It’s always interesting to look back at MLB Draft classes in the past because not every first round draft pick a team makes pans out to have a successful career. Is it very likely that these types of players will have great careers? Absolutely, but as in any sport nothing is concrete. Especially in baseball with so many rounds and selections, sometimes all a guy needs is a chance and those first round picks just never turn out to be who they were projected to be. That’s just the way it goes, but there are certain draft classes in sports that turn out to produce many great talents. Think 2003 NBA draft class with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Kaman, David West and Mo Williams were all apart of such a legendary group of players.
The 2011 MLB Draft Class is right up there with some of the all time stacked draft classes of all time. There are a number of superstars in our game today that were selected in the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft and one future American League MVP in Mookie Betts, who was selected in the 5th round with the 172nd pick. I wanted to take a look at some of the career these players have had up until now and why this draft class is regarded so high.
Gerrit Cole
Cole was actually taken in the 2008 MLB draft with the 28th overall selection by the New York Yankees. Cole would turn down the Yankees and attend UCLA for his college career and just three years later he would become the number one overall pick in 2011 MLB Draft selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cole is a three time all-star (2015, 2018 & 2019), the AL leader in strikeouts and ERA in 2019, AL leader in shutouts in 2018, three fifteen win seasons, 20 wins in 2019, three season with 200 strikeouts and one season with 300 strikeouts. He could have very easily one the AL Cy Young Award but lost it to Astros teammate Justin Verlander in 2019. Cole would become the number one target of the 2019 offseason for many teams, but would ultimately sign with New York Yankees to nine-year contract worth $324 million.
Trevor Bauer
Bauer was actually teammates with Cole at UCLA. He set a nation leading and Pac-12 single season record of 203 strikeouts. He finished the season with nine consecutive complete games and set records at UCLA, with 460 career strikeouts, 34 wins and 373 1/3 innings pitched. Bauer has one All-Star selection (2018), one 15 win season and two seasons with 200 strikeouts. Bauer is more famously known for his advocation of Driveline baseball, and the new wave of using analytics to help pitchers get better on the mound. Bauer is very vocal on social media and uses it to help not only promote the game of baseball but teach younger players how to develop themsleves.
Anthony Rendon
Rendon was selected sixth overall in the 2011 MLB draft by the Washington Nationals. Rendon can be considered one of the top third baseman in the baseball world today and recently signed a seven-year, $245 million dollar contract with the Los Angeles Angels. Rendon was an All-Star in 2019, won the NL Silver Slugger award in 2014 and 2019 and won his first World Series with the Washington Nationals in 2019.
Francisco Lindor
Lindor is known as one of the more electric shortstops in the MLB with both a mixture of a power and excellent defensive skills. He batted over .300 in both his first two MLB seasons, while providing outstanding defense at short. In 2016 he earned each of his first All Star Game selection and a Gold Glove award, making him the first Puerto Rican born shortstop to receive the honor. Lindor would go on to make four All-Star games, earn two Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger awards.
Javy Baez
Baez has emerged as one of the most exciting players in our game today, with a whole lot of swag and flare. Very fitting he has earned the nickname, “el mago,” or the magician, for his amazing defensive plays. Over a five year span, Baez has been co-MVP of the 2016 NL championship series, runner up for NL MVP in 2018, All-Star appearances for both shortstop and second in consecutive seasons, and World Series champion. Baez plays with a charisma like no other and you can tell that he loves playing the game of baseball. Baez also had the honor this year of becoming the cover of MLB The Show 20.
George Springer
Springer is apart of the always fearsome Houston Astros that have seen so much success over recent years. Springer has had quite the resume since joining the big leagues, with three consecutive All-Star Selections (2017-2019), three-time AL Silver Slugger Award winner, 2017 World Series MVP, five 20 home run seasons, two 30 home run seasons, three seasons with 100 runs scored and one World Series. Now that 2017 Word Series comes with a big ole * if you ask me, but that article I wrote already, so I’ll just end his accomplishments here. Don’t let it take away from the fact that Springer is still a great ballplayer.
Jose Fernandez
Fernandez was an explosive pitcher right out of the gate, having dominant success in the minor in 2012 and emerged as one of the best young pitching prospects in baseball. He would jump directly to the MLB in 2013, completely skipping Double-A and Triple-A baseball. His rookie campaign would be just as dominant, going 12-6 in 28 starts, with a 2.19 ERA, and a 187/58 strikeout to walk ration in just 172 innings. He made the All-Star team that year, came in third in CY Young Award voting and won the NL Rookie of the Year Award. Fernandez would have a good start to his 2014 but was cut short due to him needing Tommy John Surgery. He would return for the second half of the 2015 season posting a 2.92 ERA in just 11 starts. Fernandez would go on to be dominant again in 2016 going 16-8 in 29 starts, and 2.86 ERA, with his velocity backup without the loss of any control. Unfortunately, Fernandez would pass away in boating accident on September 25th, 2016, at just 24-years old. He would become one of the biggest “what if” stories of our generation.
Sonny Gray
Sonny Gray hasn’t had the career a lot of the other players on this list has had, but still a great player in his own right. His best year was back in 2015 with the Oakland Athletics where he went 14-7, with a 2.73 ERA in 31 games. That year he would be selected to his first All-Star game and again in 2019 with the Cincinnati Reds. Gray was acquired by the Yankees in 2017 but he could never really find much success in the big city, but would later establish himself again after getting traded to the Reds in 2019.
Trevor Story
Story burst on the scene, being seen as one of the great power hitting shortstops in the game, getting compared to Tulowitzki at the time. He became the first player ever to homer twice in one game on his MLB debut. Story would go on to become a two-time All-Star (2018 & 2019), two-time NL Silver Slugger Award winner, four 20 home run season, two 30 home run seasons, one 100 RBI seasons, and one 100 runs scored seasons. On May 24th, 2019 he would hit his 100th and 101st homers of his career, making him the fastest shortstop to 100 home runs, beating out Alex Rodriguez.
Blake Snell
Blake Snell has had a lot of recent success in the MLB, making him one of the dominant starters of an already great Tampa Bay Rays pitching staff. Snell’s most dominant year of his young career so far was back in 2018 when he won the AL Cy Young Award. That year he would make his first All-Star selection, led the AL in ERA and wins, was a 20 game winner and had over 200 strikeouts. On March 21st, 2019 he would sign five-year extension with the Rays worth $50 million dollars.
Josh Bell
Again Bell doesn’t have the same resume as some of the other players on this list but still a great player in his own right. In 2017 he would break the NL record for most home runs hit by a rookie switch hitter, with his 24th of the season coming off Jake Arrieta. He was one of three finalists for the 2017 Rookie of the Year Award, along with Cody Bellinger and Paul DeJong and finished third in voting. He played 159 games that year with a .255 batting average, 26 home runs and 90 RBIs.
Mookie Betts
Ending our list with possibly one of the best players to come out of this draft and he wasn’t even taken in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft. During his 2015 campaign with the Red Sox, Betts would hit .291, with 92 runs scored, 77 RBIs, 18 home runs and 21 stolen bases. He would be selected to his First-All Star game in his 2016 season. In 158 games, Betts would finished the season with a .318 batting average, 214 hits, 122 runs scored, 42 doubles, 31 home runs, 113 RBI, and an MLB leading 359 total bases. He had a 67 multi-hit games that would also lead MLB. Betts would go on to make four All-Star Selections, win four Gold Glove Awards, three Silver Sluggers, one time World Series Winner in 2018 and that year he would be names 2018 AL MVP Award winner. Betts finished the 2018 season leading the major leagues with a .346 average, a .640 slugging % and 129 runs scored. On February 10th, 2020 the Red Sox would leave many fans upset and trade one of their greatest assets to the LA Dodgers, in exchange for for three prospects, Alex Verdugo, Connor Wong, and Jeter Downs.
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