The 2002 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 4 and 5.

Quick Facts General information, Date(s) ...
2002 Major League Baseball draft
General information
Date(s)June 4–5, 2002
Overview
First selectionBryan Bullington
Pittsburgh Pirates
 2001
2003 
Close

It is featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book Moneyball.

First round selections

The Royals selected Zack Greinke sixth overall. The 6x All-Star is a 6x Gold Glove winner at pitcher, 2x Silver Slugger at pitcher, 2 x ERA leader, and the 2009 Cy Young Award winner.
The Brewers selected Prince Fielder 7th overall. Fielder is a 6x All-Star, 3x Silver Slugger at first base, and led the National League in home runs in 2007.
The Mets selected Scott Kazmir 15th overall. Kazmir is a 3x All-Star and led the American League in strikeouts in 2007.
The Phillies selected Cole Hamels 17th overall. In 2008, the 4x All-Star led the Phillies to a World Series championship and was named World Series MVP.
The San Francisco Giants selected Matt Cain 25th overall. The 3x All-Star, pitched a perfect game in 2012, and won the World Series in 2010, and 2012.
= All-Star
More information Pick, Player ...
Pick Player Team Position School
1 Bryan Bullington Pittsburgh Pirates RHP Ball State
2 B. J. Upton Tampa Bay Devil Rays CF Greenbrier Christian Academy (VA)
3 Chris Gruler Cincinnati Reds RHP Liberty High School (CA)
4 Adam Loewen Baltimore Orioles LHP Fraser Valley Christian High School (BC)
5 Clint Everts Montreal Expos RHP Cypress Falls High School (TX)
6 Zack Greinke Kansas City Royals RHP Apopka High School (FL)
7 Prince Fielder Milwaukee Brewers 1B Eau Gallie High School (FL)
8 Scott Moore Detroit Tigers SS Cypress High School (CA)
9 Jeff Francis Colorado Rockies LHP University of British Columbia
10 Drew Meyer Texas Rangers SS/2B South Carolina
11 Jeremy Hermida Florida Marlins OF Wheeler High School (GA)
12 Joe Saunders Anaheim Angels LHP Virginia Tech
13 Khalil Greene San Diego Padres SS Clemson
14 Russ Adams Toronto Blue Jays SS North Carolina
15 Scott Kazmir New York Mets LHP Cypress Falls High School (TX)
16 Nick Swisher Oakland Athletics[Compensation 1] 1B Ohio State
17 Cole Hamels Philadelphia Phillies LHP Rancho Bernardo High School (CA)
18 Royce Ring Chicago White Sox LHP San Diego State
19 James Loney Los Angeles Dodgers 1B Elkins High School (TX)
20 Denard Span Minnesota Twins OF Tampa Catholic High School (FL)
21 Bobby Brownlie Chicago Cubs RHP Rutgers
22 Jeremy Guthrie Cleveland Indians RHP Stanford
23 Jeff Francoeur Atlanta Braves OF Parkview High School (GA)
24 Joe Blanton Oakland Athletics[Compensation 2] RHP Kentucky
25 Matt Cain San Francisco Giants RHP Houston High School (TN)
26 John McCurdy Oakland Athletics SS Maryland
27 Sergio Santos Arizona Diamondbacks SS Mater Dei High School (CA)
28 John Mayberry Jr.* Seattle Mariners 1B Rockhurst High School (MO)
29 Derick Grigsby Houston Astros RHP Northeast Texas Community College
30 Ben Fritz Oakland Athletics[Compensation 3] RHP Fresno State
Close

Supplemental first round compensation selections

More information Pick, Player ...
Close
  • *Did Not Sign With Team

Compensation picks

  1. Pick from Boston Red Sox as compensation for signing of free agent Johnny Damon
  2. Pick from New York Yankees as compensation for signing of free agent Jason Giambi
  3. Pick from St. Louis Cardinals as compensation for signing of free agent Jason Isringhausen
  4. Supplemental pick for loss of free agent Chan Ho Park
  5. Supplemental pick for loss of free agent David Weathers
  6. Supplemental pick for loss of free agent Juan Gonzalez
  7. Supplemental pick for loss of free agent Steve Karsay
  8. Supplemental pick for loss of free agent Jason Giambi
  9. Supplemental pick for loss of free agent Rondell White
  10. Supplemental pick for loss of free agent Jason Isringhausen
  11. Supplemental pick for loss of free agent Todd Van Poppel
  12. Supplemental pick for loss of free agent Johnny Damon
  13. Supplemental pick for failure to sign 2001 No. 1 choice Jeremy Sowers
  14. Supplemental pick for failure to sign 2001 No.1 choice Alan Horne

Background

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected 21-year-old right-handed pitcher Bryan Bullington with the first overall pick in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft. The 6'5", 225-pound hurler was ranked by Baseball America as having the best breaking ball and best command among all college pitchers.

In his three-year career at Ball State, Bullington posted a 29–11 record, 13 complete games and a 3.36 ERA in 46 games (42 starts). He is the university's all-time leader in strikeouts (357) and was a member of the 2001 USA National team. As a freshman, Bullington garnered all-conference honors and led the MAC in strikeouts. He was also named MAC Pitcher-of-the-Year for 2001 and 2002. Bullington set a MAC record in strikeouts and led the league in victories and ERA in 2002.

Other notable selections in the first round included Prince Fielder (Brewers), son of former Major Leaguer Cecil Fielder; and John Mayberry Jr. (Mariners), son of former Major Leaguer John Mayberry.[1]

This draft was discussed at length in the Michael Lewis book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, which analyzed Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane's approach to player scouting and development.

Other notable players

Thumb
The Reds selected Joey Votto in the 2nd round. The 6x All-Star won the 2010 National League MVP Award.
Thumb
The Red Sox selected Jon Lester in the 2nd round. A 5x All-Star, he is a 3x World Series champion.
Thumb
The Braves selected Brian McCann in the 2nd round. McCann is a 7x All-Star and 6x Silver Slugger at catcher.
Thumb
The Tigers selected Curtis Granderson in the 3rd Round. He is a 3x All-Star and a 2011 Silver Slugger as an outfielder.
Thumb
The Angels selected Howie Kendrick in the 10th Round. a 2011 All-Star, He helped. lead the Nationals to the 2019 World Series championship.
Thumb
The Dodgers selected Russell Martin in the 17th round. Martin is a 4x All-Star who in 2007 won the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove at catcher.

NFL players drafted

References

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.