Here is the first edition of my 2024 MLB Mock Draft.
1. Cleveland Guardians- Travis Bazzana, Second Baseman, Oregon State: The Guardians have a few options at the top and Bazzana makes sense here. Bazzana is compact and strong with plenty of bat speed. He has an advanced approach at the plate with a ton of raw power he taps into, though he can occasionally be susceptible to offspeed stuff on the outer half.
2. Cincinnati Reds- Charlie Condon, Outfielder, Georgia: The Reds get arguably the drafts best prospect here at two with Condon. He has power to all fields and despite long arms, has really good contact. He is super athletic, but is a below average runner.
3. Colorado Rockies- Jac Caglianone, First Baseman/Left Handed Pitcher, Florida: This pick would make a lot of sense for the Rockies, despite many pundits calling for them to draft strictly pitchers here. Caglianone has many tools at the plate and on the mound, but prefers the bat over the arm.
4. Oakland Athletics- Branden Montgomery, Outfielder, Texas A&M: The Athletics quite frankly should go best player available at all costs considering they lost out on a top three pick sans being the worst team last season. Montgomery is a switch hitter with some power and has improved plate discipline.
5. Chicago White Sox- JJ Wetherholt, Shortstop/Second Baseman, West Virginia: The White Sox since they are in a major rebuild need to go best player available here too. Wetherholt is perceived to have be the best pure hitter in the class that drives the ball to all fields and has excellent bat-to-ball skills.
6. Kansas City Royals- Nick Kurtz, First Baseman, Wake Forest: Wake Forest has some good talent coming into the draft and Kurtz could be the first off the board. Kurtz also has big power to all fields and he also plays a quality first base.
7. St. Louis Cardinals- Hagen Smith, Left Handed Pitcher, Arkansas: The Cardinals get themselves some much needed pitching here with Smith. He has the best stuff among the southpaw pitchers in this draft class and could absolutely be a front line starter.
8. Los Angeles Angels- Chase Burns, Right Handed Pitcher, Wake Forest: The second Wake Forest player comes off the board here with Burns going to Anaheim. His stock went up after transferring from Tennessee with turning into a long reliever and leading Division-1 in strikeouts and also has a frontline starter ceiling sans some risk.
9. Pittsburgh Pirates- Konnor Griffin, Shortstop/Outfielder, Jackson Prep (MS): The Pirates take a versatile player here in Griffin, who is likely to be the first high school player off the board. Griffin has big league frame, possesses five-tool potential, and has above average speed.
10. Washington Nationals- Bryce Rainer, Shortstop, Harvard-Westlake (CA): This would be an interesting pick for the Nationals considering they do have CJ Abrams at shortstop already. Rainer has a ton of tools in all directions- he rarely strikes out and he plays a very good shortstop.
11. Detroit Tigers- Cam Caminiti, Left Handed Pitcher, Saguaro (AZ): The Tigers go with the young high school arm here in Caminiti. He has the potential to be a four-pitch pitcher with projection to all of the pitches.
12. Boston Red Sox- Christian Moore, Second Baseman, Tennessee: The Red Sox probably should go with a pitcher here, but Moore isn't a bad choice here. Moore has an aggressive approach to the plate and always works deep into counts.
13. San Francisco Giants- Seaver King, Left Infielder/Outfielder, Wake Forest: Another Wake Forest player comes off the board here with King. He excels at putting the ball in play with a compact righty swing for hitting balls to all fields.
14. Chicago Cubs- Trey Yesavage, Right Handed Pitcher, East Carolina: This would be a good pick for the Cubs as they can use more college pitchers. Yesavage has a quality four-pitch arsenal and despite being more physical than athletic, he has some effort in his delivery that doesn't prevent strikes.
15. Seattle Mariners- James Tibbs, Outfielder, Florida State: The Mariners need more bats in their system and Tibbs here makes sense. Tibbs has the bat that will get him picked this high and has an improved approach at the plate despite some defensive limitations.
16. Miami Marlins- Cam Smith, Third Baseman, Florida State: The Marlins should absolutely go with best player available here as it looks like their starting from scratch again. Smith looks the part with the potential he has, but the question will be whether he will be consistent or not.
17. Milwaukee Brewers- Vance Honeycutt, Outfielder, North Carolina: The Brewers here take a polarizing prospect in Honeycutt. He comes with at least plus tools across the board with the exception of strikeouts, which he does far too often.
18. Tampa Bay Rays- Carson Benge, Outfielder, Oklahoma State: The Rays excel at drafting and developing and here they get a college bat in Benge. He's one of the few players in the draft with great bat-to-ball skills and high exit velocities.
19. New York Mets- Slade Caldwell, Outfielder, Valley View (AR): The Mets should probably go with a pitcher here and Caldwell here is arguably a reach. He is an advanced hitter with a mature approach that makes consistent line drives to all fields.
20. Toronto Blue Jays- Ryan Waldschmidt, Outfielder, Kentucky: The Blue Jays may need to go best available here considering that they may be heading for a rebuild. Not a lot of players can match Waldschmidt's ability to make contact, avoid chasing pitches, and to produce high exit velocities.
21. Minnesota Twins- Tommy White, Third Baseman, LSU: The Twins here go with a college bat in White. He provides limited value on the bases and in the field as he profiles as a DH with below average speed, although he's a good contact hitter with good exit velocities.
22. Baltimore Orioles- Brody Brecht, Right Handed Pitcher, Iowa: The Orioles get themselves a possible steal here in Brecht. He has explosive running action and superior shape, although his pitches sometimes don't locate as well.
23. Los Angeles Dodgers- William Schmidt, Right Handed Pitcher, Catholic (LA): The Dodgers are another team known for drafting very well and here they land a high school pitcher in Schmidt. He has some of the best stuff in this draft class and he generates it with ease and fills the strike zone.
24. Atlanta Braves- Jurrangelo Cijntje, Right Handed/Left Handed Pitcher, Mississippi State: The Braves you can make a case need some more pitching and here they get a college arm in Cijntje. He has great stuff as a righty and projects as a front-to-mid level starter and as a reliever as a lefty.
25. San Diego Padres- Ryan Sloan, Right Handed Pitcher, York (IL): The Padres can't go wrong here with the high school arm here in Sloan. He has really good combination of stuff and polish and has three pitches that can end up becoming plus pitches.
26. New York Yankees- Billy Ameck, First Baseman/Third Baseman, Tennessee: The Yankees need some college youth and Ameck here makes sense. He has a quality right handed swing and looks like he can stick at third.
27. Philadelphia Phillies- Kash Mayfield, Left Handed Pitcher, Elk City (OK): The Phillies can go wherever they want here with the team being baseballs best with a good farm system too. Mayfield creates extension with his fluid delivery and repeats it well.
28. Houston Astros- Walker Janek, Catcher, Sam Houston: The first catcher comes off the board here with Janek going to Houston. He has impressive bat speed and good strength, which causes him to have good raw power.
29. Arizona Diamondbacks- Malcolm Moore, Catcher, Stanford: The second college catcher in a row comes off the board here with Moore. He has shown ability to hit at the next level with hard contact hitting to all fields and has raw power.
30. Texas Rangers- Kellon Lindsey, Shortstop, Hardee (FL): The reigning World Series Champion Rangers take a high school shortstop here with Lindsey. He is a contact hitter that hits line drive singles, but doesn't have that much power.
