2024 MLB Draft Results: Grades for Overall Team-by-Team Results
July 16, 2024
The 2024 MLB draft will wrap up on Tuesday with the final 10 rounds, but most of the marquee names came off the board in the first two days.
At this point, any of the top high school players still available will almost certainly be going to college. There are going to be some big-league contributors found on day three, so keep paying attention if you've been following.
For now, though, we are going to look at the draft based on what's happened so far. This is a list of grades for each team's class, as well as a look at the best and worst from the past two days.
Grades are reflective of a combination of player value more than anything else. Unlike other sports, the MLB draft may not pay dividends for teams for at least two years.
2024 MLB Draft Team Grades
- Arizona Diamondbacks: A
- Atlanta Braves: B
- Baltimore Orioles: B+
- Boston Red Sox: B+
- Chicago Cubs: B
- Chicago White Sox: B+
- Cincinnati Reds: B-
- Cleveland Guardians: B+
- Colorado Rockies: A-
- Detroit Tigers: B+
- Houston Astros: C-
- Kansas City Royals: A
- Los Angeles Angels: C+
- Los Angeles Dodgers: B
- Miami Marlins: B-
- Milwaukee Brewers: B+
- Minnesota Twins: B
- New York Mets: B
- New York Yankees: C
- Oakland Athletics: B
- Philadelphia Phillies: B
- Pittsburgh Pirates: B+
- San Diego Padres: B+
- San Francisco Giants: B-
- Seattle Mariners: C+
- St. Louis Cardinals: C+
- Tampa Bay Rays: B
- Texas Rangers: B
- Toronto Blue Jays: B-
- Washington Nationals: A-
Best Draft: Arizona Diamondbacks
Having three of the first 35 picks and four of the top 64 selections does make it easier to have a nice class, but the Arizona Diamondbacks made the most of their draft capital this year.
Slade Caldwell, the No. 29 overall pick, seemed like a very Arizona selection because he has drawn comparisons to Corbin Carroll due to having loud tools in a smaller package.
Danny @TatisMVPsznSlade Caldwell, OF, Prep, 18.0 y/o<br><br>Caldwell is a very Corbin Carroll esque prospect, twitchy and fast in every facet of his game, he only has a 5'9 180 frame but he makes the most of it.<br><br>Caldwell brings a 60 grade hit tool with lightning quick hands and a smooth swing, he has… <a href="https://t.co/nDzJAT44sz">pic.twitter.com/nDzJAT44sz</a>
The Diamondbacks also went for more risk-reward in the competitive balance round by taking switch-hitting high school shortstop JD Dix. There is optimism his glove will stick at short, which will benefit his bat that is built more for contact than power.
In between those two selections, the D-Backs got a high floor player in Kentucky's Ryan Waldschmidt. The 21-year-old hit .333/.469/.610 with 14 homers and 25 stolen bases in 59 games last season.
Waldschmidt is a high-contact hitter with a terrific approach at the plate. He will more of a high-average, high-on-base player in pro ball, but there is solid raw power in his swing to project a few 20-homer seasons in his future.
Ivan Luciano is all projection as a high school catcher, but he's got big power potential if he hits enough against professional pitching to make it useful.
The rest of the class is largely built around college pitching. Fifth-round pick Connor Foley could be the first player from this crop in the big leagues as a reliever.
Jared Perkins @JaredCP1The Arizona Diamondbacks took RHP Connor Foley out of Indiana at No. 164.<br><br>FB 93-95 with average secondaries. Velocity starts to dip as he gets deeper in games. Massive presence on the mind with a large frame. Likely reliever.<br><br> <a href="https://t.co/cTJJmjs5zC">pic.twitter.com/cTJJmjs5zC</a>
The strength of the class is largely those top four picks, but it's a strong group with two promising high-ceiling position players and a starting-caliber outfielder with a good floor.
Worst Draft: Houston Astros
The Astros started off strong by getting Sam Houston catcher Walker Janek with their top pick (No. 28 overall). He was the top-ranked catcher in the class by MLB.com at No. 24 overall.
Janek is solid across the board, with his lone plus tool being his throwing arm. But the bar for catching at the MLB level is so low right now that just being average is a huge asset to have.
After the Janek selection, though, Houston used six of its next eight picks on college pitchers. It would be stunning if any of them develops into a starter. Ryan Forcucci, a third-round pick, had Tommy John surgery in June after making five starts for UC San Diego last season.
Parker Smith (No. 131 overall) only had 183 strikeouts in 220.1 innings at Rice over the past three seasons. His ERA was over 4.00 twice in three years for the Owls.
The Astros' current big-league rotation has a lot of question marks, so drafting college arms who could theoretically move through the minors quickly makes sense in that regard.
But using the draft in an attempt to supplement the MLB roster in quick succession is a terrible strategy. The Astros only need to look within their own division to see how the Los Angeles Angels tried to draft in the last couple of years when they were trying to build around Shohei Ohtani to know that.
Most Intriguing Draft: Baltimore Orioles
Much was made coming into the season about the surplus of position players the Baltimore Orioles have in the upper levels of the minors because they didn't have any open spots on the MLB roster to use them.
Baltimore did pull from that group in the Corbin Burnes trade by sending Joey Ortiz to the Milwaukee Brewers. It's still a "problem" because Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo and Connor Norby are currently in Triple-A, with Samuel Basallo, Dylan Beavers, Jud Fabian and Max Wagner in Double-A.
If you want to see a contrast in draft styles, look no further than the Astros and Orioles. Where it seemed like Houston was trying to address an immediate need, Baltimore just doubled down on its strength.
The Orioles' first four picks and seven of their first nine were college position players. That group was the strength of this class, but it also makes one think about what the front office and scouting department might be up to.
It's not a secret that Baltimore is scouring the trade market for another starter to pair with Burnes. Whether or not something happens prior to July 30 remains to be seen, but this draft could be viewed as part of a calculated plan to keep the position player prospect pipeline going strong for an eventual trade.
Draftees like Vance Honeycutt, Griff O'Ferrall and Austin Overn could easily slot into a spot vacated if another player is traded.
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