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MLB Draft: Ranking the stars from the 2007 class

By Clint Manry

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JULY 19: David Price #14 of the Tampa Bay Rays delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the game on July 19, 2014 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Rays defeated the Twins 5-1. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JULY 19: David Price #14 of the Tampa Bay Rays delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the game on July 19, 2014 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Rays defeated the Twins 5-1. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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H2H, Fantasy Baseball, First Basemen
(Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) /

5. Corey Kluber, RHP / Freddie Freeman, 1B

34.6 WAR

It might surprise some, but yes Kluber and Freeman were both taken in the same draft, with the former selected by the Padres in the 4th round and the latter by the Braves in the 2nd. Both players have also had fantastic major league careers, despite Kluber now with his third organization. Although, in terms of how their careers have taken shape, the two players differ quite a bit (also, Kluber is almost four years older than Freeman).

At 21-years-old, Kluber started his pro career in the Padres farm system as somewhat of a middling prospect, and after a three-team trade that sent him to the Indians, he again struggled to get his career on the right track.

Kluber’s luck instantly turned around, though, and after a solid 2013 campaign (2.9 WAR), he went on to win the American League Cy Young in 2014 (finished 11th in the MVP vote), thanks to an AL-high in FIP (2.35) and wins (18), plus an MLB-best 34 starts. Kluber was worth 7.2 WAR in 2014 — a total he has matched only once since then when he won the Cy Young award again in 2017.

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At 34-years-old it’s safe to say Kluber’s chances to become the best player from the 2007 draft are all but over. Now with the Rangers — after being traded this past winter in exchange for Texas prospect reliever Emmanuel Chase and outfielder Delino DeShields — Kluber is past his prime that essentially lasted four-season (2014-17). During that four-year run, the Alabama native (my home state) accrued 63 wins and 24.8 WAR, an average of 6.2 WAR per season to go along with 10.33 K/9 and a ridiculously stingy 1.94 BB/9. Kluber did post a 5.5-WAR season in 2018, but a broken arm derailed his season in 2019. At this point, he’ll most likely have to settle for finishing his career as one of the ten best players to come from the loaded 2007 MLB draft.

Freeman, on the other hand, has a shot at one day pacing the 2007 class. Over nine major league seasons (all with the Braves), the first baseman is certainly trending in the right direction. Since 2016, Freeman has tallied 19.8 WAR (an average of 4.95 per season) and appears to be smack dab in the middle of his prime, at 30-years-old.

After having surgery this offseason to fix a balky elbow, Freeman was already expected to easily pass Wally Berger this season for the most career WAR for a Braves’ first baseman (he trails Berger by less than 1 WAR) and has a solid shot at moving past all-time great third baseman Dale Murphy for fourth-place on the franchise’s all-time offensive WAR leaderboard, directly behind Hall of Famer Chipper Jones (Freeman has no shot at catching Jones, though). For the 2007 class, it will be challenging but Freeman could eventually move up quite a bit, especially given the fact that several of the players currently ranked ahead of him may possibly be on their way out of baseball in the near future (as you’ll see in the next few slides).

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