FORT WORTH, Texas -- At the Stockyards historic district, where the 2024 MLB Draft took place Sunday night, you could test your rodeo skills and ride a mechanical bull. And odds are, you would have had much better luck staying on that bucking, spinning, twisting steer for a full minute than predicting what would happen at this event at the Cowtown Coliseum.
Remember how we got here: The Cleveland Guardians, who wound up reaching the All-Star break with the best record in the American League (itself a huge surprise), had the No. 1 overall pick for the first time in franchise history because a ping pong ball bounced their way in the MLB Draft lottery, in which they had just a 2% chance of that outcome.
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So¡ why expect anything other than the unexpected?
We got the unexpected. The Guards succeeded in keeping things so close to the vest in the leadup to Sunday night -- and inspired so much guesswork that they might go for a bargain with the first pick in order to spread around the largest signing bonus pool in history -- that their selection of the No. 1 overall player on MLB Pipeline¡¯s Draft prospects list was actually ... unexpected!
Top 15 Draft picks:
1. Bazzana | 2. Burns | 3. Condon | 4. Kurtz | 5. Smith | 6. Caglianone | 7. Wetherholt | 8. Moore | 9. Griffin | 10. King | 11. Rainer | 12. Montgomery | 13. Tibbs | 14. Smith | 15. Cijntje
Once Australian-born second baseman Travis Bazzana from Oregon State went to Cleveland at No. 1, many a mock was immediately torn to shreds. With that pick came the promise that this Draft would be Bazzanas.
Here were the most interesting takeaways from a fun first round:
College baseball is having a moment
Tony Vitello, head coach of the national champion Tennessee Volunteers and an analyst for MLB Network during Sunday¡¯s Draft coverage, gave an astute answer last month when asked during a College World Series with the highest average attendance on record why he thinks college baseball has become so popular.
¡°Man, this thing has turned into a monster,¡± Vitello said. ¡°The Draft is shorter [after a 2022 reduction from 40 rounds to 20]. There¡¯s fewer Minor League teams [after a 2021 reduction from 160 to 120]. There¡¯s more resources that these kids see [as college players]. I don¡¯t want any scouts to slash my tires, but it certainly makes sense for a lot of guys now to go to school.¡±
This manifested in a particularly college-heavy first round. The first prep pick did not come until the Pirates selected Jackson Prep (Miss.) shortstop Konnor Griffin at No. 9 -- the latest that¡¯s ever happened. Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) High School shortstop Bryce Rainer, who went No. 11 overall to the Tigers, was the only other prepster in the top 15.
All told, college guys made up 20 of the top 30 picks. Every Draft has its own strengths and weaknesses, but, given the elements that Vitello alluded to, it would not be surprising to see this general trend continue.
Wake Forest had a moment, too
If we¡¯re being honest, the 2024 Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball team had a disappointing season. They went 15-15 in Atlantic Coast Conference play and unfortunately had their season come to a close in the Greeneville Regional.
But man, that squad had some players. This is evidenced by the fact that three of them -- right-hander Chase Burns (No. 2 overall, Reds), first baseman Nick Kurtz (No. 4, A¡¯s) and shortstop Seaver King (No. 10, Nationals) -- were selected in the top 10.
The only other time that one school had three players in the top 10 came in 2004, when Rice pitching products Philip Humber (third, Mets), Jeff Niemann (fourth, Rays) and Wade Townsend (eighth, Rays) were prominent picks.
Oh, but lest you think the reigning college champs weren¡¯t well-represented, the Vols produced four players in the first two rounds -- second baseman Christian Moore (No. 8, Angels), first baseman Blake Burke (No. 34, Brewers) and third baseman Billy Amick (No. 60, Twins) and outfielder Dylan Dreiling (No. 65, Rangers).
Surprise, surprise
Again, it¡¯s the MLB Draft, so it would be surprising if there weren¡¯t surprises.
Though nothing in the first round qualified as truly earth-shattering, it was surprising that Texas A&M outfielder Braden Montgomery didn¡¯t land in the top 10. He went 12th overall to the Red Sox. On the flipside, not many mocks had King going top 10.
When the Marlins went for Summerville High School (S.C.) outfielder PJ Morlando earlier than expected at No. 16 overall, they set off a sequence in which the Brewers (outfielder Braylon Payne at No. 17) and Rays (outfielder Theo Gillen at No. 18) also went with high school sticks.
Lastly, Saguaro (Ariz.) High School pitcher Cam Caminiti, who was regarded as the best lefty in the class, fell a lot further than expected when the Braves took him at No. 24.
Two-way talents
A switch-pitcher and a two-way player in the same first round? Well, we probably don¡¯t need to tell you that¡¯s never happened before.
The Mariners took Mississippi State¡¯s Jurrangelo Cijntje and his incredible switch-pitching skillset at No. 15 and will let him try to become only the second full-time switch-pitcher in the AL or NL, joining Pat Venditte.
¡°We're going to let Jurrangelo make that decision to start,¡± Mariners director of amateur scouting Scott Hunter said. ¡°That's the fun part of it. ... There is a huge advantage if he does do both.¡±
Two-way players are fun to follow, too, even if the odds are stacked against anyone being as successful at the mission as one Shohei Ohtani. It¡¯s hard to stick as a two-way player, as we¡¯ve seen with last year¡¯s 16th overall pick Bryce Eldridge, who has already moved off the mound to focus firmly on the bat in the Giants¡¯ system.
The Royals, though, did announce Jac Caglianone as both a first baseman and left-handed pitcher at No. 6 overall, which was no certainty going into Draft day. They are earnest in their willingness to let him try, though there is a general industry assumption that he¡¯s more likely to make it to the bigs with his bat than his arm.
International intrigue
Bazzana was the first Aussie-born player taken No. 1 overall. His position makes him unusual, too. Of the 36 Australian players (either born in the country or raised there), 25 have been pitchers. So Bazzana¡¯s selection shows there¡¯s a lot of upside down under.
¡°I think it provides belief,¡± Bazzana said. ¡°I think part of what got me here was just believing in myself and wanting to pursue greater things. I just want to show ballplayers and anyone that I can inspire back home to push the limits and just aim high and know there are opportunities out here that they can pursue.¡±
Burns was also born outside the U.S. His parents were stationed in the military in Naples, Italy, when he was welcomed to the world on Jan. 16, 2003. So this marked the first time ever that neither of the top two picks were born in the United States.
Representation matters
Given MLB¡¯s extensive efforts to grow the game among the Black population with programs like Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities and other MLB Develops programs, it is important to note an uptrend in the number of Black players taken early in the Draft.
This year, there were nine Black players taken in the first round. That¡¯s the second time that¡¯s happened in the last three years. When it happened in 2022, it was the most Black players -- in terms of both the raw number and the percentage of first-rounders -- since 1992. There were 10 Black players among the top 50 picks a year ago.
The percentage of Black players at the MLB level has been static (6.0% of Opening Day rosters in 2024 and 6.2% in 2023), but the number of Black players entering the pipeline of late provides encouragement that this number will improve.
Steer here
Beginning with the 2021 Draft in Denver, MLB has been taking this event to the fans with its inclusion in All-Star Week. In terms of sheer number of fans, having this year¡¯s Draft at the 3,418-seat Cowtown Coliseum could not possibly rival last year¡¯s well-attended Draft at Lumen Field, home of the NFL¡¯s Seattle Seahawks.
But this Draft immediately leaps to the top of the board in terms of having a fun theme driven by the host area. The Stockyards is one of the biggest tourist destinations in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, and having the Draft here made for some between-picks entertainment, such as a cowboy lasso demonstration. Baseball people are familiar with having dirt under their feet, so the rodeo floor fit in just fine.