| PLAYER | AGE | RATING | TEAM | BID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WOOD | 22 | Gr 15 | BR | 226 |
| LEE T | 24 | 1B-4 | ID | 214 |
| BELTRE | 21 | 3B-3 | HO | 140 |
| HERNANDEZ O | 29 | Gr 16 | RH | 137 |
| MILLWOOD | 24 | Gr 9 | HO | 125 |
| PAVANO | 23 | Gr 8 | LI | 111 |
| ENCARNACION | 23 | OF-2 | LI | 105 |
| ARROJO | 30 | Gr 11 | NW | 101 |
| ELARTON | 23 | Gr 15* | NW | 100 |
| IRABU | 30 | Gr 12 | SI | 99 |
| KOTSAY | 23 | OF-2 | NP | 99 |
| WOODARD | 24 | Gr 8 | WO | 89 |
| MARRERO | 25 | C-7 | FR | 87 |
| CARUSO | 22 | SS-6 | GU | 85 |
| LIGTENBERG | 28 | Gr 18* | BB | 83 |
| HIDALGO | 23 | OF-2 | LI | 79 |
| GLAUS | 22 | 3B-3 | BT | 72 |
| HINCH | 25 | C-7 | LI | 72 |
| ORDONEZ M | 25 | OF-2 | WO | 67 |
| SEXSON | 24 | 1B-3 | LI | 66 |
| RAMIREZ A | 21 | 3B-3 | BT | 65 |
| GONZALEZ A | 22 | SS-6 | LI | 61 |
| HENLEY | 26 | C-6 | RI | 60 |
| FULLMER | 24 | 1B-2 | MI | 56 |
| LEE D | 23 | 1B-3 | CH | 51 |
| SMITH B | 25 | 3B-4 | NP | 51 |
| YOSHII | 34 | Gr 8 | CH | 51 |
| ANDERSON M | 22 | Gr 13* | MR | 50 |
| REYES D | 22 | Gr 5 | HO | 48 |
| SANCHEZ J | 24 | Gr 6 | GU | 46 |
| CAIRO | 25 | 2B-7 | WO | 45 |
| VARITEK | 27 | C-7 | NW | 44 |
| ROCKER | 24 | Gr 19* | MR | 43 |
| CASEY | 24 | 1B-2 | ID | 41 |
| MANTEI | 25 | Gr 15* | EB | 41 |
| KONERKO | 23 | 3B-3 | BT | 40 |
| CABRERA | 24 | SS-7 | AI | 39 |
| YAN | 25 | Gr 11* | GU | 37 |
| CHRISTENSON | 25 | OF-2 | ID | 36 |
| HOWRY | 25 | Gr 16* | MR | 36 |
| COLLIER | 25 | SS-7 | AI | 34 |
| BERG | 28 | 3B-4 | GU | 33 |
| ORTIZ D | 23 | 1B-3 | BT | 32 |
| GARCIA K | 23 | OF-2 | GU | 31 |
| LEDEE | 25 | OF-2 | NE | 30 |
| BROWN KL | 26 | C-6 | NP | 29 |
| KLASSEN | 23 | 2B-6 | BT | 24 |
| WOODALL | 30 | Gr 5 | GU | 24 |
| VALENTIN JA | 23 | C-6 | PO | 21 |
| CLOUDE | 24 | Gr 2 | NE | 20 |
| CATALANOTTO | 25 | 2B-6 | NP | 18 |
| MACHADO | 26 | C-7 | NP | 15 |
Our rookie draft was held by live in-person auction on January 29,
1999 at our annual meeting, held at the Holiday Inn in Lancaster, PA. Absent
members participated by mail bidding.
As in 1998, a pitcher with a strong rookie performance behind him took the high bid. The sometimes spectacular Kerry Wood went to the Bradenton Buckeyes, a team in desperate need of pitching for $226,000 (just $9,000 below last year's high bid). Although manager Bob Wood (no relation) was unable to bid in person, his draft list made it clear that Kerry was the one man he wanted, to the exclusion of obtaining any other rookie in the auction.
The highest bid on a position player taken went to Travis Lee, now of the Idlewild Dukes. In a league which seemingly has one or more power-hitting firstbasemen on every team, Lee was promising enough to draw a bid of $214,000.
Expansion manager Walt MacEachern made his second rookie draft a memorable one. Barely able to sit erect due to illness, he still somehow managed to reel in the maximum allowable six rookies, led by young shortstop Mike Caruso. Caruso at age 22 is in the perfect position to grow with the team.
Those rookies not listed on this page were drafted the next day in our Free Agent Draft, in reverse order of finish.
Rookies are defined in TCBA as players receiving 80 plate appearances, 25 games pitched, or 10 games started as a pitcher for the first time in their major league career. The successful team and high bid for each player is shown, in thousands of dollars as detailed in the TCBA Constitution (Rules 430-460). As a point of reference, a team's average annual allocation of TCBA money is about $120,000. Pitching grades shown are those used in the TCBA pursuant to our own grading formula.
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