Midseason MLB Mock Draft (1-10)
I posted my ‘Way Too Early” Mock Draft in early December, but now that we’ve reached the midpoint and I’ve gotten 35+ games of data to go off of, I thought I’d share my Top-10 again. This year truly intrigues me because we may see a Top-10 of just College Players, which is my dream. For reference, I typically don’t include High School Prospects in my Mock Draft, mainly because I find it too difficult to project an 18-year-old, and I don’t like putting out content I don’t 100% stand behind (Big J Journalism). Let’s dive in:
1: Cleveland Guardians
The Pick: Charlie Condon/UTL/Georgia
The logic from my first draft still holds true for the Guards. With Andrés Giménez looking more comfortable up the middle, mostly at 2B, Bazzana doesn’t make sense to me. Condon and Bazzana are comparable in terms of tools, but Condon holds a great positional value that can’t be passed up. His impressive strides in the field are the icing on the cake for the best hitter in College Baseball so far. I was unsure if he could play a corner outfield spot at the next level; he can. With J-Ram at 3rd, I think the big-bodied, 6’6, 210 frame has 1.01 written all over him now. With a .483/.584/1.119 slash line, 26 HR and 56 RBI with nearly a 1:1 BB/K, all in one half of the season. To me, it’s a dropped ball if they don’t take Condon.
2: Cincinnati Reds
The Pick: Travis Bazzana/2B/Oregon St
Initially, I had the Reds taking a pitcher because the infield room is crowded, but with Jonathan India’s continued struggles, adding a true second-baseman with insane offensive tools may be the perfect match for Elly De La Cruz up the middle and Marte slotting in at 3rd once he’s off suspension. The leadoff man for the Beavers has been a well-oiled machine, slashing .434/.590/.971 with 19 HR, 49 RBI, and 8/12 on stolen bases. Cincinnati is flush with young talent, and Bazzana could be a guy we see in just a few years in the minors, potentially being the missing piece of the puzzle for the Reds.
3: Colorado Rockies
The Pick: Jac Caglione/1B/Florida
I’m keeping this pick the same. Following their 1st round pick of Chase Dollander last year, who is lighting the High A world on fire so far, I see the Rocks add the best raw power bat to their farm. Their top prospects hold firm in the outfield, with Nolan Jones and Brenton Doyle currently there, and with guys like Sean Bouchard in the pipeline, I don’t think they add another arm this early. Up the middle, the Rocks are strong with Tovar and Rodgers, and with Ryan McMahon platooning everywhere, a power-hitting first-baseman makes a lot of sense here. Kris Bryant may be approaching the time to hang up the spikes, and The 1st-team All-American might be the answer. In December, I mentioned I thought there were too many holes in his pitching. He shut me up this year on the mound, but at the end of the day, he’s a hitter at the next level. Imagine him at Coors; he would THRIVE. We may be seeing 500 ft nukes from Cags soon and would be a great pick in this spot. Slashing .401/495/854 with 23 HR and 46 RBI through 39 games, the most encouraging thing I’ve seen at the plate is the increase in discipline. Just 14 K to 23 BB, stellar. The chase tendencies have already improved drastically, but the Rockies don’t have to settle just because they lost the lottery.
4: Oakland A’s
The Pick: Hagen Smith/LHP/Arkansas
I initially had the A’s taking Travis Bazzana, and I don’t see him falling this far. But if he does, the A’s can’t mess up the pick by not taking him. With some young rising stars in Zack Gelof, Lawrence Butler, and Shea Langeliers and moving Mason Miller to the bullpen, a pitcher makes the most sense to me. I still stand by the statement that the A’s need players that are pro-ready, or very close to it, and Hagen Smith is the most pro-ready pitcher in the draft. The tick-up in velo from low 90’s to 96-98 has made Smith’s stuff that much better, and he’s honed in the control, tallying 100 K to just 22 BB over his 53 IP. He’s throwing to a 1.53 ERA with an 8-0 record, and opponents hitting a pedestrian .136 against him. With a nasty slider from a 3/4 arm slot, and a disappearing changeup, with the newly found control and velo Smith has put together a complete arsenal and has sold me as the best arm in the draft.
5: Chicago White Sox
The Pick: Braden Montgomery/OF/Texas A&M
The White Sox are a mess (been known), but that doesn’t mean they can’t stop some bleeding with a good pick here. They’ve lost a lot and have inconsistencies all over the place, and I had trouble predicting this pick. Defense, offense, pitching, I genuinely have no clue what they’re prioritizing. To me, they take the most pro-ready hitter, and it’s a “pick your poison” between Kurtz and Mongomery. With the awful Benintendi deal and an aging Pillar, the switch-hitting outfielder from Texas A&M with serious pop makes the most sense. His raw power is undeniable, and with 41BB to 30K, his feel for the strike zone is fantastic. While I think he is better from the left side, his righty swing offers insane pop. Racking up 22 HR and 67 RBI in 40 games, slashing .376/.518/.906. The White Sox can build an outfield around Robert and Montgomery and start piecing together elsewhere.
6: Kansas City Royals
The Pick: Chase Burns/RHP/Wake Forest
The Royals have been a very exciting team in 2024 after locking down their SS of the future in Bobby Witt Jr., and Vinnie P has been off to a great start at 1B. I don’t see a ton of positional need for the Royals. Assuming Burns doesn’t go to CWS at 5, Burns would be a great addition to the young pitching staff of Singer and Ragans. Potentially the best arm talent in the 2024 class, he would thrive in a few years in the minors, and with no real rush for KC to move him up, he’ll get some extra time to develop and work on some things. 7-1, holding a 3.19 ERA with 113K to 19BB and just a .182 B/AVG over 62 innings, Burns and his triple-digits fastball and one of the best sliders in the country is the real deal. After having some issues in 2023, Wake Forest has improved Burns but still has some issues. My biggest issue is his misses. He’s as dominant as anyone in the country when he hits his spots, but when he misses, it’s over the heart of the plate and it gets hit… hard. KC can sure up a fun and young rotation with another extremely high ceiling arm and give him the development time he needs.
7: St. Louis Cardinals
The Pick: Nick Kurtz/1B/Wake Forest
While the Cardinals made plenty of offseason moves that say they’re playing for right now, they still have a top-10 pick, which can benefit them greatly in the long run. With the young core of Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker, and Lars Nootbar, the Cards have some aging pieces in Arenado, Goldy, Crawford and a slew of pitchers. While his first 20 games weren’t what we expected out of the preseason front runner for the Golden Spikes, he’s gotten on track in a major way over the last 20 and has been one of the hottest hitters in the country in that span. Slashing .322/.506/.843 with 17 HR and 42RBI in 2024. The biggest green flag for Kurtz? 24K to 42BB, even when he wasn’t hitting, he was getting on base at an extremely high clip. While Goldy loses a step or two over the next few years, Kurtz can continue to develop and take over that spot.
8: Los Angeles Angels
The Pick: James Tibbs III/OF/Florida St
Taking Nolan Schanuel in the 1st round last year, who made some pro appearances, was a step in the right direction of young talent for the Halos, despite being off to an ice-cold start in 2024, proving he probably needs more time in the Minors. With Mike Trout starting to slow down, taking an outfielder makes a lot of sense. Talk about a guy whose draft stock skyrocketed this year; it’s Tibbs. Slashing .396/.497/.827 with 16 HR, 61 RBI, 6/7 Sbs and a 14/29 K/BB ratio, he can do it all. Not to mention, he’s very sound in the outfield at a corner spot, and he's most likely a RF at the next level. I do think the future of the Angels outfield could be Moniak, Tibbs, and Adell/Ward. Tibbs is one of the better bats in this draft, with serious bat-to-ball skills and a true gap-to-gap hitter who can punch it out of the park. It may be a reach at 8, but I think he fits what the Angels need (please don’t ruin him).
9: Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pick: Vance Honeycutt/CF/North Carolina
Initially, I had the Pirates going with Brody Brecht from Iowa to add to their stacked young pitching core. With Jared Jones, Skenes, and Priester all ready to rock at the pro level, I think they shoot for an outfielder here with Johnson in their pipeline and have a crowded infield room. I genuinely believe that Honeycutt has the highest ceiling of any position player of this draft and can be a true 5-Tool guy. Blazing speed and elite defense, great contact with crazy pop thanks to elite hand speed, a fast-twitch guy scouts will drool over. Slashing .313/.419/.681 with 16 HR, 42 RBI and 22/24 on SBs. The knock? Strikeouts. He's already racked up 55K in 160 AB, a glaring red flag. Mainly because this isn’t a new problem for Honeycutt; when it’s clicking, he’s the best player in the draft but can also be a K machine, which may turn scouts away. I am probably in the minority having him still in my Top-10, but for a Pirates team that’s turning a page into a new era, I think they can take a risk and allow him to spend some time with pro coaches to develop and work on the K%.
10: Washington Nationals
The Pick: JJ Wetherholt/2B/West Virginia
Snagging Dylan Crews at the 1.02 in 2023 was significant for the Nats who are stacked with young talent at basically every position, so I can see this pick going a few different ways. Based on their pipeline, it makes sense for them to add a lot of different positions. With an injury-riddled first half of the year, I see Wetherholt’s draft stock falling when he was once highly regarded as a top-3 pick. One of the best bat-to-ball tools in the draft is still undeniable, but we only have 15 games of sample size in 2024 to go off of. In 2023, he slashed .449/.517/.782 with 16 HR and 60 RBI while going 35/43 on stolen bases. Doesn’t have true HR power, but good gap-to-gap and high SB upside at the next level. Positionally, he’s played 3B and 2B at WVU and was anticipated to play SS in 2024 at times, but he’ll be a 2nd baseman at the next level and a perfect up-the-middle mate for CJ Abrams.
