRed Land High School
(Lewisberry, Pennsylvania)
8[39]
2022Gabriel HughesRight-handed pitcherGonzaga University
(Spokane, Washington)
10[40]
2022Sterlin ThompsonOutfielderUniversity of Florida
(Gainesville, Florida)
31§[o][41]
2022Jordan BeckOutfielderUniversity of Tennessee
(Knoxville, Tennessee)
38[42]
2023Chase DollanderPitcherUniversity of Tennessee
(Knoxville, Tennessee)
9[43]

See also

Footnotes

  • V Through the 2012 draft, free agents were evaluated by the Elias Sports Bureau and rated "Type A", "Type B", or not compensation-eligible. If a team offered arbitration to a player but that player refused and subsequently signed with another team, the original team was able to receive additional draft picks. If a "Type A" free agent left in this way, his previous team received a supplemental pick and a compensatory pick from the team with which he signed. If a "Type B" free agent left in this way, his previous team received only a supplemental pick.[8] Since the 2013 draft, free agents are no longer classified by type; instead, compensatory picks are only awarded if the team offered its free agent a contract worth at least the average of the 125 current richest MLB contracts.[44] However, if the free agent's last team acquired the player in a trade during the last year of his contract, it is ineligible to receive compensatory picks for that player.[45]
  • a The Rockies lost their original first-round pick in 1998 to the Houston Astros as compensation for signing free agent Darryl Kile. The lost pick was the 17th overall selection.[46]
  • b The Rockies gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1998 from the Atlanta Braves for losing free agent Andrés Galarraga.[46]
  • c The Rockies gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1998 for losing free agent Andrés Galarraga.[46]
  • d The Rockies gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1998 for losing free agent Walt Weiss.[46]
  • e The Rockies lost their original first-round pick in 2001 to the New York Mets as compensation for signing free agent Mike Hampton. The lost pick was the 17th overall selection.[9]
  • f The Rockies gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2001 for failing to sign draft pick Matt Harrington.[9]
  • g Although Baseball-Reference shows Francis being drafted from the University of Lethbridge, MLB.com and several other media outlets report him as having been drafted out of the University of British Columbia.[47][48][49][50]
  • h The Rockies gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2005 for losing free agent Vinny Castilla.[51]
  • i The Rockies gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2009 from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for losing free agent Brian Fuentes.[52]
  • j The Rockies gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2009 for losing free agent Brian Fuentes.[52]
  • k The Rockies gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2010 for losing free agent Jason Marquis.[53]
  • l The Rockies gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2011 for losing free agent Octavio Dotel.[54]
  • m The Rockies gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2012 for losing free agent Mark Ellis.[55]
  • n The Rockies gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2015 for losing free agent Michael Cuddyer.
  • n The Rockies gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2022 for losing free agent Trevor Story.

References

General references
  • "MLB First Round Draft Picks". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  • "Colorado Rockies 1st Round Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
In-text citations