Here are the biggest steals from the 2024 MLB Draft
The 2024 MLB Draft is officially over, and the discourse has shifted from prediction to analysis. The days following the event, which spanned 20 rounds (plus compensatory rounds) and 615 picks, serve as prime real estate to break down your favorite team’s picks and identify some of the best values from the Draft.
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On the latest Pipeline Podcast, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo put their analysis caps on and dove into the Draft, picking out the biggest steals from each of the first 10 rounds. Here's their list:
Round 1
Cam Caminiti, LHP, Saguaro HS (AZ), Braves No. 24; ranked No. 15
Mayo: “We thought he was going to go much higher than that. He was the top-ranked available high school arm in the Draft class. I'm excited for the Braves. They've never, over the years, shied away from taking high school arms, so I think they probably did not expect Cam Caminiti to be there for them to take at 24 and they didn't hesitate when he was.”
Round 2
Ryan Sloan, RHP, York HS (IL), Mariners No. 55; ranked No. 19
Callis: “6-foot-5, 220, I'm not saying he’s going to be this guy, but you get some physical comparisons to Gerrit Cole. He's put together really well for a high school kid, and he could have three plus pitches. He's got feel too. He's got a 93-96 mph fastball hits 99, he can ride it and run it, he can cut it, he can sink it. ... I think Seattle had to be elated to get this guy in the second round. They got him at pick 55 and honestly, he probably should have gone 30-35 picks higher.”
Round 3
Mike Sirota, OF, Northeastern, Reds No. 87; ranked No. 50
Mayo: “When we did our Top 100 back in December based on how good he was as a sophomore and then over the summer, we thought he might be a middle-of-the-first-round kind of pick. He's got a ton of tools. He can really run, he can play center field, he can hit. This year, he just really struggled ... so it's possible that the Reds got a first-round talent here in the third round solely because he just had a bad year as a junior.”
Round 4
Dakota Jordan, OF, Mississippi State, Giants No. 116; ranked No. 34
Callis: “If you just want to go with pure speed and pure raw power, it's right up there with the best combination in the Draft. Now, he's raw as a baseball player, he's had some success in the SEC at Mississippi State. If we were to rate the teams most thrilled with player who got to them after the first round, I think it would be the Giants at 116.”
Round 5
Tristan Smith, LHP, Clemson, Reds No. 150; ranked No. 73
Mayo: “Tops out at 96, he's got a really good sweeping low 80s slider with high spin. He's got a good changeup. Now, one of the concerns, even coming out of high school, with him was that there was a little reliever risk. He needs to find the plate a little more consistently, but there are all the pieces there for maybe a mid-rotation starting pitcher.”
Round 6
Matt Ager, RHP, UC Santa Barbara, Pirates No. 174; ranked No. 135
Callis: “He had an oblique injury. I think you can go back to last fall, and it just never seemed like he was right. But when he's at his best, he can pound the zone with four pitches. It's a fastball with kind of average velocity, but he's commanded it well in the past. He's got a good slider that can flash plus. Curveball is more of a get me over pitch to kind of keep hitters off balance. He's got some feel for the changeup and throws a ton of strikes on all his pitches.”
Round 7
Cameron Sullivan, RHP, Mount Vernon HS (IN), Guardians No. 205; ranked No. 118
Mayo: “He took a big step forward in terms of strength and conditioning, was throwing harder up into the mid 90s even touching a bit higher than that this spring. He gets a lot of high spin on [the fastball] and his slider which he kind of has two different versions of. He's got a cutter and kind of a sweepier option, but the RPMs are around 2900. He's athletic on the mound. He still needs to work on location, but we're talking about a 6-foot-2 kind of projectable high school right-hander.”
Round 8
Conrad Cason, RHP/SS, Greater Atlanta Christian HS (GA), Red Sox No. 237; ranked No. 102
Callis: “Most teams liked him as a pitcher. Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year, he's athletic, four-sport guy, 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, fastball is 93-95 touches 98. ... Then he went to the Combine, and I saw him on the roster as a shortstop. ... Well, it was just a workout, but a pretty good looking workout. Obviously strong arm, looked good taking infield, put on nice [batting practice], is a solid runner. I still think the upside is greater on the mound, but I think he's a legitimate prospect both ways.”
Round 9
Zach Swanson, RHP, Toutle Lake HS (WA), Tigers No. 266; ranked No. 178
Mayo: “I was really excited about him coming into the year because based on how he looked over the summer, I thought he might take the big step forward and kind of turn into one of the better prep right-handers in the class, but he was very inconsistent this year. When he's right, we're looking at a projectable, 6-foot-3 guy, with a legitimate chance to start. He has a tendency to rush his delivery and so, his command and even just the sort of effectiveness of all this stuff is inconsistent as a result.”
Round 10
Chase Mobley, RHP, Durant HS (FL), Guardians No. 295; ranked No. 80
Callis: “He's already touching 99. So, we don't have to project high-end velocity. He's got a curveball. He's got a slider. His split-change might be more consistent than both of those. He's still figuring out control and command, but he's getting there. The Guardians love their younger high school players. They look at age a lot. He just turned 18 a month before the Draft. So yeah, he's a pretty easy choice.”