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MLB draft grades for what teams did with top picks over last 10 years: Top squad surprises There are so many avenues to create a healthy organization and an eventually viable Major League Baseball team, almost all of it unfolding far away from the bright lights of the drafts first round.
Yet you can tell a lot about a franchise based on how it chooses to spend its very first pick during MLBs annual selection meeting.
Certainly, not all top picks are created equal.
Some arent even first-rounders, thanks to compensation owed for free agents, too much money spent in violation of luxury tax ceilings or even sign-stealing punishments.
With that in mind, USA TODAY Sports set out to grade the last 10 years of each teams top picks, taking into account their average draft position and the total WAR (as tabulated by Baseball-Reference) produced by big leaguers in this past decade.
In the event a top pick did not sign, the first signee was graded.
Come Saturday, July 11, the first round will create a fresh crop to assess over time.
But heres who did it the best with their first picks from 2016 through 2025: A+ Seattle Mariners Average draft position for first pick: 14.7 Major leaguers produced: 8 Total WAR accumulated: 30.7 Notable: One of four clubs to produce eight big leaguers, the Mariners should make it 10 out of 10, as every top pick from 2016 to 2023 made it.
Along the way they put together a rotation with collegiate right-handers Logan Gilbert (14th overall, 2018), George Kirby (20th, 2019) and Emerson Hancock (sixth, 2020).
And then they snagged a middle infield from the 21st and 22nd spots in the draft, snagging high schoolers Cole Young and Colt Emerson in consecutive years.
Lucking into the No.
3 pick and Kade Anderson a year ago was simply unfair.
A Detroit Tigers Average draft position: 8.6 Major leaguers produced: 7 Total WAR: 24.3 Notable: They had six top 10 picks in this stretch and didnt really screw them up.
Hey, this thing is harder than it looks.
Along the way they got a three-time All-Star outfielder (Riley Greene), an All-Star starting pitcher (Casey Mize), a slugging first baseman (Spencer Torkelson) and the games No.
4 outfield prospect (Max Clark).
Lest we forget, All-Star Kevin McGonigle doesnt even count in these computations, taken after Clark in 2023.
San Diego Padres Average draft position: 14.9 Major leaguers produced: 6 Total WAR: 37 Notable: MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams and Jackson Merrill became All-Stars and one of them even did it with the Padres.
Yep, AJ Prellers high-wire act is something to observe, with big bets on high-ceiling but volatile high schoolers (nine of 10 top picks in this period were spent on preps) before trading many of them to keep the big league club potent.
Save for Merrill, every top pick from 2016 to 2022 Cal Quantrill, Gore, Ryan Weathers, Abrams, Robert Hassell III and Dylan Lesko were traded.
Now, Preller must pray prep lefties Kash Mayfield and Kruz Schoolcraft his last two first-rounders pop soon, for himself or someone else.
A- Milwaukee Brewers Average draft position: 18 Major leaguers produced: 6 Total WAR: 27.3 Notable: Its not easy keeping mid-market success up when you start winning and the draft picks come later and later.
Yet from 2018 to 2021, the Brewers found second baseman Brice Turang and outfielders Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick between picks Nos.
15-21 and theyre still leading the NL Central.
This stretch began with a pair of misspent top 10 picks (Corey Ray, Keston Hiura) but the Brewers have found their sweet spot with college bats, with slugging corner infielder Andrew Fischer, No.
20 overall a year ago, knocking on the door.
New York Yankees Average draft position: 25.2 Major leaguers produced: 7 Total WAR: 16.8 Notable: What a streak: Every top pick taken from 2016-2022 touched the majors, either in New York or elsewhere.
Their consistent success means the highest pick this past decade was No.
17 in 2017 spent on Clarke Schmidt.
Six of their 10 picks have landed between 25 and 39, yet they reeled in Anthony Volpe (No.
30, 2019) and Austin Wells (No.
28) in consecutive years.
Scouting still matters, even for the 1%-ers.
B+ Chicago Cubs Average draft position: 27 Major leaguers produced: 7 Total WAR: 30.6 Notable: Just call this the Nico Hoerner Show: The contact-hitting savant produced a whopping 23.1 of that WAR after he was picked 24th overall out of Stanford in 2018.
The Cubs definitely have a type: Nine of their 10 draftees were collegians.
After a bit of a slump they hit on high picks from 2022 to 2024 in Cade Horton (2.3 WAR), Matt Shaw (3.7) and Cam Smith (3.1), who was used to reel in Kyle Tucker.
New York Mets Average draft position: 22.2 Major leaguers produced: 6 Total WAR: 24.7 Notable: Quite a mishmash here, as one would expect given that this decade of draftees spanned five regimes of baseball operations.
And while the Mets were wise enough to draft Pete Crow-Armstrong, they didnt have the foresight to keep him.
No matter: PCAs 13.8 WAR goes on the board here.
Lest we forget, David Peterson (20th overall, 2017) produced 5.5 WAR and Brett Baty (2.4) has value.
Yet the future gift may be Carson Benge, who will be a 3-win player in his rookie year, one year after getting plucked 19th out of Oklahoma State.
Philadelphia Phillies Average draft position: 15.1 Major leaguers produced: 7 Total WAR: 17.3 Notable: Theyre gonna go 10 for 10 on big leaguers as the first seven have already debuted and Aidan Miller, Dante Nori and Gage Wood will get there.
Bryson Stott (10.1 WAR) and Alec Bohm (4.5) account for the bulk of the big league damage and heck, its a little easier filling the team with superstars when you snag a pair of infield stalwarts in the first round.
The more pressing question is how high the ceilings are for center fielder Justin Crawford hes having a nice if neutral rookie season and right-hander Andrew Painter, back in the minors after struggling mightily with command.
B Chicago White Sox Average draft position: 11.7 Major leaguers produced: 8 Total WAR: 27.2 Notable: Hagen Smith is close and 2025 prep shortstop Billy Carlson should get here and make these White Sox another perfect club the past decade.
Garrett Crochet (No.
11 in 2020) is of course the gift that keeps giving, with three regulars in the lineup after they dealt him to Boston, and shortstop Colson Montgomery and first baseman Jacob Gonzalez are also contributing big to this years surprises.
But they blew a No.
4 pick on infielder Nick Madrigal and No.
3 overall on first baseman Andrew Vaughn, who eventually figured it out in Milwaukee.
Arizona Diamondbacks Average draft position: 18.6 Major leaguers produced: 6 Total WAR: 25.5 Notable: Kind of another one-man show here, as Corbin Carroll consumes 18.9 of that WAR, Jake McCarthy another 5.2.
After that? Not much else.
How half-full you view this glass depends on how much hope you retain that prep draftees Jordan Lawlar (No.
6 overall, 2021) and Druw Jones (No.
2, 2022) can make themselves viable.
Baltimore Orioles Average draft position: 12.6 Major leaguers produced: 7 Total WAR: 23.8 Notable: They picked 1-2-5-1 in four consecutive years, and history will determine if Adley Rutschman, Heston Kjerstad, Colton Cowser and Jackson Holliday constitute an appropriate haul for such good fortune.
The old regime rolled the dice on prep pitchers DL Hall and Grayson Rodriguez, while the Mike Elias contingents legacy may hinge on whether collegiate bats Enrique Bradfield, Vance Honeycutt and Ike Irish return any value between picks 17-22.
B- Kansas City Royals Average draft position: 15.8 Major leaguers produced: 4 Total WAR: 37.6 Notable: The Royals produced more WAR with their top picks the past decade than anybody.
So why no A grade? Well, 70% of that is tied up in the great Bobby Witt Jr., and kudos to KC for not messing him up.
Yet the Royals have had four top 10 picks that have not made the major leagues.
The jurys still out on catcher Blake Mitchell (No.
8, 2023), but outfielder Gavin Cross (No.
9, 2022) is running out of time, while pitchers Asa Lacy (No.
4, 2020) and Frank Mozzicato (No.
7, 2021) failed to launch.
Current Red Brady Singer and sophomore slugger Jac Caglianone are all thats left to show for a decade of prime picks.
Los Angeles Dodgers Average draft position: 33.3 Major leaguers produced: 4 Total WAR: 8.8 Notable: Yep, the average Dodgers top pick the past decade has fallen outside the top 30.
Thats life in the big city, eh? Their WAR haul here does not reflect the 23.8 Will Smith racked up as the 32nd overall pick in 2016, but hey, rules are rules.
Dalton Rushing was their top pick at No.
40 overall in 2022, meaning theyve drafted two catchers from Louisville that will outperform many, if not most first-round picks.
Not that theyre perfect: Jeren Kendall (No.
23 overall, 2017) and Kody Hoese (No.
25, 2019) were Vanderbilt and Tulane products who flopped in their system.
Texas Rangers Average draft position: 14.4 Major leaguers produced: 8 Total WAR: 22.4 Notable: Lefty Cole Ragans started this run as the 30th overall pick in 2016 and he was used to fetch World Series closer Aroldis Chapman before starring for Kansas City.
Nice start.
But the Rangers burned a ton of capital on a pair of Vandy right-handers Jack Leiter (No.
2, 2021) and Kumar Rocker (No.
3, 2022) and the jury is very much out, if not coming back soon.
Of the eight big leaguers, five have negative WAR, while the new generation is rescued by Wyatt Langford, whos delivered big time on his No.
4 overall selection in 2023.
C+ Atlanta Braves Average draft position: 20.5 Major leaguers produced: 6 Total WAR: 16.2 Notable: Turns out the best player they produced catcher Shea Langeliers accrued almost all his 10.2 WAR with the Athletics.
Still, they had enough hits to piece together a perennial winner and 2021 World Series champion, as 2016 No.
3 overall pick Ian Anderson accrued just 3.1 WAR but pitched in some huge playoff games.
Best future hope is long lefty Cam Caminiti, a high school sign in high Class A at 19.
Cleveland Guardians Average draft position: 24.4 Major leaguers produced: 6 Total WAR: 12.5 Notable: Their penchant for being Consistently Pretty Good has reduced the Guardians to picking 23rd or higher six of the past 10 years.
And until the lottery balls bounced their way and they snagged Travis Bazzana No.
1 overall in 2024, their highest pick was 14.
Smiling through it all, the Guardians grabbed Gavin Williams at No.
23 and Chase DeLauter at 16 in consecutive years, and Bazzana is an All-Star just weeks after debuting.
Yeah, they still know what theyre doing.
C Cincinnati Reds Average draft position: 8.1 Major leaguers produced: 7 Total WAR: 37.1 Notable: Second to Kansas City on the WAR list here, so why the C? Well, theyve had seven top 10 picks the past decade, and produced just two All-Star selections one each for right-handers Hunter Greene and Chase Burns, each taken No.
2 overall.
Another No.
2, 2016 pick Nick Senzel, produced minus-3.1 WAR, the biggest negative among all top picks the past decade.
Somehow, the Jonathan Indias and Nick Lodolos havent added up to a contender in Cincy.
San Francisco Giants Average draft position: 18.9 Major leaguers produced: 5 Total WAR: 35.8 Notable: Two-thirds of the production came from their top pick in 2016, Bryan Reynolds, who they picked 59th overall and traded to rent Andrew McCutchen.
So, good for the Pirates, we guess.
Eight top picks were spent on collegians, yet the two high schoolers outfielder Heliot Ramos and slugger Bryce Eldridge are their only everyday players.
Thats what happens when a No.
2 overall pick is burned on Joey Bart, who like Reynolds flourished in Pittsburgh, and a No.
10 on Hunter Bishop, who touched AAA but never found the power he flashed at Arizona State.
Pittsburgh Pirates Average draft position: 9 Major leaguers produced: 8 Total WAR: 22.9 Notable: They have had six consecutive top nine picks, the first three producing a part-time shortstop (Nick Gonzales), a backup catcher (Henry Davis, who went 1/1 in 2021) and a struggling AAA infielder (Termarr Johnson).
Now, the good news: Paul Skenes, Konnor Griffin and Seth Hernandez, the latter now striking out 13.4 batters per nine innings in high A, one year after he was plucked out of high school.
Too bad they didnt hold onto Shane Baz or unlock Quinn Priester.
Athletics Average draft position: 14.1 Major leaguers produced: 7 Total WAR: 19 Notable: Kyler Murray, we hardly knew ye.
Things got a little brighter after 2018s ninth overall pick decided NFL riches were the surer thing, beginning with plucking Tyler Soderstrom with the 26th overall pick in 2020.
And then Nick Kurtz was popped fourth overall in 2024, and Yolo County didnt know what hit it in 2025.
Indeed, those two comprise almost all the value from the last decade, and perhaps things wouldve gone better in Oakland had Murray, AJ Puk and Austin Beck been bypassed for other picks at nine, six and six, respectively.
C- Boston Red Sox Average draft position: 19.1 Major leaguers produced: 6 Total WAR: 11 Notable: Yet another franchise that underwent significant regime changes this past decade, but thats not much excuse for just two top pick players Tanner Houck and Triston Casas producing more than 1 win above replacement.
They did burn Kyle Teel and Braden Montgomery to snag Garrett Crochet, but the meh tone was set with prep lefty Jay Groome failing to catch on after he was picked 12th overall in 2016.
St.
Louis Cardinals Average draft position: 24.9 Major leaguers produced: 6 Total WAR: 13.1 Notable: Theyve drafted late and played it safe over the years, selecting almost entirely uninspiring collegians with seven of their 10 top picks.
Turns out rolling the dice on prep guys was wise: Nolan Gorman (19th overall in 2018, 3.4 WAR) and Jordan Walker (No.
21 in 2020, first-time All-Star in 2025) were their only bright spots the first five years.
The latter group has been saved by right-hander Michael McGreevy (No.
18 in 2021) and JJ Wetherholt, who in 2024 became their first top 10 pick since 1998.
Hes now the best defensive second baseman in the game.
Minnesota Twins Average draft position: 15.2 Major leaguers produced: 5 Total WAR: 15.2 Notable: A tough break when your 1/1 Royce Lewis, 2017 has suffered through almost nonstop injuries, though hes still got runway as a major leaguer.
Keoni Cavaco, a prep shortstop chosen 13th in 2019, never made it out of A ball while their top pick a year later, former North Carolina first baseman Aaron Sabato, has finally made it to Class AAA.
There are high hopes for their past three No.
1 picks prep outfielder Walker Jenkins and college shortstops Kaelen Culpepper and Marek Houston.
Los Angeles Angels Average draft position: 11.1 Major leaguers produced: 9 Total WAR: 23.2 Notable: You get what you pay for: Draft a nonstop stream of close-to-the-majors collegiate players and watch none of them become All-Stars.
Thats pretty much how its gone down in Anaheim, where shortstop Zach Neto has produced 12.2 WAR and lefty Reid Detmers has finally found his stride.
As for Will Wilson, Sam Bachman, Nolan Schanuel and Christian Moore, all chosen between picks eight and 15? Theyve all made it to Anaheim, but seem helpless to prevent a third consecutive last-place finish.
D+ Toronto Blue Jays Average draft position: 16.1 Major leaguers produced: 6 Total WAR: 9.8 Notable: They basically have one All-Star season from Alek Manoah and two amazing months from Trey Yesavage to show for a decade of top picks.
Tough back-to-back selections in 2017 and 18, as collegiate shortstop Logan Warmoth (No.
22) reached AAA but was gone by 2023, while Jordan Groshans played 17 games for the Marlins in 2022.
Tampa Bay Rays Average draft position: 18.7 Major leaguers produced: 5 Total WAR: 2.7 Notable: Yeah, seems weird to see the Eternally Smart Rays at the back of the class here.
But theyve perhaps swung too big with their top picks, going the high school route seven of 10 times, with only outfielder Josh Lowe producing positive WAR.
It didnt help when two-way player and 2017 No.
4 overall Brendan McKay ran into shoulder issues; Tampa Bay would pick between 16 and 29 the next seven years.
D Miami Marlins Average draft position: 9.5 Major leaguers produced: 5 Total WAR: 19.2 Notable: Trevor Rogers and JJ Bleday largely popped elsewhere and drafting high schoolers six times in nine years didnt return many dividends.
They did right in 2020, grabbing Max Meyer with the third overall pick, and now hes an All-Star rotation stalwart.
The new regimes pivotal guy is Aiva Arquette, the 6-foot-5 shortstop from Oregon State taken seventh overall last year.
Will he return more value than a slew of highly regarded prep shortstops and proven college arms that went behind him? F+ Houston Astros Average draft position: 35.6 Major leaguers produced: 6 Total WAR: Minus-2.3 Notable: They were really good on the field (two World Series titles) and really bad off it (a grim sign-stealing scheme) and both conspired to push Astros picks later in the draft, as they were stripped of first- and second-round picks in 2020 and 21 after their nefarious scheme was discovered.
That still doesnt excuse some awful top picks, beginning with four players who produced negative WAR in their big league careers: Right-handers Forrest Whitley and JB Bukauskas, outfielder Seth Beer and catcher Korey Lee.
They had to wait until Nos.
72 and 87 to pick in 2020 and 21, but given the freedom of choice again, opted for college outfielder Drew Gilbert at No.
28 in 22.
Oy.
At least 23 No.
1 Brice Matthews is contributing to the big league roster, and last years No.
1, Xavier Neyens, is far toolsier than many of their previous top picks.
F Washington Nationals Average draft position: 14.8 Major leaguers produced: 6 Total WAR: Minus-1.3 Notable: Yet another good team, bad decisions scenario: The Nationals picked between No.
17 and No.
28 from 2016 to 2020, but that didnt mean they had to choose bad players.
Alas, all thats left from that bunch is Cade Cavalli (No.
22 in 2020), and hes perhaps established himself as a rotation mainstay.
It probably got worse as the Nats got bad, the nadir coming when they selected prep outfielder Elijah Green fifth overall in 2022.
Now 22, Green has 141 strikeouts in 313 plate appearances (45% K rate) at high Class A this season.
A new regime and last year's 1/1, shortstop Eli Willits, should produce better outcomes.
F- Colorado Rockies Average draft position: 14 Major leaguers produced: 7 Total WAR: Minus-1.6 Notable: Cant really blame this on Coors Field.
The Rockies took a hitter four out of five years at one point, and they all went belly up, from Ryan Vilade (No.
48, 2017) to Michael Toglia (No.
23, 2019) to Zac Veen (No.
9, 2020) and Benny Montgomery (No.
8, 2021).
Veen is still knocking on the door, but these past 10 years got off to a tough start when they spent the No.
4 overall pick on prep right-hander Riley Pint in 2016; he quit baseball, came back and then said, Im good after five big league games.
Theres some hope for the new generation though good health must return for Chase Dollander and 2025 No.
4 overall Ethan Holliday, and slugger Charlie Condon needs to cut down his strikeouts at AAA.