Best, worst draft picks of the past 10 years by team
On Monday evening in Secaucus, N.J., the futures of the 30 franchises in Major League Baseball and young players from around the continent will be changed by the entry draft.
While some highly touted selections do become organizational saviors, others fail to meet expectations and fizzle into mediocrity.
With that in mind, here are the best and worst draft picks that each organization made in the past 10 years.
Arizona Diamondbacks
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Paul Goldschmidt | 2009 | 8th | 246th |
Worst | Barret Loux | 2010 | 1st | 6th |
Goldschmidt is one of the game's best players and was somehow not drafted until the eighth round. Loux never pitched in the bigs and spent last season in independent ball.
Atlanta Braves
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Freddie Freeman | 2007 | 2nd | 78th |
Worst | Matt Lipka | 2010 | Comp | 35th |
Atlanta's had great success in the draft, nabbing both Freeman and Jason Heyward in 2007, so they may have earned a mulligan for taking Lipka in 2010.
Baltimore Orioles
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Manny Machado | 2010 | 1st | 3rd |
Worst | Matt Hobgood | 2009 | 1st | 5th |
Machado was a can't-miss prospect who, despite his struggles this season, has certainly paid off for the Orioles. Hobgood never pitched above Double-A.
Boston Red Sox
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Mookie Betts | 2011 | 5th | 172nd |
Worst | Kolbrin Vitek | 2010 | 1st | 20th |
A near-MVP and game-breaking outfielder in the fifth round? Betts was a great find by the Red Sox. Vitek in the first round in 2010? Not so much.
Chicago Cubs
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Kris Bryant | 2013 | 1st | 2nd |
Worst | Hayden Simpson | 2010 | 1st | 16th |
It only took Bryant three years after he was drafted to win an MVP. Simpson only won five professional games across three years pitching in the minors.
Chicago White Sox
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Chris Sale | 2010 | 1st | 13th |
Worst | Courtney Hawkins | 2012 | 1st | 13th |
He may not play for them anymore, but Sale was the best pitcher to grace the mound in Chicago during his time with the club. Hawkins, on the other hand, has played never played above Double-A and was hitting just .135 there earlier this season.
Cincinnati Reds
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Todd Frazier | 2007 | Comp | 34th |
Worst | Nick Howard | 2014 | 1st | 19th |
Frazier mashed 108 home runs in a Reds uniform before his trade to the White Sox. Howard managed a walk rate of 14.0 per nine innings in 2016.
Cleveland Indians
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Francisco Lindor | 2011 | 1st | 8th |
Worst | Beau Mills | 2007 | 1st | 13th |
The Indians scored big in 2011 by drafting Lindor, one of the game's most electric and charismatic players. Four years earlier, Mills also seemed like a legit prospect - but retired to raise bulls full time without ever playing a big-league game.
Colorado Rockies
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Nolan Arenado | 2009 | 2nd | 59th |
Worst | Kyle Parker | 2010 | 1st | 26th |
The Rockies struck gold by nabbing Arenado 59th overall in 2009 - after two other third basemen were selected - but choosing Parker a season later was clearly a mistake.
Detroit Tigers
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Rick Porcello | 2007 | 1st | 27th |
Worst | Jacob Turner | 2009 | 1st | 9th |
Before Porcello was a Cy Young winner, he ate more than 1,000 innings for the Tigers. Turner's still pitching in the bigs, but never lived up to his top-10 hype.
Houston Astros
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Carlos Correa | 2012 | 1st | 1st |
Worst | Jiovanni Mier | 2009 | 1st | 21st |
Correa was tabbed as the next A-Rod during his draft year, so the Astros had an easy choice when they selected him. Three years earlier, things weren't so easy and they ended up with Mier, who's been playing ever since - in the minors.
Kansas City Royals
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Eric Hosmer | 2008 | 1st | 3rd |
Worst | Bubba Starling | 2011 | 1st | 5th |
Hosmer is one of the game's top first basemen and was an integral part of the Royals' World Series run. Starling has an OPS of .643 in Triple-A.
Los Angeles Angels
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Mike Trout | 2009 | 1st | 25th |
Worst | Kaleb Cowart | 2010 | 1st | 18th |
The Angels may not draft well, but they came up big in 2009, selecting the most dominant player of this generation in Trout. A year later and a few picks earlier in the first round, they took Cowart. Lightning did not strike twice.
Los Angeles Dodgers
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Corey Seager | 2012 | 1st | 18th |
Worst | Ethan Martin | 2008 | 1st | 15th |
The 2012 draft gave the Dodgers last season's NL Rookie of the Year and one of the most promising players in baseball. 2008 wasn't so rewarding; Martin never pitched in the bigs for the Dodgers and only made 17 appearances in the show overall.
Miami Marlins
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Jose Fernandez | 2011 | 1st | 14th |
Worst | Kyle Skipworth | 2008 | 1st | 6th |
Before he died, Fernandez was on his way to producing a Hall of Fame career. Skipworth isn't on the same track with a lifetime .211 average in the minors.
Milwaukee Brewers
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Jonathan Lucroy | 2007 | 3rd | 101 |
Worst | Matt LaPorta | 2007 | 1st | 7th |
The Brewers took the bitter with the sweet in 2007. Lucroy, one of the game's best catchers, was traded to the Rangers last August after eight great seasons behind the dish in Milwaukee. LaPorta was traded to the Indians in 2008 and hasn't played since '14.
Minnesota Twins
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Brian Dozier | 2009 | 8th | 252nd |
Worst | Levi Michael | 2001 | 1st | 30th |
A 252nd overall selection, Dozier hit 42 home runs for the Twins in 2016. First-rounder Michael hit 15 long balls in six minor-league seasons.
New York Mets
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Matt Harvey | 2010 | 1st | 7th |
Worst | Eddie Kunz | 2007 | Comp | 42nd |
Harvey may not be pitching like the Dark Knight of old, but the Mets scored by selecting him seventh overall in 2010. Eddie Kunz? Never heard of him, but he did manage a 13.50 ERA at the big-league level before last pitching in the minors in 2012.
New York Yankees
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Aaron Judge | 2013 | 1st | 32nd |
Worst | Andrew Brackman | 2007 | 1st | 30th |
The Yankees drafted the game's currently most popular player 32nd overall in 2013. Brackman was selected two spots higher in 2007, but never panned out, even though he signed a lucrative four-year deal with the Yankees after he was drafted.
Oakland Athletics
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Sonny Gray | 2011 | 1st | 18th |
Worst | Michael Choice | 2010 | 1st | 10th |
Gray finished among the top three in AL Cy Young voting in 2015. Choice hit .038 at Triple-A Norfolk this season with a .296 OPS, although his Double-A numbers (.282/.354/.423) are more encouraging.
Philadelphia Phillies
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | J.P Crawford | 2013 | 1st | 16th |
Worst | Anthony Hewitt | 2008 | 1st | 24th |
Crawford is one of the game's top prospects and should be manning shortstop for the Phillies in the foreseeable future. Hewitt's last season with the Phillies organization in 2014 produced a .129/.129/.161 slash line.
Pittsburgh Pirates
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Gerrit Cole | 2011 | 1st | 1st |
Worst | Tony Sanchez | 2009 | 1st | 4th |
Cole has lived up to the expectations of a No. 1 overall pick so far during his career, winning 19 games in 2015. Sanchez has played more like a backup catcher during his time in the pros.
San Diego Padres
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Corey Kluber | 2007 | 4th | 134th |
Worst | Donavan Tate | 2009 | 1st | 3rd |
Kluber may never have pitched a game for the Padres, but he's still their best pick of the past 10 years. Tate, however, was a complete miss. The 26-year-old owns a lifetime OPS of .652 in the minors.
San Francisco Giants
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Buster Posey | 2008 | 1st | 5th |
Worst | Gary Brown | 2010 | 1st | 24th |
Posey, an NL MVP winner, is so good that he bumped Madison Bumgarner out of this spot. Gary Brown isn't a complete mess for a 24th overall pick, but he should be in the bigs by now.
Seattle Mariners
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Kyle Seager | 2009 | 3rd | 82nd |
Worst | Dustin Ackley | 2009 | 1st | 2nd |
In 2009, the Mariners couldn't have predicted Seager would outplay and outlast Ackley in the organization, but he sure did. Seager is one of the game's best third basemen, while Ackley hit .148 for the Yankees last season and is currently playing for the Angels' Triple-A affiliate.
St. Louis Cardinals
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Matt Carpenter | 2009 | 13th | 399th |
Worst | Pete Kozma | 2007 | 1st | 18th |
Carpenter's age caused him to fall to the Cardinals at 399th overall in 2009. He's since become a potent element of their lineup and a crucial part of their team. Kozma, on the other hand, has already begun his adventure as a journeyman infielder, with "minor-league contract" written all over him.
Tampa Bay Rays
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | David Price | 2007 | 1st | 1st |
Worst | Josh Sale | 2010 | 1st | 17th |
Price's tenure with the Red Sox may be tense so far, but he impressed with Tampa Bay, winning 82 games and a Cy Young with the club. Sale served a 50-game suspension for banned stimulants in 2012 and last appeared in a minor-league game in 2014.
Texas Rangers
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Joey Gallo | 2012 | Comp | 39th |
Worst | Jake Skole | 2010 | 1st | 15th |
Gallo is tied for third in the American League home-run race with 17. Skole hit 35 dingers in seven minor-league seasons and produced a lowly .655 OPS for the Rangers and Yankees organizations.
Toronto Blue Jays
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Noah Syndergaard | 2010 | Comp | 38 |
Worst | Kevin Ahrens | 2007 | 1st | 16th |
Syndergaard never suited up for the Blue Jays, but he's one of baseball's top pitchers and personalities. Ahrens, now playing independent ball, never touched the Rogers Centre turf.
Washington Nationals
CATEGORY | PLAYER | DRAFT YEAR | ROUND | SELECTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Best | Bryce Harper | 2010 | 1st | 1st |
Worst | Ross Detwiler | 2007 | 1st | 6th |
No. 1 pick Harper became the No. 1 player in the National League, so the Nationals had it easy in 2010. Selecting Detwiler three years earlier was less of a slam dunk. The pitcher won all of 20 games in seven seasons with the franchise.
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