The 2024 MLB Draft is officially in the books, as the league finished with Rounds 11-20 on July 16. Now, it’s too early to tell which teams made out the best in this year’s draft. That likely won’t be known for at least seven years. But, some teams really needed to hit it out of the park this year, whether it be to extend their current competitive window or just to deepen a farm system that lacked depth. And, some did just that. Here’s a look at our five early winners of the 2024 MLB Draft.
Angels
We’ll start with the Los Angeles Angels, a team that needed a big haul in the 2024 MLB Draft heading into the event. For those who remember, the Angels went all-out last July to make the playoffs, making trades for Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, and C.J. Cron, among others. That plan failed. However, those trades cost Los Angeles significant assets, including top catching prospect Edgar Quero and pitching prospect Ky Bush, leaving an already-thin farm system even thinner.
The Angels have just one elite prospect in their farm, Caden Dana, but Los Angeles (AL) added more talent over the three-day event. Their top pick, infielder Christian Moore, is arguably the Angels’ best prospect right now. He’s an athletic player with an above-average bat and a 55 grade Power tool, and he could be a stalwart at second base or move to the outfield.
The team from Anaheim went deep in pitching after the Moore pick, albeit not as heavy as 2021 when the Angels took nothing but pitchers. Los Angeles added three potential middle-of-the-rotation arms: Chris Cortez, Ryan Prager, and Ryan Johnson. And suppose Los Angeles signs Duke reliever Fran Oschell, a preseason favorite to go in the top two rounds, and an electric reliever who fell to the 12th round after a poor spring. In that case, the Angels may have had themselves the kind of MLB Draft the organization desperately needed.
Athletics
The Athletics needed to have a good draft, for several reasons. One, the A’s are in the midst of a major rebuild. Two, the Oakland farm system is not strong; even though the A’s made significant trades to get assets in 2022, many of those names aren’t stars, and some may not even make the Majors. Three, the A’s aren’t eligible for the 2025 MLB Draft Lottery due to their revenue-sharing status and consecutive entries in 2023-24. Thus, Oakland won’t pick in at least the top nine next July.
Oakland went with Nick Kurtz with the fourth overall pick, a college bat with plus power and a somewhat comparable profile to Jim Thome. The A’s also nabbed Tommy White and Gage Jump from LSU in the second round. White was a projected top-15 pick heading into 2024 and has plus power but the athleticism question is still there. But if White and Jump, a middle-of-the-rotation potential arm, pan out, the A’s may have done very well on Day 1.
There were other interesting picks on Days 2 & 3. Oakland continues to collect Rutgers players, as the A’s picked hitting machine Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, who finished in the top 15 of the NCAA in hits (95) last season, in the third round. Rodney Green, a premium athlete from the University of California, was picked by Oakland in the fourth round, one of 10 players in MLB.com‘s top 300 prospect list to be selected by the A’s.
Braves
The Braves farm system doesn’t have the same depth compared to three to four years ago; that is thanks to MLB promotions and trades. Atlanta still has some high-end talent. But, the Braves needed to start filling out the ranks again. Atlanta might have done just that in the 2024 MLB Draft.
Atlanta scooped up lefty Cam Caminiti with the 24th pick, a good find given that Caminiti had top-15 talent written all of him. He’s a sizeable lefty with premium velocity — he can sit in the mid-90s — and three other weapons (curveball, slider, changeup) that have received strong reviews. He’s one of several good pitchers selected by the Braves, as Atlanta scooped up enigmatic Carter Holton in the second round. Holton has first-round talent, which helped him strike out 98 over 69.1 IP. However, refinement and work on his command will be key.
Generally speaking, the Braves know what to do with pitchers. Atlanta added a bunch of them in this draft and we didn’t even touch on Luke Sinnard, Herick Hernandez, or Brett Sears, all taken on Day 2. The Braves also got an intriguing bat on Day 3 in Saint Louis outfielder Patrick Clohisy, who batted .380 with the Billikens last spring.
Guardians
Despite having a 2% of winning the 2024 MLB Draft Lottery, the Guardians managed to steal the pick and add a potential cornerstone piece to their already-strong roster. Cleveland did that with Travis Bazzana, who did nothing but hit at Oregon State, the Cape Cod League, and didn’t show flaws in his game. Bazzana might not have had the loudest tools in the 2024 MLB Draft. But, he’s a safe bet to be a very good Major Leaguer.
That set the tone for Cleveland’s draft. Bazzana’s draft bonus slot is $10.57M, and should he not sign for the full slot, Cleveland can allocate some of those funds toward some other big pieces.
The Guardians have done well with raising pitching talent and Cleveland took some high-octane arms. Cleveland nabbed three MLB.com top 100 prospects in pitchers Braylon Doughty, Joey Oakie, and Chase Mobley. As for position players, Cleveland grabbed Jacob Cozart, a solid catcher with power, in the second round. Cozart’s a part of the NC State catching factory that’s produced Andrew Knizner and Patrick Bailey.
Rockies
We’ll finish our 2024 MLB Draft winners list with the Rockies. Pitching is always a need for the Colorado Rockies — and it doesn’t need to be said why (hint: Coors Field). The Rockies took arms in the first round during the 2022 and 2023 MLB Drafts and it seemed like that could have been the case in 2024 heading into draft night. But, Charlie Condon fell right to the Rockies at #3.
Condon had arguably the best power tool in the MLB Draft, a 70-grade future value that could be an 80-grade if things pan out. The Georgia star broke records with his power this spring; he set the BBCOR record for most home runs (37) in a single season. And, he showcased that he had the defensive flexibility to play third base and the outfield, beating back suggestions he would be relegated to a first base/DH role. With his power in Coors Field, Condon could be a special bat for the Rockies.
But the real reason why the Rockies had a good overall draft was simply because Colorado was able to add to a strong prospect pool, albeit one thin on impact pitchers. Colorado picked up several good performers in college, in Texas OF Jared Thomas (CBB) and South Carolina catcher Cole Messina (4th). And on the pitching side of things, Brody Brecht and LeBarron Johnson Jr. are intriguing names. Brecht has power stuff, highlighted by a triple-digit fastball but also control problems. As for Johnson, his delivery is funny and his 2024 season wasn’t great. However, the stuff is there.
That’s our look at the early winners of the 2024 MLB Draft. Be sure to check out our other coverage of the 2024 MLB Draft.