This infographic will help you visualize the history of the No. 1 overall Draft pick
In 1965, baseball held its first Draft for first-year players. Before then, amateur players could sign with any team they chose, which naturally gave an advantage to the richer teams that could offer more money to entice the very best players. Since the Kansas City Athletics selected outfielder Rick Monday from Arizona State with the first overall pick in that inaugural Draft, there have been 52 other players selected first overall in the history of the MLB Draft.
On Monday, the Tigers will make someone the 54th first overall pick in history. Maybe it'll be Auburn right-handed pitcher Casey Mize or catcher Joey Bart from Georgia Tech. Or, maybe even a high school arm like Matthew Liberatore from Mountain Ridge (Glendale, Ariz.) High School.
One possible avenue for predicting who will go No. 1 is to look to the past as a guide. What sorts of players have gone in that slot before? Is it often that a righty like Mize goes there? How about an Arizonan like Liberatore?
And then, once the pick is in, Tigers fans will likely want to know how good he'll be. Will he be a perennial contender for MVP and Cy Young Awards? Will he make a bunch of All-Star teams? Is it even guaranteed he'll reach the Majors? After all, players like Steven Chilcott (1966), Brien Taylor (1991) and
As the Tigers decide who they will pick at No. 1, let this infographic help you get a lay of the land (click to enlarge):
