The 2024 Draft is rapidly approaching, and honestly, it’s hard to think of much else (though we well have an update to our Minor League Top 100 list coming soon). We just expanded our Draft rankings out to a Top 250 and Jim Callis had our most recent mock (link here).

I was pleased, then, that the vast majority of the questions that came in this week, without prompting, were Draft-related, starting with the first question here that we answered on this week’s episode of the MLB Pipeline Podcast.

Which player would you be most excited to take with a team’s second pick? -- @Blahbla92342524

Give the pod a listen as we dove into a couple of names for this one. We kind of created our own context, thinking about teams with multiple picks, like the D-backs, or a team picking at or near the top and with a large bonus pool, and who either might be available, or who we would love to see available in the comp round or the top of round two. I went with Kellon Lindsey, the speedy high school shortstop from Florida, who we’ve had at the end of the first round or in the sandwich round in our mocks. In my last solo mock, two weeks ago, I had the D-backs taking him with their third pick in the top 35. Jim went with prep pitcher William Schmidt, who is more highly ranked but because of the risk associated with high school rounders, has often come up outside of the top 30 selections.

I saw a rumor and was told personally that Cleveland scouted Jac Caglianone the most and frequently visited Gainesville. Jac Caglianone is almost never mentioned as a first pick despite having the season he had, elite talent, and can possibly even pitch. Why is that? -- @tribefan111

If you listened to the pod this week, we talked exactly about this. Well, not about you being told that Cleveland likes Caglianone, but that there’s more than a little chance that he could go No. 1 overall. To quote Mr. Callis’ latest mock: "Caglianone is more in play with the Guardians than has been realized." And if he doesn’t go 1-1, he definitely is in play at No. 2 to the Reds. So don’t be surprised if you hear something along those lines between now and when the selection is made. As we talked about on the podcast, we aren’t getting any intel from the Guardians themselves, so it’s really what other teams are saying about them, which makes it harder to know for sure what’s going to happen.

I would like to respond to a part of your question. News that the Guardians scouted Caglianone frequently should not surprise anyone. Even if he was thought to be a long shot, behind guys like Travis Bazzana and Charlie Condon, a team picking at the top should do due diligence and scout any and all possible players (a pool of maybe six this year) over the course of the spring. I’m not sure how one quantifies scouting a player “the most” but I can guarantee that Cleveland scouts saw all of the top players more than enough to have robust reports.

Finally, the question of why his name hadn’t been brought up much. Again, much of what we’ve collected comes from other teams, so there is a good amount of conjecture (There always is some.). But the track record of college first basemen taken in the first round of the Draft is not very good. (The fact Caglianone has pitched will not, in my opinion, figure into where he goes in the Draft; he’s going to be a hitter only.) And while it’s the job of every team to scout and make decisions based on evaluations of players in this class, it’s hard to imagine that history doesn’t enter into the equation.

Could the Rockies draft Charlie Condon if he is available at 3? Or are they solely focused on getting a pitcher like Chase Burns. -- @steve_cross4

The short answer is: absolutely. I’m starting to think maybe Mr. Callis has sent these questions in. His new mock has the Guardians taking Bazzana, the Reds taking Caglianone and the Rockies taking Condon. We’re far away from guaranteed, and Burns is certainly still in the picture, but the Rockies won’t box themselves into only taking a pitcher, especially not this year when the strength at the top are the college bats and as good as Burns and Hagen Smith are, there have been question marks about them and they aren’t slam dunks at the top of the first round. I could see Condon or Caglianone being in the mix if the Rockies wanted to go with a hitter.

You mentioned on last week's podcast that William Schmidt has the best curveball in this year's prep class. Of the prep pitchers who has the best other pitch types as well as best control? -- @caseywsox

You get extra points for referencing a previous episode of the pod. And Schmidt doesn’t just have the best curve among the high school set; it’s the best curve among all pitchers in the class, and it might be the best secondary pitch of any sort, as discussed in our breakdown of top tools. Here’s a quick look at the best pitches for all high school arms.

Fastball (65 grade): Carson Wiggins, RHP, Roland HS, Okla. (No. 79)
Slider (65): Joey Oakie, RHP, Ankeny Centennial HS, Ia. (No. 46)
Changeup (60): Ryan Sloan, RHP, York HS, Ill. (No. 19); Kash Mayfield, LHP, Elk City HS, Okla. (No. 30)
Control (55): Mayfield; David Shields, LHP, Mt. Lebanon HS, Pa. (No. 41); William Kirk, LHP, Ramsey HS, N.J. (No. 110); Cole Gibler, LHP, Blue Springs HS, Mo. (No. 128)