The Former Franchise: Greg Reynolds
Who the hell is Greg Reynolds?
Why, he’s the former second-overall pick of the Colorado Rockies in 2006 of course! It was actually his second experience being drafted; he was picked out of high school in the 41st round in 2003, but decided to go to college instead. While at Stanford, he pitched well enough to justify a high pick, and that’s what happened. So why does someone who was drafted so high have such a low profile?
In a word: injuries. In a few more words: lots of injuries. As is the risk of any pitcher, arm issues popped up on Greg Reynolds seemingly the moment he signed the dotted line with the Rockies. In 2007 Reynolds only pitched in eight games for Double-A Tulsa, shut down mid-season because of shoulder surgery on an inflamed rotator cuff. In 2009 Reynolds went under the knife again, this time to fix a shoulder muscle. The injuries got flukier as his career continued; in 2010 a line drive hit his throwing arm during spring training, effectively ending his preseason and derailing his return path.
When Reynolds was on the mound instead of under the knife, the results were mixed. In the minors, he never appeared in more than 19 games in a single season. During a series of short stints with Colorado, he played only a total of 27 games over a four year period; he pitched 94 innings and allowed 78 runs.
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An unfortunate series of incidents never allowed the Rockies to truly know what they had in Reynolds. What made it worse was the company Reynolds kept. Not only did he break a streak of fantastic number two picks, the success of his draft class continues to keep Rockies fans up at night.
Evan Longoria was picked third in 2006, right after Reynolds. Also on the board were future Cy Young winners Tim Lincecum and Clayton Kershaw, and 21-game winner Ian Kennedy. If Major League Baseball was in possession of Professor Farnsworth’s “What-If Machine,” you could guarantee the landscape of baseball would have been completely different had the Rockies picked one of those more successful names.
Reynolds’ lack of success also looks bad when compared to the second-overall picks that preceded him in the drafts reaching back a decade. From 1997-2005, the following were picked right after number one: J.D. Drew, Mark Mulder, Josh Beckett, Adam Johnson, Mark Prior, B.J. Upton, Rickie Weeks, Justin Verlander and Alex Gordon. Only Gordon, Johnson and Upton have yet to make an All-Star Game (and Upton is closer in talent to those who have than those who haven’t). Johnson is a bust and Gordon is an improving player in Kansas City. Reynolds is the unlucky one. The exception to the rule that over the last decade and a half, the second-overall pick is going to be a good player for the team that picked him.
On January 5th, the Rockies finally cut ties with their oft-injured pitcher, sending him to Texas for Chad Tracy (not the Chad Tracy who made a little name for himself in Arizona; this Chad Tracy is the son of Rockies manager Jim). Reynolds left Colorado with two records, one official and one unofficial. He’s the highest player ever drafted by the Rockies organization, and also the most disappointing.
Reynolds was never touted as the savior of the Rockies organization but expectations were definitely higher than the production they received. Unfortunately for both parties, injuries prevented what could have been. With a little bit better luck, maybe the majority of the baseball world would have known who the hell Greg Reynolds is.
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