2020 MLB Draft Grades: Best and Worst Picks from 1st-Round Results

The Baltimore Orioles made a stunning decision by taking Heston Kjerstad over Austin Martin with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft. 

Baltimore's decision triggered an unexpected wave of selections, which was followed by the Miami Marlins taking Max Meyer over Asa Lacy and Emerson Hancock at No. 3. 

Those choices allowed the Toronto Blue Jays to add Martin to their young stable of infielders through what could be viewed as the best pick of the event. 

The Colorado Rockies found themselves in a similar situation and landed top-five prospect Zac Veen at No. 9 in one of the other top selections from Wednesday's first round. 

The full first-round draft results can be found here on MLB.com.

MLB Draft Grades

Arizona: B

Atlanta: B-

Baltimore: B+

Boston: C 

Chicago Cubs: B

Chicago White Sox: C+

Cincinnati: B+

Cleveland: B

Detroit: A 

Houston: N/A 

Kansas City: A 

Los Angeles Angels: A-

Los Angeles Dodgers: B

Miami: B

Milwaukee: A 

Minnesota: B-

New York Mets: A-

New York Yankees: A-

Oakland: A- 

Philadelphia: B+

Pittsburgh: A 

San Diego: A-

San Francisco: B+

Seattle: A-

St. Louis: B

Tampa Bay: B+

Texas: B

Toronto: A 

Washington: B+

Best Picks

Austin Martin (No. 5 overall to Toronto)

Toronto got the biggest steal of the draft with Martin at No. 5.

The American League East side can now put Martin, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio in their lineup for the long term. 

While some may be concerned about Toronto choosing a shortstop, Martin has positional flexibility since he played in the outfield for some of the 2020 season. 

Simply put, the Blue Jays selected the best player available and will find a spot for him in the lineup if he continues to perform well at the plate. 

Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith detailed how impressive the 21-year-old's numbers were at Vanderbilt, including having more walks than strikeouts: 

In the best-case scenario for Toronto, it could have four young bats leading it back up the AL East for a decade. 

Zac Veen (No. 9 overall to Colorado) 

Veen has to be ecstatic with the potential of hitting at Coors Field. 

The same emotions could be felt by the franchise that selected the high school outfielder from Florida, whose swing has drawn comparisons to Cody Bellinger, as Baseball America's Ben Badler pointed out: 

The Athletic's Keith Law projected Veen to land at No. 4 in his final mock draft, and most experts believed the 18-year-old had the best bat of all high school prospects. 

If the hype turns into reality over the next few years, Colorado could end up with one of the biggest steals of the draft.

However, it may take some patience to see that come to fruition because his development may be stunted by the lack of minor league baseball at the moment.

Worst Picks

Heston Kjerstad (No. 2 overall to Baltimore)

Baltimore's decision to take Kjerstad over Martin will be scrutinized for some time. 

Martin was a consensus top-two prospect, and he even topped the final big board put out by Law. 

The difference between the pair on that prospect list was nine positions, while ESPN.com's Kiley McDaniel had seven spots between the two. 

The strategy behind the move may be for Baltimore to pay Kjerstad less than the allotted slot value of $7,789,000 and use more cash on the No. 30 and No. 39 selections. 

The 21-year-old could turn into a solid left-handed bat in the Baltimore system, and MLB Stats detailed the southpaw's hitting figures at Arkansas. 

At the moment, though, the pick has to be viewed as a bit of a reach since Martin was there for the taking at No. 2. 

Garrett Crochet (No. 11 overall to Chicago White Sox)

Garrett Crochet was chosen at No. 11 because of the high potential he has. 

The Tennessee left-handed pitcher has been compared to Chris Sale because of his three-quarters delivery, and his stuff proved attractive to the White Sox, according to The Athletic's James Fegan.

"Crochet's stuff is huge and that's why he got drafted this high. There will be immediate hope that he can join Matthew Thompson and Andrew Dalquist as the most promising White Sox pitching prospects," he wrote. 

While it may be worth drafting Crochet because of his upside, there are concerns stemming from his college career. 

The 20-year-old posted a 10-9 record with a 4.64 ERA and only appeared in 3.1 innings in 2020 due to an injury. 

The White Sox could have made a safer pick with Austin Hendrick or Patrick Bailey, who were selected in the two picks after No. 11, but instead they took a gamble on Crochet. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90

Statistics obtained from Baseball Reference