The 2024 Draft Class Is On Its Way To Being The Best Ever After Two Years

any of you readers listen to the Effectively Wild podcast, and if you happened to listed to Episode 2483 last week, you may be able to skip the rest of this article. On that show, hosts Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discussed (among many other things) the 2024 draft class, and the impact those players are having on the 2026 season, which is barely two months old.

For context, over twenty rounds, there were 615 amateur players selected in the June, 2024 draft. According to various studies over the years, approximately 15-20% of drafted players make it to the big leagues. As such, we could typically expect that more than 90 of the players selected in 2024 will eventually make it to the major leagues. Again, according to various studies, the standard player will do so three to five years after he was drafted. So getting there in two years is a sign of something. But what?

• The extreme skills of today’s young ballplayers.
• Better training and preparation from Little League through summer leagues and travel ball and beyond.
• Colleges acting more like professional baseball development programs than institutions of higher learning (said differently, athlete-students rather than student-athletes).
• And, what we have seen a lot lately, teams accelerating their timeline for prospects.

So, if we figure that roughly 100 of the players from 2024 will make it at some point, it is not so shocking that 15 already have. By comparison to 2023, when 614 players were selected, 29 made their debuts two years later. So 2024/2026 is on a faster pace, but not crazily so.

But what is crazy is the production teams are getting from their “debutantes” (h/t to the aforementioned Ben Lindbergh). As of last week, players who have debuted in the major leagues this season have accrued 19.9 WAR. That is a pace of nearly 60 WAR for the whole season (which is only one-third done), and that is with just 15 players. The numbers are astounding.

The 2023 draft class put up 43.2 WAR with those 29 players – for the entire 2025 season. They were led by Paul Skenes and Wyatt Langford and Matt Shaw.

In 1987, the 1985 draft class of 36 players, led by some guy named Barry Bonds, and some guy named Barry Larkin, and some writer’s favorite player, Will Clark, put up 37.1 WAR, which stands as the second highest WAR two years after any draft.

So who and how is this group of 2024ers doing it? See some of the answers above for the how. As for the who, let’s take a look at the early bloomers:

Travis Bazzana was selected first in 2024, came up to Cleveland on April 28^th, and is now slashing .294/.389/.450. He often finds himself in the leadoff spot for Stephen Vogt’s club.

Chase Burns went #2 to the Reds. So far this season he is 7-1 with a 1.96 ERA. He has struck out 72 batters against just 20 walks and is in the early Cy Young conversation.

Nick Kurtz went #4 in that draft, and already won Rookie of the Year. This year he is slashing .283/.432/.493 for the upstart Athletics.

Jac Caglianone (#6) is still trying to find his footing in Kansas City. There was early talk of “Jactani” being a two-way player when he came out of the University of Florida, but his natural power made him a better fit to be an everyday player. This year has seen improvement from a disastrous rookie campaign, but he is still not the middle of the order threat the Royals are hoping for.

JJ Wetherholt (#7) made the Cardinals out of spring training and has not looked back. While his batting average is below par (.248), he is getting on base at a .350 clip while leading off for St. Louis and playing a terrific second base. He has already accumulated 2.6 WAR in two months.

Konnor Griffin (#9) looked like he could make the Pirates out of spring training, but the team decided to give the then-19-year-old reps in Triple-A insofar as he had never even played at that level. Well, he was ready. After putting up a 1.196 OPS through his first five games at Indianapolis, he got the call to Pittsburgh, where he is slashing .270/.327/.402 with fourteen extra-base hits and playing great defense at short.

The Cubs drafted Cam Smith with the 14^th pick in 2024, and then sent him to Houston (with Isaac Paredes and Hayden Wesneski) in return for the right to rent Kyle Tucker. I would imagine Jed Hoyer would like to have that one back. Smith played fine as a rookie and is playing fine as a sophomore, but all of the talent is there, and Kyle Tucker is not.

Injuries and a lack of inspiration forced the Mets to bring up Carson Benge (#19) and give him run in their outfield. He has not set the world on fire (he has just an 90 OPS+ through 54 games), but the future looks bright for the youngster.

Trey Yesavage (#20) announced his presence with a jaw-dropping showing in last year’s post-season for the Toronto Blue Jays. He began this season on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement, but in his six starts to date, he has a 2.19 ERA, 2.42 FIP, and a 201 ERA+. He looks every bit the ace he did last October.

Ryan Waldschmidt was the 31^st pick in 2024 and got the call to come to Arizona on May 8^th. He has yet to hit his first big league homer, but he is batting .2964 with a 110 OPS+.

Payton Tolle went in the second round to Boston in 2024 (#50 overall) and has quickly found himself to be an integral piece of the Red Sox’ starting rotation. He has a 2.61 ERA and 0.895 WHIP over his seven starts.

Gage Jump (#73) just got the call to Sacramento, making his debut on the hill for the A’s last week. He went five innings and gave up four earned runs on nine hits to a Mariners team that is finding its stride. He struck five while only walking one in the loss.

Ryan Johnson (#74) made headlines when he skipped the minor leagues altogether and joined the Angels on their Opening Day roster in 2025 directly out of Dallas Baptist. After making four appearances this season with the Halos where he gave up 14 earned runs in 8-1/3 innings, he is currently back down in Triple-A.

Last (in draft order) is Sam Antonacci (5^th Round, #140 overall) who made a name for himself with Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. Antonacci is playing left field nearly every day for the surprising White Sox, and is hitting .275 with a .369 OBP. He has played five games at second base as well.

There is no doubt that additional players from 2024 will get the call this season. Charlie Condon (#3) got a taste in Colorado last season, but remains in Triple-A as of this writing. The White Sox may have reason to call up left handed pitcher Hagen Smith (#5). Christian Moore (#8) who got a cup of coffee with the Angels last season, may come up again. James Tibbs III, who was selected by San Francisco, then traded to the Red Sox as part of the Rafael Devers deal, and then subsequently traded to the Dodgers for Dustin May, is currently crushing it at Triple-A Oklahoma City. And there are many more who could add to the list and add to the WAR total for this special class of players.

PLAY BALL!!