Kumar Rocker was selected by the New York Mets in the first round of the 2021 draft. In the end, Rocker didn’t sign with the Mets. However, in the 2022 MLB draft, the Texas Rangers selected Kumar Rocker with the third overall pick and they reached an agreement. His journey in professional baseball has just begun and I was just curious whether there are many players who were selected in the first round but decided not to sign.
Looking back at the MLB drafts from 2012 to 2021, there were actually some players who were selected in the first round (including Compensation Round A and Competitive Balance Round A), but they didn’t sign.
In the 2012 draft, Mark Appel was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round. But, he decided to stay at Stanford. The next year, the Astros used the first overall pick to choose Appel. His journey in professional baseball has not been easy. It took him a while to get to the big leagues. On June 29, 2022, he made his MLB debut with the Phillies. By far this season, he made 6 relief appearances.
Mark Appel was the first overall pick in the 2013 draft. In the same year, Phil Bickford and Matt Krook were selected in the first round. The Blue Jays drafted Phil Bickford with the 10th overall pick and the Marlins selected Matt Krook. Bickford didn’t sign with the Blue Jays in 2013, but the Giants chose him in the first round of the 2015 draft. Bickford made his MLB debut in 2020 and he currently plays for the Dodgers. Bickford already made 50 relief appearances this season. Krook didn’t sign with the Marlins in 2013. Three years later, the Giants selected him in the 4th round and he’s now pitching for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Yankees AAA affiliate).
The Astros selected Appel in the first round of the 2013 draft and in 2014, they used the first overall pick to choose Brady Aiken. However, Aiken didn’t sign with the Astros. The next year, Aiken was drafted by the Indians in the first round. Aiken was released last October.
In 2015, the Dodgers selected Kyle Funkhouser with the 35th overall pick, but he opted not to sign. The next year, the Tigers selected Funkhouser in the 4th round. Funkhouser made his MLB debut in 2020. Nonetheless, he’s currently on the 60-day injured list.
Moreover, Nick Lodolo was selected by the Pirates with the 41st overall pick in 2016, but didn't sign. 3 years later, the Reds selected Lodolo in the first round and he made it into the big leagues this year. Lodolo now owns a 4.30 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP over 67 innings.
Additionally, the Rays chose Drew Rasmussen with the 31st overall pick in 2017. Nonetheless, he didn’t agree to a deal with the Rays. In 2018, the Brewers drafted Rasmussen in the 6th round and in 2020, he made it into the big leagues. Interestingly, he was traded to the Rays in 2021. This season, Rasmussen already made 22 starts for the Rays. He now posts a great 2.77 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP.
In 2018, the Braves used the 8th overall pick to select Carter Stewart and the Diamondbacks selected Matt McLain with the 25th overall pick. At the same time, the Dodgers chose J.T. Ginn with the 30th overall pick and Gunnar Hoglund was drafted by the Pirates. These 4 players didn’t choose to sign and their baseball journeys have been quite different. Carter Stewart agreed to sign with the SoftBank Hawks of the NPB in 2019. Matt McLain was selected by the Reds in the first round of the 2021 draft and he now plays at Chattanooga Lookouts (Double-A). J.T. Ginn was selected by the Mets in the 2nd round of the 2020 draft. Ginn was traded to the A’s in March 2022 and he’s now at Midland RockHounds (Double-A). In the 2021 draft, the Blue Jays chose Gunnar Hoglund with the 19th overall pick. But, Hoglund didn’t throw any pitches for the Blue Jays and he was traded to the A’s in March 2022.
There are several reasons that these first-rounders didn’t agree to a deal. Nonetheless, as we can see, not everyone can be re-selected in the first round as they used to be. Some players even fell to the 5th round or later. Additionally, when we look at these players who were selected in the first round from 2012 to 2021 but didn’t sign, well, it might be a small sample size, none of them has become an All-Star. Kumar Rocker just began his journey with the Rangers and let’s see whether he will be an All-Star.
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