All catcher crew

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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.

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)