2014 MLB Draft: Quick Review of Day 1 Results and Overall Team Grades

The first day of the 2014 MLB draft featured plenty of surprises and interesting storylines, but most teams appeared to come away with at least one player who could potentially be a big league star down the line.

Baseball is the most difficult sport in terms of projecting the future success of prospects since they all have at least a couple years of developing to do before they even sniff the majors. Even so, it is fun to speculate about how players might ultimately translate.

There are still plenty of picks left to made, but here is a full listing of Day 1 picks along with grades reflecting how every team fared.

Day 1 Results for 2014 MLB Draft

		Round 1
		Comp. Round A
		Competitive Balance Round A
		Round 2
		Competitive Balance Round B
No.	Team	Player
1	Houston Astros	LHP Brady Aiken, Cathedral Catholic HS
2	Miami Marlins	RHP Tyler Kolek, Shepherd HS
3	Chicago White Sox	LHP Carlos Rodon, North Carolina State
4	Chicago Cubs	C/1B Kyle Schwarber, Indiana
5	Minnesota Twins	SS Nick Gordon, Olympia HS
6	Seattle Mariners	C/OF Alex Jackson, Rancho Bernardo HS
7	Philadelphia Phillies	RHP Aaron Nola, LSU
8	Colorado Rockies	LHP Kyle Freeland, Evansville
9	Toronto Blue Jays	RHP Jeff Hoffman, East Carolina
10	New York Mets	OF Michael Conforto, Oregon State
11	Toronto Blue Jays	C Max Pentecost, Kennesaw State
12	Milwaukee Brewers	LHP Kodi Medeiros, Waiakea HS
13	San Diego Padres	SS Trea Turner, North Carolina State
14	San Francisco Giants	RHP Tyler Beede, Vanderbilt
15	Los Angeles Angels	LHP Sean Newcomb, Hartford
16	Arizona Diamondbacks	RHP Touki Toussaint, Coral Springs Christian Acad.
17	Kansas City Royals	LHP Brandon Finnegan, TCU
18	Washington Nationals	RHP Erick Fedde, UNLV
19	Cincinnati Reds	RHP Nick Howard, Virginia
20	Tampa Bay Rays	1B Casey Gillaspie, Wichita State
21	Cleveland Indians	OF Bradley Zimmer, San Francisco
22	Los Angeles Dodgers	RHP Grant Holmes, Conway HS
23	Detroit Tigers	OF Derek Hill, Elk Grove HS
24	Pittsburgh Pirates	SS Cole Tucker, Pointe HS
25	Oakland Athletics	3B Matt Chapman, Cal State Fullerton
26	Boston Red Sox	3B Michael Chavis, Sprayberry HS
27	St. Louis Cardinals	RHP Luke Weaver, Florida State
28	Kansas City Royals	LHP Foster Griffin, The First Academy
29	Cincinnati Reds	SS Alex Blandino, Stanford
30	Texas Rangers	RHP Luis Ortiz, Sanger HS
31	Cleveland Indians	LHP Justus Sheffield, Tullahoma HS
32	Atlanta Braves	OF Braxton Davidson, T. C. Roberson HS
33	Boston Red Sox	RHP Michael Kopech, Mt. Pleasant HS
34	St. Louis Cardinals	RHP Jack Flaherty, Harvard-Westlake HS
35	Colorado Rockies	2B Forrest Wall, Orangewood Christian HS
36	Miami Marlins	C Blake Anderson, West Lauderdale HS
37	Houston Astros	OF Derek Fisher, Virginia
38	Cleveland Indians	OF Mike Papi, Virginia
39	Pittsburgh Pirates	OF Connor Joe, University of San Diego
40	Kansas City Royals	C Chase Vallot, St. Thomas More HS
41	Milwaukee Brewers	SS Jacob Gatewood, Clovis HS
42	Houston Astros	1B A.J. Reed, Kentucky
43	Miami Marlins	SS Justin Twine, Falls City HS
44	Chicago White Sox	RHP Spencer Adams, White County HS
45	Chicago Cubs	RHP Jake Stinnett, Maryland
46	Minnesota Twins	RHP Nick Burdi, Louisville
47	Philadelphia Phillies	LHP Matt Imhof, Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo
48	Colorado Rockies	RHP Ryan Castellani, Brophy Jesuit Prep School
49	Toronto Blue Jays	RHP Sean Reid-Foley, Sandalwood HS
50	Milwaukee Brewers	OF Monte Harrison, Lee's Summit West HS
51	San Diego Padres	OF Michael Gettys, Gainesville HS
52	San Francisco Giants	C Aramis Garcia, Florida International
53	Los Angeles Angels	RHP Joe Gatto, St. Augustine Prep
54	Arizona Diamondbacks	LHP Cody Reed, Ardmore HS
55	New York Yankees	LHP Jacob Lindgren, Mississippi State
56	Kansas City Royals	RHP Scott Blewett, Baker HS
57	Washington Nationals	LHP Andrew Suarez, Miami
58	Cincinnati Reds	3B Taylor Sparks, University of California - Irvine
59	Texas Rangers	SS Tiquan Forbes, Columbia HS
60	Tampa Bay Rays	RHP Cameron Varga, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy
61	Cleveland Indians	RHP Grant Hockin, Damien HS
62	Los Angeles Dodgers	OF Alex Verdugo, Sahuaro HS
63	Detroit Tigers	RHP Spencer Turnbull, Alabama
64	Pittsburgh Pirates	RHP Mitch Keller, Xavier HS
65	Oakland Athletics	RHP Daniel Gossett, Clemson
66	Atlanta Braves	RHP Garrett Fulenchek, Howe HS
67	Boston Red Sox	1B Sam Travis, Indiana
68	St. Louis Cardinals	RHP Ronnie Williams, American Senior HS
69	Arizona Diamondbacks	OF Marcus Wilson, Junipero Serra HS
70	Arizona Diamondbacks	SS Isan Diaz, Springfield Central HS
71	St. Louis Cardinals	RHP Andrew Morales, University of California - Irvine
72	Tampa Bay Rays	RHP Brent Honeywell, Walters State CC
73	Pittsburgh Pirates	RHP Trey Supak, La Grange HS
74	Seattle Mariners	OF Gareth Morgan, Blyth Academy

Team-By-Team Grades for Day 1

Team	Grade
Arizona Diamondbacks	B+
Atlanta Braves	B+
Baltimore Orioles	INC
Boston Red Sox	B
Chicago Cubs	C+
Chicago White Sox	A
Cincinnati Reds	B
Cleveland Indians	A-
Colorado Rockies	A-
Detroit Tigers	C+
Houston Astros	A
Kansas City Royals	B
Los Angeles Angels	B
Los Angeles Dodgers	B+
Miami Marlins	A
Milwaukee Brewers	C
Minnesota Twins	A-
New York Mets	A
New York Yankees	C
Oakland Athletics	B+
Philadelphia Phillies	A-
Pittsburgh Pirates	B
San Diego Padres	A-
San Francisco Giants	A
Seattle Mariners	A
St. Louis Cardinals	B
Tampa Bay Rays	B+
Texas Rangers	B
Toronto Blue Jays	A
Washington Nationals	A-

Breaking Down Best Picks

Carlos Rodon

NC State pitcher Carlos Rodon was considered the odds-on favorite to be taken No. 1 overall in the 2014 MLB draft immediately following last year's draft. Rodon certainly seemed to still be in the running for that distinction all the way up until Thursday's first round, but he was ultimately usurped by a pair of high school pitchers in the form of Brady Aiken and Tyler Kolek. 

Rodon fell into the Chicago White Sox's lap at No. 3, and it stands to reason that they couldn't be happier. The crafty southpaw has a long track record of success with three excellent collegiate seasons under his belt. Rodon's record didn't reflect how well he pitched this season, as he went just 6-7 despite posting a 2.01 ERA and striking out 117 batters in less than 99 innings.

Even though Rodon's peripheral numbers were excellent, he admitted that he was disappointed in how he performed this season, according to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times:

It can be argued that Aiken and Kolek have higher ceilings than Rodon, but Rodon is a polished product who could potentially make it to the majors quicker than any other prospect in the draft. Chicago's MLB pitching rotation could use a boost, and even though it may be a couple years before Rodon provides it, he could easily be the best player to come out of this draft.

Michael Conforto

Oregon State's Michael Conforto is arguably the top outfield prospect in the entire 2014 draft class, which is why it came as somewhat of a surprise when he slipped all the way to the New York Mets at No. 10. New York's farm system is stocked with top-flight pitchers, so getting a potential .300 hitter was an absolutely perfect fit.

Conforto's body of work with the Beavers is something to be marveled at, especially his 2014 production. He is still developing his power stroke, as he hit just seven home runs this past season, but he hit .345 and achieved top honors in the Pac-12 Conference yet again, per Adam Rubin of ESPN New York:

The fact that Conforto is more of a contact hitter should actually fit into what the Mets are trying to do. Pure power guys don't translate particularly well to spacious Citi Field, which is partly why former Met Ike Davis flamed out. Conforto is a line-drive hitter who knows how to get on base, which should allow him to progress through the minors fairly quickly.

He has all the makings of an ideal No. 2 hitter in the big leagues, and he may be ready just in time for the Mets' inevitable ascent, provided the rest of their prospects pan out.

A.J. Reed

Most of the focus surround the Houston Astros' draft thus far pertains to No. 1 overall pick Brady Aiken. There is no question that Aiken is an extremely exciting prospect, but he may not have even been Houston's best pick of the night. That honor goes to Kentucky's A.J. Reed, who the 'Stros nabbed with the first pick of the second round.

Reed was an ace pitcher as well as a big-time power hitter for the Wildcats. It is possible that he could have made it to the big leagues as a pitcher, but Houston will attempt to utilize him as an offensive threat. It is easy to see why, as Reed hit .336 with 23 home runs and 73 RBI this past season.

In perhaps the biggest understatement of draft night, Reed told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com what the Astros can expect out of him:

Reed is coming off of his best collegiate season, and Aaron Fitt of Baseball America credits him for putting in extra work and becoming committed to being a great player:

Provided he remains on that path, Reed absolutely has the skill set to perform like a first-round pick at the MLB level. Almost every organization passed on him at least once, which means he should be hungry to prove himself.

Reed is a great player as he is, but putting a chip on his shoulder will make him even more dangerous.

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