2024 Draft: Early look at best power, speed, fastball, more

The latest MLB Pipeline Podcast marked our first deep dive into the 2024 Draft. Conveniently, the release of our Top 100 Draft Prospects list wasn't far behind.

This year's class has a heavy collegiate slant at the top, at least early on. There is still an entire spring campaign for players to change their fortunes, but consider this our first foray into naming the cream of the crop.

• Draft Central | Order | First full 1st-round mock | Top 100 prospects

Best hitter: JJ Wetherholt, SS/2B, West Virginia (70 grade)
_Mayo_: He’s hit really since he got to West Virginia, but last year he hit .449 to lead all Division I hitters -- more walks than strikeouts, doesn’t strike out a lot, 22 strikeouts last year in 268 plate appearances, had a 1.300 OPS, also hit on the Cape. ... We don’t know how much power there’s going to be, but he had 16 homers at West Virginia last year. That’s the one question I guess that needs to be answered. But in terms of pure hit tool, the bat-to-ball skills are unbelievable and he will impact the ball enough that even if it’s average power, it’s still going to be very good. ... He’ll be playing shortstop this year and that could raise his profile if he shows he can play there. But even if he ends up at second base, where he played last year, that bat is going to play and is one of the best pure bats that I think we’ve had in a while.

Also in the discussion: Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest; Charlie Condon, OF/1B, Georgia; Seaver King, OF/SS, Wake Forest; Slade Caldwell, OF, Valley View HS (Ark.) (60)

Best power: Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest (65 grade)
Callis: He’s hit 39 homers in two college seasons and he’s slugged .708 at Wake Forest, which interestingly recruited him as a left-handed pitcher before he became a first baseman. He has huge raw power to all fields and it translates in games. He’s got a real quick swing, good strength, he’s a left-handed hitter. His stroke’s designed to launch balls in the air, but he’s not one of these one-dimensional guys. I think you could argue he might be the second-best hitter in terms of hitting ability in the Draft behind Wetherholt. I mean, he has no real weakness -- he hits lefties, he hits righties, he’s successful against all types of pitching, controls the strike zone, walks more than he strikes out. There’s no real holes on coverage of the plate and he hits the ball hard all over the ballpark.

Also in the discussion: Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida (65)

Fastest runner: Austin Overn, OF, USC (75 grade)
_Mayo_: There were some scouts who put an [80 grade] on him and kind of tried to find a tiny bit of middle ground by splitting hairs a little bit but the speed is absolutely ridiculous. He’s still learning how to use it. He stole 16 bases last year but also had 14 triples for USC that helped him to a .932 OPS. He is definitely sort of a table-setter type. There is a little impact in there, but the speed is really the thing.

Also in the discussion: Braylon Payne, OF, Elkins HS (Texas) (70); Konnor Griffin, OF, Jackson (Miss.) Preparatory School; Vance Honeycutt, OF, North Carolina; Slade Caldwell, OF, Valley View HS (Ark.); Dante Nori, Northville (Mich.) HS; Seaver King, OF/SS, Wake Forest; Arnold Abernathy, SS/2B, North Cobb HS (Ga.) (65)

Strongest arm: Cade Arrambide, C, Tomball (Texas) HS (70 grade)
_Callis_: He’s got a big time arm -- plus-plus arm strength, plays well behind the plate; he also has a lot of raw power. I think he’s probably more of a second-round pick than a first-round pick, but we talk about best arms in this Draft for position players and he comes up almost immediately in the discussion. I don’t think there’s any question when you look at the catchers in this Draft, his arm stands out easily -- it’s a legit plus-plus arm.

Also in the discussion: Braden Montgomery, OF/RHP, Texas A&M (70); Konnor Griffin, OF, Jackson (Miss.) Preparatory School (65)

Best defender: Austin Overn, OF, USC (70 grade)
_Mayo_: It’s not just his ability to outrun mistakes or use that top-of-the-scale speed, he combines the speed with really good instincts and reads and routes. He’s going to play center field for a very, very long time. So when you have that combination already before he’s even into pro ball, that puts him a little bit ahead. ... I think that based on the folks that I talked to in California, Overn is clearly the best defender at a premium up-the-middle position.

Also in the discussion: Vance Honeycutt, OF, North Carolina (65)
Best HS: Konnor Griffin, OF, Jackson (Miss.) Preparatory School; Dante Nori, OF, Northville (Mich.) HS; Slade Caldwell, OF, Valley View HS (Ark.) (60)

Best fastball: Brody Brecht, RHP, Iowa (70 grade)
_Callis_: His fastball/slider combination is comparable to [last year's No. 1 overall pick] Paul Skenes. He doesn’t have nearly the same polish, which is why we are not talking about him at the very, very top of the Draft right now. He sits at 96-99 mph with his heater, and besides the velocity, he’s got explosive running action -- it’s got much better fastball shape than Skenes. He needs command, and what’s interesting is, Iowa actually, as good as Brody Brecht’s fastball is -- and I think it’s the best fastball in this Draft -- had him throw more sliders than fastballs last year, which didn’t really help him improve his well-below-average command of the fastball. He’s an extreme stuff over polish guy right now. A former wide receiver, he hasn’t concentrated on baseball full-time until only recently. He’s got so much upside and he’s got the athleticism to where you’d like to think he’s going to figure things out.

Also in the discussion: Jac Caglianone, LHP, Florida; Fran Oschell, RHP, Duke (70); Michael Massey, RHP, Wake Forest; Tyson Neighbors, RHP, Kansas State (65)
Best HS: Ryan Sloan, RHP, York (Ill.) Community HS; Anson Seibert, RHP, Blue Valley Southwest HS (Kan.); Trey Gregory-Alford, RHP, Coronado HS (Colo.); Lazaro Collera, RHP, Westminster Christian School (Fla.) (60)

Best curveball: William Schmidt, RHP, Catholic HS (Baton Rouge, La.) (65 grade)
_Mayo_: He made our Top 20 high school list back when we did that [in October]. It’s a true 12 to 6. It’s one of the best overall breaking balls in the entire class. I think it’s a combination of the spin and the characteristics of it, and he can throw it for strikes. That’s a combination you don’t see very often from anyone, let alone a high schooler. He’s got other stuff. He’s up to 95 with his fastball, but that curveball really helps set him apart.

Also in the discussion: Trey Yesavage, RHP, East Carolina; Levi Sterling, RHP, Notre Dame HS (Calif.); Gage Jump, LHP, LSU; Boston Bateman, LHP, Camarillo (Calif.) HS (60)

Best slider: Tyson Neighbors, RHP, Kansas State (70 grade)
_Callis_: He’s purely a reliever, but he’s the best relief prospect in the Draft. He had 86 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings last year. We went 70 slider, 65 fastball and 65 cutter. His slider is 81-84 mph, two-plane depth and high spin rate. He had an absurd swing-and-miss rate on his slider, according to Synergy.

Also in the discussion: Brody Brecht, RHP, Iowa; Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest (70); Michael Massey, RHP, Wake Forest; Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas; Joey Oakie, RHP, Ankeny (Iowa) Centennial HS (65)

Best changeup: Drew Beam, RHP, Tennessee (60 grade)
_Callis_: I think he’s going to wind up going somewhere in the middle of the first round. ... It’s not the [most glamorous] stuff, it’s just that he has really good control of solid stuff. We put a 60 on the changeup and it’s his best pitch. It kind of makes everything play up because you can’t try and get too aggressive against him or he can make you look silly. He has some of the best feel in this Draft.

Also in the discussion: Ben Hess, RHP, Alabama; Jonathan Santucci, LHP, Duke; Trey Yesavage, RHP, East Carolina (55)

Best control: Josh Hartle, LHP, Wake Forest (60 grade)
_Callis_: He was a guy a lot of teams thought was the best high school lefty in the 2021 Draft, but he wanted to go to Wake Forest. [He was an] All-American last year as Wake finished third at the College World Series. ... He has a plus slider, average fastball, average changeup, solid cutter but he just has a real easy delivery and he throws a ton of strikes and moves the ball around. It’s not just control, it’s command -- 140 strikeouts and 24 walks in 102 1/3 innings last year.

Also in the discussion: Drew Beam, RHP, Tennessee; Ben Hess, RHP, Alabama; Matt Ager, RHP, UC Santa Barbara; David Shields, LHP, Mt. Lebanon HS (Pa.); William Kirk, LHP, Ramsey (N.J.) HS (55)