Not Living Up to the Hype

The 2006 draft featured several players who have accumulated their fair share of accolades. Tim Lincecum drafted 10th overall won back to back Cy Young Awards in 2008 and 2009 along with World Series victories in 2010 and 2012. Clayton Kershaw was selected 7th overall and has Cy Young awards for the 2011 and 2013 season. Max Scherzer was selected 11th overall and won the 2013 Cy Young Award. Finally third baseman Evan Longoria was drafted 3rd overall and has appeared in 3 All Star Games, won the 2008 Rookie of the Year Award and 2 Gold Glove Awards. These players are definitely living up to their hype, but who was drafted first overall in the 2006 draft?

Luke Hochevar

Luke Hochevar was drafted first overall in the 2006 draft and signed with the Kansas City Royals for 4 years $5.3 Million. From 2008-2012 Hochevar pitched 758 innings to a 5.45 ERA. In 128 games pitched Hochevar started 127 games. His ERA never dropped below 4.68 and his WHIP over that time period was 1.407. Hochevar was nothing short of a disappointment for the Royals from 2008-2012, but the tides did shift in 2013.

Hochevar was moved to the bullpen in 2013 and found much success for the Kansas City Royals. We saw Tim Lincecum find a lot of success out of the bullpen for the San Francisco Giants in the 2012 playoffs. Hochevar pitched 70 innings in 2013 all out of the bullpen totaling 58 total appearances.  Hochevar's ERA dropped dramatically to the lowest it has ever been; 1.92. Hochevar did total 82 strikeouts over season also reaching 10.5 K/9 the highest of his career. His H/9 and BB/9 also dropped to his career best.

The chance for Hochevar to be as successful as the other players drafted in the 2006 draft has past, but he is definitely rising to the occasion as he begins to work out of the bullpen for the Royals. Along with several other critical arms in the Royals rotation and bullpen, Luke Hochaver may finally live up to some of his hype.