Dodgers: How much better was Clayton Kershaw than the rest of his draft class?

Clayton Kershaw and the 2006 MLB Draft – First Round

As previously mentioned, the 2006 MLB Draft was extremely top-heavy, as most drafts should be. Of the 44 first-round selections (including supplemental picks), 22 appeared at the big league level and contributed positive wins above replacement grades. Of those 22, seven of them have been worth 10 or more wins over their careers to date. Two of those have been worth 50-plus wins thus far.

Perhaps the biggest name amongst the 2006 first-round picks (outside of Kershaw of course) is Max Scherzer. Selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 11th overall pick, Scherzer has evolved into one of, if no the top right-hander in the game today. Since making his debut in 2008, he’s gone 170-89 with a 3.20 ERA, a 3.13 FIP, and a 10.6 K/9 mark. Scherzer has finished in the top-5 of the Cy Young race each of the last seven seasons, including winning it three times (2013, 16, 17). He’s been worth 60.1 bWAR for his career.

Evan Longoria was the third overall pick of the 2006 draft, going behind Hochevar and Reynolds to the Tampa Bay Rays. He quickly became the face of the franchise, accruing 51.8 bWAR in a Rays uniform while hitting .270/.341/.483 with 261 home runs and 892 RBI. Tampa would trade him to the Giants in December 2017, and he would add another 4.2 bWAR during his first two seasons in San Francisco.

Speaking of the hated Giants, this draft is also famous for Tim Lincecum. Although the right-hander, that was known as “The Freak”, fell on hard times and is no longer in the game, he was worth 19.2 bWAR over his 10-year career. He owns a lifetime record of 110-89, a 3.74 ERA, a 3.45 FIP, and a 9.3 K/9. He also won back-to-back Cy Young awards in 2008 and 2009 and was a member of three World Series winners.

The 2006 draft will also be remembered for the stumbles. The Royals would love to have a first pick do-over after Luke Hochevar struggled with injuries and never realized his potential, eventually being worth 3.7 bWAR over his career. The same could be said for the Rockies and Greg Reynolds (2nd overall, -1.5 bWAR), the Pirates and Brad Lincoln (4th overall, 0.4 bWAR), and the Mariners and Brandon Morrow (5th overall, 11.2 bWAR), all selected before Kershaw.