The 2024 MLB Draft is less than two weeks away. The three-day, 20-round event will take place in Texas, home of this year’s All-Star Game festivities. As the draft approaches, there are more rumors connecting certain prospects to specific teams.
It’s important to remember that unlike the NFL, NBA, and NHL drafts, the MLB version ends up not always being just purely the best player available, as there are finances involved in the bonus pool system. Teams often evaluate prospects in tiers, which allows them to group players and determine the best pick and value for their franchises.
To explain the bonus pool system: Each selection in the first 10 rounds is assigned a slot value and the sum of the values of each team’s 10 rounds of picks is their bonus pool for the draft. One other caveat is that any amount over $150,000 issued to a player drafted beyond the 10th round counts toward each team’s pool.
Teams can distribute that money however they wish, and there are already rumors that some teams are planning to chip away at cap space in the first round to potentially move past a falling high school talent beyond the first round. The Mets did it in 2019 with Matt Allan.
Here is my mock draft 2.0. To enjoy!
1. Guardians – SS/2B JJ Wetherholt, West Virginia
It could be posturing, but there are rumors the Guardians are looking to save money to be aggressive beyond the first round of high school releases. Wetherholt can make a deal because if he doesn’t get to first place, he can’t go as far as fourth or fifth at the earliest. Could Cleveland offer somewhere between 3rd and 4th and save $2 million while getting a player they really like?
2. Reds – 2B Travis Bazzana, Oregon State
Bazzana may be less motivated than Wetherholt would be to accept a deal at No. a big discount.
3. Rocky Mountains – FROM Charlie Condon, Georgia
There’s been a lot of buzz connecting the Rockies to Wake Forest right Chase Burns, and this is still very possible. However, the ripple effect of Wetherholt getting to No. 1 has possibly the best player in the class in Condon sitting here. And the Rockies have done a good job in recent years of taking the player who falls into their lap in the first round.
4. Track & Field – 1B Jac Caglianone, Florida
This is a high point for Wake Forest’s first baseman Nick Kurtz if Oakland is looking for a deal. It seems that Caglianone will not leave the top 5 and could reach second place.
5. White Sox – DE Konnor Griffin, Jackson Prep HS (MS)
One of the big questions in the draft is when the first high school player will come off the board. If the two best high school hitters, Griffin or the California high school shortstop, Bryce Rainer andIf you don’t go here, none of them will probably be in the top 8. So there is potential for the White Sox to save some money in the slot here. Griffin may have the best all-around tools in the class, but he will need to make swing adjustments in pro football.
6. Royals – RHP Chase Burns, Wake Forest
I believe in the Texas A&M outfielder Braden Montgomery could be in play here, but word has been pretty loud about the Royals focusing on college pitching with this pick. There are two options as high in Burns and Hagen Smith from Arkansas.
7. Cardinals – OF Braden Montgomery, Texas A&M
Montgomery could go as high as fourth, but he’s here for the Cardinals. He broke his ankle in the NCAA Super Regionals, but there didn’t appear to be any long-term damage, so his draft stock shouldn’t drop too much.
8. Angels – LHP Hagen Smith, Arkansas
The Angels have made it a priority to get prospects who can reach the majors very quickly in recent drafts. Smith is the type of pitcher who could have a short stay in the minor leagues. Don’t rule out an insufficient deal with Florida State outfielder James Tibbs III.
9. Pirates – 1B Nick Kurtz, Wake Forest
In baseball you never choose out of necessity, but the Pirates are a team that feels close to making that big leap on the back of their young, premium pitcher. Getting an advanced college bat like Kurtz could make a quick difference. Tibbs is another name that could be in play here.
10. Nationals – SS Bryce Rainer, Harvard-Westlake HS (CA)
The Nats typically hunt upside down. Throughout the process, they were strongly linked to Rainer and Griffin. One scout told me he would be surprised if the Nationals didn’t end up with one of those two, with a preference for Griffin.
11. Tigers – LHP Cam Caminiti, Saguaro HS (AZ)
If Kurtz or Rainer fall out of the top 10, I think the Tigers will pounce. Since that didn’t happen in this scenario, there has been a strong buzz that they were in Caminiti this spring. It looks like Caminiti will finish in the top 15 and be the first high school arm off the board.
12. Red Sox – 2B Christian Moore, Tennessee
Moore was the star for the College World Series champion Tennessee Volunteers. I hear the Red Sox are mostly tied to college bats, and Moore has the swagger and confidence needed to thrive in a big market.
13. Giants – RHP Trey Yesavage, East Carolina
Two scouts told me the Giants are waiting for Caminiti. He’s unavailable in this scenario, so they take the third-ranked college pitcher in the class, who defeated Burns to eliminate Wake Forest in the NCAA regionals.
14. Cubs – DE James Tibbs III, Florida State
Tibbs has long been viewed as a sub-top-10 option. He could go from No. 8 to mid-teens.
15. Sailors – SS/OF Seaver King, Wake Forest
The Mariners are a wild card and could be a team to make a deal with someone like the Florida high school shortstop Kellon Lindsay or Mississippi State switch pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje. I believe they would also be interested in the bat speed and exit velocities that King brings to the table.
16. Marlins – DE Carson Benge, Oklahoma State
Benge appears to be an option between now and the early 20s, including the Mets. He needs some swing adjustments in pro ball, but he’s a good athlete who hits the ball hard and has a strong arm (he was a two-way player in college and reached 96 mph on the mound radar).
17. Brewers – OF Vance Honeycutt, North Carolina
I believe this is the first place Honeycutt would come off the board, and the Brewers tend to like mid-range athletes. Despite the strikeout issues, I believe the Mets are very interested in Honeycutt, but in this scenario they have no chance of considering him.
18. Rays – 3B Cam Smith, Florida State
Smith is a top-12 option and is expected to be off the board in the teens. The Rays are usually a team that isn’t afraid to sign a player with a much lower public rating than their selection, but here they sign a “falling” Smith.
19. Mets – 3B Tommy White, LSU
As we get closer to the draft, I’ve heard the Mets have been connected to additional players who could be considered here. While this list is mostly made up of college hitters like King, Honeycutt, Benge, and Mississippi State outfielder Dakota JordanI’ve also heard some interest in the Iowa right-hander Brody Brecht and some high school players in Lindsay and Elk City, Oklahoma, left-handed Kash Mayfield.
White, or “Tommy Tanks” as he is known, received national notoriety when he hit 27 home runs in 55 games as a true freshman at North Carolina. He transferred to LSU, where, along with last year’s second overall pick Dylan Crews, were two of the biggest factors in LSU’s College World Series victory. He’s been the type of player who — at least in college — would step up when the lights were brightest.
Although 2024 was White’s worst college season, he still slashed .330/.401/.638 (1.019 OPS) with 24 home runs and 70 RBI in 66 games. He reduced his strikeout percentage to 12% while maintaining an 8.6% walk rate. He has bat speed and all-field power that could result in 25+ home runs at the next level.
The defensive issues are real, as he has played third base the last two years despite being a well-below-average athlete. He’s made some strides defensively, ranking third this year, and I would expect a pro team to start his career at third base. But most scouts believe he is a long-term first baseman.
If White ends up at first base, it will require the bat to truly reach its potential. In a draft lacking depth in mid-level athletes in the first round, this scenario leaves the Mets looking for a potential mid-level bat with some defensive questions.
