With the first round of the Major League Baseball draft in the works, teams are angling to land long-term cornerstones as we speak. The Royals, for instance, tabbed high school shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. second overall on Monday. If things go according to plan, he’ll evolve into a franchise player the way other recent second overall selections have. The best No. 2 choices over the past several years have been Kris Bryant, who joined the Cubs in 2013, and 2015 Astros pick Alex Bregman. The two have become stars since their respective draft nights, but whom would you rather have?
Bryant, now 27, exploded on the scene in 2015, winning NL Rookie of the Year honors with a 6.1-fWAR season, and hasn’t looked back since. The third baseman/outfielder added an NL MVP and a World Series to his list of accomplishments in 2016, the season he helped the Cubs break a 108-year title drought. Bryant’s now a two-time All-Star with a career slash line of .284/.386/.518 (141 wRC+), 120 home runs and 25.3 fWAR in 2,715 lifetime plate appearances.
Bregman’s also a world champion, having aided in the Astros’ victory in 2017. That was the year after Bregman debuted in the majors. Since then, the 25-year-old infielder – whose primary position is third – has earned an All-Star nod and batted a Bryant-like .280/.369/.507 (140 wRC+) with 75 long balls, 31 steals and 14.8 fWAR across 1,804 trips to the plate.
Beyond the fact that they’re two of the most valuable players in baseball, Bryant and Bregman are each under control for at least the next couple seasons. Bryant, who’s on a $12.9MM salary, has two more years of arbitration eligibility left after this one. The Astros, on the other hand, will avoid the arb process with Bregman as they move forward. Houston locked Bregman up to a five-year, $100MM extension prior to the season, meaning he’s under wraps through 2024.
Age and team control may play a factor as you choose between Bryant and Bregman. Regardless of which player you prefer, though, it’s obvious these are two of the premier first-rounders in recent history. They give hope to every downtrodden franchise that had a high pick Monday.
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Can’t forget Marlins legend Tyler Kolek
Or the almighty Dustin Ackley.
Today, I think I’d take Bregman. I don’t think you can go wrong with either though.
Bryant’s MVP year was better than any year Bregman has had so far in his career but Bregman has gotten continuously better whereas Bryant has been streaky and at times it’s looked like the league had him figured out.
To think both could have been on the Astros. Bryant at 3rd, Bregman at SS, Altuve at 2nd. Or move Bryant to 1st, Altuve at 2nd, Correa at SS, and Bregman at 3rd.
All that being said, Bregman is better than Bryant in hitting and fielding.
But, you also have to think that if Bryant was picked, Bregman might not have been. They could have went pitcher with Dillon Tate who went #4 in Bregman’s draft.
But Bregman was a SS in college and Correa was already up at that point. Don’t think it would’ve mattered at all. Take the best player.
Bergman probably would’ve been their LF had they drafted Bryant. Though we’ll never know.
It’s not good when you have a draft of guys no one has heard of and who might a) never produce, b) be lost in minors for 3-4 seasons.
The MLB Draft is a hard sell–a good idea in theory, but I don’t see the fan interest building.
Seems to me, marketing the AAA guys or players who might hit the majors right away–guys who are on the verge–is a more interesting marketing product.
Exactly. NFL and NBA picks are usually instant contributors. MLB picks, even the college ones, rarely go straight to the show. And the draft has too many rounds. 20 would be better.
Yeah–maybe they market the college kids and have a second HS/international draft?
I can’t get a feeling for a 17 year old unpolished nobody on the verge of earning millions for nothing.
Jorge do you honestly think if there were 20 rounds instead of 40+ it’d make any difference in interest whatsoever? I’m going to have say that’s an easy no. It’s just hard to get excited about guys you won’t see for 2-6+ years guaranteed on draft day. Aside from a couple special talents like a stras, Harper etc. your average fan just isn’t going to be invested in this.
But it may be more interesting for clubs if the draft was shortened. Not sure how you’d work that out for HS guys though. Theoretically if they weren’t picked they could receive a larger bonus from teams that way. Which is probably not what your smaller market teams would want but that could be beneficial for those young players.
Brandon Finnegan was the exception to that….pitched in the CWS & the 2014 WS
It’s different now. The top guys will be up in2 years.
It’s this aspect that I really do enjoy about the draft. I appreciate the process that it takes a minor leaguer to get to the big leagues, and enjoy following the top picks throughout their MiLB careers. I realize that I’m in the minority, however, and that the casual fan will never follow the mlb draft. It’s probably better this way – how often to you hear a casual fan complain about his baseball team’s top pick vs football or basketball? It naturally weeds them out because they don’t care about the process.
I’d rather have Bregman
Trade:
Clint Frazier–of
Miguel Andujar– 3B
Diego German– p
Clarke Schimdt– p
to the Nats for
Matt Scherzer
Beautiful
Schimdt is a recent draft pick with front line pitcher stuff.
German is on the verge…but when you’re in a title hunt, he’s not giving you anything in October but uncertainty..
(Plus, Jordan Montgomery, the left hander coming off surgery, has more polish.)
Your rotation then is:
Scherzer
Severino
Paxton
Tanaka
Happ/CC
I wonder about CC as the year goes–playoff time, I’d bunt at him 2-3 times a game.
Astros trade Tucker and Alverez for Scherzer and have Verlander, Scherzer and Cole.
How much is WASH paying down that salary? No way they trade both.
Tucker and Alvarez… Would need to be the entire contract plus a low level prospect. That’s a ton of production (potential/high to very high ceiling) and controllability between the two extremely young players.
At least it isn’t a homer offer you see so often on here.
Diego German? Matt Scherzer? Really?
Bergman hands down
If need be he can play short as well
He has manny like range and arm
bryant career .900+ ops. Bregs is good but Bryant’s a little better
How is Dustin Ackley and Hultzen not on this list?
and then there was Byron buxton..
Bryant for me. They both can hit. However Bryant has played 3rd, 1st, left and right field. Versatility is a must in today’s game.