With the MLB draft scheduled for next week, let’s take a look at each National League team’s most successful draft class in recent memory. Using Baseball Reference’s draft tracker, we can sum the combined career bWAR of each player selected by each team in a given year. It’s a simple shorthand, not a perfect measure, but it’ll give some insight into which teams have really hit on their picks in certain years.
First, a quick note on the methodology. For simplicity, we’re limiting this search to the 2006-2015 classes. A player’s value is only included if he signed with the club, although he needn’t have actually played for his drafting team in the majors. (So, the 2008 Yankees don’t get credit for drafting but failing to sign Gerrit Cole, while the 2007 Red Sox do get credit for drafting and signing Anthony Rizzo, even though he was traded before ever playing an MLB game for Boston). Of course, a player drafted in 2006 has had more time to rack up value than one drafted in 2015, so we’ll note in each team’s capsule if a more recent class is on the verge of taking over from an older class. On to the results…
- Braves: 2007 (76.6 bWAR) – Hitting on Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman in the first two rounds goes a long way. Heyward has been a disappointment with the Cubs but had some electrifying seasons in his early days in Atlanta (and his year in St. Louis), while Freeman has emerged as a fixture in the Braves’ lineup as one of the best hitters in baseball over the past decade.
- Brewers: 2009 (30.7 bWAR) – This was period of some underwhelming draft returns for Milwaukee. The 2009 class tops the list thanks to Khris Davis, Mike Fiers and Scooter Gennett, all of whom are better known for their play (or whistleblowing, in Fiers’ case) elsewhere.
- Cardinals: 2006 (56.3 bWAR) – By virtue of putting up baseball’s best record in 2005, the Cardinals sat at the back of every round in 2006. No matter, as they managed to find a handful of highly productive big leaguers. First-rounder Adam Ottavino didn’t work out in St. Louis but went on to a strong career as a reliever in Colorado. Tommy Pham (16th round) and Jon Jay (2nd round) have each carved out strong careers, while Allen Craig (8th round) had a brief but productive peak.
- Cubs: 2007 (54.4 bWAR) – Unfortunately for the Cubs, this class is almost all about Josh Donaldson, who did none of his damage in a Chicago uniform. Perhaps Javier Báez (2012 draft) or Kris Bryant (2013 draft) will match or exceed Donaldson’s stellar career in time.
- Diamondbacks: 2009 (73.1 bWAR) – Paul Goldschmidt (8th round) went on to become the top position player in franchise history. First-rounder AJ Pollock had a couple star-level seasons of his own before injuries knocked him off track, while Chase Anderson (9th round) has emerged as a solid back-of-the-rotation starter.
- Dodgers: 2006 (70.6 bWAR) – The Dodgers only signed two big leaguers from the 2006 class. When one of them goes on to become arguably the best pitcher of his generation, you can more than get away with it. Clayton Kershaw’s Hall of Fame plaque will boast at least three Cy Young Awards and an NL MVP.
- Giants: 2008 (65.6 bWAR) – The late-2000’s draft classes set up the crux of the Giants’ three World Series titles the first half of the next decade. None was more impactful than 2008, when SF grabbed Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford in the first and fourth rounds, respectively.
- Marlins: 2010 (56.1 bWAR) – Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto have matured into two of the best players in baseball, so the Marlins’ 2010 class (which also boasted late-blooming A’s slugger Mark Canha) has a chance to be really special. Of course, none of those players are still in Miami.
- Mets: 2010 (50.5 bWAR) – Seventh overall pick Matt Harvey was briefly the ace the Mets hoped they were adding in 2010. As it turns out, Jacob deGrom (9th round) had a lot more staying power atop their rotation.
- Nationals: 2009 (44.9 bWAR) – First overall pick Stephen Strasburg has more than made good on that selection, culminating in a World Series MVP effort in 2019. The 2009 class also brought in a handful of role players, including Drew Storen and Michael Taylor.
- Padres: 2007 (38.9 bWAR) – Another team for whom the top player simply got away, the crown jewel of the Padres’ 2007 class was Corey Kluber (4th round). Obviously, even San Diego didn’t him expect him to go on to win a pair of Cy Young Awards.
- Phillies: 2014 (24.2 bWAR) – There were some tough results for the Phillies on draft day in recent seasons, but 2014 looks to be a notable exception. Aaron Nola went seventh overall and has emerged as a high-level starter, while Rhys Hoskins (fifth round) looks like the Phils’ long-term answer at first base.
- Pirates: 2011 (29.7 bWAR) – The Pirates’ 2011 class is almost exclusively about the contributions of first overall pick Gerrit Cole, but he obviously reached his peak after being traded to Houston. Josh Bell (2nd round) looked to have turned the corner at the plate in the first half of 2019.
- Reds: 2007 (43.1 bWAR) – The Reds found three future everyday players in the 2007 class. Todd Frazier (supplemental first-round), Zack Cozart (2nd round) and Devin Mesoraco (1st round) all went on to become productive players in Cincinnati.
- Rockies: 2009 (47.4 bWAR) – The Rockies graduated six players from the 2009 class to the big leagues, although only one proved a smashing success. Finding a player of Nolan Arenado’s caliber in the second round makes for a great draft even if the rest of the players taken underwhelm.
Here we go again. Another article telling us Jon Jay is a good player. Good God it’s pathetic.
It’s funny that he says Jason Hayward hasn’t produced as a cub but Jon jay has been way less consistent.
In Jay’s first 5 seasons, he had over 10 bWAR and a combined 109 OPS+. Yes, he’s not a good player any more. But he was good at one point.
He was never good
Good one
He was good just not great. He would never have been my first target in Free Agency, but that also meant he was more affordable than similar players through his career
5 seasons of 10 bWAR isn’t good, slightly above average.
What is pathetic is your constant posting on cardinals threads…pathetic
What’s pathetic is your constant obsession to defend the Cardinals and follow me around on the forum.
Lol you wish bud…you are by far the most pathetic person on here…you don’t even know what you are talking about half the time..plus it is in reverse…you follow me…plus Jon Jay has accomplished more than you ever will do save it bud…you literally changed your name because I called you dude…lol can’t make this stuff up…now that is pathetic
For an idiot, you have a high opinion of yourself.
Good one lol
Did Jon Jay bully you as a kid or something?
Whacky reaction to someone saying Jon Jay has had a solid career. The writer didn’t say he was an elite talent, regular all-star or even good though looking at his ops+ he did have 4 seasons of being firmly above average and then 3 or 4 years of being replacement level. I would call that a solid career as well too.
Batted .295/.359/.396 with a 109 OPS+ and had a total of 9 total zone runs above average from 2010 to 2014, averaged about 2-2.5 bWAR a season. Not sayin ghe was great, but hey. A guy with a .359 OBP and not a terrible base runner either is will get you places.
Sounds like a “strong career” to me. Some peeps nitpick to feel better about themselves
that’s because he was a good player. not great, but good.
Red Sox 2011 draft with Barnes, Bradley, Betts and Travis Shaw combining for 70.2 bWAR?
Did you even read the title?
Opinions are what’s important not reading what you have an opinion about.
Yeah I missed the title. Well, we all knew someone was going to. Today, I’m that idiot.
You owned it your mistake, Ketch. I have to appreciate that.
at least, per the AL edition, you nailed it
Most are pretty solid but the brewers… man…. ugly. Did they get any value in return for those guys via playing time or trades? I don’t recall any of them playing with the brewers… if they did, they weren’t the same names they are now for sure
Just looked it up, Davis gave them so decent years, Fiers part of a trade with really good value. So it worked out
Brewers got Josh Hader among others for Fiers and Carlos Gomez.
Fiers pitched 2 no hitters. and the only thing he comes up with is saying he is famous for being a whistleblower. the guy has been a solid rotation piece
Fiers was good after Astros dropped him. Why did it take him 2 1/2 years to say Astros cheated?
Really don’t understand the Fiers hate. Justice got served (somewhat) and it was because he opened his mouth.
Two years too late.
Ya, that Fiers hate does seem pretty hypocritical. Fans just love to hate on the Astros AND Fiers. You have to hate the snitch despite the fact that we hate the team that he snitched on because of what HE told us.
The Astros had a 25 man roster during the years they were cheating. They probably had around 40 players who spent time on it while they were cheating. A grand total of 1 spoke out. Yes it was 2 1/2 years later, but he spoke out. None of the others would have ever said anything if it wasn’t for him. They still haven’t apologized without adding a “but” or excuse or saying they are still World Champs. Fiers is the only player on any of those teams with any sense of honor at all.
2016 Dodgers draft looking good too. Gavin Lux, Will Smith, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Cody Thomas, DJ Peters.
Who is Cody Thomas?
A power hitting OF prospect
One of the worst trades the Red Sox ever made was getting Allen Craig (listed in the article above) and $38 million salary and Joe Kelly.
Craig (with RS)
BA .139, OBP .236, OPS .432
He was so bad most of 2015 and all of 2016 and 2017 were spent in AAA while earning his $38 million…..(bad was a gross understatement – horrible, no good, very bad trade)
Kelly
In five years with the RS had a 4.33 ERA and was inconsistent in both the rotation and the bullpen (he did have a great 2018 post season which lead the Dodgers to give him 3 yr $27 million which I bet they wish they had not….4.56 era, 1.38 whip)
Note: Carl Crawford, Pablo Sandoval, Hanley Ramirez, … were all FA
Don’t forget the other part of the deal-John Lackey to Cardinals leading the league in games started and producing a 2.77 era for a salary of 500k due to his injury clause in his contract. And Cards got a comp pick when he left. Mozeliak really turned a gem on that deal. Who did the Cards select with that comp pick? Dylan Carlson
Add two more names to the Pirates 2011 draft class.
Gerrit Cole – 1st round
Josh Bell – 2nd round
Tyler Glasnow- 5th round
Trea Turner – 20th round
Say what you will about what they did or did not do with them, but…that’s pretty good drafting.
Probably the best draft in Pirates history.
Trea Turner?
That ’09 Diamondbacks class was really special. Had Pollock been luckier with avoiding injury, it makes you wonder how much higher their WAR would be.
Lol at mentioning Jason Heyward but totally ignoring Craig Kimbrel.
Pretty sure Freeman and Kimbrel are the highlights of that ATL class.
They didn’t even mention Dock Doyle!!
It’s true the Braves drafted Kimbrel in 2007, but he didn’t sign that year. They redrafted him in 2008, and that year he signed. I wasn’t diminishing Kimbrel’s contributions in Atlanta; he’s just bucketed in the 2008 class by the way I grouped things.
That’s fair I guess.
Though if we’re not counting Kimbrel I gotta say the 2015 class has plenty of potential to top Freeman and Heyward of 2007
Soroka, Riley, Allard, Weigel.
We’ll have to revisit this in about 5 years obviously, but Freeman is pretty much carrying the 2007 argument all on his own so should be interesting to see if this 2015 group could topple the 2007 pick.
Wow. The Phillies have the lowest WAR of any team from the NL from a draft class. With all the resources the Philles have, they need to put some of it into scouting and player development. Cornelius Randolph will never make the bigs and Mickey Moniak looks like a glove-first 4th outfielder.
Yes and second worst overall (Tigers were the worst). The biggest problem I have with it is that they built and analytics department while keeping a majority of the same scouting department…pure insanity to me.
Wow the Reds are bad at drafting
All of the teams in the top ten on this list had one one or both of two things in common. Scouting and Player Development. Unfortunately for New York, the Mets WIlpon soap opera often hindered the nuts and bolts operation of that organization, often leaving the minor league system in disarray. but they always seemed to have a few player development people in their system to make the most of what they had.
Once you get past that top ten though the approach by the team is often more inconsistent or relies more heavily on MLB free agent signings.
How about Charlie Blackmon, 2008 2nd round?
Trevor Story, 1st round 2011?
Was Pujols drafted like 42nd in 2005 by the Cardinals??? That was an unsuspected steal.
Pujols was not drafted in 2005. He was about 37 years old in 2005.