only one has done remotely close to what he has in the majors, Evan Longoria. Kershaw and Miller might be better in time, but Lincecum has been great so far. I wish he played for us.

Obviously, the Rockies and many other teams can’t be blamed for passing on Lincecum (at the time) in the first few picks of ‘06 draft. But our pick of Reynolds at overall #2, ahead of Evan Longoria at #3 by the Rays-I know some knowledgable fans who question that move along the lines of “take the best player on the board” theory. Some hindsight there, too, considering we had in the organization in ‘06 Tulo at short and Atkins and Stewart at third—plus we needed starting pitching.

Thought #1: I start Edinson Volquez. Lincecum has a slight edge, but I just like Volquez more for some reason.

Thought #2: Greg Reynolds was not a bad pick. Greg is 6’7, 225lbs. The makeup of a pitcher who’s gonna pitch for a long time. He’s a big guy and can use his mechanics to basically stay healthy, if that makes any sense. He throws a good sinker and good change, and gets good movement on both. His control is shaky, as he shows a BB/9 north of 5. But he’s shown a lot of signs of being awesome.

Lincecum, however, was a high-ceiling-high-risk kind of guy. He can pump his fastball at around 96, but his weird, jerky delivery combined with his relatively small frame. The huge concern about taking Lincecum was the issue of him having MASSIVE shoulder and back problems, and being the next Mark Prior.

The thing is, that potential is still there. I can easily see Lincecum having 3 or 4 stellar years, and then becoming a part-time pitcher because he’s always hurt. Reynolds, on the other hand, may never really reach ACE POTENTIAL, but I can see him pitching for a good 10-15 years in the majors.

Thought #3: Drafting for need may not be immediate need, as the one thing the Rockies have never had is really good pitching. And yes, LOL Coors never have good pitching, but we basically need it. They may have seen a quick jump to the Majors for Reynolds, but how can we go wrong with better pitching?

I guess had we picked Longoria, we could’ve traded Atkins for a pile of good pitching, too. But did anyone really anticipate this all happening like it did?

There was a massive signability scare in ‘06, because of what happened with Luke Hochevar the year previous. Add to that the reputation of Coors Field, and many pitchers on the board were considered longshots to sign with Colorado. Lincecum probably doesn’t fall into that category, but many others the Rockies passed on do.

I can safely say that Longoria has turned out MUCH better than his pre-draft scouting reports indicated. While he was considered the best college bat in the draft, it was an extremely weak year for bats and Evan was drawing comparisons anywhere from Joe Randa to Geoff Jenkings. Solid players to be sure, but not a franchise player, which he’s turned out to be.

The guy is the definition of a late bloomer. Wasn’t drafted out of high school, was merely ‘good’, not great, in college and has just gotten better and better as he’s progressed. You gotta give the Rays scouts credit: they all truly believed Longoria was a special talent, and had him ranked first on their big board. The #2 on their board? Lincecum. Nobody thought Longoria would turn out as he has, save the Rays scouts.