2024 MLB Mock Draft: College hitters lead the way in first MLB Pipeline projection

Before you know it, the 2024 MLB Draft will be upon us. This year’s draft is set to take place from July 14-16 in Fort Worth, Texas. With just over two months before the first round gets underway, MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo has released his first 2024 mock draft of the season.

The first round is undoubtedly dominated by college players, mostly college hitters. Just two high school prospects appear in the top ten, with only six high school players taken throughout the entire first round. There were 13 high school players taken in the first round of the 2023 draft.

This year’s top ten is pretty wide open, with five college stars headlining the class. At the top is Charlie Condon, Travis Bazzana and Jac Caglianone, with each having a compelling case to be taken with the first overall pick.

The Cleveland Guardians are on the clock, and they are likely to add a true star hitter to their prospect pool come July. Here is a full look at the first round in MLB Pipeline’s first 2024 mock draft.

1. Cleveland Guardians: Georgia OF/3B Charlie Condon

What Charlie Condon is doing at Georgia this season is pretty remarkable. Through 236 plate appearances in 47 games, Condon has established himself as the country’s top power hitter with 33 home runs and 69 RBI.

As if Condon couldn’t impress any more, he’s also hitting .459 on the year with an OPS of 1.673. You just don’t see those kind of numbers every day.

2. Cincinnati Reds: Oregon State 2B Travis Bazzana

Travis Bazzana hits leadoff for Oregon State, and it feels like he leads off games with a home run more often than he doesn’t. Through 46 games and 225 plate appearances this season, he’s hitting .422 with 24 home runs and 55 RBI. He’s an intriguing, consistent hitter that goes No. 2 in MLB Pipeline’s mock draft.

Bazzana has been consistent through his college career, and he’s gotten better every year. He hit .306 with six homers and 44 RBI in 2022 and .374 with 11 homers and 55 RBI last season before breaking out even more this season.

3. Colorado Rockies: Florida 1B/LHP Jac Caglianone

Jac Caglianone is a two-way prospect, and he has a chance to hit and pitch in the majors. The best part of his game is offensively, though, as he’s hitting .410 with 26 home runs and 53 RBI on the season. Last season he hit .323 with 33 homers and 90 RBI.

Caglianone is also having a solid season on the mound. He starts on Sunday in Florida’s weekend rotation, and is 5-1 with a 4.39 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP in 53.1 innings of work.

4. Oakland Athletics: Texas A&M OF Braden Montgomery

Braden Montgomery is one of the nation’s best hitters and that shows with his selection in this MLB mock draft. He first established himself at Stanford in 2022 and 2023, hitting 35 home runs across his two seasons out west. Montgomery then transferred to Texas A&M for this season, and he continues to rake as a .339 hitter with 23 home runs and 73 RBI.

Montgomery has also pitched some in college, with 34.2 innings in his career. He figures to make his money as a hitter, though, and he is a great bet to go in the top ten.

5. Chicago White Sox: Wake Forest 1B Nick Kurtz

Nick Kurtz has been a mainstay in the Wake Forest lineup since arriving on campus in 2022, and now he’s one of college baseball’s top hitters. He hit .338 with 15 homers and 56 RBI in 2022 before improving to .353 with 24 homers and 69 RBI in 2023.

Through 203 plate appearances in 42 games this season, Kurtz is hitting .324 with 19 home runs and 49 RBI. He’ll likely hear his name called in the top ten.

6. Kansas City Royals: Jackson Prep (MS) SS/OF Konnor Griffin (LSU commit)

Konnor Griffin is committed to play college baseball at LSU, but it’s unlikely he makes it to campus as maybe the top high school prospect in the 2024 MLB Draft class. Though Griffin still has room to grow, he looks to be a very high-upside prospect that could go in the top ten.

LSU is hoping Griffin somehow makes it to campus, but that doesn’t appear likely to happen.

7. St. Louis Cardinals: Arkansas LHP Hagen Smith

With the seventh overall pick, we have our first pitcher off the board and it’s obviously Arkansas ace Hagen Smith. He has gotten each better each season with the Razorbacks, and now he is the best pitcher in college baseball.

Smith has started 12 games at the front of Arkansas’ rotation this year. He has tossed 66 innings with a 1.36 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP with a 9-0 record.

8. Los Angeles Angels: West Virginia SS/2B JJ Wetherholt

JJ Wetherholt has been limited this season due to injury, but he still looks to be a potential top ten pick and goes No. 8 in this MLB mock draft. Through 101 plate appearances and 22 games, he’s hitting .347 with three home runs and 18 RBI and a 1.069 OPS.

Last season was Wetherholt’s best, as he hit .449 with 16 home runs and 60 RBI. He can play all over the infield as well, which adds even more value to his profile as a prospect.

9. Pittsburgh Pirates: Harvard-Westlake (CA) SS Bryce Rainer (Texas commit)

The second high school prospect is off the board at No. 9 to the Pirates, as Harvard-Westlake shortstop Bryce Rainer is selected. Rainer is a very strong hitter that has power in his swing, and he is a player MLB teams could fall in love with during the draft process.

Rainer is committed to play college baseball at Texas, though he’s more likely to turn pro.

10. Washington Nationals: Wake Forest RHP Chase Burns

The second pitcher is off the board to the Nationals, and it’s Chase Burns from Wake Forest. Burns started his career at Tennessee, and started 22 games in 35 appearances across two seasons. His upside has always been obvious, and he’s put it together as an anchor in Wake Forest’s rotation this season.

In 12 starts this year, Burns is 9-1 with a 3.00 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. He has struck out 140 batters as opposed to 23 walks, while consistently running his fastball up to triple digits.

2024 MLB Mock Draft: 11-30

11. Detroit Tigers: East Carolina RHP Trey Yesavage
12. Boston Red Sox: Wake Forest 3B/OF Seaver King
13. San Francisco Giants: North Carolina OF Vance Honeycutt
14. Chicago Cubs: Florida State 3B Cam Smith
15. Seattle Mariners: Tennessee 3B Billy Amick
16. Miami Marlins: Florida State OF James Tibbs III
17. Milwaukee Brewers: Kansas State SS Kaelen Culpepper
18. Tampa Bay Rays: Saguaro (AZ) LHP Cam Caminiti (LSU commit)
19. New York Mets: Mississippi State OF Dakota Jordan
20. Toronto Blue Jays: LSU 3B Tommy White
21. Minnesota Twins: Oklahoma State OF Carson Benge
22. Baltimore Orioles: Westlake (TX) SS/2B Theo Gillen (Texas commit)
23. Los Angeles Dodgers: Iowa RHP Brody Brecht
24. Atlanta Braves: California C Caleb Lomavita
25. San Diego Padres: Hardee Senior (FL) SS Kellon Lindsey (Florida commit)
26. New York Yankees: Duke LHP Jonathan Santucci
27. Philadelphia Phillies: Stanford C Malcolm Moore
28. Houston Astros: Sam Houston C Walker Janek
29. Arizona Diamondbacks: Mississippi State RHP/LHP Jurrangelo Cijntje
30. Texas Rangers: Catholic (LA) RHP William Schmidt (LSU commit)