Draft day: A review of the last few Dodgers first round picks

The Dodgers had two first round picks in 2015 in a similar fashion to what they have this year. In 2015 it was the 24th and 35th overall picks, this year it’s the 25th and 31st.

24th overall pick:

This really doesn’t need an introduction as the Dodgers took Walker Buehler with the 24th overall pick in 2015.

In 2017, Buehler became the Dodgers first first-round player since Corey Seager to debut in the big leagues.

As far as a scouting report goes, there isn’t much about Buehler that isn’t already known. He made a name for himself with a stellar first full season in 2018 with highlight performances in the playoffs namely against the Colorado Rockies in the end of season tiebreaker.

Buehler features an unbelievable curveball-fastball combo and projects to be one of the Dodgers premiere starters for years to come. However, it didn’t always look so bright for Buehler.

Immediately after the draft, it became clear that the Dodgers newest addition would need Tommy John Surgery. While that was a minor set back, it is abundantly clear it had no effect on the Dodgers’ power arm starter.

35th overall pick:

Forgotten in the success and signing of Walker Buehler, the Dodgers used the 35th overall pick in 2015 on right-handed pitcher Kyle Funkhouser from Louisville.

Funkhouser was profiled as a hard-throwing starting pitcher that sat in the 92-96 mile per hour range with a hard slider and a decent changeup that didn’t profile well as a big league pitch.

Funkhouser chose to return to school after the Dodgers picked him and he resurfaced a year later in the fourth-round as a Detroit Tiger. Funkhouser is currently on the Triple-A injured list.