Top Surprises 2024 MLB Draft

The MLB amateur draft began Sunday night, with Cleveland Guardians making history by picking Travis Bazzana first.

In total, 73 more players were chosen, mostly college hitters, before the draft paused. It resumes Monday at 2 p.m. ET and wraps up Tuesday with the 20th round.

Let’s dive into some surprising moments from the first day of picks.

1. Bazzana’s Unexpected Yet Expected No. 1 Pick

Bazzana being picked first was both a shock and not a shock at all. Back in January, I reported that other teams thought Cleveland and their new scouting director Ethan Purser were really into Bazzana’s game. This is my fifth year covering the draft, and I’ve never seen such early certainty about a player.

Even though scouts told me Cleveland loved Bazzana, I knew anything could change before draft night. They might have gone for Charlie Condon or taken advantage of JJ Wetherholt’s injury to get someone similar to Bazzana for less money. But they stuck with their original choice, which was both predictable and remarkable.

2. Brewers’ Offbeat Choices

This year’s first round went pretty much as expected—except for the Milwaukee Brewers’ picks. Out of my top 30 prospects, only four weren’t chosen in the top 30 picks; out of my top 50, only two weren’t picked in the top 50.

The Brewers made four selections (two in the top 50) without choosing anyone from my top list:

– No. 17: OF Braylon Payne
– No. 34: 1B Blake Burke
– No. 57: RHP Bryce Meccage
– No. 67: RHP Chris Levonas

Payne has potential but needs time to develop; Burke has power but also issues with striking out and walking; Meccage and Levonas are promising but need guidance.

Fans might wonder if Milwaukee knows something we don’t because they have a strong front office known for developing talent well.

3. Waldschmidt’s Surprising Fall

Ryan Waldschmidt was one of my favorite mid-first-round prospects due to his great season at Kentucky and impressive analytics like exit velocity and chase rates.

I ranked him at No.16 because he seemed likely to go in the top 20 picks based on what I heard from scouts who liked his athleticism and postseason performance.

However, he slipped just outside the first round to Arizona Diamondbacks at No.31 instead of going earlier as expected due to possible concerns about his swing or past ACL injury—though it’s still a good spot!

4.Angels Focus on Relievers

Lastly let’s talk about Los Angeles Angels who used two out of three top-75 picks on potential relievers:

They chose Tennessee second baseman Christian Moore at No8 higher than expected but justified if you believe in his batting skills.They then picked right-handed pitchers Chris Cortez(Texas A&M)and Ryan Johnson(Dallas Baptist).

Both pitchers have powerful arms but questions remain about their roles due partly unusual deliveries.Cortez started only ten times out sixty-nine appearances averaging over five walks per nine innings.Johnson threw strikes better yet relied heavily on slider pitch even among starters today’s era “spam your best pitch”.

It fits Angels’ strategy taking players quickly reaching majors like Chase Silseth,Zach Neto,Ben Joyce,Nolan Schanuel.Perhaps these two or all three debut before next summer’s draft becoming impactful relievers!

Fans may question whether it makes sense for noncompetitive team weak farm system using high picks relievers preventing development strengths initially needed?

What do you think? Should teams take risks like this?