The MLB Draft is a notoriously fickle endeavor. It can be a tossup whether your first round selection will outperform your picks from the second, third, fourth, or even later rounds. Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger, and Jacob deGrom were all taken in the fourth round or later. Meanwhile, first overall pick Mark Appel watched the Astros’ World Series win* from his couch and second overall pick Danny Hultzen has thrown a grand total of 3.1 innings in the majors.
At the beginning of the week, I criticized the Yankees for, at first glance, drafting poorly in the first round over the last decade.