Everything to know about the 2024 MLB Draft

The 2024 MLB Draft is almost here. For three days starting Sunday, teams will gather in Arlington to make their picks with an eye toward the future, while the players chosen will begin a journey that could conclude with a debut under the bright lights of a Major League stadium.

Here’s everything you need to know:

The Draft will again be part of All-Star Week and will feature 20 rounds, including the first two rounds, compensatory rounds, Competitive Balance Rounds and prospect promotion incentive selections on the first night.

Day 1 Draft coverage begins with a preview show at 6 p.m. ET Sunday on MLB Network, MLB.TV, MLB.com and on the MLB app, with the Draft beginning at 7 p.m. ET. ESPN will carry the first round. Day 2 (Rounds 3-10) and Day 3 (Rounds 11-20) can be seen beginning at 2 p.m. ET each day on MLB.com.

Draft order for the first six picks was determined by MLB’s second annual Draft Lottery held at the Winter Meetings in December. The Guardians will have the first pick for the first time in franchise history.

Here are how the first 10 picks will go:

The Diamondbacks, Brewers and Twins will perhaps be the most busy teams on the first day, as each will have an MLB-best four picks.

With their Draft lottery win, the Guardians received the highest assigned pick value in history, one year after the Pirates had that distinction.

As MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis writes, “The Guardians didn’t just win the 2024 Draft Lottery. They also hit the jackpot. With assigned values for each pick rising 8.7 percent, mirroring the growth in MLB revenues, Cleveland’s No. 1 overall pick is worth $10,570,600. That’s the highest ever, eclipsing the $9,721,000 amount the Pirates’ No. 1 choice was slotted at a year ago. The Guardians, who had just the ninth-best lottery odds of coming away with the top choice, also have the largest total allotment since the bonus-pool era began in 2012.”

Bonus-pool era? Let us explain.

Each choice in the first 10 rounds of the Draft comes with an assigned value, with the total for a club’s selections equaling what it can spend in those rounds without incurring a penalty. If a player taken in the top 10 rounds doesn’t sign, his pick’s value gets subtracted from his team’s pool. Clubs near the top of the Draft often spend less than the assigned value for those choices and use the savings to offer more money to later selections.

Teams that exceed their bonus pool face a penalty. Clubs that outspend their allotment by 0-5 percent pay a 75 percent tax on the overage. At higher thresholds, clubs lose future picks: a first-rounder and a 75 percent tax for surpassing their pool by more than 5 and up to 10 percent; a first- and a second-rounder and a 100 percent tax for more than 10 and up to 15 percent; and two first-rounders and a 100 percent tax for more than 15 percent.

Top 10 bonus pools:
1. Guardians: $18,334,000
2. Rockies: $17,243,400
3. Reds: $15,842,100
4. Royals: $15,418,300
5. Athletics: $15,347,900
6. White Sox: $14,593,300
7. Pirates: $14,000,500
8. Angels: $12,990,400
9. Brewers: $12,984,400
10. Diamondbacks: $12,662,000

MLB Pipeline’s Draft Top 250 list is fount of information on the this year’s prospects, offering rankings, scouting reports, bios and tool grades. The 2024 Draft class is one of the more talented in recent years, with no shortage of hitting or pitching talent that could enhance Major League rosters within a few years. There’s top prospect Travis Bazzana of Oregon State, a slugger from Australia with tons of raw power. Then there are the big bats of Charlie Condon of Georgia, JJ Wetherholt of West Virginia and Jac Caglianone of Florida, each of whom gives pitchers headaches. On the pitching side, there are the electric arms of Arkansas’ Hagen Smith and Wake Forest’s Chase Burns, both of whom make for uncomfortable at-bats. In other words, the immense talent this year will give teams lots to think about as they make their picks.

These are the top 10 Draft prospects:

1. Travis Bazzana, 2B, Oregon State
2. Charlie Condon, OF/3B, Georgia
3. Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida
4. JJ Wetherholt, SS/2B, West Virginia
5. Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas
6. Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest
7. Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest
8. Braden Montgomery, OF, Texas A&M
9. Konnor Griffin, SS/OF, Jackson Prep (MS)
10. Bryce Rainer, SS, Harvard-Westlake (CA)