Top 10 Late Round Surprises in the Amateur Baseball Draft

With Major League Baseball having concluded its annual Amateur Baseball Draft, here's a rundown of the 10 best picks from the 40th round or later who turned out to be good position players in the major leagues.

Here's some draft trivia for you. Travis Phelps is currently the player selected in the lowest round to have made the major leagues. He was picked in the 89th round of the 1997 draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Since the draft has recently been limited to 50 rounds, the likelihood of somebody beating him is remote. The 1996 draft was the longest ever, lasting 100 rounds. The last player picked in that draft - the all-time Mr. Insignificant - was Aron Amundson from Eastern Oklahoma State Community College. He was selected by the New York Yankees.

10. Julio Lugo
Lugo has served as the Red Sox primary shortstop in 2007. He has struggled quite a bit this year as he closes in on 1,000 career hits. The native of the Dominican Republic was the 43rd round pick of the Houston Astros in 1994.

9. Brad Ausmus
Catcher Brad Ausmus has been a mainstay behind the plate for the Houston Astros for the past several season. He played in one All-Star game and won three Gold Gloves for fielding excellence. He has nearly 1,500 hits and almost 100 career stolen bases - pretty good for a catcher. The New York Yankees drafted him in 1987 in the 48th round.

8. Chad Curtis
Perhaps best known for snubbing Jim Gray's request for a post-game interview during the 1999 World Series, Curtis was selected by the California Angels in the 45th round of the 1989 draft. He was a legitimate stolen base threat, topping 40 steals twice in his career and totaling over 200 overall. He also hit over 100 homers in his career.

7. Al Cowens
Not to be confused with O.J.'s buddy Al Cowlings, this AC was an outfielder on some division winning Kansas City Royals teams in the 1970s. The Royals drafted him in the 75th round of the 1969 draft. In 1977 Cowens won a Gold Glove and finished second in Most Valuable Player voting in the American League to Rod Carew. He never had a season as good as 1977 again in his career, but he finished his career with nearly 1,500 hits.