Aidan Major

2024 MLB Draft: Which Teams Had the Best Draft Class?

It’s wild that the 2024 MLB Draft has come to an end. It feels like Tyler and I were launching the On The Clock podcast yesterday, and fall-ball was just starting. Now that we’ve come down from the high of the draft, it’s time to do some recaps and break down some of the picks and team hauls. We will continue our breakdown by going through the teams that had some of the best hauls on draft day.  


Draft Live Stream | Top 300 Prospects | Regional Board Rankings 

Day One Recap | Final Recap | Best Value Picks 


Cleveland Guardians 

You will likely do well in the draft when you have the most money. The Guardians took full advantage of having the largest bonus pool. They kicked off the start of the draft by taking Travis Bazzana out of Oregon State. It was rumored leading up to the draft that it would be him or West Virginia shortstop JJ Wetherholt. Bazzana came in around $1.6 million underslot, giving the Guardians plenty of money to spend later in the draft. They continued their day one, drafting highly-touted prep right-hander Braylon Doughty and possibly the second-best catcher in the draft in Jacob Cozart. Doughty is an arm that has already had his fastball up to 96 mph and a breaking ball that hovers around an insane 3,000 RPM. Cozart offensively offers a ton of upside and is one of the best defensive catchers behind the plate.

2B Travis Bazzana

Cleveland's excitement didn’t stop on day one. To start day two, they took another high-upside prep arm, Joey Oakie, out of the state of Iowa. He’s another arm with loud stuff, as his fastball is in the mid-90s and has topped at 97 mph. They followed by taking two more highly touted prep arms, Cameron Sullivan in the 7th round and Chase Mobley in the 10th round. Sullivan features a fastball up to 97 mph and a power slider in the high-80s to low-90s. Mobley is full of projection and an outstanding athlete. His electric fastball has topped out at 97 mph with a ton of two-seam action. They rounded out their draft with other intriguing arms, including RHP Aidan Major out of West Virginia, LHP Rafe Schlesinger out of Miami, and RHP Cam Schuelke out of Mississippi State. Sixteen of the Guardians' 21 picks were pitchers. This is a good sign for a team that has been successful in developing arms. 

SS Konnor Griffin

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates pulled together a draft class with some fun upside. Every time the Pirates' pick was announced for the first three rounds of the draft, I just thought, “Ohhh I like that!”. The Pirates had the ninth overall pick and seemed to strike gold when Konnor Griffin fell to them. There were talks that Griffin might go as high as the Chicago White Sox or Kansas City Royals pick. Griffin was the consensus best prep player in the 2024 MLB Draft, and he’s full of upside and projection. The guy oozes tools. He’s got a ton of bat speed and power combined with a reasonably mature approach at the plate. He also stole an insane 85 bases this spring. The Pirates seemed exactatic to land him at number nine.

The Pirates followed that pick with two more prep guys full of upside in RHP Levi Sterling out of California and SS Wyatt Sanford out of Texas. They took Sterling with their Comp-A pick. Sterling already has a four-pitch mix with an effortless delivery on the mound. He’s already in the low 90s with his fastball, and he pairs it with solid low-to-mid 80s changeup and a very effective sweeper. He’s an athletic kid with great potential, given his ability to throw strikes and room for growth. Sanford is about as exciting as they come for a prep bat. He ranked #28 overall for us, and there was some thought he might go in the first round or comp picks, but he fell to the Pirates in the second. It’s a beautiful left-handed swing, and he can utilize it in the entire field. He battles at the plate and draws some high walk rates. He’s also athletic enough to play anywhere on the field. The athleticism and mature approach are exciting things for the Pirates to build on. 

LHP Josh Hartle

They didn’t stop there. The Pirates got some interesting college players to help counteract the upside prep guys they drafted. In the fourth round, they took LHP Josh Hartle out of Wake Forest; in the 5th round, they took OF Will Taylor out of Clemson; in the 6th round, they took RHP Matt Ager out of UC Santa Barbara; in the 10th round, they took C Derek Berg out of Army, and in the 16th round they took RHP Brian Curley out of VCU. All of these guys are intriguing players in my eyes. Hartle faced some struggles this past year, but his dominant 2023, where he struck out 140 batters over 102.1 innings pitched, lets you know that more is in the tank. Taylor was a two-sport star at Clemson and is a hit-over-power profile; although he struggles against lefties, he has plenty of athleticism and upside. Berg and Curley are two interesting mid-majors who succeeded at Army and VCU.

OF PJ Morlando

Miami Marlins

This was one of my favorite day hauls from day one. There is lots of upside and a fun arm in Aiden May. They started with Morlando, who came in at #27 on our top 300 board. He puts up insane power numbers in BP, shown off at the MLB Draft Combine (4 balls over 110mp EV), but he has struggled to get into that power in the game (somewhat due to being intentionally walked a lot). Lots of upside with this pick. They followed that pick with even more upside by taking Carter Johnson at 56, who is #32 on our board. The Alabama shortstop has a ton of upside at the plate due to his mature approach. The Marlins rounded out by taking right-handed pitcher Aiden May out of Oregon State. May got on the map when he went toe-to-toe with Arkansas lefty Hagen Smith during his seventeen-strikeout game.

Colorado Rockies

3B/OF Charlie Condon

The entire world thought the Cincinnati Reds would take Georgia 3B/OF Charlie Condon with the second overall pick after the Guardians took Travis Bazzana. But they shocked everyone and took Chase Burns. This allowed for Condon to fall right into the Rockies' lap. Condon put up video game numbers during the entire year, hitting 37 home runs while driving in 78 in 60 games. Just absurd. They followed that pick by taking RHP Brody Brecht, who has some of the best stuff in this draft class. The only knock on him is his command and control issues. 


They continued their surge of solid players by taking OF Jared Thomas (one of the best pure hitters in the class) and C Cole Messina (3rd Round), an excellent clubhouse presence and is a complete gamer. They then took a tremendous senior sign, Blake Wright (4th Round), out of Clemson. The third baseman has power to all fields and improved his contact rates this year. They also took a couple of intriguing mid-major arms in LHP Konner Eaton (6th Round) out of George Mason and LHP Everett Catlett (12th Round) out of Georgetown.

Eaton has an excellent fastball with great life and two good secondaries in his slider and changeup. A team should be able to build off of those. Catlett is a tall, lanky southpaw with a presence on the mound. He hasn’t had a lot of miles on his arm due to some injuries. It's a good fastball that has been up to 96 and a solid slider to go with it. The Rockies have to be very happy with this draft class. 

SS Bryce Rainer

Detroit Tigers

Man, do the Detroit Tigers have an enjoyable class of players They kicked things off by taking the second-best prep player not named Konnor Griffin in this draft. SS Bryce Rainer is full of tons of upside. Although he has two-way abilities, the Tigers took Rainer just as a shortstop. It’s easy to see why they love the bat so much. It’s a beautiful left-handed swing, and he has the potential to develop some pop. He did have some swing-and-miss issues, and he might need to change his approach at the plate. But the upside is immense. Even though he won’t be on the mound, he’s been up to 96 mph from there, so you know he’s got some solid arm strength on the field. He could fit at shortstop or quickly shift to third if he grows in size as projected—just an enjoyable first pick. 

The Tigers closed out day one, continuing their prep trend by taking RHP Owen Hall in the second round and LHP Ethan Schiefelbein in the CB-B. We had Owen Hall on our On The Clock podcast, and what an incredible kid. On top of that, he has a lot of projectability on the mound. The fastball sits around 92-95 but has been up to 98 mph. He pairs that with two breaking balls. The stuff needs some polishing as it is inconsistent from time to time, but there is a lot to love with his profile. Schiefelbein is another guy that is projectable as the fastball velocity hasn’t been great (upper-80s/lower-90s), but he has been up to 94 mph. He’s got more of a feel for his pitches and should be a fun project for the Tigers. 

OF Jackson Strong

The Tigers paired all those prep guys with some fun college guys, including RHP Michael Massey out of Wake Forest, SS Woody Hadeen out of UC Irvine, RHP Josh Randall out of the University of San Diego, and OF Jackson Strong out of Canisius College. I saw Strong in the MLB Draft League, and man, it is an impressive approach at the plate. He has great barrel-to-ball skills that doesn’t come with a ton of Whiff or Chase. Woody Hadeen is a guy who skyrocketed up boards. Joe Doyle was one of the first guys on him. Hadeen is older for the class, but it is some of the best bat-to-ball skills. In our write up, we had him with an overall contact rate ~90% and a chase rate under 15%. Michael Massey was an electric arm for Wake Forest before suffering from some injuries this year. 

1B/LHP Jac Caglianone

Kansas City Royals 

The Royals didn’t have extra draft bonus pool money after trading their 39th overall pick to the Washington Nationals for big-league reliever Hunter Harvey. Despite that lack of extra bonus pool money, they did a heck of a job getting a good haul on draft day. Their day one started with college superstar Jac Caglianone falling into their laps at 6. The Royals took him as a two-way player and plan to develop him at both. The upside at the plate is enormous. It’s plus-plus power, and for a guy who swings at everything, it is insane to think he only struck out 8.2% of the time last year. His walk rate skyrocketed to 18.4% this year, but that has a lot to do with being intentionally walked. He had more intentional walks than strikeouts. The Royals wrapped up day one, taking left-handed prep pitcher David Shields out of Pennsylvania. He was a guy they wanted at 39, but he still fell to them at 41. 

Going into day two, they went with some arms with a safer floor than their high-upside pick in David Shields. They started with two fantastic adds, RHP Drew Beam and RHP LP Langevin. Beam might be one of the safest floor picks in the draft as a guy who can make the major leagues. He has been one of the SEC's most consistent and reliable starters over the last few years. Langevin has an electric fastball with nutty data, including a 45% overall whiff rate and 42% in-zone whiff rate. They took three more intriguing college arms, including AJ Causey out of Tennessee, Dennis Colleran out of Northeastern, and Tommy Molsky out of Oklahoma State. All have really good data on their fastballs or offspeed pitches. 

A lot of those college arm and bat picks were for one reason… RHP Kyle DeGroat. The Royals took the right-handed prep arm from Wallkill Senior HS in New York in the 14th round. They’ll likely need significant money to persuade him away from his commitment to Texas. He was one of the biggest risers this year, seeing a substantial velocity increase in his high-spin fastball. He has some solid secondaries to go along with it. There is lot to build on, and development is still needed, but DeGroat has tons of upside, significantly if he can improve on his velocity gains and control. 

2024 MLB Draft: Top 100 College Prospects

Director’s Note: All Draft Day Ages for players are pinned to July 14, 2024, our guess as to when the MLB Draft will start. The league has not announced the dates for the 2024 MLB Draft and once revealed, we will adjust approximate ages to that date.

The 2024 Top 100 High School board can be found here. Once the season is in full bloom, we will begin to integrate a single list, starting off with 200 prospects. As always, our 2024 Prospect Footage can be found here.


1. 2B/SS JJ Wetherholt, West Virginia

Height: 5’10

Weight: 190

B/T: L/R

Draft Day Age: 21 yr 10 mo

Wetherholt's bat has a chance to be very special, as the mix of pure hit and power tools profile as one of the best in the entire country. Wetherholt posts elite contact rates and seldom whiffs with impressive feel for the barrel. It's a compact and powerful swing from the left side of the plate, showcasing very quick hands and loud bat speed. Wetherholt utilizes the whole field to his advantage and will punish the gaps with legitimate above-average to plus power, which also plays well to his pull side. It's a truly special bat. He's played at third base and second base the past two years, though he's been given a chance at shortstop this fall and the reports are promising. The range is there to handle the position, though the arm strength needs some improvement. He's a solid runner and knows how to be a menace on the basepaths, as well, recording 36 stolen bases in 2023.


2. 1B Nick Kurtz, Wake Forest

Height: 6’5

Weight: 235

B/T: L/L

Draft Day Age: 21 yr 4 mo


Coming in at 6'5, 235lbs, Nick Kurtz is a monster of a human being at the plate. The size, strength, and power Kurtz possesses is a scout's dream. The Wake Forest first baseman has a scary good offensive profile. He is going to draw his fair share of walks due to his patience at the plate while also hitting for massive power thanks to his near 70-grade pop. On top of that, he's got a well advanced approach at the plate and is able to use the entire field. Shockingly for his size, he is fairly athletic and can more than hold his own at first base. He's one of the best defenders at first base and easily grades as a plus defender. Kurtz is a likely frontrunner to be the 2024 ACC Player of the Year and should be providing plenty of offense as the anchor for the Demon Deacons lineup. He has the makings of becoming a force in a big league lineup and will likely be a fast riser through the minors.


3. 2B Travis Bazzana, Oregon State

Height: 6’0

Weight: 199

B/T: L/R

Draft Day Age: 21 yr 10 mo

An import from Australia, Bazzana's overall toolset is ridiculously impressive. He's put up incredible numbers in his two years at Oregon State, slashing .340/.463/.549 across two seasons in Corvallis with elite bat-to-ball skills and plate discipline. He's a really tough out at the plate, rarely expanding the zone and he's got an incredible eye, racking up walks aplenty. His spray chart is a thing of beauty, utilizing the entire field with a compact, line drive swing with a ton of bat speed that is meant to do serious damage. It's above-average juice at the present and most of it plays to his pull side, but he's shown an ability to hammer the ball to the opposite field gap. Bazzana is also an incredible runner, posting plus run times on a consistent basis. He's primarily been a second baseman up to this point, though there's a chance we see him at shortstop in 2024. He's got enough athleticism and twitch to have solid range there, though his arm is nothing more than average. Either way you draw it up, this is a potentially elite bat with suitable defense up the middle.


4. RHP Chase Burns, Wake Forest

Height: 6’4

Weight: 195

B/T: R/R

Draft Day Age: 21 yr 5 mo

Burns is an electric factory on the bump. The Wake Forest transfer is a bulldog type on the mound and he exudes all the confidence you want to see in a pitcher on the mound. He isn't afraid to go right after batters with his electric fastball. What is an elite two-pitch mix, he sits in the upper-90s with significant life to the fastball and pairs it with a diabolical upper-80s/low-90s slider that he can manipulate the shape of. He also isn't afraid to reach back on his fastball for a little extra and can get it up to 101-102 mph. He's been working on a curveball and a splitter, flashing potential, though he doesn't rely on either heavily. His command can waiver at times, but when he is locked in, he can paint a masterpiece. Even with the slight command woes, the stuff is elite and it will be interesting to see what the Wake Forest pitching lab can do to elevate his already incredible arsenal to the next level. He is the best arm in this class.


5. 1B/of Charlie Condon, Georgia

Height: 6’6

Weight: 211

B/T: R/R

Draft Day Age: 21 yr 3 mo


The reigning SEC Freshman of the Year, Condon's unexpected emergence was a welcome sight. After redshirting his first year on campus, Condon exploded onto the scene with a .386/.484/.800 slash line and 25 home runs in 56 games. Condon has a towering, physical frame at 6'6, 211 pounds with plenty of strength throughout his body and there's quite a bit of projection to it still. Condon has plus-plus raw power to all fields and got to it often in 2023, posting healthy exit velocities and even getting into the 110-115 MPH range. It's a ton of bat speed and very quick hands with the barrel exploding through the zone with little effort. There's some hitterish traits with Condon, as he has solid bat-to-ball skills, though he does have his struggles with spin. Defensively, Condon has enough speed and athleticism to handle a corner outfield spot, though if he outgrows the position, he can handle first base. The bat would have to continue to perform in that case and that's the selling point right now.


6. OF Vance Honeycutt, North Carolina

Height: 6’3

Weight: 205

B/T: R/R

Draft Day Age: 21 yr 1 mo


Finding guys with five tool potential is a tough task, but Honeycutt has the potential to be that type of player. Honeycutt showed plenty of improvements in the strikeout department in 2023, dropping the strikeout rate significantly, though that came with the price of production. Nonetheless, Honeycutt has game-changing tools. There's plenty of bat speed from the right side of the plate and there's potentially plus power that plays to his pull side and he'll hit the gaps to show off his blazing speed. The swing-and-miss has toned down and he rarely chases, which is promising for the hit tool. If everything comes together in 2024, there's potential for an above-average hit tool here. He's a lock to stick in center field long term, as his plus speed gives him exceptional range and he'll make highlight reel plays on a consistent basis. There's a strong arm here, as well. If everything clicks, there's serious 1-1 potential.


7. SS/OF Seaver King, Wake Forest

Height: 6’0

Weight: 190

B/T: R/R

Draft Day Age: 21 yr 2 mo

One of the funnest development stories to follow, Seaver King has made his way to Wake Forest after playing last year at Division II Wingate. He was quite undersized coming out of high school which only earned him the Wingate offer, but he's grown a bit since then and found his way into a gig with what might be one of the best college teams going into the 2024 season. King has a robust line-drive approach at the plate with tons of bat speed and has the ability to use the entire field to go along with very good exit velocities, getting up to 111 MPH this fall. King doesn't strikeout often and gets a lot of barrel to ball, but he also doesn't walk a ton either and the chase rates are a bit too high. If he can improve the discipline in 2024 and continue to blast the baseball, he'll be a certified top fifteen pick. He's rather twitchy in the field and can play a myriad of positions for Wake Forest this spring, including center field.


8. RHP Brody Brecht, Iowa

Height: 6’4

Weight: 225

B/T: R/R

Draft Day Age: 21 yr 9 mo


Brecht may have the highest upside of any arm in this loaded college class and he's lit up Stuff+ models with some of the loudest stuff in the college landscape. Brecht has undergone some mechanical tweaks since his high school days, most notably being a shortened arm action that has given him more deception. It's a very quick arm with excellent athleticism, as well. He's gotten up to 101 MPH during starts in 2023, holding upper-90s velocity well throughout his starts, accuring whiffs at a high rate despite suboptimal vertical carry. The slider is the real deal, showing true double-plus potential with hellacious bite. It'll display shorter break with late lateral movement and he's shown an ability to land it for strikes when the fastball command is out of whack. He's tinkered with a low-90s change-up and a low-80s curveball, but he's primarily just had to use the FB-SL combination thus far. The high walk rate and command woes have been the big thing holding Brecht back, though he did show improved fastball command down the stretch for the Hawkeyes. He's stepped away from football and will be focusing solely on pitching moving forward.


9. 1B/LHP Jac Caglianone, Florida

Height: 6’5

Weight: 245

B/T: L/L

Draft Day Age: 21 yr 5 mo

Dubbed the "Ohtani" of college baseball, Caglianone is one of the most well-known players at the amateur level with legitimate two-way potential. There's a bit of rawness to his game, but the power on both sides of the ball are rather impressive. We'll start with the bat, which might have the best power in this entire class. It's easy double-plus right now with extremely quick hand speed and torque, generating a ton of bat speed and all fields power. He's producing some of the loudest exit velocities in the country as a result. The hit tool could use some refinement, as he's rather aggressive and expands the zone frequently. On the defensive side, it's a first-base profile. As an arm, Caglianone has loud stuff, but the command holds him back. The fastball has flirted with triple digits with some life, paired with a bullet-esque slider with solid potential and a bigger bender. The change-up has excellent velocity separation and fading life, boasting a high whiff rate. He's tinkered with his mechanics, becoming more compact this fall, but time will tell how much this helps his command. The jury is still out on if he has to choose one or the other, but the upside on both sides is enticing.


10. OF Mike sirota, Northeastern

Height: 6’3

Weight: 188

B/T: R/R

Draft Day Age: 21 yr

Sirota is about as well-rounded of a hitter as you'll find in college baseball. The Northeastern outfielder possesses a rare combination of discipline, power, and hit ability that is hard to come by at the amateur level. Offensively, he lets the ball get deep in the zone, allowing him to stay back and drive the ball to all fields with authority. He rarely chases pitches out of the zone, drawing plenty of walks in the process. Though he occasionally gets knocked for playing at a mid-major, his performance against high-quality pitching over the last two summers in the Cape Cod League show he can excel with a competition jump and wood bat. His speed allows him to cover a ton of ground in center field, which is where he projects as plus long-term. Sirota's advanced bat combined with his athleticism are what make him a potential first-round pick.