Day one of the MLB Draft came with plenty of surprises. From Travis Bazzana to Braylon Payne, there was eyebrow-raising aplenty. Day two figures to be another spectacle with plenty of teams with more money to spend. We'll get into that at the end of the article but first let's identify five teams I found to come out winners.
Colorado Rockies
The 2024 Draft class is not the strongest class we have seen in recent years. It lacks top-end high school talent and the college talent quickly shows its warts outside of the top ten picks. The Rockies obviously did extremely well to land the No. 1 overall player on the FSS Plus board in Georgia OF Charlie Condon. But beyond that they did what more teams needed to do in this draft. Take risks.
Iowa right-handed pitcher Brody Brecht is electricity personified. He ranked as the No. 26 overall prospect at FSS Plus pre-draft and the Rockies were able to steer him down to pick 38. He is by no means a sure thing. And there will be considerable player development necessary to see Brecht meet his sky-high ceiling. But in a class littered with low ceilings and red flags, the Rockies took some risk and shot high. From this chair, that was the right way to go. Adding Texas outfielder Jared Thomas in round two was also a strong selection. For too long he's been miscast at the University of Texas and should now get full-time run in centerfield in the pro game. They've had success with guys who bounced around positions in college before settling in at the pro level (Cole Carrigg, Sterlin Thompson). Thomas could be the next to blossom.
