Major League Baseball completes 2024 MLB Draft

July 16, 2024

121

Major League Baseball today completed its 2024 Draft presented by Nike, with a total of 615 players being chosen in the 20 rounds, one Prospect Promotion Incentive Selection round, two Compensation rounds and two Competitive Balance rounds. The Draft resumed in the 11^th round via MLB.com this afternoon after Monday’s completion of rounds three through 10.

Pitchers were the most frequently chosen players, with 354 being selected (262 RHP, 91 LHP and 1 switch-pitcher). The rest of the 2024 pool was comprised of 93 outfielders, 60 shortstops, 49 catchers, 29 third basemen, 15 first basemen, eight second basemen, six two-way players and one infielder.

Mississippi State University had 11 players selected, marking the most in the Draft. Other top universities included: Louisiana State University (9); the University of Arkansas (8); Florida State University (8); Oklahoma State University (8); the University of Oklahoma (8); the University of Kentucky (7); the University of Mississippi (7); Oregon State University (7); Texas A&M University (7); Vanderbilt University (7); the University of Alabama (6); East Carolina University (6); Indiana University (6); University of Kansas (6); the University of North Carolina (6); and Wake Forest University (6).

Players were selected from 44 states, with California (76) producing the most selections, followed by Florida (71); Texas (44); North Carolina (30); Georgia (27); Virigina (26); Pennsylvania (25); Illinois (21); New York (18); Indiana (14); South Carolina (14); Alabama (13); New Jersey (13); Oklahoma (13); Tennessee (12); Colorado (11); Michigan (11); Oregon (11) and Arizona (10). Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Washington each had nine draft selections. Wisconsin had eight players selected in the Draft while Kansas and Louisiana each had seven selections. States with four Draft selections included Arkansas, Delaware, Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada and New Hampshire; while states with three Draft selections included Hawaii, Rhode Island and Utah. Connecticut, Idaho and New Mexico each had two players chosen and Alaska, Montana and West Virginia round out the group with one Draft pick each. In addition to the players selected from the United States, 11 players from Canada, 7 players from Puerto Rico and one player from Australia were also drafted.

The Cleveland Guardians selected second baseman Travis Bazzana out of Oregon State University with the first overall pick in the Draft. Bazzana was the first second baseman taken with the first overall selection in the history of the MLB Draft and the Australian native is just the second player born outside of the United States to be drafted first overall, joining Carlos Correa (2012, HOU). He is also the first number one overall pick in Guardians’ history and joins two-time All-Star Adley Rutschman (2019, BAL) as the only players to ever be selected first overall out of Oregon State University.

The first pick in the 2024 Draft, Travis Bazzana (1^st round, CLE) , participated in the ‘MLB International College Showcase Tour,’ which takes place annually in Phoenix, Arizona. Participants of the MLB World Select Team have the opportunity to participate in activities for college recruiters and professional scouts. Major League Baseball has hosted the international college showcase since 2015, highlighting the commitment to growing the game internationally.

Among the additional MLB Develops event alumni (Breakthrough Series, DREAM Series and Hank Aaron Invitational) selected in the Draft are Christian Moore (1st round, LAA), Braden Montgomery (1^st round, BOS), Cameron Smith (1^st round, CHI), Ty Southisene (4^th round, CHI), Tyler Wilson (8^th round, NYY), Cameron Hill, (8^th round, PHI), Christian Little (11^th round, SEA), Erik Parker (15^th round, LAD), TJ McCants (16^th round, SEA) and Jacoby Long (17^th round, NYM).

Following the second annual HBCU Swingman Classic Presented by T-Mobile & Powered by the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation, two HBCU players from the event were selected in the Draft, including Randy Flores (8^th round, LAA) and Cameron Hill (8^th round, PHI).

Alumni of the Nike RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) program include Jurrangelo Cijnte (1^st round, SEA), Randall Diaz (5^th round, WSH), Coen Nicali (15^th round, MIA) and Jared Sprague-Lott (9^th round, OAK) who is also an alumnus of the Phillies MLB Urban Youth Academy.

Additionally, 23 alumni of the MLB Desert Invitational tournament, 12 High School All-American Game alumni, four participants of the former States Play event, three High School Homerun Derby participants including 2023 champion PJ Morlando (1^st round, MIA), who also participated in the High School All American Game, were all taken in this year’s Draft.

Of note, Sir Jameson Jones (15^th round, WSH) is an alumni of White Sox Nike RBI, all MLB Develops programming and the 2023 High School All American Game.

Three players from Wake Forest University were selected within the first 10 picks of the Draft with the Cincinnati Reds selecting starting pitcher Chase Burns (2^nd overall); the Oakland Athletics selecting first baseman Nick Kurtz (4^th overall); and the Washington Nationals selecting shortstop Seaver King (10^th overall). Since the inception of the MLB Draft, it is the second time in history that a trio of teammates were selected within the top-10 picks, joining Philip Humber (3^rd overall), Jeff Niemann (4^th overall) and Wade Townsend (8^th overall), who were selected out of Rice University in 2004. Additionally, it is the seventh time that two teammates have been drafted within the first four overall picks, following Louisiana State University teammates Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews, who became the first pair of teammates to ever be selected first and second overall in last year’s Draft. For the 21^st time in the last 23 years, at least one pair of teammates (college or high school) were selected in the first round.

All six players who were in attendance at Cowtown Coliseum were selected in the first round on Sunday. The players in attendance who were chosen included shortstop JJ Wetherholt from West Virginia University (7^th overall, STL); second baseman Christian Moore from the University of Tennessee (8^th overall, LAA); outfielder Braden Montgomery from Texas A&M University (12^th overall, BOS); switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje (15^th overall, SEA) from Mississippi State University; shortstop Kaelen Culpepper (21^st overall, MIN) from Kansas State University; and left-handed pitcher Cam Caminiti (24^th overall, ATL) from Saguaro High School (AZ).

The first round of the Draft aired on ESPN and MLB Network on Sunday night, drawing the second-highest viewership in the history of the event. ESPN and MLB Network combined viewership was up +16% with an average viewership of 863,000. During the evening, viewership peaked at 1.1 million and there was a +66% increase in viewers aged 18-34.

Christian Moore (8^th), who was selected by the Los Angeles Angels; Cijntje (15^th overall), who was selected by the Seattle Mariners; Carson Benge (19^th), who was selected by the New York Mets; and Caminiti (24^th), who was selected by the Atlanta Braves are among the players selected in the first 30 picks of this year’s Draft who have family ties to baseball. Caminiti is the cousin of Ken Caminiti, who had a 15-season career as a third baseman, primarily with the Astros (1987-94, 1999-00) and Padres (1995-98), also appearing with the Rangers and Braves (both 2001). He earned three All-Star selections and three Gold Glove awards, and posted career highs in home runs (40) and RBIs (130) en route to winning National Legaue MVP in 1996. Moore’s brother, C.J., was picked in the 13^th round of the 2014 Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Cijntje’s father, Michelangelo, played pro baseball in the Netherlands. Benge’s brother, Garrett, was selected in the 13^th round of the 2017 Draft by the Boston Red Sox.

In addition to the above players, other notable selections with baseball and professional sports ties included:

Northeastern University outfielder Mike Sirota (3^rd round, CIN), whose great-uncle is 10-time All-Star and six-time World Series champion Hall of Famer Whitey Ford.
State College of Florida third baseman Jalen Hairston (18^th round, CIN), whose father, Scott, uncle, Jerry Jr., grandfather, Jerry Sr., great-grandfather, Sam, and great-uncle, John, all played in the big leagues.
Miami Dade Community College third baseman D’Angelo Ortiz (19^th round, BOS), whose father is Hall of Famer, three-time World Series Champion and 10-time All-Star David Ortiz.
Arizona State University outfielder Nick McLain (3^rd round, CWS), whose brother, Matt, is an infielder for the Reds, and brother, Sean was a fifth-round selection by the Dodgers in the 2022 Draft and is currently in Single-A.
American Heritage High School outfielder Lucas Ramirez (17^th round, LAA), whose father, Manny, is a 12-time All-Star and two-time World Series Champion, playing 19 Major League seasons with Cleveland, Boston, Los Angeles (NL), Chicago (AL) and Tampa Bay.
Independence High School shortstop Wyatt Sanford (2^nd round, PIT), whose father, Chance, was drafted by the Pirates in both 1991 and 1992. He appeared in 19 career games, playing in 14 games for the Pirates in 1998 and five games with the Dodgers in 1999.
Dallas Baptist University right-handed pitcher Ryan Johnson (2-C round, LAA), whose brother, M.D. (Michael David), is currently a pitcher with the Marlins in Double-A, after he was chosen in the sixth round of the 2019 MLB Draft.
Georgia Tech right-handed pitcher Dawson Brown (16^th round, AZ), whose father, Kevin, is a six-time All-Star and was a member of the 1997 World Series Champion Marlins. He posted a 211-144 record with a 3.28 ERA across 19 Major League seasons.
University of Texas right-handed pitcher Witt Tanner (14^th round, NYM), whose father, Kevin, was the 28^th overall selection in the 1994 Draft by the Blue Jays and appeared in 146 MLB games with Toronto, Detroit, San Diego and Tampa Bay.
University of Arizona right-handed pitcher (4-C round, SD), whose father, Tom, pitched to a 151-164 record with a 3.73 ERA across 16 MLB seasons with Milwaukee, Cleveland, Toronto, Los Angeles (NL) and Oakland.
Cal Baptist University right-handed pitcher Connor McGuire (17^th round, CLE), whose father, Ryan, played 368 MLB games as an outfielder/first baseman, mostly for the 1997-99 Expos. His mother, Kristy, was a competitive swimmer who won a silver medal in the Women’s 100 meter backstroke at the 1995 Pan American Games in Argentina.
University of Miami right-handed pitcher Brian Walters Jr. (19^th round, SEA), whose brother, Andrew, was the 62^nd overall pick in last year’s Draft by Cleveland and is currently in Triple-A, ranked as the No. 23 prospect in the Guardians’ system per MLB Pipeline.
University of Oregon catcher Bennett Thompson (13^th round, CLE), whose uncle, Justin, was a three-time All-Star first baseman who played for the Tigers, Angels, Pirates and Expos.
George Mason University left-handed pitcher Konnor Eaton (6^th round, COL), whose cousin, Nate, was selected in the 21^st round of the 2019 Draft by Kansas City and is currently on Triple-A Omaha.
University of Arizona right-handed pitcher Anthony Susac (8^th round, TEX), whose cousins, Daniel and Andrew, have both played professional Baseball. Daniel was selected 19^th overall by the Athletics in the 2022 Draft and is currently ranked as the club’s fifth-best prospect per MLB Pipeline.
The Pennington School right-handed pitcher Bryce Meccage (2^nd round, MIL), whose uncle, Justin, is currently the Pirates bullpen coach and has served on Pittsburgh’s coaching staff since 2018. Bryce’s father, Jeremy, is a coach at Princeton and was drafted twice by the Dodgers.
University of Tennessee third baseman Billy Amick (2^nd round, BOS), whose father, Lyndon, was a NASCAR driver from 1996-2003, primarily competing in NASCAR’s second-tier circuit which was then known as the Busch Series
Northville High School Dante Nori (27^th overall, PHI), whose father, Micah, is currently an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves and grandfather, Fred, spent time as an assistant coach at Indiana University, where he helped recruit and coach Kyle Schwarber.
University of South Alabama outfielder Joseph Sullivan (7^th round, HOU), whose grandfather, Pat, winning the 1971 Heisman Trophy, marking the first Heisman Trophy won by an Auburn player. Sullivan was selected in the second round of the 1972 NFL Draft and played in 30 games for the Atlanta Falcons from 1972-75. He later served as the head coach of TCU (1992-97) and Samford University (2007-2014).
Harvard University right-handed pitcher Sean Matson (9^th round, CLE), whose sister, Erin, played field hockey at the University of North Carolina, winning four national championships. She took over as the program’s head coach in January 2023 immediately upon graduating, when she was still 22 years old. The Tar Heels went on to win the national title last fall, and she’s believed to be the second-youngest head coach to win an NCAA Division I title.
University of Oregon right-handed pitcher Brock Moore (7^th round, SEA), whose cousin, Evan, played football and basketball at Stanford, going on to play wide receiver for for Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Mariners from 2009-2012.