Revisionist History: Bowden was terrible at drafting players

[Blitz Dorsey]

It's easy to say it now, and I used to defend the man, but it's pretty clear Jim Bowden struggled at best during his time with the Reds when it came to the MLB draft. 1998 looked great for a while with Kearns and Dunn, but that was Bowden's best draft by far and even that one isn't great when you look back on it now.

I wonder if Bowden just had bad luck (injuries to Howington and Gruler, etc.) or if he was truly the most incompetent GM in the history of baseball when it came to the draft. Maybe it's a combination, but I tend to think it's the latter. Dan O'Brien (who was a disaster overall) was here for just two years and he's ALREADY produced much better prospects than Bowden did during his full decade with the team.

Not only did Bowden miss on most of his first-round picks, he didn't find many hidden gems in the later rounds.

(Not to mention those skanks he used to bring to Dodger games.)

[M2]

During JimBo's time as Reds GM, the team picked the following guys who've had some semblance of a major leaguer career:

Scott Sullivan
Paul Bako
C.J. Nitkowski
Aaron Boone
John Riedling
Brett Tomko
Jason LaRue
Ray King
Scott Williamson (rookie of the year)
Austin Kearns
Adam Dunn
B.J. Ryan
Todd Coffey
Ben Broussard

Drafted, but not signed were:

Chad Allen
Kevin Gryboski
Rob Mackowiak
Terrmel Sledge
Jeremy Sowers

Guys drafted on Bowden's watch who might yet have major league careers:

Joey Votto
Chris Denorfia
Calvin Medlock
Jose Guevara
Chris Dickerson

His real dog drafts were 1996 and 2001. Hopefully Votto can salvage the 2002 effort. The 1997, 2000 and 2003 drafts didn't pan out well in the final analysis, but they did supply the franchise with some hot properties for a time (though the franchise never got much return on those hot properties).

The real big problem is the franchise to date has gotten nothing from his final four drafts. You can make the case that he did all right fom 1993-99 (all the guys on the major league list above come from those drafts).

[NYMoose]

I think Bowden drafted Nick Markakis in 2001 also, but he did not sign

[M2]

I think Bowden drafted Nick Markakis in 2001 also, but he did not sign

Yep, forgot to include him.

[HokieRed]

Rich Gardner would still be in the potential major league careers category, I hope.

[NJReds]

IIRC, Marge Schott significantly downsized the scouting department. That doesn't give the GM much of a chance when it comes to the draft.