Texas Rangers' Josh Jung breaks his bat on a line drive against the San Diego Padres in the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 30, 2023, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)
You know it’s really Draft season when the first mock draft is out.
Between now and July 14, when the 2024 Draft begins, Jim Callis and I will be providing prognostications of the first round on a fairly regular basis with the hope that our final mocks the night before the Guardians get things going with the No. 1 pick are as close to accurate as we can get them.
It’s way too early now to project with any certainty who is going where. But I did connect with scouts from nearly every team in the first round to get a sense of where things stand as of this moment. Providing each team with a scenario of who I have going in front of them, I tried to make sure that each selection was someone the team would consider.
What does seem fairly certain as of right now is that there is some consensus that the top 11 names in our Top 150 have separated themselves. That’s not to say a team in the top 11 won’t take someone not in that list, allowing one (or more) of that 11 to drop down some. But this edition, I have those names going in the top 11, all but two of them college players, albeit not in the exact order of ranking.
The two areas I had trouble placing were the college catchers and, as is often the case, the high school pitching. Consider this a snapshot of where we are right now, with much, much more to come.
1. Guardians: Charlie Condon, OF/3B, Georgia (No. 1)
There does seem to be consensus in the scouting industry that Condon, who brings his ridiculous .456/.563/1.088 line with 30 homers into this weekend’s series against Vanderbilt, is the best player in the class. Add in that the Guardians could use some right-handed power in the organization and this seems a natural fit.
2. Reds: Travis Bazzana, 2B, Oregon State (No. 2)
If Condon is No. 1, Bazzana isn’t exactly a distant No. 2, with his 1.517 OPS, 21 homers and 10 steals. The left-handed-hitting second baseman does seem like a prototypical Reds college hitter type, one who should make it to the big leagues in a hurry.
