2024 MLB Draft Preview: Luke Holman scouting report
The 2024 MLB Draft is less than three weeks away — the first round kicks off on July 14, 2024 — so its time to start offering capsule looks at players the Texas Rangers could select with their top picks. The Rangers’ first round pick is at #30, their second round pick is at #65, and their third round pick is at #103.
Leading up to draft day, we will be doing writeups of some of the players who could end up getting selected by the Rangers with one of their first three picks. I will note we haven’t really done this in the past couple of years, due both to the fact that the Rangers were picking at the top of the draft, meaning there were only a handful of players really in play with their first round pick, and the fact that they didn’t have their second and third round picks.
Today we are looking at Illinois high school pitcher Ryan Sloan.
Ryan Sloan is a 6’4”, 220 lb. righthanded pitcher out of York High School in Elmhurst, Illinois. Sloan is committed to Wake Forest.
Sloan looks like what a righty starting pitching prospect is supposed to look like. He’s big, he has a strong lower half, and he has the build that gives scouts confidence he’ll have the durability to handle a starter’s workload. His fastball is described in BA’s writeup as sitting at 90-93 and touching 96, though I think that’s an older report, as MLB Pipeline has him at 93-96 and touching 99, while Keith Law says he’s hit 100 mph this spring.
Sloan has the three mix pitch you want from a starting pitching prospect, with MLB Pipeline saying his changeup is his best secondary, and giving it (as well as his fastball) a 60 grade on their writeup. His breaking ball is a high spin slider that BA describes in a manner that makes me think it may be more of a sweeper.
Baseball America’s top 500 list currently has Sloan at #34. MLB Pipeline has Sloan at #19 on their board. Keith Law has Sloan at #31 on his board. Kiley McDaniel has Sloan at #31 on his rankings. Fangraphs has does not have Sloan on their top 30 board.
In his most recent mock draft, Keith Law does not have Sloan going in the first round, though he does mention him in connection with the Padres at #25. Baseball America has Sloan going to the Padres at #25 in their June 17 mock draft, while the staff draft on May 17 does not have Sloan going in the first or supplemental first rounds. Jonathan Mayo’s most recent mock from June 13 has the Rays taking him at #18. Jim Callis’s most recent mock draft from June 27 has Sloan going to the Phillies at #27, though he also mentions him as someone as a candidate for the Rangers if he’s there at #30. The Callis/Mayo joint mock draft from June 20 doesn’t have Sloan going in the first round. Kiley McDaniel’s most recent mock draft projects Sloan going to the Royals at #39, though he mentions Sloan as an option for Texas at #30, as well as the Astros and D-Backs at #28 and #29.
