2017 MLB Draft Grades: Best and Worst Picks from Monday Results

For teams that have looked themselves in the mirror and made the honest assessment that they are not good enough to win a championship in the next year or two, there is no more important event than the draft.

The Major League Baseball draft gives teams a chance to stock the cupboard in a much different way than their counterparts in the NFL, NBA or NHL do it.

In those leagues, scouts, coaches and executives are often guilty of overkill because teams study top prospects from head to toe and do it several times over. Nearly every team in the NFL can write a book on most players that will be selected in the seven-round NFL draft.

The MLB draft involves a high level of scrutiny for the first two or three rounds, but there will be surprises along the way.

Once teams get beyond the elite prospects in the draft, brilliant diamonds are there to be mined.

Several future superstars were most likely selected Monday night in the first two rounds of the draft.

The Minnesota Twins started the evening with a surprise when they selected shortstop Royce Lewis from JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, California. Lewis is an excellent hitter who squares up the ball on a regular basis and is a wonderful fielder, but he was not given a lot of consideration as the No. 1 pick by many of the scouts.

It was not necessarily a bad pick, but it opened the gates for the Cincinnati Reds with the No. 2 pick.

Here's a look at the best and worst picks from the first night of the draft.

2017 MLB Draft Day 1 Results

Round 1

1. Minnesota Twins: Royce Lewis, SS, JSerra HS

2. Cincinnati Reds: Hunter Greene, RHP, Notre Dame HS

3. San Diego Padres: MacKenzie Gore, LHP, Whiteville HS

4. Tampa Bay Rays: Brendan McKay, P, Louisville

5. Atlanta Braves: Kyle Wright, RHP, Vanderbilt

6. Oakland Athletics: Austin Beck, OF, North Davidson HS

7. Arizona Diamondbacks: Pavin Smith, 1B, Virginia

8. Philadelphia Phillies: Adam Haseley, OF, Virginia

9. Milwaukee Brewers: Keston Hiura, 2B, California

10. Los Angeles Angels: Jordon Adell, OF, Ballard HS

11. Chicago White Sox: Jake Burger, 3B, Missouri State

12. Pittsburgh Pirates: Shane Baz, RHP, Concordia Lutheran HS

13. Miami Marlins: Trevor Rogers, LHP, Carlsbad HS

14. Kansas City Royals: Nick Pratto, 1B, Huntington Beach HS

15. Houston Astros: J.B. Bukauskas, RHP, North Carolina

16. New York Yankees: Clarke Schmidt, RHP, South Carolina

17. Seattle Mariners: Evan White, 1B, Kentucky

18. Detroit Tigers: Alex Faedo, RHP, Florida

19. San Francisco Giants: Heliot Ramos, OF, Leadership Christian Academy

20. New York Mets: David Peterson, LHP, Oregon

21. Baltimore Orioles: D.L. Hall, LHP, Valdosta HS

22. Toronto Blue Jays: Logan Warmoth, SS, North Carolina

23. Los Angeles Dodgers: Jeren Kendall, OF, Vanderbilt

24. Boston Red Sox: Tanner Houck, RHP, Missouri

25. Washington Nationals: Seth Romero, LHP, Houston

26. Texas Rangers: Bubba Thompson, OF, McGill-Toolen HS

27. Chicago Cubs: Brendon Little, LHP, State College of Florida Manatee - Sarasota

28. Toronto Blue Jays: Nate Pearson, RHP, Central Florida

29. Texas Rangers: Christopher Seise, SS, West Orange HS

30. Chicago Cubs: Alex Lange, RHP, LSU

Competitive Balance A

31. Tampa Bay Rays: Drew Rasmussen, RHP, Oregon State

32. Cincinnati Reds: Jeter Downs, SS, Monsignor Edward Pace HS

33. Oakland Athletics: Kevin Merrell, SS, South Florida

34. Milwaukee Brewers: Tristen Lutz, OF, James Martin Senior HS

35. Minnesota Twins: Brent Rooker, OF, Mississippi State

36. Miami Marlins: Brian Miller, OF, North Carolina

Round 2

37. Minnesota Twins: Landon Leach, RHP, Pickering HS

38. Cincinnati Reds: Stuart Fairchild, OF, Wake Forest

39. San Diego Padres: Luis Campusano-Bracero, C, Cross Creek HS 

40. Tampa Bay Rays: Michael Mercado, RHP, Westview HS

41. Atlanta Braves: Drew Waters, OF, Etowah HS

42. Pittsburgh Pirates: Steve Jennings, RHP, DeKalb County HS

43. Oakland Athletics: Greg Deichmann, OF, LSU

44. Arizona Diamondbacks: Drew Ellis, 3B, Louisville

45. Philadelphia Phillies: Spencer Howard, RHP, Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo

46. Milwaukee Brewers: Caden Lemons, RHP, Vestavia Hills HS

47. Los Angeles Angels: Griffin Canning, RHP, UCLA

48. Colorado Rockies: Ryan Vilade, 3B, Stillwater HS

49. Chicago White Sox: Gavin Sheets, 1B, Wake Forest

50. Pittsburgh Pirates: Cal Mitchell, OF, Rancho Bernardo HS

51. Miami Marlins: Joseph Dunand, 3B, North Carolina State

52. Kansas City Royals: MJ Melendez, C, Westminster Christian School

53. Houston Astros: Joe Perez, 3B, Archbishop McCarthy HS

54. New York Yankees: Matt Sauer, RHP, Ernest Righetti HS

55. Seattle Mariners: Sam Carlson, RHP, Burnsville HS

56. Houston Astros: Corbin Martin, RHP, Texas A&M

57. Detroit Tigers: Reynaldo Rivera, OF, Chipola College

58. San Francisco Giants: Jacob Gonzalez, 3B, Chaparral HS

59. New York Mets: Mark Vientos, 3B, American Heritage School

60. Baltimore Orioles: Adam Hall, SS, A.B. Lucas SS

61. Toronto Blue Jays: Hagen Danner, C, Huntington Beach HS

62. Los Angeles Dodgers: Morgan Cooper, RHP, Texas

63. Boston Red Sox: Coleman Brannen, OF, Westfield School

64. Cleveland Indians: Quentin Holmes, OF, Monsignor McClancy Memorial HS

65. Washington Nationals: Wil Crowe, RHP, South Carolina

66. Texas Rangers: Hams Crouse, RHP, Dana Hills HS

67. Chicago Cubs: Cory Abbott, RHP, Loyola Marymount University

Competitive Balance Round B

68. Arizona Diamondbacks: Daulton Varsho, C, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

69. San Diego Padres: Blake Hunt, C, Mater Dei HS

70. Colorado Rockies: Tommy Doyle, RHP, Virginia

71. Cleveland Indians: Tyler Freeman, SS, Etiwanda HS

72. Pittsburgh Pirates: Conner Uselton, OF, Southmoore HS

73. Kansas City Royals: Evan Steele, LHP, Chipola College

74. Baltimore Orioles: Zac Lowther, LHP, Xavier

75. Houston Astros: J.J. Matijevic, 2B, Arizona

Best Picks

Hunter Greene, No. 2 pick, Cincinnati Reds, P-SS

There are several two-way players in the draft who are capable of playing the field, hitting and also pitching.

Greene appears to be the best of those players. He was one of the most dominant players in California this year while playing for Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California.

There's little doubt about his ability to play the fundamental game especially well. He can go deep in the hole to make plays and range far to his left as well when playing shortstop. He is a sensational hitter who strikes the ball hard nearly every time.

But the Reds may want to turn him into a pitcher because of his tremendous arm. The MLB Network did a taped feature on him after he was selected that showed him throwing a baseball the length of a football field as he practiced.

When he's on the mound, his fastball has been timed at more than 100 mph. He appears to be a legitimate game-changer.

No matter what the Reds decide to do with him, Greene appears to be the Can't-Miss Kid of this year's draft.

David Peterson, No. 20 pick, New York Mets, LHP

The Mets are a team that are rich on pitching, but their pitching staff his been hit hard by injuries each of the last two seasons.

Even if the Mets pitchers were healthy, it would not have been a surprise to see them go after Peterson, who has been a dominating pitcher at the University of Oregon.

Peterson is not going to overpower the radar gun, but he throws both his fastball and his slider in the 92 mph range. He has excellent command and control, and when he is on his game he is capable of spectacular results.

He struck out 20 hitters in a game against Arizona State this year, and he can throw a curveball and a changeup in addition to his two bread-and-butter pitches.

He is quite polished and could make it to the big leagues fairly quickly.

Worst Picks

Keston Hiura, No. 9 pick, Milwaukee Brewers, 2B

We are not saying that Hiura is destined to be a wasted pick, but the Brewers certainly took a chance by drafting him with the No. 9 pick overall.

Hiura is a big-time hitter and had a fine career at California-Irvine, but he is not a healthy player right now. He has some elbow issues, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com, and surgery is likely. If that happens, Hiura is capable of rehabbing and picking up where he left off, but that could take some time.

Why take a player who is not completely healthy and ready to take the next step in his career? It seems risky on the part of the Brewers.

They are gambling that Hiura is worth the pick because of his bat, but if they are wrong or the injury holds him back, they will be making a big mistake.

Clarke Schmidt, No. 16 pick, New York Yankees, RHP

Schmidt is another injured player who could develop, but we don't like the idea of taking a pitcher who has already had Tommy John surgery during his college career.

That's the case with Schmidt, who will come to the Yankee organization from the South Carolina Gamecocks. Schmidt projects as a starter for the Yankees, but he won't be throwing the ball seriously until next year.

He has to rehab from surgery, and while many pitchers come back from this without an issue, it's a struggle to feel optimistic about a pitcher who has already been under the knife before he throws his first pitch as a professional.

Schmidt looks like an accomplished pitcher when he is healthy, because he has an excellent sinker to go along with two different breaking balls.

We would have no issue if this was a third-round pick, but it does seem like a gamble for Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.

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Player information from MLB.com and Baseball America unless otherwise noted.