2004 Amateur Draft

The 2004 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft was held on June 7 and June 8, 2004. The first overall pick was Matt Bush by the San Diego Padres. His selection was considered a surprise, as no one considered him to be the top talent in the draft, but he was a local boy whose contract demands were expected to be reasonable (contrary to others mentioned below), and the Padres were not interested in breaking the bank. The pick was a huge bust, as Bush was beset by personal issues and only emerged as a major league player years later, after moving to the mound, by which time he had been a member of a number of different organizations. In retrospect, #2 pick Justin Verlander was clearly the best player to come out of the draft.

Three Rice University pitchers (Philip Humber - 3rd, Jeffrey Niemann - 4th, and Wade Townsend - 8th) were selected in the first eight picks. Two Scott Boras clients, Jered Weaver (winner of the Golden Spikes Award) and Stephen Drew, slid down in the draft and did not sign until just before the 2005 amateur draft.

31 players whose fathers played professional baseball, headed by the Pittsburgh Pirates' top pick, Neil Walker, son of former pitcher Tom Walker were drafted. Two younger brothers of current Major Leaguers at the time went in the first round: Weaver, brother of pitcher Jeff Weaver, and Drew, brother of outfielder J.D. Drew and pitcher Tim Drew.

The Houston Astros had one of the best drafts, ending up with OF Hunter Pence with the 64th pick and IF Ben Zobrist with pick #164; both were recommended by the same scout, Rusty Pendergrass, and went on to enjoy long and productive careers.

2004 First Round Picks

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School (Type)	Hometown	Notes
1	San Diego Padres	Matthew Bush	SS	Mission Bay High School (HS)	San Diego, CA
2	Detroit Tigers	Justin Verlander	RHP	Old Dominion University (Col.)	Manakin-Sabot, VA
3	New York Mets	Philip Humber	RHP	Rice University (Col.)	Carthage, TX
4	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	Jeffrey Niemann	RHP	Rice University (Col.)	Houston, TX
5	Milwaukee Brewers	Mark Rogers	RHP	Mount Ararat High School (HS)	Topsham, ME
6	Cleveland Indians	Jeremy Sowers	LHP	Vanderbilt University (Col.)	Louisville, KY
7	Cincinnati Reds	Homer Bailey	RHP	La Grange (TX) High School (HS)	La Grange, TX
8	Baltimore Orioles	Wade Townsend	RHP	Rice University (Col.)	Dripping Springs, TX	Did not sign
9	Colorado Rockies	Chris Nelson	SS	Redan High School (HS)	Decatur, GA
10	Texas Rangers	Thomas Diamond	RHP	University of New Orleans (Col.)	New Orleans, LA
11	Pittsburgh Pirates	Neil Walker	C	Pine-Richland High School (HS)	Gibsonia, PA
12	Anaheim Angels	Jered Weaver	RHP	Long Beach State University (Col.)	Simi Valley, CA
13	Montreal Expos	Bill Bray	LHP	College of William & Mary (Col.)	[[]]
14	Kansas City Royals	Billy Butler	3B	Wolfson High School (HS)	Jacksonville, FL
15	Arizona Diamondbacks	Stephen Drew	SS	Florida State University (Col.)	Hahira, GA
16	Toronto Blue Jays	David Purcey	LHP	University of Oklahoma (Col.)	[[]]
17	Los Angeles Dodgers	Scott Elbert	LHP	Seneca High School (HS)	Seneca, MO
18	Chicago White Sox	Josh Fields	3B	Oklahoma State University (Col.)	[[]]
19	St. Louis Cardinals	Chris Lambert	RHP	Boston College (Col.)	[[]]
20	Minnesota Twins	Trevor Plouffe	SS	Crespi Carmelite High School (HS)	Encino, CA
21	Philadelphia Phillies	Gregory Golson	CF	Connally High School (HS)	Waco, TX
22	Minnesota Twins	Glen Perkins	LHP	University of Minnesota (Col.)	[[]]	Compensation from Seattle Mariners for Eddie Guardado
23	New York Yankees	Philip Hughes	RHP	Foothill High School (HS)	Santa Ana, CA	Compensation from Houston Astros for Andy Pettitte
24	Oakland Athletics	Landon Powell	C	University of South Carolina (Col.)	Apex, NC	Compensation from Boston Red Sox for Keith Foulke
25	Minnesota Twins	Kyle Waldrop	RHP	Farragut High School (Knoxville) (HS)	Knoxville, TN	Compensation from Chicago Cubs for LaTroy Hawkins
26	Oakland Athletics	Richard Robnett	CF	Fresno State University (Col.)	[[]]
27	Florida Marlins	Taylor Tankersley	LHP	University of Alabama (Col.)	Vicksburg, MS
28	Los Angeles Dodgers	Blake Dewitt	2B	Sikeston High School (HS)	Sikeston, MO	Compensation from New York Yankees for Paul Quantrill
29	Kansas City Royals	Matt Campbell	LHP	University of South Carolina (Col.)	[[]]	Compensation from San Francisco Giants for Michael Tucker
30	Texas Rangers	Eric Hurley	RHP	Wolfson High School (HS)	Jacksonville, FL	Compensation from Atlanta Braves for John Thomson

Supplemental First Round

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School (Type)	Hometown	Notes
31	Kansas City Royals	J.P. Howell	P	University of Texas (Col.)	Sacramento, CA	Compensation for Raul Ibanez
32	Toronto Blue Jays	Zach Jackson	P	Texas A&M University (Col.)	[[]]	Compensation for Kelvim Escobar
33	Los Angeles Dodgers	Justin Orenduff	P	Virginia Commonwealth University (Col.)	[[]]	Compensation for Paul Quantrill
34	Chicago White Sox	Tyler Lumsden	P	Clemson University (Col.)	[[]]	Compensation for Bartolo Colon
35	Minnesota Twins	Matt Fox	P	University of Central Florida (Col.)	[[]]	Compensation for Eddie Guardado
36	Oakland Athletics	Danny Putnam	OF	Stanford University (Col.)	[[]]	Compensation for Keith Foulke
37	New York Yankees	Jonathan Poterson	C	Chandler High School (HS)	Chandler, AZ	Compensation for Andy Pettitte
38	Chicago White Sox	Giovany Gonzalez	P	Monsignor Pace High School (HS)	Opa Locka, FL	Compensation for Tom Gordon
39	Minnesota Twins	Jay Rainville	P	Bishop Hendricken High School (HS)	Warwick, RI	Compensation for LaTroy Hawkins
40	Oakland Athletics	Huston Street	P	University of Texas (Col.)	Austin, TX	Compensation for Miguel Tejada
41	New York Yankees	Jeffrey Marquez	P	Sacramento City College (Col.)	[[]]	Compensation for David Wells

Other Notable Selections

Yovani Gallardo, Dustin Pedroia, Hunter Pence, Seth Smith, Jason Vargas (2nd round); Wade Davis, Ian Desmond, Adam Lind (3rd round); Chris Iannetta (4th round); Jake McGee (5th round); Ben Zobrist (6th round); Dexter Fowler (14th round); Mark Reynolds (16th round); Jerry Blevins (17th round); Mark Trumbo (18th round); Martin Maldonado (27th round); Mike Dunn (33rd round)

Other Sports Selections

Patrick White (4th round); Matt Moore (22nd round); Matt Cassel (36th round)

Draft Notes

Huston Street became the first player from the draft to play in the majors when he debuted on April 6, 2005.

Further Reading

• Richard Justice: "Why Astros chose Pence, Zobrist in same Draft: Scout convinced Houston to select two future standouts in one year", May 29, 2020. [1]