AL Central 2018 Draft Summary

In conjunction with the MLB Draft Deep Dive series that I've been rolling out over the last few weeks (see links below), the following is a down and dirty summary of the early 2018 draft results for the AL Central.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL 2018 DRAFT SUMMARY

PITCHING

Pitcher Breakdown
KCR: 20 Signed | 18 C | 2 JC/CC | 11 RHP | 9 LHP
CWS: 18 Signed | 18 C | 12 RHP | 6 LHP
CLE: 18 Signed | 16 C | 2 HS | 13 RHP | 5 LHP
DET: 16 Signed | 15 C | 1 JC/CC | 11 RHP | 5 LHP

MIN: 16 Signed | 14 C | 1 JC/CC | 1 HS | 11 RHP | 5 LHP

Cumulative Stats for 2018 Draft Class (Pitchers)
CLE: 2.41 ERA | 1.138 WHIP | 336.2 IP | 14 Active Pitchers

DET: 3.11 ERA | 1.219 WHIP | 498 IP | 15 Active Pitchers
MIN: 3.64 ERA | 1.333 WHIP | 396 IP | 14 Active Pitchers

KCR: 3.72 ERA | 1.348 WHIP | 549 IP | 18 Active Pitchers
CWS: 3.92 ERA | 1.317 WHIP | 527.2 IP | 15 Active Pitchers

Position Player Breakdown
DET: 22 Signed | 17 C | 2 JC/CC | 3 HS | 3 1B | 2 2B | 2 3B | 2 SS | 11 OF | 2 C
CWS: 16 Signed | 11 C | 5 HS | 1B | 2B | 2 3B | 2 SS | 7 OF | 3 C
MIN: 16 Signed | 12 C | 4 HS | 3 1B | 2 2B | 3B | SS | 6 OF | 3 C

CLE: 14 Signed | 8 C | 2 JC/CC | 4 HS | 3 2B | 2 SS | 6 OF | 3 C

KCR: 13 Signed | 10 C | 3 HS | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | 7 OF | 2 C

Cumulative Stats for 2018 Draft Class (Position Players)

KCR: .282/.364/.412/.776 | 13 Active Players

MIN: .281/.366/.427/.793 | 16 Active Players

CLE: .276/.373/.409/.783 | 14 Active Players
CWS: .270/.351/.385/.736 | 16 Active Players
DET: .248/.331/.376/.707 | 22 Active Players

MLB Pipeline Top 30 Prospects
KCR: 7 total (2 C RHP*, C RHP, 2 C LHP*, C LHP, C OF)
CLE: 6 total (C RHP, 2 HS RHP*, C 2B, HS SS, HS C*)
CWS: 4 Total (C RHP, C LHP, C 2B*, C OF)
DET: 4 Total (C RHP*, C 2B, HS OF*, HS OF)
MIN: 1 Total (C OF*)

*Top 10

AL CENTRAL DRAFT CLASS NOTES: PITCHERS
This league went very college-heavy on their pitching draft picks in 2018. Only three high school and four juco pitchers were sprinkled among the pitchers signed by these five teams. Two of those high school picks were first round picks by Cleveland and both currently reside on that team's Top 10 prospect list. Neither saw a lot of playing time and, considering that four Cleveland draft picks didn't play at all and only three of their 2018 draft pitchers logged more than 30 innings, my enthusiasm for the good initial composite numbers for the group is somewhat tempered. Similarly, since the White Sox, Royals and Twins don't have Short Season A teams, one has to look at the numbers for those teams through a lens that reflects a heavy dose of rookie league performances. The Twins did promote a couple players, but their highest draft pitcher didn't play at all and none of their 2018 draft pitchers made their Top 30 prospect list. The White Sox do have a couple of Top 30 pitchers in their group (who had mixed initial results) and a couple of top 10 round pitchers who were promoted to Full Season A with good results, but the bulk of their pitchers did not face competition above that of rookie league ball. Of these three teams, Kansas City was the most aggressive in promoting players to full season teams and also has a very impressive total of four Top 10 pitching prospects (six Top 30) to come from this draft class. The Tigers only have one Top 10 prospect out of their 2018 pitching class, but they had 11 players play at Short Season A or above, most with good success and most seeing a lot of playing time. Based on initial results, I like the depth of the Tigers group, but I will keep an eye on the plethora of Royals prospects and the potential of Cleveland's high school prospects.

AL CENTRAL DRAFT CLASS NOTES: POSITION PLAYERS

There was a much larger influx of high school and juco players among the position players than pitchers in this league and, since those younger players should be starting out in rookie leagues for the most part, I am less skeptical of their initial results. With that said, several of these teams were pretty aggressive in promoting top prospects with mostly good results. In particular, Detroit was not shy in promoting top high school picks to Short Season A. They also promoted nine players to full season teams (including one juco player), making their composite numbers much more impressive than at first glance since these players were exposed to a higher level of competition. Cleveland's top prospects performed well in their inaugural season, but the results were very mixed further down the pecking order. All four of the Twins college players who were promoted to Full Season A had excellent seasons, including their top two picks. Kansas City's high school picks underperformed somewhat, but the seven college players who did not graduate beyond rookie league brought up their overall numbers. The story for the White Sox was somewhat similar although their high school picks fared better. All in all, I like the depth of the Tigers group of players and the early promise of Cleveland's top high school prospects. I will be interested in seeing how some of the college players from these organizations will fare in 2019, particularly those who may have excelled in rookie leagues but weren't really challenged to a higher level of competition, in comparison to others (such as the promoted players for the Twins) who received some advanced experience early in their careers.

Chicago White Sox Draft Review
Cleveland Indians Draft Review
Detroit Tigers Draft Review
Kansas City Royals Draft Review
Minnesota Twins Draft Review

MLB Draft Deep Dive: Minnesota Twins

In order to satisfy my innate curiosity as it pertains to the MLB Draft, I have taken a comprehensive look at the 2018 draft for each of the 30 MLB organizations. But I also wanted to get an idea of what each of the teams had done for the 20 years prior so that is included as a prelude to the 2018 information. I'll be looking first at each team in each division, starting with the National League East, and then I'll follow up with a an overall look at both the historical draft results to date and the early 2018 results.

My goal is to get a better idea of the big picture as to how the systems compare in terms of draft results, as well as how a good or bad draft class affects a system, the overall impact of the draft on the baseball talent pool and the circuitous ways in which draft picks are used to bolster a system for which they may never even play. This project is just a first step. I intend to expand on this information over time (including a later revisit of the 2018 class and the addition of the 2019 class next offseason) and I will share my findings as I do so.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

MINNESOTA TWINS

Historical Draft Results from 1998 through 2017 (TO DATE)
Drafted 961 | Signed 551 | Pitchers Signed 283 | Position Players Signed 268
Total WAR 281
Total Players to MLB 79

Note: The following players are listed at the position at which they were originally drafted.

1998 | 4 to MLB | WAR 2.9 | High WAR 2.1, RHP Saul Rivera, 9th rd
1999 | 6 to MLB | WAR 26.9 | High WAR 27.2, C Justin Morneau, 3rd rd
2000 | 5 to MLB | WAR 1.8 | High WAR 4.1, OF Jason Kubel, 12th rd
2001 | 4 to MLB | WAR 59.3 | High WAR 55.1, C Joe Mauer, 1st rd
2002 | 6 to MLB | WAR 50.0 | High WAR 26.3, OF Denard Span, 1st rd
2003 | 2 to MLB | WAR 13.9 | High WAR 15.6, RHP Scott Baker, 2nd rd
2004 | 6 to MLB | WAR 23.0 | High WAR 8.7, LHP Glen Perkins, 1st rd
2005 | 6 to MLB | WAR 23.3 | High WAR 12.1, RHP Matt Garza, 1st rd
2006 | 7 to MLB | WAR 4.6 | High WAR 5.5, 3B Danny Valencia, 19th rd
2007 | 1 to MLB | WAR 6.8 | High WAR 6.8, OF Ben Revere, 1st rd
2008 | 4 to MLB | WAR 9.4 | High WAR 10.6, OF Aaron Hicks, 1st rd
2009 | 3 to MLB | WAR 32.9 | High WAR 23.9, SS Brian Dozier, 8th rd
2010 | 7 to MLB | WAR 9.8 | High WAR 8.8, OF Eddie Rosario, 4th rd
2011 | 2 to MLB | WAR 2.2 | High WAR 2.3, OF Dereck Rodriguez, 6th rd
2012 | 6 to MLB | WAR 14.6 | High WAR 6.9, OF Byron Buxton, 1st rd
2013 | 6 to MLB | WAR (0.1) | High WAR 1.0, C Mitch Garver, 9th rd
2014 | 3 to MLB | WAR (0.2) | High WAR 0.2, RHP Trevor Hildenberger, 22nd rd
2015 | 1 to MLB | WAR (0.1) | High WAR (0.1), LHP Andrew Vasquez, 32nd rd
2016 | 0 to MLB | WAR 0.0 | High WAR N/A
2017 | 0 to MLB | WAR 0.0 | High WAR N/A

The highest WAR to date, both total and individual, is from 2001. C Joe Mauer (1st round, 55.1 WAR) spent his entire 15-year MLB career with the Twins. He was a six-time All-Star, earned five Silver Sluggers, three Gold Gloves and was named American League MVP in 2009. Mauer announced his retirement in November 2018. After Mauer, the Twins 2001 class drops off precipitously with the next player in line being RHP Nick Blackburn (29th round, 6 seasons, 3.1 WAR). Blackburn also played exclusively for the Twins.

2018 DRAFT
39 Drafted | 32 Signed | 16 Pitchers | 16 Position Players
29 College | 26 Signed | 14 Pitchers | 12 Position Players
1 JC/CC | 1 Signed | 1 Pitcher | 0 Position Players
9 HS/NS | 5 Signed | 1 Pitcher | 4 Position Players

Notable: The Twins traded their Competitive Balance (Round B) pick to the Padres and forfeited their third round pick for signing free agent RHP Lance Lynn away from the Cardinals. Minnesota signed 27 of their top 28 picks with the top holdout being 16th round HS RHP Anthony Tuionetoa of Hawaii.

PITCHERS
All but two of the 16 pitchers signed (11 RHP, 5 LHP) logged at least some playing time. Two pitchers were promoted beyond the Short Season A* level, one to Full Season A and one to Advanced A. None of these pitchers debuted on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Prospect list for the Twins.

Noteworthy Debut

RHP Andrew Cabezas, 18th round, University of Miami, Rk
46 IP | 11 G / 9 GS | 2.74 ERA | 0.957 WHIP | 14 BB : 44 K

In total, the Minnesota 2018 Draft pitchers combined for a 3.64 ERA and a 1.333 WHIP over 396 innings as compared to the 3.67 ERA and 1.299 WHIP (average of 376.2 innings per affiliate) compiled by the total 2018 Draft class in 2018.

POSITION PLAYERS
All of the 16 position players signed (3 1B, 2 2B, 3B, SS, 6 OF, 3 C) logged at least some playing time. Four players were promoted beyond the Short Season A* level, all to Full Season A. One player debuted on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Prospect list for the Twins as a Top 10 prospect. One player, 28th round college catcher Austin Hale, voluntarily retired in August.

Top Prospects

🔟 OF Trevor Larnach (L/R), 1st round, Oregon State University, A
42 G | .303/.390/.500/.890 | 21 BB : 28 K

🔟 Top 10 Prospect

Noteworthy Debut

C Ryan Jeffers (R/R), 2nd round, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, A
64 G | .344/.444/.502/.946 | 34 BB : 46 K | 17 2B / 7 HR

In total, the Twins 2018 Draft position players combined to hit .281/.366/.427/.793 as compared to .261/.349/.386/.735 batting line compiled by the total 2018 Draft class in 2018.

*Notes on players include the highest level achieved for the 2018 season using the following abbreviations:
Rk = Rookie
SSA = Short Season A
A = Full Season A
A+ = Full Season A Advanced

GENERAL NOTES: Information was obtained from Baseball-Reference and the MLB Draft History site. The occasional discrepancy in historical information was resolved to the best of my ability by delving into the player information available on B-R. On the historical information, the player position in the totals reflects the position at which the player was drafted (and not any subsequent change of position). On the 2018 information, the player position reflects the primary position played in 2018 for all players who were signed and the position at which the player was drafted for those who did not sign. Prospect listings on MLB Pipeline were as of early January and may not reflect any subsequent changes to that site.

PREVIOUSLY

NL EAST
Atlanta Braves
Miami Marlins
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals
NL East 2018 Draft Summary

NL CENTRAL
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
NL Central 2018 Draft Summary

NL WEST
Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
NL West 2018 Draft Summary

AL EAST
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
AL East 2018 Draft Summary

AL CENTRAL
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals

COMING NEXT
AL Central 2018 Draft Summary

MLB Draft Deep Dive: Kansas City Royals

In order to satisfy my innate curiosity as it pertains to the MLB Draft, I have taken a comprehensive look at the 2018 draft for each of the 30 MLB organizations. But I also wanted to get an idea of what each of the teams had done for the 20 years prior so that is included as a prelude to the 2018 information. I'll be looking first at each team in each division, starting with the National League East, and then I'll follow up with a an overall look at both the historical draft results to date and the early 2018 results.

My goal is to get a better idea of the big picture as to how the systems compare in terms of draft results, as well as how a good or bad draft class affects a system, the overall impact of the draft on the baseball talent pool and the circuitous ways in which draft picks are used to bolster a system for which they may never even play. This project is just a first step. I intend to expand on this information over time (including a later revisit of the 2018 class and the addition of the 2019 class next offseason) and I will share my findings as I do so.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

Historical Draft Results from 1998 through 2017 (TO DATE)
Drafted 946 | Signed 611 | Pitchers Signed 317 | Position Players Signed 294
Total WAR 316.7
Total Players to MLB 94

Note: The following players are listed at the position at which they were originally drafted.

1998 | 7 to MLB | WAR 0.9 | High WAR 1.7, SS Norris Hopper, 8th rd
1999 | 9 to MLB | WAR 40.2 | High WAR 33.6, SS Mark Ellis, 9th rd
2000 | 6 to MLB | WAR 21.7 | High WAR 23.2, OF David DeJesus, 4th rd
2001 | 3 to MLB | WAR (1.5) | High WAR 0.0, OF Mel Stocker, 16th rd
2002 | 5 to MLB | WAR 63.6 | High WAR 65.7, RHP Zach Greinke, 1st rd
2003 | 6 to MLB | WAR 6.8 | High WAR 6.0, SS Mike Aviles, 7th rd
2004 | 5 to MLB | WAR 19.8 | High WAR 11.6, 3B Billy Butler, 1st rd
2005 | 2 to MLB | WAR 35.7 | High WAR 35.2, 3B Alex Gordon, 1st rd
2006 | 5 to MLB | WAR 21.5 | High WAR 15.1, OF Jarrod Dyson, 50th rd
2007 | 5 to MLB | WAR 43.1 | High WAR 14.2, LHP Danny Duffy, 3rd rd
2008 | 6 to MLB | WAR 23.8 | High WAR 15.6, 1B Eric Hosmer, 1st rd
2009 | 7 to MLB | WAR 16.4 | High WAR 10.1, C Wil Myers, 3rd rd
2010 | 7 to MLB | WAR 14.4 | High WAR 11.0, OF Whit Merrifield, 9th rd
2011 | 5 to MLB | WAR 0.1 | High WAR 2.6, RHP Jakob Junis, 29th rd
2012 | 5 to MLB | WAR 3.2 | High WAR 2.4, LHP Matt Strahm, 21st rd
2013 | 6 to MLB | WAR 5.0 | High WAR 7.4, LHP Sean Manaea, 1st rd
2014 | 5 to MLB | WAR 2.0 | High WAR 2.3, LHP Brandon Finnegan, 1st rd
2015 | 0 to MLB | WAR 0.0 | High WAR N/A
2016 | 0 to MLB | WAR 0.0 | High WAR N/A
2017 | 0 to MLB | WAR 0.0 | High WAR N/A

The highest WAR to date, both total and individual, is from 2002. The five other players in this group who managed to make it to the MLB combined for a negative 2.1 WAR so this Draft class really belongs to RHP Zach Greinke (1st round, 65.7 WAR). His seven seasons for the Royals (2004 through 2010) were worth 26.3 WAR, one All-Star appearance and an American League Cy Young award. Greinke has gone on to collect four additional All-Star nods, five Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger since being traded away from the Royals. In December 2010, he was traded (along with Yuniesky Betancourt) to Milwaukee for four players, including OF Lorenzo Cain (7 seasons for KC, 25.1 WAR) and SS Alcides Escobar (8 seasons for KC, 9.2 WAR). Greinke is currently with the Diamondbacks.

2018 DRAFT
43 Drafted | 33 Signed | 20 Pitchers | 13 Position Players
29 College | 28 Signed | 18 Pitchers | 10 Position Players
5 JC/CC | 2 Signed | 2 Pitchers | 0 Position Players
9 HS/NS | 3 Signed | 0 Pitchers | 3 Position Players

Notable: The Royals received one additional draft pick for Competitive Balance (Round A) and two additional first round picks as compensation for losing OF Lorenzo Cain and 1B Eric Hosmer to free agency. Kansas City signed 19 of their first 20 picks with the first holdout being 15th round Texas HS OF Milan Walla.

PITCHERS
All but two of the 20 pitchers signed (11 RHP, 9 LHP) logged at least some playing time. Five of these pitchers were promoted beyond the Short Season A* level, three to Full Season A and two to Advanced A. Six of them debuted on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Prospect list for the Royals, four of them as Top 10 prospects.

Top Prospects

🔟 RHP Brady Singer, 1st round, University of Florida, DNP

🔟 RHP Jackson Kowar, 1st round, University of Florida, A
26.1 IP | 9 G / 9 GS | 3.42 ERA | 1.177 WHIP | 12 BB : 22 K

🔟 LHP Daniel Lynch, 1st round, University of Virginia, A
51.1 IP | 12 G / 12 GS | 1.58 ERA | 1.013 WHIP | 8 BB : 61 K

🔟 LHP Kris Bubic, 1st round, Stanford University, Rk
38 IP | 10 G / 10 GS | 4.03 ERA | 1.500 WHIP | 19 BB : 53 K

RHP Jonathan Bowlan, 2nd round, University of Memphis, Rk
35 IP | 9 G / 9 GS | 6.94 ERA | 1.714 WHIP | 9 BB : 23 K

LHP Austin Cox, 5th round, Mercer University, Rk
33.1 IP | 9 G / 9 GS | 3.78 ERA | 1.320 WHIP | 15 BB : 51 K

🔟 Top 10 Prospect

In total, the Kansas City 2018 Draft pitchers combined for a 3.72 ERA and a 1.348 WHIP over 549 innings as compared to the 3.67 ERA and 1.299 WHIP (average of 376.2 innings per affiliate) compiled by the total 2018 Draft class in 2018.

POSITION PLAYERS
All of the 13 position players signed (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 7 OF, 2 C) logged at least some playing time. Three players were promoted beyond the Short Season A* level, two to Full Season A and one to Advanced A. One player debuted on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Prospect list for the Royals.

Top Prospects

OF Kyle Isbel (L/R), 3rd round, University of Nevada - Las Vegas, A
64 G | .326/.389/.504/.893 | 26 BB : 60 K | 24 SB : 6 CS | 22 2B / 2 3B / 7 HR

Noteworthy Debut

OF Nathan Eaton (R/R), 21st round, Virginia Military Institute, Rk
66 G | .354/.427/.581/1.008 | 33 BB : 60 K | 19 SB : 5 CS | 20 2B / 12 3B / 5 HR | 53 RBI

With numbers like these, Eaton should certainly have been challenged to a higher level of competition than the rookie level Pioneer League, but his numbers are eye-popping nonetheless. Out of the entire 2018 Draft class, Eaton was tied for most triples.

In total, the Royals 2018 Draft position players combined to hit .282/.364/.412/.776 as compared to .261/.349/.386/.735 batting line compiled by the total 2018 Draft class in 2018.

*Notes on players include the highest level achieved for the 2018 season using the following abbreviations:
Rk = Rookie
SSA = Short Season A
A = Full Season A
A+ = Full Season A Advanced

GENERAL NOTES: Information was obtained from Baseball-Reference and the MLB Draft History site. The occasional discrepancy in historical information was resolved to the best of my ability by delving into the player information available on B-R. On the historical information, the player position in the totals reflects the position at which the player was drafted (and not any subsequent change of position). On the 2018 information, the player position reflects the primary position played in 2018 for all players who were signed and the position at which the player was drafted for those who did not sign. Prospect listings on MLB Pipeline were as of early January and may not reflect any subsequent changes to that site.

PREVIOUSLY

NL EAST
Atlanta Braves
Miami Marlins
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals
NL East 2018 Draft Summary

NL CENTRAL
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
NL Central 2018 Draft Summary

NL WEST
Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
NL West 2018 Draft Summary

AL EAST
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
AL East 2018 Draft Summary

AL CENTRAL
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers

COMING NEXT
Minnesota Twins

MLB Draft Deep Dive: Detroit Tigers

In order to satisfy my innate curiosity as it pertains to the MLB Draft, I have taken a comprehensive look at the 2018 draft for each of the 30 MLB organizations. But I also wanted to get an idea of what each of the teams had done for the 20 years prior so that is included as a prelude to the 2018 information. I'll be looking first at each team in each division, starting with the National League East, and then I'll follow up with a an overall look at both the historical draft results to date and the early 2018 results.

My goal is to get a better idea of the big picture as to how the systems compare in terms of draft results, as well as how a good or bad draft class affects a system, the overall impact of the draft on the baseball talent pool and the circuitous ways in which draft picks are used to bolster a system for which they may never even play. This project is just a first step. I intend to expand on this information over time (including a later revisit of the 2018 class and the addition of the 2019 class next offseason) and I will share my findings as I do so.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

DETROIT TIGERS

Historical Draft Results from 1998 through 2017 (TO DATE)
Drafted 912 | Signed 623 | Pitchers Signed 320 | Position Players Signed 303
Total WAR 303.4
Total Players to MLB 92

Note: The following players are listed at the position at which they were originally drafted.

1998 | 5 to MLB | WAR 41.4 | High WAR 19.2, C Brandon Inge, 2nd rd
1999 | 4 to MLB | WAR 22.0 | High WAR 13.6, OF Cody Ross, 4th rd
2000 | 2 to MLB | WAR 3.2 | High WAR 3.0, SS Nook Logan, 3rd rd
2001 | 5 to MLB | WAR 9.4 | High WAR 6.5, 3B Jack Hannahan, 3rd rd
2002 | 6 to MLB | WAR 53.4 | High WAR 47.7, OF Curtis Granderson, 3rd rd
2003 | 6 to MLB | WAR (2.3) | High WAR 0.1, C Dusty Ryan, 48th rd
2004 | 4 to MLB | WAR 63.4 | High WAR 63.4, RHP Justin Verlander, 1st rd
2005 | 11 to MLB | WAR 35.1 | High WAR 14.0, OF Matthew Joyce, 12th rd
2006 | 6 to MLB | WAR 11.6 | High WAR 8.5, LHP Andrew Miller, 1st rd
2007 | 5 to MLB | WAR 19.6 | High WAR 18.8, RHP Rick Porcello, 1st rd
2008 | 5 to MLB | WAR 17.5 | High WAR 14.5, C Alex Avila, 5th rd
2009 | 5 to MLB | WAR (4.2) | High WAR 0.2, LHP Giovanni Soto, 21st rd
2010 | 7 to MLB | WAR 13.4 | High WAR 9.6, LHP Drew Smyly, 2nd rd
2011 | 6 to MLB | WAR 5.4 | High WAR 2.9, C Curt Casali, 10th rd
2012 | 3 to MLB | WAR 7.7 | High WAR 6.5, 2B Devon Travis, 13th rd
2013 | 5 to MLB | WAR 7.9 | High WAR 5.1, RHP Chad Green, 11th rd
2014 | 4 to MLB | WAR (0.9) | High WAR 0.0, C Grayson Greiner, 3rd rd
2015 | 3 to MLB | WAR (0.2) | High WAR 0.5, RHP Drew Smith, 3rd rd
2016 | 0 to MLB | WAR 0.0 | High WAR N/A
2017 | 0 to MLB | WAR 0.0 | High WAR N/A

The highest WAR to date, both total and individual, is from 2004. Although there were three other players from this Tigers draft class who made it to the big leagues, those three combined for 0.0 WAR so RHP Justin Verlander (1st round, 63.4 WAR) is pretty much the whole story when it comes to this group. In his 13 seasons with the Tigers (55.3 WAR), he was American League Rookie of the Year in 2006, AL MVP and Cy Young winner in 2011 and a six time All-Star. Since being traded to the Astros in August 2017, Verlander has one additional All-Star appearance and a World Series ring to add to his collection.

2018 DRAFT
40 Drafted | 38 Signed | 16 Pitchers | 22 Position Players
32 College | 32 Signed | 15 Pitchers | 17 Position Players
3 JC/CC | 3 Signed | 1 Pitcher | 2 Position Players
5 HS/NS | 3 Signed | 0 Pitchers | 3 Position Players

Notable: The Tigers signed ALL of their top 37 picks and 38 of 40 with the lone holdouts being 38th round HS RHP Cole Henry (AL) and 39th round HS 2B Cory Acton (FL).

PITCHERS
All but one of the 16 pitchers signed (11 RHP, 5 LHP) logged at least some playing time. Four of these pitchers were promoted beyond the Short Season A* level, two to Full Season A and two to Advanced A. One of them debuted on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Prospect list for the Tigers as a Top 10 prospect.

Top Prospects

🔟 RHP Casey Mize, 1st round, Auburn University, A+
13.2 IP | 5 G / 5 GS | 3.95 ERA | 1.171 WHIP | 3 BB : 14 K

🔟 Top 10 Prospect

Noteworthy Debut

RHP Ethan DeCaster, 18th round, Duke University, A+
32 IP | 18 G / 0 GS | 0.84 ERA | 0.781 WHIP | 6 BB : 39 K

In total, the Detroit 2018 Draft pitchers combined for a 3.11 ERA and a 1.219 WHIP over 498 innings as compared to the 3.67 ERA and 1.299 WHIP (average of 376.2 innings per affiliate) compiled by the total 2018 Draft class in 2018.

POSITION PLAYERS
All of the 22 position players signed (3 1B, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 SS, 11 OF, 2 C) logged at least some playing time. Nine players were promoted beyond the Short Season A* level, four to Full Season A and five to Advanced A. Three players debuted on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Prospect list for the Tigers, one as a Top 10 prospect.

Top Prospects

🔟 OF Parker Meadows (L/R), 2nd round, Grayson HS (GA), SSA
28 G | .290/.377/.473/.850 | 10 BB : 31 K

2B Kody Clemens (L/R), 3rd round, University of Texas at Austin, A+
52 G | .288/.365/.450/.816 | 23 BB : 39 K

OF Kingston Liniak (R/R), 4th round, Mission Hills HS (CA), SSA
48 G | .235/.272/.290/.562 | 8 BB : 63 K

🔟 Top 10 Prospect

Noteworthy Debut

OF Brock Deatherage (L/L), 10th round, North Carolina State University, A+
60 G | .326/.385/.504/.890 | 21 BB : 64 K

In total, the Tigers 2018 Draft position players combined to hit .248/.331/.376/.707 as compared to .261/.349/.386/.735 batting line compiled by the total 2018 Draft class in 2018.

*Notes on players include the highest level achieved for the 2018 season using the following abbreviations:
Rk = Rookie
SSA = Short Season A
A = Full Season A
A+ = Full Season A Advanced

GENERAL NOTES: Information was obtained from Baseball-Reference and the MLB Draft History site. The occasional discrepancy in historical information was resolved to the best of my ability by delving into the player information available on B-R. On the historical information, the player position in the totals reflects the position at which the player was drafted (and not any subsequent change of position). On the 2018 information, the player position reflects the primary position played in 2018 for all players who were signed and the position at which the player was drafted for those who did not sign. Prospect listings on MLB Pipeline were as of early January and may not reflect any subsequent changes to that site.

PREVIOUSLY

NL EAST
Atlanta Braves
Miami Marlins
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals
NL East 2018 Draft Summary

NL CENTRAL
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
NL Central 2018 Draft Summary

NL WEST
Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
NL West 2018 Draft Summary

AL EAST
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
AL East 2018 Draft Summary

AL CENTRAL
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians

COMING NEXT
Kansas City Royals

MLB Draft Deep Dive: Cleveland Indians

In order to satisfy my innate curiosity as it pertains to the MLB Draft, I have taken a comprehensive look at the 2018 draft for each of the 30 MLB organizations. But I also wanted to get an idea of what each of the teams had done for the 20 years prior so that is included as a prelude to the 2018 information. I'll be looking first at each team in each division, starting with the National League East, and then I'll follow up with a an overall look at both the historical draft results to date and the early 2018 results.

My goal is to get a better idea of the big picture as to how the systems compare in terms of draft results, as well as how a good or bad draft class affects a system, the overall impact of the draft on the baseball talent pool and the circuitous ways in which draft picks are used to bolster a system for which they may never even play. This project is just a first step. I intend to expand on this information over time (including a later revisit of the 2018 class and the addition of the 2019 class next offseason) and I will share my findings as I do so.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

CLEVELAND INDIANS

Historical Draft Results from 1998 through 2017 (TO DATE)
Drafted 952 | Signed 565 | Pitchers Signed 308 | Position Players Signed 257
Total WAR 252
Total Players to MLB 79

Note: The following players are listed at the position at which they were originally drafted.

1998 | 4 to MLB | WAR 65.0 | High WAR 62.7, LHP C.C. Sabathia, 1st rd
1999 | 3 to MLB | WAR (0.9) | High WAR 0.2, RHP Jason Davis, 21st rd
2000 | 6 to MLB | WAR 14.5 | High WAR 9.1, OF Ryan Church, 14th rd
2001 | 2 to MLB | WAR 12.6 | High WAR 11.9, OF Luke Scott, 9th rd
2002 | 3 to MLB | WAR 20.2 | High WAR 17.9, RHP Jeremy Guthrie, 1st rd
2003 | 5 to MLB | WAR 13.9 | High WAR 7.8, 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, 6th rd
2004 | 5 to MLB | WAR 7.1 | High WAR 5.0, LHP Tony Sipp, 45th rd
2005 | 4 to MLB | WAR 1.8 | High WAR 2.2, RHP Jensen Lewis, 3rd rd
2006 | 9 to MLB | WAR 22.0 | High WAR 12.6, RHP Chris Archer, 5th rd
2007 | 2 to MLB | WAR 0.4 | High WAR 0.6, LHP T. J. McFarland, 4th rd
2008 | 7 to MLB | WAR 14.4 | High WAR 9.0, 3B Lonnie Chisenhall, 1st rd
2009 | 8 to MLB | WAR 23.3 | High WAR 21.8, OF Jason Kipnis, 2nd rd
2010 | 3 to MLB | WAR 10.2 | High WAR 10.5, LHP Drew Pomeranz, 1st rd
2011 | 7 to MLB | WAR 36.4 | High WAR 23.9, SS Francisco Lindor, 1st rd
2012 | 2 to MLB | WAR 6.5 | High WAR 4.7, 2B Joey Wendle, 6th rd
2013 | 5 to MLB | WAR 1.9 | High WAR 1.0, LHP Kyle Crockett, 4th rd
2014 | 3 to MLB | WAR 1.6 | High WAR 1.5, OF Bradley Zimmer, 1st rd
2015 | 0 to MLB | WAR 0.0 | High WAR N/A
2016 | 1 to MLB | WAR 1.1 | High WAR 1.1, RHP Shane Bieber, 4th rd
2017 | 0 to MLB | WAR 0.0 | High WAR N/A

The highest WAR to date, both total and individual, is from 1998. LHP C. C. Sabathia (1st round, 62.7 WAR) is by far the most productive player from the Indian's 1998 draft class. His WAR to date can be roughly split down the middle between his eight seasons with the Indians and his 10 seasons with the Yankees, with New York taking a slight advantage. His trade to the Brewers in July 2008 sent OF Michael Brantley to the Tribe as the PTBNL. Brantley spent his entire MLB career with Cleveland (10 seasons, 22.7 WAR) prior to his December 2018 free agent signing with the Astros. Sabathia won the American League Cy Young in 2007 while still with Cleveland and has earned six All-Star nods (three with Cleveland).

2018 DRAFT
42 Drafted | 32 Signed | 18 Pitchers | 14 Position Players
26 College | 24 Signed | 16 Pitchers | 8 Position Players
4 JC/CC | 2 Signed | 0 Pitchers | 2 Position Players
12 HS/NS | 6 Signed | 2 Pitchers | 4 Position Players

Notable: The Indians received one additional draft pick for Competitive Balance (Round A) and one additional pick as compensation for losing 1B Carlos Santana to the Phillies in free agency. Cleveland signed their first 20 picks and 26 of their top 27. The first holdout was 19th round college OF Antoine Duplantis.

PITCHERS
All but four of the 18 pitchers signed (13 RHP, 5 LHP) logged at least some playing time. Four of these pitchers were promoted beyond the Short Season A* level, two to Full Season A, one to Advanced A and one to AA. Three of them debuted on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Prospect list for the Indians, two as Top 10 prospects.

Top Prospects

🔟 RHP Ethan Hankins, 1st round, Forsyth Central HS (GA), Rk
3 IP | 2 G / 2 GS | 6.00 ERA | 1.333 WHIP | 0 BB : 6 K

🔟 RHP Lenny Torres, 1st round, The Beacon School (NY), Rk
15.1 IP | 6 G / 5 GS | 1.76 ERA | 1.174 WHIP | 4 BB : 22 K

RHP Nick Sandlin, 2nd round, University of Southern Missisippi, AA
24 IP | 25 G / 0 GS | 3.00 ERA | 1.000 WHIP | 3 BB : 36 K | 5 Saves

🔟 Top 10 Prospect

Noteworthy Debut

LHP Adam Scott, 4th round, Wofford College, A+
34 IP | 16 G / 0 GS | 1.85 ERA | 1.059 WHIP | 8 BB : 47 K

RHP Shane McCarthy, 18th round, Seton Hall University, SSA
41 IP | 15 G / 4 GS | 0.88 ERA | 0.854 WHIP | 4 BB : 36 K

In total, the Cleveland 2018 Draft pitchers combined for a 2.41 ERA and a 1.138 WHIP over 336.2 innings as compared to the 3.67 ERA and 1.299 WHIP (average of 376.2 innings per affiliate) compiled by the total 2018 Draft class in 2018.

POSITION PLAYERS
All of the 14 position players signed (3 2B, 2 SS, 6 OF, 3 C) logged at least some playing time. Four players were promoted beyond the Short Season A* level, all to Full Season A. Three players debuted on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Prospect list for the Indians, one as a Top 10 prospect.

Top Prospects

🔟 C Bo Naylor (L/R), 1st round, St. Joan of Arc Catholic SS (ON), Rk
33 G | .274/.381/.402/.783 | 21 BB : 28 K

2B Richie Palacios (L/R), 3rd round, Towson University, A
45 G | .361/.421/.538/.960 | 19 BB : 27 K

SS Raynel Delgado (S/R), 6th round, Calvary Christian HS (FL), Rk
46 G | .306/.409/.382/.790 | 30 BB : 44 K

🔟 Top 10 Prospect

Noteworthy Debut

OF Ruben Cardenas (R/R), 16th round, California State University Fullerton, SSA
42 G | .308/.414/.455/.869 | 23 BB : 20 K

OF Jonathan Engelmann (R/R), 31st round, University of Michigan, SSA
38 G | .322/.412/.551/.963 | 12 BB : 29 K

In total, the Indians 2018 Draft position players combined to hit .276/.373/.409/.783 as compared to .261/.349/.386/.735 batting line compiled by the total 2018 Draft class in 2018.

*Notes on players include the highest level achieved for the 2018 season using the following abbreviations:
Rk = Rookie
SSA = Short Season A
A = Full Season A
A+ = Full Season A Advanced

GENERAL NOTES: Information was obtained from Baseball-Reference and the MLB Draft History site. The occasional discrepancy in historical information was resolved to the best of my ability by delving into the player information available on B-R. On the historical information, the player position in the totals reflects the position at which the player was drafted (and not any subsequent change of position). On the 2018 information, the player position reflects the primary position played in 2018 for all players who were signed and the position at which the player was drafted for those who did not sign. Prospect listings on MLB Pipeline were as of early January and may not reflect any subsequent changes to that site.

PREVIOUSLY

NL EAST
Atlanta Braves
Miami Marlins
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals
NL East 2018 Draft Summary

NL CENTRAL
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
NL Central 2018 Draft Summary

NL WEST
Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
NL West 2018 Draft Summary

AL EAST
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
AL East 2018 Draft Summary

AL CENTRAL
Chicago White Sox

COMING NEXT
Detroit Tigers

MLB Draft Deep Dive: Chicago White Sox

In order to satisfy my innate curiosity as it pertains to the MLB Draft, I have taken a comprehensive look at the 2018 draft for each of the 30 MLB organizations. But I also wanted to get an idea of what each of the teams had done for the 20 years prior so that is included as a prelude to the 2018 information. I'll be looking first at each team in each division, starting with the National League East, and then I'll follow up with a an overall look at both the historical draft results to date and the early 2018 results.

My goal is to get a better idea of the big picture as to how the systems compare in terms of draft results, as well as how a good or bad draft class affects a system, the overall impact of the draft on the baseball talent pool and the circuitous ways in which draft picks are used to bolster a system for which they may never even play. This project is just a first step. I intend to expand on this information over time (including a later revisit of the 2018 class and the addition of the 2019 class next offseason) and I will share my findings as I do so.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

Historical Draft Results from 1998 through 2017 (TO DATE)
Drafted 946 | Signed 596 | Pitchers Signed 309 | Position Players Signed 287
Total WAR 275
Total Players to MLB 87

Note: The following players are listed at the position at which they were originally drafted.

1998 | 6 to MLB | WAR 89.2 | High WAR 59.3, LHP Mark Buehrle, 38th rd
1999 | 8 to MLB | WAR 10.3 | High WAR 8.0, RHP Matt Guerrier, 10th rd
2000 | 4 to MLB | WAR 1.2 | High WAR 3.9, SS Mike Morse, 3rd rd
2001 | 4 to MLB | WAR 14.5 | High WAR 16.1, OF Chris Young, 16th rd
2002 | 8 to MLB | WAR 11.9 | High WAR 9.6, RHP Brandon McCarthy, 17th rd
2003 | 2 to MLB | WAR 6.4 | High WAR 6.6, OF Ryan Sweeney, 2nd rd
2004 | 9 to MLB | WAR 30.4 | High WAR 27.5, LHP Gio Gonzalez, 1st rd
2005 | 6 to MLB | WAR 5.0 | High WAR 2.5, 3B Chris Carter, 15th rd
2006 | 3 to MLB | WAR 8.4 | High WAR 8.4, LHP Hector Santiago, 30th rd
2007 | 3 to MLB | WAR 5.3 | High WAR 6.2, RHP Nate Jones, 5th rd
2008 | 5 to MLB | WAR 9.8 | High WAR 6.1, SS Gordon Beckham, 1st rd
2009 | 4 to MLB | WAR 1.7 | High WAR 1.9, C Josh Phegley, 1st rd
2010 | 5 to MLB | WAR 53.6 | High WAR 43.1, LHP Chris Sale, 1st rd
2011 | 7 to MLB | WAR 18.8 | High WAR 12.4, SS Marcus Semien, 6th rd
2012 | 3 to MLB | WAR (2.0) | High WAR 0.2, OF Jason Coats, 29th rd
2013 | 5 to MLB | WAR 4.9 | High WAR 6.2, SS Tim Anderson, 1st rd
2014 | 3 to MLB | WAR 6.5 | High WAR 6.6, LHP Carlos Rodon, 1st rd
2015 | 1 to MLB | WAR (0.8) | High WAR (0.8), RHP Carson Fulmer, 1st rd
2016 | 1 to MLB | WAR (0.1) | High WAR (0.1), RHP Ian Hamilton, 11th rd
2017 | 0 to MLB | WAR 0.0 | High WAR N/A

The highest WAR to date, both total and individual, is from 1998. The two highest contributors from that draft class are LHP Mark Buehrle (38th round, 59.3 WAR) and OF Aaron Rowand (1st round, 20.9 WAR). Buehrle definitely earned his keep during his 12 seasons with Chicago, earning four All-Star nods, three Gold Gloves and a World Series championship (2005) before leaving the Sox via free agency in 2011; he had one more Gold Glove and All-Star selection before he called it quits at the end of the 2015 season. The White Sox received value from Rowand both coming and going as he posted a 12.7 WAR in his five seasons for the Sox and his inclusion in a November 2005 trade to the Phillies for 1B Jim Thome  earned the Sox 12.1 WAR in Thome's four seasons for Chicago. Third in line is RHP Kip Wells (1st round, 8.0 WAR), but his time with the Pirates far outshadowed his limited time with the White Sox.

2018 DRAFT
40 Drafted | 34 Signed | 18 Pitchers | 16 Position Players
29 College | 29 Signed | 18 Pitchers | 11 Position Players
0 JC/CC | 0 Signed | 0 Pitchers | 0 Position Players
11 HS/NS | 5 Signed | 0 Pitchers | 5 Position Players

Notable: The White Sox signed all of their first 33 draft picks (and 34 of the top 35) with the first miss being California HS C Alec Valenzuela in the 34th round.

PITCHERS
All but three of the 18 pitchers signed (12 RHP, 6 LHP) logged at least some playing time. Two of these pitchers were promoted beyond the Short Season A* level, to Full Season A. Two of the pitchers debuted on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Prospect list for the White Sox.

Top Prospects

LHP Konnor Pilkington, 3rd round, Mississippi State University, Rk
14 IP | 8 G / 7 GS | 7.07 ERA | 1.857 WHIP | 5 BB : 11 K

RHP Jonathan Stiever, 5th round, Indiana University - Bloomington, Rk
28 IP | 13 G / 13 GS | 4.18 ERA | 1.143 WHIP | 9 BB : 39 K

Noteworthy Debut

LHP Bennett Sousa, 10th round, University of Virginia, A
35.1 IP | 20 G / 0 GS | 1.27 ERA | 0.877 WHIP | 7 BB : 42 K | 5 Saves

In total, the White Sox 2018 Draft pitchers combined for a 3.92 ERA and a 1.317 WHIP over 527.2 innings as compared to the 3.67 ERA and 1.299 WHIP (average of 376.2 innings per affiliate) compiled by the total 2018 Draft class in 2018.

POSITION PLAYERS
All of the 16 position players signed (1B, 2B, 2 3B, 2 SS, 7 OF, 3 C) logged at least some playing time. Three players were promoted beyond the Short Season A* level, two to Full Season A and one to Advanced A. Two players debuted on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Prospect list for the White Sox, one as a Top 10 prospect.

Top Prospects

🔟 2B Nick Madrigal (R/R), 1st round, Oregon State University, A+
43 G | .303/.353/.348/.701 | 7 BB : 5 K

OF Steele Walker (L/L), 2nd round, University of Oklahoma, A
44 G | .209/.271/.342/.613 | 10 BB : 37 K

🔟 Top 10 Prospect

Noteworthy Debut

OF Ian Dawkins (R/R), 27th round, California State University Sacramento, A
65 G | .303/.351/.390/.741 | 16 BB : 43 K

In total, the White Sox 2018 Draft position players combined to hit .270/.351/.385/.736 as compared to .261/.349/.386/.735 batting line compiled by the total 2018 Draft class in 2018.

*Notes on players include the highest level achieved for the 2018 season using the following abbreviations:
Rk = Rookie
SSA = Short Season A
A = Full Season A
A+ = Full Season A Advanced

GENERAL NOTES: Information was obtained from Baseball-Reference and the MLB Draft History site. The occasional discrepancy in historical information was resolved to the best of my ability by delving into the player information available on B-R. On the historical information, the player position in the totals reflects the position at which the player was drafted (and not any subsequent change of position). On the 2018 information, the player position reflects the primary position played in 2018 for all players who were signed and the position at which the player was drafted for those who did not sign. Prospect listings on MLB Pipeline were as of early January and may not reflect any subsequent changes to that site.

PREVIOUSLY

NL EAST
Atlanta Braves
Miami Marlins
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals
NL East 2018 Draft Summary

NL CENTRAL
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
NL Central 2018 Draft Summary

NL WEST
Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
NL West 2018 Draft Summary

AL EAST
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
AL East 2018 Draft Summary

COMING NEXT
Cleveland Indians