Tag: 2024 MLB draft

D1Baseball tabs Florida’s Jac Caglianone as best midseason college draft prospect

Jac Caglianone has been held the title of potential first-round pick for some time. Could he be the top college prospect in the 2024 cycle?

The 2024 MLB draft is only three months away, and Jac Caglianone’s monster junior season has him in the conversation for the first overall pick.

On Wednesday, D1Baseball’s David Seifert released his midseason top 100 college prospects, keeping Florida’s two-way sensation on top of the rankings.

Caglianone is slashing .397/.481/776 with 14 home runs and 30 runs batted in over 28 games (135 plate appearances).

“The top spot remains occupied by two-way star Jac Caglianone (Florida), but one could argue that Charlie Condon (Georgia), Travis Bazzana (Oregon State), Chase Burns (Wake Forest), Hagen Smith (Arkansas) or even the injured J.J. Wetherholt (West Virginia) is deserving of 1-1 overall,” Seifert wrote.

“However, King Jac possesses well-documented tools that include the ability to throw a baseball 100 mph and hit one in excess of 115, both from the left side. Nobody else in college baseball, maybe even the world of baseball, can come close to that combination of power/throw tools, once again from the LEFT side.”

Caglianone’s spot on top of the college baseball world is far from guaranteed. Any of the players mentioned above — and a few not mentioned — could leapfrog him if Cags slows down even a little in the second half of the season.

“If there comes a time to remove Jac from his throne, we will, just like we switched Dylan Crews for Paul Skenes in the top spot of our final prospect rankings last season.”

Shelton, Heyman also make top 100

Florida shortstop Colby Shelton and catcher Luke Heyman also made the top 100, ranked Nos. 26 and 90, respectively. Both players will be 21 by the draft and are draft-eligible sophomores.

Shelton has the better odds to go on the first day, but Heyman has suffered a bit of a sophomore slump which could lead to him returning to Gainesville for another year. Tanner Garrison has taken over his spot at catcher, shifting Heyman over to first base and designated hitter. If pro teams don’t see enough from him behind the plate, his draft stock could drop.

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Georgia baseball’s Charlie Condon ranked No. 1 on MLB draft big board

UGA baseball star Charlie Condon ranked No. 1 on 2024 MLB draft big board

Georgia baseball star infielder/outfielder Charlie Condon looks like one of the best players in the country. In fact, Condon is projected as the No. 1 prospect in the 2024 MLB draft, per Keith Law of The Athletic. Law considers Condon to be a third base and outfield prospect.

“Condon made a small adjustment to his hand position from last summer and has exploded this spring,” wrote Keith Law.

The 6-foot-6, 215-pound MLB draft prospect is hitting .531 with nine home runs, 14 walks, and has 17 RBIs through 13 games.

“He’s also playing at least a capable enough third base to separate himself from the first base-only types in the class, although he’s most likely to end up a plus defender in right or left. He had three homers in four swings against Michigan State,” continued Law.

Georgia baseball is off to a strong start to the year. Entering Friday’s game against Nothern Colorado, Georgia is 12-1. Condon and Georgia face a challenging SEC schedule filled with ranked opponents and other top MLB draft prospects.

“He’s got extremely strong hands, bat speed, and good feel for the zone. If he keeps this up against SEC pitching, including better velocity, he’ll end up the top guy in this jumbled class,” said Law.

The SEC has six of the 10 top teams in the country and is the deepest conference in college baseball. Charlie Condon and Georgia baseball still have a long way to go this season, but both are off to a fantastic start to the year.

Georgia baseball’s next games are against Northern Colorado at Foley Field in Athens, Georgia, at 1:00 and 5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 9.

LSU baseball commit breaks high school record

As each day passes, the odds of Konnor Griffin coming to LSU diminish.

As each day passes, the odds of [autotag]Konnor Griffin[/autotag] coming to LSU diminish. Not because Griffin will be going to another college, but because there is a chance he could be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Recently, Griffin broke his school, Jackson Prep’s, record for the most stolen bases in a single season. In 14 games this season, Griffin has stolen a total of 41 bases. In that same span, Griffin has a .686 batting average with seven doubles, one triple, three homers and nine RBI.

This is a risk every college baseball coach in the country takes each year. You go out and recruit the best high school players in the country knowing that there is an off-chance these kids could get signed to MLB teams at the end of the day.

Despite that, [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] has been able to sign one of the best classes in the country every year. The transfer portal has helped with that as well. As much as I want to see Griffin in purple and gold, I think he will be drafted very early in the [autotag]2024 MLB Draft[/autotag].

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Two Tigers make MLB Pipeline’s initial first-round mock draft

MLB Pipeline has released its first mock for the 2024 MLB draft, and two LSU Tigers have made the first round.

MLB Pipeline has released its first mock for the 2024 MLB draft, and two LSU Tigers have made the first round. One of them is a superstar third baseman and the other is a pitcher that had a great performance in Omaha.

With the 10th overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft, MLB Pipeline has the Washington Nationals selecting [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag], a third baseman from LSU. I guess the Nationals are just going to try to make a team full of LSU players as the Nats took [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] and [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] in the 2023 MLB draft. White was a transfer from NC State where his claim to fame was hitting a lot of homers. That mantra lived on in Baton Rouge last spring.

With the 18th pick of the 2024 MLB draft, MLB Pipeline has the Tampa Bay Rays taking [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag], a right-handed pitcher from LSU. Hurd was a transfer from UCLA who took his lumps at the start of the 2023 season but wound up as one of the best pitchers in LSU’s rotation. He put on a show in Omaha that helped lead LSU to a national championship.

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Two LSU Tigers make Perfect Game’s 2024 MLB mock draft

Perfect Game has released its latest mock for the 2024 MLB draft and two LSU baseball players have made the list.

Perfect Game has released its latest mock for the 2024 MLB draft and two LSU baseball players have made the list.

[autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] and [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] are both projected to get drafted near the end of the first round of the MLB draft. Tommy Tanks transferred to LSU last season after breaking the single-season home run record for NC State as a freshman. White had a phenomenal year in Baton Rouge as he finished with a .374 batting average with 24 doubles, 24 homers and 105 RBI.

Hurd emerged as a star pitcher for the Tigers midway through the season and he hurled a gem in the College World Series against Wake Forest and Florida. He had a 2-0 record with a 2.25 ERA in Omaha as he gave up three runs over 12 innings pitched and struck out 13 hitters and walked six.

Both of these guys will be big contributors for the Tigers this spring as they look to defend their national title.

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2024 MLB Draft Order: Where each team will pick after the Guardians win the lottery

The lottery balls have spoken and the Guardians will draft No. 1 overall.

The lottery balls have spoken and the Cleveland Guardians are the winners of the 2024 MLB Draft Lottery.

In just the second-ever MLB draft lottery, the Guardians will select No. 1 overall at the draft in July. Last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates won the inaugural draft lottery, a new feature to MLB’s drafting system in the style of the NHL and NBA.

Coming into Tuesday’s draft lottery, the Oakland Athletics held the best odds at 18.3 percent after the team’s disappointing 2023 season ended in a vote to move the team to Las Vegas. The Guardians, meanwhile, had the ninth best odds (2 percent) coming into Tuesday’s lottery. This will be the first time the Guardians have picked first in the MLB draft in franchise history.

Thanks to Tuesday’s results, here is the full list of where teams are drafting in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft.

Four Florida Gators among D1Baseball’s Top 100 College prospects

Jac Caglianone could be the first overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft, but who are the other Gators that have draft potential?

Fall baseball is just about to begin, and the folks at D1Baseball.com are getting the ball rolling with an early ranking of the top 100 college prospects for the upcoming MLB draft. Four Gators made the cut.

First baseman and left-handed pitcher Jac Caglianone sits at No. 1 and figures to be one of the most interesting players in the country to follow over the next 10 months. Caglianone put up record power numbers at Florida as a sophomore. He led the nation with 33 home runs and finished the season with a 1.122 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

On the mound, things didn’t go as well for Cags, but there’s no denying he has some of the best stuff in the country when he’s on. His fastball can touch triple digits, but he’s more likely to throw it for a strike around 96 mph. The slider is devastating against lefties, and the changeup showed a ton of promise a season ago.

If Caglianone can live up to the lofty expectations set for him, he’ll easily hang on to that No. 1 spot.

Alabama transfer Colby Shelton was the biggest offseason addition to Florida’s roster, and he should man either third base or shortstop for the Gators this season. As a freshman with the Crimson Tide, Shelton hit 25 homers and put up a 1.143 OPS (higher than Caglianone).

Despite being a sophomore, Shelton will be draft-eligible by age in July. D1Baseball has him at No. 50 on its list.

Right-handed pitcher Brandon Neely is the next Gator on the list at No. 67 overall. He transitioned to the bullpen and thrived as a closer last year, but Neely could revert back to a starter with Brandon Sproat and Hurston Waldrep gone.

Rounding out the group is catcher Luke Heyman, who is another draft-eligible sophomore. Heyman took a while to catch fire, but he has a ton of power in his bat. He hit 12 homers in 55 games as a freshman, but that number could jump up to 20 with ease this year.

The Florida Gators usually have a few names go in the first few rounds of the draft each season, and it looks like that trend isn’t going to break anytime soon.

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Florida’s two-way star at No. 8 in early 2024 MLB mock draft

A year out from the 2024 MLB draft, Florida’s Jac Caglianone looks like a first-round pick, but how high do experts think he’ll be drafted?

Now that Wyatt Langford is officially a Texas Ranger, [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] is the face of the Florida Gators baseball team. But it won’t be long until Caglianone is negotiating a first-round deal of his own, according to MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo, who took an early look at the 2024 draft class on Tuesday.

Because the draft is almost a year away, Mayo only goes into the top 20 picks, using a draft order that is the reverse of the MLB standings. The draft lottery will determine the true order, which should look somewhat different.

Although some fans believe that Caglianone should be the first overall pick, he comes in at No. 8 to the Detroit Tigers on Mayo’s abbreviated mock draft.

“Caglianone came back from Tommy John surgery and showed off considerable two-way prowess as a sophomore at Florida in 2023, hitting 33 homers to lead the nation at the plate and striking out 10.5 per nine on the mound,” Mayo wrote. “There’s reason to believe there’s better command (6.6 BB/9) to come as he gets further removed from the surgery, with a fastball that touches 99 mph and potentially solid secondary offerings in his changeup and slider.”

Even if Caglianone doesn’t put up record power numbers next year, his bat strength is elite. Most scouts have accepted that and will be focusing on his arm in 2024. A 99 mph fastball is sexy, but locating is what matters. Walks were a problem this year, but he showed flashes of being able to control his fastball at a 90-95% velocity.

Control is the name of the game, and Caglianone only needs a bit of it to remain locked in as a weekend starter. If he can secure the No. 2 (or even No. 1) spot in the rotation, it will go a long way at the draft.

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2 Tigers land on the MLB Pipeline mock draft for 2024

MLB Pipeline just released a mock draft for the first round of the 2024 draft, and two LSU Tigers made the list.

We just finished the 2023 MLB draft in which we saw two teammates go back-to-back at No. 1 and No. 2 for the first time in NCAA history.

Those two guys were [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] and [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] from LSU. Two of the best of all time to wear purple and gold.

MLB Pipeline just released a mock draft for the first round of the 2024 draft and two LSU Tigers made the list. [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] and [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] both made the mock draft as they are projected to land inside the top-20 draft picks next season.

MLB Pipeline has White going to the Detroit Tigers at the No. 7 pick overall. White was an RBI machine for the Tigers last season as he had a .374 batting average with 24 doubles, 24 homers and 105 RBI.

MLB Pipeline has Hurd going to the Boston Red Sox at the No. 15 pick. Hurd had an 8-2 record with a 5.68 ERA for the Tigers last year as he struck out 84 batters and walked 40.

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