Historical Draft Review #2 - 1975

Baseball Reference Page
Total WARP: 184.8
General Manager: Jim Campbell
Scouting Director: Bill LaJoie
Best Pick: Lou Whitaker, 5th Round, 109.0 WARP
Peak Season: 1983, 17.2 WARP

First Ten Picks plus notables:
1-3) Les Filkins, OF, Chicago, IL, 0 WARP
2-3) John Murphy, P, Brooklyn, NY, 0 WARP
3-3) Bob Grandas, SS, Flint, MI, 0 WARP
4-3) Jason Thompson, 1B, Cal St. Northridge, 22.2 WARP
5-3) Lou Whitaker, 2B, Martinsville, VA, 109.0 WARP
6-3) Jeff Reinke, P, USC, 0 WARP
7-3) Dana McManus, P, Chapman U., 0 WARP
8-3) Steve Powers, P, U of Arizona, 0 WARP
9-3) Andrew Lopez, SS, UCLA, 0 WARP
10-3) Vince Diaz, C, Miami, FL, 0 WARP
Jan 1-4) Tom Brookens, SS, Mansfield CC, 17.4 WARP
Jan (Sec) 1-2) Dave Tobik, P, Ohio U., 11.2 WARP
Jan (Sec) 4-2) Dave Rozema, P, Grand Rapids CC, 25.0 WARP

It's no secret that the mini dynasty of the 1980's was built around the drafts of the mid 1970's. Unlike the 1999 and 2003 drafts when the third overall pick was wasted, the 1975 draft made up for Les Filkins with a star player in the fifth round. I'll leave the discussion of the BBWAA and their unfair treatment of Lou Whitaker for another day, but he made this draft. Note that his performance after 1992 does not count towards this discussion, as he hit the free agent market at that time. Jason Thompson was a quality player for a couple of years before struggling and being dealt to California for Al Cowens. The "other" phases of the draft didn't come into play in 1974, but did here. Tom Brookens (note that he was drafted as a shortstop... there really isn't such a thing as a third base prospect) was taken in the January draft, while Tobik and Rozema went in the secondary phase of the January draft.

Even in the second greatest draft in team history, eight of the first ten draft picks failed to make the show. Make this yet another warning when it comes to getting your hopes up about draft picks.

The top draft in team history is tommorow. I'll give you a hint: it's not 2007.