NY Mets were one of the lucky few to land an All-Star in the 2001 Draft

The 2001 MLB Draft may have been one of the weakest classes of the century. Among the 44 players drafted in the first round, only four made an All-Star team. Fortunately for the New York Mets, it was their supplemental pick and 38th overall selection that was one of them.

The Mets picked twice in the first round of this draft. At number 18, they took pitcher Aaron Heilman. Heilman was far from the worst selection from the first round. At least he made the major leagues and had some productive years.

At number 38, the Mets took one of the most popular players in franchise history, David Wright. You probably remember him.

The Mets drafted David Wright in 2001 and snagged one of the few gems

Wright was arguably one of the best players in the entire draft behind only the first overall selection, Joe Mauer.

Coincidentally, Mauer was the Wright for the Minnesota Twins. He’s likely headed to Cooperstown. Taking him first was definitely a nice decision by the Twins and a big of a no-brainer at the time.

The other two All-Stars from the first round are Mark Prior (2) and Mark Teixeira (5). Prior’s career was cut short due to injury while Teixeira enjoyed a lengthy one with several teams. He’s probably as much of a borderline Hall of Fame player as Wright is.

I know the first round isn’t the only one where stars are found. Unfortunately for all 30 teams, they didn’t find too many other gems in later rounds.

Ryan Howard, C.J. Wilson, and Kevin Youkilis are probably the best names taken after round one. There are some MLB mainstays drafted alongside them. They include guys like Edwin Jackson and Dan Uggla.

For what it’s worth, the 2000 draft did have fewer All-Stars taken in round one with just three. In my opinion, the later round results do look better.

I also happened to check in on what the 2002 MLB Draft looked like. That year, seven future All-Stars were taken in round one. This doesn’t include many really good draft picks from the later rounds. In round-two alone, Joey Votto, Jon Lester, and Brian McCann were all taken. In round three, Curtis Granderson was selected.

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Many teams probably look at the 2001 draft as a failed attempt to improve the future of their franchise. The Mets can’t have this thought. They grabbed a franchise great.