2014 MLB Draft Grades: Round 1 Results and Grades for Each Team

Grading the MLB draft can be a tricky process.

You can't really judge a team on how it addresses perceived weaknesses because, unlike the NBA or NFL, teams don't often make selections based on their current rosters due to the long developmental process for most prospects.

Conversely, a very tiny fraction of top prospects will make an immediate impact, while a majority of the youngsters will take three years (or more) to make it to The Show. There are even some who will toil around in the minors forever. 

Things will inevitably change, but it's still intriguing to take an early look at where players were selected versus where many had them ranked before the draft. 

So, with that in mind, let's take a look at each team's grade for the first round along with some analysis of the best selections from the first 34 picks. 

Round 1 Results and Grades

Pick	Team	Player	School	Grade
1	Houston Astros	LHP Brady Aiken	Central Cathedral HS (FL)	A
2	Miami Marlins	RHP Tyler Kolek	Shepherd HS (TX)	A
3	Chicago White Sox	LHP Carlos Rodon	N.C. State	A
4	Chicago Cubs	C/1B Kyle Schwarber	Indiana	B
5	Minnesota Twins	SS Nick Gordon	Olympia HS (FL)	A
6	Seattle Mariners	C/OF Alex Jackson	Rancho Bernardo HS (CA)	A
7	Philadelphia Phillies	RHP Aaron Nola	LSU	A-
8	Colorado Rockies	LHP Kyle Freeland	Evansville	A-
9	Toronto Blue Jays	RHP Jeff Hoffman	ECU	B
10	New York Mets	OF Michael Conforto	Oregon State	A-
11	Toronto Blue Jays	C Max Pentecost	Kennesaw State	B+
12	Milwaukee Brewers	LHP Kodi Medeiros	Waiakea HS (HI)	B
13	San Diego Padres	SS Trea Turner	N.C. State	A-
14	San Francisco Giants	RHP Tyler Beede	Vanderbilt	A-
15	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	LHP Sean Newcomb	Hartford	A
16	Arizona Diamondbacks	RHP Touki Toussaint	Coral Springs Christian HS (FL)	A
17	Kansas City Royals	LHP Brandon Finnegan	TCU	B+
18	Washington Nationals	RHP Erick Fedde	UNLV	B
19	Cincinnati Reds	3B/RHP Nick Howard	Virginia	B
20	Tampa Bay Rays	1B Casey Gillaspie	Wichita State	B+
21	Cleveland Indians	OF Bradley Zimmer	San Francisco	A
22	Los Angeles Dodgers	RHP Grant Holmes	Conway HW (SC)	A
23	Detroit Tigers	OF Derek Hill	Elk Grove HS (CA)	A-
24	Pittsburgh Pirates	SS Cole Tucker	Mountain Pointe HS (AZ)	C+
25	Oakland Athletics	3B/RHP Matt Chapman	Cal State Fullerton	B-
26	Boston Red Sox	IF Michael Chavis	Sprayberry HS (GA)	A-
27	St. Louis Cardinals	RHP Luke Weaver	Florida State	A-
28	Kansas City Royals	LHP Foster Griffin	The First Academy (FL)	A
29	Cincinnati Reds	3B Alex Blandino	Stanford	A-
30	Texas Rangers	RHP Luis Ortiz	Sanger HS (NV)	A-
31	Cleveland Indians	LHP Justus Sheffield	Tullahoma HS (TN)	B
32	Atlanta Braves	OF Braxton Davidson	T.C. Roberson HS (NC)	A
33	Boston Red Sox	RHP Michael Kopech	Mt. Pleasant HS (TX)	B+
34	St. Louis Cardinals	RHP Jack Flaherty	Harvard-Westlake HS (CA)	B+

Best Picks

Chicago White Sox (No. 3 overall): Carlos Rodon, LHP, North Carolina State

It's difficult to call this a "value" pick at No. 3, but that's the kind of player Carlos Rodon can be. And that's meant as zero disrespect to the top-two picks—Brady Aiken and Tyler Kolek—who are both plenty deserving of high selections themselves. 

Still, if a year ago you said the Chicago White Sox were going to land Rodon with the third overall pick, Robin Ventura, Rick Hahn and Co. would have gone streaking through the quad. 

After a freshman season in which he posted a 1.57 ERA and 0.98 WHIP and won the ACC Pitcher of the Year award, Rodon was a candidate to become the No. 1 pick in the draft some day. After a sophomore season in which he had a 2.99 ERA and a school-record 184 strikeouts (with a silly 12.51 K/9), he was still the front-runner to be the No. 1 pick when he became eligible. 

But his stock dipped slightly this year, not because of his numbers—he had a 2.01 ERA—but because of his heavy workload. 

That's understandable, but this is one of the best collegiate lefties we've seen in quite some time, who throws an explosive fastball and devastating slider. A dominant force with a short road to the majors, he's not the kind of guy you want to pass on. 

“We’re excited because No. 1, we know how competitive this kid is, how important it is to be comfortable with an organization,” White Sox director of amateur scouting Doug Laumann said, via ESPN.com's Doug Padilla.

As Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan added, the Sox now have an enviable future lefty duo at top of the rotation:

Rodon was a no-brainer for Hahn and his staff, but it was still a job well-done not to let the fact that Rodon may want No. 1 money sway them from making the pick. 

Cleveland Indians (No. 21 overall): Bradley Zimmer, OF, San Francisco

Baseball America ranked Bradley Zimmer as its No. 14 overall prospect, while MLB.com had him all the way at No. 10. 

It wasn't exactly difficult to see why, either. 

In his junior season with the Dons, the big (6'4", 185 lbs) left-handed hitter had a slash line of .368/.461/.573 with 24 extra-base hits (seven home runs) and 21 stolen bases in 54 games. As MLB Network noted, via T.J. Zuppe of 92.3 The Fan, he is a legitimate five-tool prospect: 

Not only does he have one of the best all-around skill sets in the league, but he turns 22 in November and should move through the minors at a fairly quick pace. The Cleveland Indians couldn't pass him up. 

Arizona Diamondbacks (No. 16 overall): Touki Toussaint, RHP, Coral Springs Christian Academy

"First of all, you're looking at an athlete," an American League scout said of Toussaint, per Ryan S. Clark of the Sun Sentinel. "Physically, he is just so much different than everybody else. The physical attributes he has are that of a premium athlete."

Longenecker added to the praise:

Toussaint, like many players his age, is still working on his control, but his physical gifts allow him to throw a fastball that reaches the high-90s along with a curve that "has so much downward break that his catchers have trouble holding onto it," according to MLB.com.

Still not 18, Toussaint is certainly a long-term project, but he has the potential to be downright electric at the next level. Adding another future star to a Diamondbacks farm system that already includes Archie Bradley and Braden Shipley? That's scary.