Good choices?

Watching MLB drafts is one of the most interesting things to do. A team has to evaluate a player and identify the player’s potential. After the draft, MLB teams will develop players in their farm systems. Sometimes, it might take one or two years to see a player make his MLB debut after being drafted. Sometimes, it takes 3 to 5 years to make sure that a player is ready for the big league. After 6 years, it might be reasonable now to look back to the draft, so let’s see which team did a great job in the 2015 draft.

The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Dansby Swanson with the first pick in 2015 and in total, they selected 40 players in the 2015 draft. However, among those 40 players, only 4 players have made it into the big league. Swanson was traded to the Braves in late 2015 and made his MLB debut in 2016. Alex Young and Taylor Clarke were called up by the Diamondbacks in 2019. The other player, who already made it into the big league, is Ryan Burr, who was traded to the White Sox in 2017. Well, the D-backs got the first overall pick, but it doesn’t seem that they did a great job in the 2015 draft. If we just look at the number of players to make MLB, it seems that the Pirates did a good job in choosing players. The Pirates selected 41 players in the 2015 draft and 12 of them already made it into the MLB. The Pirates selected Kevin Newman and Ke’Bryan Hayes in the first round of the 2015 draft. Newman made his MLB debut in 2018 and he had a very good 2019 season with a batting average of .308. However, he has been less productive since last season. Nonetheless, we can’t ignore Ke’Bryan Hayes. Ke’Bryan Hayes made his MLB debut last season and he played very well, slashing .376/.442/.682 in 24 games. He crushed a home run on the 2021 opening day, but he missed some time while being placed on the IL. Hayes was activated from the IL on June 3 and he’s currently posting a .280 batting average. Additionally, JT Brubaker, who was selected by the Pirates in the 6th round, has made 12 starts for the Pirates so far this season and has an ERA of 3.88. Another team is worth mentioning is the Houston Astros. They selected 42 players in the 2015 draft and 10 of those players made MLB. Also, because the Astros failed to sign Brady Aiken, who was the first overall pick in 2014, they had two picks in the top five in the 2015 draft. They used these picks to select Alex Bregman (2nd overall pick) and Kyle Tucker (5th overall pick). Bregman is a two-time All-Star and he has .790 OPS so far this season. Kyle Tucker has blasted 13 home runs in 58 games and now, his OPS is over .800. Moreover, the Astros selected Myles Straw in the 12th round and he has played more than 60 games for the Astros by far this season. Furthermore, the Padres selected 39 players and 9 of them made MLB. 8 of the 40 players selected by the Rangers in the 2015 draft made it into the big league. In addition, there are some players that truly capture a lot of attention. The Dodgers selected Walker Buehler in the first round and he has become one of the dominant pitchers in the league with a 2.38 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP so far in 2020. And, one of the hottest hitters was also from the 2015 draft. The Orioles selected Cedric Mullins in the 13th round. Mullins made his MLB debut in 2018, but he only played 22 games in 2019 with a batting average of .094. Nonetheless, he slashed .271/.315/.407 last season and this season, he’s hitting very well. Mullins has a batting average of .321 so far and has 80 hits, which ties the 3rd most in the majors. Looking back to the 2015 draft, the Pirates did select the most players who later made it into the big league, and selecting Ke’Bryan Hayes seems to be a pretty good decision. However, the other players drafted haven’t contributed much to the Pirates. The Astros had two picks in the top five that helped them select two good players. Walker Buehler has been pitching well and he’s also dominant in the postseason. Cedric Mullins might be a big surprise, and the Orioles must be happy to choose him. Moreover, Mike Soroka, Brandon Lowe and Paul DeJong were drafted in 2015 and became All-Stars.