Teams will have to return to college if they want to find elite players in the 2024 Draft.
Particularly for the clubs that selected first in the first round, this is accurate. The top 100 in MLB Pipeline’s 2024 Draft is dominated by college players, with just one high school student placing in the top 10. Out of all the Draft prospects ranked by MLB.com, just four prep players are in the top 20, which is much less than the average of 9.2.
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The Top 10 are listed below:
1. West Virginia’s JJ Wetherholt, 2B/SS
2. Wake Forest’s Nick Kurtz, 1B
3. Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana, 2B
4. Georgian OF/1B Charlie Condon
5. Jac Caglianone, Florida, 1B/LHP
6. North Carolina native Vance Honeycutt, an OF
7. Tommy White, Louisiana State, third base
8. Jackson Prep (Florence, Miss.) offensive lineman Konnor Griffin
9. Wake Forest’s Seaver King, OF/SS
10. Texas A&M’s Braden Montgomery, an OF and RHP
Full list
There were eight college boys in the top 10 of last year’s Top 100, so this isn’t all that different. Three advanced weaponry were on the list, though. The top five picks from 2023 may prove to be one of the greatest quintets in Draft history, so it might not be fair to compare them, even though this year’s group has a respectable batting record.
Teams who like advanced hitters have a few choices. JJ Wetherholt, an infielder for West Virginia who topped NCAA Division I baseball with a.449 average a year ago, leads the way. With a 70 hit mark, he is the class’s top pure hitter. He can run (36 steals) and has a lot of impact. Even those who believe Wetherholt is destined for second base believe his bat is good enough to merit consideration. This spring, Wetherholt will play shortstop for the Mountaineers.
Wetherholt’s hit tool isn’t all that far behind Nick Kurtz’s, and the Wake Forest product has enormous power to match. His profile is rather limited because he is simply a first baseman, although an excellent one. The same is true for Travis Bazzana of Oregon State, who is limited to second base and has less power than Wetherholt overall but comes out worse as a pure hitter.
The next four batters, each with a unique twist, are also collegiate players. Charlie Condon of Georgia is ranked No. 4, followed by Jac Caglianone of Florida in fifth place, North Carolina’s Vance Honeycutt at No. 6, and Tommy White of LSU at No. 7. Although the consensus in the industry seems to be that Caglianone will be a dominant first baseman, it’s still too early to write off the fact that he is a left-hander with a 70-grade fastball when he takes the mound. Caglianone is a real two-way player.
“Identifying the best position player in the class is challenging,” stated a scouting director for the American League. “We believe that many first basemen and second basemen are capable of hitting, but if you are selecting in the top 10, you should aim for a player at a premium position who has a more complete toolkit and ceiling. A top-10 impact is what you’re after. The bar is substantially higher for position players who play first and second base to have an effect on the major leagues.
An NL scouting director stated, “The college bats are the strengths so far.” We’re still waiting on additional men to show up from the other player groups. Because there isn’t a center fielder, shortstop, or catcher, it is a little bit cloudier. That person is still hiding.
Konnor Griffin is the only high school player to make the top 10, maybe because he has the best all-around toolkit in the class (he’s also fairly good on the mound). The only other prep players in the top 20 are lefty Cam Caminiti from Saguaro High in Scottsdale, Ariz.; outfielder PJ Morlando from Summerville (S.C.) HS; and outfielder Slade Caldwell from Valley View HS in Jonesboro, Ark.
High school pitching is always unpredictable, and while it’s usually hard to rank too many pitchers highly; Noble Meyer was the only prep pitcher to rank in the top 10 last year (he was ranked No. 16 at this stage). This year, however, is even harder to predict. The next-highest high school arm behind Caminiti is Ryan Sloan of York HS in Elmhurst, Ill., who is ranked No. 30. Though it’s possible that some of these young pitchers may advance to be considered in the initial round, there is a group of fascinating prep pitchers with some upside beyond that, so as the Draft moves past the first round, there might be some value to be obtained.
The AL scouting director expressed optimism that “a few high school arms that are available” will be accessible. “I predict more jockeying to occur. Pitchers will show their stuff and some will fade into obscurity. Every spring, you enter the game with hope and a desire to enjoy players. That puts you at the mercy of the class. If you go there, I believe you have options. Instead of proceeding as usual, it’s more prudent to wait and observe to see if they have advanced in their growth.
The director of NL scouting stated, “I think there’s a lot of depth, but there’s no Andrew Painter or Noble Meyer at this point.” “You’re going to start hearing about some of those guys once you emerge from the first round, or the latter part of the first round.”
The two-way player is another potential category for waiting and seeing. Though there have always been players who play a position in addition to pitching, particularly in high school, and some who are skilled enough to play in college, it’s usually obvious by now which path a pro career should take. There appear to be an exceptional number of players in this year’s class whose prospects for success in the professional game are still up in the air, starting with Caglianone in the top five. In addition to Caglianone, two high school players in the top 40 with potential are Noah Franco of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and Bryce Rainer of Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. Two college players with two sets of grades are Braden Montgomery of Texas A&M and Carson Benge of Oklahoma State.
This has undoubtedly been the norm, according to the AL scouting director. There are more guys that excel at both that you see. The majority of those two-way players, it turns out, don’t want to give up the bat until absolutely necessary. Even if we believe they are superior pitchers, they want to continue hitting for as long as they can. They want to pursue both.
“You watch them do both in the spring, and you make an internal decision about what you believe to be their best course of action, hoping that it coincides with their desires, particularly with regard to the high school students.” Their dual skill set is outstanding in and of itself.
The AL scouting director expressed optimism that “a few high school arms that are available” will be accessible. “I predict more jockeying to occur. Pitchers will show their stuff and some will fade into obscurity. Every spring, you enter the game with hope and a desire to enjoy players. That puts you at the mercy of the class. If you go there, I believe you have options. Instead of proceeding as usual, it’s more prudent to wait and observe to see if they have advanced in their growth.
The director of NL scouting stated, “I think there’s a lot of depth, but there’s no Andrew Painter or Noble Meyer at this point.” “You’re going to start hearing about some of those guys once you emerge from the first round, or the latter part of the first round.”
The two-way player is another potential category for waiting and seeing. Though there have always been players who play a position in addition to pitching, particularly in high school, and some who are skilled enough to play in college, it’s usually obvious by now which path a pro career should take. There appear to be an exceptional number of players in this year’s class whose prospects for success in the professional game are still up in the air, starting with Caglianone in the top five. In addition to Caglianone, two high school players in the top 40 with potential are Noah Franco of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and Bryce Rainer of Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. Two college players with two sets of grades are Braden Montgomery of Texas A&M and Carson Benge of Oklahoma State.
This has undoubtedly been the norm, according to the AL scouting director. There are more guys that excel at both that you see. The majority of those two-way players, it turns out, don’t want to give up the bat until absolutely necessary. Even if we believe they are superior pitchers, they want to continue hitting for as long as they can. They want to pursue both.
“You watch them do both in the spring, and you make an internal decision about what you believe to be their best course of action, hoping that it coincides with their desires, particularly with regard to the high school students.” Their dual skill set is outstanding in and of itself.
If you’re seeking to check up on prospects every spring, your best bet is usually to hang around for a few at-bats or errant pitches in the later innings of Cactus and Grapefruit League games, or to head to the backfields of the many Spring Training sites located around Arizona and Florida. However, what if