2014 MLB Draft: Quick Review of Results and Team Grades for Rounds 1-3

There are 40 rounds in the 2014 MLB draft, but Rounds 1-3 are often where the most talent can be found. That rang true this year, as quality MLB prospects came off the board to the smart teams that did their scouting.

Despite a few early surprises in Round 1, most teams came away with a talented prospect capable of developing into a quality big leaguer. Most of Round 2 represented the next wave of prospects, though there were also some Round 1 talents that trickled into the latter picks.

Round 3 is when teams began to make picks based on organizational depth. Teams in need of pitching looked for arms. Pitching-rich teams went for position players.

Below, you'll find a table of the results for Round 1-3 of the MLB draft, along with grades for each team.

Rounds 1-3

		Round 1
		Comp. Round A
		Competitive Balance Round A
		Round 2
		Competitive Balance Round B
		Round 3
		Supplemental Round
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
75	Houston Astros	3B J.D. Davis, Cal State - Fullerton
76	Miami Marlins	2B Brian Anderson, Arkansas
77	Chicago White Sox	LHP Jace Fry, Oregon State
78	Chicago Cubs	C Mark Zagunis, Virginia Tech
79	Minnesota Twins	RHP Michael Cederoth, San Diego State
80	Seattle Mariners	CF Austin Cousino, Kentucky
81	Philadelphia Phillies	CF Aaron Brown, Pepperdine University
82	Colorado Rockies	LHP Sam Howard, Georgia Southern
83	Toronto Blue Jays	LHP Nick Wells, Battlefield High School
84	New York Mets	SS Milton Ramos, American Heritage School
85	Milwaukee Brewers	RHP Cy Sneed, Dallas Baptist
86	San Diego Padres	RHP Zech Lemond, Rice
87	San Francisco Giants	RF Dylan Davis, Oregon State
88	Los Angeles Angels	RHP Chris Ellis, Ole Miss
89	Arizona Diamondbacks	CF Matt Railey, North Florida Christian HS
90	Baltimore Orioles	LHP Brian Gonzalez, Archbishop McCarthy HS
91	New York Yankees	RHP Austin DeCarr, Salisbury School
92	Kansas City Royals	LHP Eric Skoglund, Central Florida
93	Washington Nationals	C Jackson Reetz, Norris HS
94	Cincinnati Reds	RHP Wyatt Strahan, USC
95	Texas Rangers	SS Joshua Morgan, Orange Lutheran HS
96	Tampa Bay Rays	LHP Brock Burke, Evergreen HS
97	Cleveland Indians	1B Bobby Bradley, Harrison Central HS
98	Los Angeles Dodgers	RHP John Richy, UNLV
99	Detroit Tigers	C Grayson Greiner, South Carolina
100	Pittsburgh Pirates	RF Jordan Luplow, Fresno State
101	Oakland Athletics	RHP Brett Graves, Missouri
102	Atlanta Braves	RHP Max Povse, UNC - Greensboro
103	Boston Red Sox	RHP Jake Cosart, Seminole State
104	St. Louis Cardinals	RHP Trevor Megill, Loyola Marymount University
105	Miami Marlins	LHP Michael Mader, Chipola College

Team Grades

Team	Grade
Arizona Diamondbacks	B+
Atlanta Braves	B+
Baltimore Orioles	C+
Boston Red Sox	A-
Chicago Cubs	C+
Chicago White Sox	A
Cincinnati Reds	B
Cleveland Indians	A-
Colorado Rockies	A-
Detroit Tigers	B-
Houston Astros	B+
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-

Best Selections

No. 3: Chicago White Sox, Carlos Rodon, LHP

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

Ever since former No. 1 prospect Brian Gordon came out of high school and failed to make it to the big leagues for the New York Yankees, teams have been skeptical about taking a high school arm at No. 1. That's why NC State lefty Carlos Rodon was considered the favorite to be taken with the top pick.

High schoolers Brady Aiken and Tyler Kolek are high-upside arms, but they're young. You never know what can happen in a few years time. Regardless, the Houston Astros took Aiken No. 1, and the Miami Marlins took Kolek No. 2.

This made the No. 3 pick a no-brainer for the Chicago White Sox.

Rodon is the most MLB-ready arm in this class. He was stellar his junior year at NC State, tossing just under 99 innings but striking out 117 and posting an ERA of 2.01. His underwhelming 6-7 record is a product of an NC State offense that was less than stellar at times.

In Rodon, the White Sox got a potential stud. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweeted a reminder to American League Central teams regarding how scary Chicago's rotation could be in a few years:

The White Sox could do no wrong with the No. 3 pick. Had Rodon gone earlier, either Aiken or Kolek would have been a great selection as well. But the fact that Rodon slipped to No. 3 helped the White Sox start off on the right foot.

No. 9: Toronto Blue Jays, Jeff Hoffman, RHP

Tommy John surgery in May scared some teams away from East Carolina righty Jeff Hoffman, but those teams will be left kicking themselves in two or three years. Hoffman has the chops to become the best pitcher of the draft.

Baseball journalist Danny Knobler provided his Twitter followers with a pro comparison that he heard from a scout:

Justin Verlander, winner of the 2011 AL Cy Young and MVP awards, is one of the best pitchers in the game today—even if his 2014 campaign is lackluster to this point.

Hoffman possesses a high-90s fastball, wipeout slider, hammer curve and a changeup that's in progress. That arsenal sounds awfully familiar. That's because it's what Verlander has made a career off of.

The right-hander will need to prove that he is healthy before the Toronto Blue Jays give him a shot, but they made a great selection at No. 9. Prior to the injury, Hoffman probably would have gone in the first five picks. Instead, he fell to No. 9 to a Blue Jays team that is more than willing to wait him out.

No. 50: Milwaukee Brewers, Monte Harrison, OF

How Monte Harrison fell this far is beyond me. The guy is by far, 100 percent, the top athlete in the class. He is committed to Nebraska to be a wide receiver, and he also has ridiculous hops on the basketball court:

The Milwaukee Brewers will know Harrison's fate by July 15, as that's the deadline for prospects to sign. If he doesn't sign, he'll go play football for Bo Pelini and baseball for former No. 1 overall pick Darin Erstad at Nebraska.

Harrison can play all over the outfield. His arm is incredible, which would first pin him in either corner outfield spot. His speed is too good to waste in left or right, however, so I'd expect the Brewers to start him in center field if he signs.

Developing power moving forward will be key for Harrison. He isn't bad at the plate otherwise. In 31 games for Lee's Summit West, he posted a line of .433/.567/.677 with 45 runs, 35 RBI and 16 extra-base hits.