It rarely works out where the very best prospects go at the very top of the Draft, but it did a decade ago. The Astros chose Mark Appel with the No. 1 overall pick, followed by the Cubs grabbing Kris Bryant and the Rockies taking Jon Gray.
But if teams knew then what they know now, Houston would have opted for a player who lasted until the penultimate selection of the first round and Colorado would have picked one who went in the fourth round. Over the ensuing years, the 2013 Draft class didn’t turn out nearly like clubs thought it would, as MLB Pipeline’s annual 10-years-later redraft will demonstrate.
Using the benefit of hindsight while projecting how careers will continue to unfold, we’ve redone all 33 first-round selections. Just nine of them actually went that high in 2013, and only three of the actual top 12 picks made the cut a decade later.
For seven teams that played in October last year, 2023 hasn’t exactly gotten off to the roaring start they were hoping for. How panicked should they and their fans be?
Jordan Diaz is only the third Athletic rookie with a three-homer game, joining Hall of Famer Mickey Cochrane and 1987 AL Rookie of the Year Mark McGwire.