The 2025 MLB Draft will take place during the upcoming All-Star break and all 30 teams will be looking to land their next franchise player, or at least a quality starting pitcher or everyday position player. Future All-Stars will undoubtedly be selected, and maybe even a future MVP or Cy Young winner. Draft day is the time for every franchise to dream big.
The Washington Nationals won the draft lottery in December and hold the No. 1 pick for the third time in franchise history. Their previous two No. 1 picks worked out well, selecting Stephen Strasburg in 2009 and Bryce Harper in 2010. Strasburg was a key piece to Washington’s 2019 World Series team. Harper won an MVP with the Nationals and is easily one of the best players in franchise history.
With the draft only a few days away on July 13, let’s go back and look at the last five No. 1 overall picks, and see where those players are now.
MLB Draft: Checking In On Recent No. 1 Picks
2020: Spencer Torkelson, Detroit Tigers
Everything about 2020 was awful and that honestly includes the MLB draft. Colleges played for about two months before the pandemic shut everything down, high school players played even less than that. Teams lacked the information they needed leading up to the draft. Spencer Torkelson entered the year as the favorite to go No. 1 overall and nothing he did in his 17 games with Arizona State before the shutdown convinced teams to go in another direction. He would hit .340 with 6 home runs, and also added 31 walks.
The Detroit Tigers stuck with the status quo and used the No. 1 pick on Torkelson, who eventually reached the majors in 2022 and slugged 31 home runs in 2023. 2024 was a different story, as he struggled so much that he would be demoted to Triple-A. The Tigers more or less pushed him out of the picture when they added Gleyber Torres and shifted Colt Keith to first base this past offseason. Torkelson had a very strong start to 2025 though, and played his way back into the mix.
Even with this year’s success, this did not turn out to be the right pick. Garrett Crochet has probably been the best player drafted in 2020, though Pete Crow-Armstrong is coming on strong after making his first All-Star team, and Spencer Strider was also electric before his latest elbow surgery.
2021: Henry Davis, Pittsburgh Pirates
The top of the 2021 draft class was not exciting to say the least. There was no slam dunk No. 1 pick like Harper or Adley Rutschman. The Pittsburgh Pirates opted for the portfolio approach, meaning they used the No. 1 pick to take Henry Davis earlier than expected, and signed him to a below-slot bonus. The No. 1 pick had an $8.4 million slot value that year. Davis signed for only $6.5 million. The Pirates used the savings to grab higher-upside players later on in the draft. Most notably, they nabbed top prospect Bubba Chandler in the third round and paid him a $3 million bonus.
Now this isn’t to say that Davis didn’t deserve to go high in the 2021 draft. He was viewed as a likely top-10 pick and probably a top-five pick. Davis was not out of place being picked high in the first round, but it just hasn’t worked out at all. Davis debuted in June 2023 and is running a career OPS around .600. Perhaps he’ll figure things out and be a solid player. However, Davis is well south of expectations four years after being the No. 1 pick.
This was not the right pick for the Pirates. If you could give Pittsburgh a do-over, Jackson Merrill would likely be the No. 1 pick. Other notable players from this class are Spencer Schwellenbach, Bryan Woo, Tanner Bibee, James Wood, Sal Frelick, and Colton Cowser.
2022: Jackson Holliday, Baltimore Orioles
Believe it or not, Jackson Holliday was not even the most famous second-generation player heading into the 2022 draft. Druw Jones, son of former Atlanta Braves legend Andruw Jones, was viewed as a better prospect most of that spring. The Baltimore Orioles ultimately went with Holliday though, who was not out of place as the No. 1 pick, and a year later he emerged as the game’s top prospect. That kind of thing will happen when you hit .323 and reach Triple-A as a 19-year-old middle infielder in your first professional season.
Holliday got to the big leagues in April 2024, less than two years after being drafted, which is a meteoric rise for a high school pick. Things have not come quite as easily for him in MLB, though Holliday has been very good recently and could be beginning to find his way.
Whether this was the right pick for the Orioles is still to be determined. Zach Neto has been the best player drafted in 2022, and that is largely due to him reaching the big leagues before anyone else. It does feel like the ceiling is quite high for Holliday, so time will tell.
2023: Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
It seems ridiculous now, but there were legitimate questions about Paul Skenes going into the 2023 draft. His fastball, despite touching triple digits regularly, underwhelmed some teams because the spin movement was not great. The Pirates were unbothered because, at the end of the day, 100 MPH is 100 MPH. They took Skenes over more heralded draft prospects like Dylan Crews and Wyatt Langford.
Skenes added a sinker in the minors that erased concerns about his fastball shape, and he became an instant ace. Some would say Skenes has been the best pitcher in baseball since being called up last May. Teams dream of the No. 1 pick working out this well and this quickly.
This was the right pick without a doubt. The only argument for this class would be who should’ve gone No. 2 between Langford, Jacob Wilson, Minnesota Twins prospect Walker Jenkins, and Tigers prospect Max Clark.
2024: Travis Bazzana, Cleveland Guardians
2024 was another one of those classes without a clear-cut No. 1 prospect. The Cleveland Guardians went with Travis Bazzana following an absurd draft year at Oregon State. Bazzana hit .407 with 28 home runs in only 60 games. He is currently in Double-A and is sidelined with an oblique injury, otherwise, he would likely be in Cleveland already.
It’s obviously too early to tell if this was the right pick. Several 2024 draft picks have already reached the big leagues, but none of these guys have a full professional season under their belt yet. If the 2024 draft were held again today, with what little information we have now, Cincinnati Reds righty Chase Burns might be the No. 1 pick. Cincinnati took him No. 2 overall.
Main Image: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
