MLB Draft 2014: Full Table of Team-by-Team Day 1 Results and Grades

On Thursday each Major League Baseball franchise looked to the future, as the most promising young prospects were selected over the first two rounds of the draft.

A bevy of talented pitchers and dynamic sluggers were available over the early rounds of the draft. Some teams opted to look well into the future, selecting developmental prospects with plenty of upside. Others looked for more of an immediate impact, picking up MLB-ready players.

There were a few surprising picks on Day 1 of the draft; however, given the promise of the selected athletes, every franchise improved on Thursday.

Let's take a look at each team's selections and provide the corresponding grades while highlighting a few of the day's most intriguing picks.

Round 1 Picks 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-

1. Houston Astros: Brady Aiken, LHP

The 17-year-old Aiken was the first player off the board this year. The southpaw has a polished low-90s fastball and plus curveball, as well as a developing arsenal. His control is impeccable for his age, and he shouldn't need much development further down the line.

Adding Aiken gives the Astros an even more impressive farm system.

According to CBSSports.com, he ended a rather long trend for high school pitchers:

4. Chicago Cubs: Kyle Schwarber, C

Schwarber may be considered a bit of a reach at the No. 4 pick, which makes his selection here a bit of a surprise. He doesn't project to stay behind the plate in the big leagues and could be expected to move to the outfield.

The redeeming virtue of his early selection is his bat. He may not have overwhelming power, but he is a consistent hitter with enough pop to make a difference in the majors.

Jim Bowden of ESPN thinks Schwarber has tremendous upside:

Comp. A Picks and Grades

Pick	Team	Player	Position	Grade
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+

28. Kansas City Royals: Foster Griffin, LHP

The Royals continued to add pitching to their farm system with the selection of Griffin here. He has plenty of upside with a plus fastball and a nice, developing changeup. With his good command and control, developing his arsenal could make the 6'5" southpaw a steal here.

Here's a look at what Griffin brings to Kansas City:

Competitive Balance A Picks and Grades

Pick	Team	Player	Position	Grade
35	Colorado Rockies	Forrest Wall	SS	B+
36	Miami Marlins	Blake Anderson	C	B-
37	Houston Astros	Derek Fisher	OF	A
38	Cleveland Indians	Mike Papi	OF	A-
39	Pittsburgh Pirates	Connor Joe	OF/C	B-
40	Kansas City Royals	Chase Vallot	C	A
41	Milwaukee Brewers	Jacob Gatewood	SS	A

41. Milwaukee Brewers: Jacob Gatewood, SS

Gatewood has the potential to be a stud down the road. His bat speed is off the charts, and his raw power is noticeable. He does need to develop patience, as he's known to be a little too aggressive at the plate. Defensively, he'll probably move to third base down the line, as he'll eventually outgrow the shortstop position. Nevertheless, he's athletic enough to handle multiple positions in the infield.

Andrew Gruman of Fox Sports tweeted a comment from Bruce Seid regarding Gatewood's defensive versatility:

Round 2 Picks and Grades

Pick	Team	Player	Position	Grade
42	Houston Astros	A.J. Reed	1B	A
43	Miami Marlins	Justin Twine	SS	A-
44	Chicago White Sox	Spencer Adams	RHP	A-
45	Chicago Cubs	Jake Stinnett	RHP	B-
46	Minnesota twins	Nick Burdi	RHP	A
47	Philadelphia Phillies	Matt Imhof	LHP	B+
48	Colorado Rockies	Ryan Castellani	RHP	B-
49	Toronto Blue Jays	Sean Reid-Foley	LHP	A
50	Milwaukee Brewers	Monte Harrison	OF	A
51	San Diego Padres	Michael Gettys	OF	A
52	San Francisco Giants	Aramis Garcia	C	B
53	Los Angeles Angels	Joe Gatto	RHP	A
54	Arizona Diamondbacks	Cody Reed	LHP	A
55	New York Yankees	Jacob Lindgren	LHP	A
56	Kansas City Royals	Scott Blewett	RHP	A
57	Washington Nationals	Andrew Suarez	LHP	A-
58	Cincinnati Reds	Taylor Sparks	3B	C+
59	Texas Rangers	Ti'Quan Forbes	SS	A
60	Tampa Bay Rays	Cameron Varga	RHP	A
61	Cleveland Indians	Grant Hockin	RHP	A-
62	Los Angeles Dodgers	Alex Verdugo	RHP/OF	B+
63	Detroit Tigers	Spence Turnbull	RHP	B+
64	Pittsburgh Pirates	Mitch Keller	RHP	A
65	Oakland Athletics	Daniel Gossett	RHP	B
66	Atlanta Braves	Garrett Fulenchek	RHP	A
67	Boston Red Sox	Sam Travis	1B	A-
68	St. Louis Cardinals	Ronnie Williams	RHP	B

42. Houston Astros: A.J. Reed, 1B

The Astros continued their stellar draft by selecting Reed to go along with Aiken and Derek Fisher. Reed will absolutely stick at first base due to his limited speed and athleticism. However, he has some great power as a hitter, and if he can improve his bat speed, he could turn into a major slugger for Houston.

Astros beat writer Brian McTaggart tweeted a message from Reed to the franchise:

Competitive Balance B Picks and Grades

Pick	Team	Player	Position	Grade
69	Arizona Diamondbacks	Marcus Wilson	OF	A
70	Arizona Diamondbacks	Isan Diaz	SS	B+
71	St. Louis Cardinals	Andrew Morales	RHP	C+
72	Tampa Bay Rays	Brent Honeywell	RHP	B-
73	Pittsburgh Pirates	Trey Supak	RHP	A
74	Seattle Mariners	Gareth Morgan	OF	B+

69. Arizona Diamondbacks: Marcus Wilson, OF

Wilson is the epitome of a big-time project for Arizona's farm system. He has plenty of useful tools at his disposal, which gives him lots of upside; however, it will be quite some time before he can successfully harness his raw power to become consistent in the majors.