Atlanta Braves Best player accepted a deal of $82.4 million to depart from Atlanta Braves…
It was widely accepted that the Orioles would take Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman – one of the Draft’s best-ever backstops – first overall, and that’s precisely what Mike Elias & Co. did on June 3. Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals), Andrew Vaughn (White Sox), J.J. Bleday (Marlins) and Riley Greene (Tigers) filled out the top five, and they are all in the Majors five years later. In fact, the first nine picks have already reached The Show, with No. 10 Hunter Bishop (Giants) the highest 2019 pick still awaiting that debut.
As predictable as the top of the Draft may have been, we have five years of hindsight. Below are our selections for every system’s best pick from that year. Sixteen of the 30 come from the first round, meaning the other 14 dug a little deeper to find solid value in the Draft process.
It’s certainly been a bumpy past two years for the 2019 11th overall pick, but he already has an All-Star appearance and a Top 3 Cy Young finish on his resume. The second pitcher taken in the Draft, Manoah also has a 7.7 career bWAR that ranks fifth-best in the entire class. He’s showing promising signs of a turnaround since his return to the Majors on May 5, and even if he doesn’t get back to his full 2022 self, the West Virginia product can still be a contributor to Toronto’s rotation for years ahead.