The Windup: The MLB Draft's biggest surprise (2024)

The Windup: The MLB Draft's biggest surprise (1)

By Levi Weaver and Ken Rosenthal

Jul 15, 2024

The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic’s daily MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox.

The Guardians drafted Travis Bazzana with the first pick, the Nats and Royals hooked up on a trade, it’s an All-Star extravaganza and we have an oral history on my favorite player: Adrián Beltré. I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal — welcome to The Windup!

MLB Draft: Bazzana goes No. 1, Reds surprise at No. 2

The mystery has been revealed: The Guardians took Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana withlast night’s first pickof the 2024 MLB Draft. The Australian becomes the second Oregon State player to be taken first overall (Adley Rutschman, 2019), and joins a fellow Beaver in the Guardians organization: Steven Kwan was taken in the fifth round in 2018.

  • Similar to Kwan, Bazzana has shown a knack for plate discipline throughout — over three years at Oregon State, he walked 180 times and struck out just 146 (in his final year, the contrast was even more stark: 76 walks to 37 strikeouts). As Zack Meisel writes,he’s the sort of player whofits Cleveland’s identity.

Staying in Ohio, the Reds had the second pick, and many people expected to hear the name of Georgia outfielder Charlie Condon. Instead,Cincy swervedby pickingRHP Chase Burnsof Wake Forest. It’s the Reds’ second year in a row taking a Wake Forest starter in the first round; last year, it was Rhett Lowder.

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Condon went to the Rockieswith the third pick, before Oakland tookfirst baseman Nick Kurtz(Wake Forest) and the White Sox tookLHP Hagen Smith(Arkansas) to round out the top five.

For the full rundown of yesterday’s picks (and updates as picks resume today at 2 p.m. ET), here’s ourdraft live blog, but before we go, do you want to hear the hands-down funniest part of the draft?

The Angels (who have donedraft hijinksbefore)selected 2B Christian Mooreof Tennessee with their first-round pick. In the second round, they selected RHP Chris Cortez of Texas A&M. Why is this funny? Because sometime soon, those two will likely have to sit at the same table and put on matching jerseys for the cameras just weeks afterthis little exchangeat the College World Series last month. Awkward.

More draft: With 74 picks in, Keith Law gives us a fewbonus scouting reportson players who didn’t quite make histop-100 listlast week.

More Bazzana: If you haven’t read Brian Hamilton’sprofile of Bazzanayet, I highly recommend it!

Ken’s Notebook: The high price of bullpen help

I can already hear the complaining from baseball executives who will try to add relievers before the July 30 trade deadline:Did you seewhat the Royals gave up for Hunter Harvey? They set the market too high. And now the asks for bullpen pieces are exorbitant.

The Royals seemingly did give up a lot to the Nationals for Harvey on Saturday — third baseman Cayden Wallace and their No. 39 pick in yesterday’s draft. But they believe Nick Loftin will be a better long-term third baseman than Wallace, according to sources briefed on the club’s thinking. And by moving early, they will get almost two extra weeks of Harvey, who is not simply a rental. The Royals also gained club control of him for 2025.

In a seller’s market, the Nationals indeed could set a high price for Harvey. The Royals, in a heated race for an American League wild card, entered Sunday ranked next-to-last in the majors in strikeout rate. They needed the help.

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Entering the season,The Athletic’s Keith Law indeed had Loftin (No. 3) rated higher than Wallace (No. 9) on his list of theRoyals’ top 20 prospects. Wallace will rank behind Brady House, the No. 11 pick in 2021, in the Nationals’ system. But both teams consider Wallace a solid prospect, and the rebuilding Nationals gained a third pick in the top 44, which they used on California catcher Caleb Lomavita. They also added $2.395 million to their bonus pool, increasing their flexibility for negotiation in the draft.

The deal signaled the Nationals’ willingness to move not just rentals, such as outfielder Jesse Winker and reliever Dylan Floro, but also veterans under additional control. Like Harvey, outfielder Lane Thomas and closer Kyle Finnegan will be entering their final year of arbitration in 2025. Both are in play as the deadline nears, and both could bring back additional young players who would expand the Nationals’ burgeoning young core.

The trades are coming. And as the Royals-Nationals deal showed, relievers will not come cheaply.

Festivities: All-Star catch-up

Let’s see … we’ve talked about the draft, the trades are beginning, what else? Oh, right: The All-Star break officially begins today, though the activities have been happening all weekend.

In Friday’s HBCU Swingman Classic, the American League emerged victorious, 5-4. You cansee highlights here. The Futures Game was Sunday, and the NL dispatched the AL, 6-1. Keith Law was there andhas some takeaways, as was Jim Bowden, who gives ushis superlatives here. There was even a celebrity softball game on Saturday, which featured a (staged) mound charge that wasreminiscent of Don Zimmer.

The festivities will continue tonight with the Home Run Derby, for which Gunnar Hendersonhas prepared “relentlessly”to take on two-time Derby champ Pete Alonso, hometown hero Adolis García and others. (Don’t worry about the “curse” —it’s not real.)

The actual game happens tomorrow night. A few updates since Friday’s newsletter:

  • Paul Skenes will start the game for the NL, becoming the fifth rookie pitcher to start an All-Star game.
  • A few more injury replacements, as Corey Seager will replace Carlos Correa, who had a flare-up ofplantar fasciitis, andMax Fried will replace Ranger Suárez of the Phillies (who isn’t “injured” but may be dealing with fatigue).
  • Additionally,Cristopher Sánchez replaced Chris Sale(who pitched on Sunday), meaning the Phillies have tied an NL record witheightAll-Stars.

Other notes:

  • As Ken writes, the game just isn’t quite the same without Jose Altuve, who will bemissing the occasion for the third time since the sign-stealing scandal.
  • Twenty-five years ago, the 1999 All-Star game featured one of the most memorable moments in the history of the sport, as Ted Williams — surrounded by the “All-Century Team” — threw out the first pitch. Doug Haller interviewed many of the players and others involved in what became aspontaneous moment of magicat Fenway.

Oral Histories: The legend of Adrián Beltré

I can say it now that he’s retired and on the cusp of being inducted into the Hall of Fame, but my favorite player of all time was Adrián Beltré.

It wasn’tjustthat he was putting up Hall of Fame offensive numbers. Nor was it merely his otherworldly defense. Nor that he played through some injuries that would have sent — and I don’t think I’m being hyperbolic — any other player to the injured list. Northat he seemed to be having the most fun of anyone on the field, or that he was also the most respected player on the field in his later years.

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It was also the stories from teammates, coaches, clubbies and broadcasters about what a good guy he was off the field.

Fortunately, we havean oral historytoday where you get to hear some of those stories yourself.

From the infamous dragging-the-batting-circle incident to the playful-but-serious don’t-touch-my-head bit, to a time when he covered the entire restaurant bill for the Oakland A’s (whom he had never played for) years after his retirement, it’s the sort of feel-good story that reminds you: Sometimes sports heroes are worth rooting for.

Handshakes and High Fives

The Yankees and Orioles had a good old-fashioned division-rivalry series over the weekend.The benches clearedon Friday, and the Yankees took two games out of three.

Cautiously good news in San Diego: Fernando Tatis Jr. could be backearlier than expected.

Weird injury alert:Dodgers starter Dustin May will miss the rest of the season after emergency surgeryto repair a torn esophagus.

If you’ve ever looked at a piece of art and dismissively thought “My kid could have drawn that,” you’re gonna hatethese baseball cards.

After a bump in the road, Luis Gil appears to beback to his dominant waysfrom earlier this season.

The “Rally Pimp,” Grimace, “Glizzy Iggy” —as Tim Britton says, this Mets season “needs its own ‘Know Your Meme’ site.” But they’re a game up on Arizona for the third wild-card position.

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(Photo: Gene Wang/Getty Images)

The Windup: The MLB Draft's biggest surprise (2024)

FAQs

Who are the top prospects in the 2024 MLB Draft? ›

  • Travis Bazzana, 2B, Guardians (first round, No. 1 overall) ...
  • Hagen Smith, LHP, White Sox (first round, No. 5 overall) ...
  • Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Royals (first round, No. 6 overall) ...
  • More from MLB Pipeline: • Top 100 prospects | Stats | Video | Podcast | Complete coverage. ...
  • Christian Moore, 2B, Angels (first round, No.
2 days ago

Who won the MLB draft in 2024? ›

Bazzana goes No. 1 in 2024 MLB draft

Cleveland took Oregon State's Travis Bazzana with the first pick, as college players proved to be highly sought-after in the first round.

Who will the Guardians Draft in 2024? ›

Major League Baseball's 2024 Draft wrapped up on Tuesday, just hours before the All-Star Game and after three days of selections. The event got underway on Sunday night when the Cleveland Guardians chose Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana with the first No. 1 pick in franchise history.

How many rounds are in the MLB draft in 2024? ›

The 2024 MLB Draft is officially over, and the discourse has shifted from prediction to analysis. The days following the event, which spanned 20 rounds (plus compensatory rounds) and 615 picks, serve as prime real estate to break down your favorite team's picks and identify some of the best values from the Draft.

Who has the best pitching prospects in the MLB? ›

Prospect Rankings
RankPlayerTeam
1Jackson JobeDetroit Tigers
2Cade HortonChicago Cubs
3Andrew PainterPhiladelphia Phillies
4Rhett LowderCincinnati Reds
1 more row

Who did the Texas Rangers Draft in 2024? ›

- Jake Jekielek, a standout relief pitcher for the past four years for the Northwood University baseball team, has been drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 10th round in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft (315th overall).

Who was the youngest player to join the 30/30 club? ›

Mike Trout becomes youngest member of 30/30 club.

Who did the Braves get in the 2024 MLB Draft? ›

1) The Braves got the best legacy player on the board

And this year, the Braves got the top-rated Draft legacy available. That's Cam Caminiti, the 17-year-old high school left-hander Atlanta grabbed with its first-round pick at No. 24 overall, who was ranked MLB Pipeline's No. 15 Draft prospect.

Why do the Guardians have the first pick? ›

Cleveland had the first pick in this year's draft due to the luck of a ping-pong ball bounce. The Guardians entered the 2024 MLB Draft Lottery with the ninth-best chance of winning the No. 1 pick, but the balls bounced their way.

Who did the Reds draft in 2024? ›

CINCINNATI — The Reds added 21 players in the 2024 MLB Draft, including right-handed pitcher Chase Burns. They took Burns with the No. 2 overall pick, before taking infielder Tyson Lewis, right-hander Luke Holman and outfielder Mike Sirota.

Who did the Padres draft in 2024? ›

Kale Fountain's draft day was anything but ordinary. The Norris (Neb.) High School graduate and Louisiana State commit was selected with the 151st overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres on Monday.

Who did the Cubs draft in 2024? ›

The top two picks – Cam Smith and Cole Mathis – are undoubtedly a part of that but it might be outfielder Eli Lovich at pick No. 11 (332nd overall) who is the most intriguing player in this class. Lovich is a prep outfielder out of Blue Valley West High School in Kansas.

What is the age limit for MLB draft? ›

Players attending four-year colleges are eligible to be drafted upon completing their junior year or turning 21 years old.

Who are the best MLB draft prospects for 2024? ›

Here's a look at 20 top Draft prospects and where you can learn more about them.
  • No. 1: Travis Bazzana, 2B, Oregon State.
  • No. 2: Charlie Condon, OF/3B, Georgia.
  • No. 3: Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida.
  • No. 4: JJ Wetherholt, SS/2B, West Virginia.
  • No. 5: Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas.
  • No. 6: Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest.
  • No. ...
  • No.
5 days ago

How many MLB draft picks make it to the majors? ›

The answer is less than one in five. It's too early to judge the 2011 to 2018 drafts, but from 1981-2010, 17.6 percent of players who were drafted and signed ended up making it to the majors. Those odds vary dramatically depending on where a player is drafted. First-round picks can expect to reach the major leagues.

Who are the top prospects for the 2024 NFL draft? ›

The 2024 NFL Draft presents an exciting quarterback class full of notable names. It is led by USC's Caleb Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner and dynamic dual-threat quarterback. Williams is followed by Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., who likely would have been the best pass catcher in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Who did the Reds Draft in 2024? ›

CINCINNATI — The Reds added 21 players in the 2024 MLB Draft, including right-handed pitcher Chase Burns. They took Burns with the No. 2 overall pick, before taking infielder Tyson Lewis, right-hander Luke Holman and outfielder Mike Sirota.

Who did the Padres Draft in 2024? ›

Kale Fountain's draft day was anything but ordinary. The Norris (Neb.) High School graduate and Louisiana State commit was selected with the 151st overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres on Monday.

Where can I watch the 2024 MLB Draft? ›

Rounds 1-3 of the 2024 MLB draft will be broadcast on both ESPN and MLB Network starting at 4 p.m. PT on Sunday, July 14. The second day of the draft (Rounds 3-10) starts at 11 a.m. PT on Monday, July 15 and will be broadcast on MLB Network and on MLB.com.

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