While fans of the eight playoff teams are afixed to team scouting reports and divisional series previews (SPOILER ALERT: nobody has any freaking idea what will happen in a short series), die hard fans of the remaining 22 teams can now shift their collective attention to that wellspring of optimism: the MLB draft. While the Phillies were battling for baseball's best record, the Pittsburg Pirates secured the number one pick of the 2011 draft with baseball's worst.
| 2011 MLB Draft Order | ||
| No. | Team | Record |
| 1 | Pittsburg Pirates | 57-105 |
| 2 | Seattle Mariners | 61-101 |
| 3 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 65-97 |
| 4 | Baltimore Orioles | 66-95 |
| 5 | Kansas City Royals | 67-94 |
| 6 | Washington Nationals | 69-93 |
| 7 | Arizona Diamondbacks | for Barret Loux |
| 8 | Cleveland Indians | 69-93 |
| 9 | Chicago Cubs | 75-87 |
| 10 | San Diego Padres | for Karsten Whitson |
| 11 | Houston Astros | 76-86 |
| 12 | Milwaukee Brewers | 77-85 |
| 13 | New York Mets | 79-83 |
| 14 | Florida Marlins | 80-82 |
| 15 | Milwaukee Brewers | for Dylan Covey |
| 16 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 80-82 |
| 17 | Los Angeles Angels | 80-82 |
| 18 | Oakland Athletics | 81-81 |
| 19 | Boston Red Sox (DET) | for Victor Martinez |
| 20 | Colorado Rockies | 83-79 |
| 21 | Toronto Blue Jays | 85-77 |
| 22 | St. Louis Cardinals | 86-76 |
| 23 | Washington Nats. (CHW) | for Adam Dunn |
| 24 | Tampa Bay Rays (BOS) | for Carl Crawford |
| 25 | San Diego Padres | 90-72 |
| 26 | Boston Red Sox (TEX) | for Adrian Beltre |
| 27 | Cincinnati Reds | 91-71 |
| 28 | Atlanta Braves | 91-71 |
| 29 | San Francisco Giants | 92-70 |
| 30 | Minnesota Twins | 94-68 |
| 31 | Tampa Bay Rays (NYY) | for Rafael Soriano |
| 32 | Tampa Bay Rays | 96-66 |
| 33 | Texas Rangers (PHI) | for Cliff Lee |
There were three unsigned first rounders this past summer, so there will be 33 picks in next June's first round.
Teams finishing with a record in the top half of the draft order have their picks protected. Due to the three added compensatory picks, this year the cutoff is between the Oakland A's pick 18 and the Detroit Tigers pick 19. The A's (and teams picking before them) will retain their draft chioce no matter whom they sign in free agency. The Tigers (and teams selecting after them) would lose their pick should they sign a Type A free agent.
Teams finishing the year with the same record, like the A's and Tigers, for example, have the tie broken by previous season's winning percentage, with the team with the worse record getting the better pick. The A's get the 18th pick because their 2009 winning percentage (.463) was worse in than the Tigers (.528).
The order will change as free agency unfolds but we'll keep this list updated.
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Random thought:
Does the presence of Pedro Alvarez make the Pirates lean towards one of the many superlative arms in the 2011 class, like UCLA's Gerrit Cole, instead of Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon? Discuss here.
It has become a baseball axiom that teams shouldn't draft on need, but not having need play a small part of the draft calculus is equally foolish. Need should never be the prevailing reason for a draft selection, but if two players grade out equally, as Rendon and Cole could concievably do, it may be a tie breaker. The real question is: does the loss of positional value by moving Alvarez to first base (hypothetically) offset the value Rendon has over the next-best prospect. It's a test of roster-maximazation vs. player acquisition opportunity cost. And of course all this assumes the players involved will be 100% healthy and effective. Nerdy stuff, but I like it. Hey, ladies!
Email Lincoln at LHamilton@projectprospect.com and follow him on Twitter @LHamiltonPP.