Every week, we ask a selected group of our baseball writers — local and national — to rank the teams from first to worst. Here are the collective results.
We are now just a few weeks out from the MLB Draft, and while it may have less buzz compared to its football counterpart, don’t mistake it as irrelevant — the picks made at this year’s Rule 4 could impact many teams for years to come.
Here, then, is a power rankings that reminds you of just how important the MLB Draft is to every franchise. From the best team in baseball to the worst, every single one of them has a draft pick they can point to as evidence that something is going right. Just look at some of the names on this danged list of notable draftees for every team.
All stats are through Monday morning unless noted.
Record: 50-29
Last Power Ranking: 1
Notable draftees: Will Smith (Rd. 1, 2016)/Dalton Rushing (Rd. 2, 2022)
It’s not a copout to list both Smith and Rushing together: It’s a way to impress upon the reader that the Dodgers aren’t finding everyday players in the draft … except one very, very, very important position. The Dodgers drafted Smith with the 32nd overall pick in the 2016 Draft, and his Hall of Fame-adjacent career so far has led to multiple championships. He’ll probably help them get to at least one more before he’s done.
Whatever will the Dodgers do when Smith departs? They already know. The only other draft pick who gets regular at-bats in this lineup is Rushing, who looks like he’ll be a perfect complement to Smith for years. The Dodgers don’t hit on most of their draft picks, but when they do, it solves a huge organizational problem for a decade or so. Must be nice. — Grant Brisbee
Record: 48-29
Last Power Ranking: 3
Notable draftee: Drake Baldwin (Rd. 3, 2022)
No, the answer isn’t Austin Riley or Michael Harris II or Bryce Elder, though they’re all worthy choices. It’s Dylan Dodd, of course. OK, just kidding, it’s Baldwin, the 2025 NL Rookie of the Year, a third-round pick in 2022 out of Missouri State who has simply looked like a stud for every nanosecond of his big-league career. Baldwin was the fifth catcher selected in the 2022 draft, behind Kevin Parada (yet to debut for the Mets), Daniel Susac (went from the Athletics to the Giants in the Rule 5 Draft), Dalton Rushing (has made a lot of friends this season), and Logan Tanner (the Reds switched him to pitching this year, but he has been injured). Solid pick, IMO. — Zack Meisel
Record: 46-31
Last Power Ranking: 2
Notable draftee: Ben Rice (Rd. 12, 2021)
Here’s a list of all the players selected before Rice in the 2021 draft: Henry Davis, Jack Leiter, Jackson Jobe, Marcelo Mayer, Colton Cowser, Jordan Lawlar, Frank Mozzicato, Benny Montgomery, Sam Bachman, Kumar Rocker … and 352 others.
Yeah, Rice was the 363rd overall pick, a 12th-rounder out of Dartmouth. Matt Hyde was the scout smart enough to push for the Ivy League kid. The Yankees studied him in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, the Cape Cod League, and in a men’s pickup league full of dudes twice his age, a circuit the Yankees referred to as “The Ben Rice League.” Now, he’s among the league leaders in home runs, batting average, slugging percentage and OPS, and he’s among the primary reasons why the Yankees keep cruising without Aaron Judge. — Meisel
Record: 47-29
Last Power Ranking: 4
Notable draftee: Jacob Misiorowski (Rd. 2, 2022)
With apologies to Brice Turang, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick and wins-leader Aaron Ashby, there’s just nobody else here who compares. Misiorowski throws harder than anyone in the game — and maybe anyone ever, though Nolan Ryan won’t say for sure.
His 1.45 ERA and 0.753 WHIP are just absurd at this point in the season, and are just two of his numbers that rank best in baseball. The others:
Strikeouts: 138
FIP: 1.66
Hits/9: 4.5
Home runs/9: 0.4
K/9: 13.4
Not bad for a guy who wasn’t even a first-round pick. It’s not often one guy can make an entire league of people kick themselves. — Levi Weaver
Record: 43-32
Last Power Ranking: 5
Notable draftee: Shane McClanahan (Rd. 1, 2018)
The Rays’ scouting sleuths only had to travel across the Howard Frankland Bridge to find McClanahan, who attended the University of South Florida. When healthy, he’s been one of the league’s most proficient pitchers, with a 3.07 ERA in 88 career starts. He’s rolling again for the Rays after missing the last two seasons because of elbow and triceps issues. Tampa took the lefty with the 31st overall pick in 2018, the 12th pitcher selected. Of that group — which includes Casey Mize, Ryan Weathers and Grayson Rodriguez — only Logan Gilbert and Brady Singer have piled up a higher WAR total. No one, though, has a better ERA. — Meisel
Record: 42-36
Last Power Ranking: 10
Notable draftee: Aaron Nola (Rd. 1, 2014)
It’s been a rough season and a half for Nola, but kudos to him for making his 300th start last week, all with the Phillies. He’s the only active player to make even 250 starts all with one team. (Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland is the only other pitcher with 200 or more.) The Phillies snagged Nola with the seventh pick in 2014, after Brady Aiken, Tyler Kolek, Carlos Rodón, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Gordon and Alex Jackson. The player drafted immediately after Nola? Freeland, of course. — Meisel
Why MLB’s draft proposal would be bad for baseball’s future
Keith Law
Record: 40-39
Last Power Ranking: 6
Notable draftees: Cole Young (Rd. 1, 2022)/Colt Emerson (Rd. 1, 2023)
The Mariners have a good thing going with their double-play combo. Maybe the best of things. A double-play combo that grows together over the decades, thrilling hometown crowds with their dual-threat dynamism, is the dream of every franchise. Just ask the Tigers, who debuted shortstop Alan Trammell and second baseman Lou Whitaker in 1977, and neither one of them played for another team before retiring (Whitaker in 1995 and Trammell in 1996), winning a championship along the way.
It would be an incredible feat of continuity if the Mariners can pull it off, having two Hall of Fame-worthy* middle infielders for multiple decades. That’s the distant dream, and they’ll settle for a couple of potential All-Star infielders until it’s time to discuss such matters. It’s sure been a fun start.
* Justice for Sweet Lou, please.
— Brisbee
Record: 40-37
Last Power Ranking: 12
Notable draftee: Ian Happ (Rd. 1, 2015)
Unlike a lot of teams in the Central divisions, the Cubs don’t have that many draft picks on their big-league roster right now. Like … four. This list is missing a big would-be contributor, with SP Cade Horton on the shelf, but right now, it’s Matt Shaw, Nico Hoerner, Happ and reliever Ethan Roberts. There are some international signings to add to the “homegrown” list, but most of their roster has been acquired via free agency and trades.
So we’re going with Happ, the first-round pick in 2015, who has been this year’s squad’s third most valuable player by bWAR (2.0). — Weaver
Record: 42-34
Last Power Ranking: 7
Notable draftee: JJ Wetherholt (Rd. 1, 2024)
The Cardinals are a somewhat surprising contender, and the rookie Wetherholt might be the biggest reason why. With the young Gold Glover Masyn Winn entrenched at shortstop, Wetherholt is on his way to becoming that most special kind of middle infielder: The incredibly overqualified second baseman. They’re hard to create in laboratory conditions. They have to grow naturally, like a truffle.
Once you have one, like the Cards do, you get to have Shortstop Left and Shortstop Right, while most teams are having trouble finding just one competent shortstop or second baseman. Wetherholt might be an All-Star in his rookie year. The awards should get even more impressive after that. — Brisbee
Record: 40-37
Last Power Ranking: 8
Notable draftee: Davis Martin (Rd. 14, 2018)
There are a few really nice options for the White Sox: Sam Antonacci has been quite good (elite in one very odd aspect of the game) and Colson Montgomery should certainly get a mention as well.
But any time a 14th-round pick — who had been worth 2.5 bWAR in his first 51 games, starting in 2021 — puts up 2.8 bWAR and leads the AL with nine wins in his first 15 starts … well, you gotta pick that guy.
Martin has had a couple of bumps in the road lately — nine earned runs in 3 1/3 innings to the Yankees and six earned in 4 2/3 in Minnesota — and he’s still sporting a 3.18 ERA. That should tell you just how effective he’s been for the White Sox. — Weaver
Record: 41-38
Last Power Ranking: 11
Notable draftee: Parker Messick (Rd. 2, 2022)
My answer to this week’s prompt was almost “IDK man, take your pick.” If the Guardians’ on-field batting average were as high as their scouting department’s hit rate in the draft, I think Cleveland would be the favorite to topple the Yankees in the AL in October. Look at this list of names who are currently contributing in the big leagues:
Travis Bazzana — Rd. 1, 2024
Tanner Bibee — Rd. 5, 2021
Daniel Espino — Rd. 1, 2019
Hunter Gaddis — Rd. 5, 2019
Petey Halpin — Rd. 3, 2020
Tim Herrin — Rd. 29, 2018
Steven Kwan — Rd. 5, 2018
Parker Messick — Rd. 2, 2022
Daniel Schneemann — Rd. 33, 2018
Gavin Williams — Rd. 1, 2021
That’s 10 players out of the currently-active 26-man roster.
In addition, Chase DeLauter (Rd. 1, 2022) is currently on the IL, and we haven’t even mentioned José Ramírez, Brayan Rocchio or Angel Martínez (because this is a draft-specific column, not an International Free Agent column) or Cade Smith, since he was a non-drafted free agent in 2020.
Sheesh. — Weaver
Record: 40-39
Last Power Ranking: 13
Notable draftee: Max Meyer (Rd. 1, 2020)
There’s been an assembly line of talented Marlins starting pitchers in recent years, but injuries or trades always seem to get in the way. Sandy Alcantara won a Cy Young Award, but ever since, he’s either been hurt, part of the rumor mill, or both. They dealt away Edward Cabrera, Trevor Rogers and Jesús Luzardo. Eury Pérez and Braxton Garrett have struggled to stay healthy. It’s been difficult to enjoy one of these guys without interruption. But here comes Meyer to change that. He was the third overall pick in 2020 out of the University of Minnesota, but elbow and hip surgeries cost him time. Now, finally, he’s enjoying a breakout season that should earn him an All-Star nod. — Meisel
Record: 41-38
Last Power Ranking: 14
Notable draftee: Brad Lord (Rd. 18, 2022)
Four 2022 Nationals draftees have reached the majors. Three have a negative WAR total. The fourth is Lord, Washington’s 18th rounder, selected at No. 531 overall. He’s been a revelation this season, covering multiple innings at a time as a reliever. Over the last two months, Lord has a 1.10 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings. Good Lord, indeed. He’s not soaking up low-leverage innings in mop-up duty, either. He’s usually working the fifth, sixth, seventh and/or eighth innings in Nationals wins — and there have been more of those than many anticipated. That’s quite a find at pick No. 531. — Meisel
Record: 39-39
Last Power Ranking: 9
Notable draftee: The whole rotation
I hadn’t realized this until I started poking around for these rankings, but all five of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting pitchers are guys they drafted and developed.
Paul Skenes — Rd. 1, 2023
Jared Jones — Rd. 2, 2020
Mitch Keller — Rd. 2, 2014
Braxton Ashcraft — Rd. 2, 2018
Bubba Chandler — Rd. 3, 2021
You could also throw in Carmen Mlodzinski, who was a first-rounder in 2020.
The offense has a few options, including Jared Triolo, Nick Gonzales, and (of course) Konnor Griffin (who is currently on the IL). But as “notable” goes, I think a whole rotation made of guys you drafted is pretty neat. — Weaver
Record: 40-37
Last Power Ranking: 16
Notable draftee: Jackson Merrill (Rd. 1, 2021)
Think of all the Padres’ first-round picks since the beginning of the AJ Preller era like baby turtles hatching from their beach sand-covered eggs and scrambling to the water before birds can get to them. MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams and Robert Hassell III were gobbled up in the Juan Soto trade. Robby Snelling got snatched away in the Tanner Scott trade. Ryan Weathers went in the Garrett Cooper trade. Xavier Edwards went for Tommy Pham.
And then there was Merrill, the one they decided to keep. He’s still just 23, so don’t worry too much about the .636 OPS just yet; players with enough talent to make the All-Star Game when they’re 21 tend to find a way back from their slumps. — Brisbee
Record: 39-39
Last Power Ranking: 18
Notable draftee: Trey Yesavage (Rd. 1, 2024)
Could I interest you in tracing the steps back to the Blue Jays drafting Jeff Hoffman with the ninth overall pick in 2014 and then marveling at the path he took to wind up in Toronto a decade later? No? You don’t want to do that? OK, fine, we’ll go with Yesavage — the 20th overall pick in 2024, the darling wunderkind of the Blue Jays’ run to the 2025 World Series, the all-grown-up-and-absolutely-huge little brother in a rotation full of grizzled veterans. It’s been a chore at times to watch Toronto’s offense this season, but Yesavage offers a reason to stay glued to the TV every five days. — Meisel
Record: 38-40
Last Power Ranking: 15
Notable draftee: Jacob Latz (Rd. 5, 2017)
The easy answer here would be potential superstar Wyatt Langford or breakout-season Josh Jung, but it’s worth giving some attention to Latz, since it has taken some time for him to reach his potential.
His MLB debut came as a loophole: In 2021, players were allowed to pitch in the big leagues without being officially added to the 40-man roster if there was a COVID-19 outbreak. After that weird debut, Latz went back to Triple A, and in 2022, he stayed there the whole season, posting a 5.77 ERA. He was also in Round Rock for most of 2023 at the age of 27, which is perilously close to “I’m not sure this guy is going to make it” territory.
And then…
2024: 3.71 ERA in 46 big-league games
2025: 2.84 ERA in 33 big-league games
2026: 1.51 ERA in 28 big-league games, so far, including 13 saves
You don’t get a lot of age-30 breakout seasons, but Latz has been a rock for the Texas bullpen. — Weaver
Record: 39-39
Last Power Ranking: 17
Notable draftee: Corbin Carroll (Rd. 1, 2019)
Carroll is exactly what teams hope for out of their first-round picks out of high school. Send them to rookie ball as teenagers, have them hit their way to Triple A within a couple years, bring them up as fresh-faced 21-year-old rookies and watch them dominate for the next decade or so.
If I’m an owner, I call my director of amateur scouting and president of baseball operations into a meeting, pull up Carroll’s Wikipedia page, and say “do that” before the draft. It’s what every team is trying to do when they pick a five-tool player out of high school. The Diamondbacks have one of the best examples currently going.
(I would be such an effective owner. If anyone has a spare few billion lying around, think of me.) — Brisbee
Record: 38-40
Last Power Ranking: 22
Notable draftee: Tyler Soderstrom (Rd. 1, 2020)
Nick Kurtz is the most impressive homegrown draftee on the Athletics’ roster, of course, if only because he’s one of the most impressive draftees, period, over the last decade or two. But teams cannot live on top-10 draft picks alone. They’ll have to supplement them with picks that come much lower in the first round, especially if they start having any kind of success.
Enter the 24-year-old Soderstrom, who was the 26th-overall pick out of Turlock High, and while it looks like his time behind the plate is over, he’s already become a middle-of-the-order presence, and the shrinking gap between his walks and strikeouts augurs well for his ability to break out in an even bigger way. Teams can eventually stumble into a ready-made star like Kurtz, but they’ll need consistent, quieter wins in the later half of the first round to really get the most out of the draft. — Brisbee
Record: 34-44
Last Power Ranking: 24
Notable draftee: Tarik Skubal (Rd. 9, 2018)
If you go back to Sunday’s lineup, seven of the nine Tigers hitters were acquired via the draft, with only James Outman (waivers) and Zach McKinstry (trade) as outliers. That’s incredible.
But, with apologies to Dillon Dingler, Kevin McGonigle, and a whole team of Tigers with slightly less funny names, how could I pick anyone but Skubal, who is the reigning back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner, and might have a chance to reshape the franchise again at this year’s trade deadline?
I got curious: was Skubal the most valuable pitcher ever taken in the ninth round? The answer: No, that’s Jacob deGrom, who has been worth 46.5 bWAR in 263 career games over 13 years. Between deGrom and Skubal on the list sit five other pitchers:
Goose Gossage (22 years)
Doyle Alexander (19 years)
Charlie Leibrandt (14 years)
Keith Foulke (11 years)
Jeff Montgomery (13 years)
Skubal is in his seventh year in the big leagues. — Weaver
Record: 34-43
Last Power Ranking: 19
Notable draftee: Nolan McLean (Rd. 3, 2023)
The Orioles drafted McLean with the 81st pick in 2022, but the two sides couldn’t strike an agreement. The Mets were the beneficiary. He returned to Oklahoma State for another year, the Mets took him with the 91st pick, and less than two years later, he made his big-league debut. He’s looked the part ever since. The Mets have a rotation in flux, with Clay Holmes and Christian Scott injured, with Kodai Senga and David Peterson struggling and Freddy Peralta poised to be a popular trade target. At least they know they have McLean for the long haul. — Meisel
Record: 31-45
Last Power Ranking: 20
Notable draftee: Jarren Duran (Rd. 7, 2018)
It’s tempting to choose Payton Tolle here, but for the purpose of track records, we’ll go with Duran, though who knows how much longer he’ll don a Red Sox uniform. He was a seventh-round pick in 2018 — No. 220 overall — just behind a pitcher named Travis Moths, who totaled 19 2/3 innings as a professional and never advanced past A-ball. Duran is unmistakably having a down year, but he was one of the league’s most dynamic outfielders the three seasons before that. From 2023-25, he ranked second in the league in doubles and second in triples. — Meisel
Record: 38-42
Last Power Ranking: 21
Notable draftee: Gunnar Henderson (Rd. 2, 2019)
In 2019, the Orioles grabbed Adley Rutschman with the first overall pick, took Henderson with the 42nd pick, snagged Kyle Stowers at pick 71, and chose Joey Ortiz at No. 108. They used Stowers to acquire Trevor Rogers. They used Ortiz to acquire Corbin Burnes. Rutschman and Henderson have been lineup staples. Henderson, who has racked up 20.0 fWAR before his 25th birthday, is the gem. He was the 10th shortstop selected in that draft, behind Bobby Witt Jr., CJ Abrams, Keoni Cavaco, Bryson Stott, Will Wilson, Braden Shewmake, Greg Jones, Logan Davidson and Anthony Volpe. Obviously, the Royals don’t regret taking Witt, and the Padres used Abrams to trade for Juan Soto. But, well, Cavaco, for instance, sputtered in A-ball and then played for the independent Chicago Dogs (and that’s dog as in hot dog). — Meisel
Record: 38-42
Last Power Ranking: 25
Notable draftee: Byron Buxton (Rd. 1, 2012)
It’s pretty unusual for a team to have four first-round picks in their lineup at the same time, but that’s what the Twins are doing these days, with Buxton (2012), Trevor Larnach (2018), Royce Lewis (2017) and Brooks Lee (2022). Luke Keaschall (Rd. 2, 2023) might be the answer to this question next year, should the Twins trade Buxton at this year’s deadline, but for now, this is Buck’s team.
It’s not just seniority that earns him the nod here, though. He’s having a great year, going into Monday’s game with a .925 OPS and 24 home runs. If he keeps this up, that’s going to earn him some MVP votes. — Weaver
Record: 37-43
Last Power Ranking: 23
Notable draftee: Jeremy Peña (Rd. 3, 2018)
If you’re looking for a reason why the Astros are comfortably under .500, looking at the homegrown draftees in their lineup is a great place to start. There’s Peña at the top, offering a delightful combination of defensive and offensive ability. At the bottom of the lineup is often Jake Meyers, a 30-year-old 13th-rounder from 2017 with a career .672 OPS. In between them, the Astros don’t have a single homegrown draftee in the lineup.
They’re getting contributions from draftees on the pitching side from Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti, and it’s not like the lineup is the team’s biggest problem this year, but the conveyor belt of young talent got jammed along the way for the Astros’ dynasty. Technicians are looking at it right now, but it’s probably not going to be ready in time for them this season. — Brisbee
Record: 37-40
Last Power Ranking: 26
Notable draftee: Chase Burns (Rd. 1, 2024)
Sal Stewart, Tyler Stephenson and Matt McLain are fellow first-round picks made good, but Burns has been magnificent this year, going 9-1 with a 2.00 ERA. Yeah, the NL Cy Young Award might be Jacob Misiorowski’s to lose, but it looks like Burns is going to at least make The Miz earn it.
How good has Burns been? His 4.2 bWAR is double that of the next-highest Red (Elly De La Cruz, 2.1). — Weaver
Record: 32-48
Last Power Ranking: 28
Notable Draftee: Zach Neto (Rd. 1, 2022)
Mike Trout is the obvious choice, a generational talent and franchise-defining superstar who was selected after 23 other teams (including the Diamondbacks twice!) passed on him. But with him on the IL and far removed from his halcyon days, let’s go with Neto. You might think of him as a very good shortstop on both sides of the ball, someone who is excellent at baseball. All true, but he represents something even more important to the Angels: He’s proof that the franchise doesn’t destroy everything they touch.
That’s not being glib or facetious! It’s important to have a player like that, whose inherent talent remains unaffected by whatever is perpetually going on with the franchise. It’s a proof of concept in the best way. The Angels can draft, develop and employ good players. Here’s one. Now they just need a lot more of them. — Brisbee
Record: 33-46
Last Power Ranking: 29
Notable Draftee: Bobby Witt Jr. (Rd. 1, 2019)
Like many of the small-market teams, the Royals have had to rely heavily on drafted players. Most of their starting lineup comes from players they’ve drafted, and I would love to zag where the entire rest of the world would zig here to point out a few draft successes (hello Carter Jensen, Jac Caglianone, Noah Cameron, Daniel Lynch IV, etc).
But Witt is the franchise, and the franchise is Witt. The second overall pick of the 2019 draft is a perennial MVP candidate, and this might be the year he finally breaks through and wins it, with Aaron Judge spending time on the IL. — Weaver
Record: 31-46
Last Power Ranking: 27
Notable draftee: Bryce Eldridge (Rd. 1, 2023)
The Giants once had a run of first-round picks that was one of the best in history. Directly after that, they had … not one of the best draft runs in history. The Giants have flailed and failed at the highest levels of the draft over the last decade, whiffing on numerous first-round picks. The best first-rounder they drafted after Joe Panik (2012) was either Heliot Ramos or Patrick Bailey, both of whom are helpful-but-limited starters.
Now that Eldridge is up and doing monstrous, long-levered things, though, the Giants can fantasize about the burgeoning farm system leading them out of their current mess. If you ever need a reminder of just how important the draft is, though, look at the 2026 Giants: They exist as currently formed because they spent a decade screwing up their first-round picks. — Brisbee
Record: 31-48
Last Power Ranking: 30
Notable draftee: Hunter Goodman (Rd. 4, 2021)
All it takes is one. I remember going to Bat Day at Candlestick Park and spending the entire game staring at my cool-as-heck Chili Davis bat with an Atari logo on it. The Giants would eventually lose 94 and 100 games in subsequent seasons, but I’d always cheer Chili on. He was the best player a five-year-old could possibly imagine, considering his name was on an Atari bat.
Goodman is that player for a young Rockies fan right now, and he’s the best player in baseball to them. They’re entirely correct: Goodman is the best player in baseball. To them. And that’s all that matters. All it takes is one player like this to make a huge difference for the next generation. Now that you’re all the way down here at the bottom, let’s remember how cool it can be when even the most uncompetitive franchises nail a pick. — Brisbee
