2004 Draft Picks - How Did They Do? The Bottom 10

According to baseball-reference.com, there were 1,498 players drafted in 50 rounds in 2004. Only 202 of them ever played in the major leagues. That's a mere 0.00134%. Of that 202, 158 (more than 75%) were drafted in first 20 rounds. It makes you wonder why they bother drafting so many players. I guess there are 2 reasons: 1) once in awhile you'll miss a player like Mike Piazza; 2) you need players to fill up the minor league team rosters. As near as I can tell, all 1,498 players spent some time in the minors.

My Bottom 10 are the lowest drafted players who actually played in the majors.

Jeremy Horst. Pick #1,192 (40th round) by the Pirates. Horst was also drafted in 2007 in the 21st round by the Reds. I have none of his cards. The Phillies traded for him in 2012 and he pitched in a few games with the Phillies in 2012-2013. He's currently with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the Phillies AAA team.

Steve Edlefsen. Pick #1,235 (41st round) by the Red Sox. Edlefsen made some relief appearances for the Giants in 2011-2012. He became a free agent after the 2013 season and was signed by the Dodgers. He appeared in a few games for the Dodgers for their AAA team in Albuquerque but then retired in April. I have no cards of this guy.

2009 SP Authentic #153 Kyle Blanks

Pick #1,241 (42nd round) by the Padres. After a part-time role with the Padres from 2009-2014, the Padres traded him to the A's in May 2014. In 21games with the A's he was batting .333 and then went down with a strained left calf and remains on the DL.

2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects #79 Eric Farris

Pick #1,269 (42nd round) by the Braves. Farris was drafted again in 2007 in the 4th round by the Brewers. He had 9 at-bats for the Brewers in 2011-2012 with 1 hit to show for it. He's still in the Brewers system, batting .280 in AAA Rochester in 2014.

2011 Bowman Chrome Prospects #116 Chris Schwinden

Pick #1,271 (43rd round) by the Tigers. Schwinden was drafted again in the 5th round of the 2008 draft by the Mets. He was 0-3 in 7 starts for the Mets in 2011-2012. He's been in the minors since then, currently with the Rangers AAA team in Round Rock.

Chad Beck. Pick #1,285 (43rd round) by the Blue Jays. Beck was drafted again in 2006 in the 14th round by the Diamondbacks who traded him to the Blue Jays in 2008. He appeared in 18 non-memorable innings for the Jays in 2011-2012.  He's currently playing in an independent league. I have no cards for him. 

2011 Topps #536 Tony Sipp

Pick #1,333 (45th round) by the Indians. Sipp has not had a glamorous career, being a middle-relief sort of guy, but he's got a 18-12 record with 6 saves in 6 years in the majors. He was 4-3 with the Astros in 2014.
2012 Topps Update #14 Jeremy Hefner

Pick #1,359 (46th round by the Mets). Hefner was later drafted in the 5th round in 2007 by the Padres. He ended up back with the Mets in 2011. He had an 8-15 record with the Mets in 2012-2013, mostly in relief and as a spot starter. He spent 2014 with the Mets, A+ team in St. Lucie.

2011 Bowman Prospects Purple #10 Erik Davis

Pick #1,397 (47th round) by the Angels. Davis (no apparent relation to Eric Davis) was again drafted in the 27th round in 2007 by the Rangers, and again in 2008 in the 13th round by the Padres. He was traded to the Nationals in 2011 and made his ML debut in 2013 with the Nationals. He appeared in 10 games in relief, winning 1. He appears to be out of baseball as of 2014.

2008 Bowman Chrome Draft #14 Chris Davis

 Pick #1,496 (50th round) by the Yankees. Chris didn't sign with the Yankees and was later a 5th round pick by the Rangers in 2006. He made his major league debut with the Rangers in 2008. For the first few years he was a part-time player but since the Orioles made him a starter in 2012, he has bloomed. In 2013 he hit 53 home runs and had 138 RBIs. He slumped in 2014 and then in September he was hit with a 25 game suspension for using adderall -- for which he previous had a "therapeutic use exemption" but did not have for the 2014 season. I'd say Davis is far and away the best player in the "Bottom 10" but I'm always wary of a player with a drub suspension.