This may put me in a very small minority of humans, but I love analyzing MLB draft Wikipedia pages. Take 2012, for instance. Carlos Correa went number one, Addison Russell went 11th, and Corey Seager went 19th. Which player would you rather have for the next decade? Would the Astros take Seager if they could do it over again?
Let's do another. 2000. Adrian Gonzalez went first overall to the Marlins. UCLA second baseman Chase Utley went 15th to Phillies. Adam Wainwright was drafted 29th by the Braves. Throw in late round picks like Yadier Molina, Grady Sizemore, and Cliff Lee. What order would they get picked in today? So much to analyze.
Because I like MLB drafts so much, here is a list I made of the best player from each draft class since the first in 1965. This list only includes players that signed.
| Year | Name | Pick | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Nolan Ryan | 226 | 81.8 |
| 1966 | Reggie Jackson | 2 | 73.8 |
| 1967 | Ted Simmons | 10 | 50.1 |
| 1968 | Thurmon Munson | 4 | 45.9 |
| 1969 | Bert Blyleven | 55 | 95.3 |
| 1970 | Rick Reuschel | 67 | 70 |
| 1971 | Mike Schmidt | 30 | 106.5 |
| 1972 | Gary Carter | 53 | 69.9 |
| 1973 | Robin Yount | 3 | 77 |
| 1974 | Dale Murphy | 5 | 46.2 |
| 1975 | Lou Whitaker | 99 | 74.9 |
| 1976 | Rickey Henderson | 96 | 110.8 |
| 1977 | Ozzie Smith | 86 | 76.5 |
| 1978 | Cal Ripken Jr. | 48 | 95.5 |
| 1979 | Orel Hershiser | 440 | 56.8 |
| 1980 | Darryl Strawberry | 1 | 42 |
| 1981 | Tony Gwynn | 58 | 68.8 |
| 1982 | David Wells | 30 | 53.6 |
| 1983 | Roger Clemenes | 19 | 140.3 |
| 1984 | Greg Maddux | 31 | 106.9 |
| 1985 | Barry Bonds | 6 | 162.4 |
| 1986 | Kevin Brown | 4 | 68.3 |
| 1987 | Ken Griffey Jr. | 1 | 83.6 |
| 1988 | Mike Piazza | 1390 | 59.4 |
| 1989 | Jeff Bagwell | 110 | 79.6 |
| 1990 | Chipper Jones | 1 | 85 |
| 1991 | Manny Ramirez | 13 | 69.2 |
| 1992 | Derek Jeter | 6 | 71.8 |
| 1993 | Alex Rogriguez | 1 | 117.7 |
| 1994 | Javier Vazquez | 140 | 46 |
| 1995 | Roy Halladay | 17 | 64.7 |
| 1996 | Roy Oswalt | 684 | 50.2 |
| 1997 | Lance Berkman | 16 | 51.7 |
| 1998 | CC Sabathia | 20 | 61.2 |
| 1999 | Albert Pujols | 402 | 99.5 |
| 2000 | Chase Utley | 15 | 65.3 |
| 2001 | Joe Mauer | 2 | 53.3 |
| 2002 | Zack Greinke | 6 | 61.2 |
| 2003 | Ian Kinsler | 496 | 55.1 |
| 2004 | Justin Verlander | 2 | 55.7 |
| 2005 | Ryan Braun | 5 | 45.9 |
| 2006 | Clayton Kershaw | 7 | 59.1 |
| 2007 | Josh Donaldson | 48 | 36.9 |
| 2008 | Buster Posey | 5 | 37.4 |
| 2009 | Mike Trout | 25 | 54.5 |
| 2010 | Chris Sale | 13 | 36.8 |
| 2011 | Mookie Betts | 172 | 23.5 |
| 2012 | Carlos Correa | 1 | 15.1 |
| 2013 | Kris Bryant | 2 | 19.3 |
| 2014 | Trea Turner | 13 | 6.6 |
| 2015 | Alex Bregman | 2 | 5.3 |
Baseball is here! And more importantly, that means the over/under game is back. It seems as though everyone is an expert this time of year. Somehow we convince ourselves that we are better at predicting baseball outcomes than everyone else. Well, AFITB is putting that to the test for the third year in a row. Think you know more about baseball than us? You probably do. But go ahead and prove it anyway.