The talk before the 2024 MLB Draft had long been about whether the Cleveland Guardians, who held the #1 overall pick, would eschew the early draft rankings and instead shake things up by taking a player they may be able to sign for under-slot value.
Instead, the talk of the draft became that the Cincinnati Reds bucked the consensus rankings and bypassed taking one of the proven college bats 2nd overall after Cleveland settled on Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana with pick #1. Despite the presence of Georgia’s Charlie Condon and Florida’s Jac Caglianone still on the board, Cincinnati returned to Wake Forest to select RHP Chase Burns at pick #2.