The 2024 MLB First-Year Player Draft began on Sunday night with the first two rounds taking place. For the first time in their franchise history, the Cleveland Guardians owned the first overall selection. There was intrigue all the way up until the pick was announced by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.
Cleveland went with Australian-born second baseman Travis Bazzana, who played collegiately at Oregon State. Bazzana is the first-second baseman to be the first overall pick in the history of the draft, making the pick historic in two regards.
Following Bazzana off the board were right-handed pitcher Chase Burns going to the Cincinnati Reds at No. 2 and then Charlie Condon, the Golden Spikes Award-winning outfielder from Georgia, to the Colorado Rockies with the third pick.
Because nobody knew who Cleveland was going to draft, it was impossible to forecast how the first round would play out. And there were certainly some twists and turns along the way. It was a great night for Wake Forest, however, as they watched Burns, first baseman Nick Kurtz, and shortstop Seaver King were among the top 10 overall picks.
Including the nine competitive balance compensatory picks between the first and second rounds, 13 of the first 39 players selected were out of the high school ranks this year.
Here are the five selections from Sunday night’s first round that stood out as the best picks from the first round.
7. St. Louis Cardinals—JJ Wetherholt, SS, West Virginia
Wetherholt was a legit consideration for the No. 1 overall pick to Cleveland, but somehow slid all the way to the Cardinals at No. 7 overall. When you think about Cardinals players, the traditional profile perfectly aligns with Wetherholt’s bio. He was the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year as a junior in 2024, hitting 0.449/0.517/0.787 with 16 homers and 36 steals.
He’s got translatable speed and good pop for a middle infielder. He also makes a remarkable amount of contact; his miss rate was only 10 percent. The Cardinals should send a nice thank-you card to the teams selected in the top six. Wetherholt was the only player in the top 14 selections listed under six feet tall.
6. Kansas City Royals—Jac Caglianone, Two-Way Player, Florida
Yes, you read his position(s) correctly. “Cags” was a two-way threat for the Florida Gators during his collegiate career, putting up solid pitching numbers while also breaking the career home run record for the university. Some scouts have said he would be a second-round pick as just a pitcher and a top-10 overall pick as a bat; he has light tower power.
A physical 6-foot-5, 250-pound player, he now joins an organization that has Bobby Witt, Jr. playing at an all-star level at shortstop and more young players coming. The White Sox passing on him at No. 5 opened the door for their division rival to haunt them with the decision for years to come.
22. Baltimore Orioles—Vance Honeycutt, OF, North Carolina
Honeycutt is a solid, toolsy centerfielder with terrific speed and real, raw power. In three seasons at North Carolina, he hit 30 doubles and 65 home runs and drove in 170 runs in 176 games.
At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, he possesses plus speed and a plus arm and could develop into an everyday centerfielder who steals plenty of bases at the next level. For an organization that’s stocked with outstanding talent that’s already starting to matriculate to the majors, Honeycutt is another premium player added to their pool.
15. Seattle Mariners—Jurrangelo Cijntje, Switch Pitcher, Mississippi State
Yes, you read his position correctly. Cijntje is a switch pitcher. As a right-handed pitcher, he sits in the mid-to upper-90s with his fastball and has a dirty slider and a good, hard changeup. When he feels like pitching with the other hand, he sits in the low 90s with a nice sweeper.
He isn’t a big pitcher (5-foot-11) and might be asked to stick with only being a right-handed pitcher as a professional, but there’s plenty of intrigue when a prospect can pitch this well with either hand.
31. Arizona Diamondbacks—Ryan Waldschmidt, OF, Kentucky
Waldschmidt probably would have been gone in the teens if he hadn’t blown his ACL making a throw in the Cape Cod League last year, an injury that limited him to DH duties early this year for Kentucky.
He’s a terrific hitter with a good eye for the strike zone and good power. There are a lot of scouts in the analytics community who love how his bat projects at the next level. There are some questions if his arm strength will allow him to be a corner outfielder, but he might be quick enough to play centerfield. This was the first compensatory pick at the end of the first round.
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