The A's hit the jackpot with Reggie Jackson.(Allsport)

There's little hype and even less Mel Kiper (thankfully). It's not even on television for crying out loud.

Instead, it is veiled in a shroud of mystery. On the day of the draft, only the first-round picks are released. You have to wait to get the rest of them, but that's OK. Baseball fans aren't obsessed with who their team took in the 54th round.

There is one glaring similarity, however. Just like in the NFL and NBA Drafts, teams can make or break themselves in the first round.

Looking back on the best teams in baseball since the beginning of the draft in 1965, they have a common thread: They chose at least one star or superstar type player in the first round. These were players who advanced quickly through the minors to make an immediate impact at the major-league level.

The following table breaks down how the dynasties and semi-dynasties since 1965 benefited from hitting the jackpot in the first round of the draft.

Sometimes top picks can come back to haunt you as well.

The Reds took Bernie Carbo as the 16th overall pick in 1965 only to see him hit the game-tying three-run homer against them in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series.

Although these teams also were built with free agents and later draft picks, these first-rounders often made the difference between above-average teams and title contenders.

Not-so free agents

Signing free agents by the truckload can cost teams in more places than the pocketbook. Taking players from other teams means you give up draft choices, and no team did that better in the 1980s than the New York Yankees.

From 1979 to 1990, the Yankees made only two selections in the first round. Neither of them panned out, and neither did most of the free agents they signed in hopes of buying a World Series title.

The Reds can't use free agents as an excuse though. While the Big Red Machine was winning championships, the Big Red front office was laying egg after egg in the draft. The lack of quality picks in the 1970s directly resulted in the 1982-84 Reds, who lost 281 games.

Give the Yankees credit for finally realizing you can't give away first round picks and prospects like they did in the '80s. The Yanks have one of the best farm systems in the game, insuring their status as contenders for years to come.

Getting rid of the penny-pinching Marge Schott has improved the Reds' farm system dramatically.

Shooting blanks

You know why the Braves had all those high draft picks to build their '90s dynasty? Cause they were a miserable team in the 1980s.

Picks like Jim Acker, 21st overall in 1980, did nothing to help the Braves in the late 1980s, when they lost 90 games five times, bottoming out at 106 losses in 1988.

The only positive to come from Braves' first round picks in the 1980s was Duane Ward, who was not a particularly great player but was traded for Doyle Alexander. The Braves ended up dealing Alexander to Detroit for dominant righty John Smoltz.

Then there's the Mets of the late '80s, who chose Lee May in the 1986 first round. It's too bad for the Mets that he was nowhere near as good as the Lee May of the '60s and '70s who hit 354 career home runs. The Mets of the early '90s were horrible, compiling six straight losing seasons.