2024 MLB Draft: Baseball America Staff Draft V 1.0

Image credit: Travis Bazzana (Photo by Eddie Kelly / ProLook Photos)

Welcome to our first staff draft for the 2024 class.

We’re almost halfway into the college season, so it’s time to put on our scouting director hats and see how the draft would unfold if teams were foolish enough to give us keys to the draft room.

This is not a mock draft. We’re not making picks in an attempt to project what actual big league clubs will do on draft day, but making selections based on who we would take if we were in the decision-making chair.

Five writers participated in this exercise: Ben Badler, Carlos Collazo, JJ Cooper, Peter Flaherty and Geoff Pontes.

Related:

Pk	Rd	Team	Writer	Player	Pos	School	Rank
1	1	Guardians	Peter	Travis Bazzana	2B	Oregon State	2
2	1	Reds	Geoff	Hagen Smith	LHP	Arkansas	6
3	1	Rockies	JJ	Charlie Condon	OF	Georgia	1
4	1	Athletics	Ben	JJ Wetherholt	2B	West Virginia	4
5	1	White Sox	Carlos	Braden Montgomery	OF/RHP	Texas A&M	7
6	1	Royals	Peter	Chase Burns	RHP	Wake Forest	5
7	1	Cardinals	Geoff	Jac Caglianone	1B/LHP	Florida	3
8	1	Angels	JJ	Jonathan Santucci	LHP	Duke	13
9	1	Pirates	Ben	Nick Kurtz	1B	Wake Forest	8
10	1	Nationals	Carlos	Konnor Griffin	OF/SS	Jackson Prep, Flowood, Miss.	9
11	1	Tigers	Peter	Caleb Lomavita	C	California	14
12	1	Red Sox	Geoff	Cam Smith	3B	Florida State	18
13	1	Giants	JJ	Vance Honeycutt	OF	North Carolina	11
14	1	Cubs	Ben	Trey Yesavage	RHP	ECU	27
15	1	Mariners	Carlos	Bryce Rainer	SS/RHP	Harvard-Westlake HS, Studio City, Calif.	20
16	1	Marlins	Peter	William Schmidt	RHP	Catholic HS, Baton Rouge, La.	19
17	1	Brewers	Geoff	Brody Brecht	RHP	Iowa	12
18	1	Rays	JJ	Kaelen Culpepper	SS	Kansas State	15
19	1	Mets	Ben	PJ Morlando	1B/OF	Summerville (S.C.) HS	25
20	1	Blue Jays	Carlos	Jacob Cozart	C	NC State	17
21	1	Twins	Peter	Seaver King	OF	Wake Forest	10
22	1	Orioles	Geoff	Theodore Gillen	SS	Westlake HS, Austin, Tex.	62
23	1	Dodgers	JJ	Luke Holman	RHP	LSU	28
24	1	Braves	Ben	Cam Caminiti	LHP	Saguaro HS, Scottsdale, Ariz.	23
25	1	Padres	Carlos	Billy Amick	3B	Tennessee	29
26	1	Yankees	Peter	Carson Benge	OF/RHP	Oklahoma State	36
27	1	Phillies	Geoff	Slade Caldwell	OF	Valley View HS, Jonesboro, Ark.	34
28	1	Astros	JJ	Tommy White	3B	LSU	30
29	1	D-backs	Ben	Mike Sirota	OF	Northeastern	16
30	1	Rangers	Carlos	Kellon Lindsey	SS/OF	Hardee HS, Wauchula, Fla.	31
31	PPI	D-backs	Peter	Ben Hess	RHP	Alabama	26
32	PPI	Orioles	Geoff	Dakota Jordan	OF	Mississippi State	42
33	1C	Twins	JJ	Caleb Bonemer	SS	Okemos (Mich.) HS	32
34	1S	Brewers	Ben	Bryce Cunningham	RHP	Vanderbilt	104
35	1S	D-backs	Carlos	Christian Moore	2B	Tennessee	52
36	1S	Guardians	Peter	James Tibbs III	1B/OF	Florida State	47
37	1S	Pirates	Geoff	Walker Janek	C	Sam Houston State	67
38	1S	Rockies	JJ	Charlie Bates	SS	Palo Alto (Calif.) HS	40
39	1S	Royals	Ben	Owen Paino	SS	Ketcham HS, Wappingers Falls, N.Y.	76

1. Guardians — Travis Bazzana, 2B, Oregon State

Writer: Peter

Rationale: I wrestled a little bit with the idea of taking Charlie Condon here, but I ultimately settled on Bazzana. He is an elite-level athlete with an explosive operation in the box and is in the midst of a career year. I think he has All-Star upside in the big leagues.

2. Reds — Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas

Writer: Geoff

Rationale: There’s a group of college players that were all strong considerations at this pick, particularly Charlie Condon. I ultimately went with Smith. A lefthander with plus stuff and SEC success is tough to pass up.

3. Rockies — Charlie Condon, OF, Georgia

Writer: JJ

Rationale: The idea of Condon hitting at altitude puts a smile on my face. Condon is having on of the best offensive years ever, and I’m thrilled he was still on the board at pick 3.

4. Athletics — JJ Wetherholt, 2B, West Virginia

Writer: Ben

Rationale: Wetherholt has been out until just recently because of a hamstring injury, but he’s one of the premier hitters in the nation and will show why he’s a legitimate 1-1 candidate now that he’s back. Charlie Condon and Travis Bazanna have leaped ahead of him in our rankings, deservedly so with the bonkers numbers both are posting. But Wetherholt has a beautiful, efficient and powerful lefthanded swing, good pitch recognition and plate coverage and a stellar offensive track record, all from a player who projects to stick in the middle infield.

5. White Sox — Braden Montgomery, OF/RHP, Texas A&M

Writer: Carlos

Rationale: I didn’t expect Chase Burns to be available to me here so I was really debating between him, Montgomery and Florida two-way sensation Jac Caglianone. Each player feels like a potential top-five pick, but I really like Montgomery’s lefthanded swing (he is a switch hitter), all-fields power and developing approach at the plate. He has consistently cut down on his strikeouts throughout his college career and has been one of the best overall hitters in college baseball this spring. Additionally I think he can be an impactful defender in right field where he should have one of the better throwing arms in the game.

6. Royals — Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest

Writer: Peter

Rationale: I was bummed that Carlos snagged Braden Montgomery because that’s who I was going to pick here, but I “settled” instead for Chase Burns. He has two 70-grade offerings in his thunderous fastball and hellacious slider to go along with advanced strike-throwing ability. I’m a lot less worried that he will end up in the bullpen and he has front-of-the-rotation upside.

7. Cardinals — Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida

Writer: Geoff

Rationale: This feels like the last of a clear top of the board. Caglianone, despite tremendous success as both a hitter and pitcher at the collegiate level, is a bit of an anomaly. Do you want the bat? The lefthander? Or both? It’s a fun question a team will have to answer shortly. I prefer him as a bat because the power is outlier, but would like to see him pitch in relief in addition to hitting.

8. Angels — Jonathan Santucci, LHP, Duke

Writer: JJ

Rationale: This draft feels like it thins out pretty quickly. I’d have been happy to pick Montgomery, Burns or Caglianone, but with all of them off the board, here’s a pitcher who could move quickly for a team that loves to move prospects at a rocket pace.

9. Pirates — Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest

Writer: Ben

Rationale: You’re not drafting for need here—especially for a first baseman—but Kurtz is an excellent fit for the Pirates, who currently employ Rowdy Tellez at first base and lack impact corner bats in their farm system. It’s been a slow start accompanied by a shoulder injury for Kurtz, but we’re talking about a .330/.493/.677 career hitter at Wake Forest who is still drawing more walks (28) than strikeouts (16) this year. The power numbers have been quieter than expected in 2024, but is there anyone who seriously doubts his power? I can’t wait to pair him and Termarr Johnson in the middle of a lineup.

10. Nationals — Konnor Griffin, OF/SS, Jackson Prep, Flowood, Miss.

Writer: Carlos

Rationale: I was praying Nick Kurtz would somehow fall to me at No. 10 for the Nationals but Ben has been picking up the pure hitters of this class who have slipped a bit thanks to injuries and moderate performance. Good for him. Instead I’ll snap the streak of college players and take the only high school prospect who feels like he fits near this range in Konnor Griffin—who is the ultimate athlete and toolshed who comes with a fallback option as a talented righthanded pitcher in his own right. There’s some hit tool risk but there’s a chance for plus power, double-plus speed, double plus arm strength and a solid or better defender at a few premium defensive positions. I am happy with that risk/reward combo here where it feels like there’s a tier break in the class.

11. Tigers — Caleb Lomavita, C, California

Writer: Peter

Rationale: The best catcher in this year’s draft class, Lomavita has a tantalizing set of tools. He has plus power to the pull side, his hit tool has taken a step forward and he is an ultra-athletic catcher who defends well with an above-average arm.

12. Red Sox — Cam Smith, 3B, Florida State

Writer: Geoff

Rationale: Cam Smith had a solid freshman season with Florida State in 2023 and followed it up with an All-Star turn in the Cape Cod League. He looks like he’s really turned a corner as a hitter cutting his strikeout rate to well under 20% this spring. Smith is a big physical third baseman with plus raw and blossoming feel to hit.

13. Giants — Vance Honeycutt, OF, North Carolina

Writer: JJ

Rationale: Honeycutt continues to face concerns about his contact ability, and I’d love to see him hitting for more average, but his athleticism, defense and power remain incredibly intriguing.

14. Cubs — Trey Yesavage, RHP, ECU

Writer: Ben

Rationale: Yesavage has some of the best stuff in the draft. It’s a lively, riding fastball up to 98 mph from his high slot, complemented by secondary pitches that produce high swing-and-miss rates. He’s a strike-thrower whose results have been stellar again for the second consecutive year, making him an appealing pitcher with starter traits to be able to land in the middle of the first round.

15. Mariners — Bryce Rainer, SS/RHP, Harvard-Westlake HS, Studio City, Calif.

Writer: Carlos

Rationale: The board is already pretty wide open for me at this point. I might prefer Rainer as a pitcher, but I would happily take him as a high school hitter given the toolset he provides with a chance to stick at shortstop. There aren’t many legitimate shortstops in this class. Even if Rainer has to slide over to third base he should fit there with a huge arm and lots of raw power. I also debated Kaelen Culpepper and Seaver King with this pick.

16. Marlins — William Schmidt, RHP, Catholic HS, Baton Rouge, La.

Writer: Peter

Rationale: For my money’s worth, Schmidt is the clear-cut best prep arm in the class and I think he’ll end up being popped before the 16th pick when all is said and done. He has a great body with projection remaining and moves well on the mound with plenty of arm speed. Schmidt’s breaking ball—a high-spin hammer that he has an advanced feel for—is his money-maker and a comfortably plus pitch, but he has also been up to 98 this spring with his fastball. His ceiling is incredibly high, and I think he is a potential front-line starter.

17. Brewers — Brody Brecht, RHP, Iowa

Writer: Geoff

Rationale: Brody Brecht’s filthy raw stuff under the tutelage of the Brewers pitching development is a fun idea to dream on. While Brecht has been inconsistent this spring he has the type of raw stuff you can dream on.

18. Rays — Kaelen Culpepper, SS, Kansas State

Writer: JJ

Rationale: Culpepper feels like a solid and safe pick around this range. He’s a solid defender at shortstop who hits for average and can handle velocity.

19. Mets — PJ Morlando, 1B/OF, Summerville (S.C.) HS

Writer: Ben

Rationale: It’s the first draft for the Mets under David Stearns and vice president of amateur scouting Kris Gross. Based on how the Brewers drafted under Stearns and the Astros did with Gross, I expect a college player here and likely a college hitter. But looking at who’s available here among the college ranks, there sure are a lot of flaws. If the Mets go high school hitter here, Morlando does make sense. He has a lengthy track record of strong offensive performance, with good pitch recognition skills, consistent quality at-bats and huge lefthanded power. He’s older for the class and he’s further down the defensive spectrum compared to some other hitters on the board, but the mix of OBP/power upside is as good as any player remaining.

20. Blue Jays — Jacob Cozart, C, NC State

Writer: Carlos

Rationale: Cozart offers solid tools at catcher and there are some scouts who view him as the best catching prospect in the class. He’s been off to a strong start this season with a solid blend of patience and power, and his plus arm is a nice cherry on top of the profile. It was hard to pass up on Seaver King here but I have just enough questions about his approach and where he fits defensively to go with a college catcher instead.

21. Twins — Seaver King, OF, Wake Forest

Writer: Peter

Rationale: Grabbing King here was a no-brainer. I have my concerns about his approach, but he is an explosive athlete with thunderous bat speed. King has spent some time on the dirt this spring, but I think he fits best in centerfield long term where his double-plus speed and athleticism will shine.

22. Orioles — Theodore Gillen, SS, Westlake HS, Austin, Tex.

Writer: Geoff

Rationale: Gillen has size and tools to dream on. He would be a perfect fit for an Orioles farm system that will look for some upside to help backfill their development machine.

23. Dodgers — Luke Holman, RHP, LSU

Writer: JJ

Rationale: Purely on performance, Holman’s pitched like an ace this year, but scouts are concerned his stuff is a little light. If a team can figure out how to add a little more velocity and tighten up his breaking ball, there’s a lot to build around here.

24. Braves — Cam Caminiti, LHP, Saguaro HS, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Writer: Ben

Rationale: The Braves have picked in the back third of the first round the last four years and every time have drafted pitching, drawing from both the college and high school ranks. This time they’re getting the top high school lefthander in the class in Caminiti, who will still be 17 on draft day. It’s an athletic, easy operation to regularly dial his fastball into the mid-90s with potential for more in the tank.

25. Padres — Billy Amick, 3B, Tennessee

Writer: Carlos

Rationale: I didn’t expect Amick to still be available on the board here and will happily take the big righthanded power and bat speed he provides. Amick has been a big up-arrow prospect and has looked better than expected at third base. It feels like the hitters fall off pretty quickly and there are still arms I like clustered in one tier together so I am going with a bat.

26. Yankees — Carson Benge, OF/RHP, Oklahoma State

Writer: Peter

Rationale: Benge is a bit of a cheese ball for me in this year’s class. I know the back of the baseball card might not be as loud as some of the other players taken in this range, but there is a lot to like. Benge has a noisy operation in the box with a noticeable barrel tip and leg kick—he eliminates the leg kick with two strikes—but he has thunderous hand speed and his barrel explodes through the hitting zone. He has plus power to the pull side along with an advanced feel to hit. He is a great athlete who runs well and boasts a high baseball IQ. I would be curious to see what he looks like in centerfield, as I think his plus arm and instincts would translate.

27. Phillies — Slade Caldwell, OF, Valley View HS, Jonesboro, Ark.

Writer: Geoff

Rationale: In a weaker class for high school position players Caldwell stands out for his track record of performance and high level skills. He’s a strong contact hitter with a discerning eye at the plate. A speedy undersized outfielder with good plate skills is a good gamble at the backend of the first.

28. Astros — Tommy White, 3B, LSU

Writer: JJ

Rationale: White is one of the best hitters in recent college baseball history, but his lack of a clear defensive home in pro ball means he’s still on the board near the back of the first round. At this point, getting a player who can hit as well as White can at pick 28 seems like a good value.

29. D-backs — Mike Sirota, OF, Northeastern

Writer: Ben

Rationale: Sirota has not had a good start to the 2024 season, with only one home run through 24 games after slugging 18 in 55 games last year. If he keeps hitting this way deeper into the season, he won’t end up going this high, but I’m betting on a second half more in line with what we saw from him in 2023, giving the D-backs a well-rounded outfielder at the back of the first round.

30. Rangers — Kellon Lindsey, SS/OF, Hardee HS, Wauchula, Fla.

Writer: Carlos

Rationale: I’ll continue the run of bats here by going for another demographic that is rare in this year’s class: shortstop. There’s plenty of risk here given Lindsey’s lack of track record, but it’s hard to shake how excited scouts have talked about him and I’m happy to bet on an athlete with 80-grade speed, above-average defensive ability and strong bat-to-ball skills.

31. D-backs — Ben Hess, RHP, Alabama

Writer: Peter

Rationale: Hess has not looked like himself at times this season, but the physical righthander still boasts a loud arsenal with which he generates plenty of swing-and-miss. His fastball has been up to 98 with run and ride through the zone, and he supplements it with two distinct breaking balls and a changeup. I have little concern that Hess will start at the next level, which is something you can’t say about a lot of arms in the class.

32. Orioles — Dakota Jordan, OF, Mississippi State

Writer: Geoff

Rationale: Jordan is an impressive athlete and is among the best power hitters in the draft. There’s swing and miss concerns but Jordan has shown solid on-base skills and power. He fits the Orioles mold of athletic hitters with power, on-base skills and some swing and miss.

33. Twins — Caleb Bonemer, SS, Okemos (Mich.) HS

Writer: JJ

Rationale: Bonemer may not have as much track record as you’d like, but his frame, swing and athleticism make him an excellent addition as a second pick for a team in the supplemental first.

34. Brewers — Bryce Cunningham, RHP, Vanderbilt

Writer: Ben

Rationale: Last year the Brewers drafted Wake Forest third baseman Brock Wilken with their first-round pick, then went with high school righthander Josh Knoth at No. 33 overall. I could see the Brewers taking a similar approach this year, and if they want a high school pitcher with excellent feel for spin and good projection indicators, there are plenty to choose from with Tegan Kuhns, Chris Levonas, Owen Hall, Joey Oakie and several others. But we’re going with more present stuff in Cunningham, whose stock has been rising this year in a strong start at Vanderbilt. His fastball is sitting in the mid-90s, his changeup is getting a ton of whiffs and his mid-80s slider is another strong weapon.

35. D-backs — Christian Moore, 2B, Tennessee

Writer: Carlos

Rationale: I liked Geoff’s Dakota Jordan pick for the Orioles at 32. He would have been one of the players I debated on here. In the end I was torn between FSU’s James Tibbs III and Moore. Both have had strong seasons so far but there’s something about Moore’s swing that I just love so I’ll take a shot on the righthanded hitting second base profile here in the supplemental round. I have a high degree of confidence that Tibbs will come off the board quickly after passing on him here.

36. Guardians — James Tibbs III, 1B/OF, Florida State

Writer: Peter

Rationale: Another personal favorite of mine, I was actually close to picking Tibbs up at 26. He is off to a torrid start this year for the Seminoles and there is a lot to like—especially from an offensive standpoint. Tibbs has plus power to all fields and consistently drives the baseball with authority from gap-to-gap. I would also say that his hit tool grades out as plus. Tibbs is perpetually on the barrel and his bat-to-ball skills are plus. Tibbs has a professional approach with advanced swing decisions and will seldom expand the strike zone. His above-average arm will allow him to stick in right field professionally.

37. Pirates — Walker Janek, C, Sam Houston State

Writer: Geoff

Rationale: A well-rounded college catcher with skills behind the plate to handle the position long term, Janek has also hit for three seasons with Sam Houston State and performed on the Cape Cod League.

38. Rockies — Charlie Bates, SS, Palo Alto (Calif.) HS

Writer: JJ

Rationale: It may not be a great draft for high school hitters, but Bates is one of the best prep bats available. There’s solid feel to hit with developing power all from an infielder who may be able to stick at shortstop.

39. Royals — Owen Paino, SS, Ketcham HS, Wappingers Falls, N.Y.

Writer: Ben

Rationale: The position player talent in the Royals farm system is light. Chase Burns adds an electric arm to the organization at No. 6 overall, and with the options here for college hitters not the most appealing, we’re going with a player in Paino who offers upside both at the plate and on defense. He’s a physical shortstop with a compact lefthanded swing, a mature approach for his age and a terrific baseball IQ. If he has a big spring season, I think he can fit into this range.