Notable Draft Signings: 7/25/24
Pre-draft rankings and scouting reports are provided by Keith Law of the Athletic, Baseball America, FanGraphs and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. A round-up of today’s draft signings for upwards of $2MM:
- The Mets agreed to terms with 19th overall pick Carson Benge on a $3.9975MM bonus, reports Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline (X link). That’s narrowly below the approximate $4.22MM slot value. Benge was generally regarded as a mid-late first round talent and ultimately landed there in the draft. He was a two-way player at Oklahoma State but is viewed as an outfield prospect in pro ball. A left-handed hitter, Benge draws praise from evaluators for his contact skills and power projection. He’s generally viewed as a right field prospect. McDaniel likens his profile to that of Orioles rookie outfielder Colton Cowser. Benge hit .335/.444/.665 with 18 homers and 24 doubles over 61 games as a draft-eligible sophomore.
- Nationals second-round pick Luke Dickerson agreed to a $3.8MM deal, Callis reports (on X). That’s well above the $2.12MM value for the 44th overall pick. Callis notes that it’s the largest deal for a player selected after the supplemental round in the bonus pool era. The bonus aligns with what would be expected for a player drafted in the early 20s. That’s a bit of a surprise, as Dickerson rated as a late second-round talent on most pre-draft lists. The Nats are evidently higher on the righty-swinging middle infielder and were motivated to keep him from attending the University of Virginia. A New Jersey high schooler, he’s viewed as a hit-first infielder who probably projects to second base.
- The Pirates announced the signing of competitive balance draftee Levi Sterling. Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline reports (X link) that the high school righty landed a $2.5114MM bonus to match the 37th pick’s slot value. A Texas commit, Sterling is a 6’5″ righty with advanced control. Law writes that his changeup is the headlining pitch in his arsenal. Sterling doesn’t throw especially hard right now but could add velocity given his frame. He’s regarded as a potential back-end starter.
2024 MLB Draft, First Round Results
This year’s amateur draft is officially underway, and we’ll be updating this post throughout the night with every first-round selection. More details and scouting reports on all these young players are available in pre-draft rankings from Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. As well, Pipeline has the breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.
The first-round picks…
- Cleveland Guardians: Travis Bazzana, 2B, Oregon State
- Cincinnati Reds: Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest
- Colorado Rockies: Charlie Condon, OF/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, 2B/SS, West Virginia
- Los Angeles Angels: Christian Moore, 2B, Tennessee
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Konnor Griffin, SS/OF, Jackson Prep High School (MS)
- Washington Nationals: Seaver King, SS/3B/OF, Wake Forest
- Detroit Tigers: Bryce Rainer, SS, Harvard-Westlake High School (CA)
- Boston Red Sox: Braden Montgomery, OF, Texas A&M
- San Francisco Giants: James Tibbs III, OF, Florida State
- Chicago Cubs: Cam Smith, 3B, Florida State
- Seattle Mariners: Jurrangelo Cijntje, LHP/RHP, Mississippi State
- Miami Marlins: PJ Morlando, OF, Summerville High School (SC)
- Milwaukee Brewers: Braylon Payne, OF, Elkins High School (TX)
- Tampa Bay Rays: Theo Gillen, OF/MI, Westlake High School (TX)
- New York Mets: Carson Benge, OF, Oklahoma State
- Toronto Blue Jays: Trey Yesavage, RHP, East Carolina
- Minnesota Twins: Kaelen Culpepper, SS, Kansas State
- Baltimore Orioles: Vance Honeycutt, OF, North Carolina
- Los Angeles Dodgers: Kellon Lindsey, SS, Hardee High School (FL)
- Atlanta Braves: Cam Caminiti, LHP, Saguero High School (AZ)
- San Diego Padres: Kash Mayfield, LHP, Elk City High School (OK)
- New York Yankees: Ben Hess, RHP, Alabama
- Philadelphia Phillies: Dante Nori, OF, Northville High School (MI)
- Houston Astros: Walker Janek, C, Sam Houston
- Arizona Diamondbacks: Slade Caldwell, OF, Valley View High School (AR)
- Texas Rangers: Malcolm Moore, C, Stanford
All 30 teams will have picks in the first round this year, though the Mets, Padres, and Yankees all had their first-round selections dropped back by 10 slots. These three teams surpassed the third luxury tax tier ($273MM) in 2023, and thus their punishment included a 10-space drop in their opening draft choice.
The 2024 draft will take place over three days, consisting of 20 rounds of selections. Rounds 3-10 will take place on Monday, rounds 11-20 will take place on Tuesday, and the draft’s first 74 picks will come off the board tonight. Those 74 picks consist of the first two proper rounds, the two Competitive Balance Rounds, two sets of compensatory rounds (giving picks to teams who lost qualifying offer-rejecting free agents), and two Prospect Promotion Incentive picks.
The two PPI selections will go to the Diamondbacks at 31st overall and the Orioles at 32nd overall, awarded since Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson fit all of the criteria for their teams to receive the bonus picks. Carroll and Henderson won Rookie of the Year honors, both young stars were included on their respective teams’ Opening Day rosters, and were rated as top-100 prospects in at least two of three sets of preseason prospect rankings from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and ESPN.