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MLB Draft betting odds: Travis Bazzana, JJ Wetherholt in the mix to go No. 1 overall
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The 2024 MLB Draft is just over a week away.
The Cleveland Guardians will go on the clock with the No. 1 overall pick next Sunday, July 14. The Guardians won the MLB Draft lottery last offseason, earning the top pick over numerous teams who had worse records in 2023.
Cleveland has several options at its disposal with its pick. It was a banner year in college baseball for hitters, with stars like Charlie Condon and Jac Caglianone tormenting SEC pitchers all year long.
However, it seems Cleveland is expected to pass on those SEC sluggers with the top pick in this draft. As things currently stand, West Virginia’s JJ Wetherholt and Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana are the betting favorites to go No. 1 overall.
Here’s a breakdown of the current odds at FanDuel for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft:
2024 MLB Draft No. 1 pick odds
- 2B Travis Bazzana | Oregon State | +105
- SS/2B JJ Wetherholt | West Virginia | +130
- 3B/OF Charlie Condon | Georgia | +700
- 1B/LHP Jac Caglianone | Florida | +1500
- RHP Chase Burns | Wake Forest | +5000
- 1B Nick Kurtz | Wake Forest | +7500
- OF Braden Montgomery | Texas A&M | +10000
- LHP Hagen Smith | Arkansas | +10000
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Bazzana has been thought of as the favorite for the last few months, especially as he began to take off as a junior at Oregon State. But recently, Wetherholt has emerged as a serious threat to be the top pick. Wetherholt entered the year in the No. 1 pick conversation back in the spring, but his name faded a bit throughout the 2024 season after he missed time due to a hamstring injury.
Wetherholt ended up with just 164 plate appearances this season, although he did slash .331/.472/.589 with those opportunities. He also posted a strikeout rate of just over 10%, pointing to his plus hit tool. Wetherholt would likely also agree to sign for a below-slot price, which would be attractive to Cleveland if it’s planning to splurge on high school talent in later rounds.
Still, Bazzana presents an intriguing option for the Guardians. Bazzana hit 28 home runs this season while posting an OPS of 1.479 — over 400 points higher than Wetherholt’s OPS on the year. If Bazzana sticks at second base defensively, he’d have the potential to become one of the league’s top bats at that position. He also has the power profile to move to third base if a club wanted to put him there.
Condon’s case to be the No. 1 pick seems to be fading a bit, but there are scouts and evaluators who see him as the best player in this class. Caglianone, Burns and anyone from the high school class appear to be major long-shots at this point to go No. 1 overall.
2024 MLB Draft over/under draft position props
DraftKings has published draft position over/unders for numerous projected first-round picks. Here’s a sampling of what DraftKings is offering:
- Chase Burns | Line: Pick 3.5 | Over +130, Under -160
- Hagen Smith | Line: Pick 6.5 | Over -115, Under -115
- Braden Montgomery | Line: Pick 7.5 | Over -115, Under -115
- James Tibbs | Line: Pick 9.5 | Over -125, Under -105
- Christian Moore | Line: Pick 11.5 | Over -155, Under +125
DraftKings also has draft position props available for several other college players as well as the top high school prospects in this class.
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MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo updated his mock this weekend and is projecting Bazzana to be the No. 1 pick. Mayo wrote that he polled 20 MLB scouting directors on who they expect Cleveland to take. Bazzana got 15 votes while Wetherholt (4) and Condon (1) split the remaining 5.
Over at ESPN, the World Wide Leader’s Kiley McDaniel mocked Wetherholt to be the top pick back on June 19. McDaniel said he and most league evaluators see Condon as the best prospect in the class, but cited the possibility of Wetherholt taking a discount on his signing bonus as a reason for mocking him to Cleveland. McDaniel also made the case that Wetherholt fits the prototype of player that Cleveland’s front office has historically targeted.
The first-round of the 2024 MLB Draft will begin at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 14.
Want to sign up with a sportsbook to bet on the 2024 MLB Draft? Here’s Saturday Down South’s breakdown of all the top gambling apps on the market in 2024!
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
