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| Frank Thomas |
Thomas, of course, went on to become perhaps the greatest player in franchise history, and he was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2014.
It's fun to go back and look at the top 10 players chosen in that draft:
1. Ben McDonald, Baltimore Orioles
2. Tyler Houston, Atlanta Braves
3. Roger Salkeld, Seattle Mariners
4. Jeff Jackson, Philadelphia Phillies
5. Donald Harris, Texas Rangers
6. Paul Coleman, St. Louis Cardinals
7. Thomas, White Sox
8. Earl Cunningham, Chicago Cubs
9. Kyle Abbott, California Angels
10. Charles Johnson, Montreal Expos
Yikes. The Sox got the gem of that group, didn't they?
McDonald didn't have a bad career. He went 78-70 with a 3.91 ERA over nine seasons, seven of them with the Orioles.
Johnson was a good catcher. He played 12 seasons, won two Gold Gloves and played in two All-Star Games. In fact, he won the All-Star Game MVP in 1997. Thing is, he didn't sign with the Expos, who drafted him out of high school in 1989. Johnson played college ball at the University of Miami, and then was drafted in the first round again in 1992, this time by the Florida Marlins. He played for six teams, including the Sox, from 1994 to 2005 and accumulated a career WAR of 22.6. Respectable.
Thomas has a career WAR of 73.8, even though he wasn't a good defensive player and had below-average speed. That's what a .301/.419/.555 slash line with 521 home runs, 495 doubles and 1,704 career RBIs will do for you.
Looking back at these old drafts, it's also a reminder of what a crapshoot it is trying to find the next great player. No doubt, all 10 of these guys were highly regarded when their names were called on draft day.
But beyond Thomas, you basically had two other decent-to-good players in the top 10 of this draft.
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