2014 MLB Draft Results: Grades for Round 1 Picks and Updated Predictions

On Thursday night, we received a glimpse of the future, as the first round of the 2014 MLB draft unfolded.

This year features a bevy of talent at the top of the draft, with a great amount of dominant pitchers and big-time hitters.

Some prospects come with the ability to make an impact in the near future, while others have tremendous upside but will need time to develop over several years.

So, which direction did each franchise elect to take?

Here's a look at the complete results from the draft's first round with a corresponding grade for each and updated predictions for the ensuing rounds.

2014 MLB Draft: Round 1 Results and Grades

Pick	Team	Player	Position	Grade
1	Houston Astros	Brady Aiken	LHP	A
2	Miami Marlins	Tyler Kolek	RHP	A
3	Chicago White Sox	Carlos Rodon	LHP	A
4	Chicago Cubs	Kyle Schwarber	C/OF	B-
5	Minnesota Twins	Nick Gordon	SS	A
6	Seattle Mariners	Alex Jackson	OF	A
7	Philadelphia Phillies	Aaron Nola	RHP	A
8	Colorado Rockies	Kyle Freeland	LHP	A
9	Toronto Blue Jays	Jeff Hoffman	RHP	A-
10	New York Mets	Michael Conforto	OF	A
11	Toronto Blue Jays	Max Pentecost	C	A-
12	Milwaukee Brewers	Kodi Medeiros	LHP	A
13	San Diego Padres	Trea Turner	SS	A
14	San Francisco Giants	Tyler Beede	RHP	A
15	Los Angeles Angels	Sean Newcomb	LHP	A
16	Arizona Diamondbacks	Touki Toussaint	RHP	A
17	Kansas City Royals	Brandon Finnegan	LHP	B+
18	Washington Nationals	Erick Fedde	RHP	B-
19	Cincinnati Reds	Nick Howard	3B/RHP	A
20	Tampa Bay Rays	Casey Gillaspie	1B	A
21	Cleveland Indians	Bradley Zimmer	OF	A-
22	Los Angeles Dodgers	Grant Holmes	RHP	A
23	Detroit Tigers	Derek Hill	OF	A
24	Pittsburgh Pirates	Cole Tucker	SS	A
25	Oakland Athletics	Matt Chapman	3B/RHP	A-
26	Boston Red Sox	Michael Chavis	IF	A
27	St. Louis Cardinals	Luke Weaver	RHP	A-
28	Kansas City Royals	Foster Griffin	LHP	A
29	Cincinnati Reds	Alex Blandino	3B	A-
30	Texas Rangers	Luis Ortiz	RHP	A-
31	Cleveland Indians	Justus Sheffield	LHP	B+
32	Atlanta Braves	Braxton Davidson	1B/OF	A-
33	Boston Red Sox	Michael Kopech	RHP	A-
34	St. Louis Cardinals	Jack Flaherty	RHP	B+

First-Round Analysis

1. Houston Astros: Brady Aiken, LHP

Aiken is an extremely polished pitcher at such a young age. He's able to generate plenty of velocity on his fastball, has a plus curveball and works in a changeup nicely.

What's even more impressive than his three-plus pitch repertoire is his command over those pitches. He has tremendous upside and has the stuff to eventually become an ace in the big leagues.

Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow raved about the southpaw, according to a tweet from MLB:

4. Chicago Cubs: Kyle Schwarber, OF/C

Although Schwarber appears to be a promising prospect, his selection at No. 4 overall appeared to be quite a stretch for the Cubs.

Schwarber is very athletic; however, he may have to shift out of his normal position behind the plate and possibly move to the outfield. Tristan H. Cockcroft of ESPN tweeted his thoughts:

Saying Schwarber was selected higher than expected quickly became a trend, as John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer weighed in on Twitter:

Still, Schwarber is the real deal in terms of hitting prowess. If he can continue to produce some big numbers in the majors, the talk of this reach will surely be squelched.

7. Philadelphia Phillies: Aaron Nola, RHP

Philadelphia went after a prospect who could find his way into the rotation sooner rather than later.

Nola has been spectacular at LSU, with a wide array of pitches at his disposal. He has great command over his fastball, slider and sinking changeup, allowing him to paint the corners of the plate with precision.

Baseball Tonight sure thinks Nola could be the draft's first prospect to enter the majors:

WAFB tweeted a great graphic of how impressive Nola has been this past season:

Future Predicitons

50. Milwaukee Brewers: Jeren Kendall, OF

Kendall is a highly athletic player capable of doing some major damage offensively.

He has a quick bat, speed with a line-drive swing and plus speed as a baserunner, which could make him a great lead hitter.

A polished outfielder, his speed gives him great range, and he takes nice routes on fly balls. He has an above-average arm with good accuracy and could serve in center field in the big leagues.

Here's a great look at what Kendall brings to the table:

52. San Francisco Giants: Michael Cederoth, RHP

The 6'6" Cederoth poses a formidable presence on the mound. He has the upside to be a top-tier reliever due to his fastball, which has been clocked up to 100 mph.

Cederoth has a nice 80 mph slider, but it lacks consistency. Still, with a little development, it could become a devastating pitch capable of keeping hitters off balance.

Here's a great look at the pitcher's stuff with San Diego State:

66. Atlanta Braves: Cody Reed, LHP

Reed has a nice frame at 6'5" and can generate the velocity to reach the mid-90s with his fastball.

He has two plus pitches, as his command over his fastball and curveball is stellar. He also has a nice slider, which is a work in progress but has the potential to be another plus pitch.

Coming into the draft with a potential three-plus pitch arsenal reassures the fact that he has plenty of upside. Reed may take several years to develop, as he's still rather raw, but his high ceiling is worth a shot in the second round.