Alex Rodriguez is the greatest high school player ever picked with the
No. 1 overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft — and it's not
even close.
Using the statistic "Wins Above Replacement" as
determined by Baseball Reference to rank past No. 1 overall picks, Hall
of Famers and former No. 1 overall picks like Chipper Jones and Ken Griffey Jr. had WAR totals of 85.3
and 83.8 respectively. Rodriguez is over 30 points ahead with a career
WAR of 117.6.
Thus, Rodriguez is the easy choice as the greatest
high school player ever chosen with the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB
Draft. But what about the other 29 draft positions in the first round?
The 60th Major League Baseball Draft will be held starting July 16 and run for three days. In
celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Major League Baseball Draft,
MaxPreps has identified the top high school player chosen at each of the
30 draft positions in the first round using the WAR statistic from
Baseball Reference. The high school player with the top career WAR in
each draft position is listed along with the year drafted, the team that
drafted them and a brief bio of their prep career.
Due to
expansion, some of the players in the later draft positions of the first
round on this list were actually selected in the second round of the
draft.
Francisco Lindor hit .528 with 31 runs, 13 RBI, seven doubles and six home as a senior at Montverde Academy. Drafted by Cleveland, he's among the best prep first-round draft picks in 60 years of the MLB Draft. (Photo: Mike Janes)
Drafted by: Seattle Mariners
WAR: 117.6
Bio:
Batted .419 for his prep career with 17 home runs, 70 RBI, 26 doubles
and seven triples. Led Westminster Christian to mythical national
championship.
2 — Josh Beckett, Spring (Texas), 1999
Drafted by: Florida Marlins
WAR: 35.7
Bio: The Texas Class 5A state Player of the Year, Beckett went 13-2 with a 0.39 ERA and 178 strikeouts.
3 — Robin Yount, Taft (Woodland Hills, Calif.), 1973
Drafted by: Milwaukee Brewers
WAR: 77.4
Bio: The Los Angeles City Section Player of the Year batted .455 in league play.
4 — Darrell Porter, Southeast (Oklahoma City, Okla.), 1970
Drafted by: Milwaukee Brewers
WAR: 40.9
Bio:
Won the Jim Thorpe Award for best all-around athlete in Oklahoma as a
senior, Porter was also the state player of the year in baseball. He
batted .414 as a senior and .525 as a junior.
5 — Dwight Gooden, Hillsborough (Tampa, Fla.), 1982
Drafted by: New York Mets
WAR: 53.0
Bio: An all-state selection, Gooden struck out 135 batters in 74 innings and had a 7-4 record with a 1.52 ERA.
6 — Zach Greinke, Apopka (Fla.), 2002
Drafted by: Kansas City Royals
WAR: 77.5
Bio:
An outstanding hitter, Greinke batted .480 with 10 home runs. On the mound, he went 9-2 with 118 strikeouts and a 0.55 ERA.
7 — Clayton Kershaw, Highland Park (Dallas, Texas), 2006
Drafted by: Los Angeles Dodgers
WAR: 79.7
Bio: The Gatorade National Player of the Year went 13-0 with a 0.77 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 64 innings.
8 — Francisco Lindor, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), 2011
Drafted by: Cleveland Guardians
WAR: 45.2
Bio: Named to the MaxPreps All-America team after batting .538 with six home runs and seven doubles.
9 — Javier Baez, Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, Fla.), 2011
Drafted by: Chicago Cubs
WAR: 24.9
Bio: The MaxPreps Small School National Player of the Year batted a whopping .771 with 22 home runs and 20 doubles with 52 RBI.
10 — Ted Simmons, Southfield Arts & Tech (Southfield, Mich.), 1967
Drafted by: St. Louis Cardinals
WAR: 50.4
Bio: A three-sport star, Simmons batted .490 in 18 games as a senior.
11 — Andrew McCutchen, Fort Meade (Fla.), 2005
Drafted by: Pittsburgh Pirates
WAR: 49.3
Bio: The state player of the year batted .709 with 16 home runs and 42 RBI.
12 — Delino DeShields, Seaford (Del.), 1987
Drafted by: Montreal Expos
WAR: 24.4
Bio: The state player of the year in basketball and baseball and all-state in football, DeShields batted .380 as a senior.
13 — Manny Ramirez, Washington (New York, N.Y.), 1991
Drafted by: Cleveland Guardians
WAR: 69.3
Bio: Ramirez finished his senior year batting over .600 with 10 home runs.
14 — Jason Heyward, Henry County (Ga.), now McDonough (Ga.), 2007
Drafted by: Atlanta Braves
WAR: 41.7
Bio: Batted .520 as a senior with eight home runs and 29 RBI.
15 — Jim Rice, T.L. Hanna (Anderson, S.C.), 1971
Drafted by: Boston Red Sox
WAR: 47.7
Bio: A football standout as well, Rice batted .455 as a senior with 10 doubles and four home runs.
16 — Lance Parrish, Walnut (Calif.), 1974
Drafted by: Detroit Tigers
WAR: 39.5
Bio: Had a scholarship to play football at UCLA before being drafted
by the Tigers. He batted .400 in earning All-CIF honors as a senior.
17 — Roy Halladay, Arvada West (Arvada, Colo.), 1995
Drafted by: Toronto Blue Jays
WAR: 64.2
Bio: After leading his team to a state title as a junior, Halladay went 10-1 as a senior with a 0.46 ERA and 102 strikeouts.
18 — Willie Wilson, Summit (N.J.), 1974
Drafted by: Kansas City Royals
WAR: 46.2
Bio:
A catcher in high school, Wilson went on to become one of the swiftest
outfielders in MLB history. He stole 28 bases as a senior.
19 — Bobby Grich, Woodrow Wilson (Long Beach, Calif.), 1967
Drafted by: Baltimore Orioles
WAR: 71.1
Bio: The Los Angeles City Player of the Year with a .365 batting average, Grich also had a scholarship to play football at UCLA.
20 — C.C. Sabathia, Vallejo (Calif.), 1998
Drafted by: Cleveland Guardians
WAR: 62.3
Bio: State Athlete of the Year by Cal-Hi Sports, Sabathia had a 9-1 record for the Apaches and batted .563.
21 — Rick Sutcliffe, Van Horn (Independence, Mo.), 1974
Drafted by: Los Angeles Dodgers
WAR: 33.9
Bio: The all-state selection won 10 games as a senior.
22 — Chet Lemon, Fremont (Los Angeles, Calif.), 1972
Drafted by: Oakland Athletics
WAR: 55.7
Bio: Earned all-city honors in football and baseball and batted .392 as a shortstop for Fremont.
23 — Jason Kendall, Torrance (Calif.), 1992
Drafted by: Pittsburgh Pirates
WAR: 41.7
Bio: The South Bay Player of the Year batted safely in 43 straight games and had a .549 batting average.
24 — Alex Fernandez, Monsignor Pace (Miami, Fla.), 1988
Drafted by: Milwauke Brewers
WAR: 28.5
Bio: Went 14-0 in leading Pace to the AA state championship.
25 — Mike Trout, Millville (N.J.), 2009
Drafted by: Los Angeles Angels
WAR: 86.1
Bio:
Perhaps the best value pick in the first round, Trout was coming off a
record-breaking season with 18 home runs his senior year.
26 — Alan Trammel, Kearny (San Diego, Calif.), 1976
Drafted by: Detroit Tigers
WAR: 70.6
Bio: A second-round draft pick, but still the 26th overall, Trammel batted .438 and was All-CIF San Diego.
27 — Vida Blue, DeSoto (Mansfield, La.), now closed, 1967
Drafted by: Oakland Athletics
WAR: 45.1
Bio: Played at DeSoto in Mansfield, a segregated school in
the late 1960s. A record-breaking quarterback, Blue had multiple
no-hitters as a senior before being drafted. Had one game with 21
strikeouts and another with 19.
28 — Gerrit Cole, Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.), 2008
Drafted by: New York Yankees
WAR: 41.0
Bio: One of the hardest-throwing pitchers in the nation as a
senior, striking out 121 batters with an 8-2 record and a 0.47 ERA.
29 — George Brett, El Segundo (Calif.), 1971
Drafted by: Kansas City Royals
WAR: 88.6
Bio: One of the greatest hitters in MLB history, Brett batted .333 his senior year with eight home run.
30 — David Wells, Point Loma (San Diego, Calif.), 1982
Drafted by: Toronto Blue Jays
WAR: 53.5
Bio: The Player of the Year in the San Diego Section, posting a
12-1 record with a 162 strikeouts and a 0.44 ERA in 94 innings.
