The Major League Baseball amateur draft is less the a month away and I thought that I’d take a stab at putting together an “All catcher crew” of players who were selected during the amateur draft as catchers and subsequently moved to another position before debuting in the majors.I did something similar earlier this month when I compiled an “All shortstop squad” of drafted shortstops who changed position.

Once again, I was able to find enough good players to create a good lineup and – just like the shortstop list – I was a bit surprised by some of the names that I found, which included a Hall of Fame first baseman, a great closer, and a former Rookie of the Year. There’s even a former catcher who went on to become a 20-game winner – Ed Figueroa who pitched over 230 innings during four consecutive seasons for the California Angels and New York Yankees.

A few notes:
1. My selection pool includes every year of the draft, which started in 1965.

2. Players had to have played zero games as a catcher during their major league career in order to be eligible for consideration.

3. Drafted position is based on the position listed on the MLB.com draft history page for each amateur draft. That means that you won’t see players like Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper or Seattle Mariners prospect Alex Jackson – primarily catchers prior to the draft – because they were listed as outfielders during the draft.

Repositioned Catcher Starting Lineup
Pos Player Year Pick Team School
1B Eddie Murray 1973 63 BAL Locke HS (CA)
2B Neil Walker 2004 11 PIT Pine Richland HS (PA)
SS Denny Hocking 1989 1311 MIN El Camino College (CA)
3B Brett Lawrie 2008 16 MIL Brookswood SS (BC)
LF Jayson Werth 1997 22 BAL Glenwood HS (IL)
CF Marlon Byrd 1999 306 PHI Georgia Perimeter College
RF Dave Parker 1970 324 PIT Courter Tech HS (OH)
SP Ed Figueroa 1967 54 MIN George Washington HS (NY)
CL Troy Percival 1990 175 CAL University of California-Riverside

Once again, I didn’t include a designated hitter, although there are several good candidates available on the list below.

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Other Notable Former Catchers
Pos Player Year Pick Team School
1B Paul Konerko 1994 13 LAD Chaparral HS (AZ)
1B Ryan Garko 2003 78 CLE Stanford University
1B Mike Jacobs 1999 1156 NYM Grossmont College (CA)
1B Matt Adams 2009 699 KCR Slippery Rock University (PA)
1B Gaby Sanchez 2005 126 MIA University of Miami
1B Lamar Johnson 1968 54 CHI Wenonah HS (AL)
OF Wil Myers 2009 91 KCR Wesleyan Christian Academy (NC)
RF Ellis Valentine 1972 29 MON Crenshaw HS (CA)
RP Jason Motte
 2003 575 STL Iona College (NY)

 

Luke Arkins

Luke is a native New Yorker, who grew up a Mets fan. After the US Navy moved him to the Pacific Northwest in 2009, he decided to make Seattle his home.

In 2014, Luke joined the Prospect Insider team and is now a contributor at HERO Sports also. During baseball season, he can be often found observing the local team at Safeco Field.

You can follow Luke on Twitter @luke_arkins

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