Five years later: Here’s each team’s best Draft pick from 2020

Since the Draft began in 1965, there has never been a more difficult year than 2020. The pandemic shutdown ended the college and high school seasons in the second week of March, and some prepsters never even took the field. During the three months leading up to the Draft, teams were left to evaluate players on video and meet with them via Zoom calls.

Plans to hold the Draft in conjunction with the College World Series in Omaha were scrapped. Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association agreed to reduce the event to five rounds, the fewest ever, and defer all but $100,000 of signing bonuses, with the remainder paid in equal amounts in July 2021 and July 2022. More top high school prospects than usual decided they’d be better off attending college and re-entering the Draft two or three years later.

It was a Draft unlike any other, and not surprisingly, the results have been mixed. No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson has struggled more than expected in the big leagues, though he has rallied this season and is clearly the best player from the top 10 selections. Garrett Crochet (White Sox, first round), Pete Crow-Armstrong (Mets, first round) and Spencer Strider (Braves, fourth round) have been huge successes, but there haven’t been many others, as you’ll see below as we identify the best choice made by each club:

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Blue Jays: Austin Martin, OF/2B
The 2020 fifth overall pick hasn’t lived up to the billing as a potential 65-grade hitter in pro ball, but he gets the nod here as the only member of the Draft class to have reached the Majors so far over a fellow former Top 100 prospect in Nick Frasso, who has struggled to stay healthy and has lost some fastball velocity this season. The Vanderbilt product, who was traded to the Twins in July 2021 for José Berríos, played 93 games for Minnesota last year as a utilityman and hit .253/.318/.352 while showing above-average wheels. He got hot for Triple-A St. Paul to begin this season, hitting .438 in nine games, but hasn’t played since May 6 due to a hamstring injury.

Orioles: Jordan Westburg, 3B/2B
Three of the Orioles’ six picks from this Draft have touched the big leagues, but while Heston Kjerstad and Coby Mayo haven’t been able to establish themselves, Westburg has accrued 3.9 bWAR to date, most of that production coming in 2024 (2.4 WAR), when he was an All-Star for the playoff-bound Orioles. A hamstring injury shelved him for a month and a half, but he homered in his return on June 10.

Rays: Ian Seymour, LHP (No. 19)
Three solid seasons at Virginia Tech and a strong showing in the Cape Cod League pushed Seymour into the second round five years ago. Tommy John surgery in June 2022 delayed his MLB arrival, but that finally came just this week when the former Massachusetts prep star got the win Monday at Fenway Park. Seymour still ranks fourth in the Minors with 84 strikeouts over 61 innings for Triple-A Durham, thanks to a deceptive low-90s fastball and a plus low-80s changeup.

Red Sox: Nick Yorke, 2B
Yorke was hard to scout as a California high schooler because shoulder surgery before his 2019 junior season limited him to DH duty that spring and restricted him on the showcase circuit that summer before his senior year ended after five games. The Red Sox stunned the industry by drafting him 17th overall, but he had a huge pro debut — leading the Low-A East in hitting (.323) and OPS (.913) while becoming just the ninth teenaged batting qualifier to top the .300/.400/.500 threshold in a full-season league in two decades. He hasn’t approached those numbers since, however, and went to the Pirates in a 2024 trade for Quinn Priester, whom Boston spun into two prospects (Yophery Rodriguez and John Holobetz) and a supplemental first-round pick from the Brewers in a deal this April. Yorke played 11 games with Pittsburgh last summer, going 8-for-37 (.216).

Yankees: Austin Wells, C
The Yankees drafted Wells in the 35th round out of a Las Vegas high school in 2018 but had to wait until he played two seasons at Arizona to sign him as a first-rounder. He had one of the best all-around offensive profiles in the Draft and developed into a much better defender than expected, overcoming doubts that he could stay behind the plate. He finished third in American League Rookie of the Year balloting last year after slashing .229/.322/.395 with 13 homers.

Guardians: Logan Allen, LHP
Allen played both ways at Florida International, where he became the first Golden Panther to play for the U.S. National Team, and offered some of the best pitchability in the 2020 Draft. He has been a regular in the Guardians’ rotation since 2023 and has posted a 19-17 record with a 4.57 ERA in 57 games (56 starts).

Royals: Nick Loftin, UTIL
Kansas City had high hopes that fourth overall pick Asa Lacy could be a potential ace, but the Texas A&M lefty has struggled to stay healthy in pro ball. Instead, Baylor product and 32nd overall selection Loftin is the move here as a three-year Major League contributor in K.C. Owner of a career .621 OPS over 271 plate appearances, Loftin doesn’t tend to hit the ball hard in the bigs, but he doesn’t expand the zone much either, puts the ball in play and adds value as a utilityman who’s played first base, second, third and left field in The Show.

Tigers: Spencer Torkelson, 1B
The 2020 first overall pick’s resurgence has been one of the keys to Detroit’s ownership of the best record in the Majors to this point in 2025. Torkelson was famously sent down to Triple-A Toledo for two-plus months last year but has returned to hit .237/.341/.509 with a 136 wRC+ through 65 games this season. With 16 homers already, he’s well on his way to his second 30-dinger season in the past three years, thus meeting the hype for his slugging ability out of Arizona State. His 1.6 fWAR in ‘25 is second among AL first basemen, behind only Ryan O’Hearn’s 1.8.

Twins: Marco Raya, RHP (No. 6)
The Twins had four picks in 2020 (no third-rounder), and none of them have made the big leagues to date. Raya has come closest, reaching Triple-A this year. While he’s struggled at that level so far, he’s still only 22 years old and has come a long way in proving himself as a pitcher rather than an undersized pure thrower. After a strong year in getting to Double-A last year, he was added to the Twins’ 40-man roster during the offseason. Even with a rough 2025, has struck out 10.1 per nine in his Minor League career.

White Sox: Garrett Crochet, LHP
Crochet’s stuff took a huge leap forward in fall practice at Tennessee before the 2020 college season but he pitched only once in the spring, missing the first three weeks with mild shoulder soreness. After the White Sox drafted him 11th overall and he dominated at their alternate training site, he became the first player to make his pro debut in the big leagues since Mike Leake in 2010. He was also the first pitcher without pro experience to go straight to the Majors in the same year he was drafted since Mike Morgan and Tim Conroy in 1978, and the first college arm without pro experience to do so since Dick Ruthven and Eddie Bane in 1973. Crochet starred in Chicago’s bullpen in 2021 before missing the next season following Tommy John surgery, pitched sparingly in 2023 and then moved to the rotation and became an All-Star last year. Traded to the Red Sox for four prospects in December, he currently sports a 2.35 ERA while leading the AL in innings (88) and strikeouts (110). His 8.4 WAR (Baseball Reference style) tops all players in the 2020 Draft.

Angels: Reid Detmers, LHP
The best college lefty in the 2020 Draft class, Detmers went in the first round to the Angels and made his big league debut in August of his first full season. A mainstay in Los Angeles’ rotation in 2022 and 2023, he split the 2024 season between Triple-A Salt Lake and the big leagues. He’s moved into the bullpen this year and started off slowly, though he’s possibly turned a corner with five shutout innings in June. He’s amassed 3.3 career WAR to date with a 9.8 K/9 rate.

Astros: Shay Whitcomb, INF/OF
The 160th and last player selected, Whitcomb signed for just $56,000 as a fifth-rounder out of NCAA Division II UC San Diego. He totaled 23 homers and 19 homers in his first two pro seasons, tied for the Minor League lead with 35 homers in his third and then had his best year in 2024. He batted .293/.378/.530 with 25 homers and 26 steals at Triple-A and was named Astros Minor League Player of the Year, Pacific Coast League All-Star and MVP of the Triple-A National Championship. Whitcomb has played in 23 games the past two seasons with Houston, going 9-for-46 (.196).

A’s: Tyler Soderstom, 1B
Drafted in the first round as a catcher, Soderstrom’s bat was always ahead of his glove behind the dish, though he still was catching when he got to the big leagues in 2023. After beginning the 2024 season back at Triple-A, he was recalled in May but then missed two months with a left wrist bone bruise. He’s started to tap into his power more consistently this year, with six homers in April and 14 overall, contributing to 130 wRC+ and 1.4 WAR.

Mariners: Emerson Hancock, RHP
Hancock was the third of three straight college arms taken in the first round by the Mariners, following Logan Gilbert and George Kirby. His path hasn’t been quite as easy as the other two, who have been All-Stars and received Cy Young votes in previous seasons. But Hancock is in the big league rotation with his predecessors, having made 12 starts last year and 11 so far this season, with uneven results. He’s been more effective over his last five starts with a 3.04 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP in that span.

Rangers: Evan Carter, OF
Carter attended few showcase events and played just three games as a Tennessee high school senior, so he was relatively unknown when the Rangers shocked other clubs by drafting him in the second round. He quickly stood out for his advanced approach at the plate and all-around tools, and he sparked the Rangers to a World Series championship by posting a 1.058 OPS during a September callup and then batting .300/.417/.500 while starring defensively in the postseason. After missing much of last season with a back injury, he’s playing well as Texas’ everyday center fielder this year.

Braves: Spencer Strider, RHP
This turned out to be a nice little Draft for the Braves, with three of their four draftees making positive impacts in the big leagues. Bryce Elder is currently in the rotation, but Strider was the National League Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2022 and an All-Star who finished fourth in Cy Young voting a year later. The fourth-round pick missed nearly all of 2024 after internal brace surgery and is getting his feet back under him now, though he missed time this season with a hamstring strain. Even with the setbacks, his 6.5 WAR is currently second among all 2020 draftees.

Marlins: Max Meyer, RHP
The Marlins are tied with the Dodgers and Tigers for the most big leaguers (four) selected in 2020. Miami’s best is Meyer, the No. 3 overall choice out of Minnesota who matched Hall of Famer Paul Molitor as the highest pick in school history. His wipeout slider may have been the best pitch in the Draft and he reached Miami by July 2022, only to blow out his elbow two weeks later and require Tommy John surgery. He returned to the mound in 2024 and owns a career 6-11 record with a 5.29 ERA and 120/41 K/BB ratio in 127 2/3 innings.

Mets: Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF
Look away, Mets fans. New York selected the California prep outfielder 19th overall in 2020, saw him undergo season-ending right shoulder surgery six games into 2021 and then traded him to the Cubs for two rentals in Javier Báez and Trevor Williams. Crow-Armstrong has overcome questions about his power since then and solidified his standing as one of the best defensive center fielders of his generation. He’s hitting .271/.305/.545 with 17 homers and 21 steals in 67 games this season and is widely considered an MVP candidate already in his age-23 season.

Nationals: Mitchell Parker, LHP
The book is still out on first-rounder Cade Cavalli, who is on his way back to the Majors since last pitching there in 2022. But Parker — the club’s fifth-rounder in 2020 out of San Jacinto (Texas) Junior College — has been a rotation mainstay the past two years with 42 starts over that period. The southpaw gets almost 7 feet of extension to get on top of batters with his four-seamer, splitter, curveball and slider, and while he hasn’t missed a ton of bats in 2025 (47 strikeouts in 71 innings), he does limit barrels to help hold his ERA to 4.44.

Phillies: Mick Abel (No. 8)
Since being taken No. 15 overall, Abel has moved methodically through the Phillies’ system, showing off the raw stuff that made him a first-rounder but struggling to find the strike zone, as evidenced by his 5.1 BB/9 career rate in the Minors. Things started to click more at Triple-A this year with a 2.21 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and .209 BAA over 10 starts. He’s getting a longer look in Philadelphia’s rotation now and has given up four runs and only three walks over 15 1/3 innings.

Brewers: Garrett Mitchell, OF
Milwaukee’s uber-athletic outfield group is one of its main strengths, and the 2020 first-rounder out of UCLA, when healthy, is a key component of it. Mitchell is coming off his best offensive season in the Majors, having hit .255/.342/.469 with eight homers in 69 games last year, and his exceptional speed, defense in center and arm strength give him additional avenues to provide value. He’s currently out with a left oblique strain.

Cardinals: Masyn Winn, SS
St. Louis had undoubtedly one of the most productive Draft classes in 2020, also adding Jordan Walker, Tink Hence and Alec Burleson. But it’s the Cardinals’ second-rounder, Texas prepster Winn, who has undoubtedly become the crown jewel of the group. An exceptional defensive shortstop, the 23-year-old continues to grow offensively in his third MLB campaign with his chase rate taking the biggest jump in 2025. His 5.4 career bWAR ranks fourth among all 2020 picks, and his ceiling is as high as anyone’s besides perhaps Crow-Armstrong.

Cubs: Luke Little, LHP
While the Cubs don’t have much to show for their 2020 Draft class, they did steal Mets first-rounder Pete Crow-Armstrong the following year in a trade for Javier Báez and Trevor Williams. Chicago’s lone big leaguer is Little, who pushed his fastball to 102 mph at San Jacinto (Texas) JC before going in the fourth round. He has pitched out of the big league bullpen in each of the past three seasons, compiling a 2.97 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings.

Pirates: Jared Jones, RHP
The first three picks from this class have all touched the big league roster and a healthy Nick Gonzales is now in the lineup while Carmen Mlodzinski just got called back up. Jones is out for the year following elbow surgery, but he created quite a buzz last year making 22 starts and striking out 9.8 per nine while walking 2.9. He’ll have to find a way to harness his aggressiveness on the mound to stay healthy, but he’s still only 23, so we remain bullish on his future.

Reds: Joe Boyle, RHP
The last of the Reds’ six picks in 2020, Boyle is the only one to have reached the big leagues. He missed nearly all of his first full season, but started moving in 2022 and was at Double-A when he was sent to the A’s at the 2023 Trade Deadline, making his big league debut in September that year. Long armed with elite-level velocity, perhaps the most surprising thing is that he’s still starting after walking 12.0 per nine at Notre Dame. While his command has improved as a pro, his walk rate is still well over six-per-nine. Now with the Rays following an offseason trade, he’s been better in one big league start and 11 at Triple-A (1.37 ERA, .139 BAA and 3.7 BB/9 combined).

D-backs: Brandon Pfaadt, RHP
A fifth-round pick out of Division II Bellarmine, Pfaadt signed for only $100,000 but has become a mainstay in the Arizona rotation with 65 appearances (64 starts) over the past three seasons. Results have been inconsistent in the regular season with a career 5.15 ERA, but he was a key part of the postseason staff during the 2023 World Series run in which he posted a 3.27 ERA over five starts, two of which came in the NLCS — he fanned 16 Phillies over 9 2/3 innings.

Dodgers: Gavin Stone, RHP
The Dodgers matched the Marlins and Tigers for the most big leaguers (four) found in the 2020 Draft, and Los Angeles’ best was the penultimate player selected. Stone threw a 13-strikeout no-hitter in his final game for Southeastern Louisiana before signing for a well-below-slot $97,500 in the fifth round. The Dodgers helped him improve his entire repertoire and he won 11 games with a 3.53 ERA as a rookie last year. He’ll miss this season after shoulder surgery in March.

Giants: Kyle Harrison, LHP
First-rounder Patrick Bailey would have been an easy answer for most clubs, but we’re going with the higher upside of Harrison here. A California high schooler who signed for first-round money ($2,497,500) in the third round, he established himself as the best lefty pitching prospect in baseball before joining the Giants in August 2023. In 39 big league games (35 starts), he has gone 9-9 with a 4.48 ERA and 178 strikeouts in 182 2/3 innings.

Padres: Owen Caissie, OF (CHC No. 2/MLB No. 46)
The Ontario native was a second-rounder five years ago, making him the highest outfielder ever drafted out of Canada, but he never played an official game for San Diego. The Padres traded him to the Cubs in a megadeal for Yu Darvish and Victor Caratini in December 2020. Still only 22, Caissie remains one of the best power bats in the Minors with significant left-handed pop, leading to a 107.9 mph, 90th-percentile exit velocity this season with Triple-A Iowa. With plus-arm strength, he could be a quality right fielder for the Cubs beyond 2025, if Kyle Tucker moves elsewhere this offseason.

Rockies: Drew Romo, C (No. 9)
The Rockies’ top two selections in 2020 both have made it to Denver, though neither Zac Veen nor Romo have established themselves. Romo got there first in 2024 and has spent more time in the big leagues, so he gets the slight nod for that and for playing the more demanding position. He’s been shelved for the first two months of this season with a finger injury.