The JLB Draft. Everyone wants a first round pick, some want two of them; others do not.
It has been filled with a lot of failures, and last year was no exception, but let's hope in a time machine and work our way from 2017 to the future.
Maybe this is why he decided to give up on drafting high? (Insert a Butter joke here.)
Javier Baez was likely the best player taken in the first round that year, but we certainly all failed as it was Dude with the 20th overall pick selecting Cody Bellinger.
Luis Robert went in the ninth round to me, Kyle Tucker in round 14 (me again) and Vlad Guerrero in the 15th to Topton's predecessor.
In 2018, it was Jose Quintana going No. 1 overall to Topton's buddy again. It was a weird year for the first round. Eight pitchers went including Johnny Cueto, Cole Hamels, Jon Gray, Chase Anderson, Drew Pomeranz, Tanner Roark and Rick Porcello.
Quite the whiffs considering the fact that Patrick Corbin went the very next round to the Dude, and if you weren't looking for pitching, Tim Anderson went in the fourth to Monkey.
Notable rookies that were selected include Sixto Sanchez in the third round to JV and MacKenzie Gore in the seventh to the Panthers.
In 2019, it was — look away Topton — the Bombers yet again flubbing the first overall pick, selecting Yusei Kikuchi.
Choo had two picks again in the first round this year, and he went with Julio Teheran at No. 3 and Johan Camargo at No. 11, right before I selected Adley Rutschman. Andrew Vaughn also went first round to the Gamblers. Tim Anderson notably went in the third round, again to Monkey.
Again, perhaps this was another reason why Choo got so far away from the first round this year until he snuck back into the second round.
Monkey had the No. 1 overall pick in 2020, and it didn't go so well as he took Andrew Heaney, who went 4-3 with 4.46 ERA. He had a decent strikeout-to-walk ratio (70:19) but it wasn't enough to warrant No. 1 overall.
Max Kepler went No. 2 overall to Topton, and it looked like a good pick, but he struggled in the short season. Yuli Gurriel, Justin Turner, Khris Davis and Mark Canha are among the others drafted in the first round.
Meanwhile, Randy Arozarena went in the second-to-last round. In between, it was a tough mix to find a "great pick" because of what the 2020 season brought us.
Looking back, it can really be seen that the best picks were the minor leaguers, so that is why this year will certainly be different. No one — like me — will be reaching out in the first round, making a pick that will be a Top 50 prospect within a year.
Instead, we'll all be drafting Kikuchis, Quintanas and Robles's.
I mean that very literally. They're all available, along with the clear No. 1 overall pick Tyler Mahle. Man, it's too bad Choo doesn't have that pick to get him.
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