With Early MLB Debuts From Paul Skenes & Others, The 2023 Draft Class Is Already Setting Records
Image credit: Paul Skenes (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
When Rhett Lowder makes his MLB debut on Friday, he will become the eighth 2023 MLB draftee to play in the majors this year.
It’s yet another data point that shows just how special the 2023 draft is shaping up to be. No other draft from the 21st century has seen this many draftees reach the majors so quickly.
Six first rounders have already played in the majors: Paul Skenes, (No. 1 pick), Dylan Crews (No. 2), Wyatt Langford (No. 4), Jacob Wilson (No. 6), Nolan Schanuel (No. 11), Hurston Waldrep (No. 24) and third-round pick Jake Bloss.
The last time that eight or more draftees reached the majors by the end of the following season was the 1989 draft when 10 draftees played in the majors in 1990, including Frank Thomas, John Olerud and Ben McDonald.
With a full month of games to go, the 1,077 combined MLB plate appearances from 2023 position players is the most from any draft class since 1985 and already the eighth most all-time. It has already topped the 2005 draft, which had held the 21st century record with 863 thanks to Ryan Zimmerman and Troy Tulowitzki. With just 103 more plate appearances, the 2023 draft will leap into the top five.
To put things into even more perspective, the more than 1,000 plate appearances by 2023 MLB draftees is more than the 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 or 2019 drafts saw from position players in their draft year, their following season and the season after that.
The 1985 draft saw Barry Bonds, Barry Larkin, Pete Incaviglia, Rafael Palmeiro and Will Clark all see significant playing time as hitters, with seven players in all combining for 1,884 plate appearances. That same year also saw 403 innings pitched by draftees, primarily by Bobby Witt, Bruce Ruffin and Chuck Finley.
The 1973 draft set the record for most plate appearances by the end of the following year. Dave Winfield, Robin Yount, Jim Sundberg, Luis Gomez and Steve Swisher led the way as 11 players combined for 2,371 PAs.
It is notable that drafts in which players earn MLB playing time quickly are often the most star-studded classes. The 1973 draft tops the plate appearance chart and is led by a pair of Hall of Famers in Winfield and Yount. The 1970 draft didn’t have any Hall of Famers among its notable debutantes, but the third-place 1985 draft has Larkin to go with Bonds, who is an all-timer, even if he isn’t officially in the Hall of Fame. Ozzie Smith and Paul Molitor led the fourth-ranked 1977 draft.
Currently, the 122 innings so far pitched be 2023 draftees ranks 37th all-time and is 11th most in the 21st century.
Here’s a look at how many innings and at-bats each draft produced in the year following the draft, as well as notable players who debuted within the following season:
| Draft Year | PAs | IP | Players | Notable Debuts |
| 1965 | 293 | 402 | 9 | Ken Holtzman, Rick Monday, Nolan Ryan |
| 1966 | 430 | 816 | 8 | Reggie Jackson, Gary Nolan |
| 1967 | 348 | 297 | 14 | Dusty Baker, Ted Simmons |
| 1968 | 198 | 41 | 11 | Oscar Gamble, Thurman Munson |
| 1969 | 1179 | 607 | 13 | Bert Blyleven, Don Gullett, Jeff Burroughs |
| 1970 | 2147 | 621 | 13 | Chris Chambliss, Chris Speier, Lenny Randle |
| 1971 | 847 | 1115 | 9 | Burt Hooton, Mike Schmidt |
| 1972 | 1169 | 420 | 10 | Dave Roberts, Randy Jones |
| 1973 | 2371 | 988 | 13 | Dave Winfield, Robin Yount, Dick Ruthven |
| 1974 | 604 | 183 | 8 | Roy Smalley |
| 1975 | 660 | 305 | 10 | Andre Dawson, Jason Thompson |
| 1976 | 404 | 952 | 10 | Alan Trammell, Floyd Bannister, Jack Morris |
| 1977 | 1409 | 565 | 11 | Ozzie Smith, Paul Molitor, Bob Welch |
| 1978 | 1028 | 343 | 13 | Kirk Gibson, Mike Morgan |
| 1979 | 245 | 137 | 9 | Steve Howe |
| 1980 | 106 | 19 | 4 | Terry Francona |
| 1981 | 214 | 341 | 6 | Tony Gwynn, Mike Moore |
| 1982 | 340 | 53 | 3 | Spike Owen |
| 1983 | 285 | 347 | 6 | Roger Clemens, Glenn Davis |
| 1984 | 452 | 120 | 2 | Bill Swift, Oddibe McDowell |
| 1985 | 1884 | 403 | 13 | Barry Bonds, Barry Larkin, Pete Incaviglia |
| 1986 | 1150 | 290 | 9 | Bo Jackson, Matt Williams |
| 1987 | 206 | 365 | 9 | Craig Biggio, Jack McDowell |
| 1988 | 238 | 382 | 8 | Andy Benes, Jim Abbott, Marquis Grissom |
| 1989 | 701 | 352 | 10 | Frank Thomas, Ben McDonald, John Olerud |
| 1990 | 37 | 848 | 9 | Alex Fernandez, Mike Mussina |
| 1991 | 0 | 0 | 0 | None |
| 1992 | 251 | 0 | 2 | Jeffrey Hammonds |
| 1993 | 61 | 170 | 5 | Alex Rodriguez, Brian Anderson |
| 1994 | 53 | 102 | 3 | C.J. Nitkowski |
| 1995 | 229 | 183 | 2 | Darin Erstad |
| 1996 | 57 | 0 | 1 | Mark Kotsay |
| 1997 | 290 | 170 | 7 | Troy Glaus |
| 1998 | 475 | 197 | 4 | J.D. Drew |
| 1999 | 5 | 114 | 4 | Barry Zito |
| 2000 | 3 | 25 | 2 | Adam Johnson |
| 2001 | 74 | 214 | 3 | Mark Prior |
| 2002 | 84 | 39 | 2 | Khalil Greene |
| 2003 | 25 | 287 | 6 | Chad Cordero |
| 2004 | 77 | 237 | 6 | Justin Verlander, Huston Street |
| 2005 | 863 | 123 | 6 | Ryan Zimmerman, Troy Tulowitzki |
| 2006 | 62 | 383 | 7 | Andrew Miller, Tim Lincecum |
| 2007 | 0 | 28 | 4 | David Price |
| 2008 | 526 | 142 | 8 | Buster Posey, Gordon Beckham |
| 2009 | 97 | 323 | 5 | Stephen Strasburg, Mike Leake |
| 2010 | 7 | 166 | 5 | Chris Sale |
| 2011 | 6 | 82 | 6 | Trevor Bauer, Cody Allen |
| 2012 | 240 | 270 | 7 | Kevin Gausman, Michael Wacha |
| 2013 | 12 | 86 | 5 | Corey Knebel, Marco Gonzales |
| 2014 | 558 | 278 | 7 | Carlos Rodon, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner |
| 2015 | 480 | 30 | 5 | Dansby Swanson, Andrew Benintendi |
| 2016 | 63 | 0 | 1 | Austin Hays |
| 2017 | 0 | 6 | 1 | Kyle Wright |
| 2018 | 82 | 0 | 1 | Nico Hoerner |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | None |
| 2020 | 4 | 82 | 3 | Garrett Crochet, Spencer Strider |
| 2021 | 0 | 28 | 1 | Chase Silseth |
| 2022 | 393 | 16 | 5 | Zach Neto, Ben Joyce |
| 2023 | 1077 | 122 | 7 | Paul Skenes, Nolan Schanel, Wyatt Langford |
