As we turn the calendar to May, the MLB Draft is in sight. There’s a faint resemblance of its light on the horizon.
The 2024 Draft is shaping up to be intriguing, specifically at the top of the class. Five college bats are vying for position at the top with just a handful of weeks remaining in the college baseball season. It’s safe to assume the vast majority of these guys have less than 20 games remaining. So where do things stand from a metrics standpoint? Where are guys’ strengths and weaknesses and how should teams weigh the pros and cons of each data point?
From this chair, each marker is a component in a much larger evaluation. But if nothing else it’s interesting to see how the Big 5™ stack up.
Also a highly-important distinction? The road likely only gets more difficult; Regionals, Super Regionals, and Omaha tend to bring down numbers as hitters consistently see better pitching. Crews, for example, saw his bat-to-ball numbers fall precipitously in the final few weeks of the 2023 season.
NOTE: Included Dylan Crews and Wyatt Langford as reference points from the 2023 Draft
Overall Contact%
| PLAYER | Contact |
|---|---|
| Travis Bazzana | 85% |
| Nick Kurtz | 82% |
| Wyatt Langford | 81% |
| Charlie Condon | 80% |
| Jac Caglianone | 80% |
| Dylan Crews | 77% |
| Braden Montgomery | 76% |
In-Zone Contact%
| PLAYER | In-Zone Contact |
|---|---|
| Jac Caglianone | 91% |
| Charlie Condon | 90% |
| Nick Kurtz | 90% |
| Travis Bazzana | 89% |
| Braden Montgomery | 87% |
| Wyatt Langford | 87% |
| Dylan Crews | 84% |
Out of Zone Contact
| PLAYER | O-Zone Contact |
|---|---|
| Travis Bazzana | 74% |
| Charlie Condon | 58% |
| Wyatt Langford | 55% |
| Jac Caglianone | 53% |
| Nick Kurtz | 48% |
| Dylan Crews | 42% |
| Braden Montgomery | 39% |
Chase%
| PLAYER | CHASE |
|---|---|
| Travis Bazzana | 17% |
| Dylan Crews | 18% |
| Nick Kurtz | 18% |
| Wyatt Langford | 20% |
| Charlie Condon | 26% |
| Braden Montgomery | 27% |
| Jac Caglianone | 39% |
Exit Velocity
| PLAYER | AVG EV | MAX EV |
|---|---|---|
| Charlie Condon | 98 MPH | 118 MPH |
| Braden Montgomery | 98 MPH | 114 MPH |
| Dylan Crews | 96 MPH | 113 MPH |
| Wyatt Langford | 94 MPH | 114 MPH |
| Travis Bazzana | 94 MPH | 112 MPH |
| Jac Caglianone | 93 MPH | 121 MPH |
| Nick Kurtz | 93 MPH | 114 MPH |
Rankings (Link to Full Board)
1. Charlie Condon, OF — Georgia
2. Travis Bazzana, 2B — Oregon State
3. Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP — Florida
4. Braden Montgomery, RF — Texas A&M
5. Nick Kurtz, 1B — Wake Forest
*Dylan Crews went No. 2 overall last year to the Washington Nationals.
**Wyatt Langford was selected No. 4 overall by the Texas Rangers.
- 2024 MLB Draft: Top 500 Prospects - May 14, 2024
- The 2025 free agent class suggests a big trade deadline is coming in July - May 2, 2024
- Comparing key metrics for the top 2024 draft-eligible college bats - May 1, 2024
