Continuing a tradition we started two years ago, I've gone back 10 years and redrafted an old draft class, this year going back to 2004. Once again the player taken first overall (Matt Bush) hasn't turned out to be among the 30 best players in the crop, but for the first time since I began the annual exercise, the top player from the class was at least a first-rounder at the time he was chosen. (Click here for the 2002 redraft and here for 2003.)

This redraft is based on two major criteria: the players' careers to date, and my projections of any value they still have to offer (although the list does include two players whose careers are likely over). I did not account for the player's signability at the time, nor did I consider a team's preference for high school or college players, pitchers versus position players, etc. -- this analysis is based purely on talent.

Please note that we included only players who were drafted in 2004 and subsequently signed with the club that selected them. Players like David Price and Will Venable, for example, who were drafted but decided to stay in school, were not considered. The Dodgers took Price in the 19th round out of high school, but he was strongly committed to Vanderbilt, and the Dodgers will have to wait at least a few more months to see him in blue. Baltimore took Venable in the 15th round, but he chose to return to Princeton for his senior year.

Only four first-rounders from 2004 have failed to reach the majors, one of whom, top overall pick Matt Bush, is now in jail after a DUI/hit-and-run conviction. I've covered the first-round flops in a separate piece.

My thanks to Baseball Reference for their help in gathering the statistics necessary for this piece, with an assist from the Baseball Cube for some missing college data. All WAR figures given are from B-R unless otherwise noted.

1. San Diego Padres: Justin Verlander, RHP, Old Dominion

As strange as it might sound today, Verlander wasn't a slam-dunk selection at this point of the draft -- at least not in the industry's eyes -- as he was more of an arm-strength guy with some command issues, not the historically great hurler we've seen since he reached the majors in 2006. Verlander leads all draftees from the class with 41.6 WAR and continues to develop as a pitcher, which gives plenty of reasons for optimism that he'll continue to produce value even if he loses some velocity in his 30s.

Verlander's actual draft spot: No. 2, Tigers

San Diego's '04 pick: Matt Bush, SS, Mission Bay HS (San Diego)

2. Detroit Tigers: Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Arizona State

Pedroia spurred a spirited discussion in the Toronto draft room that spring; we had him around the fourth round on our board, but the comment I remember most from one of my colleagues was that Pedroia likely didn't appear at all on the main boards for 20-odd other teams -- teams that likely had him in as a second-day guy, or an eventual senior sign, but not as an elite prospect. Elite he was, and has been, in one of the greatest examples of a team looking at great college performance and focusing on what the player could do rather than what he couldn't. Pedroia's lack of height and speed, his uphill swing and his need to move off shortstop all ended up secondary to his incredible hand-eye coordination and makeup that borders on insanity -- but I mean that in the best way possible.

Pedroia's actual draft spot: No. 65 (second round), Red Sox

Detroit's '04 pick: Justin Verlander, RHP, Old Dominion

3. Jered Weaver, RHP, Long Beach State

Weaver was one of two players advised by Scott Boras in this draft class whose anticipated bonus demands caused him to fall well below where he'd have been drafted on pure talent. (The other Boras guy will be along shortly.) Weaver ended up signing for $4 million, a screaming bargain in hindsight and about half of the slot value for the first overall pick this year. He didn't sign until the end of May in 2005 after a needlessly protracted negotiation, was in the majors 361 days later and has produced at least 2.4 WAR in every season since he arrived.

He's been helped by his environment as a severe fly ball pitcher in a huge ballpark on a club that has usually boasted an excellent defensive outfield, but he's also a plus-plus control guy who changes speeds well and shouldn't experience the age-related decline we might expect if he were a power pitcher.

Weaver and Verlander are the only true "hits" among college right-handed starters from the class; after Weaver, the next-highest WAR total in that category belongs to Casey Janssen, and the next-highest for a pitcher who worked as a starter in the majors belongs to Jeff Niemann at just 4.1 WAR.

Weaver's actual draft spot: No. 12, Angels

New York's '04 pick: Philip Humber, RHP, Rice

4. Tampa Bay Rays: Ben Zobrist, UTIL, Dallas Baptist

Zobrist has become an unfair lightning rod in the debate over WAR, as a player whose true value isn't readily apparent from traditional stats but who consistently rates highly in advanced metrics as a good defensive player who draws tons of walks and hits for some power. He's had a pair of 8-WAR seasons -- once in a year in which he had a .405 OBP, the other when he had 72 extra-base hits -- and has been worth at least 4.5 wins in every year since Tampa Bay made him a starter in 2009.

The Astros sent him to the Rays in a deadline deal for Aubrey Huff in 2006, a trade that gained them 0.2 WAR for Huff in exchange for the 33 WAR Zorilla has given Tampa Bay -- but most of that value came after a huge swing change for Zobrist that turned him from a below-average power hitter into an above-average one. His versatility and strong secondary skills should give him several more years of productivity even though he's about to turn 33 years old.

Zobrist's actual draft spot: No. 184 (sixth round), Astros

Tampa Bay's '04 pick: Jeff Niemann, RHP, Rice

5. Milwaukee Brewers: Hunter Pence, OF, Texas-Arlington

You can see why Pence wouldn't be a first-round pick despite hitting .395/.441/.616 in his junior year at UTA, given the huge hitch in his swing and his rather, er, unusual style of play in the outfield. But Pence raked from the moment he hit the minors and has more games played in the majors than anyone else in the draft class and the second-most home runs.

He's been traded twice, netting Houston a far better return than they received for Zobrist -- including prospect Jonathan Singleton and Jarred Cosart --- and should have another 8-10 WAR left in him before his career ends.

Pence's actual draft spot: No. 64 (second round), Astros

Milwaukee's '04 pick: Mark Rogers, RHP, Mount Ararat School (Topsham, Maine)

6. Cleveland Indians: Yovani Gallardo, RHP, Trimble Tech HS (Fort Worth)

The Brewers had a lot of misses taking pitchers in the first round in the 2000s, especially their 2004 first-rounder Mark Rogers, taken fifth overall and producing just a win of value before the Brewers let him go, but Gallardo might end up the best second-round pick in franchise history.

Born in Mexico, Gallardo proved uncommonly polished for a high school pitcher, reaching the majors three years after signing, and he's reached 180 innings in each of the last five seasons. He's refashioned himself as a ground ball pitcher in 2014, a surprising transition for a guy who hasn't lost much velocity, but so far it's working for him, and he has one of the most promising futures of any pitcher on this list.

Gallardo's actual draft spot: No. 46 (second round), Brewers

Cleveland's '04 pick: Jeremy Sowers, LHP, Vanderbilt

7. Cincinnati Reds: Stephen Drew, SS, Florida State

Legend has it Drew is the player then-San Diego general manager Kevin Towers and the Padres' scouting staff wanted to take first overall, but the fear that Drew -- the other major Boras client in the 2004 draft class -- would want an enormous bonus led ownership to scotch those plans. Whatever the reason, the Padres didn't take Drew, who then fell to 15th overall, where current Nats GM Mike Rizzo, then with Arizona, was happy to snag him.

Drew's stuck at 16.2 WAR so far, as he's a free agent who likely won't sign until just after the June draft, but shortstops can play pretty much as long as they want to -- so if Drew wants to, he's probably got another half-dozen seasons and 6-8 WAR left in him.

Drew's actual draft spot: No. 15, D-backs

Cincinnati's '04 pick: Homer Bailey, RHP, La Grange (Texas) HS

8. Baltimore Orioles: Neil Walker, C, Pine-Richland HS (Gibsonia, Penn.)

The Pirates were mocked within the industry for taking the hometown guy, not the best player available, in selecting Walker, whose high school is located about 17 miles from PNC Park. It turns out that Walker, a bad defensive catcher who wasn't much better at third, has found a home at second base and was, in fact, a pretty good pick at 11.

Walker is a solid regular, not a star, but adequate in just about every aspect of the game, enough that I think he'll still be playing when several of the guys above him right now in WAR are done, as long as his defense doesn't slip any further from average.

Walker's actual draft spot: No. 11, Pirates

Baltimore's '04 pick: Wade Townsend, RHP, Rice

9. Colorado Rockies: Gio Gonzalez, LHP, Pace HS (Opa-Locka, Fla.)

Gonzalez was kicked off his high school team in May 2004, right before the playoffs began, after his mother and his coach had a heated argument that eventually drew in both Gio and his younger brother, Max. That wasn't the first question around Gio's makeup, but it was the most tangible sign that it might be an issue, and it was almost certainly a factor in him slipping out of the first round, where the White Sox took him with their third overall pick. (Chicago got nine big leaguers out of that draft, but only Gio has passed 1.4 career WAR among them.)

Gonzalez never suited up for the White Sox, who traded him to the Phillies for Jim Thome, reacquired him in a trade for Freddy Garcia (who was hurt at the time of the trade, meaning the Phillies received nothing for Gio), and then sent him to Oakland in the Nick Swisher deal. The A's have since sent him to Washington in a deal that's been productive for both sides, with Oakland getting Derek Norris, Tom Milone, Brad Peacock, and A.J. Cole in exchange, while Gio has already been worth better than 8 WAR to the Nats. Not bad for a kid with iffy makeup.

Gonzalez's actual draft spot: No. 38 (supplemental first round), White Sox

Colorado's '04 pick: Chris Nelson, SS, Redan HS (Stone Mountain, Ga.)

10. Texas Rangers: Ian Desmond, SS, Sarasota (Fla.) HS

I imagine some Nats fans, tired of Desmond's erratic play, might roll their eyes at this, but he's been the best third-round pick in the 2004 draft, with (in my opinion) more value ahead of him than he's already produced. (I can't say he's one of their best third-round picks, though, as the Expos had a knack of finding value there: Gary Carter, Marquis Grissom, Scott Sanderson, and Grady Sizemore were all third-round picks by Montreal.)

A fringy defender at short who's turned out to be a great hitter for the position, Desmond will probably end up someone's second baseman -- but I expect he'll be much better defensively there than he's been at short, where he has the tools to be above average but not the instincts or consistency. His bat will play at second, too, with another 10-12 WAR ahead of him at least even if he switches positions.

Desmond's actual draft spot: No. 84 (supplemental third round), Expos

Texas' '04 pick: Thomas Diamond, RHP, University of New Orleans

11. Pittsburgh Pirates: Billy Butler, 3B, Wolfson HS (Jacksonville, Fla.)

I was working in the Blue Jays' front office at the time, and Butler was the one high school player I thought we should have scouted more for the 2004 draft -- his kind of raw power seemed at least worth considering with that first pick -- but we didn't scout him much, and it didn't matter, as he went before our pick, so that would have just been wasted money anyway.

Butler, it turned out, was a better hitter than reputed, with less in-game power, and absolutely no defensive value whatsoever at any position. Butler's awfulness this season has been masked only by the greater awfulness of Mike Moustakas (hey, does anyone know how Jason Vargas pitched the other night?), but he was worth at least 2 WAR in each of the last five seasons, and I don't think he's suddenly finished at age 28. He might have a second act in another uniform.

Butler's actual draft spot: No. 14, Royals

Pittsburgh's'04 pick: Neil Walker, C, Pine-Richland HS (Gibsonia, Penn.)

12. Los Angeles Angels: Chris Iannetta, C, North Carolina

I've always been an Iannetta fan, probably in part because a colleague of mine at the time in Toronto, Andrew Tinnish (later the Jays' scouting director), was a big fan, as well, and got me on the bandwagon. Iannetta never quite seemed to fit in the Rockies' plans, but he's fared better since he was traded to the Angels for Tyler Chatwood (another deal that's benefited both clubs), generating 4 WAR in a little over two seasons in Anaheim.

He's a fringy defender, including below-average framing skills, but he walks a ton and has average power, secondary skills that cover for his low batting averages. His traditional stats don't show it, but he's about a 2-WAR catcher in a year when he's healthy and should have a long career tail as a backup.

Iannetta's actual draft spot: No. 110 (fourth round), Rockies

Los Angeles' '04 pick: Jered Weaver, RHP, Long Beach State

13. Montreal Expos: Kurt Suzuki, C, Cal-State Fullerton

Suzuki hit .413/.511/.702 in his junior year at Fullerton, but he's never so much as sniffed a .350 OBP or .450 slugging in the majors, so while those stats were a pretty strong indicator that he'd hit in the minors, they didn't presage major league greatness.

Instead, Suzuki has been a serviceable catcher, nothing special with the glove or bat but just good enough with both to keep himself in the majors -- something he'll probably do for another four or five years in a backup role.

Suzuki's actual draft spot: No. 67 (second round), A's

Montreal's '04 pick: Bill Bray, LHP, William & Mary

14. Kansas City Royals: Huston Street, RHP, Texas

Street was a highly decorated college closer who came out at a time when teams were increasingly willing to take college relievers in the top two rounds with the idea of rushing them to the big leagues. It rarely worked, and the two biggest exceptions, Street and Chad Cordero, weren't power arms but guys with a second weapon and command.

Street's been hurt often, but he's been adding about half a win of value a year since his huge Rookie of the Year campaign, and the Padres are using him cautiously to try to extend his window. It's hard to believe he's just 30 this year -- he was a young junior -- and he should have another handful of solid 50-inning seasons in him.

Street's actual draft spot: No. 40 (supplemental first round), A's

Kansas City's '04 pick: Billy Butler, 3B, Wolfson HS (Jacksonville, Fla.)

15. Arizona Diamondbacks: Dexter Fowler, OF, Milton (Ga.) HS

Fowler was a late first-round talent, rated 30th by Baseball America in that draft class, who fell due to concerns over signability, but signed for $925,000 -- supplemental first-round money -- rather than matriculating at the University of Miami. He was a potential five-tool talent but very raw in just about every aspect of his game, from his approach at the plate to his baserunning to his defense in center.

His power hasn't developed at all, nor has his defense, and the Rockies' decision to teach the right-handed Fowler to switch-hit so he could take more advantage of his speed never quite paid off, as expected. He's probably a below-average regular at this point, a corner outfielder without power, but he's also just 28 and still a solid athlete, so there's a nonzero chance he develops late and becomes an average player.

Fowler's actual draft spot: No. 410 (14th round), Rockies

Arizona's '04 pick: Stephen Drew, SS, Florida State

16. Toronto Blue Jays: Lorenzo Cain, OF, Madison (Fla.) County HS

Cain was a "draft-and-follow" selection, a type of pick that was eliminated in the collective bargaining agreement prior to the current one in which a team could take a high school player who intended to attend a junior college or a first-year junior college player and retain that player's rights until a week before the subsequent draft. That meant the team could "follow" the player's growth and performance in junior college the next spring, then decide whether or not to try to sign him. The system produced a lot of good big leaguers -- Roy Oswalt and Orlando Hudson among them -- and Cain is one of the last.

Signing after the end of his first season at Tallahassee Community College, Cain was a late bloomer in pro ball, becoming a plus defender in center after heading to Kansas City in the Zack Greinke deal. And while he's never developed much of an approach at the plate, good center-field defense and a little bat speed can make you a 2-WAR player pretty easily.

Cain's actual draft spot: No. 496 (17th round), Brewers

Toronto's '04 pick: David Purcey, LHP, Oklahoma

17. Los Angeles Dodgers: Glen Perkins, LHP, Minnesota

I hope Alex Anthopoulos won't mind me sharing this story, but I distinctly remember that he was a big Perkins fan in that draft class, insisting that Perkins be in our discussion for the two picks we held at 16 and 32 -- and Perkins has had a more productive career than either of the players we took, David Purcey and Zach Jackson.

The Twins didn't miss a chance to grab a talented hometown player, landing Perkins with their own first-round pick, but the selection didn't appear to be a success until they moved the lefty to the bullpen in 2011, where his velocity jumped about two grades. He's always been a control guy, but now he can miss bats, and he's averaged 1.8 WAR over his three full years as a major league reliever. As volatile as reliever performance is, Perkins' command and the fact that he doesn't rely on a huge fastball make me ever so slightly more sanguine about him than I am for most "proven closers."

Perkins' actual draft spot: No. 22, Twins

Los Angeles' '04 pick: Scott Elbert, LHP, Seneca (Mo.) HS

18. Chicago White Sox: Phil Hughes, RHP, Foothill HS (Santa Ana, Calif.)

I've never been a huge Hughes guy, at least not relative to the attention and hype he received coming up, because his fastball was straight and flat and I didn't think he could pitch side to side -- which turned out to be issues for him over his rocky tenure with the Yanks.

Of course, he's a Twin now, which means he's cut his walk rate by about 93 percent and is well on his way to a career year. If he's really turned into the Walk Miser, then this might still be a tick low for him on the list. He's 28 years old and will probably double his career innings total before he's done, even if a lot of that performance is below-average, making him a decent bet to pass a few 2004 draftees with higher WAR totals right now, such as Jason Vargas.

Hughes' actual draft spot: No. 23, Yankees

Chicago's '04 pick: Josh Fields, 3B, Oklahoma State

19. St. Louis Cardinals: Homer Bailey, RHP, La Grange (Texas) HS

Bailey had one of the most impressive MLB Scouting Bureau videos I've ever seen -- he was huge, he threw hard without seeming to break a sweat, and his breaking ball looked like it just vanished from sight. It wasn't a surprise that he was drafted high or that he reached the majors fast. In fact, the only surprise I think he's given us is his 2014 season, when he managed to destroy value between the moment when I started writing this column and when I got to this pick.

Bailey might not be a true ace, but getting value like what he's created is just what you're hoping for if you pick somewhere after the top five -- a durable midrotation starter who'll have seasons where he's a bit more. I'm putting him in what I'd still consider an optimistic spot, based on how good he was over the previous two years. If this season is some sort of harbinger of injury or early decline, then he's in the wrong place.

Bailey's actual draft spot: No. 7, Reds

St. Louis' '04 pick: Chris Lambert, RHP, Cardinals

20. Minnesota Twins: Adam Lind, 1B , South Alabama

Taken with the second of the two picks the Blue Jays received when the Angels signed Kelvim Escobar as a free agent, Lind was the best player we drafted in Toronto in 2004 and one of the most successful picks of J.P. Ricciardi's tenure as GM.

Lind has actually been a better player than a straight look at his WAR might indicate -- he's an atrocious defensive player who's given back more than 2.5 wins of value with his "glove," a good chunk of that coming while he was asked to play left field, a position he quite clearly cannot play.

Anyway, Lind is another player who'd probably be drafted higher if he were entering the draft today, as he hit .392/.456/.659 in his junior year at USA and had played well in the Cape Cod League the previous summer. Lind is a full-time DH now, as he should be, and I think he could play another five years or so in that role. Just don't ask him to play the field.

Lind's actual draft spot: No. 83 (third round), Blue Jays

Minnesota's '04 pick: Trevor Plouffe, SS, Crespi Carmelite HS (Encino, Calif.)

21. Philadelphia Phillies: Jason Vargas, LHP, Long Beach State

Vargas went through three colleges in three years, starting at LSU, transferring to the two-year Cypress College, then going to Long Beach State, and didn't have a good junior year for the Dirtbags. He signed with the Marlins on June 30, 2004, and was in the majors on July 14, 2005, which is about as best-case a scenario as it gets: You take a college pitcher because you believe he'll move fast and it's easier to predict his performance.

He did get there fast, but he didn't perform well at all for Florida or the Mets, to whom the Marlins traded him after 2006. It wasn't until he got to Seattle that his smoke-and-mirrors act started to pay off, and even today, pitchers like Vargas in the college ranks are not rated highly because they're hard to separate from the dozens of other guys on college staffs who won't get out of short-season ball. No one ever got fired for using a high draft pick on a kid who threw 98, but if you take a lefty who barely cracks 90, you'd better hope he works out.

Vargas' actual draft spot: No. 68 (second round), Marlins

Philadelphia's '04 pick: Greg Golson, OF, Connally (Texas) HS

22. Minnesota Twins: Seth Smith, OF, Ole Miss

The Rockies had a great draft in 2004, producing 11 big leaguers, three of whom are on this list, not counting unsigned 37th-rounder Todd Frazier, who was seen as unsignable due to his strong commitment to Rutgers. Smith came into his junior spring as a probable first-rounder, someone we weren't even sure would get to our pick at 16, but he ended up having the worst year of his college career, hitting just .284/.364/.422, back in the days before the NCAA regulated bats the way it does now, when you just had to show up at the park to hit .300 in college.

Smith has carved out a nice niche for himself as a platoon outfielder, so while he still can't hit lefties (.203/.274/.317 in his MLB career), he can play often as the strong half of a platoon in left or right. It's not quite what scouts expected after his first two years in college, but credit the Rockies for remembering what he'd done before that disappointing 2004 spring.

Smith's actual draft spot: No. 50 (second round), Rockies

Minnesota's '04 pick: Glen Perkins, LHP, Minnesota (comp pick for Eddie Guardado signing with Seattle)

23. New York Yankees: Casey Janssen, RHP, UCLA

Janssen was undrafted after his junior year at UCLA, but we took him in Toronto as a senior in 2004 -- not as a money-saver, specifically, but because several of our scouts liked his athleticism and aggressiveness on the mound.

He was a four-pitch guy who even hit a little bit when he wasn't throwing for the Bruins, but the question was whether any of those four pitches would miss enough bats in pro ball. He's since moved to the pen and come back from a major shoulder injury to become a solid one-inning reliever, missing more bats than he ever could have as a starter and showing that aggressive attitude my colleagues in Toronto liked so much when we took him.

Janssen's actual draft spot: No. 117 (fourth round), Blue Jays

New York's '04 pick: Phil Hughes, RHP, Foothill HS (Santa Ana, Calif.) (comp pick for Andy Pettitte signing with Houston)

24. Oakland Athletics: Mark Reynolds, SS, Virginia

Reynolds was a shortstop in college, if you can imagine that, but as a slow-twitch guy who struggled to make contact -- he struck out in about a quarter of his at bats at UVa, and that's with the old metal bats -- he wasn't seen as a potential everyday player, even though he was quite signable for a college junior.

The strikeout issue never abated, but Reynolds developed plus-plus raw power after he left college and has had a couple of years as an average regular, giving back some production when he's been asked to play third base. This isn't a profile that ages well, however, and with Reynolds' last 1-WAR season in 2010 he's probably close to done adding significant value to his career total.

Reynolds' actual draft spot: No. 476 (16th round), D-backs

Oakland's '04 pick: Landon Powell, C, South Carolina (comp pick for Keith Foulke signing with Boston)

25. Minnesota Twins: Mark Trumbo, 3B/RHP, Villa Park (Calif.) HS

Trumbo was a top two-way prospect, both as a corner bat and as a pitcher, but was seen as a very tough sign due to his commitment to play at USC. The Angels signed him for mid-first-round money, $1.425 million, but he turned out to be a very slow-developing prospect, reaching the majors in 2010 after more than 3,000 minor league plate appearances and a .275/.330/.474 composite line.

Traded to the Diamondbacks this winter in a three-way deal that returned Tyler Skaggs to Anaheim, Trumbo is a below-average regular, with huge raw power but trouble hitting breaking stuff and no defensive value. Like Reynolds, Trumbo doesn't project to hold his current value into his 30s.

Trumbo's actual draft spot: No. 533 (18th round), D-backs

Minnesota's '04 pick: Kyle Waldrop, Farragut HS (Knoxville, Tenn.) (comp pick for LaTroy Hawkins signing with the Twins)

26. Oakland Athletics: Wade Davis, RHP, Lake Wales (Fla.) HS

Davis was a typical Rays pick of the time, a raw but big prep pitcher who'd flash above-average velocity and had a true curveball, figuring to need a long time to develop little things such as command or a third pitch. After a few attempts by two clubs to make him a starter -- and I concede he certainly looks like one -- he's probably in the ideal role now as a short reliever, because he can air it out and doesn't have to worry too much about precise location.

He's likely to end up the most valuable player in a mediocre Tampa Bay draft class from that year, led by first-rounder Jeff Niemann and second-rounder Reid Brignac.

Davis' actual draft spot: No. 75 (third round), Rays

Oakland's '04 pick: Richie Robnett, OF, Fresno State

27. Miami Marlins: Dallas Braden, LHP, Texas Tech

Braden, now a colleague of mine at "Baseball Tonight," is the one player on this top 30 whose career is clearly over, as he retired this spring after a series of arm injuries. He had two very good years as a starter, including his famous Mother's Day perfect game, plus another season's worth of near-replacement-level pitching spread across three different years, all courtesy of one of the rarest pitches in professional baseball: the screwball.

In other words, if your team drafts 27th overall and the player it chooses ends up producing 10 WAR in the majors over his career, you should be happy with the pick. By the way, the A's ended up with a solid draft class in 2004 despite whiffing on their first three picks, all of whom totaled 135 major league games and 0 WAR.

Braden's actual draft spot: No. 727 (24th round), A's

Miami's '04 pick: Taylor Tankersley, LHP, Alabama

28. Los Angeles Dodgers: J.A. Happ, LHP, Northwestern

I remember watching Happ's MLB Scouting Bureau video in the draft room with the scouting staff and noticing that it was impossible to see the ball come out of his white home uniform -- the stuff wasn't impressive, as you know, but I couldn't imagine how a hitter would pick the ball up. Our area scout at the time liked him quite a bit, as I recall, and Happ has proven him right with a solid career as a No. 5 starter.

He was the most valuable pick in a Phillies draft that produced five big leaguers, with their first-rounder, Greg Golson, eventually traded to Texas for John Mayberry, Jr.

Happ's actual draft spot: No. 92 (third round), Phillies

Dodgers' '04 pick: Blake DeWitt, 3B, Sikeston (Mo.) HS (comp pick for Paul Quantrill signing with Yankees)

29. Kansas City Royals: Jeff Niemann, RHP, Rice

Niemann might be done as a big leaguer, or at least as a starter, but he had more of a big league career than I expected given the medical reports on him out of Rice in which one doctor told us he had "the elbow of a 35-year-old pitcher."

It was Niemann's shoulder that gave him more trouble in pro ball, but the Rays did a masterful job of keeping him healthy enough to give them three full seasons in their rotation, limiting his workloads even when healthy; in 2007 and 2008, he never threw more than 107 pitches in any minor league start, even though he was 24 and 25 years old in those seasons. Niemann proved the most valuable of the ill-fated trio of Rice first-rounders, all of whom were so badly overpitched by coach Wayne Graham that injuries shortened or derailed their pro careers.

Niemann's actual draft spot: No. 4, Rays

Kansas City's '04 pick: Matt Campbell, LHP, South Carolina (comp pick for Giants signing Michael Tucker)

30. Texas Rangers: Jake McGee, LHP, Reed HS (Sparks, Nev.)

I've got McGee on here over some guys with higher career WAR totals to date because I think most of his value is still ahead of him. He's proven to be a dominant reliever since returning from 2008 Tommy John surgery, and as a lefty without significant platoon splits should be able to pitch for as long as his arm allows it. He was a very raw but projectable kid at the time of the draft, which was the (Devil) Rays' M.O. at the time.

One more member of the 2004 draft class deserves mention regardless of what he did on the field. In the 14th round, the Angels took a flier on an "unsignable" kid out of Maryland committed to UNC, right-handed pitcher Nick Adenhart. He would have been high on this list if he'd only had the chance.

McGee's actual draft spot: No. 135 (fifth round),Rays

Texas' '04 pick: Eric Hurley, RHP, Wolfson HS (Jacksonville, Fla.) (comp pick for John Thomson signing with Braves)