USA – It must be the bloodlines.

The 2008 First-Year Player Draft featured a variety of prospects with familiar last names. From sons to brothers, nephews and cousins, all parts of the baseball (and football) family tree were selected in the never-ending quest to uncover the next major league superstar.

BaseballdeWorld takes a look at the 2008 new recruits and their baseball relatives:

Austin Yount (Robin Yount)
A 12th round selection by the Dodgers, the Stanford third baseman is the nephew of the former Brewers great. Robin was a two-time AL MVP and a 1999 Hall of Fame inductee who finished his career with 3,142 hits.

Jeremy Barfield (Jesse & Josh Barfield)
An eighth round slection by Oakland, the San Jacinto College outfielder is the son of Jesse, who led the AL with 40 dingers in 1986. He was also a two-time Gold Glove winner who slugged 241 carrer home runs. Josh, his brother, batted .280 with 13 homers in 2006 with San Diego.

Beau Brett (George Brett)
A 29th round pick by the Royals, the Ferris (WA) High first baseman is the nephew of the former Kansas City Hall of Fame third baseman. George was a 13-time All-Star who p[osted a .305 career batting mark while compiling 3,154 hits.

Jemile Weeks (Richie Weeks)
The first round pick of the Athletics, the University of Miami second baseman is the brother of Richie, who was the second overall pick of the Milwaukee Brerwers in 2003.

Jordan Danks (John Danks)
A seventh round draft choice of the White Sox, the University of Texas outfielder is the brother of John who is currently in the starting rotation for the same franchise.

Cutter Dykstra (Lenny Dykstra)
A second round draft choice of the Brewers, the Westlake [CA] High outfielder is the son of Lenny, who was a member of the 1986 World Series Champion New York Mets. He also was a runner-up in the 1993 NL MVP voting and finished his career with 1,298 hits.

Chad Gross (Kevin Gross)
Selected in the 28th round by the Yankees, the Cuesta College (Calif.) outfielder is the son of a former major league pitcher. His father, Kevin, was a NL All-Star in 1988 who finished his career with 142 wins.

Devaris Strange-Gordon (Tom Gordon)
The Seminole Community College shortstop was chosen in the fourth round by the Dodgers and is the son of a potential future Hall of Fame pitcher. His father, Tom, won 17 games with the Royals in 1989 and has 137 career wins to go along with 157 career saves.

Kyle Long (Howie Long)
A 23rd round draft pick of the White Sox, the St. Anne’s Belfield (Va.) left-hander is the son of a former NFL great. His father, Howie, was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection who was a member of the 1984 Super Bowl Champion Oakland Raiders.

Jesse Orosco (Jesse Orosco)
A 38th round selection of the Arizona D-backs, the Grossmont College right-hander is the son of the majors all-time pitching-appearance leader. His father, Jesse, made 1,252 appearances and finished with 87 career wins and 144 career saves.

Patrick Palmeiro (Rafael Palmeiro)
The Heritage (TX) High third baseman was a 22nd round by the Pirates. He is the son of Rafael, a five-time batting champion who belted 569 career homers and stroked 3,020 career hits.

Riley Welch (Bob Welch)
The Oakland A’s 34th round pick, the Desert Mountain (Ari.) High right-hander is the son of a Cy Young Award winning hurler. His father, Bob, won 211 career games and captured the AL Cy Young Award in 1990 with 27 victories.

This is a BaseballdeWorld original article.

Tags: USA