2009 MLB Draft Report Card; First Round Results and Grades of Draft Picks

The 2009 MLB Draft results are in from the first few rounds, and there were a couple of surprises in the early choices. The 2009 MLB draft first round of picks took place on Tuesday, June 9th and there were quite a few surprises in the first round. Stephen Strasburg was taken first, and Michael Trout fell a few spots, but there are quite a few good looking players deep in this draft. This is just the first round, but it is an in-depth look at how the picks look on draft day. Grades for the picks are listed next to the commentary from each choice.

The 2009 MLB Draft:

1. Washington Nationals -- Stephen Strasburg (SP) from San Diego State University; Strasburg had to be taken after all of the hype, but he is the clear #1 choice, the question now is how much will he sign for.

Grade: A+

2. Seattle Mariners -- OF/1B Dustin Ackley from University of North Carolina; Ackley hit .412 with 22 home runs in the 2009 season, and is still playing in the College World Series. The Mariners need young offense, and this choice was perfect for their future.

Grade: A

3. San Diego Padres -- Donavan Tate (OF) from Cartersville High School; Choosing Tate as the #3 pick was a bit of a surprise, but he could bring a lot of speed to the organization and a little bit of pop. Still, he is very young, and far off from making an impact.

Grade: B+

4. Pittsburgh Pirates -- Tony Sanchez (C) from Boston College; Sanchez hit .362 with 14 HR's and 43 RBI in 2009, and looks to be the catcher of the future for the Pirates. He could also be ready for Major League play within 2 seasons, making him that much more valuable.

Grade: A

5. Baltimore Orioles -- Matt Hobgood (SP) from Norco High School; Honestly this picks seemed more like a safe bet for the Orioles to make sure they could sign someone. He is a risky pick at this position, but he has the size that could pay off later.

Grade: B

6. San Francisco Giants -- Zach Wheeler (SP) from East Paulding High School; Wheeler is a great draft pick at this spot, who will sign quickly and get to work, which is exactly what the Giants need. Look for this kid to make a difference quickly.

Grade: A

7. Atlanta Braves -- Mike Minor (SP) from Vanderbilt University; To be honest this was a tough pick to understand, and Minor must have something that the Braves see, because he didn't have dominating stuff in college. With an ERA in the high 3's this is far too high to choose him.

Grade: C

8. Cincinnati Reds draft Mike Leake (SP) from Arizona State University; Leake is participating in the 2009 College World Series and was previously drafted by Oakland in the 7th round of the 2006 MLB draft. A three-pitch guy, he could be a good long term investment. 15-1 with 1.23 ERA in 2009 for ASU. This is a great long term choice for the Reds.

Grade: A

9. Detroit Tigers -- Jacob Turner (SP) from Westminster Christian Academy High School; Turner wasn't on the high radar for a lot of teams, but Detroit will need pitching in 3 to 5 seasons, and will look for Turner to be ready by then. He has question marks though, so we will see if he can pay off.

Grade: B-

10. Washington Nationals -- Dew Storen (RP) from Stanford University; Storen was already drafted by the Yankees before, and looks to be a strong pitcher that could close in the Majors. This is a great choice by the Nationals, as Storen should be ready as fast as Strasburg.

Grade: A

11. Colorado Rockies -- Tyler Matzek (SP) from Capistrano Valley High School; Matzek helped win state championship with a home run and pitching prowess. 3-0 and 0.00 ERA in 2009 high school Playoffs. Those stats alone show he can pitch in heavy competition, but Colorado is a different item. This kid could be a gem in 4 years.

Grade: A

12. Kansas City Royals -- Aaron Crow (SP); Rather than sign when he was drafted last season by the Nationals, he went to an Independent league to play. That could hurt him, and he is already approaching 23 years of age. The Royals need him to turn around quickly to pay off dividends.

Grade: B-

13. Oakland Athletics -- Grant Green (SS) from USC; Green is considered the best defensive shortstop in the draft, and could provide a lot of future offense to the A's. He has a ton of potential, and should be one of the fun players to watch in about 2 seasons.

Grade: A

14. Texas Rangers -- Matt Purke (SP) from Klein High School (TX); The biggest thing working for Purke is that he is a local boy trying to make good, but there isn't a ton known about him. He is a young talent, but the Rangers need to tread lightly with him.

Grade: B-

15. Cleveland Indians -- Alex White (SP) from University of North Carolina; White is pitching in the College World Series right now, and has helped his team a lot. That experience when it counts will help a lot in his development, and the Indians could end up very happy with White.

Grade: B+

16. Arizona Diamondbacks -- Bobby Borchering (3b) from Bishop Verot High School (FL); A switch hitter with power from both sides, he is a prototypical Diamondback prospect. Look for him to be ready soon.

Grade: A-

17. Arizona Diamondbacks -- A.J. Pollock (OF) from Notre Dame; Pollock is a 5-tool player who won the MVP of the Cape Cod League and can provide some great offense to Arizona in the coming years. He could become extremely valuable in less than 3 years of seasoning.

Grade: A

18. Florida Marlins -- Chad James (SP) from Yukon High School (OK); There is a lot of upside here, but he is very young still. They have had success drafting from Oklahoma before, and the hope is he can work out well later.

Grade: B-

19. St. Louis Cardinals-- Shelby Miller (SP) from Brownwood High School (TX); Miller has the big fastball, and will be a strike-out pitcher with a lot of success if he can control it against the pros. Look for him to get a shot in 3 to 4 seasons, but he has to keep his control steady.

Grade: B

20. Toronto Blue Jays -- Chad Jenkins (SP) from Kennesaw State University; He is from a little known school, and maybe there is something that the Blue Jay s really see in this kid. With what was still on the board though, this pick was a bit of a surprise.

Grade: C+

21. Houston Astros -- Jiovanni Mier (SS) from Bonita High School (CA); This is a pick for the future, when the Astros need a new shortstop, and he was the best available on the board in the middle infield at this point.

Grade: B+

22. Minnesota Twins -- Kyle Gibson (SP) from University of Missouri; Gibson had basically a broken wrist, and could be a risky pick in the draft, who isn't ready to pitch yet, but could be even more valuable later on down the road. The risk now could pay big rewards, and kudos to the Twins for drafting him, because this injury should not affect his performance.

Grade: A+

23. Chicago White Sox -- Jared Mitchell (OF) from LSU; The first thing the White Sox need to do is to convince Mitchell to be a one-sport athlete and to give up football to focus on baseball. He could be an all-star center fielder with some more discipline.

Grade: A

24. Los Angeles Angels -- Randal Grichuk, OF, Lamar Consolidated High School (TX); This is a pick hoping to make the Majors in 2 to 3 seasons, and its possible, but he is still very young and unseasoned at this point.

Grade: B-

25. Los Angeles Angels -- Mike Trout (OF) from Millville Senior High School (NJ); Trout hit .531 with 18 HR's this season, and is an extremely good switch hitter that could possibly turn into the best position player of the draft in 5 years. At this pick in the draft, Trout is an absolute steal.

Grade: A+

26. Milwaukee Brewers -- Eric Arnett (SP) from Indiana University; Another power pitcher in the draft, the Brewers went for safety at this slot, and have someone with no signability issues. He should be ready to give the Majors a try in 3 to 4 seasons.

Grade: B

27. Seattle Mariners -- Nick Franklin (SS) from Lake Brantley High School (FL); This was a big surprise at this pick, but the Mariners clearly see something in the switch-hitting kid. He has a lot to prove still though, and a long time to do it before he is ready.

Grade: B-

28. Boston Red Sox -- Reymond Fuentes (OF) Fernando Callejo High School (PR); He could become a great lead-off hitter in the future for the Red Sox, and has a lot of great speed. Expect to see him in 3 years Red Sox fans.

Grade: B+

29. New York Yankees -- Slade Heathcott (OF) from Texas High School (TX); Heathcott is a 5-tool player that will have a chance to develop in the Yankees system. The Yankees have time to develop him, and he will need it, but he could be really good.

Grade: B+

30. Tampa Bay Rays -- LeVon Washington (2B) Buchholz High School (FL); Washington is rated as one of the fastest guys in the draft, and could be a lead-off hitter for someone in the future. That is exactly the type of player that the Rays are looking for, and he should be able to fit nicely into their style.

Grade: A-

31. Chicago Cubs -- Brett Jackson (OF) University of California Berkeley; It's a surprise that Jackson fell this far, and the Cubs are surely pleased. He is sure to be a future Major Leaguer, and the only question now is "when?".

Grade: A-

32. Colorado Rockies -- Tim Wheeler (OF) from Sacramento State University; Wheeler is a big kid that should do well in Coors, and though he was plucked from a small school, could see big league action quite soon.

Grade: B

*Draft viewed live on MLB Network.