Of the first 30 picks in the 2024 MLB Draft — the true first round — 25 of those players were ranked in my top 31. There weren’t huge shocks, no non-top 100 types taken in the first round, no outrageous reaches, and for the most part the best guys went at the top of the draft. Here’s my breakdown of each pick, along with the scouting report I prepared before the draft.
You can check out my general observations on day one of the draft here. No. 2 on Law’s big board They had the first pick and took one of the only two valid options in my opinion, Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana.
The Guardians then turned around and took a high school pitcher, Braylon Doughty , with their Competitive Balance Round A (CBA) pick at 36, which I assume will absorb much of the savings from what will probably be an under-slot deal with Bazzana. They followed up with NC State catcher Jacob Cozart , who quietly had a tremendous year at the plate for the Wolfpack, with their second-round pick (No. 48).
I feel like they landed two everyday players at positions up the middle, and then took a sensible flier on a very good high school arm. Advertisement Scouting report: Bazzana made his professional debut, of sorts, as a 15-year-old in the Australian Baseball League, the same circuit where many minor leaguers go in the winter to gain some extra at-bats or innings, and then played as an 18-year-old in the wood-bat West Coast League against college players, hitting .429/.
471/.593. The Aust.
