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

Clayton Kershaw and the 2006 MLB Draft – Later Rounds

While the 2006 MLB Draft proved to have some exceptional talent in the first round, that isn’t to say that the rest of the draft had a lack of quality. While the rest of the draft doesn’t feature a superstar the quality of Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, or Evan Longoria, there are plenty of quality major leaguers that came from this draft.

Over the final 49 rounds of this draft, 22 players have accrued a bWAR of 10 or greater. Of those 22, three have graded out as 20-plus wins above replacement.

Dodgers fans will be familiar with the player that has the most wins outside of the first round. Justin Turner was a 7th round selection of the Cincinnati Reds in 2006. Two years after being drafted, and before he ever appeared in a game for Cincy, the Reds shipped Turner to the Baltimore Orioles. Turner would appear in just 17 games for the Orioles before he was placed on waivers and claimed by the New York Mets. After failing to make much noise over four seasons what the Mets, Turner found himself a free agent and eventually a member of the Dodgers. The rest they say is history, with Big Red being worth 27.4 of the 28.0 bWAR he’s accrued as a member of the LA good guys. Overall, he owns a lifetime batting line of .292/.367/.470 with 120 home runs and 472 RBI.

Also appearing in the 20-plus bWAR club is Daniel Murphy. Murphy has earned 20.8 bWAR over 11 seasons split between the Mets, Nationals, Cubs, and Rockies. He’s perhaps most famous for his 2015 NLCS performance, hitting .529/.556/1.294 with four home runs and six RBI against the Cubs in an MVP performance.

Murphy is also not the only Dodger enemy on this list. The Red Sox selected outfielder Josh Reddick in the 17th round of the 2006 draft and he’s had a hot and cold career since. Between the Red Sox, Athletics, Dodgers, and Astros, Reddick has been worth 25.4 bWAR with a batting line of .275/.319/.409, 140 home runs, and 531 RBI. Dodgers fans love him for his contributions to the team in 2016 (.258/.307/.335 in 47 games) and his outspoken support of the Astros championship* in 2017.

Other notables from the 2006 draft include former Dodger David Freese (18.4 bWAR), Doug Fister (19.5 bWAR), Ian Kennedy (17.6 bWAR), Tommy Pham (14.7 bWAR), David Robertson (15.8 bWAR), Jeff Samardzija (15.2 bWAR), and Zach Britton (14.0 bWAR).

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Needless to say, the Dodgers were the clear winners of this draft. Between Clayton Kershaw and Justin Turner (even if they didn’t pick him), they’ve made out like bandits and have two big pieces of their current core.