Potential 1st Overall Picks in the MLB Draft

The pros and cons of the players who are likely in consideration for the 1st overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft

With the draft just over two months away, it’s time to start paying attention to the new wave of talent entering professional baseball. This has certainly been a more difficult class to evaluate at the top of the board than in 2023. While there are six players in my mind with viable 1-1 arguments, none of the players here are better than last years top three of Skenes, Langford or Crews. While all the players who could go 1-1 are great players, they all possesses different strengths and weakness that teams may value differently.

In today’s post, I’ll break down the pros and cons of each player, so that readers can have a general idea of what these players bring to the table. Obviously, things can change between now and draft day, but at the end I provide my rankings if I had to pick today.

Charlie Condon - 1B/3B - Georgia

Pros: Unsurprisingly for the Georgia home run leader, Condon shows 70 grade power, and the ability to lift the ball. Condon jumps on pitches and pulls the ball at a high rate. He has decent overall feel for hitting, an average chase rate, and walks more than he strikes out.

Cons: He whiffs about twice as much against off-speed pitches as he does against fastballs, which gives me concern about his general feel for contact. The swing is somewhat grooved in my mind, and there is some concern about his ability to cover all parts of the zone. Defensively, he’s split time between the outfield, third base and first base and has looked solid, but defense isn’t a carrying tool.

Braden Montgomery - OF - Texas A&M

Pros: Montgomery’s two calling cards are his plus power and his 80 grade arm out in right field. He’s an above-average athlete, runs well and is a solid defender out in right field. He’s currently a switch hitter, but profiles better from the left side than the right, though he has improved as a righty as the year has progressed.

Cons: Similar to Condon, Montgomery whiffs about twice as much against off-speed pitches as he does fastballs, and his overall whiff rate is slightly higher than Condon’s. His chase rate is also slightly elevated.

Travis Bazzana - 2B - Oregon State

Pros: Bazzana is the best pure hitter in this class and shows double plus bat-to-ball skills and swing decisions. He gets the most out of his above-average raw power — his lefty swing is oriented for lifting the ball and he pulls most of his fly balls which gives him another bump. He’s stolen 20 bases on the year, is a plus runner, and is smart on the basepaths.

Cons: Bazzana doesn’t have a ton of physical projection, though he still is fairly twitchy. He lacks arm strength, which limits him to playing second base, where he’s more of an average defender than a plus one.

Photo by Scobel Wiggins

Jac Caglianone - 1B/LHP - Florida