"The MLB Draft is a Disaster" from The Ringer

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So, the Phillies didn’t take the best player available?


Probably not, and the Braves, who picked a high school pitcher from New York, Ian Anderson, at no. 3, didn’t either. Both teams got cute and took a less-desirable player in the hopes of saving money for a falling star, like New Jersey prep lefty Jason Groome, arguably the draft’s most talented player, outfielder Blake Rutherford, or shortstop Delvin Pérez.

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Did it work?

In short: nope. None of the big whales lasted that long, and the Phillies settled for California high school right-hander Kevin Gowdy at no. 42. The Braves fared a little better, grabbing two other high school pitchers, left-handers Joey Wentz and Kyle Muller, at nos. 40 and 44, before dipping into the college ranks for University of California catcher Brett Cumberland at no. 76.

Wentz, Gowdy, and Muller are all good prospects, but both teams would have been better off playing it straight. Let’s just use the Braves as an example: They had the no. 3 pick, a sandwich pick, and an early second-rounder, and they got the equivalent of two picks in the teens and a pick toward the back of the first round.

What they didn’t get?—?with the third pick in the draft?—?was one of the top 10 players in the class. I don’t think so, and neither does MLB.com, Baseball America, or ESPN’s Keith Law.

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