Dodgers: All-time mock draft of first round picks

Who are the best first round picks in Los Angeles Dodgers history?

We finally have a real baseball event happening this week with the MLB Draft set for June 10-11. The Los Angeles Dodgers will make six selections in the truncated draft that will only include five rounds this year due to the novel coronavirus and owners wanting to save money. The highest pick made by president Andrew Friedman and company will come in the first round with the 29th overall selection.

After looking at the best compensatory picks in franchise history yesterday, I thought it would be fun to do a different kind of mock draft today. No, this one won’t include a laundry list of amateur players whom you probably haven’t heard of before. It is an all-time mock draft of players chosen by the Dodgers in the first round.

If every first round pick in Dodgers history was available in the draft pool, and you had the benefit of knowing how their careers turned out, who would you select first overall? Who would go second?

In a way, this is ranking the best players selected in the first round, but with a twist. I will only consider players who have made an impact on the Dodgers roster.

This means someone like Paul Konerko, who was selected 13th overall by Los Angeles in 1994, falls out of the mock pool as he earned his major league credentials playing for the Chicago White Sox.

Without further ado, let’s start the mock. For 2020 purposes, we will make five selections based on the five rounds in this year’s draft.

Dodgers all-time mock draft: Mike Scioscia

Mike Scioscia is remembered by modern-day fans as the long-time skipper of the Angels, but before his managerial career, he was a lifetime Dodgers catcher, playing all 13 seasons of his playing career in Dodger blue.

Of course, no moment is bigger than the home run he hit in Game 4 of the 1988 National League Championship Series off Doc Gooden in New York. The Mets were looking to take a commanding 3-1 series lead when Scioscia tied the game in which Los Angeles eventually won, shifting the entire momentum of the series. There would be no Kirk Gibson homer without Scioscia first shocking the baseball world with his long ball against the mighty Mets.

Never one of the best catchers in the game, Scioscia represented consistency. From 1985 to 1992, he routinely caught around 130 games every season, while holding his own at the plate, never deviating too far from his career .259 average, and finding ways to get on base with a patient eye.

His best season was probably in 1985 when he batted .296/.407/.420 and smacked seven home runs and drove in 53 RBIs.

In the first round, you look for high-end talent. But many times, it’s high risk and high reward. For every top prospect that pans out, there are several who prove to be busts. Scioscia is a safe pick in the first round as a consistent player who provides value over a long period of time.

Dodgers all-time mock draft: Bob Welch

Originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 14th round of the 1974 draft, Bob Welch ended up playing college baseball for Eastern Michigan University where he helped the school reach the 1976 College World Series.

The Dodgers selected Welch with the 20th overall pick in 1977, gaining a right-handed starter who was ready to make an immediate impact in the majors. Only one season after being drafted, he appeared in 23 games for Los Angeles, working as both a starter and reliever, pitching to a 2.02 ERA.

By 1980, he was a full-time starter, and he won 14 games that year while earning his first All-Star appearance. Welch would go on to become a Cy Young Award winner for the Oakland Athletics in 1990, with an incredible 27-6 record, but before moving to the Bay Area, he gave the Dodgers ten strong seasons from the mound.

Welch finished his Dodgers career with a 115-86 record and 3.14 ERA. His most famous moment coming during his rookie season when he struck out Reggie Jackson with two runners on base to close out Game 2 of the 1978 World Series. Only 21-years-old at the time, it was clear the Dodgers found a great pitcher in the first round of the 1977 draft.

Dodgers all-time mock draft: Walker Buehler

Drafted with the 24th overall pick in the 2015 draft, from a value standpoint, you could argue Walker Buehler is the best first round selection in Dodgers history. Just four years after his draft year, he is already pushing veteran Clayton Kershaw for status as the team’s best starter.

Buehler went 14-4 in 2019, the best winning percentage of any starter in the National League. He pitched to a 3.26 ERA with impressive 10.6 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 rates.

However, most impressive was his performance in the postseason. While the Dodgers suffered a disappointing loss to the Washington Nationals in the NLDS, Buehler did everything he could to lead his team past the eventual World Series champions. In two starts, he allowed only on earned run, striking out 15 Nationals hitters and surrendering only five hits in 12.2 innings of work.

As fans have used the postseason to criticize the greatness of Clayton Kershaw, Buehler is setting his own reputation as a big-game pitcher. If this was a mock draft based on each player’s current age, Buehler would be the first overall pick. However, he still falls a little short in mocking the best first round picks regardless of age.

Dodgers all-time mock draft: Clayton Kershaw

Drafted with the 7th overall pick in the 2006 draft, the number one pick in the Dodgers all-time mock goes to starter Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers organization has a wonderful history of pitching, with left-hander Sandy Koufax setting the standard, and amazingly, Clayton Kershaw has somehow performed at a similar level of excellence.

Over 12 seasons, Kershaw has been one of the most dominant and consistent starters in the game. From 2011 until 2017, it was virtually impossible to score a run off him; he led the National League with the lowest ERA in five of those seasons, and the other two, his ERA sat at 2.13 and 1.69.

While Kershaw is often criticized for his lack of postseason superlatives, had the Houston Astros not used illegal techniques to steal signs in 2017, he probably would have won a championship, after pitching lights out early in that series.

At 32-years-old, it doesn’t appear Kershaw is close to retiring. He is signed with the Dodgers until 2021, but I would expect him to sign one more contract before retiring. The former National League MVP will continue to see his name rise up the record books in terms of wins, strikeouts, and ERA.

Kershaw or Koufax: Which one would you choose?

The Los Angeles Dodgers have a rich history of starting pitching from Sandy Koufax to Clayton Kershaw, but if you could only have one, which one you taking?

If Koufax is the best left-hander in Dodgers history, Kershaw is only a sliver below him. Look at the numbers.