The New MLB Draft (With Fantasy Takeaway)

Do you recognize this man teenager? Well if the current trend continues, Carlos Correa (2013 #1 Overall Pick) will be a household name within the next couple years. What used to be a 3-5 year process of grooming top prospects has become a much swifter system. Why are the NBA and NFL drafts so popular? Two reasons. Their college sports are widely televised meaning their players selected are more household names, and typically the players taken in these drafts immediately play at the highest level in their respective sport. Baseball has NEVER been that kind of sport and with the first-year player draft taking 50 rounds not including compensatory picks, it has been viewed as a waste to follow. Not Anymore.


The 2010 and 2009 #1 overall picks Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg not only were brought up a year after their drafts, but also became All Stars. If you look at the drafts from '11, '10, and '09 you will see a plethora of names that have already or are in the process of putting together All Star seasons. Harper, Strasburg, Matt Harvey ('10), Manny Machado ('10), Chris Sale ('10), Mike Minor ('09), Mike Trout ('09) just to name a few. This season has already seen the likes of Kevin Gausman and Michael Wacha who were taken in the first year player draft less than a year ago! Why is this happening you ask? I have a few theories myself.

The philosophy is changing. If you've read the book Moneyball, the author Michael Lewis touches on a few philosophies by Billy Beane (General Manager of the Oakland Athletics) that have been adopted by several teams around the league. The first was the transition from drafting high school players to drafting college players. The old school draft approach was to take raw talent out of High School before they reached college and had poor coaching ruin their mechanics or in a pitcher's case overuse them. This theory had become more and more unreliable as many players taken directly out of high school were either poorly evaluated and over-matched in the minors, or were completely overwhelmed by the responsibility affiliated with being a top draft choice. Though players are still taken out of high school, it is now viewed as a risky selection with teams wanting to ensure their top picks are MLB quality players.

Since 2000, MLB teams are taking roughtly 25% more college players in the first round than they were in the 13 drafts previous to the new millennium. This is because it is easier to evaluate a player's talent and ability after pitching in college and many players see themselves making an impact on big league squads sooner. So keep this in mind tonight as the 2013 MLB First Player Draft takes place live on MLB.com June 6-8. Who knows, you may be witnessing the 2013 World Series MVP getting their name called.
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FANTASY TAKEAWAY:
If you are following this blog for the Fantasy Purposes, here is my two cents. Everyone wants to get the next Bryce Harper, the next Mike Trout, the next Matt Harvey, so who is it? Here are some players from recent drafts to keep an eye on.

2009 Draft
Zack Wheeler SP (NYM) 6th Overall Pick in 2009 draft out of High School
Chad Jenkins SP (TOR) 20th Overall Pick in 2009 draft out of Kennesaw State
Tony Sanchez C (PIT) 4th Overall Pick in 2009 draft out of Boston College
Wil Myers OF (TB) 3rd Round Pick

2010 Draft
Jameson Taillon SP (PIT) 2nd Overall Pick out of high School
Taijuan Walker SP (SEA) Supplemental Round
Chance Ruffin SP (DET) Supplemental Round out of University of Texas

2011 Draft
Gerrit Cole SP (PIT) 1st Overall out of UCLA
Danny Hultzan SP (SEA) 2nd Overall out of Virginia
Trevor Bauer SP (CLE) 3rd Overall out of UCLA
Dylan Bundy SP (BAL) 4th Overall out of HS
Archie Bradley SP (ARI) 7th Overall out of HS
George Springer OF (HOU) 11th Overall out of UCONN
Jackie Bradley Jr. OF (BOS) Supplemental Round out of South Carolina

2012 Draft
Byron Buxton OF (MIN) 2nd Overall out of HS
Mike Zunino C (SEA) 3rd Overall out of Florida
Andrew Heaney SP (MIA) 9th Overall out of Oklahoma State

Stephen Piscotty 3B (STL) Supplemental Round out of Stanford

EDIT:
Mark Appel SP (HOU) 1st Overall Pick 2013
^^ Should have a chance to make an impact VERY soon in a depleted Astros organization.

Next time you hear any of these names on the horizon, be sure to pick them up. 

Honorable mention players who have already been called up this season Manny Machado, Shelby Miller, Yasial Puig, Michael Wacha, Tony Cingrani, Jose Fernandez, Anthony Rendon, Nolan Arenado, Nick Franklin, Jean Segura, Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi, Tyler Skaggs, and Patrick Corbin.