MLB Draft: Ranking the Dodgers’ top four first round picks of the 2000s
By Jason Reed
The 2017 MLB Draft is upon us, slated to be a three-day extravaganza from June 12 to June 14. With the festivities upon us, here are the Dodgers top four first round selections this century.
The MLB Draft does not get the love that it deserves. Often overshadowed by the NFL and NBA Draft, the MLB Draft does not get nearly the same traction and coverage that its counterparts do. The MLB Draft is appreciated within the baseball circle, and for the most part, that it is.
Maybe it doesn’t get the same coverage due to its length. Despite only running three days, which is the same as the NFL Draft, the MLB Draft has considerably more rounds. The MLB Draft has 40 rounds, the NFL Draft has seven, it is easy to see why fans may tune it out after the first round.
Perhaps it could be because of the farm systems in place for baseball teams. It takes years for prospects to make it through the farm, as with the NBA and NFL those players are available to be superstars the very next season. Even a phenom like Bryce Harper needed the entire 2011 season to play in the farm.
Or maybe, just maybe, it is because sometimes the teams themselves don’t even take the draft seriously. Rewind to the 2014 draft, where the San Diego Padres wasted a pick by selecting Johnny Manziel. That wasn’t in hopes for Manziel to play, it was merely a publicity stunt. Former Padres GM Josh Byrnes said, “It was kind of, ‘why not?”
However, despite this, the Dodgers still have had some stellar draft picks in recent years. In honor of the MLB Draft, let’s take a look at Los Angeles’ four best draft picks of the 2000’s.