Dodgers Draft: Ranking the best players selected 29th overall

The Los Angeles Dodgers will select 29th overall in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft. A review of the best players selected with that pick.

Usually MLB’s amateur draft is held within the middle of the regular season, but with the current season delayed due to the novel coronavirus, we will find out who the Los Angeles Dodgers add to their farm ranks before any baseball is played.

The pandemic has also dramatically shifted the format of the 2020 draft. Instead of 40 rounds, there will be only five. Players who aren’t selected in the first five rounds will be capped at a $20,000 signing bonus, essentially forcing them to re-enter the amateur ranks until 2021.

The Dodgers have six picks in the upcoming draft, including the compensation pick they received when Kenta Maeda was sent to the Minnesota Twins.

In this article, we will focus on the Dodgers’ first round pick, 29th overall, in ranking the best players selected with that pick in baseball history.

How often are star players found with the 29th overall pick? Can the Dodgers hit a home run despite selecting after most of the league has already chosen their favorite prospect this year?

It’s a bit tricky to compare 29th overall picks over time since the draft order changes based on the number of teams in the league, or whether teams forfeited picks – such as the Astros this year – but for simplicity, we will focus on the player selected with the 29th overall pick, whether it occurred in the first or second round.

With the ground rules defined, let’s review the best players selected 29th overall in Major League Baseball history.