Historical Draft Review #5 - 1987

Baseball Reference Page
Total WARP: 54.7
General Manager: Bill LaJoie
Scouting Director: Bill Schudlich
Best Pick: Travis Fryman, 1st (Supp.) Round, 44.2 WARP
Peak Season: 1992, 11.0 WARP

First Ten Rounds plus notables:
1-20) Bill Henderson, C, Westminster College, 0 WARP
1-21) Steve Pegues, OF, Pontonoc, MS, 0 WARP
1-30) Travis Fryman, SS, Pensacola, FL, 44.2 WARP
2-21) Rob Richie, OF, U. Nevada, 0.2 WARP
3-21) Jim Hayes, P, Topeka, KS, 0 WARP
4-21) Ricardo Ingram, OF, Georgia Tech, -0.1 WARP
5-21) Torey Lovullo, 2B, UCLA, 8.3 WARP
6-21) Dean DeCillis, IF, Miami Dade CC, 0 WARP
7-21) Chris Harley, 3B, Baltimore, MD, 0 WARP
8-21) Derek Lee, IF, U. South Florida, Unsigned
9-21) Blaine Rudolph, P, Fresno CC, 0 WARP
10-21) Robert Shipman, P, Winter Haven, FL, 0 WARP
17-21) Mike Wilkins, Lamar U., 1.7 WARP
21-21) Mike Schwabe, Arizona State, 0 WARP
33-21) Rusty Meachem, Indian River CC, 0.4 WARP

The Tigers got two extra picks in return for losing Lance Parrish, and put one of them to good use. Without Travis Fryman this draft is a complete bust. Fryman was a superb player in his time with the Tigers, but obviously most of his performance went to waste in what was a poor era for the Tigers. He was dealt to Arizona in a deal for Joe Randa, Gabe Alvarez, and Matt Drews. All three bombed with the Tigers, but Randa was dealt for Willie Blair. These players all provided minimal value to the Tigers, but still count towards Fryman's total. Bill Henderson, the other compensation pick, was a flop.

Rob Richie, the second round pick, seemed to be on the brink of making it big before retiring abruptly in the Spring of 1990. All I can gather from an internet search is that, as a Jehovah's Witness, he retired to become a probation officer back in Mississippi. This was slightly before my time, and I had not heard this story before. How good was he? Would he have been a regular Tigers' outfielder? Does anybody remember him?

Torey Lovullo was one of Sparky's favorites, but was ultimately a bust with the Tigers. He was dealt to the Yankees for Mark Leiter, who provided some solid swing-man innings in the early 90's. If you haven't heard of Mike Wilkins, it's because he never made it to the big leagues. He was dealt for Mike Munoz, a Tigers' LOOGY from 1990-1992. Would you believe that Rusty Meachem's career lasted until 2001?

It's probably pretty hard to believe that this was the Tigers' fifth best draft of all time. Basically, the success of Travis Fryman is what vaulted it to the top of the list. In fairness, there were drafts that came in at 52.3 and 51.8, so it just barely cracked the top 5. This just goes to show that if a draft can produce one star player, it did it's job.