Looking Back: Reviewing Picks 21-30

We continue our series on the MLS SuperDraft with a video featuring the best 21st pick of the draft: former Toronto FC goalkeeper Milos Kocic, now with Portland Timbers. So what if it's not a highlight video for him?

Video courtesy MLSsoccer.com

#21 Pick

2007 Nate Norman (Chicago)
2008 Ely Allen (LA Galaxy)
2009 Milos Kocic (DC United)
2010 Andrew Wiedeman (Dallas)
2011 Leone Cruz (Seattle)
2012 Chris Estridge (Vancouver)

The team that drafted the player is shown in parenthesis.

Nate Norman is now women's soccer coach at Western Michigan University. Cruz and Estridge are out of the league, while Ely Allen fell out of MLS after his rookie season. Milos Kocic was the starting keeper at Toronto FC last year and was just traded to Portland Timbers. Wiedeman has played sparingly in the league, but did notch a goal in the final game of the season for Toronto.

Best Pick: Milos Kocic. While his GAA is poor (8th-worst in MLS history among keepers with at least 3000 minutes played) he has not played for the strongest defensive sides. The trade to Portland indicates that he still has value in the league.

#22 Pick

2007 Ryan Guy (Dallas)
2008 Ricardo Pierre-Louis (Columbus)
2009 Doug DeMartin (KC Wizards)
2010 Andre Akpan (Colorado)
2011 Chris Taylor (Portland)
2012 Tyler Polak (New England)

Ryan Guy--Guamanian teammate of AJ DeLaGarza--was a regular starter for New England this fall. Pierre-Louis, and DeMartin never played in MLS. Akpan has played infrequently but scored three goals in the last two months of the season for Colorado. Taylor has yet to earn a minute but has regularly played for Timbers reserves. Polak played for 30 minutes in the 2012 season opener and didn't play again.

Best Pick: Ryan Guy. Well, there's certainly a chance the last three picks may turn into something, but for now Ryan Guy has been a versatile option that the New England Revolution need.

#23 Pick

2007 Ty Harden (LA Galaxy)
2008 Yomby William (KC Wizards)
2009 Graham Zusi (KC Wizards) *currently on Sporting KC roster
2010 Ross LaBauex (Colorado)
2011 Michael Farfan (Philadelphia)
2012 Lucky Mkosana (Chicago)

Ty Harden took a year off to do humanitarian work in Africa, then came back to do charitable work for goal-scorers as a "defender" for Toronto FC. Just kidding... he sounds like an upstanding guy. Yomby William never played for KC, but had his revenge with the Richmond Kickers in 2011. Lucky Mkosana also never played in MLS, but scored a goal in Harrisburg's 3-1 defeat of New York Red Bulls. You know Zusi, but did you know one of his all-time favorite movies is Tommy Boy? Ross LaBauex fell in and out of the ever-shifting morass that is Colorado's midfield. Michael (not Gabriel) Farfan finished third in Rookie of the Year voting for 2011 but registered the worst shot efficiency in MLS last year, scoring 1 goal on 54 shots taken.

Best Pick: Graham Zusi. He's worked his way into the regular rotation at USMNT midfield, and cracked the Top 10 in the ASN 100. He is the star of this section of the draft and has made me quote Tommy Boy on multiple occassions. Michael Farfan would have have been the best pick in many instances if he been selected higher in 2011.

#24 Pick

2007 Brad North (DC United)
2008 Andrew Jacobson (DC United)
2009 Andrei Gotsmanov (New England)
2010 Zachary Herold (Toronto FC)
2011 Stephen McCarthy (New England)
2012 Diogo de Almeida (Real Salt Lake)

North, Gotsmanov, Herold, and de Almeida never played in a regular season game before being released. Andrew Jacobson was comparably as inefficient on goal as Michael Farfan, with 1 goal on 40 shots. Stephen McCarthy recovered from a late season injury in 2011 to log over 2300 minutes for the Revolution defensive midfield.

Best Pick: Stephen McCarthy.

#25 Pick

2007 Ryan Solle (New England)
2008 Jonathan Leathers (KC Wizards)
2009 Denaldin Hamzagic' (New England)
2010 Seth Sinovic (New England) *currently on SportingKC roster
2011 John Rooney (New York)
2012 Jacob Hustedt (San Jose)

Solle, Hamzagic didn't log any minutes. John Rooney played 5 games for New York and is best known for being Wayne Rooney's brother. Hustedt didn't log any minutes for the Earthquakes last year but is on the team. The two best picks spent a majority of their careers as fullbacks for Kansas City. Leathers played 34 games for Kansas City mostly on the right side before a season in Vancouver. Sinovic has played 50 games for Kansas City on the left side after a pair of seasons with New England.

Best Pick: Seth Sinovic.

#26 Pick

2007 Corey Ashe (Houston)
2008 Peter Lowry (Chicago)
2009 Lyle Adams (DC United)
2010 Kwame Watson-Siriboe (Chicago)
2011 Demitrius Omphroy (Toronto)
2012 Aubrey Perry (Columbus)

Adams, Omphroy, and Perry played in one game combined before being waived. Ashe has tallied 13 assists in almost 10,000 minutes of regular season play. Lowry was a back up for a couple of years in Chicago. Watson-Siriboe played a bit at the end of the 2010 and 2012 seasons.

Best Pick: Corey Ashe.

#27 Pick

2007 Richard Asante (Toronto FC)
2008 Joe Germanese (New England)
2009 Brian Shriver (Dallas)
2010 Mike Seamon (Seattle)
2011 Servando Carrasco (Seattle)
2012 Brendan King (Portland)

Asante, Germanese, Shriver and King played in one regular season match combined. Seamon and Carrasco are backup midfielders for Seattle, with Carrasco getting more minutes on the field.

Best Pick: Servando Carrasco.

#28 Pick

2007 Scott Jones (Dallas)
2008 Brian Edwards (Toronto FC)
2009 Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe (Colorado)
2010 Justin Morrow (San Jose)
2011 Cole Grossman (Columbus)
2012 Hunter Jumper (Chicago)

Jones and Adjeman-Pamboe never played. Edwards played a few games for Toronto before eventually finding a starting role in the Swedish Second Division. Morrow started 33 games for San Jose last season notching 4 assists. Grossman logged 500 minutes during the summer for Columbus, and the exquisitely-named Hunter Jumper came on as a substitute in five games.

Best Pick: Justin Morrow.

#29 Pick

2007 Edson Elcock (KC Wizards)
2008 Julian Valentin (LA Galaxy)
2009 Jack Traynor (New York)
2010 Drew Yates (Chicago)
2011 Bryan Meredith (Seattle)
2012 Kevan George (Columbus)

Edson Elcock is the second person on this list who was drafted by the Wizards, never played, then beat KC in the US Open Cup with the Richmond Kickers in 2011. Valentin, Traynor, and Yates played in one game combined. Meredith was the Sounders goalkeeper when Michael Gspurning was injured. Kevan George played a few games in the early summer but was a reserve player otherwise.

Best Pick: Bryan Meredith. Meredith was just waived by the Sounders, but I think he is a bit better than his record indicates. For example, he was given no favors by his defense in a 4-1 loss to Montréal last year, but with the right development he could find his way back in the starting line for another side.

#30 Pick

2007 Steven Curfman (Real Salt Lake)
2008 Mike Zaher (Toronto FC)
2009 Paul Gerstenberger (Columbus)
2010 Steven Beitashour (San Jose)
2011 Tyler Lassiter (New York)
2012 Cyprian Hedrick (Sporting KC)

Curfman, Gerstenberger, Tyler "Not The Big Dog" Lassiter, and Cyp never played. Zaher played 13 games. Steven Beitashour was a 2012 MLS All-Star and a USMNT call-up for the summer friendly against Mexico.

Best Pick: Steven Beitashour. Obviously.

Preliminary Assessment

There are around 530 players on MLS rosters at any given time now, with regular roster attrition through retirements, transfers, and waiving that should give drafted players an improved position on the depth chart. The Beckham Era also saw many expansion sides who should be more prone to give someone like a draft pick some game time. In spite of this, it was the SuperDraft players from spots 21-30 who were among the most likely to be sent on their way. Only 35% of these players picked here logged any minutes in MLS regular season play in 2012. Almost half played in one regular season game or less. None of the players with little to no starts ended up in a comparable foreign league. There is clearly a drop in production in this group of picks.

Up next: reviewing MLS SuperDraft picks 31 and beyond, and we run some numbers in our final assessment.

Think we're off the mark? Who is your best pick in this stage of the MLS SuperDraft? Offer your thoughts in the comments below.