The one guy I know who follows the history of the draft more than anyone is Allan Simpson. He just did a short article about the 1998 draft on pgcrosschecker.
Some interesting things from that article...
Sabathia, a first-round pick of the Cleveland Indians, and Teixeira, an unsigned ninth-round selection of the Boston Red Sox, were two of 1,445 players that were drafted that year. Of that total, 188—or 13.0 percent—have played Major League Baseball. Some like Sabathia, Teixeira, Matt Holliday (Rockies, seventh round) and Brad Lidge (Astros, first round) have excelled; many others have not.
Of the 188 future big leaguers that were products of that draft, 139 were among 833 players who signed at the time they drafted. That represents a success rate of 16.7 percent. Of the 611 players who did not sign, 49—or 8.0 percent—were subsequently re-drafted and still reached the big leagues. One selection was voided.
The since-abandoned draft-and-follow rule was a key draft strategy 10 years ago, and 48 such players were signed prior to the next year’s draft. Of the 48, eight (or 16.7 percent) became future big leaguers, including Chicago White Sox lefthander Mark Buehrle, a lowly 38th-rounder. Catcher Gerald Laird, a second-round pick of the Oakland A’s, signed for $1 million and in the process became the first draft-and-follow selection ever to sign a seven-figure deal.
Interestingly, the 16.7 percent success rate of 1998 draft picks signing at the time they were selected was identical to the rate of players signing as draft-and-follows.
By the time the dust had settled on the 1998 draft, the six largest package deals ever given to draft picks signing with the teams that drafted them had been doled out. No. 2 overall pick Mark Mulder received a $3.2 million bonus from the Oakland A’s; No. 3 pick Corey Patterson was given a $3.7 million bonus from the Chicago Cubs; and No. 5 pick J.D. Drew received a guaranteed $7 million deal from the St. Louis Cardinals that included a $3 million bonus.
The Cardinals also agreed to a $3.4 million deal with Chad Hutchinson in the second round that included a $2.3 million bonus, and the New York Yankees forked over $3.9 million in guarantees, including a $2 million bonus, to third-rounder Drew Henson. Both those deals were made to steer the players away from potentially promising football careers as quarterbacks, but they ended up playing in the NFL anyway.
Though the baseball (and football) careers of both Hutchinson and Henson fizzled, Burrell, Mulder, Patterson and Drew all played in the big leagues in 2008. In all, 22 of the 30 first-rounders (or 73.3 percent) in 1998 reached the big leagues, and 14 were still active this season.
The 1998 draft played a prominent role for the Phillies as they won this year’s World Series. Not only was Burrell, who has since departed as a free agent, a prominent member of the team, but so were Lidge, the team’s ace closer who was acquired from Houston prior to the 2008 season, and valuable set-up man Ryan Madson, a ninth-round pick of the Phils in 1998.
On the flip side, the Pittsburgh Pirates endured their 16th straight losing season in 2008 and the 1998 draft was indicative of their continued lack of success. None of the first 14 players the Pirates drafted that year ever played in the big leagues, and the first player that did was someone they didn’t even sign.
With Burrell and numerous other prominent 1998 draft picks either involved in trades or declaring their free agency this year, only four players from the ’98 draft remain with their original teams—Buehrle, Madson, Detroit’s Brandon Inge and Milwaukee’s Bill Hall.
The list of players who did not sign that year is noteworthy, as well, as it includes Teixeira, American League Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee (Orioles, 20th rounder) and former AL Cy Young winner Barry Zito (Rangers, 3rd round). Teixeira lasted until the ninth round of the 1989 draft, but almost certainly would have gone in the top half of the first round had he been more agreeable to signing rather than honoring his commitment to Georgia Tech.
Righthander Mark Prior, a supplemental first-round pick of the Yankees, also went unsigned in 1998. He elected to attend Vanderbilt as a freshman, before later transferring to Southern California. Though he eventually reached the big leagues, only three of the 10 highest unsigned picks that year ever did emerge as big leaguers. Righthander Ben Diggins, a supplemental first-round selection of the Cardinals who opted for the University of Arizona, and Zito, who chose to pitch at USC, were the others.
While the ’98 draft has produced its share of big-league talent, it’s apparent that a number of teams would like a do-over as eight of 30 first-rounders never reached the big leagues and several low-round selections became stars.
For the whole article
http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/Here is how the first 10 picks of the 1998 draft went...
1 - Pat Burrell 1b U of Miami
2 - Mark Mulder LHP Michigan State
3 - Corey Patterson OF HS GA
4 - Jeff Austin RHP Stanford
5 - JD Drew OF St Paul/ Northern League
6 - Ryan Mills LHP Arizona State
7 - Austin Kearns OF HS KY
8 - Felipe Lopez SS HS FL
9 - Sean Burroughs 3B HS CA
10 - Carlos Pena 1b Northeastern
Among others available that year were...
CC Sabathia
Mark Teixeira
Matt Holliday
Barry Zito
Mark Buehrle
Cliff Lee (Cy Young this year)
This was 10 years ago so it has pretty well played itself out regarding draft results. Just goes to show what an inexact science scouting and the draft are.