The Draft ranks have grown significantly! Appointment as national coach,We’ve finalized and expanded our 2024 Draft rankings, bringing the total to the Top 250.
With less than three weeks until the start of the Draft, we’re getting a better view of how the scouting business is stacking up the talent in this class. The Top Ten: 1. Travis Bazzana, 2B for Oregon State 2. Charlie Condon, OF/3B for Georgia. 3. Jac Caglianone (1B/LHP, Florida) 4. JJ Wetherholt (SS/2B, West Virginia) 5. Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas. 6. Chase Burns (RHP, Wake Forest) 7. Nick Kurtz, 1B for Wake Forest. 8. Braden Montgomery, OF at Texas A&M. 9. Konnor Griffin, SS/OF at Jackson Prep (MS) 10. Bryce Rainer, SS, Harvard-Westlake High School (CA).Here’s a look at the top tools in the class, divided into the typical categories: hit, power, speed, arm and defense for hitters, and fastball, curve, slider, changeup and control for pitchers. For more information on the draft, see the top 250 prospects, the most recent mock draft, the order, the top tools, and comprehensive coverage Top prospects: Condon, Bazzana, Caglianone, Kurtz, Montgomery Smith, Burns, Wetherholt, Griffin, and Culpepper. Best hitter: Travis Bazzana, 2B, Oregon State (65th grade).
Bazzana, who hit.374/.500/.622 as a sophomore and won the Cape Cod League batting title with a.375 average last summer, advanced even further this spring. He finished with a.407/.568/.911 batting line, striking out in only 9.1 percent of his plate appearances and walking 25.7 percent. He swung and missed 16 percent of the time and had a relatively low 17 percent chase rate. Also considered: JJ Wetherholt, SS/2B, West Virginia.
Best power: Charlie Condon, OF/3B, Georgia. (70 grade) This one was extremely tight, and it could have been a coin flip between Condon and Florida slugger Jac Caglianone. Condon did, however, lead all Division I hitters in home runs (37 to 35) and slugging percentage (1.009). Chase rates also influenced the decision, as scouts were concerned with Cags’ proclivity to swing (and hit, to be fair) at everything, with a 39 percent chase rate to Condon’s 26 percent. Also considered: Jac Caglianone, 1B, from Florida.
Fastest runner: Kellon Lindsey, SS, Hardee High School (Florida) (75 grade) Lindsey, a former two-sport standout who played quarterback for his high school for three years, has exceptional agility on both sides of the ball. He sets 80-grade run times and ran the top 30-yard sprint at the MLB Draft Combine in 3.538 seconds. Also considered: Austin Overn, OF, USC.