2024 MLB Mock Draft 1.0: Who will go No. 1 to the Guardians? - ESPN

Conference tournaments have concluded, NCAA regionals matchups have been announced and high school private workout season is in full swing. That means the 2024 draft class has come into enough focus to put together my first full mock draft of the year before the MLB draft begins on July 14.

Industry evaluators' perception of the top of this draft class has taken a big step forward over the course of the season. It's a college-heavy group throughout the first round, with some solid high school and college pitching depth near the end of the round, and light on high school position players.

With a very clear tier of 10 players at the top (you can jump into my latest draft rankings for more on that), it's likely that group makes up eight or nine of the first 10 picks. I say eight or nine because financial incentives exist, given the draft's bonus pool structure, for at least one team in the top 10 picks to opt for savings for a later selection if they don't like the players and asking prices they're left with from that top group. The prospects who fell the furthest from my rankings are among the surprises you will find in this mock draft.

Charlie Condon, 3B, Georgia

This is the typical silly season for rumors on No. 1 overall picks in years without a slam-dunk top player — and this is especially so when a progressive, value-oriented club like Cleveland is picking first and is interested in the best player given the price. The buzz for weeks that Travis Bazzana has more momentum here than Condon seems to be right on time to start pushing prices down on the players Cleveland actually wants. How this pick plays out isn't a done deal by any stretch (I'd bet it won't be until draft day, likely later in the day), so acting like