Ricky Romero Extended: A Look At The 2005 Draft

Toronto lefty Ricky Romero signed a 5-year, $30.1 million extension with the Blue Jays today. The 25-year-old pitcher broke into the bigs last season with the Jays with mixed reviews. He's sporting a 3.53 ERA which seems sustainable considering his 3.60 xFIP and .301 BABIP. Is a 25-year-old left handed pitcher with a 3.50 ERA worth a $30 million extension? It seems like a good deal to me from the Blue Jays side. The draft pick at the time was criticized since the Jays passed up Troy Tulowitzki in order to draft Romero. Let's hop in the way back machine and take a look at some of the other first round picks from 2005...

1. Justin Upton
Upton broke out in 2009 hitting 26 homers with a .300/.366/.532 line mixing in 20 stolen bases. He's having a disappointing season thus far to the tune of .272/.359/.449 but he is still just 22-years-old and has many more All Star appearances in his future.

2. Alex Gordon
The cornerstone of the Royals franchise has been anything but that in his young professional career. Gordon has managed 42 career homers and a .248/.328/.414 with the Royals while bouncing up and down between the minors. Plus he's already been moved to the outfield from third base. I still believe he can be a solid regular but not what the Royals thought they were getting with the second overall pick.

3. Jeff Clement
Bust.

4. Ryan Zimmerman
Zimmerman ended up being everything the Nationals expected. Zimmerman got a cup of coffee the year he was drafted and never looked back. The 25-year-old had his offensive breakout last season slugging 33 homers on his way to a .292/.364/.525 line. He's been even better this year hitting 22 homers with a .301/.390.540 line. Did I mention he might be the best fielding third baseman in baseball too?

5. Ryan Braun
Braun is the offensive juggernaut that everyone thought he'd be but he's godawful at defense. He was drafted as a third baseman but after posting a -27.7 UZR in 2007 he was quickly moved to left field. Last year he posted a -13.4 UZR there and is aiming to top that this year already sitting at a -10.7 UZR.

6. Ricky Romero

7. Troy Tulowitzki
If Tulo could stay healthy for a full season, he would rival Chase Utley as the player I feel gets no MVP love. In 2009, Tulo played a full season and hit 32 homers with a .297/.377/.552 line while playing a respectable short stop. The injury bug got him again this year but when active he's hitting .321/.382/.512.

They also got drafted...

9. Mike Pelfrey
Pelfrey is putting together a nice season for the Mets this year with a 3.94 FIP and might end up being a front of the rotation starter.

11. Andrew McCutchen
I was shocked to see that McCutchen's outfield UZR is -8.4 this year. The 23-year-old still figures to be one of the few exciting things Pirates fan have to look forward to in the immediate future.

12. Jay Bruce
While Bruce is still just 23-years-old, his major league career hasn't lived up to the hype surrounding him. But I'm pretty jaded considering I draft him every year for fantasy baseball.

23. Jacoby Ellsbury
The speedy Red Sox outfielder hit the disabled list for the third time this season. Boston has been snakebitten all year.

25. Matt Garza
Garza has been the Rays second best starter since the Twins gave him up for the underwhelming Delmon Young.

28. Colby Rasmus
Rasmus is on his way to being one of the key players for the Cardinals and picked up the rare reverse Golden Sombrero yesterday going 0-0 with 4 walks.