Chris Volstad ... valedictorian? (Getty Images)

Heading into the June 2005 Rule-4 draft (otherwise and incorrectly known as the "amateur draft"), the Marlins were "tasked" with making five of the first 44 overall picks. That many picks that high in the draft would surely yield some impressive top-end talent and set up the Marlins for years to come, right?

Well, as Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel observes, the Marlins, some seven years later, have not a single one of those five picks (all pitchers, it turned out) still within the organization. Rodriguez writes:

Sean West, selected 44th overall, was declared a minor-league free agent in November and this week agreed to a minor-league contract with the Washington Nationals.

Failing to hit big on any of the five in my estimation crippled the franchise more than Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin not panning out after the Miguel Cabrera trade.

Though West was the last of the five pitchers selected, he arguably was the most projectable. Now 6-8, 275 pounds, West was rated the organization's fourth- or fifth-best prospect three consecutive seasons (2006-'08), according to Baseball America.

For the record, here's how those five picks went and what befell them in the years to come:

  • #16 -- RHP Chris Volstad: Traded to Cubs in January, 2012 as part of Carlos Zambrano deal; 4.87 career ERA.
  • #22 -- LHP Aaron Thompson: Traded to Nationals at 2009 non-waiver deadline for Nick Johnson; 7 2/3 innings (7.04 ERA) at the major-league level.
  • #29 -- RHP Jacob Marceaux: Never made it past Double-A, last pitched in Indy league in 2010.
  • #34 -- RHP Ryan Tucker: 8.14 ERA across slices of two MLB seasons, claimed off waivers by Texas in 2010.
  • #44 -- LHP Sean West: One season and change in the bigs, 5.03; as Rodriguez notes, he's now a Nat. 

To be fair, the vast majority of draftees don't pan out, but this many of one team's high picks in one draft? That's notable.

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