MLB Draft, 1st Round: Who ended up where?
By Matt Fisher
The first round of the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft was Thursday evening. The night, in which teams announce their desire to sign a young potential star to their team, saw no shortage of talent. Most of the talent came in the form of young arms, most as young as fresh out of high school that figure to be able to contribute to a club sooner rather than later.
More from Arizona Diamondbacks
- MLB Rumors: Grading new trade fits for Shohei Ohtani, Braves, Willson Contreras
- MLB Rumors: Shocking Shohei Ohtani suitor would be Dodgers, Giants nightmare
- MLB Rumors: 3 ideal trade suitors for Pirates closer David Bednar
- NY Mets: 4 monstrous trade packages for Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer
- MLB Rumors: Willson Contreras trade suitor, Reds surprise move, Giolito war
That seemed to be the theme of this year’s draft, at any rate. The idea is always to find players that can be cultivated and molded to fit a club’s style, but with the recent influx of prospects and talent into the Major League ranks, the attention focused to players who are seen as extremely close to Major League ready. If things don’t work out, trades are always an option.
So how did it all shake out? I’m glad you asked.
| Pick | Team | Player | Position | From |
| 1 | Astros | Brady Aiken | LHP | Cathedral Catholic HS |
| 2 | Marlins | Tyler Kolek | RHP | Shepherd HS |
| 3 | Whtie Sox | Carlos Rodon | LHP | North Carolina State |
| 4 | Cubs | Kyle Schwarber | C | Indiana |
| 5 | Twins | Nick Gordon | SS | Olympia HS |
| 6 | Mariners | Alex Jackson | OF | Rancho Bernardo HS |
| 7 | Phillies | Aaron Nola | RHP | LSU |
| 8 | Rockies | Kyle Freeland | LHP | Evansville |
| 9 | Blue Jays | Jeff Hoffman | RHP | East Carolina |
| 10 | Mets | Michael Conforto | OF | Oregon State |
| 11 | Blue Jays1 | Max Pentecost | C | Kennesaw State |
| 12 | Brewers | Kodi Medeiros | LHP | Waiakea HS |
| 13 | Padres | Trea Turner | SS | North Carolina State |
| 14 | Giants | Tyler Beede | RHP | Vanderbilt |
| 15 | Angels | Sean Newcomb | LHP | University of Hartford |
| 16 | Diamondbacks | Touki Toussaint | RHP | Coral Springs Christian Academy |
| 17 | Royals | Brandon Finnegan | LHP | TCU |
| 18 | Nationals | Erick Fedde | RHP | UNLV |
| 19 | Reds | Nick Howard | RHP | Virginia |
| 20 | Rays | Casey Gillaspie | 1B | Wichita State |
| 21 | Indians | Bradley Zimmer | OF | University of San Francisco |
| 22 | Dodgers | Grant Holmes | RHP | Conway HS |
| 23 | Tigers | Derek Hill | OF | Elk Grove HS |
| 24 | Pirates | Cole Tucker | SS | Mountain Pointe HS |
| 25 | Athletics | Matt Chapman | 3B | Cal State-Fullerton |
| 26 | Red Sox | Michael Chavis | SS | Sprayberry Senior HS |
| 27 | Cardinals | Luke Weaver | RHP | Flordia State |
| 28 | Royals2 | Foster Griffin | LHP | The First Academy |
| 29 | Reds3 | Alex Blandino | SS | Stanford |
| 30 | Rangers4 | Luis Ortiz | RHP | Sanger HS |
| 31 | Indians5 | Justus Sheffield | LHP | Tullahoma HS |
| 32 | Braves6 | Braxton Davidson | OF | T.C. Roberson HS |
| 33 | Red Sox7 | Michael Kopech | RHP | Mount Pleasant HS |
| 34 | Cardinals8 | Jack Flaherty | RHP | Harvard-Westlake HS |
Footnotes:
- Compensation received for failing to sign Philip Bickford
- Compensation for Ervin Santana from Atlanta
- Compensation for Shin-Soo Choo from Texas
- Compensation for Nelson Cruz from Baltimore
- Compensation for Ubaldo Jimenez from Baltimore
- Compensation for Brian McCann from New York
- Compensation for Jacoby Ellsbury from New York
- Compensation for Carlos Beltran from New York
The second round also happened on Thursday night. The third round will happen on Friday with all subsequent picks happening throughout the weekend. Any teams that fail to sign their draft pick will get a compensation pick in next year’s draft. Players can choose to either sign with their team or reject the offer, attend college and be eligible for the draft next year.