MLB draft: 10 best selections from 2012-16
7. Cody Bellinger, (2013 draft), 2.90 average WAR
Like DeJong, Bellinger managed to slide all the way into the fourth round of his MLB draft, the Dodgers selected him out of Hamilton High School in Chandler, AZ., with the 124th choice in 2013.
He was a minor-league sensation, batting .312 in Rookie League ball in 2014 and hitting 56 home runs in 2015-16. Following a .333 start at AAA Oklahoma City, the Dodgers summoned him a few weeks into the 2017 season.
Splitting time between first base and the outfield, Bellinger hit 39 home runs as a rookie and won the Rookie of the Year Award. He followed that by playing all 162 games in 2018, and in 2019 his 47 home run, 115 RBI, .305 season was good enough to take the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award.
Bellinger has become a statistician’s dream player. In 2019 he delivered a 9.0 WAR and a 169 OPS+, labeling him as nearly 70 percent better than the average player. His OPS was 1.035; for context, a .750 OPS is considered average.
They don’t come more affordable than Bellinger, who has delivered all that productivity in exchange for a bit less than $1.7 million in career salary. He is only now beginning to reach arbitration eligibility.