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Welcome to a new series here at Rotoballer from Benjamin Chase. This series will explore previous First-Year Player Drafts and potentially redraft those FYPDs, with the information received since.
Perhaps this will change your opinion of future FYPD drafts, or it might just have you leaving dynasty baseball due to the unpredictability – but either way, you'll enjoy taking a look back at what might have been!
We will go 20 deep and then analyze a few players just beyond the full redrafted first round of a 20-team FYPD. The series will begin with the 2010 FYPD, arguably one of the most impressive FYPD's in recent memory.
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2010 FYPD Redraft
1. Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels
Trout is the no-doubt top selection in this redraft, though he quite possibly didn't even get selected in the first round of more shallow 2010 redrafts as the 25th overall pick in the 2009 draft. Heck, Trout wasn't even the first pick of the Angels in that draft.
He was selected with a compensatory pick received when the Yankees signed Mark Teixeira. Oddly enough, nearly the only team as "in" on Trout at draft time as the Angels were the Yankees.
Among all hitters in this draft class, Trout has the highest batting average, most home runs, most runs, second-most stolen bases, and fourth-most RBI. If he never played another game right now, he'd be a first-ballot Hall of Fame player, and he's still just 31.
On top of his "regular" baseball supremacy, Trout has been the top fantasy performer in nearly every full season since he debuted in 2012.
2. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks
An eighth-round selection in 2009 out of Texas State University, Goldschmidt was not selected in most 2010 FYPD drafts. He has built himself into a guy who could end up in the Hall of Fame, enjoying his best season in 2022 at 34 years old, so he continues to be one of the most impressive players in the game after a dozen years in the league.
Among those who were part of the 2010 FYPD, Goldschmidt ranks first in RBI, second in home runs and runs, third in batting average, and fourth in stolen bases – a big extra value from a first baseman in fantasy.
3. Stephen Strasburg, SP, Washington Nationals
Strasburg is still considered potentially the most elite college pitching draft prospect that's ever entered the draft. He was the no-doubt top overall selection in the 2009 draft, and after 11 starts in the minors and five in the Arizona Fall League, Strasburg was in the majors to stay.
Though he's been injured the last few years, Strasburg has been an elite starter in nearly every full season. He's had the most wins and strikeouts among all pitchers with the second-lowest ERA among those who have tossed at least 250 innings from the class.
4. Nolan Arenado, 3B, Colorado Rockies
The Rockies struck gold when they drafted Arenado in the second round in 2009 out of El Toro High School in California. He came to the majors as a defensive-oriented player at the hot corner, earning a Gold Glove in his first two years in the majors.
It was in 2015 that his bat exploded as he launched 42 home runs and led the majors with 130 RBI. He's now cleared 300 home runs in his career and has been among the most productive third basemen for a decade.
5. Aroldis Chapman, RP, Cincinnati Reds
In January 2010, the Cincinnati Reds closed the deal with the most sought-after pitcher on the international market. That was just in time for Chapman to be selected in the first round of a lot of FYPD drafts, but nowhere near top-5.
Chapman has simply been the most elite closer in the game since, making his MLB debut in 2010. He's ranked first in saves, ERA, and WHIP among all pitchers for the 2010 redraft. Locking down an average of 30 saves per season from 2012-2021 would be an amazing selection.
6. Jose Ramirez, 3B, Cleveland Guardians
An undervalued player from the get-go, Ramirez was a late signing in November of 2009 from the Dominican Republic rather than one of the priority signees in July. Ramirez was never ranked as a top-100 prospect before he made his MLB debut in 2013.
He was a backup guy for Cleveland until he emerged in 2016. Since, Ramirez has been elite, averaging 26 home runs and 22 steals each year. Ramirez is just 30, so he should have many years of production ahead of him.
7. Kyle Seager, 3B, Seattle Mariners
Seager was a third-round selection in 2009 out of the University of North Carolina. He dominated in the minor leagues, hitting .328 with 22 home runs over 271 minor league games before he was called up in 2011.
Seager was a consistent performer until he retired after his best home run season, hitting 35 in 2021. While Seager was never a guy with elite performance, he gave his fantasy owners a consistent, steady performer for a decade at the hot corner.
8. Xander Bogaerts, SS, Boston Red Sox
Bogaerts was signed out of Aruba in August 2009, and he was not on many – if any – radars for FYPD 2010. He worked his way up to the majors in 2013, and he's had the fourth-highest batting average of any player during that time.
Bogaerts has been a consistently strong performer, with a .292 average, and averaging 17 home runs each full season of his career while playing at shortstop. While he's likely not going to be the top-performing shortstop in any season, he's a strong performer year-in and year-out.
9. J.D. Martinez, OF, Houston Astros
Martinez was a 20th-round selection out of small-school Nova Southeastern University in Florida in 2009. Martinez couldn't break through with the Astros from 2011-2013 and was released by Houston late in spring training in 2014.
Martinez signed with the Detroit Tigers two days later and he's hit .295 and averaged 29 home runs per year from 2014-2022 as one of the most consistent hitters in the game.
10. Zack Wheeler, SP, San Francisco Giants
The earliest prep selection in the 2009 draft that ended up in the majors, Wheeler was selected by the Giants with the sixth overall pick. The Giants traded Wheeler to the Mets in 2011 and roughly two years later, he debuted for the Mets.
Wheeler had a brilliant 2021 but has generally been a guy to eat up innings and give excellent strikeout numbers throughout his career, still going strong as he is now 33.
11. DJ LeMahieu, 2B, Chicago Cubs
LeMahieu was drafted out of LSU in the second round of the 2009 draft by the Cubs and was traded during the 2011 offseason to the Rockies where he became a fantasy darling, hitting .299 over his time in Colorado.
LeMahieu signed with the Yankees before 2019 and won another batting title in New York. Fantasy owners have been treated to the second-highest batting average and third-most runs scored from LeMahieu.
12. Matt Carpenter, 3B/2B, St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals were able to develop Carpenter from a 13th-round selection out of TCU. He debuted in 2011 and quickly established himself for drawing walks and scoring a host of runs atop the Cardinals' lineup.
From 2012-2018, Carpenter hit .275, averaging 19 home runs and 93 runs scored. After struggling for a few years, Carpenter had a resurgent season in 2022.
13. Trevor Rosenthal, RP, St. Louis Cardinals
Rosenthal certainly wasn't on any FYPD maps as a 21st-round pick out of community college by the Cardinals. Rosenthal was a starter throughout his minor league time, but he moved to the bullpen in the majors and quickly established himself as one of the top relievers in the game.
Rosenthal tallied the second-most saves among pitchers in the 2010 FYPD, with many of those saves occurring in 2014 and 2015, but he was a dominant reliever who has averaged 12.1 K/9 over his career.
14. Brandon Belt, 1B, San Francisco Giants
Belt was drafted out of high school by the Red Sox, then out of community college by the Braves, both in the 11th round, but after two years at the University of Texas, the Giants snagged Belt in the fifth round in 2009. He debuted on Opening Day of 2011 after just one full season in the minors.
When healthy, Belt has been a productive hitter, but he's struggled to stay healthy in his career, topping 150 games just three times in a dozen years in the majors.
15. Mike Minor, SP, Atlanta Braves
The Braves made Minor the seventh overall selection in 2009 out of Vanderbilt and just over a year later, he made his Major League debut. Minor was a steady mid-rotation starter for three years with the Braves until he was injured.
After more than two years coming back from surgery, Minor had an impressive season out of the bullpen for Kansas City in 2017 before having two more strong years as a starter for Texas.
16. Brian Dozier, 2B, Minnesota Twins
Dozier was selected in the eighth round in 2009 out of Southern Miss, likely not drafted in any FYPD. In 2012, Dozier was with the major league team. He moved to second base and altered his swing to a heavy pull-focused approach, and from 2013 to 2019, Dozier averaged 27 home runs per season as a second baseman.
17. Drew Storen, RP, Washington Nationals
Storen was the tenth overall selection in the 2009 draft, the Nationals' second pick after picking Strasburg first overall. He did beat Strasburg to the majors, but he struggled to hold down the closer job for the Nationals, despite saving 43 games in his first full season in 2011. Storen did give owners 95 saves between 2010 and 2015, a pretty good return on a FYPD reliever.
18. Willson Contreras, C, Chicago Cubs
While he wasn't one of the top names in the 2009 international class, Contreras is the sole international player that was actually signed on the first day of the period that shows up here. As many catchers do, Contreras took time to develop, debuting at 24, but he's nailed 119 home runs and been among the top three fantasy catchers in production in three seasons of his career.
19. Dallas Keuchel, SP, Houston Astros
The Astros nabbed Keuchel in the seventh round of the 2009 draft out of Arkansas. He took a bit to develop in the minors for a college arm, and he took two seasons to get his feet under him, but Keuchel then gave owners 81 wins on a 3.25 ERA from 2014-2020.
20. AJ Pollock, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks plucked Pollock with the 17th overall selection out of the University of Notre Dame. Typically a second- or third-round FYPD pick in 2010, Pollock has really filled that value well, with a 162-game average of 22 home runs and 19 stolen bases across four organizations since his debut in 2012.
Others in consideration: Billy Hamilton, Kyle Gibson, Jason Kipnis, Patrick Corbin, Khris Davis, A.J. Ramos, Gary Sanchez, Miguel Sano, Mike Leake, James Paxton.
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