The 2023 MLB draft is around the corner, kicking off with the first round July 9, and every year I love to dig into some aspect of draft history. There are always interesting stories to research and surprising picks to remember -- a reminder that the draft is an extremely inexact science.
Scouting departments are better than ever at it, though. This year, I've researched each team's best draft of all time and, even considering that we won't know the results of recent drafts for years, the list skews to decades-old drafts in many cases. There are a few reasons for this:
1. It's harder to find hidden gems nowadays. Back when the draft began in 1965, it was a scout's dream to discover a kid no other team knew about. Those players rarely, rarely exist anymore. For the most part, due to showcases and other events, every team knows every player and has more data available to them to evaluate players on. Few players slip through the cracks that allowed teams in the past to luck into a good prospect in the later rounds.
2. Teams are smarter. In the early years of the draft, teams generally preferred high school kids to college players. It would take about 15 years before teams finally corrected for this mistaken philosophy. That means more of the best players taken in the first round and fewer opportunities for teams to hit on multiple stars in later rounds.
3. Careers are shorter (or less dominant). I focused on career WAR in evaluating each team's draft and as it becomes more difficult for players -- especially position players -- to remain dominant deeper into their 30s, that means less career WAR for even the best of today's stars, which helps the older drafts.
4. More and more of the top players are from Latin America and are signed as amateur free agents. We're only considering drafted players here.
5. The steroids era. A lot of the best drafts seem to have come in the late 1980s. Perhaps that's just a coincidence.
Baseball America's "Ultimate Draft Book" was an essential help for this exercise. One area I differed from that book on: Its editors focused more on quantity of major leaguers selected rather than quality while also considering unsigned players. I've focused solely on value generated and only on players signed, which skews the best drafts in favor of selecting star players.
Final note: Prior to 1987, the draft consisted of a January phase and a June phase. In those years, I've considered all players signed in both phases, not just the regular June phase.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Best draft class: 1968
Scouting director/GM: Al Campanis/Fresco Thompson
Key players drafted: Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Doyle Alexander, Geoff Zahn, Joe Ferguson, Bill Buckner, Tom Paciorek, Bobby Valentine
Career WAR: 237.5
The Dodgers drafted 15 players in 1968 who would reach the majors, including three-fourths of the famous infield (along with Bill Russell, who was drafted in 1966) that would help them to four World Series appearances between 1974 and 1981. Garvey (38.0 career WAR) and Cey (53.8) were college third baseman -- Garvey from Michigan State and Cey from Washington State -- and were both selected in the secondary phase of the June draft. Lopes (42.3) came from Washburn University in Kansas in the January phase and was moved from the outfield to second base. In career WAR among position players accumulated with the Dodgers, Cey ranks sixth in franchise history, Garvey ninth and Lopes 15th -- and the trio combined for 18 All-Star appearances while wearing Dodger Blue.
The quality didn't end there. Alexander (35.0) won 194 games, although he was traded away after his rookie season, Ferguson (21.0) was a quality catcher/outfielder for several teams, Buckner (15.0) had over 2,500 hits and Zahn (20.3) won 111 games. The player who didn't pan out was Valentine, the fifth overall pick in the regular phase of the June draft and the best prospect of the bunch. He was the Pacific Coast League MVP at age 20 when he hit .340, but he tore up his knee and later broke his leg when his spikes got caught in a chain link fence and was never a regular in the majors.
Campanis, who later became the team's general manager, once explained his team's draft philosophy that year, saying: "At the time, we couldn't get a hit. So when we had the choices, we went for a Garvey and Cey, a Buckner and Valentine. Every time we had a tough choice to make, we went for the better hitter."
Boston Red Sox
Best draft class: 1983
Scouting director/GM: Eddie Kasko/Haywood Sullivan
Key players drafted: Roger Clemens, Ellis Burks
Career WAR: 187.7
I don't know if it's exactly accurate to say the Red Sox have drafted the best throughout the draft's history, but it's certainly fair to say no team has had more great drafts than the Red Sox. While only the A's have even three drafts that produced 100 career WAR, the Red Sox have four with a fifth knocking on the door. In chronological order, along with key players:
1968: 106.7 (Cecil Cooper, Ben Oglivie, Bill Lee, Lynn McGlothin, John Curtis)
1976: 166.6 (Wade Boggs, Bruce Hurst, John Tudor, Mike Smithson)
1983: 187.7 (Clemens, Burks)
1989: 124.8 (Jeff Bagwell, Mo Vaughn, Paul Quantrill)
2011: 89.2 (Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Travis Shaw, Matt Barnes)
I have to go with 1983, even though it's really just a two-man draft, with Clemens (139.2 WAR) selected 19th overall from the University of Texas and Burks (49.8 WAR) taken in the first round in the January phase. The 1983 and 1976 drafts rank second and third overall in career WAR, behind the Dodgers' 1968 draft.
Detroit Tigers
Best draft class: 1976
Scouting director/GM: Bill Lajoie/Jim Campbell
Key players drafted: Alan Trammell, Jack Morris, Dan Petry, Steve Kemp
Career WAR: 156.6
The Tigers remain the only team to select two Hall of Famers in the same draft, getting Trammell in the second round out of Kearny High School in San Diego and Morris in the fifth round out of BYU. And it actually could have been three Hall of Famers: Detroit drafted Ozzie Smith in the seventh round out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, but he returned to school and the Padres drafted him the following year. The draft produced depth in Petry, who won 119 games with the Tigers, including 18 in the 1984 World Series season, and Kemp, who produced 16.0 WAR in five seasons with Detroit before getting traded for Chet Lemon, the center fielder on the 1984 championship team.
Chicago Cubs
Best draft class: 1984
Scouting director/GM: Gordon Goldsberry/Dallas Green
Key players drafted: Greg Maddux, Jamie Moyer, Dwight Smith, Damon Berryhill
Career WAR: 159.1
Yes, 1984 was a memorable season in Chicago: The Cubs ended a long drought to reach the postseason for the first time since 1945 -- and in June, they drafted two pitchers who would combine for 624 major league wins. Let's see that record get broken.
Maddux was a second-round pick from Valley High School in Las Vegas. "I really believe this boy would possibly be the No. 1 player taken in the country if only he looked a bit more physical," read the report from area scout Doug Mapson at the time. He cited a fastball clocked at 86-89 mph with "explosive, bat-breaking kink." While that's hardly an overpowering speed by today's standards, keep in mind that radar guns were much slower in those days, so Maddux was likely throwing in the low 90s.
Moyer was a sixth-round pick out of St. Joseph's University. His career appeared over in the early '90s when the Rangers, Cardinals and Cubs all released him in successive years and the Cubs asked him to be a pitching coach. He gave it one more shot and went on to win 235 more games. Only three teams have drafted two players with 50 career WAR in the same draft, with the Cubs just missing as Moyer ended up with 49.8 WAR (although 50.0 as a pitcher).
Cleveland Guardians
Best draft class: 1989
Scouting director/GM: Chet Montgomery/Hank Peters
Key players drafted: Jim Thome, Brian Giles, Curt Leskanic, Jerry Dipoto, Alan Embree, Robert Person, Kelly Stinnett
Career WAR: 152.6
Cleveland drafted 14 players who would reach the majors and signed 10 of them, including future Hall of Famer Thome, who was a lowly 13th-round pick out of Illinois Central Junior College -- where he played shortstop. Cleveland nailed another late-round pick when they grabbed Giles in the 17th round out of Granite Hills High School in El Cajon, California. The underrated Giles would have his best seasons with the Pirates and compile over 50 career WAR, making Cleveland one of those aforementioned teams with two 50-WAR selections (Thome finished with 73.1).
Cleveland drafted Thome on the advice of area scout Tom Couston. Back in 1989, you could still find hidden gems and Couston had seen Thome when he was a skinny high schooler and liked his bat speed and followed up in junior college. Dan O'Dowd, then the team's director of player development, told Cleveland.com in 2018: "It wasn't like now, when there are all these detailed scouting reports on players. As far as I know, the only scout who thought Jimmy had pro potential was Tom Couston."
The story goes that Couston, not wanting to alert other scouts of his interest, had a quick conversation with Thome, asking if he wanted to play pro ball. Couston told Thome to turn his back to him and look at the field. Thome signed for $15,000.
Oakland Athletics
Best draft class: 1965
Scouting director/GM: Joe Bowman/Hank Peters
Key players drafted: Sal Bando, Gene Tenace, Rick Monday
Career WAR: 141.4
In the first ever MLB draft, the then-Kansas City A's built the foundation for their 1970s dynasty with three future All-Star players. Monday was the first overall pick out of Arizona State and then in the sixth round, the A's drafted Bando, Monday's ASU teammate. Tenace came in the 11th round. That trio would combine for 684 home runs and seven All-Star appearances with Bando (61.5 WAR) the best of the bunch, including three top-five MVP finishes. Monday was traded to the Cubs for Ken Holtzman, who won 59 games from 1972 to 1974 as the A's won three straight World Series.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Best draft class: 1985
Scouting director/GM: Elmer Gray/Harding Peterson
Key players drafted: Barry Bonds
Career WAR: 162.8
That's Bonds career WAR total. Three other players the Pirates drafted reached the majors, but they combined for 0 career WAR. Here's one way to put Bonds' dominant career in perspective: The combined WAR for every other Pirates' first-round pick in franchise history is 268.6. That total will grow with guys like Gerrit Cole and recent picks, but still ... Bonds' value is 65% of all those players.
The Giants had drafted Bonds in the second round out of high school in 1982, but he instead went to Arizona State -- reportedly over a difference of $5,000. The Pirates selected him sixth overall after he broke out with 23 home runs his junior season. The five players drafted ahead of him: B.J. Surhoff (Brewers), Will Clark (Giants), Bobby Witt (Rangers), Barry Larkin (Reds) and Kurt Brown (White Sox), a high school catcher who never made the majors.
New York Yankees
Best draft class: 1990
Scouting director/GM: Brian Sabean/Gene Michael
Key players drafted: Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Carl Everett, Shane Spencer, Ricky Ledee
Career WAR: 129.9
It was a miserable time for the Yankees in early June 1990. They had the worst record in the majors, on their way to a 67-95 finish, which remains the franchise's worst winning percentage since 1913. The commissioner's office was investigating owner George Steinbrenner. The team didn't have an official general manager (Michael wasn't appointed until August). But the turnaround that led to four World Series titles in five seasons from 1996 to 2000 arguably began with the selection of Pettitte and Posada under the old draft-and-follow rule (and in February, when the Yankees signed Mariano Rivera).
"The underrated heroes of the dynasty are Bill Livesey and Brian Sabean," current Yankees GM Brian Cashman told the New York Post a few years ago. Sabean later made his mark as GM of the Giants during their World Series title runs, but he and Livesey ran the scouting department in the early 1990s. The Yankees drafted Pettitte, a lefty who threw 85-87 mph, out of Deer Park (Texas) High School in the 22nd round. If he had gone to a four-year school, the Yankees would have lost his rights, but he attended San Jacinto JC, which allowed the Yankees to strike a deal with Pettitte up to a week before the next year's draft. Local scout Joe Robison kept on Pettitte, who got in better shape and started throwing harder. The Yankees offered $55,000. Pettitte asked for $80,000 -- and the Yankees gave it to him.
Meanwhile, New York had originally drafted Posada in the 43rd round out of high school in Puerto Rico in 1989, but Jorge Posada Sr., a baseball scout himself, felt his son needed more seasoning and wanted him to attend school in the States. Posada played at Calhoun Community College in Alabama. The Yankees drafted Posada in the 24th round in 1990 and he began playing semi-pro ball. A shortstop in community college, Posada caught one day for his semi-pro team. Scout Leon Wurth saw him and, mindful of Livesey's advice to consider players for other positions, the Yankees signed Posada for $30,000.
Los Angeles Angels
Best draft class: 2009
Scouting director/GM: Eddie Bane/Tony Reagins
Key players drafted: Mike Trout, Patrick Corbin, Randal Grichuk, Garrett Richards, Tyler Skaggs
Career WAR: 122.2
The 2009 draft was the first one televised by MLB Network and, as a local kid from New Jersey, Trout was the only prospect to show up in person at the network's studio in Secaucus. "I wish this place was my bedroom," Trout told a local reporter. Despite his blazing speed and hitting a state record 18 home runs, Trout had to wait to hear his name until the 25th overall pick. The initial post-draft report from Baseball America: "Trout has turned himself into a favorite of scouts in the Northeast, both for his talent and makeup. ... Trout's bat is not a sure thing, but he has a chance to be a solid average hitter with average or better power."
While New Jersey was hardly a baseball hotbed, area scout Greg Morhardt loved Trout and the Angels had Trout ranked second on their draft board behind only Stephen Strasburg. While Trout alone would be enough to rank this as the Angels' best draft, they added other quality major leaguers, including Grichuk with the 24th pick.
Even though Trout blew up in the minors in 2010, Reagins fired Bane that September. Bane would say he and Reagins didn't get along: "He told me, 'I'm not happy with the last three drafts.' That's ludicrous."
St. Louis Cardinals
Best draft class: 1999
Scouting director/GM: John Mozeliak/Walt Jocketty
Key players drafted: Albert Pujols, Coco Crisp, Chris Duncan
Career WAR: 135.5
Over 100 of that WAR belongs to Pujols, who remains one of the great scouting finds in history as a 13th-round pick out of Maple Woods Community College in Missouri -- and after just one season in the minors, immediately setting the majors on fire as a rookie in 2001.
Pujols was not exactly unknown; it's just that nobody viewed him as a premium prospect. The Hall of Fame site includes reports from three different teams. One report from a Brewers scout gave him future grades of 40 hit and 55 power, writing, "Aggressive hitter with mistake HR power. Tends to be a hacker. Chases." The scout projected him as a ninth-round pick. The Brewers should have taken that advice, since Pujols was still available in the ninth round. Royals scout Gary Johnson filed a report giving Pujols an $80,000 bonus value -- good for the eighth round or so. They passed on him 17 times.
The area scout who signed Pujols for the Cardinals was Dave Karaff. In 2006, ESPN's Wright Thompson told the story of how Karaff, then 64, had been let go by the Cardinals in 2003 and was stocking shelves at an Arkansas Wal-Mart. He also wouldn't talk about Pujols, who was seemingly still miffed, seven years later, that Karaff had told him he would never reach the majors. Karaff's story was that Pujols had talent -- just not first-round talent. "I will say one thing. If there's anybody that can stand there and tell me truthfully this is what they thought he'd do, I would call them a liar to their face and never flinch," Karaff told ESPN in 2006.
Baltimore Orioles
Best draft class: 1978
Scouting director/GM: Tommy Giordano/Hank Peters
Key players drafted: Cal Ripken Jr., Mike Boddicker, Larry Sheets
Career WAR: 128.0
It's not surprising that the draft with the greatest player in franchise history receives the nod, but the Orioles did have another 100 WAR draft in 1967 with Bobby Grich and Don Baylor. Ripken gets support from Boddicker, a sixth-round pick from the University of Iowa who had a distinguished career with the Orioles and Red Sox with 134 career wins.
Ripken, son of then-Orioles coach Cal Sr., was a second-round pick and announced as a pitcher-shortstop. A day after the draft, Ripken fanned 17 to win the Maryland Class A high school championship game. The Baltimore Sun article mentioned his fastball, curveball and changeup -- but Ripken wanted to hit. "Shortstop is the position I prefer, because you get to play every day and get to hit," the 17-year-old said after signing. "That's the agreement right now and I am anxious to go play." Play every day. Sounds about right.
Cincinnati Reds
Best draft class: 1965
Scouting director/GM: Jim McLaughlin/Bill DeWitt
Key players drafted: Johnny Bench, Hal McRae, Bernie Carbo
Career WAR: 121.5
The story goes that several scouts had made their way to Binger, a small town of 700 people in west central Oklahoma, to scout Bench, a strong-armed catcher. He pitched that day and when he was removed from the game, most of the scouts left. Only Tony Robello of the Reds remained to see Bench move behind the plate for the rest of the game. It's a good story, but Bench wasn't exactly an unknown high school prospect.
Indeed, after getting drafted, he told his hometown paper that he was only surprised that it was the Reds who took him in the second round. "I knew the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees were interested in me," Bench said at the time. He would be the leader of the Big Machine teams of the 1970s and become the first drafted player elected to the Hall of Fame.
The Reds also drafted McRae in the sixth round out of Florida A&M. McRae had been an infielder before breaking his leg in winter ball in 1969, an injury that forced a move to the outfield and affected his mobility the rest of his career. He never got a full-time chance with the Reds, who traded him to Kansas City in 1973. With the Royals, he blossomed as one of the first regular designated hitters and finished his long career with over 2,000 hits. Carbo, the Reds' first-round pick, is most remembered for a home run he hit against Cincinnati in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series as a member of the Red Sox.
San Diego Padres
Best draft class: 1981
Scouting director/GM: Bob Fontaine Sr./Jack McKeon
Key players drafted: Tony Gwynn, Kevin McReynolds, John Kruk, Greg Booker, Bill Long
Career WAR: 126.3
The 1981 draft was a turning point in draft history. Since the draft had started in 1965, no more than 10 college players had been selected in the first round. In 1981, there were 17, as college baseball had increased in popularity and as a viable route to the majors. The Padres hit on two collegiate star outfielders in McReynolds (taken sixth overall, though he might have gone first if he hadn't injured his knee a month before the draft) and a local kid more known for his ability on the basketball court. Indeed, the San Diego Clippers drafted Gwynn on the same day the Padres took him in the third round. Gwynn chose baseball and was in the majors a year later. Kruk went in the secondary phase of the June draft, selected out of a Maryland junior college.
Kansas City Royals
Best draft class: 1971
Scouting director/GM: Lou Gorman/Cedric Tallis
Key players drafted: George Brett, Steve Busby, John Wathan, Mark Littell
Career WAR: 116.3
Under the leadership of Tallis and Gorman, the Royals, an expansion team in 1969, built perhaps the most formidable player development organization of the 1970s, which led to four division titles in five seasons from 1976 to 1980, with the remnants of those teams helping the team win the 1985 World Series. Brett was the star, a second-round pick in 1971 out of a Southern California high school -- after the Royals considered taking him with the fifth overall pick and instead selected a high school pitcher. (Mike Schmidt famously went with the next pick after Brett, so arguably the two greatest third basemen of all time were drafted back-to-back.)
The draft produced more than just the greatest player in Royals franchise history, however. They selected Busby in the secondary phase of the June draft out of USC. He won 56 games between 1973 and 1975, pitched two no-hitters and made two All-Star teams, but he injured his rotator cuff -- back when that meant a career-ending injury. Wathan spent 10 seasons with the Royals as a catcher and utility player. Littell, although remembered for giving up the home run to Chris Chambliss in the 1976 American League Championship Series, was a hard-throwing reliever who had a good run with the Royals and Cardinals from 1976 to 1979, before he too was injured.
Houston Astros
Best draft class: 1988
Scouting director/GM: Dan O'Brien Jr./Bill Wood
Key players drafted: Kenny Lofton, Luis Gonzalez, Scott Servais
Career WAR: 121.9
The Astros had several quality drafts last decade that helped build the current dynasty -- including Carlos Correa and Lance McCullers Jr. in 2012, as well as Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker and eight other major leaguers in 2015 -- but we'll go with 1988. With Lofton (68.4 WAR) and Gonzalez (51.6), the Astros join the exclusive 50/50 club. Our next team on the list did that as well. The only problem: Both Lofton and Gonzalez did their best work elsewhere. Lofton reached the majors in 1991, but the former Arizona point guard was traded to Cleveland for catcher Ed Taubensee in an all-time blunder. Gonzalez had four solid seasons with Houston in the early '90s and was traded to the Cubs before becoming a five-time All-Star with the Diamondbacks.
Toronto Blue Jays
Best draft class: 1989
GM: Pat Gillick
Key players drafted: John Olerud, Jeff Kent, Aaron Small
Career WAR: 115.1
Olerud's draft story is one of the more interesting in draft history. The college player of the year as a sophomore in 1988 as a two-way standout at Washington State, Olerud was projected as a top pick in the 1989 draft but suffered a life-threatening brain aneurysm and missed much of the collegiate season. He informed teams that he intended to return to school for his senior season. The Blue Jays took a flyer on him in the third round and waited for Olerud to return to full strength. After a strong summer in the Alaskan League, the Jays made their pitch and Olerud signed a $575,000 major league contract and went straight to the majors in September.
Kent, meanwhile, was a 20th-round pick after an undistinguished college career at Cal. He reached the majors in 1992 but was traded to the Mets for David Cone in late August in one of the first big deals that helped create the modern trade deadline. And remember that stat about two 50-WAR players? Olerud (58.2) and Kent (55.5) make the 1989 Jays the third team to produce two such players.
Minnesota Twins
Best draft class: 1989
Scouting director/GM: Terry Ryan/Andy MacPhail
Key players drafted: Chuck Knoblauch, Scott Erickson, Denny Neagle, Marty Cordova, Mike Trombley
Career WAR: 106.9t
Ryan had a long run as Minnesota's scouting director and then general manager, but what made this draft so special was not just the depth of talent the Twins drafted but the quick impact of Knoblauch (first round from Texas A&M) and Erickson (fourth round from the University of Arizona) in helping the Twins win the World Series in 1991. Erickson reached the majors in 1990 and went 20-8 with a 3.18 ERA in 1991. Knoblauch won Rookie of the Year honors in 1991 and would go on to become a four-time All-Star with the Twins. Cordova would also win Rookie of the Year in 1995. Neagle was traded after debuting with the Twins in 1991 and would win 124 games in the majors.
Washington Nationals
Best draft class: 1977
Scouting director/GM: Danny Menendez/Charlie Fox
Key players drafted: Tim Raines, Scott Sanderson, Bill Gullickson
Career WAR: 120.3
The Nationals/Expos organization has drafted four Hall of Famers (Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Raines and Randy Johnson) and Bryce Harper will probably join them someday, so in some fashion this selection comes down to which of those Hall of Famers you like best. I'm going with the 1977 class, which has the most career WAR (although Carter has the most WAR in Expos history). By the way, the Expos also signed Larry Walker, before Canadians were eligible for the draft, and Vladimir Guerrero Sr., giving them six Hall of Famers since their inception in 1969, which is the most since that year.
Most Hall of Famers drafted or signed since 1969:
1. Expos/Nationals: 6
2. Padres: 4 (Dave Winfield, Ozzie Smith, Tony Gwynn, Roberto Alomar)
The Cubs (Bruce Sutter, Lee Smith, Greg Maddux), Mariners (Edgar Martinez, Ken Griffey Jr., David Ortiz), Orioles (Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken, Mike Mussina), Phillies (Mike Schmidt, Ryne Sandberg, Scott Rolen), Red Sox (Jim Rice, Wade Boggs, Jeff Bagwell), Tigers (Alan Trammell, Jack Morris, John Smoltz) and White Sox (Rich Gossage, Harold Baines, Frank Thomas) each have three.
Nine teams have no Hall of Famers: the four expansion franchises from the 1990s -- Diamondbacks, Rays, Marlins and Rockies, although Todd Helton is knocking on the door for Colorado and the Diamondbacks will someday get Max Scherzer -- plus the Pirates, Cardinals, Giants, Angels and ... yes, the Mets. If we go back to when the draft started in 1965, the Mets get credit for Nolan Ryan. The Cardinals would get Ted Simmons (and will have Pujols in a few years). The Giants' best bet is Buster Posey while the Angels will someday get Trout. The Pirates ... well, if Bonds doesn't make it, maybe Dave Parker, but he's a longshot. If neither of them, you're probably looking at Cole way down the road.
Philadelphia Phillies
Best draft class: 1971
Scouting director/GM: Paul Owens/John Quinn
Key players drafted: Mike Schmidt, Dane Iorg
Career WAR: 111.3
This is a case where one superstar carries the day. The Phillies drafted four future major leaguers but Schmidt accounts for 106.8 of that WAR as the greatest third baseman of all time -- not bad for a kid who left Dayton, Ohio, with two very bad knees and a dream of becoming a major league baseball player. Indeed, Schmidt had two knee operations in high school due to football injuries and, by his account, was only the fourth- or fifth-best player on his high school team. He walked on at Ohio University to play both basketball and baseball but had to quit basketball due to his knees -- which never bothered him playing baseball. The Phillies have had drafts that produced more major leaguers but none that come remotely close to Schmidt in total value.
San Francisco Giants
Best draft class: 1968
Scouting director/GM: Carl Hubbell/Chub Feeney
Key players drafted: George Foster, Garry Maddox, Gary Matthews
Career WAR: 111.0
The Giants' system was pumping out major league outfielders in the late '60s and early '70s and they drafted three good ones in the same year, all out of California. All three would end up with more than 1,800 career hits and then join the 1976 Red Sox (Wade Boggs, Bruce Hurst, John Tudor) as the only teams to draft three players with 30-plus career WAR in the same draft year.
Maddox, an eight-time Gold Glove center fielder, and Foster were selected in the January draft out of San Pedro High School and El Camino Junior College, respectively. Foster missed his senior year of baseball in high school after breaking his leg playing basketball and Giants scout Jack French spotted him playing in a fall league. Matthews was the team's first-round pick in June from San Fernando High School. Unfortunately, the Giants made two colossal blunders, trading Foster to the Reds, where he became a five-time All-Star and 1977 National League MVP when he hit 52 home runs, and Maddox to the Phillies for vagabond first baseman Willie Montanez. Matthews left the Giants after 1976 when he signed with the Braves as a free agent.
(An honorable mention goes out to 2008. The Giants nabbed Florida State catcher Buster Posey after he surprisingly fell to the fifth overall pick and then UCLA shortstop Brandon Crawford in the fourth round after he also dropped after a disappointing junior season.)
Milwaukee Brewers
Best draft class: 1986
Scouting director/GM: Dan Duquette/Harry Dalton
Key players drafted: Gary Sheffield, Greg Vaughn, Darryl Hamilton
Career WAR: 107.5
The Brewers drafted Hall of Famers Robin Yount and Paul Molitor in the first rounds of 1973 and 1977, but it was another draft that leads the way in overall value. Sheffield was the sixth overall pick out of Hillsborough High in Tampa -- the same school his uncle Dwight Gooden was drafted from four years earlier. Sheffield flew to the majors, getting there in September of 1988 while still a teenager, matching his uncle. Hamilton, an 11th-round pick, had a long career, but the icing was getting Vaughn in the last year of the secondary phase of the June draft out of the University of Miami. Vaughn hit 355 home runs and drove in over 1,000 runs, giving the Brewers two 1,000-RBI guys in one draft year. That's happened more times than I would have thought:
1. Reds, 1965: Bench (1,376) and McRae (1,097)
2. Cubs, 1985: Rafael Palmeiro (1,835) and Mark Grace (1,146)
3. Brewers, 1986: Sheffield (1,676) and Vaughn (1,072)
4. Dodgers, 1988: Mike Piazza (1,335) and Eric Karros (1,027)
5. Blue Jays, 1989: Kent (1,518) and Olerud (1,230)
6. Indians, 1989: Thome (1,699) and Giles (1,078)
7. Red Sox, 1989: Jeff Bagwell (1,529) and Mo Vaughn (1,064)
Texas Rangers
Best draft class: 1986
Scouting director/GM: Sandy Johnson/Tom Grieve
Key players drafted: Kevin Brown, Rey Sanchez, Dean Palmer, Roger Pavlik
Career WAR: 110.2
Brown has a pretty solid Hall of Fame case with 211 wins and 67.8 WAR -- similar to Roy Halladay and John Smoltz, for example -- but he fell off the ballot after one turn. It didn't help that he went from the Rangers, to the Orioles for one season, to the Marlins for two, the Padres for one and then to the Dodgers as MLB's first $100 million player. Sanchez, a light-hitting defensive whiz at shortstop, was traded to the Cubs before reaching the majors. Palmer had four 30-homer seasons and finished with 275 home runs, but injuries shortened his career. And you surely know that Pavlik was an All-Star in 1996. (For good measure, the Rangers also signed two-time MVP Juan Gonzalez in 1986.)
Seattle Mariners
Best draft class: 1987
Scouting director/GM: Roger Jongewaard/Dick Balderson
Key players drafted: Ken Griffey Jr., Dave Burba
Career WAR: 97.8
When you've made one playoff appearance in 21 seasons and didn't have a winning season between 1977 and 1991, there haven't been a lot of stellar drafts in franchise history, so this comes down to which No. 1 overall pick you like better: Griffey or Alex Rodriguez. It might be a little surprising to see how far A-Rod towers above Griffey in career WAR: 117.5 to 83.8. Only a small amount of that is playing time: Rodriguez had 12,207 plate appearances versus 11,304 for Griffey. Certainly, Griffey's career numbers would be much different if he had stayed healthier after going to the Reds.
We're giving the nod to Griffey (with help from Burba) for what he meant to the franchise -- and factoring in that while A-Rod was the slam dunk first pick in 1993, Mariners owner George Argyros reportedly wanted the team to select college pitcher Mike Harkey before Jongewaard finally convinced him that Griffey was the choice.
Atlanta Braves
Best draft class: 2007
Scouting director/GM: Roy Clark/John Schuerholz
Key players drafted: Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward, Cory Gearrin
Career WAR: 95.9
Under Bobby Cox (before he moved from the front office to manager) and then John Schuerholz, the Braves became a scouting and player development powerhouse starting in the mid-1980s, leading to a run of 14 division titles in 15 seasons from 1991 to 2005. After a regrouping in the mid-2010s, they're now heading for a sixth straight National League East title using a similar philosophy of homegrown talent like Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider.
Their best draft in terms of career WAR came in 1990 but that's almost all Chipper Jones (and Tony Graffanino). Let's give the nod to 2007, even though it's really just two players. Freeman is as good as ever and will eventually push that combined total over the century mark. Heyward was the team's first-round pick, a local product from Henry County High School in Georgia. Yes, he's been much maligned ever since he signed that big free agent deal with the Cubs in 2016, but he's produced nearly 40 career WAR.
Freeman was a second-round pick out of El Modena High School -- although only the Braves' fourth selection, as they took high school third baseman Jon Gilmore and relief pitcher Josh Fields (who didn't sign) between Heyward and Freeman, a reminder that there is some good luck involved in the draft. A two-way player at his California high school, some teams liked Freeman as a pitcher, but he wanted to hit and the Braves agreed. Keep an eye on 2020. The COVID draft was only five rounds and the Braves only had four picks, but they selected Strider, Bryce Elder and Jared Shuster, all already making an impact in the majors.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Best draft class: 2009
Scouting director/GM: Tom Allison/Josh Byrnes
Key players drafted: Paul Goldschmidt, AJ Pollock, Chase Anderson, Chris Owings, Keon Broxton
Career WAR: 92.8
Scherzer holds the edge over Goldschmidt as the best player the Diamondbacks have ever drafted -- for now, anyway -- but the 2009 draft produced 12 major leaguers with Goldschmidt and Pollock, a first-rounder, leading the way. Later round finds have become much more difficult to uncover over the past two decades, but Goldschmidt fell to the eighth round despite leading the NCAA with 87 RBIs while hitting .352. Regarded as a below-average runner and defender coming out of a smaller conference, Goldschmidt improved his athleticism after getting drafted and quickly reached the majors in 2011. He just won the 2022 National League MVP with the Cardinals after seven finishes in the top 10 of MVP voting. One to watch: 2019. Corbin Carroll already looks like one of the best players in the league and if pitchers Ryne Nelson and Drey Jameson develop, it has a chance to be a special draft.
Tampa Bay Rays
Best draft class: 2006
Scouting director/GM: R.J. Harrison/Andrew Friedman
Key players drafted: Evan Longoria, Alex Cobb, Desmond Jennings
Career WAR: 91.9
The interesting thing about the Rays is that while they're known for their amazing player development system, they actually excel more at acquiring players from other teams than hitting home runs in the draft. The majority of this year's roster, for example, was acquired from other teams. The early years of the franchise, when the Rays were often drafting in the top five, are littered with disappointing picks.
That wasn't the case in 2006, when the Rays snagged Longoria with the third overall pick. The Rays had expected to take a pitcher -- likely Tim Lincecum -- but when the Rockies unexpectedly took Stanford right-hander Greg Reynolds with the second pick, Tampa Bay happily took the best hitter in the draft. Longoria reached the majors in 2008, the year everything turned around for the Rays, and won Rookie of the Year. Cobb was a fourth-round pick and has won 75 games in the majors despite various injuries, while Jennings, taken in the 10th round, was a solid contributor for a few seasons.
New York Mets
Best draft class: 1982
Scouting director/GM: Joe McIlvaine/Frank Cashen
Key players drafted: Dwight Gooden, Roger McDowell, Randy Myers, Floyd Youmans, Gerald Young
Career WAR: 90.3
The Mets have selected a record 17 future major leaguers throughout the various drafts, although the overall effect has been a little overstated. They only signed 11 of those 17 players, and among the unsigned were Rafael Palmeiro (71.9 WAR) and Kal Daniels (16.9 WAR), plus several of the other major leaguers who had brief careers. You can certainly make a case for the team's 1965 draft (which included Nolan Ryan) that produced 117 WAR as the best ever, although Ryan (81.3 WAR) and Steve Renko (23.5) were both traded before doing much with the Mets.
The Mets selected Gooden with the fifth overall pick, which was considered a bit of a surprise at the time. The Major League Scouting Bureau (an operation at the time where some teams pooled resources) ranked him 25th and a couple other Tampa-area products -- Rich Monteleone and Lance McCullers Sr. were rated higher. McIlvaine, who oversaw several successful drafts for the Mets in this era, saw a projectable right-hander. "You have to remember with Dwight is that he was a very, very young high school senior," McIlvaine once told Baseball America. "He was only 16 when he began his senior year. I think much of his physical growth and development took place during his senior year."
Two years later Gooden rocketed to stardom as a 19-year-old rookie, going 17-6 with 2.60 ERA with a then-record 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings. As a 20-year-old, he had one of the best seasons in major league history with 24 wins and a 1.53 ERA.
Miami Marlins
Best draft class: 2010
Scouting director/GM: Stan Meek/Mike Hill
Key players drafted: Christian Yelich, J.T. Realmuto, Mark Canha
Career WAR: 83.3
The Marlins not only made a couple astute picks when they selected Yelich with the 23rd overall pick and Realmuto in the third round, but they made key development decisions that worked out as well. Yelich played first base at Westlake High School in California, but the Marlins liked his above-average speed and moved him to the outfield. Realmuto set national high school records with 28 home runs, 119 RBIs and 88 hits his senior year at Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, Oklahoma, but mostly played shortstop. The Marlins saw him in a game where he played catcher, signed him to an above-slot $600,000 bonus and moved him permanently behind the plate.
Chicago White Sox
Best draft class: 1998
Scouting director/GM: Duane Shaffer/Ron Schueler
Key players drafted: Mark Buehrle, Aaron Rowand, Kip Wells, Josh Fogg
Career WAR: 89.0
The White Sox had a run of terrific first-round picks from 1987 to 1990 when they selected Jack McDowell, Robin Ventura, Frank Thomas and Alex Fernandez, but their best draft came in 1998, with a big hit in the 38th round. Using the same draft-and-follow (which lasted until 2007) that the Yankees used with Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada, the White Sox selected Buehrle from Jefferson Community College in Missouri. He signed the following year for a $150,000 bonus, about equivalent to a fourth-round pick bonus.
Buehrle won 214 games in the majors, including 161 with the White Sox, and helped them to the 2005 World Series title. Only CC Sabathia produced more WAR from the 1998 draft. Rowand, the 35th overall pick, was the center fielder on the 2005 World Series champs. (The draft-and-follow rule actually returned for the 2022 draft, allowing junior college players selected in the 10th round or later to return to school and the drafting team to retain rights.)
Colorado Rockies
Best draft class: 1998
Scouting director/GM: Pat Daugherty/Bob Gebhard
Key players drafted: Matt Holliday, Juan Pierre, Jody Gerut, Luke Hudson
Career WAR: 68.7
The Rockies haven't had too many stellar drafts and you could easily argue the one where they drafted Todd Helton or Nolan Arenado was their best. For a little more depth, the 1998 class gets the edge thanks to late-round picks of Holliday (seventh round) and Pierre (13th), although the Rockies traded Pierre to the Marlins early in his career. Holliday was one of the best high school quarterbacks in the country, but the Rockies gave him an $865,000 bonus to sign, the largest ever at the time for a seventh-round pick. Originally a third baseman, he converted to the outfield after committing 69 errors in two seasons in the minors and went on to finish second in the National League MVP in 2007, the year the Rockies reached their only World Series.