The 2005 draft is another that may turn out to be more famous for who it allowed the Tigers to get rather than who it eventually netted the Detroiters. Cameron Maybin, Chris Robinson and Kevin Whelan were the Tigers’ first three picks and they were involved in trades that brought Miguel Cabrera, Neifi Perez and Gary Sheffield, respectively. Admittedly, the Perez deal was more of a curse than anything, but the point was more about the Tigers dealing each of their first three picks. Let’s look at the draft as a whole.

Made it to Detroit

Jeff Larish, 5th, 1B – Larish has made it to the majors and held his own at times. Generally, I consider that a successful pick. He’s just not going to be anything more than a bench player for the Tigers. His only role with the current makeup would be the lefty DH and he hasn’t shown he could hit to fill that role yet.

Clete Thomas, 6th, OF – Thomas is probably another role player at the major league level, but he’s a good one. He plays good enough defense to play all three positions, has some offensive aptitude and good speed.

Mike Hollimon, 16th, IF – Hollimon has been plagued by injuries and it’s haunting him as he ages right out of the land of prospects. If the health ever returns and he’s back to what he was, he could still be a useful utility player.

Shipped Out

Cameron Maybin, 1st, OF – Sent to Florida where he’s shown flashes of the promise that was why he was a big part of the Cabrera trade. He’s also struggled for the most part at the major league level, as his strikeouts have been a bit of a problem.

Chris Robinson, 3rd, C – As I mentioned, traded to the Cubs for Neifi Perez. If you’re not Jermaine Dye, it’s probably not a good sign for your career when you are traded for Neifi Perez.

Kevin Whelan, 4th, RP – He was one of the three pitchers the Tigers shipped out for Gary Sheffield. Walks have probably been the main reason he hasn’t had a shot in the majors yet.

Anthony Claggett, 11th, RP – Another chip in the Sheffield trade, Claggett has seen time in the majors but may not be a major leaguer. Not our problem, though.

Matt Joyce, 12th, OF – I panned the trade of Joyce when it was made, but I seriously doubt he would have impacted the 2009 team nearly as much as Edwin Jackson.

Burke Badenhop, 19th, SP – He was part of the army of players sent to Florida for Cabrera and was downright serviceable as an arm in the bullpen. I always hoped Badenhop’s ground balls would let him stick in the majors, as I always root for guys who graduated from my wife’s alma mater (BGSU).

Made it to Toledo

Will Rhymes, 27th, 2B – Rhymes has a small frame, but has used his contact skills to stick around as a minor leaguer. He had a brief stint where he was viewed by some as somebody to watch, but has since been passed by Scott Sizemore on the depth chart.

Ryan Roberson, 30th, 1B – The big first baseman hit well for Erie in 2008, but struggled mightily for the Hens last season. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him join the ranks of the released once the 2010 season is underway.

Made it to Erie

Brendan Wise, 8th, RP – Wise is looking like a minor league reliever as he hasn’t struck out more than 5 batters per nine innings since 2006.

Casper Wells, 14th, OF – He’s a much better prospect than you’d expect from somebody who came from the 2005 draft but hasn’t cracked Double A. He may be able to earn a role in the outfield for the 2010 Tigers.

Jeff Kunkel, 37th, C – This defensive specialist was, I believe, the Tigers’ last ever sign and follow. He set a career high in OPS this season with a .611 mark between Lakeland and Erie.

Released

P.J. Finigan, 7th, RP

Kevin Ardoin, 10th, RP

Louis Ott, 13th, IF

Agustin Guzman, 18th, 2B

Erik Averill, 20th, RP

Matt Norfleet, 22nd, RP

Mark Haske, 23rd, IF

Jacob Baxter, 25th, RP

Schuyler Williamson, 26th, C

Tim Robertson, 31st, RP

Chris Torres, 32nd, C

Loren Fraser, 33rd, RP

Jeff Hahn, 35th, RP

Gibbs Wilson, 36th, RP

Interesting non-signees – Zach Putnam, RHP; Alex Avila, 3B; Kyle Peter, OF; Ryan Perry, RHP; Adrian Casanova, C

Summary

In this draft, we see something of a cutoff line. If you haven’t made the majors, you better be close or your window may be closed. There is a pretty big jump in players who have been released, and that will be interesting to remember if you go back and look at players drafted in 2006.

Overall, I’d give this draft a very high mark. It gave the Tigers a number of trading chips and some guys they were able to keep around to fill in as role players at the major league level. That was a good two days’ work for the front office.