2024 MLB draft diary

Starting the full draft diary

• Chase Burns- Went 2nd
• Travis Bazzana- Went 1st
• Braden Montgomery- Went 12th, and I can't believe how far he fell
• Hagen Smith- Went 5th
• Trey Yeasavage- Ok, this one hurts. The Padres did some things that dropped them 10 picks. Yeasavage would have been there at the 15th pick, but was missed because of the team's dealings
• James Tibbs- went 13th
• Seaver King- went 10th
• Jurrangelo Cijntje- went 15th
• Michael Mullinax- OK. This would have been my pick, but given that he wasn't draft in the top 10 rounds, I'm assuming there was a signability thing. Given how high I had him, maybe there was a chance... but certainly I'll never know.
• Ryan Johnson- I'm taking him with the 25th pick, which I'm sure the pundits will hate. In reality, he went 74th to LAA.
• Mike Sirota I'm taking him at 52. In reality he went 87th.
• Peyton Stovall- I'm taking him at 88. In reality he went 117.
• Ethan Anderson- Went 61st
• Carter Holton- Went 62nd
• John Spikerman* Went 100th
• Ethan Puig- I'd like to snag him at 118... he didn't get picked on day 2 in real life... and went undrafted (while not signing). I pass on him.
• Konnor Eaton- He's the pick at 118. In reality he went 181 to Col
• Austin Overn* (97th)
• Perry Hargett Would be my pick at 134, but he's not drafted, so I pass here too.
• Bridger Holmes Would be my pick at 134 (he goes 202 in real life)
• Jeremiah Jenkins Would be my pick at 135. In reality he goes at pick 418
• John John Gazdar- Would be my pick at 151. In reality he goes at pick 321
• Eddie Saldivar- Wasn't picked so I pass on him

Seniors

• Tanner Witt- I take him at 180. In rea;ity, he went at 413
• Tyler MacGregor- Went undrafted and didn't sign anywhere
• Izaak Martinez- I take him at 210. In reality, he went 535

11th round target

• Luca Ramirez- He's there in the 11th round, and he signed, so I take him.

Ignoring Mullinax, there is a version of this draft in which we get Johnson, Sirota, Stovall, Eaton, and Holmes as college players (along with Jenkins and Gazdar), Puig, Hargett and Ramirez as HSers, and Witt and Martinez as seniors. In truth, that would be my perfect draft. Alas, it isn't meant to be because those HSers weren't drafted (and didn't sign after the draft).

Instead, we end up with a very college heavy draft (9 of my first 10 picks are college players), with Luca Ramirez as the lone lottery ticket. I don't hate it, but would have been thrilled to get a little more upside this year.

2024 MLB Draft Diary

Posting this today to serve as the final big board... will do a retroactrive diary after the draft is over.

• Chase Burns
• Travis Bazzana
• Braden Montgomery
• Hagen Smith
• Trey Yeasavage
• James Tibbs
• Seaver King
• Jurrangelo Cijntje
• Michael Mullinax
• Ryan Johnson
• Mike Sirota
• Peyton Stovall
• Ethan Anderson
• Carter Holton
• John Spikerman*
• Ethan Puig
• Konnor Eaton
• Austin Overn*
• Perry Hargett
• Bridger Holmes
• Jeremiah Jenkins
• John John Gazdar
• Eddie Saldivar

Now we move to the seniors, who will possible all slot into weird places as needed.

• Tanner Witt
• Tyler MacGregor
• Izaak Martinez

And finally, my binky pick:

• Luca Ramirez

*These two are dependant on how things break. If I get Mullinax, I remove Spikerman and Overn from the board. If I miss Mullinax, but get Spikerman, I'd avoid Overn. Also- I'm probably too low on Overn.

3 Additions to the 2024 Big Board

Every year, I come out of the draft thinking "oh man, how did I miss/forget/not include THAT guy?!?" on ny big board... so I'm going to throw out a quick update here, with 3 players being added (though I'm not sure which spots they'll be in).

• Ethan Anderson- He's a switch hitting 1b (possible catcher?) with good contact skills. Count me in.
• Ethan Puig- His scotuing report on Baseball American reminds me of Michael Chavis. Now I know Chavis didn't become a superstart, but this guy could be one of the best hitters in the draft.
• Bridger Holmes- I try to come out of every draft with 5 college players, one of whom is a reliever. Right now, my big board only has one reliever, so I'm tacking on a second one in Holmes, a sidearm reliever who was hella effective for Oregon State (my adoration for northern arms, both New England and the Pacific Northwest, has been discussed in various draft previews.

I'll done a final big board right before the draft, which will serve as my basis of my (belated) draft diary.

2024 MLB Draft Big Board

Coming into the 2024 draft, I see four players as a clear top tier.

• Chase Burns- I think he's got the best opportunity to be an ace level pitcher
• Travis Bazzana- Chase Utley clone?
• Braden Montgomery- Possibly the highest upside in the entire draft
• Hagan Smith- I get Jon Lester vibes from him

It seems HIGHLY unlikely that any of those 4 makes it to my fake Padres team, but if one is available, I'm jumping for joy.

The next group of four is where I'm hoping to find a player (i.e. ideally one of these four makes it to me)

• Trey Yeasavage- I'm coming around on the idea of guys with great control being able ti increase their veolcity, as opposed to high velocity guys learning where the ball is going.
• James Tibbs- Terrific hitter who's done it against high level competition.
• Seaver King- I get a RHH Ben Zobrist vibe here.

My next two are guys that I would lve to add as high upside flyers

• Jurrangelo Cijntje- I have no idea what to make of this guy... I've seen him comp'd to Marcus Stroman (yes please) from both sides of the plate to who knows what.
• Mike Mullinax- He's my CF of the future if I can get him

Back to the college ranks for a few.

• Ryan Johnson- Possibly the best control in the draft (see the note above about Yeasavage and control)
• Mike Sirota- He was expected to be a top 15 or so pick coming into the draft, but I'm still all-in (sort of... I originally had him about Cijntje and Mullinax, but given where the Padres pick (25 feels too high for Sirota), I'm dropping him with the idea he may be there in the 50s when my pick comes around again)
• Peyton Stovall- This guy can hit.
• Carter Holton- Quality LHP with great stuff. May end up in the bullpen, but I'll let him show me that's the case.
• John Spikerman- I'm pretty smitten with him, but if I end up with Mullinax, I'd pass on Spikerman
• Konnor Eaton- GMU Alumni (which I'm a sucker for) with good stuff.

My next HS flyer is

• Perry Hargett- This guy can fly on the base paths, and has a chance to sitck as SS.

Next, I've got my eye on a couple of potential contact hitters (in truth... this group is sort of take it or leave it for me... but I din't want to run out of players to draft, whivh has been an issue in the past).

• Austin Overn- He's another speedy guy (note, I pass on him if I've got Mullinax or Spikerman)
• Jeremiah Jenkins- Kid out of Maine, and I love the NE players.
• Jon Jon Gazdar- He's a likely 2b with plus feel for contact
• Eddie Saldivar- I thought he would be a great hitter when he was at Long Beach State.

Next up, we're looking at a trio of seniors. These guy could move up the board (or down) depending on how the draft shakes out.

• Tanner Witt- Coming our of HS, this guy was considered a comp to Kris Bryant as a hitter, with higher upside on the mound. I've drafted him twice already... and I just can't quit him.
• Tyler Macgregor- Northeastern batter who's got good contact.
• Izaak Martinez- LHRP who shoud move quickly.

And finally, my 11th round target:

• Luca Ramirez- It's Manny's kid... I'm all in.

Identifying a perfect draft from the list above is REALLY hard. If it ends up being Sirota at 25, that feels a bit like a reach, but maybe there's a way to use the extra picks in the 4th to make up for that (this makes me wonder if I should have more HS players on the list).

As with last year, I'll be doing the draft diary after the draft is over (and removing anyone who wasn't drafted).