Tampa Bay Rays' five best, worst draft picks

Rays' five best draft picks

1. OF Carl Crawford, 1999 second round: Took him 52nd overall knowing they could sign and develop him.

2. 3B Evan Longoria, 2006 third overall: Just because two other teams — somehow — passed on him.

3. RHP James Shields, 2000 16th round: Big Game James was a big-time talent the Rays found.

4. INF Aubrey Huff, left, 1998 fifth round: Maybe he underachieved, but he has still done quite a bit.

5. C Toby Hall, 1997 ninth round: His 586 games are third most in team history, and he was behind the plate.

Rays' five worst draft picks

1. RHP Dewon Brazelton, right, 2001 third overall: Looks so much worse given that Mark Teixeira was still on the board.

2. RHP Wade Townsend, 2005 eighth overall: In a draft stocked with future big-leaguers, Rays managed to miss badly.

3. OF Paul Wilder, 1996 29th overall: With all the hype on their first-ever pick, Rays took a big swing and a miss.

4. LHP Andrew Miller, 2003 third round: The problem was not being able to sign him; he went in the first round in '06.

5. OF Elijah Dukes, 2002 third round: He wasn't worth the trouble, not that that was a surprise.