A couple of days ago, I was listening to a podcast show and in the show, they talked about MLB drafts. And, a guest in the show indicated that some players who were selected in the first round in the 2016 draft haven’t played well in the MLB so far. That drew my interests to see who were selected in the 2016 draft.
First of all, let’s take a look at the players who were selected in the first round (including Compensation Round and Competitive Balance Round A). In total, 41 players were selected in the first round of the 2016 draft. One player chose not to sign and that was Nick Lodolo. Later on, the Reds selected Lodolo in the first round of the 2019 draft. Among those 40 players who chose to sign, 29 players already made it into the big leagues. There are some notable players. The Mariners selected Kyle Lewis in 2016 and he won the 2020 AL Rookie of the Year award. But, Lewis hasn’t played for the Mariners in the 2022 season yet due to injury. Meanwhile, there are three players who have already won the World Series. Will Smith and Gavin Lux won the World Series title with the Dodgers in 2020. Last year, Ian Anderson was a key player to help the Braves defeat the Astros in the World Series. However, none of these players has become an All-Star yet.
But, there are some players who were selected in the 2016 draft and have already become an All-Star. Bryan Reynolds was chosen by the Giants in the second round and he was traded to the Pirates in 2018. He made his MLB debut in 2019 and was selected to the All-Star game last year. In 2021, he slashed .302/.390/.522 with 24 home runs and 90 RBI. Additionally, Pete Alonso and Bo Bichette were selected in the second round of the 2016 draft as well. Alonso won the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year award and in that season, he crushed 53 home runs, leading the majors. Bo Bichette made his MLB debut in 2019 and last season, he led the AL with 191 hits.
Finally, two pitchers were selected in the fourth round and later became the Cy Young award winners. Corbin Burnes and Shane Bieber were selected in the fourth round of the 2016 draft and they each made it into the big leagues in 2018. Corbin Burnes never reached 100 innings in his first two seasons in the majors. However, in the shortened 2020 season, he posted a 2.11 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP over 59.2 innings. Moreover, he had a fantastic 2021 season and won the NL Cy Young award. He finished the season with a 2.43 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP in 167 innings. Meanwhile, he struck out 234 batters. Furthermore, Shane Bieber won the 2020 AL Cy Young award. In the shortened season, Bieber tossed 77.1 innings and went 8-1 with 122 strikeouts, a 1.63 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP.
Looking back at the 2016 draft, none of these first-rounders has become an All-Star yet. Will Smith, who slashes .262/.365/.513 with 50 homers and 159 RBI so far in his career, might be the one who has the best career among those first-rounders. Nonetheless, there are still great players from the 2016 draft, including award winners such as Corbin Burnes and Shane Bieber. Moreover, Eric Lauer, who was chosen by the Padres in the first round in 2016, has a great start of the 2022 season. By far this season, Lauer made 6 starts for the Brewers and now has a 2.60 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP in 34.2 innings. Is he going to be an All-Star?
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