In most baseball circles, the general rule of thumb is that it takes about five seasons’ worth of data before you can properly look back and evaluate a transaction. This can be especially true for draft selections, as baseball can have a developmental curve that doesn’t always appear in other sports.
We’re not quite exactly at the five-year mark from the (COVID-shortened, five-round) 2020 Draft — it’s technically four and a half seasons — but let’s look back at the draft class anyway.
The (actual) Top 10
Tigers | Spencer Torkelson (Arizona State Univ.)
Orioles | Heston Kjerstad (Univ. of Arkansas)
Marlins | Max Meyer (Univ. of Minnesota)
Royals | Asa Lacy (Texas A&M Univ.)
Blue Jays | Austin Martin (Vanderbilt Univ.)
Mariners | Emerson Hancock (Univ. of Georgia)
Pirates | Nick Gonzales (New Mexico State Univ.)
Padres | Robert Hassell III (HS, Tennesee)
Rockies | Zac Veen (HS, Florida)
Angels | Reid Detmers (Univ. of Louisville)
Despite the shortened collegiate season, Torkelson impressed with a .340/.598/.780 line and spent a good amount of time as the odds-on favorite to be selected first overall in the draft. Detroit didn’t surprise anyone when they selected him, only that they announced him as a third baseman on the day the pick was made.
Tork arrived in Detroit two years later. He’s been a regular fixture at first base in the Tigers’ lineup since, hitting .227/.310/.412 (101 OPS+) with a pair of 31-homer seasons.
Lacy, the first left-handed pitcher selected in the draft, might perhaps be the biggest disappointment and is the only one from the group yet to reach the major leagues. Injuries (shoulder and back soreness, followed by Tommy John surgery and a setback during his recovery) have limited Lacy to just 80.0 IP in his pro career, and he hasn’t appeared in a single game in the past three seasons. Even when healthy, he’s been ineffective (a 7.09 ERA) with control issues (63 walks, 9.3 BB/9).
Detmers’s time with the Angels has been somewhat up-and-down since he debuted in 2021. He looked like a serviceable starting option for the better part of two seasons before imploding during the 2024 season, seeing spikes in his hit and home run rates. The lefty spent 2025 in Los Angeles’ bullpen and produced solid results, potentially saving himself from a non-tender and landing on the free agent market this offseason.
Detmers (4.6 bWAR) and Torkelson (2.2) are the only players from the Top 10 with positive WAR in their careers (so far).
Martin (with Simeon Woods Richardson to Minnesota for José Berrios) and Hassell (to Washington in the Juan Soto deal) both were traded before making their debuts.
Eight more players selected in the first round were also traded already:
Garrett Crochet (11th, Chicago to Boston)
Mick Abel (15th, Philadelphia to Minnesota)
Nick Yorke (17th, Boston to Pittsburgh)
Pete Crow-Armstrong (19th, New York to Chicago)
Jared Shuster (25th, Atlanta to Chicago)
Slade Cecconi (33rd, Arizona to Cleveland)
Justin Lange (34th, San Diego to New York)
Alika Williams (37th, Tampa Bay to Pittsburgh)
The WAR Top 15
Going strictly by bWAR, the top players selected in the draft were:
White Sox | Round 1, 11th pick | Garret Crochet | 12.2 bWAR
Mets | Round 1, 19th | Pete Crow-Armstrong | 8.2
Braves | Round 4, 25th | Spencer Strider | 7.8
Cardinals | Round 2, 17th | Masyn Winn | 6.5
Orioles | Round 1, 30th | Jordan Westburg | 5.1
Angels | Round 1, 10th | Reid Detmers | 4.6
Rangers | Round 2, 13th | Evan Carter | 4.1
Giants | Round 1, 13th | Patrick Bailey | 3.7
Athletics | Round 1, 26th | Tyler Soderstrom | 3.7
Brewers | Round 1, 20th | Garrett Mitchell | 3.6
Pirates | Round 1, 31st | Carmen Mlodzinski | 2.9
Tigers | Round 2, 1st | Dillon Dingler | 2.8
Tigers | Round 5, 1st | Colt Keith | 2.7
Yankees | Round 1, 28th | Austin Wells | 2.6
Braves | Round 5, 25th | Bryce Elder | 2.5
Crochet (two All-Star appearances; 18 wins and an AL-leading 205.1 IP in 2025) and Strider (20 wins and 281 strikeouts in 2023) both have shown signs of being Cy Young Award-caliber pitchers. PCA (31 HR and 35 SB in 2025) and Winn (the hardest-recorded throw by an infielder in MLB history) each look like certain lineup fixtures.
Elsewhere, around the sport …
Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly finally reached the World Series for the first time after 36 years in baseball (a 14-year playing career with the Yankees, earning him the nickname “Donnie Baseball”; Yankees bench coach for four years; Dodgers bench coach for three years; Dodgers manager for five years; Marlins manager for seven years; and three years in Toronto). The 64-year-old didn’t confirm his plans when asked, but those close to him seem to think “retirement is a strong possibility,” according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.