Guardians have MLB’s No. 1 draft pick, now what? The week in baseball (2024)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Guardians are still collecting on their out-of-nowhere roll of the dice that gave them the No. 1 pick in MLB’s 2024 draft.

Not only do the Guardians possess the No. 1 overall pick for the first time in franchise history, they also have the biggest bonus pool ever to sign who they deem to be the best amateur player in 2024.

The Guards’ bonus pool is a record $18,334,000. The slot value for the No. 1 pick is a record $10.57 million.

A couple of reference points:

• The Pirates had the No. 1 pick last year. The slot value was a then-record $9,721,000. They used $9.2 million of that to sign No. 1 pick Paul Skenes, the right-hander out of Louisiana State University.
• The Guardians, with the 23rd pick in the first round in 2023, took high school catcher Ralphy Velazquez and gave him a $2.5 million signing bonus. Velazquez is currently playing at Class A Lynchburg.

At the winter meetings in December, the Guardians were busy putting new manager Stephen Vogt’s coaching staff together. Then, just as they were packing their bags to get ready to leave Nashville, a Miracle on Ice-sized upset fell in their laps.

In MLB’s second year of the draft lottery, they went from ninth place to the top of the mountain. When the draft started, they had a 2% chance of getting the No. 1 pick.

Oakland, Kansas City and Colorado, the three teams with the worst winning percentages in the the big leagues in 2023, each had an 18.3% chance of receiving the No. 1 pick. The White Sox (8.3%) and Cardinals (6.1%) rounded out the top five.

The Guardians smoked them all with a Buster-Douglas-over-Mike-Tyson knockout.

So what does this mean?

It means the Guardians have $18.334 million to sign the players they select in the first 10 rounds of the draft, which will be held during the All-Star Game festivities in Fort Worth, Texas, July 14-16. The Guardians have 11 picks in the first 10 rounds including a Competitive Balance Round A choice.

Here are the slot values for Cleveland’s choices:

• No. 1 $10,576,000;
• No. 36 (Competitive Balance Round A) $2,569,200;
• Second round No. 48 $1,938,800;
• Third round No. 84 $906,800;
• Fourth round No. 113 $645,500;
• Fifth round No. 146 $466,900;
• Sixth round No. 175 $357,000;
• Seventh round No. 205 $279,100;
• Eighth round No. 235 $222,800;
• Ninth round No. 265 $195,700;
• 10th round No. 298 $183,000.

MLB’s first amateur draft was held in 1965. While Cleveland has never had the No. 1 overall pick, it has had five No. 2 picks -- Steve Dunning (1970), Rick Manning (1972), Greg Swindell (1986), Mark Lewis (1988) and Paul Shuey (1992).

The Guardians, because of their ability to put winning teams on the field, have had only one top five pick in the last 10 years. In 2013 they selected outfielder Clint Frazier with the fifth overall pick.

The draft lottery, however, has changed that dynamic.

Here are some of the top amateur players in the country who may be selected by the Guardians with the No. 1 draft pick.

OF-3B Charlie Condon, 6-6, 216, Georgia: Condon, a right-handed hitter, is batting .475 (67 for 141) with 13 doubles, 24 homers and 52 RBI in 37 games for the Bulldogs.

2B Travis Bazzana, 6-0, 199, Oregon State: Bazzana, a left-handed hitter, is batting .442 (52 for 129) with eight doubles, four triples, 18 homers and 45 RBI in 36 games. He’s from Australia.

1B Nick Kurtz, 6-6, 235 pounds, Wake Forest: Kurtz, a left-handed hitter, is batting .336 (36 for 107) with six doubles, 17 homers and 40 RBI in 31 games.

2B-SS JJ Wetherholt, 5-10, 190, West Virginia: Wetherholt, a left-handed hitter, has been limited to only 13 games because of a hamstring injury. He’s hitting .333 (14 for 42) with three doubles, two homers and eight RBI.

1B-LHP Jac Caglianone, 6-5, 250, Florida: Caglianone is a two-way player for the Gators. He’s hitting .403 (62 for 154) with 23 homers and 46 RBI in 38 games. In eight starts, he’s 4-0 with 49 strikeouts and 29 walks in 39 1/3 innings.

RHP Chase Burns, 6-3, 210, Wake Forest: Burns is 7-1 with a 3.19 ERA in 10 starts. He’s struck out 113, walked 19 and allowed 22 earned runs in 62 innings. The opposition is hitting .182 against him.

LHP Hagen Smith, 6-3, 225, Arkansas: Hagen is 8-0 with a 1.53 ERA in 10 starts. He’s struck out 100, walked 22 and allowed nine earned runs in 53 innings. The opposition is hitting .136 against him.

SS-OF Seaver King, 6-0, 195, Wake Forest: King, a right-handed hitter, is batting .318 (50 for 157) with nine doubles, 11 homers and 41 RBI in 37 games. He played two years at Division II Wingate before moving to Wake Forest.

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