The 2006 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 6 and 7. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams.
Chris Tillman, 2nd round, 49th overall by the Seattle MarinersBrett Anderson, 2nd round, 55th overall by the Arizona DiamondbacksWade LeBlanc, 2nd round, 61st overall by the San Diego PadresTrevor Cahill, 2nd round, 66th overall by the Oakland AthleticsJustin Masterson, 2nd round, 71st overall by the Boston Red SoxJon Jay, 2nd round, 74th overall by the St. Louis CardinalsBrennan Boesch, 3rd round, 82nd overall by the Detroit TigersZach Britton, 3rd round, 85th overall by the Baltimore OriolesJoe Smith, 3rd round, 94th overall by the New York MetsDellin Betances, 8th Round, 254th overall by the New York YankeesZach McAllister, 3rd round, 104th overall by the New York YankeesAlex Cobb, 4th round, 109th overall by the Tampa Bay Devil RaysJared Hughes, 4th round, 110th overall by the Pittsburgh PiratesChris Johnson, 4th round, 129th overall by the Houston AstrosChris Davis, 5th round, 148th overall by the Texas RangersJeff Samardzija, 5th round, 149th overall by the Chicago CubsChristopher Archer, 5th round, 161th overall by the Cleveland IndiansGeorge Kontos, 5th round, 164th overall by the New York YankeesJason Berken, 6th round, 175th overall by the Baltimore OriolesAndrew Bailey, 6th round, 188th overall by the Oakland AthleticsBud Norris, 6th round, 189th overall by the Houston AstrosDoug Fister, 7th round, 201st overall by the Seattle MarinersJustin Turner, 7th round, 204th overall by the Cincinnati RedsMike Leake, 7th round, 218th overall by the Oakland Athletics, but did not signAllen Craig, 8th round, 256th overall by the St. Louis CardinalsDavid Freese, 9th round, 273rd overall by the San Diego PadresRyan Kalish, 9th round, 283rd overall by the Boston Red SoxMark Melancon, 9th round, 284th overall by the New York YankeesDesmond Jennings, 10th round, 289th overall by the Tampa Bay Devil RaysJosh Roenicke, 10th round, 294th overall by the Cincinnati RedsCraig Gentry, 10th round, 294th overall by the Texas RangersKris Medlen, 10th round, 310th overall by the Atlanta BravesMat Latos, 11th round, 333rd overall by the San Diego PadresBrandon Belt, 11th round, 343rd overall by the Boston Red Sox, but did not signJordan Walden, 12th round, 372nd overall by the Los Angeles Angels of AnaheimMike Minor, 13th round, 379th overall by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but did not signDaniel Murphy, 13th round, 394th overall by the New York MetsDaniel McCutchen, 13th round, 404th overall by the New York YankeesMatt LaPorta, 14th round, 433rd overall by the Boston Red Sox, but did not signDan Runzler, 17th round, 501st overall by the Seattle Mariners, but did not signChris Heisey, 17th round, 504th overall by the Cincinnati RedsTony Watson, 17th round, 505th overall by the Baltimore Orioles, but did not signJosh Reddick, 17th round, 523rd overall by the Boston Red SoxDavid Robertson, 17th round, 524th overall by the New York YankeesAndrew Cashner, 18th round, 528th overall by the Colorado Rockies, but did not signDanny Valencia, 19th round, 576th overall by the Minnesota TwinsJosh Tomlin, 19th round, 581st overall by the Cleveland IndiansCasey Fien, 20th round, 592nd overall by the Detroit TigersDomonic Brown, 20th round, 607th overall by the Philadelphia PhilliesVinnie Pestano, 20th round, 611th overall by the Cleveland IndiansCory Luebke, 22nd round, 658th overall by the Texas Rangers, but did not signDerek Holland, 25th round, 748th overall by the Texas RangersWilliam Morey, 28th round, 856th overall by the St. Louis CardinalsHector Santiago, 30th round, 915th overall by the Chicago White SoxAlex Sanabia, 32nd round, 965th overall by the Florida MarlinsMatt Downs, 36th round, 1076th overall by the San Francisco GiantsJ. D. Martinez, 36th round, 1086th overall by the Minnesota Twins, but did not signDaniel Herrera, 45th round, 1345th overall by the Texas RangersPaul Goldschmidt, 49th round, 1453rd overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but did not signJarrod Dyson, 50th round, 1475th overall by the Kansas City RoyalsRiley Cooper, 15th round, 457th overall by the Philadelphia Phillies, but did not signJake Locker, 40th round, 1212th overall by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but did not signIsaiah Stanback, 45th round, 1342nd overall by the Baltimore Orioles, but did not signKyle Williams, 47th round, 1342nd overall by the Chicago White Sox, but did not signPitching accounted for 18 of the 30 selections in the first round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, including the top choice, right-hander Luke Hochevar, who was chosen by the Kansas City Royals. The University of Tennessee product pitched for the Fort Worth Cats of the Independent League after not reaching terms with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who selected him in the sandwich round (40th overall) of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft.
Six of the first seven picks and nine of the first 12 selections were pitchers. In addition to the 18 hurlers, seven outfielders, three third basemen and two catchers made up the rest of the first round.
The first six picks were from the college ranks. University of North Carolina pitchers Andrew Miller (6th overall, Tigers) and Daniel Bard (28th, Red Sox) and University of Texas teammates Drew Stubbs (8th overall, Reds) and Kyle McCulloch (29th, White Sox) went in the first round.
Kyle Drabek, the son of longtime Major League pitcher Doug Drabek, was chosen by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 18th pick. He is currently on a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Detroit's Andrew Miller became the first player from the 2006 Draft to reach the Major Leagues. He debuted in relief during a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on August 30. He would make eight relief appearances for the Tigers during their pennant-winning season. He currently pitches in the Cleveland Indians organization and has also played for the Florida Marlins and the Boston Red Sox.
Tim Lincecum was the first 2006 draftee to be selected to an All-Star Game. Lincecum was selected in 2008, and joined shortly thereafter by Evan Longoria, who was selected via the Final Vote. Longoria was the only one to play in the game. Longoria would later be voted Rookie of the Year. Lincecum was also the first to win a Cy Young Award (2008 and 2009) in the National League. Clayton Kershaw, 7th in the draft, went on to win the 2011, 2013 and 2014 NL Cy Young Awards, the 2014 NL MVP Award and played in the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 All-Star Games.
Andrew Bailey, 6th round pick by the Oakland Athletics, became the 2009 American League Rookie of the Year and participated in the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis and 2010 All-Star Game in Anaheim. He is currently in the Philadelphia Phillies organization and has also pitched for the Boston Red Sox. Chris Coghlan, a supplemental first round pick, was the 2009 National League Rookie of the Year. He is currently a Oakland Athletics outfielder and has also played for the Florida/Miami Marlins.
Ryan Kalish, an outfielder who planned to attend the University of Virginia, was picked in the 9th round by the Boston Red Sox. His salary of $600,000 had to be approved by the Commissioner's Office, as it was well over what others drafted in that round were to receive. He signed with the Red Sox and made his major league debut in 2010.
Max Scherzer, 1st round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks and later traded to the Detroit Tigers, won the 2013 Cy Young Award. He is now with the Washington Nationals
