I’ve kind of wondered the questions that are in this topic header for a bit now but I didn’t realize they would be so easily found thanks to Statsplus. I am going to do this ass backwards and put the conclusion I have drawn first....and then dig into the data.
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I really can't say who drafts the best or worst because of the many variables involved however I put all this together and don't want to just waste it.
I know I draft poorly and I am sure each GM thinks of themselves differently. If I had to pick one guy that really jumped out to me though, I'd say that Seattle has done a good job selecting talent and rarely wasting a first round selection with Andrew Izatt being the rare exception. I am sure that can be said for many teams, but maybe most impressive to me is that Seattle has been picking in the middle of the round and rarely picked first.
I think it's also worth pointing out that the tail end of these years were just 5 years ago. Some of these players are either just getting to the BBA or have just gotten there long enough to make a small impact. However, since the years were the same for each team in analyzing this, the ability to draft WAR should be the same unless you had a team which finished on top and drafted late each and every year which I think Rockville has still proven it's possible to draft late and still have an impact.
Anyways, we’re going to break this down into a few sections and a few images, and I’ll include links as well for those who really want to dive into their own teams or draft history.
From 2030 to 2040, rounds 1-25(entire draft), which teams have drafted players that have gone on to create the highest WAR?
https://statspl.us/brewster/draftsummar ... &endrd=25
The first team likely isn’t going to surprise you. With a total of 326.6 WAR from the 2030-2040 draft classes, the Rockville Pikeman have over 50 more WAR than the next highest team from these players selected. Notable 1st round picks, Lorenzo Palacios (10th), Francisco Flores(6th), and Chip Puckett(4th) combine for 117 WAR. Rockville has been heavy on batters though, with 242 of the 326 coming from the plate and only 84.5 coming from the mound, likely by design.
In second, Edmonton, who has a total of 271.6 WAR, 201 of which comes from the plate. Notable hitters include first round picks Steven Collins(1st) and Mitch Dalrymple(4th).
In third, Yellow Springs Nine with 259 WAR, but a bit more even with 157 coming from the plate and 101.9 coming from the mound thanks to Carlos Valle’s 47 WAR alone. It’s worth noting that Valle was a 4th round pick in the 2031 draft, selected 123 overall. Aaron Stone is the leading WAR draftee for the Nine, accumulating 39.50 WAR. It’s also worth noting he was a later pick, being selected in the 8th round, 239th overall.
It’s tough to do the bottom based on expansion teams, but let’s grab a few teams that weren’t expansion teams.
New Orleans comes in with 57 total WAR in the 12 classes, with Juan Donestevez having 10 of that, and Mitsuo Tenno to thank for another 17 on the mound. It’s worth noting that Tenno was a 10th round selection and is the clubs top draftee over these 12 seasons.
Des Moines and Long Beach are basically neck and neck for 2nd and 3rd lowest with 113 and 114 WAR. Des Moines has had more luck on the mound with 76 of that 113 coming from arms thanks in part to Stephen Taub(15th), Don Smith(4th), and Ragnar Lothbrok(12th), all first round selections. At the plate, they have had 30 players account for just 37.2 WAR with John Hale accounting for 11.50 of that.
Long Beach has 114 total WAR as mentioned and are nearly the exact opposite of Des Moines. Long Beach has 90 of that coming from the plate and just 25 coming from the mound. Felipe Vega(3rd), and Sloan Daniel(25th) are just two of the names to thank for that although several players are in the 4-8 range for career WAR. On the mound, Long Beach has had the mentioned 25 WAR come from 35 different draft selections, but 18 of that alone has come from second round selections Luis Rojas(18th), and Ernesto Delgado(16th).
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So who has had the lowest number of players drafted play in at least one BBA game from these 12 classes, and who has had the most?
Not counting the recent expansion teams, Seattle has had the lowest with just 43 players drafted participate in a BBA game. Despite being just 43 total players, Seattle ranks 6th in total WAR for those players as they are just one of 7 teams with a total WAR of over 200.
Yellow Springs Nine has had the most, with 64 players in the BBA. As mentioned they were ranked 3rd in total WAR.
As for breaking it down by position players vs pitchers, Seattle has had the least amount of pitchers with just 12 drafted players make the BBA(despite having the 7th highest pitching WAR), while Long Beach has had the most(despite the second lowest pitcher WAR).
As for batters, Jacksonville has had 41, while their batting WAR of 87 falls into the bottom 10. Boise, who is not being considered for expansion purposes actually has had 14 batters, and have 82 WAR. The least batters for a non-expansion team is New Orleans, with just 21 and a batter war of 21.4, both last in the league.
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So, now who drafts the gems? We’re talking rounds 15 and later. From 2030-2040, which team has had a nose for picking out the prospects who have runny noses and zits?
Chicago is actually first in both the total count of players with 8 and WAR of 25.1 thanks to Raul Hernandez and his 19.30 total career WAR. If your looking for the next non-expansion team, several teams have 6 guys who have participated but it’s actually Jacksonville with 23.2 WAR and only 4 guys that is below Chicago. Jacksonville can thank Manuel Martinez for this as the 21st round pick and 595th overall selection has accumulated 22.00 WAR for his career, all BBA level, and the most by a player taking in round 15 or later from 2030-2040.
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So, one final question, since 1995, who has been the best player ever taken in rounds 20-25?
You’d have to point towards Steve Faulkner, who accumulated 44.5 WAR after being selected in the 1995 draft by the Omaha Cyclones(or whatever the hell they were named back then).
Let’s run it more modern day and say from 2020 to 2040. Now, we run into a pitcher for Louisville named Kevin Morales. Drafted in the 2029 draft and in the 25th round, Morales went on to hav a 40.60 career WAR appearing in 358 games and pitching 2,206 innings. Nowadays you’ll fine Morales pitching for the Portland Lumberjacks at age 32.