The best all-time late-round MLB draft picks

The 2020 MLB Draft will be the strangest in the event's long history. Due to financial issues stemming from the coronavirus shutdown, MLB capped this year's draft at five rounds, by far the shortest ever.

MLB drafts are usually the longest compared to all other sports, lasting anywhere from 40 to 100 rounds, depending on the era. That structure means unearthing a star late is just as likely as drafting a first-round bust. Shrinking the proceedings to five rounds will lead to many unheralded prospects not getting the chance to be picked late and develop into draft steals.

Hundreds of stars have been found after the fifth round over the years. Here are 10 of the best late-round gems in MLB Draft history.

Round 9: Jacob deGrom

Year: 2010
Team: Mets
Selection: 272nd overall
Career WAR: 31.5

Mets executives probably would have burst out laughing if you told them a decade ago that deGrom would turn into the reigning two-time NL Cy Young winner. The right-hander has become arguably baseball's best pitcher after being selected in the ninth round.

Zack Walters, the player selected right before the star hurler, hit .176 across 85 career contests. Meanwhile, deGrom owns a 2.62 ERA over six campaigns with New York. The three-time All-Star led the big leagues with a 1.70 ERA in 2018, and he paced the National League in strikeouts with 255 last season.

Round 11: Trevor Hoffman

Year: 1989
Team: Reds
Selection: 290th overall
Career WAR: 25.9

One of the greatest closers in history was drafted in the 11th round as a shortstop. Had he stayed in that position, Hoffman - who posted a .588 OPS with two homers in Single-A in 1990 while making 30 errors - wouldn't be known today.

But when his Single-A manager grew tired of watching Hoffman overthrow the first baseman, he told the righty to use his strong arm to pitch, and the rest is history. Hoffman quickly excelled on the mound, posting a 1.89 ERA in his first year as a pitcher. Then, two years later, he was in the majors for good and on the road to 601 career saves and Cooperstown. The Reds wouldn't benefit from this steal, though, as they lost Hoffman to Florida in the 1993 expansion draft. Several months later, the Marlins dealt him to the Padres, who eventually retired his No. 51.

Round 12: Nolan Ryan

Year: 1965
Team: Mets
Selection: 295th overall
Career WAR: 106.7

Ryan didn't look like he was going to be a future Hall of Famer after the Mets selected him out of Alvin High School in Texas in the 12th round. MLB's all-time strikeout king accrued a respectable 3.58 ERA in 105 contests (74 starts) with New York, and he contributed to the Mets' miraculous 1969 championship. But he didn't take off until a trade to the California Angels.

The hard-throwing righty turned into a star on the West Coast, striking out 300-plus hitters in five of the next six seasons, including a whopping 383 in 1973. Ryan ended up winning 11 strikeout titles over a remarkable 27-year career. However, he was never awarded a Cy Young.

Round 13: Albert Pujols

Year: 1999
Team: Cardinals
Selection: 402nd overall
Career WAR: 87.7

Six of the top 10 picks in the 1999 MLB Draft failed to reach the majors, and collectively, the first-round picks that year averaged 9.2 career WAR, according to Baseball-Reference. And yet it took until the 13th round, and the 402nd pick, for the Cardinals to call Pujols' name.

He didn't go unnoticed while hitting .461 with 22 homers in community college, but questions about his age played a role in him falling. Pujols would play just one minor-league season - starting 2000 in Single-A and finishing as the Pacific Coast League postseason MVP - before ascending to the majors for good. There are 29 teams still reeling from repeatedly passing on one of the best hitters ever. The Cardinals chose Pujols one pick after the Angels, of all teams, took Alfredo Amezaga instead.

Round 13: Jim Thome

Year: 1989
Team: Indians
Selection: 333rd overall
Career WAR: 69.1

One of the game's greatest sluggers was on the board until the 13th round before the Indians selected him. Thome became a legend while playing for a Cleveland team that pummelled opponents in the mid-90s and early 2000s, belting 337 home runs with the club over 13 seasons.

He also posted big numbers with the White Sox and Phillies, including an MLB-leading 47 homers in 2003. His career 612 round-trippers over 22 years put him eighth on the all-time list.

Round 19: Josh Hader

Year: 2012
Team: Orioles
Selection: 582nd overall
Career WAR: 6.0

Arguably the best reliever in baseball was a total afterthought when he was drafted. Hader pitched in the low levels of Baltimore's minor-league system before being dealt to the Astros in July 2013 in a deal centered around Bud Norris. Almost two years later, the left-hander was moved again, this time to the Brewers in a multi-player trade that brought Mike Fiers to Houston.

The 26-year-old has become a late-inning nightmare for opposing hitters. He owns a career 2.42 ERA with a 15.3 K/9, resulting in two NL Reliever of the Year awards.

Round 20: J.D. Martinez

Year: 2009
Team: Astros
Selection: 611th overall
Career WAR: 24.1

The Astros found a hidden gem with their 20th-round selection of Martinez, but they proceeded to release him in March 2014 following three underwhelming seasons. The now-All-Star slugger wound up joining the Tigers, and he reinvented his approach to hitting.

After posting a .687 OPS with Houston, Martinez slashed .300/.361/.551 over four campaigns with Detroit. He also enjoyed a brief but excellent stint with the Diamondbacks, highlighted by MLB's most recent four-homer game. His two outstanding offensive seasons with the Red Sox have now put him among baseball's most-feared hitters.

Round 22: John Smoltz

Year: 1985
Team: Tigers
Selection: 574th overall
Career WAR: 79.5

The 1985 draft was one of the deepest in history. Barry Bonds, Barry Larkin, and Will Clark were among the first 10 players chosen, Randy Johnson went in the second round, and Smoltz ... well, he had to wait until the 22nd round before the Tigers selected him out of their own backyard.

One of the many players chosen ahead of him was future NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry, who went to Baltimore in Round 14. Another was Mike Poehl, who didn't play an MLB game after going ninth overall to Cleveland. Smoltz is arguably the best pitcher ever chosen after Round 20, but he struggled in the Tigers' system. Late in the 1987 season, he was traded to Atlanta for Doyle Alexander, who pitched Detroit to the '87 playoffs. Smoltz, however, pitched his way to Cooperstown in a Braves cap.

Round 38: Mark Buehrle

Year: 1998
Team: White Sox
Selection: 1,139th overall
Career WAR: 52.3

As a junkballing left-hander who barely touched 90 mph on a good day, Buehrle didn't stand out at Jefferson College. But while his profile suggested he likely wouldn't pan out, the White Sox clearly saw enough to take a flier on him, and Buehrle changed the course of the franchise.

Buehrle defied the odds by reaching the majors two years after being drafted, and he became one of the premier workhorses of his generation and an all-time great defender. The five-time All-Star topped 200 innings in 14 straight campaigns during his 16-season career while never making a trip to the disabled list. He also won four Gold Gloves, threw both a no-hitter and perfect game, and he was the ace of Chicago's first World Series-winning team in 88 years. His No. 56 is now retired on the South Side.

Round 62: Mike Piazza

Year: 1988
Team: Dodgers
Selection: 1,390th overall
Career WAR: 63.7

Piazza was one of just seven players chosen during the 62nd round in 1988 (rules at the time allowed teams to continue drafting until they decided to stop). His draft stock was so nonexistent that the Dodgers only took him as a personal favor to manager Tommy Lasorda, who happened to be Piazza's godfather.

Some of the players selected ahead of him include future NFL stars Rodney Peete and Todd Marinovich. Pitcher Bill Bene, the Dodgers' first-round pick in '88 (fifth overall), never appeared above Triple-A. Meanwhile, Piazza abandoned first base in favor of catcher - a position he didn't play in college - and made his godfather proud by reaching the majors four years later. He ended up as easily the best player in his class, and Piazza became the lowest draft pick to reach the Hall of Fame in 2016. That's the ultimate draft steal.