Cleveland Indians: 5 worst first-round draft picks in club history

No. 5: Mark Lewis – No. 2 overall, 1988

The 1988 draft had some of the biggest highs and lows in Cleveland Indians history. They drafted Charles Nagy No. 17 overall in the first round, a pick they got for free agent Brett Butler leaving for the San Francisco Giants.

Nagy would go on to be one of the best first-round picks in Indians history. Unfortunately, though, the draft started off with a thud as the team selected high school shortstop Mark Lewis with the second overall pick that year

Lewis was a star drafted out of Hamilton High School just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. Tied for the highest pick in club history (the Indians have never drafted first overall), expectations were sky-high for Lewis, despite being a high school kid. He was seen as the shortstop of the future, but things never did quite pan out for him.

He was the team’s starting shortstop in 1992 but despite some success (1.0 WAR), the club moved on to Felix Fermin as the starting shortstop for the 1993 season and eventually traded for Omar Vizquel.

Lewis was the Opening Day starting third baseman for the Indians in 1994 as he began the year in a platoon with future 600 home run man Jim Thome. However, like with his starting shortstop job, that soon faded as well and he found himself bouncing around for a few years before finishing his career after the 2001 season, which fittingly was with the Indians.

Overall Lewis posted a -2.6 WAR (per baseball-reference), which is the second lowest career WAR of any player drafted by the Indians in the first round (Jack Heidemann, -6.2).

This, combined with the high expectations of being drafted second overall and the hype surrounding him in the late ’80s and early ’90s are what landed him on this list over other players who never made it to the big leagues.

No. 4: Paul Shuey – No. 2 overall, 1992

This may seem like an odd choice to include on a “worst” list. After all, Paul Shuey did make it to the big leagues and actually had some success as a reliever. He even ranks in the top 15 in career WAR among Tribe first-round draft picks at 7.0. However, there are reasons (perhaps some biased ones) why he does crack our top five worst picks list.

For starters, Paul Shuey was not a starter. Drafted in 1992, he was a relief pitcher in his first full professional season in 1993, a very disappointing outcome for a guy drafted second overall. The Indians made no attempt to use him as a starter. Perhaps it was all because they felt he could help the club compete quicker by rushing him through the system.

The Indians knew they had the makings of a good team and thought by the 1994-1995 season they’d need a backend reliever who could help them win.

The Indians were right that they would be contenders then but they missed badly on Shuey. While he had some good years in the ‘pen, he was never the dominating closer the Indians thought he’d be. It also hurts knowing that Derek Jeter was there to be had at second overall and instead the Indians opted for a relief pitcher.

Sure it was well-known that Jeter would be a tough sign and perhaps that scared off the Indians, but they still missed on guys like Johnny Damon, Jason Kendall, Rick Helling, and Shannon Stewart in the first round that year.

No. 3: Beau Mills – No. 13 overall, 2007

2007 was a great year in the city of Cleveland. The Cavs made their first-ever NBA Finals, the Browns won 10 games (still the most since their return), and the Cleveland Indians won the division and came within a win of the World Series. However, things couldn’t have gone much worse in the first round of the MLB draft that summer.

Picking No. 13 overall for the first time since 1991 when they drafted Manny Ramirez, the Indians selected Beau Mills, a first/third baseman out a NAIA school in Idaho (Lewis-Clark State College).

He is the son of current Indians bench coach and then Boston coach Brad Mills. He had great power and a bat that projected to hit for average, plus the baseball background scouts loved. However, things just never really materialized for him.

He had to move off third base almost immediately as he was a hack there. At first base, he wasn’t much better either and was looking like a DH-only guy before his 25th birthday. Things weren’t quite so bad at the plate, at least not initially.

In 2008, his first full season in pro ball, he hit a very good .293/.373/.506 with 21 home runs and 34 doubles. He looked well on his way to being a middle of the order bat in the mold of Jim Thome. However, that was the high point of Mills’s career.

Mills spent each of the next four seasons at Double-A and only played in 74 career games at the Triple-A level. He posted just a .757 OPS over his four seasons at Double-A and showed no improvement. He found his way to Cincinnati in 2012, which was his last in professional baseball.

Mills remains one of the highest collegiate draft picks in Tribe history to never make the major leagues and given that Jason Heyward was taken just one pick after him, things looked even worse very quickly.

What this pick may also be best known for was the last first-round pick ever with John Mirabelli in charge of the drafts. Following the 2007 season, Brad Grant was promoted to Director of Amateur Scouting, and the drafts ever since have been remarkably better for the Indians. So perhaps in a poetic way, the Mills pick was so bad but also so good for the Indians? (no…it was still just terrible).

No. 2: Daron Kirkreit – No. 11 overall, 1993

Taking the bronze on our list today is right-handed pitcher Daron Kirkreit, drafted No. 11 overall in the 1993 draft. The second draft with John Hart as the general manager, Kirkreit has the honor of being the second-highest drafted collegiate player to never make the major leagues.

A star in college, Kirkreit struggled in pro ball and only made one start at the Triple-A level, which is crazy considering he reached Double-A in his first full season in pro ball back in 1994. However, things stalled quickly there for Kirkreit.

After breezing through A-ball rather quickly, Kirkreit posted an ERA of 5.89 in 99 appearances at the Double-A level. He made 67 starts before moving to the bullpen and threw over 400 innings but never was able to keep his ERA under five with the Indians. His lone Triple-A start came in 1997 and ironically it was great (7 IP, 0 R); however, it was a small blip on an otherwise ugly career.

The Indians had all the offense a club could want on those late ’90s teams but pitching always seemed to be what held them back. The Indians needed a guy like Kirkreit to step up but never were able to get it.

Kirkreit was the worst pick out of a slew of bad picks from 1992-1997 that the Indians had under Hart. The Tribe missed out on several future stars that year too, including Derek Lee, Billy Wagner, Chris Carpenter, Torii Hunter, and Jason Varitek.

No. 1: Mike Poehl – No. 9 overall, 1985

The 1985 season was one to forget for the Cleveland Indians. They lost 102 games which tied the franchise record at the time and remains the second-most losses in a single season in franchise history. To make matters worse, the Tribe drafted right-handed pitcher Mike Poehl with the No. 9 overall pick in the draft that June out of the University of Texas.

The Texas-native Poehl was a big man, standing 6-foot-5, and was an imposing presence on the mound. Unfortunately for him his physical attributes far outweighed his ability on the mound.

Poehl holds the distinction of being the only collegiate player drafted in the top 10 by the Indians to never make it to the big leagues. Not only that, he never even reached Triple-A, topping out at Double-A with the Indians and eventually the Kansas City Royals. He was out of baseball by 1991 at the age of 26.

What makes things even more depressing was how great that 1985 draft really was. In the top six picks, it saw B.J. Surhoff, Will Clark, Barry Larkin, and Barry Bonds all drafted. Later in the first round saw the likes of Rafael Palmeiro taken as well.

There were a couple guys that I nearly put on this list as well, in particular, Michael Aubrey. Drafted No. 11 overall in 2003 out of Tulane, he nearly tied Kirkreit for the second-highest collegiate pick to never make the majors, though he did sneak in a few games.

Ultimately though the “professional hitter” never hit enough as a professional. Power wasn’t there for the first baseman and ultimately he was a huge failure.

Also in that 2003 draft was Brad Snyder, taken No. 18 overall out of Ball State. He too made the majors but maybe he shouldn’t have. He posted a -0.1 WAR for his lackluster career.

Back in 1990, Tim Costo was a very disappointing shortstop drafted No. 8 overall by the Tribe out of Iowa. He too was seen as the shortstop of the future at one point but ultimately was dealt to Cincinnati for Reggie Jefferson…who was then traded to Seattle for Omar Vizquel, thus ultimately getting the Tribe their franchise shortstop.

Trevor Crowe was another college pick I had in the top five at one point. Taken No. 14 overall in 2005, Crowe did make the big leagues and even had some success as a backup but ultimately produced a 0.0 WAR for his career and was a major disappointment for a club looking to build on an already great, young club.

Next: 5 best first-round picks in Indians history

So there you have it, the worst of the worst among Tribe firs- round picks. Do you agree with our list? Who are your five worst picks? Let us know in the comment section below.