Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
FORT WORTH, Texas — The 2024 MLB Draft is finally here and The Sporting Tribune's Arash Markazi and Taylor Blake Ward breakdown every pick from the first round.
| Pick | Team | Player | Position | School | Mini-Report |
| 1. | Cleveland Guardians | Travis Bazzana | 2B | Oregon State | Prolific pure hitting LHH infielder, complete hitter w/ abv-avg/plus hit/pwr tools and approach that will translate quickly, plus runner/SB threat, athletic defender on dirt w/ 2B future, All-Star caliber hitter w/ top order future |
| 2. | Cincinnati Reds | Chase Burns | RHP | Wake Forest | Elite upside pure pwr arm, upper 90s FB that taps 102, tight SL is plus/++ weapon, pwr CV/CH counter SL movement as s/m weapons, some arsenal/control tweaks to tap into upside w/ already progressive signs to reaching top rotation upside |
| 3. | Colorado Rockies | Charlie Condon | OF | Georgia | Impact RHH slugger, high contact skills staying compact while mass phys w/ elite bat speed allow him to see ++ now pwr play to all fields, dangerous rounded hitter w/ mid-order upside, defensive home in question between 3B/OF |
| 4. | Oakland Athletics | Nick Kurtz | 1B | Wake Forest | Mass frame LHH 1B w/ mid lineup upside, polished an amateur bat you'll find, explosive bat spd w/ all zone ctct, ++ raw pwr w/ ability/plane to tap into it, elite pitch selection who controls zone w/ ease, could be abv-avg 1B defender |
| 5. | Chicago White Sox | Hagen Smith | LHP | Arkansas | Electric pwr lefty, lively mid 90s FB that taps 100 plays up from low slot, sweepy pwr SL flashes ++, raw SP/CH shows promise, plus stuff w/ enough control to see frontline upside while delivery/past TJ have closer upside fallback |
| 6. | Kansas City Royals | Jac Caglianone | TWP | Florida | Best TWP in long time w/ elite LHH pwr, big torque'd out swing that produces elite bat spd/pwr that could produce 40+ HR, insane chase rates but finds barrel while doing so (question how it works in pro ball), could be plus def at 1B |
| 7. | St. Louis Cardinals | J.J. Wetherholt | SS | West Virginia | Elite pure hitting LHH IFer, intricate bat-to-ball skills/ability to drive to all fields w/ natural pwr, ++ hit tool/approach w/ avg/abv pwr, plus runner w/ some feel for SS though likely 2B, he'll be quick to front of MLB lineup |
| 8. | Los Angeles Angels | Christian Moore | 2B | Tennessee | Physical/mashing RHH IFer, strong/explosive cut gets to all fields pwr w/ ease, chase concerns as he looks to attack though shows some patience to believe in approach/hit tool, fair/inconsistent defense while arm limits dirt profile |
| 9. | Pittsburgh Pirates | Konnor Griffin | SS | Jackson Prep HS (MS) | Star power tools RHH prep, explosive w/ zone coverage and bat spd to tap into plus raw, some s/m/hit tool refinements, ++ run/athlete w/ all tools to be premium defender at either SS/CF, star tools if he hits (LSU commit) |
| 10. | Washington Nationals | Seaver King | SS | Wake Forest | Versatile RHH athlete w/ impact tools, regular contact w/ swing meant for damage w/ plus raw, improved chase but still needs refinement, plus run/ath w/ def versatility between IF/CF though unrefined, reg super UT potential w/o home |
| 11. | Detroit Tigers | Bryce Rainer | SS | Harvard-Westlake HS (CA) | Toolsy LHH upside prep, improved approach/off profile w/ frequent hard contact/high EV and tapped into abv-avg/plus raw pwr, abv-avg runner w/ solid athleticism and plus arm that will keep left side IF (Texas commit) |
| 12. | Boston Red Sox | Braden Montgomery | OF | Texas A&M | Pwr profile SWH outfielder, quick/intentful cut gets to all fields plus pwr w/ ease though comes w/ some s/m that needs to be harnessed, avg runner/defender w/ plus plus/80 arm that will play as pwr RFer, broke ankle in Regionals |
| 13. | San Francisco Giants | Jame Tibbs III | OF | Florida State | Well rounded offensive LHH OF, picturesque swing that covers zone/leads to reg/hard all fields contact, selective hitter w/ some s/m but patient enough to maintain high OBP, rigid def in OF w/ LF/1B outlook, potential mid-lineup bat |
| 14. | Chicago Cubs | Cam Smith | 3B | Florida State | Offensive upside RHH soph-eligible corner, improved offensive tools across board w/ more contact focus cutting s/m while letting phys/bat spd dictate how plus raw pwr plays, plus arm keeps him left side corner |
| 15. | Seattle Mariners | Jurrangelo Cijntje | SWP | Mississippi State | Smaller soph eligible switch(!) pitcher, better as RHP w/ mid 90s FB and avg/abv pwr SL and fair CH, low 90s as LHP w/ same SL and loopy CV, progressive control from both sides, atypical dev project w/ real ambidextrous upside |
| 16. | Miami Marlins | P.J. Morlando | OF | Summerville HS (SC) | Advanced LHH prep hitter, high-contact hitter w/ pro ready approach, plus bat spd and raw pwr though learning to tap into it, if pwr comes it is mid-lineup bat, improved but still fringe def in OF w/ hopes of corner OF future (South Carolina commit) |
| 17. | Milwaukee Brewers | Braylon Payne | OF | Elkins HS (TX) | Speedy model darling LHH prep OF, slap/dash high contact hitter w/ approach/spd to see leadoff, swing refinements to find balance/tap into sneaky pop, ++ runner w/ aggr on paths/field make him CF/leadoff threat (Houston commit) |
| 18. | Tampa Bay Rays | Theo Gillen | OF | Westlake HS (TX) | Pure hitting LHH prep, impact offensive tools w/ bat spd to tap into plus raw and approach/hit tool to carry profile, plus runner, underlcass injuries hinder range/arm while recovery will dictate future defensive home (Texas commit) |
| 19. | New York Mets | Carson Benge | OF | Oklahoma State | Impact upside LHH outfielder, great bat to ball skills w/ natural bat spd/contact ability to tap into abv-avg pwr, mature approach w/ some minor struggles against LHP, avg runner w/ sound actions w/ plus arm for RF, some mound upside |
| 20. | Toronto Blue Jays | Trey Yesavage | RHP | East Carolina | Rotation upside arm w/ multiple weapons, lively mid 90s FB, pwr CUT/SL and dead-life SPL both regularly show plus, spike CV is s/m weapon, phys/control w/ arsenal full of s/m weapons to see mid-rotation upside |
| 21. | Minnesota Twins | Kaelen Culpepper | SS | Kansas State | Phys/athletic RHH IFer, great feel for barrel comes w/ plus bat spd/phys pwr projection though plane may limit, disciplined approach aids hit tool, abv-avg run w/ athleticism/twitch w/ plus arm to stay left side IF, could be + at 3B |
| 22. | Baltimore Orioles | Vance Honeycutt | OF | North Carolina | Impact tools RHH outfielder, strong cut w/ bat spd/phys to tap into plus raw frequently but blw-avg hit tool, athletic swing foundation to dev w/ approach overhaul, plus/++ runner w/ easy actions in CF to project plus defender |
| 23. | Los Angeles Dodgers | Kellon Lindsey | SS | Hardee HS (FL) | Speedy/athletic RHH prep infielder, quick/direct high contact cut w/ sneaky pop, mature hitter who could see leadoff profile, 80 runner w/ range on dirt and up-the-middle future whether SS/CF (Florida commit) |
| 24. | Atlanta Braves | Cam Caminiti | LHP | Saguaro HS (AZ) | Young/high ceiling prep, lively s/m mid 90s FB w/ solid command, SL/CV flash abv though inconsistent, very good feel for CH, athleticism/delivery w/ current command to tap into high-ceiling SP upside, Ken's cousin (LSU commit) |
| 25. | San Diego Padres | Kash Mayfield | LHP | Elk City HS (OK) | Advanced/polished upside prep, lively low/mid 90s FB, CH/SL both flash plus w/ CH being s/m weapon while letting FB play up, can locate all, advanced feel/command w/ easy operation give 3/4 rotation faith (Oklahoma St commit) |
| 26. | New York Yankees | Ben Hess | RHP | Alabama | Big/physical pwr starter, lively mid 90s FB, late break CUT/SL flashes plus, downer CV and conviction CH flash avg/abv, easy operator w/ avg control and phys to see mid-rotation upside w/ better command/third offering |
| 27. | Philadelphia Phillies | Dante Nori | OF | Northville HS (MI) | Speedy/pure hitting LHH prep outfielder, advanced high contact feel for hitting w/ approach to carry towards top lineup, plus plus runner w/ aggr on paths/field to keep in CF as potential leadoff (Miss St commit) |
| 28. | Houston Astros | Walker Janek | C | Sam Houston | Prototype RHH catch/throw pwr backstop, quick/direct swing w/ explosive bat spd that produces abv-avg pwr, aggr w/ some chase refinements, simple/easy def behind plate w/ plus arm that will stick long term as pwr based reg |
| 29. | Arizona Diamondbacks | Slade Caldwell | OF | Valley View HS (AR) | Proto leadoff LHH prep OF, advanced hitter w/ high contact/disciplined approach, bat spd/natural contact translate to fringe/avg pwr, plus/++ runner w/ aggr on paths/field to stick in CF w/ leadoff profile (Ole Miss commit) |
| 30. | Texas Rangers | Malcolm Moore | C | Stanford | Offense first LHH soph-eligible backstop, frequent hard contact w/ plane and bat spd to tap into plus raw pwr, advanced approach w/ low chase and s/m, fringe projection tools behind plate w/ potential move to 1B/3B w/ more focus on bat |
| C31. | Arizona Diamondbacks | Ryan Waldschmidt | OF | Kentucky | Metric darling RHH outfielder, elite contact/chase data and ability to drive ball to all fields and tap into abv/plus raw w/ ease, abv-avg runner w/ fringy defensive tools and LF only outlook, potential impact bat |
| C32. | Baltimore Orioles | Griff O'Ferrall | SS | Virginia | Do it all high IQ RHH IFer, smart hitter w/ eye for contact/feel for barrel and zone control, blw-avg pwr, serious threat on T-USA over summer, abv-avg runner, fundamental SS w/ UT outlook, "dawg in him" bench/UT kind projection |
| C33. | Minnesota Twins | Kyle DeBarge | SS | UL-Lafayette | Little thumper RHH shortstop w/ defensive upside, quick/direct cut w/ rhythm and sneaky pop, contact/approach will carry offense, plus runner, plus arm w/ athleticism/tools to stick at SS w/ abv-avg upside |
| C34. | Milwaukee Brewers | Blake Burke | 1B | Tennessee | Elite LHH pwr 1B, frequent physical rips that create immense bat spd and allows plus-plus raw pwr to play to all fields in games w/ improved approach, 1B/DH only profile, pwr could carry into regular in lineup, SEC Tourney MVP |
| C35. | Arizona Diamondbacks | J.D. Dix | SS | Whitefish Bay HS (WI) | Offensive upside SWH prep IF, high contact hitter from both sides w/ phys proj to tap into avg pwr, mature/disciplined approach, abv-avg runner, injury limited quality looks at M-IF prowess w/ actions to potentially stick (Wake Forest commit) |
| C36. | Cleveland Guardians | Braylon Doughty | RHP | Chaparral HS (CA) | Advanced rotation upside prep, low/mid 90s FB, elite spin counter SL/CV flash plus, some feel for CH, arsenal plays up w/ advanced feel w/ athletic/command markers for mid-rotation upside (Oklahoma St commit) |
| C37. | Pittsburgh Pirates | Levi Sterling | RHP | Notre Dame HS (CA) | Athletic/polished prep, low 90s FB, sweepy SL and high spin CV flash abv/plus, solid CH w/ conviction, arsenal plays up w/ advanced command, athletic/command markers w/ phys projection to see rotation future (Texas commit) |
| C38. | Colorado Rockies | Brody Brecht | RHP | Iowa | Athletic/mass upside power arm, super lively upper 90s FB plays w/ plus plus pwr slurvy SL, budding SP w/ pwr to miss bats, dreaming on peak athlete (WR for Iowa) to find any form of command/control to tap into immense upside |
| C39. | Washington Nationals | Caleb Lomavita | C | California | Offense minded RHH backstop, very hitterish w/ feel for barrel and bat spd/ctct skills to produce avg/abv game pwr, can be too aggr in box, athletic behind plate w/ plus arm and playable tools to stick long w/ corner fallback |
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