2002 Major League Baseball draft
The 2002 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 4 and 5.
It is featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book .
First round selections
| Pick | Player | Team | Position | School |
| 1 | Bryan Bullington | Pittsburgh Pirates | RHP | Ball State University |
| 2 | B. J. Upton | Tampa Bay Devil Rays | CF | Greenbrier Christian Academy |
| 3 | Chris Gruler | Cincinnati Reds | RHP | Liberty Union High School |
| 4 | Adam Loewen | Baltimore Orioles | LHP | Fraser Valley Christian High School |
| 5 | Clint Everts | Montreal Expos | RHP | Cypress Falls High School |
| 6 | Zack Greinke | Kansas City Royals | RHP | Apopka High School |
| 7 | Prince Fielder | Milwaukee Brewers | 1B | Eau Gallie High School |
| 8 | Scott Moore | Detroit Tigers | SS | Cypress High School |
| 9 | Jeff Francis | Colorado Rockies | LHP | University of British Columbia |
| 10 | Drew Meyer | Texas Rangers | SS/2B | University of South Carolina |
| 11 | Jeremy Hermida | Florida Marlins | OF | Joseph Wheeler High School |
| 12 | Joe Saunders | Anaheim Angels | LHP | Virginia Tech |
| 13 | Khalil Greene | San Diego Padres | SS | Clemson University |
| 14 | Russ Adams | Toronto Blue Jays | SS | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| 15 | Scott Kazmir | New York Mets | LHP | Cypress Falls High School |
| 16 | Nick Swisher | Oakland Athletics | 1B | Ohio State University |
| 17 | Cole Hamels | Philadelphia Phillies | LHP | Rancho Bernardo High School |
| 18 | Royce Ring | Chicago White Sox | LHP | San Diego State University |
| 19 | James Loney | Los Angeles Dodgers | 1B | Lawrence E. Elkins High School |
| 20 | Denard Span | Minnesota Twins | OF | Tampa Catholic High School |
| 21 | Bobby Brownlie | Chicago Cubs | RHP | Rutgers University–New Brunswick |
| 22 | Jeremy Guthrie | Cleveland Indians | RHP | Stanford University |
| 23 | Jeff Francoeur | Atlanta Braves | OF | Parkview High School |
| 24 | Joe Blanton | Oakland Athletics | RHP | University of Kentucky |
| 25 | Matt Cain | San Francisco Giants | RHP | Houston High School |
| 26 | John McCurdy | Oakland Athletics | SS | University of Maryland, College Park |
| 27 | Sergio Santos | Arizona Diamondbacks | SS | Mater Dei High School |
| 28 | John Mayberry Jr.* | Seattle Mariners | 1B | Rockhurst High School |
| 29 | Derick Grigsby | Houston Astros | RHP | Northeast Texas Community College |
| 30 | Ben Fritz | Oakland Athletics | RHP | California State University, Fresno |
Supplemental First Round Compensation Selections
- *Did Not Sign With Team
Compensation Picks
Background
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected 21-year-old right-handed pitcher Bryan Bullington with the first overall pick in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft. The 6'5", 225-pound hurler was ranked by Baseball America as having the best breaking ball and best command among all college pitchers.In his three-year career at Ball State, Bullington posted a 29–11 record, 13 complete games and a 3.36 ERA in 46 games. He is the university's all-time leader in strikeouts and was a member of the 2001 USA National team. As a freshman, Bullington garnered all-conference honors and led the MAC in strikeouts. He was also named MAC Pitcher-of-the-Year for 2001 and 2002. Bullington set a MAC record in strikeouts and led the league in victories and ERA in 2002.
Other notable selections in the first round included Prince Fielder, son of former Major Leaguer Cecil Fielder; and John Mayberry Jr., son of former Major Leaguer John Mayberry.
This draft was discussed at length in the Michael Lewis book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, which analyzed Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane's approach to player scouting and development.
Other notable players
- Joey Votto, 2nd round, 44th overall by the Cincinnati Reds
- Micah Owings, 2nd round, 50th overall by the Colorado Rockies
- Jon Lester, 2nd round, 57th overall by the Boston Red Sox
- Jonathan Broxton, 2nd round, 60th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers
- Jesse Crain, 2nd round, 61st overall by the Minnesota Twins
- Brian McCann, 2nd round, 64th overall by the Atlanta Braves
- Fred Lewis, 2nd round, 66th overall by the San Francisco Giants
- Chris Snyder, 2nd round, 68th overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks
- Curtis Granderson, 3rd round, 80th overall by the Detroit Tigers
- Jeff Baker, 4th round, 111th overall by the Colorado Rockies
- Rich Hill, 4th round, 112th overall by the Chicago Cubs
- Josh Johnson, 4th round, 113th overall by the Florida Marlins
- Kevin Correia, 4th round, 127th overall by the San Francisco Giants
- Nick Hundley, 5th round, 143rd overall by the Florida Marlins, but did not sign
- Ben Francisco, 5th round, 154th overall by the Cleveland Indians
- John Maine, 6th round, 166th overall by the Baltimore Orioles
- Scott Olsen, 6th round, 173rd overall by the Florida Marlins
- Chris Getz, 6th round, 180th overall by the Chicago White Sox
- Pat Neshek, 6th round, 182nd overall by the Minnesota Twins
- Matt Capps, 7th round, 193rd overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates
- Tom Wilhelmsen, 7th round, 199th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers
- Ryan Spilborghs, 7th round, 201st overall by the Colorado Rockies
- Brandon Moss, 8th round, 238th overall by the Boston Red Sox
- Adam Lind, 8th round, 242nd overall by the Minnesota Twins, but did not sign
- Clay Hensley, 8th round, 247th overall by the San Francisco Giants
- Jared Burton, 8th round, 248th overall by the Oakland Athletics
- Adam Greenberg, 9th round, 273rd overall by the Chicago Cubs
- Jason Hammel, 10th round, 284th overall by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
- Howie Kendrick, 10th round, 294th overall by the Anaheim Angels
- Matt Lindstrom, 10th round, 297th overall by the New York Mets
- Joel Zumaya, 11th round, 320th overall by the Detroit Tigers
- James McDonald, 11th round, 331st overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers
- Micah Hoffpauir, 13th round, 393rd overall by the Chicago Cubs
- Mike Pelfrey, 15th round, 434th overall by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but did not sign
- Gaby Sánchez, 15th round, 460th overall by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but did not sign
- Brandon McCarthy, 17th round, 510th overall by the Chicago White Sox
- Russell Martin, 17th round, 511th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers
- Chris Young, 18th round, 531st overall by the Colorado Rockies
- Chris Denorfia, 19th round, 555th overall by the Cincinnati Reds
- Kameron Loe, 20th round, 592nd overall by the Texas Rangers
- George Kottaras, 20th round, 595th overall by the San Diego Padres
- Boone Logan, 20th round, 600th overall by the Chicago White Sox
- Andy LaRoche, 21st round, 625th overall by the San Diego Padres, but did not sign
- Travis Ishikawa, 21st round, 637th overall by the San Francisco Giants
- Jacoby Ellsbury, 23rd round, 674th overall by the Tampa Bay Rays, but did not sign
- Kyle McClellan, 25th round, 762nd overall by the St. Louis Cardinals
- Craig Breslow, 26th round, 769th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers
- Phil Coke, 26th round, 786th overall by the New York Yankees
- Brad Ziegler, 31st round, 938th overall by the Oakland Athletics, but did not sign
- Nyjer Morgan, 33rd round, 973rd overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates
- Tony Sipp, 33rd round, 990th overall by the Chicago White Sox, but did not sign
- Ricky Romero, 37th round, 1108th overall by the Boston Red Sox, but did not sign
- Randy Wells, 38th round, 1143rd overall by the Chicago Cubs
- Luke Hochevar, 39th round, 1171st overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but did not sign
- Bryan LaHair, 39th round, 1180th overall by the Seattle Mariners
- Hunter Pence, 40th round, 1189th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers, but did not sign
- Matt Garza, 40th round, 1191st overall by the Colorado Rockies, but did not sign
- Jonathan Papelbon, 40th round, 1208th overall by the Oakland Athletics, but did not sign
- Scott Feldman, 41st round, 1241st overall by the Houston Astros, but did not sign
- Brian Bannister, 45th round, 1342nd overall by the Boston Red Sox, but did not sign
NFL players drafted
- Brandon Weeden, 2nd round, 71st overall by the New York Yankees
- Brandon Jones, 42nd round, 1,270 overall by the Seattle Mariners, but did not sign
- John Stocco, 45th round, 1,346th overall by the Minnesota Twins, but did not sign