ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

A look at the Arizona Diamondbacks’ first-round picks

Jun 23, 2015, 7:00 AM | Updated: 7:00 am

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Baseball is different from other sports in that its draft has significantly more rounds and thus, more players selected.

Not being selected in the first round does not at all mean a successful career is not in store, either.

Still, the first-round picks are supposed to be the premier players available, players who are sure things when compared to the rest of the draft class.

In Arizona, that has hardly been the case. With Saturday’s trade that sent pitcher Touki Toussaint, the team’s first-round pick (16th overall) in the 2014 draft, to Atlanta, the franchise can now add another player to a pretty long list of top picks who did not pan out for the team.

Here’s a look at every one of the D-backs’ first-round picks:

1996 — No. 30 overall: LHP Nick Bierbrodt (Long Beach, Calif.)

Major league debut: June 7, 2001

D-backs stats: 2-2, 8.22 ERA in five starts

Career stats: 6-98, 6.66 ERA in 38 appearances (25 starts) over three seasons

The first amateur selection in team history didn’t even last a full major league season with the Diamondbacks, as the team traded him after just five starts in the midst of their World Series run in 2001 to the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He would pitch his best baseball of his short career in the remainder of his time there, going 3-4 with a 4.55 ERA in 11 starts. He bounced around to the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers in the next two seasons, and was out of the majors by 2004.

1997 — No. 30 overall: 1B Jack Cust (Flemington, NJ)

Major league debut: September 26, 2001

D-backs stats: 1-for-3 in three games, one walk

Career stats: .242 batting average with 105 home runs and 323 RBI in 670 games across 10 major league seasons

Cust’s Arizona career short, as the first baseman played just three games with the team before being traded in 2002 to the Colorado Rockies in the deal that brought reliever Mike Meyers to the desert. He bounced around the league for years to come, putting together his best seasons for the Oakland Athletics. He hit a career-high 33 home runs in 2008, batting .231 while also driving in 77 runs. His final major league season came in 2011, and he was released by the Baltimore Orioles in 2014.

1999 — No. 4 overall: SS Corey Myers (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

Major league debut: None

D-backs stats: None

Career minor league stats: .272 batting average with 59 home runs and 422 RBI in 783 games over nine seasons

Myers, a local product out of Desert Vista High School, never fulfilled the expectations of the No. 4 overall pick. He never reached the major league level, only advancing as far as Triple-A before his career ended in 2007.

2001 — No. 22 overall: RHP Jason Bulger (Valdosta State)

Major league debut: August 26, 2005

D-backs stats: 1-0, 5.40 ERA in nine appearances

Career stats: 7-2, 4.33 ERA in 125 appearances across seven seasons

Bulger was another case of a player who had a short tenure with the D-backs. He was traded after just nine career Arizona appearances to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for second baseman Alberto Callaspo in 2006. Bulger enjoyed decent success as a reliever at the big-league level, including a 6-1 record with a 3.56 ERA in 64 games for the Angels in 2009.

2002 — No. 27 overall: SS Sergio Santos (Hacienda Heights, Calif.)

Major league debut: April 8, 2010

D-backs stats: None

Career stats (As of June 22, 2015): 7-12, 3.98 ERA, 39 saves in 194 appearances

As a shortstop, Santos turned out to be a solid pitcher. He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays before even making the bigs in 2005 in a deal that brought Miguel Batista and Orlando Hudson to Arizona. Since then, he had a career year with the Chicago White Sox in 2011 with 30 saves and a 3.55 ERA in 63 games. He is currently a reliever with the New York Yankees.

2003 — No. 19 overall: 3B Conor Jackson (Cal)

Major league debut: July 28, 2005

D-backs stats: .277 batting average with 46 home runs and 247 RBI in 526 games over six seasons

Career stats: .271 batting average with 52 home runs and 295 RBI in 658 games over seven seasons

Jackson was the first first-rounder to stick with Arizona at the major league level, lasting six seasons as the team’s starting first baseman while also spending some time in the outfield. He was a solid player, emerging as a contributor for the 2007 team that made it to the NLCS. He was traded, with cash, to the Athletics for reliever Sam Demel in 2010.

2003 — No. 29 overall: OF Carlos Quentin (Stanford)

Major league debut: July 20, 2006

D-backs stats: .230 batting average, 14 home runs and 63 RBI in 138 games over two seasons

Career stats: .252 batting average, 154 home runs and 491 RBI in 834 games over nine seasons

Quentin was a promising prospect when he first broke through with Arizona in 2006, but most of his success came elsewhere. He was traded to the White Sox for first baseman Chris Carter in 2007, and put together American League All-Star appearances in 2008 and 2011. He had his best season in 2008, hitting .288 with 36 home runs and 100 RBI win 130 games. He is currently a free agent.

2004 — No. 15 overall: SS Stephen Drew (Florida State)

Major league debut: July 15, 2006

D-backs stats: .266 batting average, 72 home runs and 333 RBI in 773 games over seven seasons

Career stats (as of June 22, 2015: .253 batting average, 108 home runs and 466 RBI in 1085 games over 10 seasons

Drew was a stalwart for Arizona in his time in the desert, emerging as one of the best defensive shortstops in the game and serving as an integral part of the team that made the playoffs in 2007 while also being on the roster during their playoff run in 2011, though he missed the latter part of the season with an injury. He has since bounced around, and is currently with the Yankees.

2005 — No. 1 overall: SS Justin Upton (Great Bridge HS, Virginia)

Major league debut: August 2, 2007

D-backs stats: .278 batting average with 108 home runs, 363 RBI and 80 stolen bases in 731 games across six seasons

Career stats (as of June 22, 2015): .274 batting average with 177 home runs, 578 RBI and 110 stolen bases over 1105 games in nine seasons

Upton was surrounded by hype as the team’s first-ever No. 1 overall pick, and often looked the part of a star as the team’s everyday right fielder. Upton was a two-time All-Star (2009, 2011) for Arizona, and finished fourth in the 2011 NL MVP voting after hitting .289 with 31 home runs and 88 RBI. Upton was traded along with Chris Johnson in 2013 to the Atlanta Braves in a deal that netted Arizona Brandon Drury, Nick Ahmed, Randall Delgado, Martin Prado and Zeke Spruill. He is currently with the San Diego Padres.

2006 — No. 11 overall: RHP Max Scherzer (Missouri)

Major league debut: April 29, 2008

D-backs stats: 9-15, 3.86 ERA in 46 games (37 starts) in two seasons

Career stats (As of June 22, 2015): 99-55, 3.44 ERA in 221 games (212 starts) over eight seasons

Talk about a guy who got away. Scherzer was part of a three-team deal that brought Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy to the Diamondbacks in 2009, but blossomed as a Detroit Tiger. He won 21 games en route to a 2013 AL Cy Young Award, and was named an All-Star again in 2014. He is currently with the Washington Nationals, and threw his first career no-hitter earlier this season.

2007 — No. 9 overall: RHP Jarrod Parker (Norwell HS, Ossian, Ind.)

Major league debut: September 27, 2011

D-backs stats: 0.00 ERA in one appearance over 5.2 innings

Career stats: 25-16, 3.68 ERA over 62 starts in three seasons

Parker pitched just once in the D-backs uniform before being sent to the Athletics following the 2011 season as part of the trade that brought Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow to Arizona, and followed it up with a pair of solid seasons in the American League. He has since dealt with two Tommy John surgeries (and narrowly missed a third), and has not pitched in the majors since 2013.

2008 — No. 26 overall: LHP Daniel Schlereth (Arizona)

Major league debut: May 29, 2009

D-backs stats: 1-4, 5.89 ERA in 21 appearances

Career stats: 5-6, 4.35 ERA in 94 appearances in four seasons

Schlereth was also part of the three-team deal with Scherzer. He was solid through his first two seasons in Detroit, but fell off in 2012 and has not pitched in the majors since.

2009 — No. 16 overall: 3B Bobby Borchering (Bishop Verot School, Fort Myers, Florida)

Major league debut: None

D-backs stats: None

Career minor league stats (As of June 22, 2015): .247 batting average with 75 home runs and 312 RBI in 561 games over seven seasons

Borchering has yet to make an impact, failing to make it past the Double-A level. He was traded by the D-backs to the Houston Astros in 2012, and is currently in the Tigers organization.

2009 — No. 17 overall: OF A.J. Pollock (Notre Dame)

Major league debut: April 18, 2012

D-backs stats(As of June 22, 2015): .284 batting average, 25 home runs and 103 RBI in 311 games over four seasons

Pollock is in the midst of a breakout season, hitting .304 with eight home runs and 33 RBI in 68 games this season as the team’s starting center fielder.

2010 — No. 6 overall: RHP Barret Loux (Texas A&M)

Did not sign.

2011 — No. 3 overall: RHP Trevor Bauer (UCLA)

Major league debut: June 28, 2012

D-backs stats: 1-2, 6.06 ERA in four starts

Career stats (As of June 22, 2015): 13-15, 4.07 ERA in 47 starts in four seasons

Bauer came in with loads of hype as the No. 3 overall pick from UCLA, but rubbed some in the organization, including catcher Miguel Montero, the wrong way. The D-backs sent him to the Cleveland Indians in a trade that landed Didi Gregorius, Lars Anderson and Tony Sipp. Bauer has since found success, going 6-3 with a 3.22 ERA this season.

2011 — No. 7 overall: RHP Archie Bradley (Broken Arrow HS, Oklahoma)

Major league debut: April 11, 2015

D-backs stats (As of June 22, 2015): 2-3, 5.80 ERA in eight starts

Bradley was one of the most-hyped prospects in the organization before finally breaking through to the big leagues this season. He outdueled Clayton Kershaw is his major league debut, but has since taken a line drive to the face and is currently on the disabled list with shoulder trouble.

2012 — No. 26 overall: C Stryker Trahan (Acadania HS, Lafayette, Louisiana)

Major league debut: None

D-backs stats: None

Career minor league stats: .237 batting average with 48 home runs and 174 RBI in 293 games

Trahan still has promise, but has yet to advance past the Single-A level.

2013 — No. 15 overall: RHP Braden Shipley (Nevada)

Major league debut: None

D-backs stats: None

Career minor league stats (As of June 22, 2015): 10-17, 4.24 ERA in 48 starts)

Shipley is one of Arizona’s top prospects, and is currently in the Double-A level with the Mobile BayBears.

2014 — No. 16 overall: RHP Touki Toussaint (Coral Springs Christian Academy, Florida)

Toussaint is already out the door in Arizona, as the Diamondbacks traded Toussaint to the Atlanta Braves as part of a deal to get rid of pitcher Bronson Arroyo last week.

2015 — No. 1 overall: SS Dansby Swanson (Vanderbilt)

Swanson has yet to sign with Arizona, and is currently in the midst of a 2015 College World Series run with Vanderbilt.

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