The first day of the 2024 MLB draft is in the books! The Cleveland Guardians selected Oregon State's Travis Bazzana at No. 1, making the slugger the first top pick in Australia's history. And there were plenty of other notable selections in the early rounds -- from Charlie Condon heading to homer-happy Coors Field with the Colorado Rockies to Jac Caglianone announced as a two-way player in his selection by the Kansas City Royals (he'll almost certainly focus on hitting).
ESPN baseball insiders Alden Gonzalez, Jesse Rogers and David Schoenfield are sharing their favorite and most head-scratching moves of the draft's first night, as well as picks for the players who'll bring the most to their teams long term.
There was a lot of discussion about the different options Cleveland had with the No. 1 pick ahead of the draft: Did the Guardians make the right choice by taking Bazzana?
Rogers: Look, without a clear consensus No. 1 like Paul Skenes was last year, the differing opinions were well founded. I think Bazzana was a good, safe top pick, with perhaps more limited star potential than some past top picks. He will have to slug, even if he stays at second base, to justify being 1-1, but this is a player some have likened to Chase Utley -- I don't think Cleveland made a mistake here.
Schoenfield: I'm just glad they didn't do a below-slot pick like JJ Wetherholt (the rumored possibility) to save money for later in the draft. That strategy once worked wonderfully for the Astros -- they ended up with Carlos Correa as the top pick -- but I don't think it's the way to go. I want teams to take the best player, and it seems Cleveland did indeed go with their 1-1. Now ... we'll see if Bazzana really is the best player in this draft. I'll be especially curious to see how it plays out in Cleveland, since the Guardians have Andres Gimenez signed through 2030 and locked into second base. Does Bazzana move to the outfield?
Gonzalez: To Dave's point, Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said he believes Bazzana possesses the athleticism to make that kind of move. The important thing here is they took perhaps the best, most well-rounded hitter in this draft. There's a reason a second baseman had never gone No. 1 overall -- teams tend to fall in love with players who can play premium positions like catcher, shortstop and center field. That player wasn't available in this draft -- at least not at the level of a top overall pick. Credit the Guardians for not forcing it -- and for not getting cute with their bonus pool after lucking into the first No. 1 pick in franchise history.
What was your favorite pick of the night -- and what was one selection that had you scratching your head?
Rogers: I love the Pirates taking a shot with high schooler Konner Griffin at No. 9. There were six or seven guys you could not pass up for Griffin, but with all those gone by the time Pittsburgh picked, I think he's worth the risk: One scouting director compared him to Mike Trout if he works out.
In their news release announcing Hagen Smith as their pick at No. 5, the White Sox mentioned their recent success in drafting left-handed pitchers. But that shouldn't trump taking a player at another position, and passing up on Jac Caglianone seems like a mistake. Perhaps they've been scared off of college hitters as Golden Spikes winner Andrew Vaughn hasn't popped for them while another Spikes winner, Andrew Benintendi, has struggled mightily as well. Having said all that, Smith could be as effective as the righty Burns who was taken at No. 2. It was a head-scratch for a moment -- but that's it.
Schoenfield: Charlie Condon would have been my guy with the first pick, so the Rockies claim my favorite in getting him at No. 3. The Rockies need hitting and power, and Condon can play wherever they'll need him -- third base, outfield, first base. He should move quickly to the majors and put up some big numbers in Coors Field -- legitimate big numbers that the Rockies haven't had since they traded Nolan Arenado.
Biggest head-scratcher: The Marlins taking PJ Morlando at No. 16. It was a below-slot selection, but most draft boards had him as more of a second-round talent and the lack of defensive projection means the bat will really have to play.
Gonzalez: The Royals being able to get Jac Caglianone at No. 6 was pretty big. Caglianone was announced as a two-way player, but he will likely only hit -- and he will hit well. He has 30- to 50-home-run power, doesn't bring any platoon concerns as a left-handed hitter and, as an added bonus, should develop into a plus defensive right fielder.
Seaver King at No. 10 was a bit of a reach for me. He is supremely athletic and could bounce around as a pro, but he wasn't necessarily considered a top-10 prospect -- likely because his swing might need work.
Which player drafted Sunday night has the best chance to win an MVP or Cy Young someday?
Rogers: Hear me out: In a four-year span, Kris Bryant -- a popular comp for Charlie Condon -- won the Golden Spikes award, minor league player of the year, Rookie of the Year and MVP. No one else has ever done that -- and, most likely, neither will Condon. But the comparisons between the two players is real, and I'll take a mature, ready-made hitter beginning his career at Coors Field. There's at least one MVP-caliber season in him.
Schoenfield: Sign me up for the Charlie Condon bandwagon. Look, he had one of the greatest seasons in NCAA history! I think he has a little more power than Bazzana and you need to hit home runs to win an MVP award these days. Everyone made the Kris Bryant comparison -- maybe Jesse's right and Condon follows the same path (although he'll be playing in the same league as Shohei Ohtani, who will presumably be back to pitching and hitting again next season).
Gonzalez: The hitters at the top of the draft were generally more polished than the pitchers, but if we're talking about supreme upside, I'm going with Chase Burns, who went No. 2 to the Cincinnati Reds and has drawn comparisons to Skenes. Burns has a fastball that averages 97 to 99 mph and has reached 102, to go along with a hellacious slider. Burns is not as fully formed as Skenes was at this time last year; he needs to establish better command of his fastball and develop a more reliable third pitch. But his ceiling is exceedingly high.
What's your biggest overall takeaway from Day 1 of this draft?
Rogers: That almost any player in the top 10 to 14 picks could end up being the best in the draft. Because of how interchangeable these picks were, organizational strategies were at play as much as anything, whether due to franchises' previous success at a position or simply because teams feel like college hitters are the safest bets. In other words, this year was a wonderful crapshoot as to who will come out on top. As previously stated, it could very well end up being Griffin. Eight teams will lament their choices if that's the case.
Schoenfield: All the college hitters who went in the top half of the round -- 10 of the first 14 picks. These guys put up impressive numbers, in some cases historic numbers, and given the state of hitting in the majors in 2024, let's hope the majority of them pan out and move quickly. There have been some big-time struggles with top picks in recent years (see Spencer Torkelson or Henry Davis), but with Bazzana, Condon and Caglianone in particular, you have three players with star potential. We could use an injection of that at the MLB level.
Gonzalez: The overall lack of high-upside high school talent available -- or, perhaps just as likely, teams' unwillingness to gamble on teenagers high in the draft. When Mississippi shortstop Konnor Griffin went ninth to the Pittsburgh Pirates, it marked the latest selection ever for the first high school player. Arizona lefty Cam Caminiti -- cousin of former MVP Ken Caminiti -- went to the Atlanta Braves at No. 24, also a record for the latest the first high school pitcher was taken.