College Hitters Have A Chance To Make History In 2024 MLB Draft
Image credit: Charlie Condon (Brian Westerholt/Four Seam Images)
Collegians dominate the top of this year’s draft ranking, especially position players.
Georgia’s Charlie Condon and Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana have the most promising bats and rank as the top two prospects. West Virginia’s JJ Wetherholt and Texas A&M’s Braden Montgomery rank Nos. 4 and 5, while Florida’s Jac Caglianone and Wake Forest’s Nick Kurtz check in at Nos. 7 and 8.
This surplus of college hitting talent will be a theme in the first round, especially in the top 10 picks. In fact, this year’s draft class has a chance to tie the record for the most college position players selected with top 10 overall picks.
BA 500 Draft Rankings
Ranking the top 500 prospects in the 2024 draft class with scouting reports for every player.
Most College Hitters Drafted Among Top 10 Picks
The aforementioned record for six college hitters drafted among the top 10 is six. It happened three times previously in 1985, 2018 and 2019.
1985 Draft
| Overall Pick | Player | School | Career bWAR | ||
| 1st | B.J. Surhoff (C) | North Carolina | 34.4 | ||
| 2nd | Will Clark (1B) | Mississippi State | 56.5 | ||
| 4th | Barry Larkin (SS) | Michigan | 70.5 | ||
| 6th | Barry Bonds (OF) | Arizona State | 162.8 | ||
| 8th | Pete Incaviglia (OF) | Oklahoma State | 10.3 | ||
| 10th | Chris Gwynn (OF) | San Diego State | -1.4 |
2018 Draft
| Overall Pick | Player | School | Career bWAR | ||
| 2nd | Joey Bart (C) | Georgia Tech | 1.4 | ||
| 3rd | Alec Bohm (3B) | Wichita State | 2.3 | ||
| 4th | Nick Madrigal (SS) | Oregon State | 3.0 | ||
| 5th | Jonathan India (3B) | Florida | 6.0 | ||
| 9th | Kyler Murray (OF) | Oklahoma | N/A | ||
| 10th | Travis Swaggerty (OF) | South Alabama | -0.2 |
2019 Draft
| Overall Pick | Player | School | Career bWAR | ||
| 1st | Adley Rutschman (C) | Oregon State | 12.3 | ||
| 3rd | Andrew Vaughn (1B) | California | 0.6 | ||
| 4th | JJ Bleday (OF) | Vanderbilt | 1.1 | ||
| 8th | Josh Jung (3B) | Texas Tech | 3.0 | ||
| 9th | Shea Langeliers (C) | Baylor | 2.5 | ||
| 10th | Hunter Bishop (OF) | Arizona State | N/A |
Most College Hitters Taken To Lead Off A Draft
College hitters are often popular in the first round. Most of them have proven their mettle in a high-pressure college environment and have authenticated their hitting chops with wood bats while playing for Team USA or in the Cape Cod League.
Despite this, no draft in history has begun with more than two consecutive college hitters being selected, which has has happened just three times in the previous 59 drafts.
1985 Draft
| Team | Player | School | ||
| 1. Milwaukee Brewers | B.J. Surhoff (C) | North Carolina | ||
| 2. San Francisco Giants | Will Clark (1B) | Mississippi State |
2015 Draft
| Team | Player | School | ||
| 1. Arizona Diamondbacks | Dansby Swanson (SS) | Vanderbilt | ||
| 2. Houston Astros | Alex Bregman (SS) | LSU |
2020 Draft
| Team | Player | School | ||
| 1. Detroit Tigers | Spencer Torkelson (3B) | Arizona State | ||
| 2. Baltimore Orioles | Heston Kjerstad (OF) | Arkansas |
The 1985 draft class is arguably the best ever, highlighted by Barry Bonds, Randy Johnson, Rafael Palmeiro, Barry Larkin and John Smoltz.
Even though BJ Surhoff and Will Clark were not the best players in their draft class, they were longtime big leaguers and all-stars. Clark in particular stood out. He was a six-time all-star who finished top 10 in National League MVP voting four times, including a runner-up in 1989.
The 2015 top two of Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman, both stud SEC shortstops, are shaping up as two of the top overall talents in their draft class. At this juncture, only high schoolers Kyle Tucker and Austin Riley are mounting serious challenges to the claim.
The 2020 draft selections and results should be taken with a grain of salt. The amateur baseball season ended in March because of the Covid pandemic, so MLB organizations were working with incomplete pictures on draft day.
Spencer Torkelson looked like a safe bet to become an impact hitter based on his prodigious power display at Arizona State and standout summer with USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team in 2019. He has shown flashes of impact in Detroit but has not yet met expectations.
The Orioles opted for SEC star and Team USA standout Heston Kjerstad with the second overall pick. He has performed in the minor leagues, but a series of early-career injuries and Baltimore’s deep big league outfield corps have limited his MLB opportunities.
