Each team's best Draft pick of the past decade

It's all but impossible to reach the postseason, let alone win a World Series, without identifying and signing future stars via the Draft.

This year's Draft begins Sunday in Atlanta, with the Nationals holding the No. 1 overall pick. That makes this a great time to review each team's biggest Draft success during the last decade.

Sixteen of the 30 players mentioned below were first-round choices, though one of the very best was the second-lowest pick among them, Tigers 2018 ninth-rounder Tarik Skubal. Three of them won World Series with the clubs that drafted them: two each for Alex Bregman (Astros) and Will Smith (Dodgers), and one for Austin Riley (Braves).

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AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Blue Jays: Bo Bichette, SS (2016, second round)
After signing for $1.1 million nine years ago, the son of Dante Bichette quickly separated himself as a potential plus-plus hitter, winning a Minor League batting title in 2017, and that’s held up in the bigs with a career .288 average since his debut in 2019. Bichette has shown more power than expected from his Draft days too (e.g. his 29 homers in 2021), and his secure place at shortstop has helped the Jays secure three postseason spots since he arrived in The Show.

Orioles: Gunnar Henderson, SS (2019, second round)
Obvious hat tip to No. 1 overall pick Adley Rutschman, but we’ll give Henderson the nod as the second-rounder who currently has more WAR (18.5) than Rutschman (14.6). Both were All-Star starters in 2024 and could go down as one of the greatest 1-2 punches in Draft history.

Rays: Brandon Lowe, 2B (2015, third round)
The University of Maryland product arrived in the Majors in 2018 and has been one of the Majors’ best power bats at the keystone ever since. Only Ketel Marte (.503) has a higher slugging percentage among second baseman than Lowe’s .483 since ‘18, and only Jose Altuve (134) and Marte (130) have a higher wRC+ than Lowe’s 126. The former Terrapin has finished in the Top 10 in AL MVP voting twice, most recently during his 39-homer campaign in 2021.

Red Sox: Jarren Duran, 2B (2018, seventh round)
Duran slugged just .377 in three years as a second baseman at Long Beach State, but the Red Sox liked his bat-to-ball skills and plus-plus speed. They moved him to the outfield, helped him discover more power and saw him become a dynamic player when he finally became a big league regular in 2023. He won All-Star Game MVP honors and finished eighth in AL MVP balloting last season, when he drilled 83 extra-base hits.

Yankees: Anthony Volpe, SS (2019, first round)
A teammate of Jack Leiter at The Delbarton School (Morristown, N.J.), Volpe was considered more of an instinctive than tooled-up player when the Yankees drafted him 30th overall in 2019. He added significant strength and reworked his swing during the pandemic period, giving him more impact at the plate. He won a Gold Glove while totaling 33 homers and 52 steals in his first two years in the Majors, and he's posting similar numbers in 2025.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

Guardians: Steven Kwan, OF (2018, fifth round)
Overshadowed on an Oregon State 2018 national championship team that included three first-round picks, Kwan was tagged as a steady but slap-hitting complementary player. He did little to shed that label in his first two pro seasons but came back from the pandemic shutdown and started hitting the ball with more authority. Perhaps the best contact hitter in the Majors, he has slashed .286/.358/.398 since breaking into the Majors in 2022 and has won a Gold Glove in left field every year.

Royals: Bobby Witt Jr., SS (2019, first round)
Six years after he went second overall to Kansas City, Witt has become the no-doubt face of the franchise and will remain so for a long time after signing an 11-year, $288.8 million extension in February 2024. (The deal could push to 14 years with options.) After early inconsistencies on both sides of the game, the shortstop has become one of baseball’s best five-tool talents and particularly stands out for his power and speed with exit velocities and sprint speeds that rank among the best in the Majors.

Tigers: Tarik Skubal, LHP (2018, ninth round)
The University of Seattle alum squeaks past fellow All-Star Riley Greene for this spot because there’s no denying he’s become the game’s best starting pitcher over the last two years. Skubal has followed up last year’s Cy Young-winning heroics with a lower ERA and WHIP and improved strikeout and walk rates in his age-28 season. He is becoming the AL’s definition of a generational ace. Not bad for a lefty out of the WAC.

Twins: Brent Rooker, OF (2017, supplemental first round)
While he made his debut with the Twins in 2020 and saw time with the Padres and Royals, he’s found a home with the A’s, making the All-Star team in 2023 (and again this year) and winning a Silver Slugger Award in 2024, with back-to-back 30-home run seasons in 2023 and 24.

White Sox: Garrett Crochet, LHP (2020, first round)
Crochet's stuff took a leap at Tennessee in the fall of 2019, but he pitched just once during the pandemic-shortened season because of mild shoulder soreness. The White Sox still selected him 11th overall and called him to Chicago in September, making him the first player to make his pro debut in the big leagues since Mike Leake in 2010, as well as the first pitcher without pro experience to go straight to the Majors in the same year he was drafted since Mike Morgan and Tim Conroy in 1978. He thrived in the bullpen before requiring Tommy John surgery in April 2022, then came back and made the last two All-Star Games after becoming a starter in 2024. The southpaw is now with the Red Sox after a December 2024 trade.

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

Angels: Zach Neto, SS (2022, first round)
When the Angels took him No. 13 overall in 2022, they were hoping they were getting an advanced college bat who could move quickly, but there’s no way they could have known he’d establish himself this fast. After just 44 total games in the Minor Leagues combined in 2022 and 2023, Neto made his debut on April 15 in 2023 and hasn’t looked back, holding his own as the club’s everyday shortstop.

Astros: Alex Bregman, SS (2015, first round)
Bregman starred for three years at Louisiana State before going No. 2 overall in the 2015 Draft, though it probably still rankles him that he wasn't the top choice by the D-backs, who opted for fellow Southeastern Conference shortstop Dansby Swanson. Bregman paid almost immediate dividends, cracking Houston's lineup four months into his first full pro season, and won two World Series championships, four pennants and a Gold Glove in his first eight full years in the Majors before signing with the Red Sox as a free agent.

A’s: Jacob Wilson, SS (2023, first round)
It might have been a bit of a surprise when the A’s took Wilson No. 6 overall in 2023, but it’s sure looking like a smart pick. The son of former big leaguer Jack Wilson made his big league debut in 2024, slowed only by a hamstring injury, then earned the starting nod in the 2025 All-Star Game for the American League while building a solid case for AL Rookie of the Year honors.

Mariners: Logan Gilbert, RHP (2018, first round)
This could end up being a really interesting debate between Gilbert, the 2018 first-rounder, and George Kirby, their top pick in '19. Gilbert, the Stetson product, gets the nod for now, with his 10.3 WAR and earning his first All-Star selection in 2024, though Kirby isn’t far behind at 7.2.

Rangers: Wyatt Langford, OF (2023, first round)
The Rangers don't have a draftee from the last decade who has sustained long-term success yet, though Langford is on his way. The No. 4 overall pick in 2023, he slashed .360/.480/.677 while reaching Triple-A in his pro debut that summer and made Texas' Opening Day roster the following March. In 1 1/2 seasons with the Rangers, he has batted .245/.320/.418 with 30 homers and as many steals in 205 games.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Braves: Austin Riley (2015, supplemental first round)
Most of the scouting industry preferred Riley as a pitcher, so the Braves get extra credit for taking him as a position player and letting him hit. He won his first Silver Slugger Award in 2021, his second in 2023, and finished top 10 in MVP voting three years in a row while being named to two All-Star teams.

Marlins: Michael King, RHP (2016, 12th round)
The lowest-drafted player on this list, King went 353rd overall in 2016, when he stood out more for his feel for pitching than his stuff at Boston College. He joined the Yankees in a November trade for Garrett Cooper and Caleb Smith, and New York helped him upgrade his secondary pitches. He far exceeded expectations with three strong seasons as a reliever in the Bronx and then became a quality starter the last two years after joining the Padres in the Juan Soto deal.

Mets: Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF (2020, first round)
The Harvard-Westlake star went 19th overall to the Mets but ended up playing only six official games in the system before undergoing shoulder surgery in 2021 and getting traded to the Cubs later that summer. In 2025, he has blossomed into a superstar with his elite center-field defense, top-of-the-line speed and burgeoning power, despite a high chase rate. Crow-Armstrong could be a perennial MVP candidate should this production hold deeper into his 20s.

Nationals: Jesús Luzardo, LHP (2016, third round)
Washington selected the Florida prep left-hander in the third round and went way above slot to sign him for $1.4 million, only to trade him to the Athletics in a deal for Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson 13 months later. Luzardo has pitched for the A’s, Marlins and now Phillies over his seven-year Major League career and has mostly been a stable rotation option when healthy. He could play a key role in Philadelphia’s rotation as the Phils look to get over the World Series hump this fall.

Phillies: Bryson Stott, SS (2019, first round)
The No. 14 overall pick in 2019 out of UNLV, Stott established himself as a starter in 2022 and has been a steady presence since as the Phillies’ regular second baseman, playing nearly every day on a team that reached the playoffs in each of his first three seasons from 2022-2024.

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL

Brewers: Corbin Burnes, RHP (2016, fourth round)
The 2016 Draft has produced a pair of Cy Young winners already. Both of them have come from the fourth round. One was Shane Bieber. The other was Burnes, who took home NL honors in 2021. The Saint Mary’s product threw 92-95 mph in college and on the Cape but might have been dinged a little for his lack of plus secondaries. His slider and curveball are significant swing-and-miss pitches now, complementing a mid-90s cutter that he throws a ton. Burnes moved to the Orioles in a blockbuster deal before the 2024 season and joined the D-backs as a free agent this offseason before undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Cardinals: Zac Gallen, RHP (2016, third round)
The Cardinals have drafted and developed their fair share of position players in the last decade, including All-Star second baseman Brendan Donovan, but the pick that stands out most is a pitcher who got away. Gallen, a right-hander out of the University of North Carolina, lasted 1 1/2 seasons in the St. Louis system before moving to Miami as part of a four-player return (which included Sandy Alcantara) for Marcell Ozuna in December 2017. Now with Arizona, Gallen has been a three-time Top 10 finisher in NL Cy Young voting as he enters his 30s.

Cubs: Nico Hoerner, SS (2018, first round)
Hoerner wasn't a consensus first-rounder when the Cubs popped him 24th overall out of Stanford in 2018, but he was the first player from that Draft to reach the big leagues and has accrued more bWAR (19.0) than any pick that year. He's a reliable hitter with gap power and basestealing savvy, and he won a Gold Glove at second base in 2023.

Pirates: Paul Skenes, RHP (2023, first round)
Who else? Skenes has somehow managed to exceed the ridiculously high expectations placed on his shoulders as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 Draft and being considered the best pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg. He made his big league debut in May of last year and was chosen to start the 2024 All-Star Game for the National League, won Rookie of the Year honors and then was named as an All-Star again in 2025.

Reds: Hunter Greene, RHP (2017, first round)
Sure, high school right-handers are a risky demographic, but the payoff can be big. It took Greene, the No. 2 overall pick in 2017, a while to get going, especially since he had Tommy John surgery in 2019 and missed two years, but things started clicking in 2024, when he was an All-Star and received Cy Young Award votes and kept on rolling into a strong 2025 campaign.

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NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

D-backs: Corbin Carroll, OF (2019, first round)
Slightly overlooked in 2019 due to his lack of size, the 16th overall pick rose through the ranks to become the 2023 NL Rookie of the Year and help Arizona to its second World Series appearance in 2023. At his best, Carroll is still one of the fastest and most dynamic players in the sport as he’s proven with a major return to form in 2025. He could be a 30-30 candidate, especially as his power continues to tick up.

Dodgers: Will Smith, C (2016, first round)
After batting .235 in his first two seasons at Louisville, Smith blossomed into the best all-around catcher in the 2016 Draft yet somehow lasted 32 picks. He has lived up to his billing by starring on both sides of the ball for the Dodgers, helping them win a pair of World Series and getting All-Star recognition in each of the last three seasons. He’s having his best season yet, leading the NL in batting (.332) and on-base percentage (.434).

Giants: Bryan Reynolds, OF (2016, second round)
Reynolds had the tools and track record of performance at Vanderbilt to merit going in the first round, but he inexplicably lasted 59 picks in 2016. The Giants didn't hang on to him, however, spinning him to the Pirates in the Andrew McCutchen trade in January 2018. He has been Pittsburgh's best player since and gained All-Star recognition in 2021 and 2024.

Padres: Jackson Merrill, SS (2021, first round)
Merrill may have been a bit overlooked as a Maryland prep shortstop four years ago, but he established himself quickly as one of the best prospects in the game and joined San Diego for an incredible rookie season as a 21-year-old center fielder in 2024. He’s come down a bit off those highs, but he’s still only the age of a college senior who can find the barrel regularly in The Show and provide solid defense in the middle of the grass. After signing a nine-year, $135 million extension in April, Merrill should remain a key piece of the present and future in San Diego.

Rockies: Hunter Goodman, C (2021, fourth round)
It was Goodman’s power the Rockies were buying out of Memphis in 2021 and he showed he could get to it with 13 homers in 2024. He’s become a much better all-around hitter in 2025, already besting that ‘24 season output for home runs while earning an NL All-Star nod.