In the 2021 MLB draft the San Diego Padres selected some pretty impressive talent with their top picks. Shortstop turned outfielder Jackson Merrill was their top pick at number 27 and he placed second in the National League rookie of the year voting this season.
In the second round they grabbed Washington outfielder James Wood with the sixty second pick. Wood, who’s perhaps on the road to stardom after he was traded in the deal for Juan Soto.
At number seventy-one it was lefthanded pitcher Robert Gasser. The Padres sent him to Milwaukee in the Josh Hader trade. He made his impressive major league debut this year before an elbow injury set him back.
Six have made MLB so far
The draft goes deeper. pitchers fourth rounder Jackson Wolf and Alec Jacob taken on round sixteen have also reached the majors. River Ryan taken in round eleven and traded to the Dodgers but hurt this season looks to have a dcent career ahead of him.
All that talent got me searching down a rabitt hole for the best drafts ever. First off, the Padres getting Tony Gwynn in 1981 makes that a tough draft to top for the team since they also picked up all star Kevin McReynolds in that one as well.
Dodgers crush 1968 draft
The search led me to the 1968 Los Angeles Dodgers. In all, they drafted ten future major leaguers. That group includes three quarters of the infield that would stay together for a decade, play in four world series and finally win one in 1981.
The infielders of course: First baseman Steve Garvey (1st round) out of Michigan State, second baseman Davey Lopes from Washington (Kansas) in the second round of the secondary phase and third baseman Ron Cey in round three from Washington State.
Six future all stars with 23 all star appearances. The other All stars: Bill Buckner who you may have heard of. Pitcher Doyle Alexander and outfielder Tom Paciorek.
Bobby Valentine might have been an all star as well. He was in fact the fifth overall pick. At age 23 in his 3rd MLB season he crushed his leg when it got caught in the fence in center field, he was never the same as a player.
That ’68 draft also included pitcher Geoff Zahn and catcher Joe Ferguson. the six future All-Stars who and 23 All-Star Game appearances are both draft records, as was the total of 236 WAR generated by those 10 big leaguers.
Plus another Dodger draft year
By the way the Dodgers draft two years earlier netted three other all stars, the last of that infield in shortstop Bill Russell, knuckleballer Charlie Hough and infielder Billy Grabarkewitz. Also rookie of the year winner Ted Sizemore.
Not a bad haul handed over to Tommy Lasorda for his managerial pleasure as the Dodgers dominated the National League in the seventies.
