Post by Commissioner Erick on Jun 10, 2021 19:17:09 GMT -5
The 2020 Draft was far more standard than some of the prior drafts. The best players in the draft were taken right at the top, there some decent picks in the later first and second rounds, and then depth was more randomly distributed throughout. Most teams walked away with something useful from the draft, making those who didn't sign their players the big losers. Teams who managed to get more than one solid player were the biggest winners though.
Arizona Diamondbacks:
First Round: (14) Andy Roemer—3B
Second Round: (14) Tyler Freeman—SS
Third Round: (16) Juan Ornelas—LF
Best Player: Tyler Freeman
Best Deep Cut: (16) Tekukuni Matasino
Total ML WAR: 1.2
Review: Arizona drafted Andy Roemer in the first round, a 26-year-old who has played 10 games above High-A in his career. Roemer will not make a difference as a pro and is a bust of a pick. Arizona had better luck with their second-rounder, Tyler Freeman. Freeman was drafted four times in his career, finally signing with Arizona after their selected him 14th in the second round. Freeman has a terrific glove, is a good base stealer, and should be able to not get the bat knocked out of his hands at the plate. He’s been a decent selection.
Juan Ornelas has been slow to develop and doesn’t look like more than an A-ball Left Fielder. Arizona could have gotten more than that with their third rounder.
Arizona gave up a future star in Amin Valdez, plus solid starter Jake Higginbotham and Quad-A outfielder Anfernee Grier to get a solid relief prospect in Jerry Bethea and back-end arm Aaron Blair. Arizona would have been better served holding on to Valdez, but Blair had a strong 2020 was a contributor to their 2022 Championship.
Arizona’s own fourth-rounder was used on Joe Hausman, a High-A Catcher with little hope of a future beyond being a Double-A backup. Their fifth-rounder was spent on Devin Pratcher, a nice minor leaguer Center Fielder who will likely top out in Triple-A.
Arizona did get a nice relief prospect in the ninth round. Right-hander Andy Bell pitched well as a starting pitcher in both Double-A and Triple-A last year. He likely doesn’t have what it takes to start in the PBA, but his changeup and curveball miss bats when he can set them up with a 90-mile-an-hour cutter.
Grade: D. Tyler Freeman isn’t a bad player, but having him be the best player taken is a disappointing outcome for the Diamondbacks. They don’t get an F for trading for Aaron Blair and Jerry Bethea, but they would be better served by holding on to Amin Valdez. Even the busts after the first three rounds, tend to be no-hopers stuck in the low minors. It’s not a complete failure of a draft, but it’s not something Arizona should feel proud of.
Atlanta Braves:
First Round: (18) Luis Montoya—P—UNSIGNED
Second Round: (20) Ignacio Vigil—P—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (25) Mike Devenport—P—UNSIGNED
Best Player: (16) Chris Thomas
Best Deep Cut: (16) Chris Thomas
Total ML WAR: 0
Review: Atlanta didn’t sign any of their picks in the first three rounds after selecting three guys who either have already retired or won’t make the majors. They did get Steve Goode and Steve Ryan in 2021 from the comp picks. There were some good players selected in the areas where the Braves were picking though. Not getting a talented player in the draft in order to get decent players the next year is a C- move. All things being equal, getting the talent earlier is preferable.
They traded Aaron Blair and their fourth rounder that would become Jerry Bethea for Jake Higginbotham, Anfernee Grier, and Amin Valdez. Blair had a strong 2020 and helped Arizona win a title in 2022, but hasn’t been more than a back-end starter since leaving Atlanta. Jerry Bethea is a good young relief prospect who had a decent rookie season for Arizona this year before blowing out his elbow. Meanwhile, Atlanta got Amin Valdez in the deal, a player who has turned into one of the best Shortstops in the league. They also got Jake Higginbotham, who has been a decent swingman, and Anfernee Grier, who has been a really good Triple-A player, but has only had brief cups of coffee in the majors. Valdez has far and away been the best player in the deal.
Atlanta then traded Jason Hursh, Ender Inciarte, and their fifth rounder away to St. Louis for Andrew Susac, Johan Oviedo, Tanner Houck and Delvin Perez. The fifth rounder became Yukio Onishi, who used a fortunate home run per fly ball ratio to have a nice rookie season for the Cardinals last year, but with limited stuff and more walks than strikeouts, he was cut after the season. He may pitch in Japan in the future. Hursh has been a sub-replacement pitcher in the PBA. Inciarte was the only positive player traded away as he had a few solid seasons with good batting averages and Left Field defense, though injuries have also limited his production. The Braves acquired Andrew Susac who had a nice season as a backup Catcher for Atlanta, but was never heard from after 2020. Johan Oviedo developed into a respectable swingman, and Delvin Perez is a respectable backup Shortstop.
Atlanta traded away one player who was solid in Inciarte, and got a pair of players who are younger, useful back-of-the-roster players, but players who won’t play significant roles. It’s likely a slight negative deal for them as they gave away the one player who had a significant role in the majors.
Atlanta didn’t get any real interesting players in the later rounds. Seventh rounder Dave Rosinsky has been a good Double-A Shortstop, while 16th-round pick Chris Thomas is young and powerful, and may turn into a Triple-A slugger. There’s a greater-than-zero chance he becomes a PBAer, which is good value for a 16th rounder.
Grade: C-. Atlanta didn’t draft good players early, didn’t sign them, then got decent players in the future with the comp picks they were given. They could have just drafted the good players that were available in this draft. They likely were a slight negative in the Inciarte trade, and didn’t get much with their other picks. Getting Amin Valdez for little, and getting a nice piece in Thomas in the 16th round bump the Braves out of the D range and into a C-.
Baltimore Orioles:
First Round: (10) Tim Newbold—P
Second Round: (11) Jadon Lenzy—3B
Third Round: (13) Andy Fleck—P—UNSIGNED
Best Player: Tim Newbold
Best Deep Cut: (16) Jonathan Lewis
Total ML WAR: 0.9
Review: Baltimore picked Tim Newbold 10th overall, and it’s been a slow development process for Newbold. He has a big fastball and scouts think with more work on his mechanics will improve his control. Newbold was pegged to be a starter though and the changeup hasn’t come around, leaving him as a closer prospect. Getting a dominant closer in the first round isn’t a bad thing, but Newbold will have to be really good to justify the pick.
Jadon Lenzy hasn’t developed as a Third Baseman. He doesn’t have the power or the defense for the position, leaving him as a Double-A caliber player. T.J. Lunsford or Tyler Freeman would have been better picks. Baltimore didn’t sign Andy Fleck with their third-round pick, getting Jeremy Voss the next year with the compensation pick. Both players look like second-division starting Right Fielders, and getting the prospect earlier, all things considered, is generally a better process.
Baltimore’s fourth, fifth, and sixth round picks all look like Double-A prospects, while eighth-rounder Chris Babcock looks like a Triple-A reliever. Babcock’s been a replacement level arm in the majors for the Cubs thus far.
Grade: D-. Baltimore got a really good relief prospect with their first pick, then didn’t get much after. The draft class was one that offered opportunities for decent depth, but Baltimore didn’t capitalize. Ending up with only a good reliever is a little bit of a disappointing haul.
Boston Red Sox:
First Round: (5) Chris Berson—3B
First Round: (30) Mike Billings—SP—Compensation for not signing Sergio Ochoa
Second Round: (7) Jonathan Carrillo—CF—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (9) Rory Scearce—CF—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (20) Jonathan Mueller—P—Compensation for not signing Zach Farrar—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (29) Mike Phelps—P—Compensation for not signing Julian Infante—UNSIGNED
Best Player: Chris Berson
Best Deep Cut: (17) Jerry Squier
Total ML WAR: 12.4
Review: The Red Sox made a good pick in the first round, getting a solid Third Baseman in Berson who’s already put up four strong years in the majors. He’s a plus defender and a doubles machine at the hot corner. Nobody picked after Berson has put up more WAR than him to date.
Boston punted on a future starter in Sergio Ochoa to grab a one-pitch reliever in Mike Billings. Ochoa is the #10 prospect in baseball as of the 2026 offseason, while Billings is a 27-year-old with negative career WAR.
The unsigned picks in the second and third round weren’t turned into much when they were used in 2021. Only reliever Kevin Sexton has paid off. None of the players they failed to sign amounted to anything either, but washing over picks is in general a bad practice as it prevents talent from reaching your system.
Boston didn’t get much out of their fourth-seventh rounders either, but they did sign Phil Cabrera in Round eight. Cabrera has huge stuff and just turned in a 4.7 WAR rookie year. Cabrera whiffed 231 in 144.1 innings and has a wonderful future ahead of him.
Boston got some decent depth in the late rounds. 17th rounder Jerry Squire throws hard and has a great changeup. He may not make it as a starter in the majors, but he has a shot, and he may stick as a reliever. Reliever Shamel Jimoh made the majors as a 26th rounder. He struggled in the majors and upper minors, but has big stuff that could pay off.
Grade: A-. Boston gets spectacular marks for nabbing Cabrera, and Berson was a good, if obvious, pick. Boston also gets a slight bump for some decent picks made in the late rounds. Not signing a number of picks from rounds two through five, brings the grade down a bit.
Chicago White Sox:
First Round: (24) Pick traded with fourth round pick [Derek Goss] and fifth round pick [Jorge Canovas] to Milwaukee for Bo Bichette. Pick turned into Jake Eischeid
Supplemental Round: (2) Rogelio Mendizabal—C—Compensation for not signing Andrew McCutchen
Second Round: (27) Juan Ibarra—LF
Third Round: (35) Pick traded along with Trevor Rogers to Cincinnati for Eugenio Suarez. Pick turned into Arturo Romero.
Best Player: Rogelio Mendizial
Best Deep Cut: (12) Jon Nardozzi
Total ML WAR: 2.0
Review: Chicago traded away picks that amounted to a major league starting pitcher and some filler for Bichette, a player who has racked up an impressive -2.5 WAR in his time in the majors. Just an impressive way to lose a deal.
Andrew McCutchen was on the back end of his career when the White Sox gave him a qualifying offer and watched him leave in free agency. They got a supplemental round pick that they used to sign Mendizabal, a slugging Catcher that has 40-homer potential. Chicago made the right call.
They signed Juan Ibarra, in the second round. Ibara is a player who will never play above Double-A. The second position player taken after Ibarra was Greg Jacks.
There are only two players of note picked after the second round. Eric Rix was a 10th-rounder who may be able to latch on at the back of a bullpen, but is likely a Triple-A arm. Still, that’s a win in the 10th round. Also, 12th-rounder Jon Nardozzi has tremendous speed, is a fantastic outfield defender, and can fill in at Shortstop in a pinch. He has a minor league bat, but the flexibility gives him the potential for a major league future.
Grade: F. The decision to let McCutchen walk and pick Mendizabal was the right one, but the rest of the draft was a disaster. They lost a lot of value in acquiring a negative player in Bichette, then missed on their second rounder and most picks in the back of the top third of the draft.
Chicago Cubs:
First Round: (26) Pick traded along with Damian Mendoza, Eric Drouet, Billy McKay, and Adley Rutschman to Toronto for Josh Donaldson. Pick turned into Jamie Ison.
Second Round: (33) Lupe Granados—P
Third Round: (39) Ajani Dimanche—1B
Best Player: Ajani Dimanche - 1B
Best Deep Cut: (20) Eric Hogan - CF
Total ML WAR: 7
Review: The total ML WAR for the Cubs' 2020 draft can mislead the casual fan when analyzing this draft's impact on the organization. Only four of the Cubs' picks are still playing baseball, with none of them ever cracking the Cubs major league roster.
The first round pick sent in a package including Eric Drouet and Damian Mendoza for Josh Donaldson. At the time, the Cubs were looking to make a run for the league championship. Donaldson ended up disappointing over 53 games for the Cubs, before going just 4-for-22 in the divisional series as the Cubs fizzled out. Donaldson left in free agency after that. On the flip side, while the Blue Jays didn't make great use of the pick (Jamie Ison), they did land Eric Drouet, who is still just 23 years old and has posted .370+ OBP each of the past two years as he looks on his way to a bright future. Additionally, Damian Mendoza looks to be a ML talent in the middle of a rotation.
The second round had the Cubs draft Lupe Grandados. While Grandados has been slow to move through the minors, hindered by an elbow injury, he has yet to pitch above High-A. However, he has been successful when he has been on the mound, winning the 2022 GCL Pitcher of the Year award and earning All-Star appearances in 2023 and 2024. Grandados was dealt to the Tigers in the winter of 2020, however projects to join their big league roster in the next year as a back-end starter.
Chicago's best pick came in the third round when they selected 1B Ajani Dimanche. Much like the first round pick, Dimanche was apart of another failed Cubs trade for a superstar 3B years later (Alex Bregman). But the pick itself was a solid third round pick as Dimanche has developed into an average starter at 1B. He's averaged 32 HR a year over the last three seasons for Houston, while amassing a 7.0 WAR over that span.
No one else of note came from the Chicago draft, with Eric Hogan being the next best player drafted. Hogan has shown to be overmatched at AAA though, and will likely be finding a new career shortly.
Grade: C. The trades surrounding these draft picks will leave a bad taste in Cubs' fans mouths, but Dimanche was a good third round pick, and Grandados still has a chance to contribute at the big league level. The biggest takeaway from the Cubs 2020 draft review seems to be maybe the organization should rethink it's strategy of going all-in on trading for star third-basemen.
Cincinnati Reds:
First Round: (6) Josh Carlson—P
Second Round: (3) Dan Yates—P—UNSIGNED
Second Round: (17) Humberto Camacho—CF (Pick acquired with Skye Bolt from Oakland for Brandon Finnegan and Aristedes Aquino)
Third Round: (3) Pick traded along with fourth round pick [Joe Rowland] to Milwaukee for Jonathan Villar. Pick Turned into Greg Jacks
Third Round: (12) Jeff Pigg—P—Compensation for not signing Zack Thompson
Third Round: (35) Arturo Romero (Pick acquired along with Trevor Rogers from Chicago White Sox for Eugenio Suarez)
Best Player: Josh Carlson
Best Deep Cut: (13) Danny Galabeas
Total ML WAR: 5.9
Review: The Reds were very active with trades prior to the 2020 draft, making a number of deals that shaped their team. They acquired a second-round pick that turned into Humberto Camacho and Skye Bolt in exchange for Brandon Finnegan and Aristedes Aquino. Finnegan would go on to be a playoff hero, and Aquino had some good seasons mashing lefties as a part time player. Skye Bolt has had a serviceable career as a decent defender in Right Field, and a patient hitter at the plate, while Humberto Camacho’s speed and defense have made him a valuable PBA player.
The Reds were going through a rebuild, so Finnegan, and to a lesser extent Aquino, didn’t have quite as much value to the Reds as other teams. Even with Finnegan’s future heroics, he’s spent most of that time injured or as a reliever. The Reds got decent value in the assets they acquired, and the player they used their extra draft pick on.
The Reds also traded away a pair of draft picks, a third and fourth rounder, for Jonathan Villar. Those picks turned into Joe Rowland and Greg Jacks. Jacks just led the league in Triples and has put up nearly 8 WAR his first two years in the bigs, and is only 24-years-old. Rowland has been a serviceable releiver. In giving up those two, the Reds got Villar, a player who had 1.1 WAR in 2020 then left the team in Free Agency. Villar did have a nice 2021 with Cleveland, but even so. Given where the Reds were in their contention cycle, to give away two assets for one year of middling Third Base play was poor asset management. Watching one of those picks turn into Greg Jacks makes it disastrous.
Cincinnati made a better asset play involving a third rounder when they traded Eugenio Suarez for the pick, plus Trevor Rogers. Suarez was a veteran so it made sense to move him, though he’s been a solid second-division starter everywhere he’s been (except ironically, to the White Sox team that needed him to play better than he did during their runs in 2019 and 2020). Rogers was a pitcher with huge potential at the time. He’s delivered on that by being one of the best relievers in baseball, just winning the reliever-of-the-year award. Arturo Romero developed slowly and ended up in the Cuban League for a few seasons, before returning Stateside last year in Kansas City’s system. Even without the pick hitting, trading Suarez for Trevor Rogers was a plus move.
The Reds also made deals for a few fourth-rounders. The fourth-rounder they gave to the Brewers in the Villar trade was originally owned by the Cubs. Cincinnati took on Hisashi Iwakuma’s dead money, Kyle Funkhouser, Tyler Alamo, Keiber Arredondo, and Justin Steele from them, giving up Jose Bautista and Felix Hernandez. Iwakuma had a 1.86 ERA for the Reds in 2019 before returning to Japan in 2020 and retiring soon after. Funkhouser was a solid back-end arm. None of the other players acquired developed. Joey Bats was awful for the Cubs, then retired, while Felix Hernandez was a long man who made four starts for the team. Getting anything for them was a good play.
The Reds then gave up their own fourth-round pick to acquire Sam Howard from the Rockies. Howard would blossom into a future All-Star with the Cubs, while the pick would turn into Jonathan Cikanek, who might someday play in the Pacific Coast League.
As for the Reds own picks, Josh Carlson led the league in home runs the past two seasons, but he’s finally put together his Slider and Changeup to the point where he can be considered an upper tier pitcher. The left-hander who models his style after Madison Bumgarner, has only put up 3.8 WAR to date thus far, but that number can jump precipitously the next few seasons. The one downside is that Marc Eberle was picked a spot after, and Eberle has been the better pitcher thus far.
The Reds selected Dan Yates in the second round, but didn’t sign him, eventually selecting and signing Pablo Montiel in 2022 with the rolled over pick.
The Reds didn’t get too much else out of their picks in the single-digits that haven’t been covered. A few hitters haven’t developed, and a few picks weren’t signed. Cincinnati did do good work with some picks after the first two rounds. 13th rounder Danny Galabeas went 8-3 and put up 1.0 WAR last year as a swingman for the Astros. He has three good pitches and a durable arm and may be a valuable piece for someone as their fifth starter or middle-reliever. In that vein, Dan Heyd was popped in the 11th round and also has the look of someone who can be a serviceable middle-reliever.
Grade: B-. There are a lot of moving parts to take in when grading the Reds draft. The Carlson pick is fine, even if Eberle may have been the better choice. The deal to acquire Bolt and Camacho is also fine. The Reds get good marks for acquiring Trevor Rogers and Sam Howard, and decent marks for getting something for Jose Bautista and Felix Hernandez, who were past their usefulness. Getting a useful PBA pitcher and another arm with some upside after the 10th round is a nice job. Trading away the pick that became Greg Jacks for Jonathan Villar is a major blemish on their grade. Trading away Steve Ivey also doesn’t help. There are more successes than failures though.
Cleveland Indians:
First Round: (20) Jon Brommer—P
Second Round: (23) Steve Bates—P
Third Round: (28) Josh Woodward—P
Best Player: (6) Mike Serrano
Best Deep Cut: (18) Cletus Burrill
Total ML WAR: 0.4
Review: Cleveland's best player in this draft was taken from them in Rule V, and the rest of the class has negative WAR at this point in their careers. The team won 109 games and the World Series in 2020, but drafts like this and general mismanagement soon helped contribute to their rapid decline. Jon Brommer was traded to the Phillies for 516 unremarkable PAs from Scott Kingery before he retired. Brommer didn't do much in Philadelphia either, although he was a part of the package that landed the Phillies Osiris German from the Twins. He pitched to the tone of 18 innings of negative WAR for the Twins last season and at 27 this is probably about what he can be expected to be. He might make an adequate back-end starter but hasn't shown he was worth a first round pick.
Steve Bates and John Woodard were Cleveland's 2nd and 3rd round picks respectively. Bates could debut this upcoming season and may turn into a 5th starter but is likely destined to be a long reliever if he can stick in the majors. Woodard has the most potential out of any of Cleveland's first three picks. He struggles with control but has 3 big time pitches to pair with great stuff and stamina. If he can learn to throw strikes at all, then Cleveland might have something here.
The best player that the Indians picked came in the 6th round. Mike Serrano is a lefty reliever who has a nasty cutter he can use against righties. He was a great bullpen piece for the Dodgers in 2024 after they snatched him from Cleveland in Rule V. Injuries hurt him his sophomore season and he is currently recovering from Tommy John. Finding a piece like this in the 6th round is a win for any team, but it's best to protect and keep draft gems like this when you do find them.
Grade: D+. This draft isn't a total failure, with 3 guys who should make the majors with the first three picks, but none of them has tremendous upside.
Colorado Rockies:
First Round: (21)) Luis Picon—2B
Second Round: (25) Pick traded along with Ian Desmond and Dee Gordon to San Francisco for a 30th Round Pick [Sergio Ortega]). Pick became Jimmy Tiner
Third Round: (32) Eric Lee—LF
Best Player: Luis Picon - 2B
Best Deep Cut: T.J. Del Tufo - C
Total ML WAR: 2.7
Review: Luis Picon was a safe first round pick. Picon has the talent to start at almost any position on the diamond, but has yet to be a regular starter for a full season in the bigs. But his injury-marred 2025 showed what he is capable of, posting a .372 OBA and 1.2 WAR in just 54 games. If he can stay healthy, Picon could be an above average player for the Rockies in 2026.
Colorado's second-round pick was shipped to San Francisco in a successful salary dump. San Francisco used that pick on Jimmy Tiner, who didn't materialize and is now out of baseball.
Third round pick Eric Lee has yet to crack the majors at 28 years old. He has been an above average corner outfielder in AAA, and could find his way to the Rockies as a fourth outfielder, but the likelihood of him playing any meaningful innings look slim.
Seventh round pick Jorge Blanco has played well in AAA the last two seasons, and could still find himself getting a shot at 2B on a big league roster. Eighth round pick T.J. Del Tufo was talented enough to be drafted by Cincinnati in last year's Rule 5 draft, and where he held his own as the team's backup catcher, a role he maybe able to make a career out of.
Colorado also made a couple of late round trades that impacted this draft. The Rockies traded Sam Howard for a fourth round pick that they used on 3B Jonanthan Cikanek. Cikanek is still in High-A and unlikely to go much farther. It'd be easy to nitpick the trade based on Howard's recent success, but it would have been difficult to predict Howard's late blooming at age 30. They also traded their 20th round pick and A.J. Schugel in exchange to Steven Souza Jr. Souza proved to be a quality fourth outfielder for the Rockies in the Wild Card run in 2020.
Grade: C-: Even five years later, it's difficult to give a rating to the Rockies draft. Picon looks like a guy that could be a regular, but has yet to truly seize the role. Lee and Blanco could find themselves contributing in the big leagues, or they may just peter out as AAA talent. Del Tufo looks like he'll be a serviceable backup catcher that could be a regular if needed. In the end, the best decision of the 2020 draft for Colorado appears to have been dumping more than $20 million in salary in exchange for giving up their second round pick.
Detroit Tigers:
First Round: (2) Amari Maggette—LF
Second Round: (1) Bobby Ramey—P
Third Round: (1) Jorge Meza—P
Best Player: Amari Maggette
Best Deep Cut: (11) Joey Coker
Total ML WAR: 16.4
Review: Detroit selected Amari Maggette second overall and have to be happy with the selection. Maggette is a two-time All-Star, a former Gold Glove winner, a 40 home run hitter, and a player that has helped Detroit steer out of the doldrums and into the playoffs. Jadon Ancrum may be younger and better, which is the only thing keeping the Maggette selection from being a straight A.
Danger Man, Bobby Ramey, has looked good in brief stretches with the Tigers, and projects to be a solid mid-rotation arm. That’s another successful pick. The third-round pick, Jorge Meza, didn’t work out, but fourth-rounder Luis Zapien has a quick bat and terrific wheels and looks like a future pro.
Fifth-round reliever Josh Puthuff has good stuff and is improving his control and could be a reliever when fully developed. Eighth-rounder Chris App is a strong defender with good gap power who was picked in the Rule V draft by Texas. 11th-rounder Joey Coker has a decent bat and great speed, and would be interesting at a different position, but as a First Baseman who hits one home run a year, will be limited to the mid-minors.
Grade: A. Detroit got an All-Star with their first pick, a good starting pitcher prospect with their second pick, and three prospects who look like they can fill roles as a bench outfielder and a reliever, and a bench infielder later on. That’s a very good haul.
Houston Astros:
First Round: (29) Jake Martin—P
First Round: (33) Steve Hall—P—Compensation for not signing Cameron Cannon
Second Round: (28) Steve Lewis—P—Compensation for not signing Shawn Forrest
Second Round: (34) Jeff Matson—P
Third Round: (30) Steve Wilkens—P—Compensation for not signing Joe Perez—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (40) Ben Jordan—P
Best Player: Steve Lewis
Best Deep Cut: (17) Luis Marrufo
Total ML WAR: 0.2
Review: Houston had a lot of extra picks from not signing guys in 2019, and did a good job getting players who were better than what their 2019 picks would have been.
Jake Martin has worked 3 games above High-A and never developed his control. He looks like a mid-minors arm at best, and was not a successful pick. Houston selected Steve Hall with a comp pick for not signing Cameron Cannon the year prior. Hall’s been a respectable reliever with the chance to be a starter. Cannon has retired. Not signing Cameron to select Hall has worked out, though selecting Nate Capriglione instead of Hall would have been a better selection.
Steve Lewis has worked as a solid swingman in the PBA thus far, and has a shot to make it as a starting pitcher. He was acquired as a compensation pick for not signing Shawn Forrest. Forrest is a Triple-A caliber arm, while Lewis is a PBA player. That decision also worked out for Houston.
Jeff Matson has been a -1.1 WAR player in the pros, and may not be a PBA-caliber arm, but he’s been great in Triple-A and has a shot at being better than that in the majors. Most pitchers taken around the late second and third rounds have struggled, so Matson’s struggles are in line with other pitchers around him.
Steve Wilkens was picked in the third round, but wasn’t signed. Wilkens has already retired, and the comp pick Houston received turned into backup Center Fielder Jonathan Lawhorn who has already played in the majors. The pick originated from not signing Joe Perez who could be a useful reliever though. Not signing Wilkens was the right decision, but the jump from Perez to Lawhorn is likely a minimal one.
It took Ben Jordan four tries to sign with a team that drafted him, but he retired after two-and-a-half years in the minors. Houston didn’t sign their fourth, fifth, and eighth rounders, and their sixth, seventh, and ninth-rounders have already retired. 10th rounder Jake Oceguera struck out 150 hitters last year and had a decent 7-10 record with a 5.10 ERA last year. With 0.8 WAR, that’s a solid mark for a 10th rounder.
Grade: C. Houston made nice decisions to punt on 2019 signings to get better value in 2020, winning those decisions. They got a nice player in the 10th round in Oceguera as well. Their own picks early on were not really successful though, and the Astros didn’t get anything from the second-through-nonth rounds.
Kansas City Royals:
First Round: (4) Jadon Ancrum—RF
Second Round: Forfeited as a result of signing Gio Gonzalez
Third Round: (6) Eddie Vogler—3B
Best Player: Ancrum
Best Deep Cut: (12) Luis Capdevila
Total ML WAR: 8.5
Review: Jadon Ancrum’s been selling the league on his potential for years, and Kansas City made an excellent selection of him with their first-round pick. Ancrum already has the fourth most WAR in the class, was MVP runner-up last year, and may be the most talented player in the class. Marc Eberle’s the only player selected after Ancrum to produce more WAR, but it’s close and they play completely different positions with Eberle pitching, and Ancrum roaming the outfield. While Kansas City may have leaned in to the Salesman aspect too hard, trading Ancrum away twice (!!!), they picked a superstar.
Their second round pick was lost to give Dodgers playoff hero Gio Gonzalez a huge contract in 2020. Gonzalez tore his elbow and retired soon after. Where Kansas City was in the contention cycle, it didn’t make sense to sign Gonzalez and lose a pick though.
Eddie Vogler looks like a Triple-A Third Baseman. The draft was pretty barren for position players after the early third round, so it’s not a failure to get a Triple-A caliber player, but Ajani Dimanche and Chris Berardelli were still available. Doug Clark, also looks like a Triple-A Third Baseman, but he was picked in the sixth round, after Dimanche and Berardelli were taken, making his selection a strong one for the round.
Danny Weatherwax got in 20 games for the Royals last year, and the seventh-rounder looks like a player. He doesn’t have much of an offensive game, but he’ll take a walk, beat out infield hits, steal a bunch of bases, and play excellent outfield defense.
Eighth-rounder Austin Langworthy and 11th-rounder Luis Capdevila also look like Triple-A talents. Langworthy has a line drive swing that generates lots of doubles, while being a decent defender with some speed. Capdevila is more in the pure speed and defense model, but also has a decent eye and can beat out doubles.
Grade: B+. It’s a strong draft. Ancrum has been a star, and a number of guys looks like strong organizational depth. Getting nothing for their second-round pick, and not getting a surefire second PBA player are the only things keeping the draft from being an A.
Los Angeles Angels:
First Round: (12) Alan Ramos—1B
Second Round: (15) Ajani Sanon—1B
Third Round: (18) Chris Shipley—RF
Best Player: Alan Ramos
Best Deep Cut: (19) Ben Dunn
Total ML WAR: 1.6
Review: Ramos was the jewel of the Angels’ 2020 draft class. Unfortunately, he currently plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In what one rival executive described as “one hell of a clerical error,” the Angels left Ramos exposed in the 2023 Rule 5 draft despite coming off a monster .272/.363/.501 season the prior year with the Inland Empire 66ers, Los Angeles’s A+ affiliate. Ramos was nabbed by the Baltimore Orioles and eventually traded to Pittsburgh for Reese McGuire. And although it’s been a twisting path to get there, it looks like Ramos could be an outstanding major league hitter. In his first real exposure to the big leagues – it’s hard to count his 2024 season as a Rule 5 pick since he received almost no playing time – he has really impressed. With a .287/.350/.625 line over 246 plate appearances last season, Ramos could end up being a special player.
The Angels did hang onto their other highly-rated first base pick in the 2020 draft, Ajani Sanon. A high school player out of Michigan, Sanon sighed for a $540,000 bonus and looked like a steal in his first full year of professional ball, hitting .323/.395/.475 in the Arizona League. However, he has never been able to replicate that performance, and his stock has fallen significantly since then. Now at age 24 and currently assigned to AAA Salt Lake City, he’s trying to reclaim his earlier promise and earn a promotion to the show.
Chris Shipley, the Angel’s third-round pick has been on and off the Injured List for most of his professional career. While scouts still see some of the tools that led Los Angeles to make him a relatively high pick in 2020, he has yet to put together a solid season in the minors and is currently languishing at AA.
Grade: C-. The Angels drafted a guy with their first-round pick who looks like he could be a star. Unfortunately, it won’t help them, but their scouting department did its job and found a top-notch prospect. And there’s still some hope Sanon will eventually contribute to the Angels, although likely as a bench bat or injury replacement. But outside those two, unless something unexpected happens, it doesn’t appear the 2020 draft class will produce any quality players for Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Dodgers:
First Round: (27) Mike Becker—1B
First Round: (35) Kevin Carver—P—Compensation for not signing Ryder Green
Supplemental Round: (3) Ismael Robles—P—Compensation for not resigning Gio Gonzalez
Second Round: (32) Vince Jackson—P
Third Round: (38) Sincere Valian—C
Best Player: Ismael Robles
Best Deep Cut: (21) Chris Graves
Total ML WAR: 7.3
Review: The Dodgers grabbed Mike Becker with their initial first round pick. Becker projects as a really solid offensive player, though his defense will likely limit him to First Base. He’s likely a Second Division Second Baseman, or a lefty-mashing First Baseman. For the back half of the first round, it’s a good pick, especially as there aren’t strong infield bats taken until Luis Rivera in the third round.
Ryder Green doesn’t look like more than a Triple-A corner infielder, but at least he’s a baseball player. Kevin Carver retired to play in the NFL.
The Dodgers didn’t sign Gio Gonzalez in Free Agency and he went on to get injured in Kansas City, retiring soon after. With the compensation pick, the Dodgers signed a fantastic reliever who went on to be their closer during last year’s championship run.
Second round starter Vince Jackson suffered a severe injury in 2022 that forced his retirement after the 2023 season, and third round Catcher Sincere Vallian is merely a Triple-A arm.
The Dodgers’ fourth round pick was used on a starting pitcher named Eric Soto who looks like a Triple-A arm, while fifth round Center Fielder Luis Guerrero is a Triple-A outfielder. 13th round Center Fielder Eric Swope is playing outfield in Triple-A, and 21st round Shortstop Chris Graves is also joining him in Triple-A. The Dodgers didn’t get much depth, but virtually everyone they did sign who is still playing has advanced to Triple-A.
Grade: B+. The Dodgers didn’t get much depth in the draft, but they did get a PBA-caliber hitter and one of the best relievers in the game, while wisely avoiding paying big money to Gio Gonzalez. All-in-all, a successful draft.
Miami Marlins:
First Round: (11) Zach Hutchinson—P
Second Round: (9) Cletus Draves—P
Third Round: (11) Juan Ochoa—P
Best Player: Juan Ochoa
Best Deep Cut: (28) Jorge Morales
Total ML WAR: 0.3
Review: Miami selected Zach Hutchinson in the first round, a starting pitcher who finished his first season as a full time pitcher in Double-A as a 26-year-old. He won’t play in the majors and was a bust of a pick.
Cletus Draves has pitched two years in the majors and one in Triple-A as a replacement level arm in both levels. He has big stuff, but can’t control his offerings, making him incredibly fringy. The upside is something though, and there haven’t been a ton of productive players taking after him in the second round. Juan Ochoa made the majors last season and produced -1.4 WAR. Ochoa pitched as a 24-year old and does have some room to grow, but his initial impression on the baseball world was pretty bleak.
Greg Turnquist was a very young player picked in the fourth round. He can defend a bit at Third Base, has a balanced offensive profile, and seems likely to get a gig in the show before his career is up. That’s a nice find for a fourth rounder, though it will be nice to see what Turnquist can do above the low minors. Ninth-rounder Hendrik Beimler held his own as a contact and defense-oriented backup Catcher for the Giants last season. Also a nice find for his spot in the draft.
Going after a number of young players in the later rounds, the Marlins still have a bunch of randos still playing organized baseball. Most won’t amount to anything but low-minors fodder, but the fact that they’re still active gives them an incredibly slight chance to amount to something.
Normally, that’s not worth mentioning, but the Marlins did have a 28th rounder have an exceptional rookie year last year. Jorge Morales was picked by Atlanta as a live arm with a deceptive delivery, and a terrific slider. A straight fastball dooms him to an elevated home run count, as does a propensity to hang pitches, but the slider is one of the best pitches in baseball. He produced 1.2 WAR last year in his rookie year, a tremendous success for such a late pick.
Grade: C-. The Marlins draft was terrible at the beginning, but got better the deeper it went. There have been some hits from the fourth-round on, and it’s possible Draves and Ochoa are successes as well. Whiffing on a first round pick is always tough and puts a ceiling on the grade, but the Marlins did well to recover.
Milwaukee Brewers:
First Round: (3) Branden Andexler—P
First Round: (24) Jake Eischeid—P (Pick acquired along with a fourth round pick [Derek Goss] and a fifth round pick [Jorge Canovas] from Chicago White Sox for Bo Bichette)
Second Round: (5) Kadeem Headspeth—P
Third Round: (3) Greg Jacks—CF (Pick acquired with a fourth round pick [Joe Rowland] from Cincinnati for Jonathan Villar)
Third Round: (5) Luis Rivera—1B
Third Round: (17) Kyu-Cheol Kym—1B—Compensation for not signing Devon Roedahl
Best Player: Branden Andexler
Best Deep Cut: (12) Eddie Sherk
Total ML WAR: 23.2
Review: Milwaukee had an outstanding draft. They used their third overall pick on Scruffy Andexler. Scruffy had a decent rookie year and projects to be a frontline arm. They then got an extra first rounder, a fourth rounder, and a fifth rounder for Bo Bichette. Bichette has been an awful pro, and while the fourth and fifth rounders turned into Derek Goss and Jorge Canovas—players who haven’t worked out—Jake Eischeid has been a decent back-rotation starter. That’s much better than the career -2.5 WAR Bichette has provided as a pro.
Early in the second round, Milwaukee picked Kadeem Headspeth, a replacement level reliever. There were likely better relievers taken in that position, though a number of pitchers taken in the second round have busted.
Milwaukee got a third and fourth rounder for trading Jonathan Villar. Villar had a couple of nice seasons after the trade, but Milwaukee was looking to the future. Joe Rowland has been a replacement level arm. However, Milwaukee also got Greg Jacks, one of the PBA’s most versatile players. Jacks led the league in triples last year, has 7.8 career WAR in two seasons, has played three positions on a regular basis during his Brewers tenure, and at only 24-years-old, should maintain his level of play for a long time. The Villar trade and Jacks draft selection have worked out splendidly for Milwaukee.
Milwaukee didn’t stop at Jacks for third-round success. They then picked Luis Rivera two picks later and watched him turn into a starting First Base slugger in the majors. Their third third-rounder, Kyu-Cheol Kym, has not worked out and is now playing in the KBO. Devon Roedahl looks like a Triple-A starter and the Brewers should have signed Roedahl in hindsight.
Milwaukee received Ariel Ortega, Andrew Chafin, Francis Pena and a fourth rounder that turned into Joe Becker from San Diego for Zach Davies and $2 million. Ortega never reached Triple-A, and Joe Becker didn’t work out. Andrew Chafin had a nice career as a solid reliever and Francis Pena has had a strong last two years with Milwaukee. Zach Davies was one of the better arms in the league the last two years, so Milwaukee likely slightly lost the deal, but they did get a good return with Pena.
Milwaukee traded Damien Magnifico for Maurico Dubon and a sixth rounder that turned into Mason Studstill. Dubon had a strong 2020, but after 2021 didn’t play again in the PBA. Magnifico had a longer career as a sub-replacement reliever. Studstill retired before making the majors. On the whole, the deal was net-neutral.
Milwaukee found more hits later in the draft. In the eighth round, Josh Young had a strong rookie year as a member of Milwaukee’s bullpen last year. He just turned 24 and should be a member of their bullpen for a long time. In the 13th round, Milwaukee popped Eddie Sherk and watched him win 23 games the past two seasons.
Grade: A+: As a result of the picks and trades involving the draft, Milwaukee got three-fifths of their starting rotation, plus Jake Eishceid who starts in Baltimore. They also got two high level starters in their lineup. It’s an impressive haul that set Milwaukee up for success.
Minnesota Twins:
First Round: (22) Kevin Hess—2B—UNSIGNED
First Round: (31) Federico de Loa—CF—Compensation for not signing Jimmy Whittaker—UNSIGNED
First Round: (37) Danny Marshall—P—Compensation for not signing Tristan Lutz—UNSIGNED
Second Round: (8) Pete Boley—P—Compensation for not signing Paker Kelly—UNSIGNED
Second Round: (10) Phil Stella—P—Compensation for not signing Jared Horn—UNSIGNED
Second Round: (24) Luis Chavira—P—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (8) Jonathan Lawhorn—CF—Compensation for not signing Eric Fooshee—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (10) Chris Littleton—CF—Compensation for not signing Ben Jordan—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (31) Nate Sauceda—P—UNSIGNED
Best Player: (8) Murdoch Barteaux
Best Deep Cut: (29) Whip Wakeley
Total ML WAR: 0
Review: Deep in a run of absentee GMing, this draft was in the middle of a host of churned over draft picks. The early picks were not good, and the Twins could have had Jimmy Whittaker. The second and third rounders were better, but it didn’t matter because they went unsigned. In 2021, all the unsigned picks were cashed in and the Twins got some good pieces, especially in Daddy Long Legs Cypert and Tim Elmore. Still, most of Minnesota’s early picks didn’t amount to more than depth pieces.
Of the players the Twins did sign, Murdoch Barteaux may be the best of the bunch as a respectable reliever nabbed in the eighth round. Erik Nigro was picked in the sixth round and played a year for the Rockies, but produced negative WAR and is in their minors now. Whip Wakeley has four good pitches and attacks the strike zone. He may have a future despite being a 29th round pick.
Grade: F. Missing out on so many drafts starved Minnesota’s system of impact talent. The rolled over picks did nab a few impact players, but most of Minnesota’s early 2021 picks didn’t amount to stars and wasn’t worth the parade of turned over draft picks that went on from 2018-2020. It was a minor miracle the Twins were able to win a World Series earlier in the decade, but their quick descent after their title has partly been due to the lack of depth from the lack of talent obtained in the draft.
New York Yankees:
First Round: (25) Jim Sattler—LF
Second Round: (29) Juan Cota—P
Third Round: (36) Luis Viscarra—P
Best Player: Jim Sattler
Best Deep Cut: Kymani Gholston (26)
Total ML WAR: 6
Review: Sattler was popped late in the first round as a possible slugging corner outfielder and the 6-6 behemoth has delivered on his potential. Only Greg Jacks and Luis Rivera have produced more WAR among players taken after Sattler, but he’s well in the ballpark of the third-round Brewers, and a different player than both of them. Nobody from the middle of the first round or the second round is anywhere close to Sattler in terms of production so far, making his selection an inspired pick.
Juan Cota didn’t work out as a second-round pitcher who didn’t develop, but Luis Vizcarra looks like a serviceable swingman taken in a spot where there hasn’t been much dependable pitching taken after. Jon Solomon was snagged in Round 4, and while he struggled a rookie last year, he also has a huge fastball/curveball combo that could make him an elite reliever or a solid starter if his changeup develops.
Dustin Ely struggled in his rookie year as well, and doesn’t have the stuff of Solomon, but he may be able to carve out a career as a quad-A guy.
Grade: A-. The Yankees were one of the few teams to get a talented player outside of a premium pick, with Sattler. They got some possible relief arms, and a lottery ticket in Solomon. Getting nothing out of Cota hurts, as does the fact that none of the pitchers are sure things.
New York Mets:
First Round: (19) Juan Casteneda—P
Second Round: (21) Pete McNeil—P
Third Round: (26) Joe Perez—P
Best Player: (21) Quadir Murriel
Best Deep Cut: (21) Quadir Murriel
Total ML WAR: 3.8
Review: The Mets got little from their early-round picks, with most of their value coming with their selection of Murriel. The 21st rounder was a prospect unexpected to hit for power, nor have a good hit tool. The hit tool is still an issue, but Murriel has added power, displayed a selective eye, and been a smooth defender. He had a good rookie season in 2024, getting on base at a .348 clip with 15 homers in 2024, before putting up a .201 average with a .315 on-base percentage last year. The defense was adequate though, making him a positive WAR player despite the poor showing with the bat. For a 21st round pick, that’s a huge success.
Juan Castaneda never developed and won’t be a major league pitcher. His selection has been a complete bust. Pete McNeil is a decent looking reliever. He was plucked from the Mets by the White Sox in the Rule V draft before the 2024 season, where he put up replacement level numbers. He’s been good in the upper minors and should be fine as a low-leverage arm. There weren’t that many good arms taken in the second-fourth rounds, so his selection looks pretty decent.
Joe Perez couldn’t cut it as a starter above rookie ball and has been a sub-replacement reliever in Triple-A the past two seasons. He doesn’t look like more than a Triple-A arm.
Fourth-rounder Shigeyasu Maeda has a terrific glove for the infield, but has put up a sub-.600 OPS in High-A the past two seasons, which tells you about his career trajectory. Fifth-rounder Mike Gaytan has had a few strong years in the upper minors and has a PBA-caliber Cutter. Only 23-years-old, he has a chance to be a low-leverage reliever.
Sixth-rounder Wander S. Freudenrich has good speed and plays good Left Field defense, but like Maeda, doesn’t have a bat for the mid-minors. Eighth-rounder J.D. Bolt, won’t be a PBAer either, but he has a decent amount of power. He could have a useful career if he plays overseas.
Quint Penning made the majors as an 11th rounder, which is a success. He also led the league in losses his rookie year, which is not a success. He’s a quad-A swingman, which is a fine accomplishment for an 11th round selection.
Grade: C. The Mets didn’t get much from most of their early-round picks, with only relievers Pete McNeil and Mike Gaytan looking like they have a chance of being positive selections. However, the Mets did have good selections in later rounds, with Quint Penning being a win, and a Quadir Murriel being an inspired selection. On the whole, the Mets got a few potential relievers or swingmen, and a second-division starter, which is adequate.
Oakland Athletics:
First Round: (15) Phil Logozzo—P
Second Round: (17) Pick traded along with Skye Bolt to Cincinnati for Brandon Finnegan and Aristedes Aquino. Pick turned into Humberto Camacho.
Third Round: (22) Joe Mills—SS
Best Player: (7) Milt Pool
Best Deep Cut: (11) Dave Suchanek
Total ML WAR: 0
Review: Oakland selected Phil Logozzo in the first round, a pitcher who hasn’t pitched above High A yet, and a pitcher who looks like he never will. While most pitchers selected after the top of the first round have struggled, getting nothing from a first round selection is a huge failure.
Oakland moved its second round pick, which turned into Humberto Camacho, and Skye Bolt for Brandon Finnegan and Aristedes Aquino. Camacho is a good player, and Bolt has been a useful outfielder as well, while Aquino was a power lefty-masher for a few seasons. Finnegan was a star for the A’s though, with his gem in the 2020 Wild Card Game coinciding with his arm falling off, enduring as one of the PBA’s signature moments.
Joe “Country” Mills had a strong season in Double-A last year, and may have a career as a well-balanced Triple-A Shortstop. Only 24, with a little bit of luck, he can be a solid major leaguer.
Oakland picked a few position players in the mid-rounds that may serve as a Triple-A players. Fourth-rounder Jon Wichec has been slow to develop, but has enough potential to reach the mid-minors. Sixth-rounder Bob Kandel’s lack of defensive flexibility hampers him, but he’s got a bat that should play in the mid-minors. Eighth-rounder Dan Rivas has a solid glove and a balanced offensive profile that will be good for the upper minors. Ninth-rounder Luis Irwin will take a walk and put the bat on the ball, plus he’s an above-average runner and fielder, making him a potential upper-minor leaguer as well. 11th rounder Dave Suchanik has no power, but he has a respectable hit tool, good legs, and can really play his position in Center. Individually, none of the picks is great, but the odds are fair that one member of a group of Double-A guys can pop and become a major leaguer.
On the pitching side, Luis Partida is cut from the same cloth. His control will likely relegate him to a minor league career, but the stuff and movement will play. With a little bit of luck, he can make the majors.
The best pick has been seventh rounder Milt Pool. The 69th best prospect prior to 2025, Pool has a quick bat and a good eye that produced a bunch of doubles in A-Ball this year. Scouts see Pool adding muscle and power, and becoming a huge home run threat in the future. They also see him as being a solid defender and putting up a nice average as well.
Grade: B. Pool was a home run of a pick, and Finnegan will never pay for his own drinks in any A’s bar in the bay. Having a large quantity of players with a 10% chance of working out may be better than having one guy with a 30% chance of working out. The Logozzo pick was awful, and having only one sure thing isn’t ideal, but Oakland walked out of the draft with a playoff hero, a top prospect, and some bites at the apple, which is, minus the context, generally a good outcome for a draft.
Philadelphia Phillies:
First Round: (7) Marc Eberle—P
Second Round: (4) Eric Groves—P
Third Round: (4) Chris McCommon—P
Best Player: Marc Eberle
Best Deep Cut: (24) Juan Pons
Total ML WAR: 11.5
Review: The Phillies first two picks were spent on pitchers who have developed nicely but are no longer on the team. Marc Eberle was involved in one of the more interesting intra-division trades the PBA has seen. During the 2022 offseason the Braves and Phillies essentially swapped former top first round picks, with the Braves sending 3B Bobby Witt Jr and the Phillies sending Eberle. Eberle took some time to get going but is coming off a breakout year in Atlanta where he finished 2nd in NL Cy Young voting. He led the NL in ERA and had an astounding 7 complete games. As knuckleballer Eberle is capable of pitching deep into games and has turned into an ace that should have a long future tormenting the Phillies. Witt had a disastrous year after a promising debut season but is still extremely young and talented. It's very early but this trade is one that should help define the NL East for years.
2nd rounder Eric Groves has turned into a very good lefty reliever. However, the years of great SP production the Phillies got for him more than make up for what he has done since leaving Philadelphia. Adam Conley had a very solid career in Philadelphia. That's a trade the Phillies would do every time. Third rounder Chris McCommon hasn't reached the majors yet but still has some potential as a back-end starter. The Phillies traded him for two productive years of outfielder and playoff monster Brian C. Miller. Another trade they would do every time.
There isn't much for deep cuts for the Phillies in this class, but 8th rounder Chad Kite reached the majors last year and could serve as a useful long reliever and depth starter for the Phillies. That is great for an 8th round pick.
Grade: A. Marc Eberle is a top 5 SP in the PBA even if he no longer plays for the Phillies. The Phillies other two high picks allowed them to acquire a SP and an OF who played key roles on 100 win teams and keeping the Phillies as one of the better teams in the PBA. Trading Eberle stings, but there is still time for Witt to turn it around. Still that may be a trade the Phillies come to regret.
Pittsburgh Pirates:
First Round: (16) Kevin Truitt—P
Second Round: (18) Ron Hamil—P
Third Round: (23) Billy Cushing—P
Best Player: Kevin Truitt
Best Deep Cut: (18) Mike Gilbert
Total ML WAR: 1.2
Review: Kevin Truitt has taken an eternity to develop, but Bad Company had a strong year in Triple-A last year and is finally knocking on the door of the majors. He gets great movement with his pitches, with a low angle sinker/slider offering terrorizing righties, and an excellent changeup neutralizing lefties. Taken extremely young, Truitt will spend next year as a 23-year-old and still has the upside for a long and fruitful career despite spending over five years in the minors.
Ron Hamil was taken in the second round. His control never developed, and he’s minor league depth. A lot of pitchers were taken in the second round who will not be contributors in their career, so Hamil isn’t as terrible a pick with that competitive set to compare to. Still, he’s also a selection that will provide no PBA value to the Pirates.
Billy Cushing has a beard that looks like it was colored by huffing Krylon paint. He throws hard, and has good off-speed pitches, but he also throws straight and will hang his offspeed stuff. He’s likely destined for a career overseas.
Julian Infante was a fourth-rounder who has played almost exclusively First Base in his pro career. He has a fringe bat for Third Base, but hasn’t had the bat for First Base, and has produced negative WAR every year as a result. He’s older, 29, and running out of time to make an impact.
Fifth-rounder Josh Warren has good pop, a decent eye, and can run a little bit. He’s not a good defender as a corner outfielder, which probably limits him to being a backup or a Triple-A starter, but a little extra development could make him a starter. He’s not a bad outcome for a fifth-rounder.
Sixth rounder Noah Murdock has put up more than 2 WAR combined the last two years as a swingman. That’s a nice get in the sixth round of the draft. Seventh-rounder Josh Jonkman is a terrific defender in Left Field, bashes doubles, and has been a strong Triple-A player. There are worse outcomes for a Seventh-rounder.
Pittsburgh also got great value in later rounds. Sergio Sarmiento was a 15th rounder. He had a strong season in Triple-A last year and looks like he can get a cup of coffee in the show. 18th rounder Mike Gilbert got into 5 games in the majors last year. He’s a decent defender with a decent bat, and who should be able to hold his own in the big leagues.
Grade: B+. Pittsburgh hit a bunch of singles in the 2020 draft. They got an impact starting pitcher prospect in the first round, a swingman in the sixth round, and a backup second baseman in the 18th Round. They also got decent Triple-A depth in mid-to-late rounds. Solid work from an organization infamous for terrible drafting.
San Diego Padres:
First Round: (8) Sean Presley—P
Second Round: (6) Tristen Lutz—RF—Compensation for not signing Will Coronado
Second Round: (12) Dusty Koch—RF
Third Round: (7) Kevin Podolak—Compensation for not signing Jordan McFarland
Third Round: (14) Dave Bounds—P
Best Player: Dusty Koch
Best Deep Cut: Josh Staples (11)
Total ML WAR: -0.2
Review: Sean Presley was the first pick of the draft behind the host of stars that went early on. He’s not a total bust as he has terrific stuff still, but he’s developed at a glacial pace. He’s been spectacular in the low minors, but has never pitched above High-A. He’ll be 26 next year and time is ticking for him to make an impact in the majors however.
The Padres passed on signing Will Coronado, which was a smart play as Coronado tore his shoulder and retired early in his career. Instead, they got Tristen Lutz, who has never made an impact above High-A. There weren’t too many useful players taken early in the second round, but Lutz has been a bust. They selected Koch a few spots later in the round, and Koch has potential. He’s incredibly young, and he’s likely a Designated Hitter, but he has a great eye, and big power. He could turn into the type of slugger the Padres desperately need.
In the third round, Kevin Podolak has enough potential where he was taken in the Rule V by Cleveland last year, but not enough potential to not have been returned back to San Diego by the Indians. He’s only 24 and has a good bat and could be a second-division starter. Ajani Dimanche was taken later in the round and has already produced real value. Podolak may not be as good as Dimanche has been, but he’s young enough where he may be able to develop. He’s also far superior to Jordan McFarland, who’ll never be in the majors.
Third-rounder Dave Bounds may be an interesting swingman. He hangs his pitches too often to be a reliable option, but he may cut it as the 13th pitcher in a rotation. Fifth-rounder Jin-Ho Yoo looks like a Triple-A Third Baseman who may play in his native Korea before too long.
Eleventh-rounder Josh Staples likely will never hit enough to be more than a Triple-A backup, but his speed and defense gives him a chance at a future.
Grade: D+. The Padres had some solid singles in the draft, but nothing that moved the needle. Presley has some potential, but his median possible outcome is likely a long reliever. Tristen Lutz is better than Will Coronado, but he’s still a career minor leaguer. Kevin Podolak may be a major leaguer, but he’ll probably be worse than Ajani Dimanche. Put it together, and it’s a very average draft.
San Francisco Giants:
First Round: (17) Jimmy Whittaker—P—UNSIGNED
First Round: (34) Teofilo Torrez—P—Compensation for not signing Juan Ochoa—UNSIGNED
Supplemental Round: (4) Robby Bloomquist—CF—Compensation for not signing Kelyn Klattenburger—UNSIGNED
Supplemental Round: (5) Josh Allen—RF—Compensation for not signing Billy Cushing—UNSIGNED
Second Round: (19) Yan C. Rickets—P—UNSIGNED
Second Round: (25) Jimmy Tiner—CF (Pick acquired along with Ian Desmond and Dee Gordon from Colorado for a 30th Rounder [Sergio Ortega)]—UNSIGNED
Second Round: (30) Juan Castillo—P—Compensation for not signing Carlos A. Cortes
Third Round: (24) Nate Berrios—SS—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (34) Shamar Motin—P—Compensation for not signing Zach Attianese—UNSIGNED
Best Player: (6) Luis Lara
Best Deep Cut: (27) Ismael Alvarado
Total ML WAR: -0.5
Review: The Giants had a bunch of compensation picks from the 2019 draft and all of them went unsigned. In fact, all their top picks went unsigned. The Giants got some interesting players when they cashed in all their picks in 2021, but not an overwhelming quantity. In fact, they actually drafted Teofilo Torrez again in 2021. However, they ended up failing to sign a few really good players in 2020 and starved their farm for a few years.
Jimmy Whittaker is an electric prospect that went unsigned. He would have been wonderful in San Francisco at the top of the rotation. Robby Bloomquist could be a starting pitcher in the league and Josh Allen might be a starting First Baseman.
They got Shamar Polite, Curt Gemma, Chris Davis, and Zach Stone as a result. That’s a nice return, but not better than the group they didn’t sign.
They also got Dee Gordon and a second-round pick as the cost for taking on Ian Desmond’s contract. Gordon had -0.4 WAR for the Giants, Ian Desmond was cut, and all the Giants got for them was an unsigned Jimmy Tiner that turned into Rodolfo Galazara.
They traded away their fifth rounder, who went unsigned, and Dan Altavilla to Tampa Bay for Justin Marsden, one of the best pitchers in baseball, and Carlos Vargas.
The Giants also selected Luis Lara in the sixth round. Lara’s been a replacement level starter for a couple of years, but has the stuff to be a little better.
Grade: D+. The grade for the Giants is virtually all for Marsden. He was an All-Star last year, and is one of the best pitchers in the game. The Giants gave up a good reliever in Altavilla to get him though, and passed on several decent players with all their draft picks. The Giants ended up with a barren farm for several seasons, partly because of a second season of not signing their picks.
Seattle Mariners:
First Round: (1) Mike Floyd—2B
First Round: (26) Danny Sabados—2B (Pick acquired from Washington for Edwin Encarnacion)
Second Round: (2) Jared Hall—CF
Third Round: (2) Luis Ledezma—CF
Best Player: Mike Floyd
Best Deep Cut: (15) Chris Breshears
Total ML WAR: 10.0
Review: Seattle had the first pick in the draft and didn’t screw it up, picking up arguably the best bat in the class in Madman Mike Floyd. Floyd’s defense has left him relegated to First Base, but he’s won a pair of Platinum Stick Awards already in his early career.
Encarnacion had a nice stretch run for the Nationals in 2019, but only played one season afterwards. The rebuilding Mariners turned him into first round pick, but Sabados wan’t the right guy. He’s been a fine Triple-A player, and is a great Second Base defender, but doesn’t have the bat for the majors. Mike Becker was grabbed right after and looks like the better guy. Second-rounder Jared Hall also looks like a fine Triple-A player, but he won’t make an impact in the majors. Luis Ledezma was picked one spot ahead of Greg Jacks. Oops.
Their fourth-round selection has turned into a very nice pick as Chris Beradelli was nearly a 2-win player his last healthy year in 2024. A starting Second Baseman is a nice pick in the fourth round.
Their fifth-rounder was pitcher named Juan Contreras who never made it above Double-A and retired, but their sixth-rounder was Jorge Camarillo. Camarillo had a rough year with the Cubs last year in his rookie season, but with all the injuries the Cubs suffered, Camarillo was overworked. He has a live arm and attacks the strike zone, and looks like a player.
Seattle also got some decent depth with later picks. Eighth rounder Sam Clifford is a fine Triple-A Catcher, and 10th-rounder Geoff Luke has a great glove, is fantastic on the bases, and is a Triple-A asset.
Grade: B-. Seattle had some big hits with Floyd, Beradelli, and Contreras. They also get some credit for decent selections made in later rounds. They made the right move to trade Encarnacion, but lost a lot of value from the deal by selecting the wrong player. A half season of strong play from Encarnacion might be worth more than a player who never reaches the majors. Hall and Ledezma look terrible in hindsight. Still, Seattle got one of the best players in the draft, a starting Second Baseman, and a relief prospect. Not a bad hall, even with the first overall pick
St. Louis Cardinals:
First Round: (9) R.J. Jarrett—RF
First Round: (32) Jake Sanfilippo—2B—Compensation for not signing Ignacio Vigil
Second Round: (13) T.J. Lunsford—LF
Third Round: (15) Pete Westra—1B
Best Player: (26) Nate Stephany
Best Deep Cut: (26) Nate Stephany
Total ML WAR: 0.6
Review: R.J. Jarrett has good power, but his bat speed is questionable making him a fringe major league talent. The bat will likely play as a fringe starter, but Jarrett is limited defensively, and is a second-division starter at best. Alan Ramos would have been the better pick.
St. Louis didn’t sign Ignacio Vigil in 2019 and got a pick that turned into Jake Sanfilippo out of it. Vigil has already retired, while Sanfilippo is an intriguing bat who projects to be a second-division starter. There weren’t many talented position players drafted around where Sanfilippo was picked, making his selection a smart choice.
T.J. Lunsford had a solid rookie year as a lefty-masher for Colorado. He offers a good bat against left-handed pitching, good speed, and strong defense. He’s a solid pickup in the second round. Pete Westra has developed slowly but looks like a slugging First Baseman. The power hasn’t been there in the minors yet, but he’s had a bunch of doubles with the assumption that they’ll turn into home runs when he adds more muscle.
Catcher Ajani Ghoston hasn’t worked out as a fourth rounder, while fifth round infielder Bob Utley has already retired.
They received a fifth rounder that turned into Yukio Onishi, Jason Hursh, and Ender Inciarte from the Braves for Andrew Susac, Johan Oviedo, Delvin Perez, and Tanner Houck. Susac only played one more year, while Houck retired before he made the majors. Perez has had a role as a defensive-oriented backup infielder, while Oviedo is a strong reliever. Hursh was basically replacement level the rest of his career, while Inciarte has been a strong high-average hitter since the trade. Onishi had a luck-heavy 0.5 WAR for the Cardinals last year, but has moved on to Japan for the next step in his career.
Judging the value of that deal is pretty tough. Inciarte has been solid, and the Cardinals got some respectable relievers. They gave up the best reliever and a defensive-minded backup. It’s a pretty even deal when looking at everything.
They then gave up a sixth rounder and Mauricio Dubon for Damien Magnifico. Magnifico was basically replacement level, while Dubon had a great 2020, a decent 2021, was in the minors in 2022 then retired. The draft pick turned into Mason Studstill who never amounted to anything before retiring. Dubon should have been held, but the deal was pretty even.
The best pick from the Cardinals may have been a 26th round pitcher. Nate Stephany has had back-to-back good seasons in Triple-A. He’s got really good stuff, he keeps the ball on the ground, and he projects to be someone who throws strikes when he cleans his mechanics up. He could become a good starting pitcher, and is a hell of a 26-th round selection.
Grade: B. St. Louis gets good marks for Sanfilippo, Lunsford, and Westra, and an A+ for Stephany. Jarrett has the potential for a PBA career, despite being an underwhelming selection. They probably slightly lost the Dubon and Inciarte trades, and didn’t get anything out of Ghoston or Utley. All-in-all, a very solid draft though.
Tampa Bay Rays:
First Round: Forfeited as a result of signing Madison Bumgarner
First Round: (36) Nate Capriglione—P—Compensation for not signing Tyler Freeman
Second Round: (22) Luis Urena—P
Third Round: (27) Steve Ryan—P—UNSIGNED
Best Player: Nate Capriglione
Best Deep Cut: (15) Josh Wood
Total ML WAR: 6.4
Review: One of the most impactful moves involving the 2020 draft didn't involve the act of drafting any player, rather the Rays giving up their first round pick as compensation for signing Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner returned the favor by winning back-to-back Cy Young awards in his two seasons in Tampa, accumulating a 15.8 WAR in 2020 and 2021 - more than any 2020 draftee so far. Hard to argue with that move.
Tampa still had another first round pick, selecting P Nate Capriglione. Capriglione has developed into a solid mid-rotation starter for the Braves. "Caps" has gone 26-19 over the last two seasons with a 3.96 ERA in Atlanta.
Outside of the first round, the Rays didn't have any sure-fire hits. They did grab P Kurt Chamberland in the 10th round, who showed promise during his call up in 2025 and could have a career as a PBA bullpen arm. 7th round pick P Brad Sefcik could find his way to the big leagues at some point as well. He's posted a sub-4.00 ERA each of the last three seasons in the minors, but at 26 years old, his time to break the glass ceiling could be running out.
There were also a couple of questionable trades with the Rays 2020 trade. They traded away current Giants ace Justin Marsden for a failed 5th round pick and RP Dan Altavilla who wasn't amazing in Tampa. And while it doesn't sting nearly as much, they also got the lesser end of a trade sending Steven Souza to Colorado for a 20th round pick and A.J. Schugel, who never played in the big leagues again.
Grade: B+. It's hard to argue with what essentially was giving up the first round pick for two seasons of the best pitcher in the game. Capriglione was a solid pick in the first round, there wasn't much to write home about after that. The Marsden trade stings in hindsight, but again, but not enough erase the impact of Bumgarner.
Texas Rangers:
First Round: (23) Ryder Green—1B
Supplemental Round: (1) Alfredo Contreras—P—Compensation for Madison Bumgarner
Second Round: (26) Alfredo Flores—P
Second Round: (35) Alfredo Carillo—P—Compensation for not signing Austin Langworthy—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (33) Juan Avalos—CF—UNSIGNED
Best Player: Alfredo Flores
Best Deep Cut: (26) Zeyuan Stanley
Total ML WAR: 0.9
Review: Texas selected Ryder Green in the first round, a player who looks like a Double-A First Baseman. Jim Sattler was picked two spots later. Even Mike Becker was picked four spots after. To not get anyone who looks like a future major league was a big missed opportunity.
Texas decided to not sign Madison Bumgarner, opting instead to get a Supplemental pick and draft Alfredo Contreras. Contreras has been fine as a fifth starter over his career after being sent away in the Carlos Correa trade. Bumgarner got rocked in the Wild Card game for Texas that year, but continued his fine career five more stellar seasons, including leading the league in WAR in 2020 and 2021. As a title contender, Texas should have found a way to bring back Mad Bum.
The Rangers continued their run on Alfredos in the Second Round, selecting Alfredo Flores. Nicknamed Pluto, Flores had a rocky rookie year in relief for the Red Sox this past year. Flores has a live fastball/slider combo and should be an effective reliever going forward though. Plus, his selection was in a spot where few pitchers taken around him have succeeded.
Texas then drafted their third Alfredo in a row, Alfredo Carrillo in round three. Carrillo wasn’t signed out of High School and went to San Joaquin Delta College. He was selected in 2023, cut after not making it above the Gulf Coast League, and retired immediately after. The pick itself was a comp pick for not signing Austin Langworthy, a career minor leaguer. The comp pick gained from rolling the pick over eventually was taken away for signing Comp Free Agent Jackie Bradley Jr. the next season.
Texas went away from their Alfredo strategy, drafting Juan Avalos in the third round. Avalos has been a negative player in the upper minors and doesn’t have a PBA future, so failing to sign him wasn’t a bad decision. It turned into Kevin Flippo the next year. On the other hand, Texas could have picked Ajani Dimanche or Chris Berardelli who were picked soon after.
In fact, after Flores, everyone Texas picked until the 12th round either wasn’t signed or has retired from baseball. 12th rounder Juan Bedolla is plugging away in the mid-minors with little hope of a significant baseball career, but Texas did draft some curiosities in the 20s. Catcher Zeyuan Stanley has gap power and a really good eye. He should be a Triple-A catcher someday. Also, 29th rounder Kymani Bivins, the Elastic Man, appears to stretch to the plate, getting extra bite for his fastball, and throwing off the timing of hitters with his changeup and splitter. If he had the stuff to match the deception and would stop yielding homers, he’d have potential in the majors.
Grade: F. Texas got nothing in the first round, should have resigned Madison Bumgarner, as he’d win back-to-back Cy Youngs the next two seasons, and didn’t get any players who could make it to the majors aside from Alfredo Flores. They also picked players in future rounds that could have been Ajani Dimanche instead of filler. It adds up to a failing grade.
Toronto Blue Jays:
First Round: (13) Pete Dailey—UNSIGNED
First Round: (18) Jamie Ison—P—UNSIGNED (Pick acquired along with Damian Mendoza, Eric Drouet, Billy McKay, and Adley Rutschman from Chicago Cubs for Josh Donaldson)
Second Round: (16) Gabe Genn—P—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (19) Jorge Santana—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (21) Chris McBee—Compensation for not signing Blake Sabol—UNSIGNED
Best Player: Camden Primmer
Best Deep Cut: (16) Camden Primmer
Total ML WAR: -0.6
Review: Toronto had multiple high-round picks in 2020 and selected some talented guys. Unfortunately, they didn’t sign any of them and most of the players they selected in 2020 were taken by other teams the following year. So, while the Blue Jays’ scouting department held up its end of the bargain in 2020, the team ultimately failed to benefit from it.
Dailey was taken with the 24th overall pick by Seattle in 2021, eventually released, and has turned out to be an interesting prospect for Boston (who signed him as a free agent in 2025). Currently in AAA, he put up 2.1 rWAR last year along with a 101 ERA+. He’s always had good stuff and kept the ball in the park, but has struggled with control his entire career. The jury is still out on whether he can contribute as a starter, but the worst-case scenario is the Red Sox shift him to the pen and make him a long-reliever, a role he might excel at in Fenway Park.
The Blue Jays did find some useful minor league players later in the draft. Camden Primmer, taken in the 16th round, is a glove-first catcher and a clubhouse leader. Gregorio Barcena, a 9th round selection has put up 12 WAR in the minors as a swing man with solid stuff and mediocre control. And Steve Fauntroy, who lasted until the 26th round, managed to add 7.2 WAR in the minors before he was released last season.
The one good thing Toronto did involving their draft was taking on Eric Drouet, along with some other prospects and a first round pick, for Josh Donaldson. The pick went unsigned but Drouet has turned into a star.
Grade: D+. Dailey is the best of the Blue Jay’s 2020 draftees, and while he could eventually contribute as a back-end starter for Boston or another team, he’ll never be an impact player. And although Ison, Genn, Santana, and McBee all had some potential when drafted, none have amounted to much and it’s unlikely at this point any of them will contribute to a major league team in a meaningful way. With 5 picks in the first three rounds, Toronto could have done better and the biggest success of the draft for them could be the fact they failed to sign anyone – saving money and allowing them more financial flexibility for the next draft (without giving too much away, they really nailed it in 2021). They did get Drouet at least, which saves their grade.
Washington Nationals:
First Round: (26) Pick Traded to Seattle for Edwin Encarnacion. Turned into Danny Sabados
Second Round: (31) Steve Grover—P
Third Round: (37) Danny Morris—2B
Best Player: (5) Jimmy Shead
Best Deep Cut: (16) Greg Michael
Total ML WAR: 0
Review: Washington traded their first round pick in 2019, acquiring Edwin Encarnacion and watching him go 2-24 in the playoffs that year. Encarnacion played in 39 games in 2020 and never played after. The first round pick turned into Danny Sabados, who likely will never play in the majors. Encarnacion did have a big half season in 2019 to help Washington make the postseason, and that half-season alone is better than what Sabados will ever provide in the pros.
They selected Steve Grover in the second round as a big arm with questionable mechanics. Grover’s worked as a fringe starter in the minors. And may be able to stick as a major league reliever, but he’ll be 27-years-old this year and is likely too old to develop into a successful major leaguer.
Third rounder Danny Morris became a pitcher, but hasn’t been more than a Triple-A arm and won’t be more than that in the bigs. He has a decent bat, but isn’t a strong defender. He’s likely stuck in the minors, but has a chance to make it as a bench hitter. Joel Eggleston was picked in the fourth round, but is a Triple-A Third Baseman.
Their fourth rounder Jimmy Shead made it to San Francisco where their developmental genius has turned him into a strong pitcher prospect, while their eighth rounder Jeremy Lee has the speed and defense to play Triple-A Shortstop, but likely won’t hit enough to be more than a minor leaguer.
Grade: C. Washington gets a solid B for the Encarnacion trade, a D for the Grover selection, and a C- for Morris. They get an A for popping Shead in the fourth round, and didn’t get anything else. It’s an adequate, uninspiring draft.
Most WAR
Milwaukee Brewers 23.2
Detroit Tigers 16.4
Boston Red Sox 12.4
Philadelphia Phillies 11.5
Seattle Mariners 10
Kansas City Royals 8.5
Los Angeles Dodgers 7.3
Chicago Cubs 7
Tampa Bay Rays 6.4
New York Yankees 6
Cincinnati Reds 5.9
New York Mets 3.8
Colorado Rockies 2.7
Chicago White Sox 2
Los Angeles Angels 1.6
Arizona Diamondbacks 1.2
Pittsburgh Pirates 1.2
Baltimore Orioles 0.9
Texas Rangers 0.9
St. Louis Cardinals 0.6
Cleveland Indians 0.4
Miami Marlins 0.3
Houston Astros 0.2
Atlanta Braves 0
Minnesota Twins 0
Washington Nationals 0
Oakland Athletics 0
San Diego Padres -0.2
San Francisco Giants -0.5
Toronto Blue Jays -0.6
Arizona Diamondbacks:
First Round: (14) Andy Roemer—3B
Second Round: (14) Tyler Freeman—SS
Third Round: (16) Juan Ornelas—LF
Best Player: Tyler Freeman
Best Deep Cut: (16) Tekukuni Matasino
Total ML WAR: 1.2
Review: Arizona drafted Andy Roemer in the first round, a 26-year-old who has played 10 games above High-A in his career. Roemer will not make a difference as a pro and is a bust of a pick. Arizona had better luck with their second-rounder, Tyler Freeman. Freeman was drafted four times in his career, finally signing with Arizona after their selected him 14th in the second round. Freeman has a terrific glove, is a good base stealer, and should be able to not get the bat knocked out of his hands at the plate. He’s been a decent selection.
Juan Ornelas has been slow to develop and doesn’t look like more than an A-ball Left Fielder. Arizona could have gotten more than that with their third rounder.
Arizona gave up a future star in Amin Valdez, plus solid starter Jake Higginbotham and Quad-A outfielder Anfernee Grier to get a solid relief prospect in Jerry Bethea and back-end arm Aaron Blair. Arizona would have been better served holding on to Valdez, but Blair had a strong 2020 was a contributor to their 2022 Championship.
Arizona’s own fourth-rounder was used on Joe Hausman, a High-A Catcher with little hope of a future beyond being a Double-A backup. Their fifth-rounder was spent on Devin Pratcher, a nice minor leaguer Center Fielder who will likely top out in Triple-A.
Arizona did get a nice relief prospect in the ninth round. Right-hander Andy Bell pitched well as a starting pitcher in both Double-A and Triple-A last year. He likely doesn’t have what it takes to start in the PBA, but his changeup and curveball miss bats when he can set them up with a 90-mile-an-hour cutter.
Grade: D. Tyler Freeman isn’t a bad player, but having him be the best player taken is a disappointing outcome for the Diamondbacks. They don’t get an F for trading for Aaron Blair and Jerry Bethea, but they would be better served by holding on to Amin Valdez. Even the busts after the first three rounds, tend to be no-hopers stuck in the low minors. It’s not a complete failure of a draft, but it’s not something Arizona should feel proud of.
Atlanta Braves:
First Round: (18) Luis Montoya—P—UNSIGNED
Second Round: (20) Ignacio Vigil—P—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (25) Mike Devenport—P—UNSIGNED
Best Player: (16) Chris Thomas
Best Deep Cut: (16) Chris Thomas
Total ML WAR: 0
Review: Atlanta didn’t sign any of their picks in the first three rounds after selecting three guys who either have already retired or won’t make the majors. They did get Steve Goode and Steve Ryan in 2021 from the comp picks. There were some good players selected in the areas where the Braves were picking though. Not getting a talented player in the draft in order to get decent players the next year is a C- move. All things being equal, getting the talent earlier is preferable.
They traded Aaron Blair and their fourth rounder that would become Jerry Bethea for Jake Higginbotham, Anfernee Grier, and Amin Valdez. Blair had a strong 2020 and helped Arizona win a title in 2022, but hasn’t been more than a back-end starter since leaving Atlanta. Jerry Bethea is a good young relief prospect who had a decent rookie season for Arizona this year before blowing out his elbow. Meanwhile, Atlanta got Amin Valdez in the deal, a player who has turned into one of the best Shortstops in the league. They also got Jake Higginbotham, who has been a decent swingman, and Anfernee Grier, who has been a really good Triple-A player, but has only had brief cups of coffee in the majors. Valdez has far and away been the best player in the deal.
Atlanta then traded Jason Hursh, Ender Inciarte, and their fifth rounder away to St. Louis for Andrew Susac, Johan Oviedo, Tanner Houck and Delvin Perez. The fifth rounder became Yukio Onishi, who used a fortunate home run per fly ball ratio to have a nice rookie season for the Cardinals last year, but with limited stuff and more walks than strikeouts, he was cut after the season. He may pitch in Japan in the future. Hursh has been a sub-replacement pitcher in the PBA. Inciarte was the only positive player traded away as he had a few solid seasons with good batting averages and Left Field defense, though injuries have also limited his production. The Braves acquired Andrew Susac who had a nice season as a backup Catcher for Atlanta, but was never heard from after 2020. Johan Oviedo developed into a respectable swingman, and Delvin Perez is a respectable backup Shortstop.
Atlanta traded away one player who was solid in Inciarte, and got a pair of players who are younger, useful back-of-the-roster players, but players who won’t play significant roles. It’s likely a slight negative deal for them as they gave away the one player who had a significant role in the majors.
Atlanta didn’t get any real interesting players in the later rounds. Seventh rounder Dave Rosinsky has been a good Double-A Shortstop, while 16th-round pick Chris Thomas is young and powerful, and may turn into a Triple-A slugger. There’s a greater-than-zero chance he becomes a PBAer, which is good value for a 16th rounder.
Grade: C-. Atlanta didn’t draft good players early, didn’t sign them, then got decent players in the future with the comp picks they were given. They could have just drafted the good players that were available in this draft. They likely were a slight negative in the Inciarte trade, and didn’t get much with their other picks. Getting Amin Valdez for little, and getting a nice piece in Thomas in the 16th round bump the Braves out of the D range and into a C-.
Baltimore Orioles:
First Round: (10) Tim Newbold—P
Second Round: (11) Jadon Lenzy—3B
Third Round: (13) Andy Fleck—P—UNSIGNED
Best Player: Tim Newbold
Best Deep Cut: (16) Jonathan Lewis
Total ML WAR: 0.9
Review: Baltimore picked Tim Newbold 10th overall, and it’s been a slow development process for Newbold. He has a big fastball and scouts think with more work on his mechanics will improve his control. Newbold was pegged to be a starter though and the changeup hasn’t come around, leaving him as a closer prospect. Getting a dominant closer in the first round isn’t a bad thing, but Newbold will have to be really good to justify the pick.
Jadon Lenzy hasn’t developed as a Third Baseman. He doesn’t have the power or the defense for the position, leaving him as a Double-A caliber player. T.J. Lunsford or Tyler Freeman would have been better picks. Baltimore didn’t sign Andy Fleck with their third-round pick, getting Jeremy Voss the next year with the compensation pick. Both players look like second-division starting Right Fielders, and getting the prospect earlier, all things considered, is generally a better process.
Baltimore’s fourth, fifth, and sixth round picks all look like Double-A prospects, while eighth-rounder Chris Babcock looks like a Triple-A reliever. Babcock’s been a replacement level arm in the majors for the Cubs thus far.
Grade: D-. Baltimore got a really good relief prospect with their first pick, then didn’t get much after. The draft class was one that offered opportunities for decent depth, but Baltimore didn’t capitalize. Ending up with only a good reliever is a little bit of a disappointing haul.
Boston Red Sox:
First Round: (5) Chris Berson—3B
First Round: (30) Mike Billings—SP—Compensation for not signing Sergio Ochoa
Second Round: (7) Jonathan Carrillo—CF—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (9) Rory Scearce—CF—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (20) Jonathan Mueller—P—Compensation for not signing Zach Farrar—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (29) Mike Phelps—P—Compensation for not signing Julian Infante—UNSIGNED
Best Player: Chris Berson
Best Deep Cut: (17) Jerry Squier
Total ML WAR: 12.4
Review: The Red Sox made a good pick in the first round, getting a solid Third Baseman in Berson who’s already put up four strong years in the majors. He’s a plus defender and a doubles machine at the hot corner. Nobody picked after Berson has put up more WAR than him to date.
Boston punted on a future starter in Sergio Ochoa to grab a one-pitch reliever in Mike Billings. Ochoa is the #10 prospect in baseball as of the 2026 offseason, while Billings is a 27-year-old with negative career WAR.
The unsigned picks in the second and third round weren’t turned into much when they were used in 2021. Only reliever Kevin Sexton has paid off. None of the players they failed to sign amounted to anything either, but washing over picks is in general a bad practice as it prevents talent from reaching your system.
Boston didn’t get much out of their fourth-seventh rounders either, but they did sign Phil Cabrera in Round eight. Cabrera has huge stuff and just turned in a 4.7 WAR rookie year. Cabrera whiffed 231 in 144.1 innings and has a wonderful future ahead of him.
Boston got some decent depth in the late rounds. 17th rounder Jerry Squire throws hard and has a great changeup. He may not make it as a starter in the majors, but he has a shot, and he may stick as a reliever. Reliever Shamel Jimoh made the majors as a 26th rounder. He struggled in the majors and upper minors, but has big stuff that could pay off.
Grade: A-. Boston gets spectacular marks for nabbing Cabrera, and Berson was a good, if obvious, pick. Boston also gets a slight bump for some decent picks made in the late rounds. Not signing a number of picks from rounds two through five, brings the grade down a bit.
Chicago White Sox:
First Round: (24) Pick traded with fourth round pick [Derek Goss] and fifth round pick [Jorge Canovas] to Milwaukee for Bo Bichette. Pick turned into Jake Eischeid
Supplemental Round: (2) Rogelio Mendizabal—C—Compensation for not signing Andrew McCutchen
Second Round: (27) Juan Ibarra—LF
Third Round: (35) Pick traded along with Trevor Rogers to Cincinnati for Eugenio Suarez. Pick turned into Arturo Romero.
Best Player: Rogelio Mendizial
Best Deep Cut: (12) Jon Nardozzi
Total ML WAR: 2.0
Review: Chicago traded away picks that amounted to a major league starting pitcher and some filler for Bichette, a player who has racked up an impressive -2.5 WAR in his time in the majors. Just an impressive way to lose a deal.
Andrew McCutchen was on the back end of his career when the White Sox gave him a qualifying offer and watched him leave in free agency. They got a supplemental round pick that they used to sign Mendizabal, a slugging Catcher that has 40-homer potential. Chicago made the right call.
They signed Juan Ibarra, in the second round. Ibara is a player who will never play above Double-A. The second position player taken after Ibarra was Greg Jacks.
There are only two players of note picked after the second round. Eric Rix was a 10th-rounder who may be able to latch on at the back of a bullpen, but is likely a Triple-A arm. Still, that’s a win in the 10th round. Also, 12th-rounder Jon Nardozzi has tremendous speed, is a fantastic outfield defender, and can fill in at Shortstop in a pinch. He has a minor league bat, but the flexibility gives him the potential for a major league future.
Grade: F. The decision to let McCutchen walk and pick Mendizabal was the right one, but the rest of the draft was a disaster. They lost a lot of value in acquiring a negative player in Bichette, then missed on their second rounder and most picks in the back of the top third of the draft.
Chicago Cubs:
First Round: (26) Pick traded along with Damian Mendoza, Eric Drouet, Billy McKay, and Adley Rutschman to Toronto for Josh Donaldson. Pick turned into Jamie Ison.
Second Round: (33) Lupe Granados—P
Third Round: (39) Ajani Dimanche—1B
Best Player: Ajani Dimanche - 1B
Best Deep Cut: (20) Eric Hogan - CF
Total ML WAR: 7
Review: The total ML WAR for the Cubs' 2020 draft can mislead the casual fan when analyzing this draft's impact on the organization. Only four of the Cubs' picks are still playing baseball, with none of them ever cracking the Cubs major league roster.
The first round pick sent in a package including Eric Drouet and Damian Mendoza for Josh Donaldson. At the time, the Cubs were looking to make a run for the league championship. Donaldson ended up disappointing over 53 games for the Cubs, before going just 4-for-22 in the divisional series as the Cubs fizzled out. Donaldson left in free agency after that. On the flip side, while the Blue Jays didn't make great use of the pick (Jamie Ison), they did land Eric Drouet, who is still just 23 years old and has posted .370+ OBP each of the past two years as he looks on his way to a bright future. Additionally, Damian Mendoza looks to be a ML talent in the middle of a rotation.
The second round had the Cubs draft Lupe Grandados. While Grandados has been slow to move through the minors, hindered by an elbow injury, he has yet to pitch above High-A. However, he has been successful when he has been on the mound, winning the 2022 GCL Pitcher of the Year award and earning All-Star appearances in 2023 and 2024. Grandados was dealt to the Tigers in the winter of 2020, however projects to join their big league roster in the next year as a back-end starter.
Chicago's best pick came in the third round when they selected 1B Ajani Dimanche. Much like the first round pick, Dimanche was apart of another failed Cubs trade for a superstar 3B years later (Alex Bregman). But the pick itself was a solid third round pick as Dimanche has developed into an average starter at 1B. He's averaged 32 HR a year over the last three seasons for Houston, while amassing a 7.0 WAR over that span.
No one else of note came from the Chicago draft, with Eric Hogan being the next best player drafted. Hogan has shown to be overmatched at AAA though, and will likely be finding a new career shortly.
Grade: C. The trades surrounding these draft picks will leave a bad taste in Cubs' fans mouths, but Dimanche was a good third round pick, and Grandados still has a chance to contribute at the big league level. The biggest takeaway from the Cubs 2020 draft review seems to be maybe the organization should rethink it's strategy of going all-in on trading for star third-basemen.
Cincinnati Reds:
First Round: (6) Josh Carlson—P
Second Round: (3) Dan Yates—P—UNSIGNED
Second Round: (17) Humberto Camacho—CF (Pick acquired with Skye Bolt from Oakland for Brandon Finnegan and Aristedes Aquino)
Third Round: (3) Pick traded along with fourth round pick [Joe Rowland] to Milwaukee for Jonathan Villar. Pick Turned into Greg Jacks
Third Round: (12) Jeff Pigg—P—Compensation for not signing Zack Thompson
Third Round: (35) Arturo Romero (Pick acquired along with Trevor Rogers from Chicago White Sox for Eugenio Suarez)
Best Player: Josh Carlson
Best Deep Cut: (13) Danny Galabeas
Total ML WAR: 5.9
Review: The Reds were very active with trades prior to the 2020 draft, making a number of deals that shaped their team. They acquired a second-round pick that turned into Humberto Camacho and Skye Bolt in exchange for Brandon Finnegan and Aristedes Aquino. Finnegan would go on to be a playoff hero, and Aquino had some good seasons mashing lefties as a part time player. Skye Bolt has had a serviceable career as a decent defender in Right Field, and a patient hitter at the plate, while Humberto Camacho’s speed and defense have made him a valuable PBA player.
The Reds were going through a rebuild, so Finnegan, and to a lesser extent Aquino, didn’t have quite as much value to the Reds as other teams. Even with Finnegan’s future heroics, he’s spent most of that time injured or as a reliever. The Reds got decent value in the assets they acquired, and the player they used their extra draft pick on.
The Reds also traded away a pair of draft picks, a third and fourth rounder, for Jonathan Villar. Those picks turned into Joe Rowland and Greg Jacks. Jacks just led the league in Triples and has put up nearly 8 WAR his first two years in the bigs, and is only 24-years-old. Rowland has been a serviceable releiver. In giving up those two, the Reds got Villar, a player who had 1.1 WAR in 2020 then left the team in Free Agency. Villar did have a nice 2021 with Cleveland, but even so. Given where the Reds were in their contention cycle, to give away two assets for one year of middling Third Base play was poor asset management. Watching one of those picks turn into Greg Jacks makes it disastrous.
Cincinnati made a better asset play involving a third rounder when they traded Eugenio Suarez for the pick, plus Trevor Rogers. Suarez was a veteran so it made sense to move him, though he’s been a solid second-division starter everywhere he’s been (except ironically, to the White Sox team that needed him to play better than he did during their runs in 2019 and 2020). Rogers was a pitcher with huge potential at the time. He’s delivered on that by being one of the best relievers in baseball, just winning the reliever-of-the-year award. Arturo Romero developed slowly and ended up in the Cuban League for a few seasons, before returning Stateside last year in Kansas City’s system. Even without the pick hitting, trading Suarez for Trevor Rogers was a plus move.
The Reds also made deals for a few fourth-rounders. The fourth-rounder they gave to the Brewers in the Villar trade was originally owned by the Cubs. Cincinnati took on Hisashi Iwakuma’s dead money, Kyle Funkhouser, Tyler Alamo, Keiber Arredondo, and Justin Steele from them, giving up Jose Bautista and Felix Hernandez. Iwakuma had a 1.86 ERA for the Reds in 2019 before returning to Japan in 2020 and retiring soon after. Funkhouser was a solid back-end arm. None of the other players acquired developed. Joey Bats was awful for the Cubs, then retired, while Felix Hernandez was a long man who made four starts for the team. Getting anything for them was a good play.
The Reds then gave up their own fourth-round pick to acquire Sam Howard from the Rockies. Howard would blossom into a future All-Star with the Cubs, while the pick would turn into Jonathan Cikanek, who might someday play in the Pacific Coast League.
As for the Reds own picks, Josh Carlson led the league in home runs the past two seasons, but he’s finally put together his Slider and Changeup to the point where he can be considered an upper tier pitcher. The left-hander who models his style after Madison Bumgarner, has only put up 3.8 WAR to date thus far, but that number can jump precipitously the next few seasons. The one downside is that Marc Eberle was picked a spot after, and Eberle has been the better pitcher thus far.
The Reds selected Dan Yates in the second round, but didn’t sign him, eventually selecting and signing Pablo Montiel in 2022 with the rolled over pick.
The Reds didn’t get too much else out of their picks in the single-digits that haven’t been covered. A few hitters haven’t developed, and a few picks weren’t signed. Cincinnati did do good work with some picks after the first two rounds. 13th rounder Danny Galabeas went 8-3 and put up 1.0 WAR last year as a swingman for the Astros. He has three good pitches and a durable arm and may be a valuable piece for someone as their fifth starter or middle-reliever. In that vein, Dan Heyd was popped in the 11th round and also has the look of someone who can be a serviceable middle-reliever.
Grade: B-. There are a lot of moving parts to take in when grading the Reds draft. The Carlson pick is fine, even if Eberle may have been the better choice. The deal to acquire Bolt and Camacho is also fine. The Reds get good marks for acquiring Trevor Rogers and Sam Howard, and decent marks for getting something for Jose Bautista and Felix Hernandez, who were past their usefulness. Getting a useful PBA pitcher and another arm with some upside after the 10th round is a nice job. Trading away the pick that became Greg Jacks for Jonathan Villar is a major blemish on their grade. Trading away Steve Ivey also doesn’t help. There are more successes than failures though.
Cleveland Indians:
First Round: (20) Jon Brommer—P
Second Round: (23) Steve Bates—P
Third Round: (28) Josh Woodward—P
Best Player: (6) Mike Serrano
Best Deep Cut: (18) Cletus Burrill
Total ML WAR: 0.4
Review: Cleveland's best player in this draft was taken from them in Rule V, and the rest of the class has negative WAR at this point in their careers. The team won 109 games and the World Series in 2020, but drafts like this and general mismanagement soon helped contribute to their rapid decline. Jon Brommer was traded to the Phillies for 516 unremarkable PAs from Scott Kingery before he retired. Brommer didn't do much in Philadelphia either, although he was a part of the package that landed the Phillies Osiris German from the Twins. He pitched to the tone of 18 innings of negative WAR for the Twins last season and at 27 this is probably about what he can be expected to be. He might make an adequate back-end starter but hasn't shown he was worth a first round pick.
Steve Bates and John Woodard were Cleveland's 2nd and 3rd round picks respectively. Bates could debut this upcoming season and may turn into a 5th starter but is likely destined to be a long reliever if he can stick in the majors. Woodard has the most potential out of any of Cleveland's first three picks. He struggles with control but has 3 big time pitches to pair with great stuff and stamina. If he can learn to throw strikes at all, then Cleveland might have something here.
The best player that the Indians picked came in the 6th round. Mike Serrano is a lefty reliever who has a nasty cutter he can use against righties. He was a great bullpen piece for the Dodgers in 2024 after they snatched him from Cleveland in Rule V. Injuries hurt him his sophomore season and he is currently recovering from Tommy John. Finding a piece like this in the 6th round is a win for any team, but it's best to protect and keep draft gems like this when you do find them.
Grade: D+. This draft isn't a total failure, with 3 guys who should make the majors with the first three picks, but none of them has tremendous upside.
Colorado Rockies:
First Round: (21)) Luis Picon—2B
Second Round: (25) Pick traded along with Ian Desmond and Dee Gordon to San Francisco for a 30th Round Pick [Sergio Ortega]). Pick became Jimmy Tiner
Third Round: (32) Eric Lee—LF
Best Player: Luis Picon - 2B
Best Deep Cut: T.J. Del Tufo - C
Total ML WAR: 2.7
Review: Luis Picon was a safe first round pick. Picon has the talent to start at almost any position on the diamond, but has yet to be a regular starter for a full season in the bigs. But his injury-marred 2025 showed what he is capable of, posting a .372 OBA and 1.2 WAR in just 54 games. If he can stay healthy, Picon could be an above average player for the Rockies in 2026.
Colorado's second-round pick was shipped to San Francisco in a successful salary dump. San Francisco used that pick on Jimmy Tiner, who didn't materialize and is now out of baseball.
Third round pick Eric Lee has yet to crack the majors at 28 years old. He has been an above average corner outfielder in AAA, and could find his way to the Rockies as a fourth outfielder, but the likelihood of him playing any meaningful innings look slim.
Seventh round pick Jorge Blanco has played well in AAA the last two seasons, and could still find himself getting a shot at 2B on a big league roster. Eighth round pick T.J. Del Tufo was talented enough to be drafted by Cincinnati in last year's Rule 5 draft, and where he held his own as the team's backup catcher, a role he maybe able to make a career out of.
Colorado also made a couple of late round trades that impacted this draft. The Rockies traded Sam Howard for a fourth round pick that they used on 3B Jonanthan Cikanek. Cikanek is still in High-A and unlikely to go much farther. It'd be easy to nitpick the trade based on Howard's recent success, but it would have been difficult to predict Howard's late blooming at age 30. They also traded their 20th round pick and A.J. Schugel in exchange to Steven Souza Jr. Souza proved to be a quality fourth outfielder for the Rockies in the Wild Card run in 2020.
Grade: C-: Even five years later, it's difficult to give a rating to the Rockies draft. Picon looks like a guy that could be a regular, but has yet to truly seize the role. Lee and Blanco could find themselves contributing in the big leagues, or they may just peter out as AAA talent. Del Tufo looks like he'll be a serviceable backup catcher that could be a regular if needed. In the end, the best decision of the 2020 draft for Colorado appears to have been dumping more than $20 million in salary in exchange for giving up their second round pick.
Detroit Tigers:
First Round: (2) Amari Maggette—LF
Second Round: (1) Bobby Ramey—P
Third Round: (1) Jorge Meza—P
Best Player: Amari Maggette
Best Deep Cut: (11) Joey Coker
Total ML WAR: 16.4
Review: Detroit selected Amari Maggette second overall and have to be happy with the selection. Maggette is a two-time All-Star, a former Gold Glove winner, a 40 home run hitter, and a player that has helped Detroit steer out of the doldrums and into the playoffs. Jadon Ancrum may be younger and better, which is the only thing keeping the Maggette selection from being a straight A.
Danger Man, Bobby Ramey, has looked good in brief stretches with the Tigers, and projects to be a solid mid-rotation arm. That’s another successful pick. The third-round pick, Jorge Meza, didn’t work out, but fourth-rounder Luis Zapien has a quick bat and terrific wheels and looks like a future pro.
Fifth-round reliever Josh Puthuff has good stuff and is improving his control and could be a reliever when fully developed. Eighth-rounder Chris App is a strong defender with good gap power who was picked in the Rule V draft by Texas. 11th-rounder Joey Coker has a decent bat and great speed, and would be interesting at a different position, but as a First Baseman who hits one home run a year, will be limited to the mid-minors.
Grade: A. Detroit got an All-Star with their first pick, a good starting pitcher prospect with their second pick, and three prospects who look like they can fill roles as a bench outfielder and a reliever, and a bench infielder later on. That’s a very good haul.
Houston Astros:
First Round: (29) Jake Martin—P
First Round: (33) Steve Hall—P—Compensation for not signing Cameron Cannon
Second Round: (28) Steve Lewis—P—Compensation for not signing Shawn Forrest
Second Round: (34) Jeff Matson—P
Third Round: (30) Steve Wilkens—P—Compensation for not signing Joe Perez—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (40) Ben Jordan—P
Best Player: Steve Lewis
Best Deep Cut: (17) Luis Marrufo
Total ML WAR: 0.2
Review: Houston had a lot of extra picks from not signing guys in 2019, and did a good job getting players who were better than what their 2019 picks would have been.
Jake Martin has worked 3 games above High-A and never developed his control. He looks like a mid-minors arm at best, and was not a successful pick. Houston selected Steve Hall with a comp pick for not signing Cameron Cannon the year prior. Hall’s been a respectable reliever with the chance to be a starter. Cannon has retired. Not signing Cameron to select Hall has worked out, though selecting Nate Capriglione instead of Hall would have been a better selection.
Steve Lewis has worked as a solid swingman in the PBA thus far, and has a shot to make it as a starting pitcher. He was acquired as a compensation pick for not signing Shawn Forrest. Forrest is a Triple-A caliber arm, while Lewis is a PBA player. That decision also worked out for Houston.
Jeff Matson has been a -1.1 WAR player in the pros, and may not be a PBA-caliber arm, but he’s been great in Triple-A and has a shot at being better than that in the majors. Most pitchers taken around the late second and third rounds have struggled, so Matson’s struggles are in line with other pitchers around him.
Steve Wilkens was picked in the third round, but wasn’t signed. Wilkens has already retired, and the comp pick Houston received turned into backup Center Fielder Jonathan Lawhorn who has already played in the majors. The pick originated from not signing Joe Perez who could be a useful reliever though. Not signing Wilkens was the right decision, but the jump from Perez to Lawhorn is likely a minimal one.
It took Ben Jordan four tries to sign with a team that drafted him, but he retired after two-and-a-half years in the minors. Houston didn’t sign their fourth, fifth, and eighth rounders, and their sixth, seventh, and ninth-rounders have already retired. 10th rounder Jake Oceguera struck out 150 hitters last year and had a decent 7-10 record with a 5.10 ERA last year. With 0.8 WAR, that’s a solid mark for a 10th rounder.
Grade: C. Houston made nice decisions to punt on 2019 signings to get better value in 2020, winning those decisions. They got a nice player in the 10th round in Oceguera as well. Their own picks early on were not really successful though, and the Astros didn’t get anything from the second-through-nonth rounds.
Kansas City Royals:
First Round: (4) Jadon Ancrum—RF
Second Round: Forfeited as a result of signing Gio Gonzalez
Third Round: (6) Eddie Vogler—3B
Best Player: Ancrum
Best Deep Cut: (12) Luis Capdevila
Total ML WAR: 8.5
Review: Jadon Ancrum’s been selling the league on his potential for years, and Kansas City made an excellent selection of him with their first-round pick. Ancrum already has the fourth most WAR in the class, was MVP runner-up last year, and may be the most talented player in the class. Marc Eberle’s the only player selected after Ancrum to produce more WAR, but it’s close and they play completely different positions with Eberle pitching, and Ancrum roaming the outfield. While Kansas City may have leaned in to the Salesman aspect too hard, trading Ancrum away twice (!!!), they picked a superstar.
Their second round pick was lost to give Dodgers playoff hero Gio Gonzalez a huge contract in 2020. Gonzalez tore his elbow and retired soon after. Where Kansas City was in the contention cycle, it didn’t make sense to sign Gonzalez and lose a pick though.
Eddie Vogler looks like a Triple-A Third Baseman. The draft was pretty barren for position players after the early third round, so it’s not a failure to get a Triple-A caliber player, but Ajani Dimanche and Chris Berardelli were still available. Doug Clark, also looks like a Triple-A Third Baseman, but he was picked in the sixth round, after Dimanche and Berardelli were taken, making his selection a strong one for the round.
Danny Weatherwax got in 20 games for the Royals last year, and the seventh-rounder looks like a player. He doesn’t have much of an offensive game, but he’ll take a walk, beat out infield hits, steal a bunch of bases, and play excellent outfield defense.
Eighth-rounder Austin Langworthy and 11th-rounder Luis Capdevila also look like Triple-A talents. Langworthy has a line drive swing that generates lots of doubles, while being a decent defender with some speed. Capdevila is more in the pure speed and defense model, but also has a decent eye and can beat out doubles.
Grade: B+. It’s a strong draft. Ancrum has been a star, and a number of guys looks like strong organizational depth. Getting nothing for their second-round pick, and not getting a surefire second PBA player are the only things keeping the draft from being an A.
Los Angeles Angels:
First Round: (12) Alan Ramos—1B
Second Round: (15) Ajani Sanon—1B
Third Round: (18) Chris Shipley—RF
Best Player: Alan Ramos
Best Deep Cut: (19) Ben Dunn
Total ML WAR: 1.6
Review: Ramos was the jewel of the Angels’ 2020 draft class. Unfortunately, he currently plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In what one rival executive described as “one hell of a clerical error,” the Angels left Ramos exposed in the 2023 Rule 5 draft despite coming off a monster .272/.363/.501 season the prior year with the Inland Empire 66ers, Los Angeles’s A+ affiliate. Ramos was nabbed by the Baltimore Orioles and eventually traded to Pittsburgh for Reese McGuire. And although it’s been a twisting path to get there, it looks like Ramos could be an outstanding major league hitter. In his first real exposure to the big leagues – it’s hard to count his 2024 season as a Rule 5 pick since he received almost no playing time – he has really impressed. With a .287/.350/.625 line over 246 plate appearances last season, Ramos could end up being a special player.
The Angels did hang onto their other highly-rated first base pick in the 2020 draft, Ajani Sanon. A high school player out of Michigan, Sanon sighed for a $540,000 bonus and looked like a steal in his first full year of professional ball, hitting .323/.395/.475 in the Arizona League. However, he has never been able to replicate that performance, and his stock has fallen significantly since then. Now at age 24 and currently assigned to AAA Salt Lake City, he’s trying to reclaim his earlier promise and earn a promotion to the show.
Chris Shipley, the Angel’s third-round pick has been on and off the Injured List for most of his professional career. While scouts still see some of the tools that led Los Angeles to make him a relatively high pick in 2020, he has yet to put together a solid season in the minors and is currently languishing at AA.
Grade: C-. The Angels drafted a guy with their first-round pick who looks like he could be a star. Unfortunately, it won’t help them, but their scouting department did its job and found a top-notch prospect. And there’s still some hope Sanon will eventually contribute to the Angels, although likely as a bench bat or injury replacement. But outside those two, unless something unexpected happens, it doesn’t appear the 2020 draft class will produce any quality players for Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Dodgers:
First Round: (27) Mike Becker—1B
First Round: (35) Kevin Carver—P—Compensation for not signing Ryder Green
Supplemental Round: (3) Ismael Robles—P—Compensation for not resigning Gio Gonzalez
Second Round: (32) Vince Jackson—P
Third Round: (38) Sincere Valian—C
Best Player: Ismael Robles
Best Deep Cut: (21) Chris Graves
Total ML WAR: 7.3
Review: The Dodgers grabbed Mike Becker with their initial first round pick. Becker projects as a really solid offensive player, though his defense will likely limit him to First Base. He’s likely a Second Division Second Baseman, or a lefty-mashing First Baseman. For the back half of the first round, it’s a good pick, especially as there aren’t strong infield bats taken until Luis Rivera in the third round.
Ryder Green doesn’t look like more than a Triple-A corner infielder, but at least he’s a baseball player. Kevin Carver retired to play in the NFL.
The Dodgers didn’t sign Gio Gonzalez in Free Agency and he went on to get injured in Kansas City, retiring soon after. With the compensation pick, the Dodgers signed a fantastic reliever who went on to be their closer during last year’s championship run.
Second round starter Vince Jackson suffered a severe injury in 2022 that forced his retirement after the 2023 season, and third round Catcher Sincere Vallian is merely a Triple-A arm.
The Dodgers’ fourth round pick was used on a starting pitcher named Eric Soto who looks like a Triple-A arm, while fifth round Center Fielder Luis Guerrero is a Triple-A outfielder. 13th round Center Fielder Eric Swope is playing outfield in Triple-A, and 21st round Shortstop Chris Graves is also joining him in Triple-A. The Dodgers didn’t get much depth, but virtually everyone they did sign who is still playing has advanced to Triple-A.
Grade: B+. The Dodgers didn’t get much depth in the draft, but they did get a PBA-caliber hitter and one of the best relievers in the game, while wisely avoiding paying big money to Gio Gonzalez. All-in-all, a successful draft.
Miami Marlins:
First Round: (11) Zach Hutchinson—P
Second Round: (9) Cletus Draves—P
Third Round: (11) Juan Ochoa—P
Best Player: Juan Ochoa
Best Deep Cut: (28) Jorge Morales
Total ML WAR: 0.3
Review: Miami selected Zach Hutchinson in the first round, a starting pitcher who finished his first season as a full time pitcher in Double-A as a 26-year-old. He won’t play in the majors and was a bust of a pick.
Cletus Draves has pitched two years in the majors and one in Triple-A as a replacement level arm in both levels. He has big stuff, but can’t control his offerings, making him incredibly fringy. The upside is something though, and there haven’t been a ton of productive players taking after him in the second round. Juan Ochoa made the majors last season and produced -1.4 WAR. Ochoa pitched as a 24-year old and does have some room to grow, but his initial impression on the baseball world was pretty bleak.
Greg Turnquist was a very young player picked in the fourth round. He can defend a bit at Third Base, has a balanced offensive profile, and seems likely to get a gig in the show before his career is up. That’s a nice find for a fourth rounder, though it will be nice to see what Turnquist can do above the low minors. Ninth-rounder Hendrik Beimler held his own as a contact and defense-oriented backup Catcher for the Giants last season. Also a nice find for his spot in the draft.
Going after a number of young players in the later rounds, the Marlins still have a bunch of randos still playing organized baseball. Most won’t amount to anything but low-minors fodder, but the fact that they’re still active gives them an incredibly slight chance to amount to something.
Normally, that’s not worth mentioning, but the Marlins did have a 28th rounder have an exceptional rookie year last year. Jorge Morales was picked by Atlanta as a live arm with a deceptive delivery, and a terrific slider. A straight fastball dooms him to an elevated home run count, as does a propensity to hang pitches, but the slider is one of the best pitches in baseball. He produced 1.2 WAR last year in his rookie year, a tremendous success for such a late pick.
Grade: C-. The Marlins draft was terrible at the beginning, but got better the deeper it went. There have been some hits from the fourth-round on, and it’s possible Draves and Ochoa are successes as well. Whiffing on a first round pick is always tough and puts a ceiling on the grade, but the Marlins did well to recover.
Milwaukee Brewers:
First Round: (3) Branden Andexler—P
First Round: (24) Jake Eischeid—P (Pick acquired along with a fourth round pick [Derek Goss] and a fifth round pick [Jorge Canovas] from Chicago White Sox for Bo Bichette)
Second Round: (5) Kadeem Headspeth—P
Third Round: (3) Greg Jacks—CF (Pick acquired with a fourth round pick [Joe Rowland] from Cincinnati for Jonathan Villar)
Third Round: (5) Luis Rivera—1B
Third Round: (17) Kyu-Cheol Kym—1B—Compensation for not signing Devon Roedahl
Best Player: Branden Andexler
Best Deep Cut: (12) Eddie Sherk
Total ML WAR: 23.2
Review: Milwaukee had an outstanding draft. They used their third overall pick on Scruffy Andexler. Scruffy had a decent rookie year and projects to be a frontline arm. They then got an extra first rounder, a fourth rounder, and a fifth rounder for Bo Bichette. Bichette has been an awful pro, and while the fourth and fifth rounders turned into Derek Goss and Jorge Canovas—players who haven’t worked out—Jake Eischeid has been a decent back-rotation starter. That’s much better than the career -2.5 WAR Bichette has provided as a pro.
Early in the second round, Milwaukee picked Kadeem Headspeth, a replacement level reliever. There were likely better relievers taken in that position, though a number of pitchers taken in the second round have busted.
Milwaukee got a third and fourth rounder for trading Jonathan Villar. Villar had a couple of nice seasons after the trade, but Milwaukee was looking to the future. Joe Rowland has been a replacement level arm. However, Milwaukee also got Greg Jacks, one of the PBA’s most versatile players. Jacks led the league in triples last year, has 7.8 career WAR in two seasons, has played three positions on a regular basis during his Brewers tenure, and at only 24-years-old, should maintain his level of play for a long time. The Villar trade and Jacks draft selection have worked out splendidly for Milwaukee.
Milwaukee didn’t stop at Jacks for third-round success. They then picked Luis Rivera two picks later and watched him turn into a starting First Base slugger in the majors. Their third third-rounder, Kyu-Cheol Kym, has not worked out and is now playing in the KBO. Devon Roedahl looks like a Triple-A starter and the Brewers should have signed Roedahl in hindsight.
Milwaukee received Ariel Ortega, Andrew Chafin, Francis Pena and a fourth rounder that turned into Joe Becker from San Diego for Zach Davies and $2 million. Ortega never reached Triple-A, and Joe Becker didn’t work out. Andrew Chafin had a nice career as a solid reliever and Francis Pena has had a strong last two years with Milwaukee. Zach Davies was one of the better arms in the league the last two years, so Milwaukee likely slightly lost the deal, but they did get a good return with Pena.
Milwaukee traded Damien Magnifico for Maurico Dubon and a sixth rounder that turned into Mason Studstill. Dubon had a strong 2020, but after 2021 didn’t play again in the PBA. Magnifico had a longer career as a sub-replacement reliever. Studstill retired before making the majors. On the whole, the deal was net-neutral.
Milwaukee found more hits later in the draft. In the eighth round, Josh Young had a strong rookie year as a member of Milwaukee’s bullpen last year. He just turned 24 and should be a member of their bullpen for a long time. In the 13th round, Milwaukee popped Eddie Sherk and watched him win 23 games the past two seasons.
Grade: A+: As a result of the picks and trades involving the draft, Milwaukee got three-fifths of their starting rotation, plus Jake Eishceid who starts in Baltimore. They also got two high level starters in their lineup. It’s an impressive haul that set Milwaukee up for success.
Minnesota Twins:
First Round: (22) Kevin Hess—2B—UNSIGNED
First Round: (31) Federico de Loa—CF—Compensation for not signing Jimmy Whittaker—UNSIGNED
First Round: (37) Danny Marshall—P—Compensation for not signing Tristan Lutz—UNSIGNED
Second Round: (8) Pete Boley—P—Compensation for not signing Paker Kelly—UNSIGNED
Second Round: (10) Phil Stella—P—Compensation for not signing Jared Horn—UNSIGNED
Second Round: (24) Luis Chavira—P—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (8) Jonathan Lawhorn—CF—Compensation for not signing Eric Fooshee—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (10) Chris Littleton—CF—Compensation for not signing Ben Jordan—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (31) Nate Sauceda—P—UNSIGNED
Best Player: (8) Murdoch Barteaux
Best Deep Cut: (29) Whip Wakeley
Total ML WAR: 0
Review: Deep in a run of absentee GMing, this draft was in the middle of a host of churned over draft picks. The early picks were not good, and the Twins could have had Jimmy Whittaker. The second and third rounders were better, but it didn’t matter because they went unsigned. In 2021, all the unsigned picks were cashed in and the Twins got some good pieces, especially in Daddy Long Legs Cypert and Tim Elmore. Still, most of Minnesota’s early picks didn’t amount to more than depth pieces.
Of the players the Twins did sign, Murdoch Barteaux may be the best of the bunch as a respectable reliever nabbed in the eighth round. Erik Nigro was picked in the sixth round and played a year for the Rockies, but produced negative WAR and is in their minors now. Whip Wakeley has four good pitches and attacks the strike zone. He may have a future despite being a 29th round pick.
Grade: F. Missing out on so many drafts starved Minnesota’s system of impact talent. The rolled over picks did nab a few impact players, but most of Minnesota’s early 2021 picks didn’t amount to stars and wasn’t worth the parade of turned over draft picks that went on from 2018-2020. It was a minor miracle the Twins were able to win a World Series earlier in the decade, but their quick descent after their title has partly been due to the lack of depth from the lack of talent obtained in the draft.
New York Yankees:
First Round: (25) Jim Sattler—LF
Second Round: (29) Juan Cota—P
Third Round: (36) Luis Viscarra—P
Best Player: Jim Sattler
Best Deep Cut: Kymani Gholston (26)
Total ML WAR: 6
Review: Sattler was popped late in the first round as a possible slugging corner outfielder and the 6-6 behemoth has delivered on his potential. Only Greg Jacks and Luis Rivera have produced more WAR among players taken after Sattler, but he’s well in the ballpark of the third-round Brewers, and a different player than both of them. Nobody from the middle of the first round or the second round is anywhere close to Sattler in terms of production so far, making his selection an inspired pick.
Juan Cota didn’t work out as a second-round pitcher who didn’t develop, but Luis Vizcarra looks like a serviceable swingman taken in a spot where there hasn’t been much dependable pitching taken after. Jon Solomon was snagged in Round 4, and while he struggled a rookie last year, he also has a huge fastball/curveball combo that could make him an elite reliever or a solid starter if his changeup develops.
Dustin Ely struggled in his rookie year as well, and doesn’t have the stuff of Solomon, but he may be able to carve out a career as a quad-A guy.
Grade: A-. The Yankees were one of the few teams to get a talented player outside of a premium pick, with Sattler. They got some possible relief arms, and a lottery ticket in Solomon. Getting nothing out of Cota hurts, as does the fact that none of the pitchers are sure things.
New York Mets:
First Round: (19) Juan Casteneda—P
Second Round: (21) Pete McNeil—P
Third Round: (26) Joe Perez—P
Best Player: (21) Quadir Murriel
Best Deep Cut: (21) Quadir Murriel
Total ML WAR: 3.8
Review: The Mets got little from their early-round picks, with most of their value coming with their selection of Murriel. The 21st rounder was a prospect unexpected to hit for power, nor have a good hit tool. The hit tool is still an issue, but Murriel has added power, displayed a selective eye, and been a smooth defender. He had a good rookie season in 2024, getting on base at a .348 clip with 15 homers in 2024, before putting up a .201 average with a .315 on-base percentage last year. The defense was adequate though, making him a positive WAR player despite the poor showing with the bat. For a 21st round pick, that’s a huge success.
Juan Castaneda never developed and won’t be a major league pitcher. His selection has been a complete bust. Pete McNeil is a decent looking reliever. He was plucked from the Mets by the White Sox in the Rule V draft before the 2024 season, where he put up replacement level numbers. He’s been good in the upper minors and should be fine as a low-leverage arm. There weren’t that many good arms taken in the second-fourth rounds, so his selection looks pretty decent.
Joe Perez couldn’t cut it as a starter above rookie ball and has been a sub-replacement reliever in Triple-A the past two seasons. He doesn’t look like more than a Triple-A arm.
Fourth-rounder Shigeyasu Maeda has a terrific glove for the infield, but has put up a sub-.600 OPS in High-A the past two seasons, which tells you about his career trajectory. Fifth-rounder Mike Gaytan has had a few strong years in the upper minors and has a PBA-caliber Cutter. Only 23-years-old, he has a chance to be a low-leverage reliever.
Sixth-rounder Wander S. Freudenrich has good speed and plays good Left Field defense, but like Maeda, doesn’t have a bat for the mid-minors. Eighth-rounder J.D. Bolt, won’t be a PBAer either, but he has a decent amount of power. He could have a useful career if he plays overseas.
Quint Penning made the majors as an 11th rounder, which is a success. He also led the league in losses his rookie year, which is not a success. He’s a quad-A swingman, which is a fine accomplishment for an 11th round selection.
Grade: C. The Mets didn’t get much from most of their early-round picks, with only relievers Pete McNeil and Mike Gaytan looking like they have a chance of being positive selections. However, the Mets did have good selections in later rounds, with Quint Penning being a win, and a Quadir Murriel being an inspired selection. On the whole, the Mets got a few potential relievers or swingmen, and a second-division starter, which is adequate.
Oakland Athletics:
First Round: (15) Phil Logozzo—P
Second Round: (17) Pick traded along with Skye Bolt to Cincinnati for Brandon Finnegan and Aristedes Aquino. Pick turned into Humberto Camacho.
Third Round: (22) Joe Mills—SS
Best Player: (7) Milt Pool
Best Deep Cut: (11) Dave Suchanek
Total ML WAR: 0
Review: Oakland selected Phil Logozzo in the first round, a pitcher who hasn’t pitched above High A yet, and a pitcher who looks like he never will. While most pitchers selected after the top of the first round have struggled, getting nothing from a first round selection is a huge failure.
Oakland moved its second round pick, which turned into Humberto Camacho, and Skye Bolt for Brandon Finnegan and Aristedes Aquino. Camacho is a good player, and Bolt has been a useful outfielder as well, while Aquino was a power lefty-masher for a few seasons. Finnegan was a star for the A’s though, with his gem in the 2020 Wild Card Game coinciding with his arm falling off, enduring as one of the PBA’s signature moments.
Joe “Country” Mills had a strong season in Double-A last year, and may have a career as a well-balanced Triple-A Shortstop. Only 24, with a little bit of luck, he can be a solid major leaguer.
Oakland picked a few position players in the mid-rounds that may serve as a Triple-A players. Fourth-rounder Jon Wichec has been slow to develop, but has enough potential to reach the mid-minors. Sixth-rounder Bob Kandel’s lack of defensive flexibility hampers him, but he’s got a bat that should play in the mid-minors. Eighth-rounder Dan Rivas has a solid glove and a balanced offensive profile that will be good for the upper minors. Ninth-rounder Luis Irwin will take a walk and put the bat on the ball, plus he’s an above-average runner and fielder, making him a potential upper-minor leaguer as well. 11th rounder Dave Suchanik has no power, but he has a respectable hit tool, good legs, and can really play his position in Center. Individually, none of the picks is great, but the odds are fair that one member of a group of Double-A guys can pop and become a major leaguer.
On the pitching side, Luis Partida is cut from the same cloth. His control will likely relegate him to a minor league career, but the stuff and movement will play. With a little bit of luck, he can make the majors.
The best pick has been seventh rounder Milt Pool. The 69th best prospect prior to 2025, Pool has a quick bat and a good eye that produced a bunch of doubles in A-Ball this year. Scouts see Pool adding muscle and power, and becoming a huge home run threat in the future. They also see him as being a solid defender and putting up a nice average as well.
Grade: B. Pool was a home run of a pick, and Finnegan will never pay for his own drinks in any A’s bar in the bay. Having a large quantity of players with a 10% chance of working out may be better than having one guy with a 30% chance of working out. The Logozzo pick was awful, and having only one sure thing isn’t ideal, but Oakland walked out of the draft with a playoff hero, a top prospect, and some bites at the apple, which is, minus the context, generally a good outcome for a draft.
Philadelphia Phillies:
First Round: (7) Marc Eberle—P
Second Round: (4) Eric Groves—P
Third Round: (4) Chris McCommon—P
Best Player: Marc Eberle
Best Deep Cut: (24) Juan Pons
Total ML WAR: 11.5
Review: The Phillies first two picks were spent on pitchers who have developed nicely but are no longer on the team. Marc Eberle was involved in one of the more interesting intra-division trades the PBA has seen. During the 2022 offseason the Braves and Phillies essentially swapped former top first round picks, with the Braves sending 3B Bobby Witt Jr and the Phillies sending Eberle. Eberle took some time to get going but is coming off a breakout year in Atlanta where he finished 2nd in NL Cy Young voting. He led the NL in ERA and had an astounding 7 complete games. As knuckleballer Eberle is capable of pitching deep into games and has turned into an ace that should have a long future tormenting the Phillies. Witt had a disastrous year after a promising debut season but is still extremely young and talented. It's very early but this trade is one that should help define the NL East for years.
2nd rounder Eric Groves has turned into a very good lefty reliever. However, the years of great SP production the Phillies got for him more than make up for what he has done since leaving Philadelphia. Adam Conley had a very solid career in Philadelphia. That's a trade the Phillies would do every time. Third rounder Chris McCommon hasn't reached the majors yet but still has some potential as a back-end starter. The Phillies traded him for two productive years of outfielder and playoff monster Brian C. Miller. Another trade they would do every time.
There isn't much for deep cuts for the Phillies in this class, but 8th rounder Chad Kite reached the majors last year and could serve as a useful long reliever and depth starter for the Phillies. That is great for an 8th round pick.
Grade: A. Marc Eberle is a top 5 SP in the PBA even if he no longer plays for the Phillies. The Phillies other two high picks allowed them to acquire a SP and an OF who played key roles on 100 win teams and keeping the Phillies as one of the better teams in the PBA. Trading Eberle stings, but there is still time for Witt to turn it around. Still that may be a trade the Phillies come to regret.
Pittsburgh Pirates:
First Round: (16) Kevin Truitt—P
Second Round: (18) Ron Hamil—P
Third Round: (23) Billy Cushing—P
Best Player: Kevin Truitt
Best Deep Cut: (18) Mike Gilbert
Total ML WAR: 1.2
Review: Kevin Truitt has taken an eternity to develop, but Bad Company had a strong year in Triple-A last year and is finally knocking on the door of the majors. He gets great movement with his pitches, with a low angle sinker/slider offering terrorizing righties, and an excellent changeup neutralizing lefties. Taken extremely young, Truitt will spend next year as a 23-year-old and still has the upside for a long and fruitful career despite spending over five years in the minors.
Ron Hamil was taken in the second round. His control never developed, and he’s minor league depth. A lot of pitchers were taken in the second round who will not be contributors in their career, so Hamil isn’t as terrible a pick with that competitive set to compare to. Still, he’s also a selection that will provide no PBA value to the Pirates.
Billy Cushing has a beard that looks like it was colored by huffing Krylon paint. He throws hard, and has good off-speed pitches, but he also throws straight and will hang his offspeed stuff. He’s likely destined for a career overseas.
Julian Infante was a fourth-rounder who has played almost exclusively First Base in his pro career. He has a fringe bat for Third Base, but hasn’t had the bat for First Base, and has produced negative WAR every year as a result. He’s older, 29, and running out of time to make an impact.
Fifth-rounder Josh Warren has good pop, a decent eye, and can run a little bit. He’s not a good defender as a corner outfielder, which probably limits him to being a backup or a Triple-A starter, but a little extra development could make him a starter. He’s not a bad outcome for a fifth-rounder.
Sixth rounder Noah Murdock has put up more than 2 WAR combined the last two years as a swingman. That’s a nice get in the sixth round of the draft. Seventh-rounder Josh Jonkman is a terrific defender in Left Field, bashes doubles, and has been a strong Triple-A player. There are worse outcomes for a Seventh-rounder.
Pittsburgh also got great value in later rounds. Sergio Sarmiento was a 15th rounder. He had a strong season in Triple-A last year and looks like he can get a cup of coffee in the show. 18th rounder Mike Gilbert got into 5 games in the majors last year. He’s a decent defender with a decent bat, and who should be able to hold his own in the big leagues.
Grade: B+. Pittsburgh hit a bunch of singles in the 2020 draft. They got an impact starting pitcher prospect in the first round, a swingman in the sixth round, and a backup second baseman in the 18th Round. They also got decent Triple-A depth in mid-to-late rounds. Solid work from an organization infamous for terrible drafting.
San Diego Padres:
First Round: (8) Sean Presley—P
Second Round: (6) Tristen Lutz—RF—Compensation for not signing Will Coronado
Second Round: (12) Dusty Koch—RF
Third Round: (7) Kevin Podolak—Compensation for not signing Jordan McFarland
Third Round: (14) Dave Bounds—P
Best Player: Dusty Koch
Best Deep Cut: Josh Staples (11)
Total ML WAR: -0.2
Review: Sean Presley was the first pick of the draft behind the host of stars that went early on. He’s not a total bust as he has terrific stuff still, but he’s developed at a glacial pace. He’s been spectacular in the low minors, but has never pitched above High-A. He’ll be 26 next year and time is ticking for him to make an impact in the majors however.
The Padres passed on signing Will Coronado, which was a smart play as Coronado tore his shoulder and retired early in his career. Instead, they got Tristen Lutz, who has never made an impact above High-A. There weren’t too many useful players taken early in the second round, but Lutz has been a bust. They selected Koch a few spots later in the round, and Koch has potential. He’s incredibly young, and he’s likely a Designated Hitter, but he has a great eye, and big power. He could turn into the type of slugger the Padres desperately need.
In the third round, Kevin Podolak has enough potential where he was taken in the Rule V by Cleveland last year, but not enough potential to not have been returned back to San Diego by the Indians. He’s only 24 and has a good bat and could be a second-division starter. Ajani Dimanche was taken later in the round and has already produced real value. Podolak may not be as good as Dimanche has been, but he’s young enough where he may be able to develop. He’s also far superior to Jordan McFarland, who’ll never be in the majors.
Third-rounder Dave Bounds may be an interesting swingman. He hangs his pitches too often to be a reliable option, but he may cut it as the 13th pitcher in a rotation. Fifth-rounder Jin-Ho Yoo looks like a Triple-A Third Baseman who may play in his native Korea before too long.
Eleventh-rounder Josh Staples likely will never hit enough to be more than a Triple-A backup, but his speed and defense gives him a chance at a future.
Grade: D+. The Padres had some solid singles in the draft, but nothing that moved the needle. Presley has some potential, but his median possible outcome is likely a long reliever. Tristen Lutz is better than Will Coronado, but he’s still a career minor leaguer. Kevin Podolak may be a major leaguer, but he’ll probably be worse than Ajani Dimanche. Put it together, and it’s a very average draft.
San Francisco Giants:
First Round: (17) Jimmy Whittaker—P—UNSIGNED
First Round: (34) Teofilo Torrez—P—Compensation for not signing Juan Ochoa—UNSIGNED
Supplemental Round: (4) Robby Bloomquist—CF—Compensation for not signing Kelyn Klattenburger—UNSIGNED
Supplemental Round: (5) Josh Allen—RF—Compensation for not signing Billy Cushing—UNSIGNED
Second Round: (19) Yan C. Rickets—P—UNSIGNED
Second Round: (25) Jimmy Tiner—CF (Pick acquired along with Ian Desmond and Dee Gordon from Colorado for a 30th Rounder [Sergio Ortega)]—UNSIGNED
Second Round: (30) Juan Castillo—P—Compensation for not signing Carlos A. Cortes
Third Round: (24) Nate Berrios—SS—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (34) Shamar Motin—P—Compensation for not signing Zach Attianese—UNSIGNED
Best Player: (6) Luis Lara
Best Deep Cut: (27) Ismael Alvarado
Total ML WAR: -0.5
Review: The Giants had a bunch of compensation picks from the 2019 draft and all of them went unsigned. In fact, all their top picks went unsigned. The Giants got some interesting players when they cashed in all their picks in 2021, but not an overwhelming quantity. In fact, they actually drafted Teofilo Torrez again in 2021. However, they ended up failing to sign a few really good players in 2020 and starved their farm for a few years.
Jimmy Whittaker is an electric prospect that went unsigned. He would have been wonderful in San Francisco at the top of the rotation. Robby Bloomquist could be a starting pitcher in the league and Josh Allen might be a starting First Baseman.
They got Shamar Polite, Curt Gemma, Chris Davis, and Zach Stone as a result. That’s a nice return, but not better than the group they didn’t sign.
They also got Dee Gordon and a second-round pick as the cost for taking on Ian Desmond’s contract. Gordon had -0.4 WAR for the Giants, Ian Desmond was cut, and all the Giants got for them was an unsigned Jimmy Tiner that turned into Rodolfo Galazara.
They traded away their fifth rounder, who went unsigned, and Dan Altavilla to Tampa Bay for Justin Marsden, one of the best pitchers in baseball, and Carlos Vargas.
The Giants also selected Luis Lara in the sixth round. Lara’s been a replacement level starter for a couple of years, but has the stuff to be a little better.
Grade: D+. The grade for the Giants is virtually all for Marsden. He was an All-Star last year, and is one of the best pitchers in the game. The Giants gave up a good reliever in Altavilla to get him though, and passed on several decent players with all their draft picks. The Giants ended up with a barren farm for several seasons, partly because of a second season of not signing their picks.
Seattle Mariners:
First Round: (1) Mike Floyd—2B
First Round: (26) Danny Sabados—2B (Pick acquired from Washington for Edwin Encarnacion)
Second Round: (2) Jared Hall—CF
Third Round: (2) Luis Ledezma—CF
Best Player: Mike Floyd
Best Deep Cut: (15) Chris Breshears
Total ML WAR: 10.0
Review: Seattle had the first pick in the draft and didn’t screw it up, picking up arguably the best bat in the class in Madman Mike Floyd. Floyd’s defense has left him relegated to First Base, but he’s won a pair of Platinum Stick Awards already in his early career.
Encarnacion had a nice stretch run for the Nationals in 2019, but only played one season afterwards. The rebuilding Mariners turned him into first round pick, but Sabados wan’t the right guy. He’s been a fine Triple-A player, and is a great Second Base defender, but doesn’t have the bat for the majors. Mike Becker was grabbed right after and looks like the better guy. Second-rounder Jared Hall also looks like a fine Triple-A player, but he won’t make an impact in the majors. Luis Ledezma was picked one spot ahead of Greg Jacks. Oops.
Their fourth-round selection has turned into a very nice pick as Chris Beradelli was nearly a 2-win player his last healthy year in 2024. A starting Second Baseman is a nice pick in the fourth round.
Their fifth-rounder was pitcher named Juan Contreras who never made it above Double-A and retired, but their sixth-rounder was Jorge Camarillo. Camarillo had a rough year with the Cubs last year in his rookie season, but with all the injuries the Cubs suffered, Camarillo was overworked. He has a live arm and attacks the strike zone, and looks like a player.
Seattle also got some decent depth with later picks. Eighth rounder Sam Clifford is a fine Triple-A Catcher, and 10th-rounder Geoff Luke has a great glove, is fantastic on the bases, and is a Triple-A asset.
Grade: B-. Seattle had some big hits with Floyd, Beradelli, and Contreras. They also get some credit for decent selections made in later rounds. They made the right move to trade Encarnacion, but lost a lot of value from the deal by selecting the wrong player. A half season of strong play from Encarnacion might be worth more than a player who never reaches the majors. Hall and Ledezma look terrible in hindsight. Still, Seattle got one of the best players in the draft, a starting Second Baseman, and a relief prospect. Not a bad hall, even with the first overall pick
St. Louis Cardinals:
First Round: (9) R.J. Jarrett—RF
First Round: (32) Jake Sanfilippo—2B—Compensation for not signing Ignacio Vigil
Second Round: (13) T.J. Lunsford—LF
Third Round: (15) Pete Westra—1B
Best Player: (26) Nate Stephany
Best Deep Cut: (26) Nate Stephany
Total ML WAR: 0.6
Review: R.J. Jarrett has good power, but his bat speed is questionable making him a fringe major league talent. The bat will likely play as a fringe starter, but Jarrett is limited defensively, and is a second-division starter at best. Alan Ramos would have been the better pick.
St. Louis didn’t sign Ignacio Vigil in 2019 and got a pick that turned into Jake Sanfilippo out of it. Vigil has already retired, while Sanfilippo is an intriguing bat who projects to be a second-division starter. There weren’t many talented position players drafted around where Sanfilippo was picked, making his selection a smart choice.
T.J. Lunsford had a solid rookie year as a lefty-masher for Colorado. He offers a good bat against left-handed pitching, good speed, and strong defense. He’s a solid pickup in the second round. Pete Westra has developed slowly but looks like a slugging First Baseman. The power hasn’t been there in the minors yet, but he’s had a bunch of doubles with the assumption that they’ll turn into home runs when he adds more muscle.
Catcher Ajani Ghoston hasn’t worked out as a fourth rounder, while fifth round infielder Bob Utley has already retired.
They received a fifth rounder that turned into Yukio Onishi, Jason Hursh, and Ender Inciarte from the Braves for Andrew Susac, Johan Oviedo, Delvin Perez, and Tanner Houck. Susac only played one more year, while Houck retired before he made the majors. Perez has had a role as a defensive-oriented backup infielder, while Oviedo is a strong reliever. Hursh was basically replacement level the rest of his career, while Inciarte has been a strong high-average hitter since the trade. Onishi had a luck-heavy 0.5 WAR for the Cardinals last year, but has moved on to Japan for the next step in his career.
Judging the value of that deal is pretty tough. Inciarte has been solid, and the Cardinals got some respectable relievers. They gave up the best reliever and a defensive-minded backup. It’s a pretty even deal when looking at everything.
They then gave up a sixth rounder and Mauricio Dubon for Damien Magnifico. Magnifico was basically replacement level, while Dubon had a great 2020, a decent 2021, was in the minors in 2022 then retired. The draft pick turned into Mason Studstill who never amounted to anything before retiring. Dubon should have been held, but the deal was pretty even.
The best pick from the Cardinals may have been a 26th round pitcher. Nate Stephany has had back-to-back good seasons in Triple-A. He’s got really good stuff, he keeps the ball on the ground, and he projects to be someone who throws strikes when he cleans his mechanics up. He could become a good starting pitcher, and is a hell of a 26-th round selection.
Grade: B. St. Louis gets good marks for Sanfilippo, Lunsford, and Westra, and an A+ for Stephany. Jarrett has the potential for a PBA career, despite being an underwhelming selection. They probably slightly lost the Dubon and Inciarte trades, and didn’t get anything out of Ghoston or Utley. All-in-all, a very solid draft though.
Tampa Bay Rays:
First Round: Forfeited as a result of signing Madison Bumgarner
First Round: (36) Nate Capriglione—P—Compensation for not signing Tyler Freeman
Second Round: (22) Luis Urena—P
Third Round: (27) Steve Ryan—P—UNSIGNED
Best Player: Nate Capriglione
Best Deep Cut: (15) Josh Wood
Total ML WAR: 6.4
Review: One of the most impactful moves involving the 2020 draft didn't involve the act of drafting any player, rather the Rays giving up their first round pick as compensation for signing Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner returned the favor by winning back-to-back Cy Young awards in his two seasons in Tampa, accumulating a 15.8 WAR in 2020 and 2021 - more than any 2020 draftee so far. Hard to argue with that move.
Tampa still had another first round pick, selecting P Nate Capriglione. Capriglione has developed into a solid mid-rotation starter for the Braves. "Caps" has gone 26-19 over the last two seasons with a 3.96 ERA in Atlanta.
Outside of the first round, the Rays didn't have any sure-fire hits. They did grab P Kurt Chamberland in the 10th round, who showed promise during his call up in 2025 and could have a career as a PBA bullpen arm. 7th round pick P Brad Sefcik could find his way to the big leagues at some point as well. He's posted a sub-4.00 ERA each of the last three seasons in the minors, but at 26 years old, his time to break the glass ceiling could be running out.
There were also a couple of questionable trades with the Rays 2020 trade. They traded away current Giants ace Justin Marsden for a failed 5th round pick and RP Dan Altavilla who wasn't amazing in Tampa. And while it doesn't sting nearly as much, they also got the lesser end of a trade sending Steven Souza to Colorado for a 20th round pick and A.J. Schugel, who never played in the big leagues again.
Grade: B+. It's hard to argue with what essentially was giving up the first round pick for two seasons of the best pitcher in the game. Capriglione was a solid pick in the first round, there wasn't much to write home about after that. The Marsden trade stings in hindsight, but again, but not enough erase the impact of Bumgarner.
Texas Rangers:
First Round: (23) Ryder Green—1B
Supplemental Round: (1) Alfredo Contreras—P—Compensation for Madison Bumgarner
Second Round: (26) Alfredo Flores—P
Second Round: (35) Alfredo Carillo—P—Compensation for not signing Austin Langworthy—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (33) Juan Avalos—CF—UNSIGNED
Best Player: Alfredo Flores
Best Deep Cut: (26) Zeyuan Stanley
Total ML WAR: 0.9
Review: Texas selected Ryder Green in the first round, a player who looks like a Double-A First Baseman. Jim Sattler was picked two spots later. Even Mike Becker was picked four spots after. To not get anyone who looks like a future major league was a big missed opportunity.
Texas decided to not sign Madison Bumgarner, opting instead to get a Supplemental pick and draft Alfredo Contreras. Contreras has been fine as a fifth starter over his career after being sent away in the Carlos Correa trade. Bumgarner got rocked in the Wild Card game for Texas that year, but continued his fine career five more stellar seasons, including leading the league in WAR in 2020 and 2021. As a title contender, Texas should have found a way to bring back Mad Bum.
The Rangers continued their run on Alfredos in the Second Round, selecting Alfredo Flores. Nicknamed Pluto, Flores had a rocky rookie year in relief for the Red Sox this past year. Flores has a live fastball/slider combo and should be an effective reliever going forward though. Plus, his selection was in a spot where few pitchers taken around him have succeeded.
Texas then drafted their third Alfredo in a row, Alfredo Carrillo in round three. Carrillo wasn’t signed out of High School and went to San Joaquin Delta College. He was selected in 2023, cut after not making it above the Gulf Coast League, and retired immediately after. The pick itself was a comp pick for not signing Austin Langworthy, a career minor leaguer. The comp pick gained from rolling the pick over eventually was taken away for signing Comp Free Agent Jackie Bradley Jr. the next season.
Texas went away from their Alfredo strategy, drafting Juan Avalos in the third round. Avalos has been a negative player in the upper minors and doesn’t have a PBA future, so failing to sign him wasn’t a bad decision. It turned into Kevin Flippo the next year. On the other hand, Texas could have picked Ajani Dimanche or Chris Berardelli who were picked soon after.
In fact, after Flores, everyone Texas picked until the 12th round either wasn’t signed or has retired from baseball. 12th rounder Juan Bedolla is plugging away in the mid-minors with little hope of a significant baseball career, but Texas did draft some curiosities in the 20s. Catcher Zeyuan Stanley has gap power and a really good eye. He should be a Triple-A catcher someday. Also, 29th rounder Kymani Bivins, the Elastic Man, appears to stretch to the plate, getting extra bite for his fastball, and throwing off the timing of hitters with his changeup and splitter. If he had the stuff to match the deception and would stop yielding homers, he’d have potential in the majors.
Grade: F. Texas got nothing in the first round, should have resigned Madison Bumgarner, as he’d win back-to-back Cy Youngs the next two seasons, and didn’t get any players who could make it to the majors aside from Alfredo Flores. They also picked players in future rounds that could have been Ajani Dimanche instead of filler. It adds up to a failing grade.
Toronto Blue Jays:
First Round: (13) Pete Dailey—UNSIGNED
First Round: (18) Jamie Ison—P—UNSIGNED (Pick acquired along with Damian Mendoza, Eric Drouet, Billy McKay, and Adley Rutschman from Chicago Cubs for Josh Donaldson)
Second Round: (16) Gabe Genn—P—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (19) Jorge Santana—UNSIGNED
Third Round: (21) Chris McBee—Compensation for not signing Blake Sabol—UNSIGNED
Best Player: Camden Primmer
Best Deep Cut: (16) Camden Primmer
Total ML WAR: -0.6
Review: Toronto had multiple high-round picks in 2020 and selected some talented guys. Unfortunately, they didn’t sign any of them and most of the players they selected in 2020 were taken by other teams the following year. So, while the Blue Jays’ scouting department held up its end of the bargain in 2020, the team ultimately failed to benefit from it.
Dailey was taken with the 24th overall pick by Seattle in 2021, eventually released, and has turned out to be an interesting prospect for Boston (who signed him as a free agent in 2025). Currently in AAA, he put up 2.1 rWAR last year along with a 101 ERA+. He’s always had good stuff and kept the ball in the park, but has struggled with control his entire career. The jury is still out on whether he can contribute as a starter, but the worst-case scenario is the Red Sox shift him to the pen and make him a long-reliever, a role he might excel at in Fenway Park.
The Blue Jays did find some useful minor league players later in the draft. Camden Primmer, taken in the 16th round, is a glove-first catcher and a clubhouse leader. Gregorio Barcena, a 9th round selection has put up 12 WAR in the minors as a swing man with solid stuff and mediocre control. And Steve Fauntroy, who lasted until the 26th round, managed to add 7.2 WAR in the minors before he was released last season.
The one good thing Toronto did involving their draft was taking on Eric Drouet, along with some other prospects and a first round pick, for Josh Donaldson. The pick went unsigned but Drouet has turned into a star.
Grade: D+. Dailey is the best of the Blue Jay’s 2020 draftees, and while he could eventually contribute as a back-end starter for Boston or another team, he’ll never be an impact player. And although Ison, Genn, Santana, and McBee all had some potential when drafted, none have amounted to much and it’s unlikely at this point any of them will contribute to a major league team in a meaningful way. With 5 picks in the first three rounds, Toronto could have done better and the biggest success of the draft for them could be the fact they failed to sign anyone – saving money and allowing them more financial flexibility for the next draft (without giving too much away, they really nailed it in 2021). They did get Drouet at least, which saves their grade.
Washington Nationals:
First Round: (26) Pick Traded to Seattle for Edwin Encarnacion. Turned into Danny Sabados
Second Round: (31) Steve Grover—P
Third Round: (37) Danny Morris—2B
Best Player: (5) Jimmy Shead
Best Deep Cut: (16) Greg Michael
Total ML WAR: 0
Review: Washington traded their first round pick in 2019, acquiring Edwin Encarnacion and watching him go 2-24 in the playoffs that year. Encarnacion played in 39 games in 2020 and never played after. The first round pick turned into Danny Sabados, who likely will never play in the majors. Encarnacion did have a big half season in 2019 to help Washington make the postseason, and that half-season alone is better than what Sabados will ever provide in the pros.
They selected Steve Grover in the second round as a big arm with questionable mechanics. Grover’s worked as a fringe starter in the minors. And may be able to stick as a major league reliever, but he’ll be 27-years-old this year and is likely too old to develop into a successful major leaguer.
Third rounder Danny Morris became a pitcher, but hasn’t been more than a Triple-A arm and won’t be more than that in the bigs. He has a decent bat, but isn’t a strong defender. He’s likely stuck in the minors, but has a chance to make it as a bench hitter. Joel Eggleston was picked in the fourth round, but is a Triple-A Third Baseman.
Their fourth rounder Jimmy Shead made it to San Francisco where their developmental genius has turned him into a strong pitcher prospect, while their eighth rounder Jeremy Lee has the speed and defense to play Triple-A Shortstop, but likely won’t hit enough to be more than a minor leaguer.
Grade: C. Washington gets a solid B for the Encarnacion trade, a D for the Grover selection, and a C- for Morris. They get an A for popping Shead in the fourth round, and didn’t get anything else. It’s an adequate, uninspiring draft.
Most WAR
Milwaukee Brewers 23.2
Detroit Tigers 16.4
Boston Red Sox 12.4
Philadelphia Phillies 11.5
Seattle Mariners 10
Kansas City Royals 8.5
Los Angeles Dodgers 7.3
Chicago Cubs 7
Tampa Bay Rays 6.4
New York Yankees 6
Cincinnati Reds 5.9
New York Mets 3.8
Colorado Rockies 2.7
Chicago White Sox 2
Los Angeles Angels 1.6
Arizona Diamondbacks 1.2
Pittsburgh Pirates 1.2
Baltimore Orioles 0.9
Texas Rangers 0.9
St. Louis Cardinals 0.6
Cleveland Indians 0.4
Miami Marlins 0.3
Houston Astros 0.2
Atlanta Braves 0
Minnesota Twins 0
Washington Nationals 0
Oakland Athletics 0
San Diego Padres -0.2
San Francisco Giants -0.5
Toronto Blue Jays -0.6