The Class of 2008

It's the offseason, which means all my statistical stuff comes back out in full force. To start it all off, let's have a look back at the Wizards 2008 draft. In the two drafts, the Wizards had a total of 10 picks, including two in the first round of the Superdraft.

1(1) - Chance Myers - Myers, a Generation Adidas player, appeared in only 10 league games in his rookie campaign, totaling 681 minutes played. His time this season was cut short due to injuries and illness. Myers also added in 209 minutes in all 3 games of the Wizards US Open Cup run. He also appeared in 6 reserve league matches.

1(11) - Roger Espinoza - Espinoza was another Generation Adidas selection. Of all the players the Wizards drafted, Espinoza appeared in the most games for the Wizards, 22 MLS, 26 in all competitions. He tied Jonathan Leathers for the most league starts with 12. He raked up 1169 minutes, 1 goal and 3 assists in league play. He added two more assists while playing in 6 reserve league games this season.

2(23) - Yomby William - William only appeared in 3 reserve league games (starting 1) for a total of 195 minutes before being waived to make room for Kevin Souter. William seems to have found success elsewhere, though, as he's playing for the Puerto Rico Islanders of USL-1.

2(25) - Jonathan Leathers - Leathers held onto the starting right back spot for most of the season, tying Espinoza for the most league starts. Including the US Open Cup and playoffs, Leathers started 17 matches (2 more than Espinoza). He lead all the Wizards rookies in not just MLS minutes but competitive minutes too (1193 league, 1696 overall). He was the only rookie to appear in the league, playoffs, US Open Cup, and the Open Cup qualifier this season.

3(39) - Matt Marquess - Marquess spent most of his time this past season with the reserves, playing in 9 of the games, scoring 1 goal and getting 1 assist. He did, though, get some time with the first team when Michael Harrington had his run in the midfield. He played in 5 league games, starting 4 and picked up 1 assist. He also played every minute of the two US Open Cup games and made a token appearance in the playoffs.

4(53) - Rauwshan McKenzie - McKenzie was the only rookie to feature in all 11 of the Wizards reserves games this past season. He started all 11 of those games. He also made 1 appearance with the first team, as he started the Wizards' game against Seattle in the US Open Cup, although he was pulled at halftime for Jimmy Conrad.

Sup 1(11) - Pat Healey - Healey was invited to preseason training, but was waived before the trip to Argentina. Healey, though, caught on with Crystal Palace Baltimore of USL-2.

Sup 2(25) - Vicente Arze - Arze never came to camp with the Wizards, before the draft even took place, Arze had signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps of USL-1. While there he mainly came off the bench, but recently had the option on his contract picked up.

Sup 3(39) - Tom Gray - Like Healey, Gray came to preseason training, but was waived before the trip to Argentina. Haven't been able to find any information on where he went due to how common his name is.

Sup 4(53) - Andrew Kartunen - Didn't immediately show up with the Wizards as he finished school with Stanford. When he did show up, he was signed as a league keeper and trained with the team. Kartunen, though, missed a lot of time training in goal due to injury.

Overall, the Wizards didn't have a bad draft, in what was considered a weak class. Leathers and Espinoza look like the could be solid contributors for years to come. Marquess looks like he could eventually be a decent player too. Due to the injuries and mono, it's a little too early to judge Myers being the number 1 pick. From the little I've seen he could certainly be a solid player.