The 2024 MLB Draft takes place next week, starting with the first round on Sunday night. The Pirates pick ninth overall this year, in a draft that has more than nine players who would warrant the selection. They also have the 37th overall pick in Competitive Balance Round A, and a draft bonus pool of $14,000,500.
Baseball America and MLB Pipeline have both released their top prospect rankings for the upcoming draft, along with their most recent mock drafts.
The top ten from Baseball America ranks as follows:
- Charlie Condon, OF, Georgia
- Travis Bazzana, 2B, Oregon State
- JJ Wetherholt, SS, West Virginia
- Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest
- Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida
- Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas
- Braden Montgomery, OF, Texas A&M
- Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest
- Konnor Griffin, OF/SS, Prep
- Bryce Rainer, SS/RHP, Prep
The top ten from MLB Pipeline is similar. They have Bazzana number one, with Condon second. Those two make up the clear top tier of the class. Beyond those two, the other eight players in the top ten can be interchanged. Here is how Pipeline ranks the top ten, with differences in the 3-8 rankings.
- Travis Bazzana
- Charlie Condon
- Jac Caglianone
- JJ Wetherholt
- Hagen Smith
- Chase Burns
- Nick Kurtz
- Bradenton Montgomery
- Konnor Griffin
- Bryce Rainer
Both outlets have released mock drafts in the last week, projecting where the Pirates might go with their pick. This is a much different process from the 2023 draft, where the Pirates had the first pick. Their selection this year will largely be determined by the eight teams picking ahead of them.
The fifth mock draft from Baseball America has outfielder Braden Montgomery going to the Pirates. BA notes that there have been rumors of the Pirates scouting heavily the top two prep hitters. They had Konnor Griffin still on the board, along with first baseman Nick Kurtz, before going with Montgomery for the pick.
The latest mock from MLB Pipeline has outfielder James Tibbs going to the Pirates. He ranks 12th in both the BA and Pipeline rankings. Pipeline had Griffin and Bryce Rainer still on the board. They noted that the Pirates could also consider second baseman Christian Moore from the University of Tennessee, or ECU right-hander Trey Yesavage if they go for a college pitcher. Moore ranks 14/13 in the BA/Pipeline rankings, and Yesavage ranks 11th in both.
The 2024 MLB Draft tracker is now live, and will follow all of the picks made in the next week. I’ll be previewing the draft throughout this week, taking a closer look at some of those prospects in the top ten who might fall to the Pirates with the ninth overall pick.
