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Let’s take a look at where the MLB Draft Class of 2016 is now

By Joshua Sadlock

TAMPA, FL - JUNE 03: Mickey Moniak (2) of the Threshers hits his first home run of the season during the Florida State League game between the Florida Fire Frogs and the Clearwater Threshers on June 03, 2018, at Spectrum Field in Clearwater, FL. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - JUNE 03: Mickey Moniak (2) of the Threshers hits his first home run of the season during the Florida State League game between the Florida Fire Frogs and the Clearwater Threshers on June 03, 2018, at Spectrum Field in Clearwater, FL. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JUNE 20: Pete Alonso #20 of the New York Metshits his 25th home run of the season against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 20, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JUNE 20: Pete Alonso #20 of the New York Metshits his 25th home run of the season against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 20, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Other Notables

Baseball’s amateur draft stretches for rounds and rounds and hours and hours, giving about 1,000 young players the chance to hear their name called and consider signing a professional contract. It’s a more complicated draft than the other professional leagues thanks to compensatory picks, competitive balance picks and slot values and limits for each team. A player doesn’t have to get picked in the true first round to become an elite prospect and future All-Star, and there are plenty of top prospects in the league right now who were not picked in the first round. Let’s wrap this post up by breaking down a few of the picks that came after the initial first round.

  • Carter Kieboom, Washington Nationals: The Nationals lost their own first-round pick, but gained a compensatory pick for losing Jordan Zimmermann. They used the pick on Georgia high schooler Carter Kieboom, whose older brother, Spencer, was already playing in their system. Both brothers have already reached the big leagues, and Carter has hit two home runs this season.
  • Pete Alonso, New York Mets: Alonso was a second-round pick for the Mets, and he is well on his way to winning the NL Rookie of the Year and garnering more than a few MVP votes. The 24-year-old first baseman has 27 home runs and 61 RBI in 80 games and is slashing .281/.371/.634 to give Mets fans something worth watching for as another season swirls down the drain.
  • Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio, Toronto Blue Jays: It’s not all about Vlad Guerrero Jr. for Blue Jays fans. In addition to Vladito, Toronto has two more sons of star big leaguers ready to have an impact at the MLB level. Bichette was a second-round pick out of high school, while Biggio was a fifth-round pick out of Notre Dame. Biggio has already made his debut and has hit .244/.373/.456 in 28 games with five home runs and 14 RBI. Bichette is hitting .306/.367/.500 in 26 games at Triple-A after getting a late start to the 2019 season while recovering from an injury.
  • Shane Bieber, Cleveland Indians: Bieber was a fourth-round pick by the Indians out of UCSB in 2016 and made his MLB debut last year, posting an 11-5 record in 20 games. The right-hander is off to a 6-3 start this year and has 122 strikeouts in 96.1 innings.
  • Jesus Luzardo, Washington Nationals: Luzardo was a third-round pick for the Nats coming out of high school in Florida. They sent him to the Oakland A’s for Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle, and he now actually outranks A.J. Puk. Luzardo completed his first full season last year, finishing with a 10-5 record, 2.88 ERA and 10.6 strikeouts per nine while jumping all the way from High-A to Triple-A. He could debut later this season.
  • Adley Rutschman, Seattle Mariners: With the 1,197th pick in the draft, the Mariners selected a catcher from Sherwood High School in Oregon named Adley Rutschman. He did not sign, went to Oregon State University and just signed with the Baltimore Orioles as the number-one overall pick. Things worked out pretty well.
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