1992 Major League Baseball draft

The 1993 expansion Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins participated in the MLB Draft for the first time in 1992.[2]

With the first overall selections of the previous two drafts, Chipper Jones and Brien Taylor, receiving signing bonuses of $1.2 million ($2,348,344 in current dollar terms) and $1.55 million ($2,909,516 in current dollar terms) respectively, salary demands of new players became a factor in the 1992 draft.[1] Prior to the draft, Jeffrey Hammonds of the Stanford Cardinal baseball team sought a signing bonus of $1.8 million ($3,279,440 in current dollar terms).[3] Derek Jeter, a high school player who had a commitment to play college baseball at the University of Michigan, was believed to be seeking a bonus of at least $1 million ($1,821,911 in current dollar terms) to forego college.[1]

Five teams passed on Derek Jeter during the 1992 MLB Draft.[1]

The Astros, holding the first overall selection, were keenly aware of the bonus demands of Hammonds and Jeter, as they were unable to sign their first-round pick in the 1991 MLB draft, John Burke, who held out for a bonus of $500,000 ($938,554 in current dollar terms) as the sixth overall selection.[4] They selected Phil Nevin, the 1992 College World Series Most Outstanding Player, with the first overall selection. In addition to perceiving Nevin as close to MLB-ready, needing little development in minor league baseball, Nevin also did not seek a large signing bonus. He agreed to sign with the Astros for $700,000 ($1,275,338 in current dollar terms).[4][5] Astros' scout Hal Newhouser quit in protest, as he had insisted to Astros' management that they should choose Jeter.[6]

The teams with the first four selections, the Astros, Cleveland Indians, Montreal Expos, and Baltimore Orioles, had the four lowest payrolls in MLB.[2] The Cleveland Indians selected Paul Shuey out of the University of North Carolina with the second selection, who they projected could develop into a closer comparable to Rob Dibble. The Expos, who preferred Hammonds, drafted B. J. Wallace instead, as they were unable to afford Hammonds' salary demands.[2] The Orioles selected Hammonds with the fourth overall selection; he signed with the Orioles for $975,000 ($1,776,364 in current dollar terms), the largest signing bonus given out in the 1992 Draft.[1] With the fifth pick, the Reds chose Chad Mottola from the University of Central Florida (UCF), making Mottola the first UCF athlete to be chosen in the first round of a professional sports draft.[7] He signed with the Reds the day of the draft for $400,000 ($728,765 in current dollar terms).[1]

Yankees scout Dick Groch, assigned to scout in the Midwest, watched Jeter participate in an all-star camp held at Western Michigan University, and came away sold by Jeter's talent.[8] Though the Yankees were also concerned that Jeter might attend college, Grouch convinced the team to select Jeter. Regarding the possibility Jeter would attend Michigan, Groch said "the only place Derek Jeter's going is to Cooperstown", referring to the home city of the Baseball Hall of Fame.[9] Jeter signed with the Yankees for $800,000 ($1,457,529 in current dollar terms).[10]

Scott Boras advised Charles Johnson and Michael Tucker. Those players fell in the first round as their perceived salary demands were too high for many teams.[2]

Key

All-Star

= Baseball Hall of Famer

Pick	Player	Team	Position	School
1	Phil Nevin	Houston Astros	Third baseman	Cal State Fullerton
2	Paul Shuey	Cleveland Indians	Pitcher	University of North Carolina
3	B. J. Wallace	Montreal Expos	Pitcher	Mississippi State University
4	Jeffrey Hammonds	Baltimore Orioles	Outfielder	Stanford University
5	Chad Mottola	Cincinnati Reds	Outfielder	University of Central Florida
6	Derek Jeter	New York Yankees	Shortstop	Kalamazoo Central High School
7	Calvin Murray	San Francisco Giants	Outfielder	University of Texas
8	Pete Janicki	California Angels	Pitcher	UCLA
9	Preston Wilson	New York Mets	Shortstop	Bamberg Erhardt High School
10	Michael Tucker	Kansas City Royals	Shortstop	Longwood University
11	Derek Wallace	Chicago Cubs	Pitcher	Pepperdine University
12	Kenny Felder	Milwaukee Brewers	Outfielder	Florida State University
13	Chad McConnell	Philadelphia Phillies	Outfielder	Creighton University
14	Ron Villone	Seattle Mariners	Pitcher	University of Massachusetts
15	Sean Lowe	St. Louis Cardinals	Pitcher	Arizona State University
16	Rick Greene	Detroit Tigers	Pitcher	Louisiana State University
17	Jim Pittsley	Kansas City Royals[Compensation 1]	Pitcher	Dubois Area High School
18	Chris Roberts	New York Mets[Compensation 2]	Pitcher	Florida State University
19	Shannon Stewart	Toronto Blue Jays[Compensation 3]	Outfielder	Miami Southridge Senior High School
20	Benji Grigsby	Oakland Athletics	Pitcher	San Diego State University
21	Jamie Arnold	Atlanta Braves	Pitcher	Osceola High School
22	Rick Helling	Texas Rangers	Pitcher	Stanford University
23	Jason Kendall	Pittsburgh Pirates	Catcher	Torrance High School
24	Eddie Pearson	Chicago White Sox	First baseman	Bishop State Junior College
25	Todd Steverson	Toronto Blue Jays	Outfielder	Arizona State University
26	Dan Serafini	Minnesota Twins	Pitcher	Serra High School
27	John Burke	Colorado Rockies	Pitcher	University of Florida
28	Charles Johnson	Florida Marlins	Catcher	University of Miami
29	Jeff Schmidt	California Angels[Compensation 4]	Pitcher	University of Minnesota
30	Jon Ward	New York Mets[Compensation 5]	Pitcher	Huntington Beach High School
31	Sherard Clinkscales	Kansas City Royals[Compensation 6]	Pitcher	Purdue University
32	John Conner	Cincinnati Reds[Compensation 7]	Catcher	Arlington Martin High School
33	Shon Walker	Pittsburgh Pirates[Compensation 8]	Outfielder	Harrison County High School
34	Brandon Cromer	Toronto Blue Jays[Compensation 9]	Shortstop	Lexington High School
35	Johnny Damon	Kansas City Royals[Compensation 10]	Outfielder	Dr. Phillips High School
36	Michael Moore	Los Angeles Dodgers[Compensation 11]	Outfielder	UCLA
37	Kendall Rhine	Houston Astros[Compensation 12]	Pitcher	University of Georgia
38	Gabby Martinez	Milwaukee Brewers[Compensation 13]	Shortstop	Luchetti High School

Sources: [11][12]

• List of first overall Major League Baseball draft picks

• Complete draft list from The Baseball Cube database