Re-Drafting the 2009 MLB Draft Using Advanced Analytics
What Should've Happened
According to WAR, which players rise to the top?
| Pick | Team | Player | Position | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Angels | Mike Trout | OF | 48.1 |
| 2 | Washington Nationals | Stephen Strasburg | RHP | 23.2 |
| 3 | Arizona Diamondbacks | A.J. Pollock | OF | 13.8 |
| 4 | Cincinnati Reds | Mike Leake | RHP | 12.6 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Angels | Garrett Richards | RHP | 9.1 |
| 6 | St. Louis Cardinals | Shelby Miller | RHP | 7.4 |
| 7 | Atlanta Braves | Mike Minor | LHP | 7.0 |
| 8 | Seattle Mariners | Dustin Ackley | 2B/OF | 6.7 |
| 9 | Toronto Blue Jays | James Paxton | LHP | 6.3 |
| 10 | Minnesota Twins | Kyle Gibson | RHP | 5.7 |
| 10 | Los Angeles Angels | Randal Grichuk | OF | 5.7 |
As you probably guessed, Mike Trout takes over the number one spot. He does so thanks to five Silver Sluggers, two All-Star Game MVPs and two AL MVPs along with 170 homers and 504 runs batted in through 850 career games.
Don't worry. Stephen Strasburg doesn't fall very far. At two, in spite of various injuries, he has a record of 70-41 in 158 starts and two All-Star Game appearances.
A.J. Pollock and Mike Leake are the only other players with double-digit WAR for their careers. While Pollock has an All-Star Game and a Gold Glove to his name, Leake has received no awards but has 73 wins to 65 losses in 203 starts in the bigs.
Garrett Richards, Shelby Miller and Mike Minor make up a trio of respectable pitchers at spots five through seven. Between them, they have won 114 games with 1,665 strikeouts in 321 career games.
Of the final four players, from Dustin Ackley to Randal Grichuk, no one has a single All-Star appearance or any notable awards to speak of. Still, they've proven to be productive players -- as evidenced by their individual WARs -- in roughly five years in the big leagues.
