2015 MLB Draft Grades: Scores for Each Baseball Franchise After Round 1 Results

Grading the results of any sports draft immediately after its completion is always a bit of folly since so many different factors play into an athlete's success or failure. When it comes to the MLB draft, with prospects generally two to three years away from even hitting the big leagues, forecasting a player's future can be especially tricky.

For every Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, Justin Upton and Joe Mauer, who looked like sure things almost immediately, there's an Albert Pujols, Paul Goldschmidt or Mark Buehrle, all of whom were taken pretty late in the draft process but have gone on to achieve great success.

It's always a lot more fun to speculate which teams might have found a steal after capitalizing on a player's fall down the draft board.

Since it's only Day 1, calling any player drafted a steal would be a bit of a reach. With that said, there are a handful of stars who probably slipped a little bit further than they should have considering their talent and potential.

Here's a look at how the teams performed in Round 1 of the 2015 MLB draft and four players who should eventually provide the most value relative to their respective draft positions.

Draft Grades

Team	Pick(s)	Grade
Arizona Diamondbacks	(1) Dansby Swanson, SS, Vanderbilt	A
Atlanta Braves	(14) Kolby Allard, LHP, San Clemente HS; (28) Mike Soroka, RHP, Bishop Carroll HS	A-
Baltimore Orioles	(25) D.J. Stewart, OF, Florida State; (36) Ryan Mountcastle, SS, Hagerty HS	B+
Boston Red Sox	(7) Andrew Benintendi, OF, Arkansas	B-
Chicago Cubs	(9) Ian Happ, OF, Cincinnati	B
Chicago White Sox	(8) Carson Fulmer, RHP, Vanderbilt	B
Cincinnati Reds	(11) Tyler Stephenson, C, Kennesaw Mountain HS	A
Cleveland Indians	(17) Brady Aiken, LHP, IMG Academy	A
Colorado Rockies	(3) Brendan Rodgers, SS, Lake Mary HS; (27) Mike Nikorak, RHP, Stroudsburg HS	A-
Detroit Tigers	(22) Beau Burrows, RHP, Weatherford HS; (34) Christin Stewart, OF, Tennessee	B-
Houston Astros	(2) Alex Bregman, SS, LSU; (5) Kyle Tucker, OF, H.B. Plant HS	B+
Kansas City Royals	(21) Ashe Russell, RHP, Cathedral HS; (33) Nolan Watson, RHP, Lawrence North HS	B
Los Angeles Angels	(26) Taylor Ward, C, Fresno State	C+
Los Angeles Dodgers	(24) Walker Buehler, RHP, Vanderbilt; (35) Kyle Funkhouser, RHP, Louisville	A
Miami Marlins	(12) Josh Naylor, 1B, St. Joan of Arc Catholic SS	C-
Milwaukee Brewers	(15) Trent Clark, OF, Richland HS	B+
Minnesota Twins	(6) Tyler Jay, LHP, Illinois	B+
New York Mets	N/A	N/A
New York Yankees	(16) James Kaprielian, RHP, UCLA; (30) Kyle Holder, SS, San Diego	B
Oakland Athletics	(20) Richie Martin, SS, Florida	A-
Philadelphia Phillies	(10) Cornelius Randolph, SS, Griffin HS	B-
Pittsburgh Pirates	(19) Kevin Newman, SS, Arizona; (32) Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B, Concordia Lutheran HS	B-
San Diego Padres	N/A	N/A
San Francisco Giants	(18) Phil Bickford, RHP, Southern Nevada; (31) Chris Shaw, 1B, Boston College	C+
Seattle Mariners	N/A	N/A
St. Louis Cardinals	(23) Nick Plummer, OF, Brother Rice HS	B+
Tampa Bay Rays	(13) Garrett Whitley, OF, Niskayuna HS	A-
Texas Rangers	(4) Dillon Tate, RHP, UCSB	B
Toronto Blue Jays	(29) Jon Harris, RHP, Missouri State	A
Washington Nationals	N/A	N/A

Highest Value Picks

11. Cincinnati Reds: Tyler Stephenson, C, Kennesaw Mountain HS

If you grade players on a scale of 20-80 with 20 being the worst and 80 being the best, Tyler Stephenson is about a 120 in the bat-flipping category. FanGraphs' Kiley McDaniel presented the Cincinnati Reds' first-round draft pick in all his glory:

Finding a catcher who can hit for power is a massive luxury for any team. Stephenson was the best catcher available, and his raw power is off the charts. Even better, he shouldn't be the kind of defensive liability to where runners are regularly stealing bases off him, which seems to be a problem with offensive-minded catchers.

As former Reds reliever Bill Bray noted, the team got great value from this pick considering where scouts discussed Stephenson as potentially landing:

He's also showing a desire to get into the minors as soon as possible, per C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Whenever Stephenson does hit the big leagues, it won't be the first time he has donned a Reds uniform:

17. Cleveland Indians: Brady Aiken, LHP, IMG Academy

It's somewhat ironic the Cleveland Indians would draft perhaps the riskiest talent in the first round of this year's draft. Over the years, the franchise built a reputation for playing it safe, using its first selections on collegiate talents such as Bradley Zimmer, Tyler Naquin, Alex White, Jeremy Sowers, Trevor Crowe and Drew Pomeranz.

Sure, you've got Francisco Lindor and Clint Frazier sprinkled in there, but the Cleveland brain trust made a concerted effort to select more risk-averse players in the first round.

On Monday night, the Indians selected Brady Aiken, who just had Tommy John surgery in March. And remember, the Houston Astros were scared off offering big money to Aiken last year after a physical showed he might be prone to a major elbow injury.

Baseball America's JJ Cooper wasn't the only one taken aback by the development:

Aiken's ceiling was high enough last year to warrant the Astros taking him No. 1 overall last year. He could be an ace of the staff and Cy Young candidate in a few years if he makes a full return from surgery.

Of course, there's equally the chance that he never overcomes his health issues, a future that Tribe fans are all too familiar with after watching former top prospect Adam Miller suffer injury after injury years ago.

Cleveland is short on impact arms in its minor league system, and Aiken could help address that in a big way. He's still only 18 years old, so the risk for the Indians is definitely worth the possible reward.

29. Toronto Blue Jays: Jon Harris, RHP, Missouri State

The Toronto Blue Jays have done their homework on Jon Harris. They drafted him out of high school in 2012 and then again Monday night. Harris admitted he felt good about landing in Toronto after the team demonstrated belief in his talents by selecting him again, per Sportsnet's Shi Davidi:

The only thing is, Harris needs to brush up on his knowledge of Toronto itself, per John Lott of the National Post:

The Missouri State ace is one of those pitchers who doesn't boast overwhelming stuff but should fit into a major league rotation for years to come. FanGraphs' Andrew Krause gave Harris grades of 50/55 on his fastball, slider and changeup back in April, all of which are solid if unspectacular.

On one hand, comparing Harris to Buehrle would be a little lazy since he's poised to be a member of the Blue Jays now. However, the connection wouldn't be too wide of the mark. Harris' fastball will probably stay in the lower 90s, he works quickly on the mound and he's not going to miss a ton of bats.

Who wouldn't take that at No. 29?

35. Los Angeles Dodgers: Kyle Funkhouser, RHP, Louisville

The fact that the Los Angeles Dodgers went with Walker Buehler and Kyle Funkhouser back to back with their Round 1 picks almost isn't even fair. Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan didn't think the organization was suffering for a lack of arms as is:

You could argue both Buehler and Funkhouser offer massive value, but the latter gets the slight edge for this topic of discussion since he didn't even go in the first round proper.

Funkhouser has a great fastball to go along with a very good slider. His other pitches are only slightly above average at this stage, which could be a concern in terms of his future. He could easily slot in as a No. 2 or 3 starter if he hits his ceiling, and getting that at 35th overall is a steal.

That said, there are a few red flags. The fact his velocity fell slightly in the second half of the 2015 season isn't encouraging. In addition, he's only a junior. Combine that with the fact Scott Boras is representing him, and Funkhouser could choose to return to Louisville for his senior season, per Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times:

Assuming Funkhouser signs, the Dodgers will have done well to find a high-floor starting pitcher in a very reasonable draft position.

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