With unpredictability comes great opportunity for franchises to find hidden gems late in the 2016 MLB draft.
Some of the 77 players selected on Thursday night won’t stick in the majors. Others will never make it. Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Matt Harvey and Chris Sale make 2010’s opening round one of the most star-studded classes in recent memory, but that group also includes Barrett Loux, Karsten Whitson and Michael Choice.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets found Jacob deGrom hiding in the ninth round. The following year, the Boston Red Sox stole Mookie Betts in the fifth. Plenty of talent remains available after the first day of drafting, which covered two of 40 total rounds.
Of course, identifying those undervalued players proves far tougher without the benefit of hindsight. Thirty teams employing bright and devoted baseball minds won’t all repeatedly pass on a prospect without good reason. Yet with so much volatility in MLB’s first-year selection process, a handful of undervalued studs will produce far beyond their draft slot’s typical expectations.
Still available heading into Friday, these players have the potential to make fools out of the league.