1. Guardians 2B Travis Bazzana | 21
With Bazzana, the Guardians get their most polished draft prospect in a long time, but he’s not a floor play by any means. At six foot even out of Australia, Bazzana has gotten stronger throughout his career in college ball and added significant impact to his plus-contact profile, homering 28 times in his junior season after hitting 11 as a sophomore and six as a freshman. It’s a real mark of his hitting prowess and upside that he went first overall as a college second baseman. I think he’s the first number one overall of that type, and a cursory search revealed nothing to disagree with that. It’s tough to imagine a better landing spot than Cleveland, who signed him quickly and sent him to High-A.
2. Rockies 3B Charlie Condon | 21
One of the best power prospects in recent memory, the 6’6” Condon mashed 37 homers in his junior season while slashing .433.556/.1009 despite SEC pitchers doing their best to work around him. Okay, so let’s put him in Colorado. Even putting him second instead of first, I feel like I might be overthinking this because of the Rockie factor.
3. Reds RHP Chase Burns | 21
His name is extremely bad advice in the verb/object sense, but his stuff is wonderful. Burns went 10-1 with 191 strikeouts in 100 innings during his junior season on the strength of a fastball that sat 97-99 and ticked up to 102 at times. He also features a nasty curveball/slider combination along with a developing changeup.
4. White Sox LHP Hagen Smith | 21
Smith walked the steel-sharpens-steel path of pitching a lot as a freshman in the SEC (15 starts in 2022) and got better throughout his career, culminating in a fantastic junior season (2.04 ERA, 0.893 WHIP with 164 strikeouts in 84 innings).
5. Cardinals SS JJ Wetherholt | 21
Wetherholt was once a candidate for the top pick but went seventh for a variety of reasons. Perhaps a number that was floated in the pre-draft process, perhaps a result of the partial season Wetherholt played after battling injury, perhaps a result of playing at West Virginia against Big 12 arms. A left-handed bat with power at 5’10” 190 lbs, Wetherholt projects to remain at shortstop while hitting for contact and power.
6. Royals 1B Jac Caglianone | 21
Announced as a two-way player, Caglianone could quickly become a full-time hitter considering he slashed .419/.544/.875 with 35 home runs in 66 games for Florida. Nice get for the Royals at sixth overall. I think he could fake left field until he figured it out if necessary.
7. Athletics 1B Nick Kurtz | 21
We’ve seen the struggles of first-base only types near the top of the first round over the past few seasons, but even so, Spencer Torkelson hit 30 home runs last season, and Andrew Vaughn is in talks to cameo in Swingers 2: Double Down, so the floor isn’t totally awful. At 6’5” 240 from the left side, Kurtz is the prototype high-OBP, big-power corner bat.
8. Red Sox OF Braden Montgomery | 21
A 6’2” switch-hitter out of Texas A&M via Stanford, Montgomery has a chance to play center field, but his ultimate defensive floor is a solid corner outfielder. He hit 27 homers and slashed .322/.454/.733 against (mostly) SEC pitching staffs in his junior season.
9. Angels 2B Christian Moore | 21
Moore led Tennessee to a national championship in his junior season, slashing .375/.451/.797 with 34 home runs in 72 games. One thing we know about the Angels is that they’ll promote Moore as aggressively as his hitting warrants.
10. Cubs 3B Cam Smith | 21
At 6’3” 220 lbs, Smith is physically developed and has retained the athleticism of a smaller human. He’s likely to remain at third base and has some hidden upside as a draft-eligible sophomore.
11. Giants OF James Tibbs III | 21
Cam Smith’s teammate at Florida State, Tibbs slashed .363/.488/.777 with 28 home runs and eight steals in his junior year, a continuation of his career outcomes at FSU. A left-handed hitter at 6’0” 201 lbs, Tibbs features a solid plus hit/power combination that should help him climb the minors in a hurry.
12. Orioles OF Vance Honeycutt | 21
If you were going to pick any place to send a super toolsy prospect with patience but some hit tool questions, you’d probably pick Baltimore, who selected Honeycutt 22nd overall. He has produced speed and power throughout his ACC college career with North Carolina, but the strikeouts (83 in his junior season) have been an issue at times.
13. Pirates OF Konnor Griffin | 18
The top overall high school prospect, Griffin was good value for a Pirates organization that is facing something of a bottleneck at the 4A level. At 6’4” 205 lbs, Griffin does everything well on a ballfield and projects as a 30/30 threat.
14. Tigers SS Bryce Rainer | 19
If Griffin wasn’t atop a team’s high school board, Rainer was. A left-handed hitting shortstop at 6’3” 195 lbs, Rainer has earned the comparisons to Corey Seager that pepper his scouting reports, but he might even be a little quicker than Seager. Who’s to say if he retains the foot speed as he ages into his body, but he’s a high-probability shortstop for now. Between you, me and the trees, I’m not thrilled to bet on the Tigers to develop a high school hitter. Would probably be trying to trade out if I had a pick in this area. Or more likely, use the pick to help me acquire a veteran.
15. Nationals SS Seaver King | 21
A likely shortstop at the highest level, King is the kind of player you have to be careful about in fantasy baseball. The defensive skill helps him stay on the field and climb the ladder, but he’s not especially loud in power and speed and will especially dependant on bat-to-ball outcomes.
Thanks for reading!
