A life changing event for players, their families, and organizations is the MLB Amateur Draft. It’s a moment that hundreds of thousands of kids dream of growing up, in hopes to hear their name called by a professional baseball franchise. It’s the moment of a lifetime for players that are drafted and one they will never forget.
Yet again, the SEC headlines the top of the draft boards as it continues to prove itself as the best conference for college baseball talent year after year. 3 of the top 5 and 8 of the top 30 prospects reign from the SEC. Last year, in 2023, the SEC stole the show with the top two picks of the draft coming from not only the conference, but both from LSU in Paul Skenes (1st overall by the Pirates) and Dylan Crews (2nd overall by the Nationals). Paul Skenes was only in the minor leagues for an unbelievably short 10 months before making his MLB Debut. Skenes proceeded to blow everyone away and recorded the best ERA in the league since his debut, named an MLB All-Star, and then the National League starting pitcher, all less than 365 days from being drafted 1st overall and after winning the College World Series and CWS MVP with LSU the month before.
Another special thing in this draft is the unknown of who will go number 1 overall. There are several prospects who have made themselves a strong case, but there can only be one. From mature, veteran hitters to home run sluggers, this draft is full of it all and players of every mold and style. Who will the Cleveland Guardians select 1st overall? I firmly believe it will be Travis Bazzana as he would be the first ever Australian born player to be drafted first overall and the first ever 2nd baseman selected number 1 in the MLB Draft We’ll find out soon enough. I don't expect really any trades but obviously anything can happen and if a club is extremely high on a prospect that's on the board or slides down the draft, expect a GM to make the call and pounce on the opportunity to draft a franchise player.
Just like this years College World Series, expect the first round to be an SEC & ACC challenge for the most prospects drafted on day one. Furthermore, the sure amount and depth of college prospects seem to outshine the prep prospects this year. With that being said, I believe that the overwhelming majority of day one picks will be college players as MLB franchises trend to love the development, health, and maturity of collegiate talent more than prep prospects out of high school year after year.
The MLB Top 30 Prospect Rankings per MLB.com
- Travis Bazzana - 2B, Oregon State
- Charlie Condon - OF/3B, Georgia
- Jac Caglianone - 1B/LHP, Florida
- JJ Wetherholt - SS/2B, West Virginia
- Hagen Smith - LHP, Arkansas
- Chase Burns - RHP, Wake Forest
- Nick Kurtz - 1B, Wake Forest
- Braden Montgomery - OF, Texas A&M
- Konnor Griffin - SS/OF, Jackson Prep (MS)
- Bryce Rainer - SS, Harvard-Westlake (CA)
- Trey Yesavage - RHP, East Carolina
- James Tibbs - OF, Florida State
- Christian Moore - 2B, Tennessee
- Cam Smith - 3B, Florida State
- Cam Caminiti, LHP, Saguaro (AZ)
- William Schmidt - RHP, Catholic (LA)
- Seaver King - 3B/OF, Wake Forest
- Carson Benge - OF, Oklahoma State
- Ryan Sloan - York (IL)
- Tommy White - 3B, LSU
- Brody Brecht - RHP, Iowa
- Vance Honeycutt - OF, North Carolina
- Ryan Waldschmidt - OF, Kentucky
- Walker Janek - C, Sam Houston
- Jurrangelo, Cijntje - BHP, Mississippi State
- Malcolm Moore - C, Stanford
- Slade Caldwell - OF, Valley View (AR)
- Theo Gillen - SS, Westlake (TX)
- Kellon Lindsey - SS, Hardee (FL)
- Kash Mayfield - LHP, Elk City (OK)
The 2024 MLB Draft will begin on Sunday, July 14th at 7pm with th first two rounds of the draft taking place, as well as player promotion inceptive and competitive balance rounds taking place between the rounds. The Draft will continue with rounds 3-10 on Monday, July 15th at 2pm and rounds 11-20, as the draft remains condensed to 20 rounds, on Tuesday at 2pm on Tuesday, July 16th.
This is the future of professional baseball and the excitement around it is at an all-time high as the game of college baseball grows exponentially. Tune in and enjoy it.