2024 MLB mock draft 3.1: Kiley McDaniel’s final predictions
The 2024 MLB draft begins at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, and that means it is time for one final update as teams lock in their Day 1 plans.
The intrigue starts right at the top this year, as the Cleveland Guardians have a difficult decision to make with the first overall pick in a draft featuring a strong group of college players in contention to come off the board first. What will the Guardians do — and how will the Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies follow with the No. 2 and No. 3 picks?
Since this is a last-minute look at what teams could do Sunday night, my writeups here are focused on what has changed since the previous edition. You can find a more detailed look at each team’s strategy in my Mock Draft 3.0. And remember, this is the order in which I think the picks will come off the board, while my rankings are the order in which I’d pick the players.
“This is the fun part: where a few hundred baseball people play liar’s poker for three days.”
That came from an agent a few days ago, and it’s still the prevailing sentiment around the game. Agents for this year’s prospects know the ranges that their players are in play but won’t know which interest is real until picks are coming off the board — so we all move forward with incomplete, but hopefully mostly complete information.
The perception around the industry is Wetherholt is the cut-rate option here (likely with a bonus price between the No. 4 and No. 5 slots) but the chatter that he’s the pick here sounds like posturing to get Bazzana’s asking price down while his camp will be as reasonable as needed to get a deal done here.
Again, expect that to happen 15-20 minutes before the Guardians are on the clock. And this isn’t a matter of not sourcing well enough: The teams don’t know for sure who they are picking yet at almost every pick that will happen Sunday night. Charlie Condon, Jac Caglianone and Chase Burns are all under consideration but are all seen as long shots to varying degrees.
