stringtranslate.com

2008 Major League Baseball draft

The 2008 Major League Baseball draft, was an annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 5 and 6, 2008.

First round selections

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Pedro Álvarez second overall. Alvarez had a breakout season in 2013, where he was named an All-Star, was the National League home run leader, and won the Silver Slugger at third base.
The Kansas City Royals selected Eric Hosmer with the third overall pick. With the Royals, Hosmer won 4 Gold Gloves at first base and the 2015 World Series.
The San Francisco Giants selected Buster Posey 5th overall. The 7x All-Star won the 2010 Rookie of the Year Award, the 2012 N.L. Most Valuable Player Award, the 2016 Gold Glove Award at catcher, five Silver Sluggers Awards at catcher and the 2010, 2012, and 2014 World Series.
Key

Supplemental first round selections

Compensation picks

  1. ^ Pick from Atlanta Braves as compensation for signing of free agent Tom Glavine
  2. ^ Pick from Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as compensation for signing of free agent Torii Hunter
  3. ^ Supplemental pick as compensation for signing of free agent Torii Hunter
  4. ^ Supplemental pick as compensation for signing of free agent Francisco Cordero
  5. ^ Supplemental pick as compensation for loss of free agent Tom Glavine
  6. ^ Supplemental pick as compensation for loss of free agent Aaron Rowand
  7. ^ Supplemental pick as compensation for loss of free agent Scott Linebrink
  8. ^ Supplemental pick as compensation for loss of free agent David Riske
  9. ^ Supplemental pick as compensation for loss of free agent Pedro Feliz
  10. ^ Supplemental pick as compensation for loss of free agent Trever Miller
  11. ^ Supplemental pick as compensation for loss of free agent Troy Percival
  12. ^ Supplemental pick as compensation for loss of free agent Ron Mahay
  13. ^ Supplemental pick as compensation for loss of free agent Jason Kendall
  14. ^ Supplemental pick as compensation for loss of free agent Doug Brocail
  15. ^ Supplemental pick as compensation for loss of free agent Liván Hernández
  16. ^ Supplemental pick as compensation for loss of free agent Luis Vizcaíno
  17. ^ Supplemental pick as compensation for loss of free agent Éric Gagné
  18. ^ Supplemental pick as compensation for loss of free agent Mike Cameron

Other notable players

The Colorado Rockies selected Charlie Blackmon in the second round. He is a 4x MLB All-Star, 2x Silver Slugger award winner, and the 2017 National League batting champion.
The Atlanta Braves selected Craig Kimbrel in the third round. The 9x All-Star won the 2011 National League Rookie of the Year award.
The San Francisco Giants selected Brandon Crawford in the fourth round. The 3x All-Star won four Gold Glove Awards at shortstop, the 2015 Silver Slugger Award at shortstop and the 2012, and 2014 World Series.
The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Dee Strange-Gordon in the fourth round. A two-time All-Star, his 2015 breakout season saw him win the Gold Glove Award at second base, the Silver Slugger Award at second base, and lead the National League in batting average, and stolen bases.

NFL players drafted

Notes

On September 9, 2008, Conor Gillaspie, the 37th pick in the 2008 draft, made his Major League debut, becoming the first from his draft class to do so. Buster Posey was the first 2008 draftee to play in post-season and eventually won the 2010 World Series, the 2012 World Series, and the 2014 World Series with the San Francisco Giants. Posey was also named 2010 NL Rookie of the Year,[2] and he won 2012 National League Most Valuable Player award and the 2012, 2014 & 2015 Silver Slugger awards.

2011 Rookie of the Year Craig Kimbrel was drafted 96th overall by the Atlanta Braves in the 3rd round.

Ryan Westmoreland, who the Boston Red Sox drafted in the fifth round, became one of the best prospects in baseball before having brain surgery twice to repair a cavernous malformation.[3]

Brothers Caleb and Corban Joseph were both chosen in the 2008 draft. The New York Yankees selected Corban in the fourth round, with the 140th overall selection, out of Franklin High School in Franklin, Tennessee, while the Baltimore Orioles drafted Caleb in the seventh round, with the 206th overall selection, out of Lipscomb University.[4]

West Virginia quarterback Pat White was drafted in the 49th round by the Cincinnati Reds, even though he had not played baseball since his senior year of high school in 2004, when he was drafted by the Anaheim Angels.

Negro Leagues Special Draft

Prior to the start of the draft, the League held a special round consisting of the surviving Negro leagues players to acknowledge and rectify their exclusion from the major leagues on the basis of race in the past. The idea of the special draft was conceived by Hall of Famer Dave Winfield.[5] Each major league team drafted one player from the Negro leagues. Notable in the draft were Emilio Navarro (who, at 101 years of age at the time of the draft, was believed to be the oldest living professional ballplayer) and Mamie "Peanut" Johnson, the first woman ever drafted.[6]

References

  1. ^ Brown, Maury (June 10, 2020). "MLB Draft Returns To ESPN For First Time Since 2008". Forbes. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  2. ^ Haft, Chris (November 15, 2010). "Posey catches NL Rookie of the Year honors". MLB.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  3. ^ "Boston Red Sox – Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland's long road back from brain surgery – The Boston Globe". Boston.com. March 20, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  4. ^ Strasinger, Mike (June 9, 2008). "Joseph brothers both selected in major league baseball draft". Nashville City Paper. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  5. ^ Tim Brown, "Winfield's Brainchild Thrills Negro Leaguers", Yahoo! Sports, June 4, 2008
  6. ^ 2008 Special Negro Leagues Draft. MLB.com. Retrieved on January 27, 2019.

External links