MLB Mock 2.0 2024 Draft: Charlie Condon in Cleveland, Bryce Rainer in the top 10

The MLB Draft is just four weeks away, and any player who doesn’t play in the College World Series is done with their spring schedule. The MLB Draft is currently taking place in Arizona, with teams focusing particularly on player interviews. (There is one day of practice and one game that only includes high school players.) That means there is now more information about what some teams might be planning and which players they favor, even if a lot still depends on medical exams and player signings. bonus expectations.

Here’s my final projection of who each team will take in the first round, based as always on what I’ve heard from sources in the industry and my understanding of the philosophies of some scouting directors and general managers.

I doubt we’ll know Cleveland’s pick before draft day, but other teams think it will be Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana or Condon, with one rumor the Guardians were considering go well below the high school player’s position. Konnor Griffin. If West Virginia infielder JJ Wetherholt’s medicals were checked out, I imagine they would explore a deal with him, thinking he was good enough to be a 1-1 prospect in the spring. Cleveland picks again at 36 and 48, so they can get creative with some high school pitches if they want.

2. Cincinnati Reds: Travis Bazzana, 2B, Oregon State

I’d be surprised if it was anyone other than Condon or Bazzana, or maybe Wake Forest right-hander Chase Burns. The Reds don’t start again until #51, which is a good argument for playing full throttle here and getting the best player available.

3. Colorado Rockies: Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida

My guess is that if the Rockies do this, they will make Caglianone a full-time hitter rather than risk a second Tommy John surgery at some point, given their organization’s recent string of elbow surgeries for top prospects . I have also heard them associated with the two major university branches, Burns and Hagen Smith of Arkansas.

4. Oakland A: Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest

I heard it would be a college hitter – Bazzana, Kurtz, maybe Wetherholt, assuming Condon is gone.

5. Chicago White Sox: JJ Wetherholt, SS, West Virginia

Wetherholt’s place will depend on what team doctors think about his hamstring injuries. The White Sox have been linked to him, Burns, Caglianone and Griffin.

People seem to believe that new Royals director of scouting Brian Bridges will continue to show his predilection for first-round pitching by going with Burns or Smith here.

7. St. Louis Cardinals: Bryce Rainer, SS, Harvard-Westlake School (Studio City, CA)

The Cardinals could look at several players they would happily take here – Wetherholt, one of the Smith/Burns, and Rainer.

8. Los Angeles Angels: Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas

This would be a dream scenario for the Angels, who everyone believes will take a player they can bring to the majors in August. They’ve been linked to East Carolina right-hander Trey Yesavage, Kentucky outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt and Florida State outfielder James Tibbs III, as well as the top group of college guys.

9. Pittsburgh Pirates: James Tibbs III, OF, Florida State

The Pirates are around the inflection point of the first round – with Yesavage and Braden Montgomery injured, the Pirates could end up diving into the second tier of players to try to make a deal, with Tibbs and Waldschmidt coming in as potential names.

Montgomery could have sneaked into the top five if he hadn’t broken his ankle during the Super Regionals, ending his season and putting his draft status in the hands of the team doctors once they will have seen his medical examinations.

11. Detroit Tigers: Konnor Griffin, OF, Jackson (Miss.) Prep

Griffin is the high-end, high-risk guy among the prep players and could still end up in the top 10. I also think the Tigers would be on Rainer or Montgomery, depending on who gets here.

12. Boston Red Sox: Trey Yesavage, RHP, East Carolina

Beyond Yesavage, I’ve heard them with several college hitters, including Tennessee’s Christian Moore and LSU’s Tommy White.

13. San Francisco Giants: Cam Caminiti, LHP, Saguaro HS (Scottsdale, Arizona)

I’ve heard this a lot this spring, but I also wonder if anyone slips up a bit – Rainer, Griffin, maybe Montgomery – if they would go in that direction instead, or if they are on the teams who jump on Christian Moore because of his metrics.

14. Chicago Cubs: Malcolm Moore, C, Stanford

This connection continues to happen as the Cubs rely heavily on their model and Moore has excellent batted ball data. I also heard them with Christian Moore and Waldschmidt.

15. Seattle Mariners: Ryan Waldschmidt, OF, Kentucky

The Mariners would go with a high school hitter if the right one was there, but I think Rainer and Griffin are gone and it might be high on Theo Gillen and I don’t think they’re on Kellon Lindsey here.

16. Miami Marlins: Christian Moore, 2B, Tennessee

I’m not a big fan of Christian Moore, but he definitely has his fans and his high exit velocities are going to push him towards teams that run a strong pattern, which is the Marlins’ expectation in their first draft under the direction of the new team president. of baseball operations Peter Bendix. It could also mean Waldschmidt, Malcolm Moore or White.

17. Milwaukee Brewers: Cam Smith, 3B/1B, Florida State

The Brewers scored last year when the loaded draft class pushed Wake Forest’s Brock Wilken to their pick, and my best guess right now is that they’ll do something similar this year – be prepared to take whoever “falls” into their choice. although the player should probably go higher, like Cam Smith or Waldschmidt.

18. Tampa Bay Rays: Theo Gillen, SS, Westlake HS (Austin, Texas)

Gillen has become a hot name among high school hitters this year as scouts have become more familiar with his hit tool, which could put him somewhere in the 15-20 range. My feeling is that the Rays would be position players – college or high school – much more than college pitchers.

19. New York Mets: Carson Benge, OF/RHP, Oklahoma State

The Mets have been linked to Benge for some time, and he offers a great combination of current hitting skills and future power if someone can help optimize his swing.

20. Toronto Blue Jays: Jurrangelo Cijntje, BHP, Mississippi State

I’ve heard the Jays everywhere, about names like Gillen, White, Christian Moore, Waldschmidt and many others, anything but high school pitchers.

I could see the Twins on White, Sam Houston State catcher Walker Janek, Wake Forest infielder Seaver King, Cijntje, or maybe even one of the high school arms after going that route with their pick compensation last year (taking right-hander Charlee Soto). ).

I’ve heard the Orioles almost exclusively on college bats, including White, Christian Moore and Vance Honeycutt.

Honeycutt offers more power and more defense, but if he goes in the first round, I think he’ll set the record for most strikeouts in a draft season (81 and counting) by n any player selected at this level. The Dodgers are said to be looking for someone in that mold, a player with a big ceiling but with a weakness that the Dodgers think they can “fix.” Players like Honeycutt, White, Benge, Mississippi State outfielder Dakota Jordan, etc. correspond to this bill.

24. Atlanta: Braylon Doughty, RHP, Chaparral HS (Murrieta, Calif.)

Atlanta is rumored to be doing a sub-slot deal with Doughty here to try to move on to another draft arm at pick 62.

25. San Diego Padres: William Schmidt, RHP, Catholic HS (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

This could be Schmidt or other prep arms like Kash Mayfield, Doughty, Ryan Sloan. For now, it seems like people are expecting the Padres to go high school because many teams are going the other direction.

26. New York Yankees: Dakota Jordan, OF, Mississippi State

The Yankees have looked more for cap space in recent drafts, and Jordan is the kind of explosive, high-upside athlete they favored at many points during Damon Oppenheimer’s tenure as director of scouting. They would also be a good fit for Honeycutt or, if they become a pitcher, Iowa’s Brody Brecht.

The Phillies appear likely to stay in high school, having gone that route in every first round since Brian Barber became director of scouting. Targets could be Johnson or Gillen or one of the prep arms like Schmidt.

28. Houston Astros: Brody Brecht, RHP, Iowa

Brecht is a less polished college pitcher than his peers, with athleticism and arm strength that hints at more upside, very much the kind of player Houston general manager Dana Brown valued in his career of draft.

29. Arizona Diamondbacks: Slade Caldwell, OF, Jonesboro HS (Ark.)

The story all spring has been that Caldwell doesn’t get past the Diamondbacks, although I haven’t heard the little outfielder’s name before them either, and as they pick again at No. 31, they could prove of creativity and take it to 31st place. choose later by going with another HS bat here (Tyson Lewis?) or maybe a college pitcher.

30. Texas Rangers: Kellon Lindsay, SS, Hardee HS (Wauchula, Fla.)

I heard the Rangers had a few high school hitters, including Gillen, Lindsey and Tyson Lewis, even though their last five first-round picks were all college players.

(Top photo illustration by Dan Goldfarb / Athleticism; (left to right) Hagen Smith, Travis Bazzana and Charlie Condon — Kate Woolson / Texas Rangers and Jeff Moreland / Icon Sportswire / Getty Images)