Ken Griffey Jr. – Drafted by the Mariners June 2, 1987

Ken Griffey Jr. was drafted first overall by the Seattle Mariners on June 2, 1987, meaning he was just 17 and a half when he began his professional baseball career. Not every number one draft pick is a lock for the big leagues, but even at 17, Griffey was as close to a lock as you could get. He’d hit .478 during his high school career, meaning outmatched pitchers had about a 50/50 chance of getting burned every time Griffey stepped to the plate. 

He was named the U.S. High School Player of the Year in 1987. Still 17 for his entire first professional season, Griffey hit .313 with 14 home runs for the Bellingham Mariners in 54 games of A ball – showing that even as a kid, he was already too good for the pros he was playing against. 

Again in 1988, he tore up pitchers, batting a combined .325 with 13 HRs in just 280 at-bats in A and AA. So by the time Griffey made his Major League debut in 1989, his baseball cards were the hottest thing in town. 

For us, 1989 Upper Deck was out of our family’s price range. So we had to be satisfied with the box of 1989 Donruss our dad got us. We were pretty thrilled when we pulled Griffey in one of the first packs we opened, the only Griffey we’d pull that year, and we still have the card in our PC to this day. 

Oh, and what of the second pick in that fabled 1987 draft? Since it was an odd-numbered year, the worst team in the American League (Seattle) got the first pick. The worst team in the National League, the woeful Pittsburgh Pirates, went with another can’t-miss high school outfielder named Mark Merchant, who they would trade to the Mariners 2 years later. 

Alas, Merchant never played a single game in the Majors despite 12 seasons in pro ball. That’s just how baseball goes sometimes.