PHOENIX -- It was a busier than usual first day of the 2024 MLB Draft for the Arizona Diamondbacks who had four picks, their own first and second round picks, along with a Competitive Balance Round A pick and a Prospect Promotion Incentive Pick they received when Corbin Carroll won the NL Rookie of the Year in 2023.

¡°Obviously having ... four picks, we¡¯re pretty excited about the class that we¡¯re going to bring in,¡± D-backs farm director Ian Rebhan said.

The D-backs took high school outfielder Slade Caldwell with their first-round pick (No. 29 overall) and followed that up with University of Kentucky outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt (No. 31 overall), high school shortstop JD Dix (No. 35 overall) and high school catcher Ivan Luciano (No. 64 overall).

Waldschmidt helped the Wildcats reach the College World Series for the first time in history this past season.

The D-backs rely on their scouts in the field getting their eyes on players as well as a team of analysts who look at the metrics, and in Waldschmidt¡¯s case, both lined up.

¡°It was the ability to hit, not swing and miss, not expand the zone and hit for power against the best arms in college baseball,¡± Rebhan said. ¡°And I think if you check those boxes, you¡¯ve got a pretty bright future.¡±

Waldschmidt injured his left knee in the Cape Cod League last summer, but he showed this year at Kentucky that the injury has fully healed.

While he played left field at Kentucky, Waldschmidt has the speed to play center, and Rebhan said the team feels he can play any of the three outfield positions.

Dix is another player who was coming off an injury. The 18-year-old switch-hitting shortstop, who is from the same high school as former D-backs infielder and current Cubs manager Craig Counsell, had right labrum surgery last fall.

Like Waldschmidt, though, Dix showed he was healthy this spring during his high school season.

¡°There¡¯s a really exciting total package there,¡± Rebhan said of Dix. ¡°He played on the summer circuit and we see him as someone who can play shortstop [at the next level]. A lot of comfort in his bat right-handed and left-handed. He¡¯s a plus runner, he¡¯s super athletic. He came to the combine and played in the game there and played really well. We see him as someone who has a really interesting offensive profile.¡±

With their final pick of the night, the D-backs grabbed Luciano, who is just 17 years old and played at El Shaddai Christian Academy in Puerto Rico.

The D-backs like how Luciano controls the strike zone at his young age and feel he will grow into some more power. Combine that with the fact that he plays a premium position and is a left-handed hitter and the D-backs thought he was a very interesting player.

¡°We love his bat,¡± Rebhan said. ¡°He's obviously super young, but we think he's really advanced in the way he can kind of talk you through his approach at the plate. He has contact skills that he showed all summer long and [in Puerto Rico] this year. And we see him as someone who can catch it throw as well. So you're getting an offensive catcher, who's 17 years old, who also provides value behind the plate. He just checked a lot of boxes.¡±