The 2024 MLB Draft is underway, and the Cleveland Guardians made Oregon State IF Travis Bazzana the first overall pick. The former Beavers shortstop is the first Australian-born player to go No. 1 overall in the MLB Draft.
All 30 first-round picks are listed below. Scroll down further to check out Yahoo Sports' analysis of the picks in Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2024 MLB Draft.
2024 MLB Draft First Round
Cleveland Guardians — Travis Bazzana, 2B, Oregon State
Cincinnati Reds — Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest
Colorado Rockies — Charlie Condon, 3B, Georgia
Oakland Athletics — Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest
Chicago White Sox — Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas
Kansas City Royals — Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida
St. Louis Cardinals — JJ Wetherholt, SS, West Virginia
Los Angeles Angels — Christian Moore, 2B, Tennessee
No. 46 pick, New York Mets: LHP Jonathan Santucci, Duke
Ryan Young
No. 45 pick, Los Angeles Angels: RHP Chris Cortez, Texas A&M
Ryan Young
No. 44 pick, Washington Nationals: SS Luke Dickerson, Morris Knolls HS (New Jersey)
Ryan Young
No. 43 pick, Chicago White Sox: SS Caleb Bonemer, Okemos HS (Michigan)
Ryan Young
No. 42 pick, Colorado Rockies: OF Jared Thomas, Texas
Ryan Young
No. 41 pick, Kansas City Royals: LHP David Shields, Mt. Lebanon HS (Pennsylvania)
Ryan Young
No. 40 pick, Oakland A's: 3B Tommy White, LSU
Tommy Tanks is one of the more recognizable stars in this generation of college baseball, and that’s no accident: The dude hit 75 home runs across three years, including a walk-off blast in Omaha that helped propel the Tigers to the national championship in 2023. If there’s such a thing as “prospect fatigue,” White might be the rare example, as he has been picked apart by scouts for nearly a half-decade, despite an overwhelming track record of high-end offensive production. For teams that don’t believe he can stick at third base — he’s not awful there, but it isn’t always pretty — he probably belongs closer to the end of Round 1. I think he’ll be just fine, and I trust his ability to hit as much as just about anyone outside the top 10, so he stays in this tier. — Jordan Shusterman
Ryan Young
No. 39 pick, Washington Nationals: C Caleb Lomavita, Cal
No. 33 pick, Minnesota Twins: SS Kyle Debarge, Louisiana
Jason Owens
No. 32 pick, Baltimore Orioles: SS Griff O'Ferrall, Virginia
Jason Owens
No. 31 pick, Arizona Diamondbacks: OF Ryan Waldschmidt, Kentucky
Only Christian Moore (.429) and Charlie Condon (.412) had a higher batting average in SEC play than Waldschmidt (.405), who was on absolute fire in the second half for the Wildcats and worked his way into the first-round mix despite a slow start to the season in which he was strictly DH-ing following ACL surgery last summer. Waldschmidt consistently hits the ball hard and often in the air, and he might be athletic enough to play center field now that he’s healthy. It’s a strong profile. — Jordan Shusterman
Jake Mintz
Yankees draft pitching potential with Ben Hess
Ben Hess is a big, ole farm boy from rural Illinois who developed into a pro prospect during his three years at the University of Alabama. His junior year numbers — a 5.80 ERA with a 11.5% walk rate — are concerning, but there’s a lot to like with Hess. He’s deceptively athletic and flexible for a guy listed at 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, and he should improve his control/command once he enters a professional development system.
If you sort by online draft rankings (it’s never that simple), you could call Hess an overdraft, but it’s important to consider that the Yankees are very skilled at molding pitchers, and this is an exciting ball of clay with a special, high-velocity, high-ride fastball.
The reigning World Series champion Rangers have added Stanford catcher Malcolm Moore with the final selection of the first round.
Don’t be fooled by Moore’s paltry .255 batting average anchored by a preposterously low .229 BABIP. His OPS as a sophomore (.967) surpassed what he did as a freshman All-American in 2023 (.950), thanks in large part to his more than doubling his walk rate while continuing to impact the ball in the air with consistency (.298 ISO). Moore’s power/patience combo from the left side is plenty appealing on its own; that it comes in the form of a catcher is what makes him such an exciting prospect. — Jordan Shusterman
Jason Owens
No. 29 pick, Arizona Diamondbacks: OF Slade Caldwell, Valley View HS (Arizona)
Jason Owens
No. 28 pick, Houston Astros: Walker Janek, C, Sam Houston State
The Astros added a catcher with Sam Houston State's Walker Janek.
Like Colton Cowser not too long ago, Janek didn’t stand out in the expansive landscape of Texas high school baseball. Perfect Game tabbed Cowser as the 234th best player in the Lone Star State in the 2018 class and Janek as the 213th in 2021. But just as Cowser launched himself out of obscurity during his three years as a Bearkat to become the fifth overall draft pick in 2021, Janek has charted a similar trajectory. He won’t go quite as high as Cowser, but he has gotten better with the bat every year — .888 OPS as a freshman, .926 as a sophomore, 1.193 as a junior — and has strong defensive chops headlined by a fantastic arm. Janek’s impact on both sides of the ball helped earn him the Buster Posey Award for best catcher in college baseball in 2024, and it should be the reason he hears his name called in the first round. — Jordan Shusterman
