All you need to know about 2024 MLB Draft Combine
MLB's fourth annual Draft Combine will give teams the opportunity to gather more information on and off the field about several of the top talents in this year's crop. A total of 319 prospects have accepted invitations to the event, scheduled for June 18-23 at Chase Field in Phoenix, including 171 members of MLB Pipeline's Draft Top 200 and 22 of the first 30 prospects on that list.
MLB Network will broadcast live from 1-6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the first of two days of pro-style workouts. The telecast will include batting practice and infield/outfield drills for position players and bullpen sessions for pitchers, as well as analysis of the prospects and interviews with players and team executives.
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Other on-field highlights at the Combine include a game for high schoolers on Tuesday evening, and another workout on Wednesday. Strength and conditioning workouts will be held on Thursday and Friday.
Off the field, prospects will meet with general managers, scouting directors and other club officials throughout the Combine. Both sides have repeatedly praised the group interview process, and Louisville catcher Henry Davis, the No. 1 overall pick by the Pirates in 2021, distinguished himself in that setting. Players who consent to comprehensive medical exams will be guaranteed at least 75 percent of their assigned pick value in the Draft, which begins July 14 in Fort Worth, Texas.
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The highest-ranked prospects who accepted invitations are:
JJ Wetherholt, SS/2B, West Virginia (No. 7)
*Braden Montgomery, OF, Texas A&M (No. 8)
Konnor Griffin, SS/OF, Jackson Prep, Flowood, Miss. (No. 9)
Bryce Rainer, SS, Harvard-Westlake HS, Studio City, Calif. (No. 10)
Trey Yesavage, RHP, East Carolina (No. 11)
William Schmidt, RHP, Catholic HS, Baton Rouge, La. (No. 12)
Seaver King, 3B/OF, Wake Forest (No. 13)
*James Tibbs, OF, Florida State (No. 16)
Cam Caminiti, LHP, Saguaro HS, Scottsdale, Ariz. (No. 17)
Ryan Sloan, RHP, York HS, Elmhurst, Ill. (No. 18)
Carson Benge, OF, Oklahoma State (No. 19)
*Vance Honeycutt, OF, North Carolina (No. 20)
Brody Brecht, RHP, Iowa (No. 21)
Slade Caldwell, OF, Valley View HS, Jonesboro, Ark. (No. 22)
Walker Janek, C, Sam Houston (No. 23)
Malcolm Moore, C, Stanford (No. 24)
*Christian Moore, 2B, Tennessee (No. 25)
*Billy Amick, 3B, Tennessee (No. 26)
Theo Gillen, SS/2B, Westlake HS, Austin, Texas (No. 27)
Kash Mayfield, LHP, Elk City (Okla.) HS (No. 28)
Dakota Jordan, OF, Mississippi State (No. 29)
Kellon Lindsey, SS, Hardee HS, Wauchula, Fla. (No. 30)
Jurrangelo Cijntje, RHP/LHP, Mississippi State (No. 31)
Kaelen Culpepper, SS, Kansas State (No. 32)
Caleb Lomavita, C, California (No. 33)
Jonathan Santucci, LHP, Duke (No. 34)
Braylon Doughty, RHP, Chaparral HS, Temecula, Calif. (No. 37)
*Ryan Waldschmidt, OF, Kentucky (No. 39)
Carter Johnson, SS, Oxford (Ala.) HS (No. 40)
*Also participating in College World Series.
A potential first-round pick and arguably the fastest player in the high school class, Lindsey is the top-ranked prospect set to participate in on-field workouts. Louisiana State first baseman Jared Jones, who hit the two longest blasts (462 and 433 feet) during the televised portion of the 2022 San Diego Combine, should put on another show in batting practice. The latest in a long line of Georgia prep two-way talents, Greater Atlanta Christian School's (Norcross, Ga.) Conrad Cason, is more highly regarded as right-handed pitcher, but has elected to showcase himself as a shortstop.
While most of the players have already been scouted heavily, past Combines have helped prospects boost their stock. At the inaugural event in Cary, N.C., in 2021, Gardner-Webb right-hander Mason Miller threw seven of the eight fastest pitches clocked, averaging 98.2 mph and topping out at 99.1. An Athletics third-round pick that July, he needed just 28 2/3 innings in the Minors before making his big league debut; he has since been one of the top rookie performers this spring.
In San Diego, Crowder (Mo.) JC right-hander Jacob Misiorowski was even more electric, averaging 99.8 mph and topping out at 100.7 while unleashing the eight hardest fastballs and also popping a slider at 90.3 mph. Signed for $2.35 million as a Brewers second-rounder, he looked even more spectacular at the 2023 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and may have the best stuff of any pitcher in the Minors.
Last year in Phoenix, prep outfielders Brandon Winokur (Edison HS, Huntington Beach, Calif.) and George Wolkow (Downers Grove, Ill., North HS) put on the most impressive batting-practice displays. Winokur had the highest average exit velocity (108.3 mph) and produced triple-digits EVs on 21 of his 22 swings, including a 437-foot shot, while Wolkow had the best max exit velo (116.2 mph) and smoked five straight pitches 400 feet or more. Both earned above-slot seven-figure bonuses -- Winokur $1.5 million from the Twins as a third-rounder and Wolkow $1 million form the White Sox as a seventh-rounder.
Nineteen players who participated in the first three Combines have made their big league debuts, including first-rounders Davis, Sam Bachman, Jordan Wicks, Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel.