How The 2024 MLB Draft First Round Lines Up Based On Money
Image credit: Travis Bazzana (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
One of the biggest differences with MLB’s draft compared to other major sports is that it uses a soft-slotting system. Each pick comes with a recommended bonus amount, but teams and players are free to agree to deals above or below those slot values.
That creates a draft system where teams can get more creative in how they spend their money throughout the 20-round draft and doesn’t always mean that the consensus top players are taken in that order.
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It’s always useful to line up the players based on signing bonus amount after the signing deadline to try and get a more accurate picture of how the industry lines up the best talent in the class. Below you can see how the 2024 first round would look like based on the dollars:
| ACTUAL PICK | $ PICK | CLUB | PLAYER | BONUS | BA RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | CIN | Chase Burns | $9,250,000 | 4 |
| 3 | 2 | COL | Charlie Condon | $9,250,000 | 1 |
| 1 | 3 | CLE | Travis Bazzana | $8,950,000 | 2 |
| 5 | 4 | CWS | Hagen Smith | $8,000,000 | 6 |
| 6 | 5 | KC | Jac Caglianone | $7,497,500 | 5 |
| 4 | 6 | OAK | Nick Kurtz | $7,000,000 | 8 |
| 7 | 7 | STL | JJ Wetherholt | $6,900,000 | 3 |
| 9 | 8 | PIT | Konnor Griffin | $6,532,025 | 9 |
| 11 | 9 | DET | Bryce Rainer | $5,797,500 | 10 |
| 10 | 10 | WSH | Seaver King | $5,150,000 | 17 |
| 14 | 11 | CHI | Cam Smith | $5,070,700 | 16 |
| 12 | 12 | BOS | Braden Montgomery | $5,000,000 | 7 |
| 8 | 13 | LAA | Christian Moore | $4,997,500 | 12 |
| 15 | 14 | SEA | Jurrangelo Cijntje | $4,880,900 | 24 |
| 13 | 15 | SF | James Tibbs III | $4,747,500 | 14 |
| 18 | 16 | TB | Theo Gillen | $4,370,400 | 23 |
| 20 | 17 | TOR | Trey Yesavage | $4,177,500 | 11 |
| 22 | 18 | BAL | Vance Honeycutt | $4,000,000 | 13 |
| 19 | 19 | NY | Carson Benge | $3,997,500 | 15 |
| 21 | 20 | MIN | Kaelen Culpepper | $3,934,400 | 34 |
| 44 | 21 | WSH | Luke Dickerson | $3,800,000 | 56 |
| 24 | 22 | ATL | Cam Caminiti | $3,553,800 | 21 |
| 25 | 23 | SD | Kash Mayfield | $3,442,100 | 25 |
| 17 | 24 | MIL | Braylon Payne | $3,440,000 | 54 |
| 16 | 25 | MIA | PJ Morlando | $3,400,000 | 52 |
| 23 | 26 | LA | Kellon Lindsey | $3,297,500 | 27 |
| 28 | 27 | HOU | Walker Janek | $3,130,000 | 20 |
| 29 | 28 | ARI | Slade Caldwell | $3,087,000 | 19 |
| 51 | 29 | CIN | Tyson Lewis | $3,047,500 | 43 |
| 30 | 30 | TEX | Malcolm Moore | $3,000,000 | 31 |
The signing bonus values for the class largely reflect what the industry said all spring about how the talent of the 2024 group stacks up. Nine of the top-10 ranked players in the class received bonuses commensurate with that talent, while only Texas A&M outfielder Braden Montgomery (No. 7) slipped out of that range slightly with the 12th-largest bonus.
Once you get into the middle of the first round, assessments of talent start to vary more though the lowest-ranked player who received a top-30 bonus in the class was No. 56 Luke Dickerson—hardly an off-the-board pick.
Both the Reds and the Nationals handed out multiple top-30 bonuses. The Reds signed RHP Chase Burns for a $9.25 million bonus as the second overall pick and then signed second round SS Tyson Lewis for just over $3 million. The Nationals acquired a pair of first-round talents between SS Seaver King (first round, 10th overall) for just over $5 million and the aforementioned Luke Dickerson (second round, 44th overall) for $3.8 million.
Neither the Yankees or Phillies signed a player to a top-30 bonus. Both teams picked toward the back of the first round and opted for under-slot deals with their first overall picks and then significant over-slot deals with their next selections.
