PHOENIX — The future of baseball will be written this weekend as MLB teams gather in Texas for the 2024 MLB Draft.
The draft, which is also known as the Rule 4 or First-Year Player Draft, will be held July 14-16 in conjunction with MLB's All-Star Weekend.
While the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby, the weekend's premier events, will be held at Globe Life Field, the home of the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers, in Arlington, Texas, the draft will be held about 20 miles away at the Fort Worth Stockyards.
MLB Draft explained
The MLB Draft is longer than drafts in most other sports, as it consists of 20 rounds along with several supplemental rounds. There is a round for teams that earned "Prospect Promotion Incentive" picks after the first round. Competitive balance rounds after the first and second rounds and rounds for compensation picks after the first, second and fourth rounds.
The Arizona Diamondbacks and Baltimore Orioles were given Prospect Promotion Incentive picks as last year's AL and NL Rookies of the Year (Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson) were on the teams' Opening Day rosters in 2023 and both were ranked as Top 100 prospects by at least two of three ranking services (MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and ESPN) heading into the season.
Competitive Balance picks are given to teams that are either in one of the 10 smallest markets or 10 smallest revenue pools in MLB. These are the only picks that are allowed to be traded during the MLB Draft.
Compensation picks are given to teams who lose a qualifying free agent.
The top six picks of the draft were determined by a lottery in December. Every team that did not make the playoffs was eligible for the lottery, which was won by the Cleveland Guardians, who came into the lottery having the ninth-best odds of landing the top pick.
The lottery only affects the order of the first round. After that, the order is the reverse of the previous season's regular-season standings for non-playoff teams and the order of finish for playoff teams.
The first two rounds of the draft will be held on July 14, starting at 4 p.m. Arizona time. Rounds 3-10 will be held on July 15, starting at 11 a.m. Arizona time. Rounds 11-20 will be held on July 16 starting at 11 a.m. Arizona time.
How many draft picks do the Arizona Diamondbacks have?
The Arizona Diamondbacks have 22 picks in the 2024 MLB Draft, with four picks on Day One.
As the 2023 World Series runner-up, the D-backs' first pick will be No. 29 overall.
They will only have to wait for one pick before selecting again, as their Prospect Promotion Incentive pick is No. 31.
The D-backs also hold pick No. 35 in Competitive Balance Round A.
In the second round, the D-backs have the second-to-last pick (No. 64 overall).
On Day Two, the D-backs will have eight picks: No. 102 (Round 3, pick 28), No. 132 (Round 4, pick 29), No. 164 (Round 5, pick 28), No. 194 (Round 6, pick 29), No. 224 (Round 7, pick 29), No. 254 (Round 8, pick 29), No. 284 (Round 9, pick 29) and No. 314 (Round 10, pick 29).
On Day Three, the D-backs will have the 29th pick in every round and there will be no supplemental rounds. That means Arizona will have 10 picks (Nos. 344, 374, 404, 434, 464, 494, 524, 554, 584 and 614).
There will be 615 total picks in the draft with the Texas Rangers holding the final selection.
Players with Arizona ties that could be drafted
The MLB Draft is unique in American professional sports as players can be drafted right out of high school.
To be eligible for the draft, players must live in the U.S., a U.S. territory or Canada. Players must be high school graduates and have never played in college, have completed at least one year of junior college, have played at least three years of college baseball or be 21 years old.
High school prospects who are drafted can decline to sign and decide to play in college. They will then be eligible to be re-drafted after their junior year or after they turn 21.
Here's a look at the players with ties to Arizona who could hear their names called in the 2024 MLB Draft.
High School Prospects
- Cam Caminiti, Left-handed pitcher, Saguaro High School (Scottsdale)
- Caminiti is the Arizona player with the best chance of hearing his name called in the first round this year. The Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year in Arizona helped lead Saguaro to its first state championship since 2011 this past spring as he went 9-0 with a 0.93 ERA. He is committed to play college baseball at LSU.
- Caminiti was drafted by the Atlanta Braves with the 24th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft
- Mason Russell, Left-handed pitcher, Casteel High School (Queen Creek)
- Russell helped lead Casteel to the 5A state championship this past spring, which was the school's second-straight state title. He also threw a no-hitter in the National High School Invitational in North Carolina in April. Russell is committed to play college baseball at Arizona.
- Ky McGary, Outfielder, Sandra Day O'Connor High School (Phoenix)
- McGary had a batting average of .397 over two varsity seasons with the Eagles. He also had a .509 OPS, 11 doubles, five triples, a home run and 35 RBI. He was 17 of 22 on stolen bases and had a .976 fielding percentage. He is considered the No. 86 prospect in the nation by Perfect Game and is committed to play college baseball at Arizona State.
- Smith Bailey, Right-handed pitcher, Mountain Ridge High School (Glendale)
- Bailey is the top-ranked righty in Arizona, according to Perfect Game. As a junior at Mountain Ridge in 2023, Bailey went 10-1 with a 1.41 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 64.2 innings. As a senior, Bailey went 3-2 with a 1.20 ERA in 41.0 innings.
- Drew Rogers, Catcher, Hamilton High School (Chandler)
- Rogers played one season in Arizona after transferring from Mounds View High School in Minnesota where he was the 2023 Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year for the state. The Perfect Game All-American hit .429 this past spring at Hamilton with 25 RBI and 10 doubles. Rogers is committed to play college baseball at Georgia Tech.
- Nicholas Montgomery, Catcher/1st baseman, Cypress High School (California)
- Montgomery is part of Arizona State baseball head coach Willie Bloomquist's 2024 recruiting class. He is considered one of the top catchers in the nation and was ranked by Perfect Game as the 34th-best prospect in the country (No. 4 catcher). Montgomery helped lead Cypress High School to the CIF Southern Section championship as a junior.
- Montgomery was drafted by the Atlanta Braves with 161st overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft
- Jake Neely, Right-handed pitcher, Clark High School (San Antonio, Texas)
- Neely is also part of the 2024 recruiting class at ASU. The Texan has pitches that reach into the mid-90s, putting him in the 99.95th percentile for high school prospects. He is considered one of the Top 50 righties in the nation and one of the top 15 players in Texas in the Class of 2024.
ASU Prospects
- Nick McClain, Outfielder
- McClain, a switch-hitter who is originally from California, transferred to ASU from UCLA after the 2022 season. With the Sun Devils, he hit .327 with 20 home runs, 78 RBI and had a .432 on-base percentage. He earned back-to-back Pac-12 Player of the Week honors in May and on May 13 was named the national Player of the Week by D1Baseball, NCAA Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
- McClain was drafted by the Chicago White Sox with the 78th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft
- Ryan Campos, Catcher
- Campos is from Mesa and played high school baseball at Red Mountain High School before heading to Tempe to play for ASU. Campos was named to the All-Pac-12 Team in 2023 and 2024 and during his collegiate career hit .369 with 21 home runs and 110 RBI. His batting average is the 16th-best batting average in ASU history. Campos was a Third-Team All-American this past season, making him the 134th player in ASU history to earn All-American honors.
- Campos was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals with the 109th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft
Arizona Prospects
- Jackson Kent, Left-handed pitcher
- Kent is originally from Hanover Park, Illinois, and played at Lake Park High School, where he holds a record for most strikeouts in a game (18). This past season, he was named as Arizona's Friday night starter and was named to the All-Pac-12 Team. Kent was 3-4 in 2024 with a 4.08 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 86 innings. He ranked second among Arizona pitchers and seventh in the Pac-12 for strikeouts. He was named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week for the first week of the 2024 season.
- Kent was drafted the Washington Nationals with the 108th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft
- Clark Candiotti, Right-handed pitcher
- The son of D-backs broadcaster (and former MLB pitcher) Tom Candiotti, Clark Candiotti ended his collegiate career with the Wildcats in 2024. He played high school baseball at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, where he went 9-2 with 82 strikeouts in 70 innings over his junior and senior seasons. Fun fact, he was also Chaparral's mascot, Firebird. After graduating, Candiotti started his collegiate career at Wichita State before transferring to Grayson County Community College in Kansas, Vernon College in Texas and St. Mary's in California before returning to Arizona to play for the Wildcats. Candiotti started 16 games in 2024, going 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA and a team-high 103 strikeouts. He also threw two complete games. Candiotti was named to the All-Pac-12 Team in 2024.
- Candiotti was drafted by the San Diego Padres with the 135th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft
Grand Canyon Prospects
- Daniel Avitia, Right-handed pitcher
- Avitia played high school baseball at Alhambra High School in Phoenix, which is less than a mile away from GCU. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 19th Round of the 2021 MLB Draft, but chose to play college baseball instead of turning pro. The Avitia family's ties to GCU run deep. Daniel's grandfather helped build the GCU basketball arena and one of his older brothers, David, played baseball at GCU and was signed by the Cubs as an undrafted free agent in 2022. In 2024, Avitia went 2-3 in 11 appearances with a 4.63 ERA. He started six games, had a save and 45 strikeouts.
- Tyler Wilson, Utility
- Wilson, the 2024 Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, played high school baseball at Hamilton High School in Chandler. With the 'Lopes this past season, Wilson hit .378 with 17 home runs and 65 RBI. He was the third player in GCU history to be named the WAC Player of the Year (Garrison Schwartz in 2017 and Quin Cotton in 2018). He played with, but is not related to fellow Lope Jacob Wilson, who was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2023 Draft. Jacob Wilson is currently the Oakland A's top prospect.
- Wilson was drafted by the New York Yankees with the 241st overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft
Other Prospects with ties to Arizona
- Ivan Brethowr, Outfielder, UC Santa Barbara
- Brethowr is originally from Olathe, Kansas, and played at Arizona State before transferring to UC Santa Barbara. In 16 games with ASU, Brethowr hit .290 with a .911 OPS and two home runs.
- Brethowr was drafted by the Chicago Cubs with the 212th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft
- Jaxon Jelkin, Right-handed pitcher, Houston
- Jelkin played junior college baseball at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix before transferring to Houston. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Jelkin was Houston's 2024 Opening Day starter. He struck out six or more batters in five of his seven starts in 2024 before missing the rest of the season due to an injury.
- Jelkin was drafted by the New York Mets with the 263rd overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft
- Josh Randall, Right-handed pitcher, San Diego
- Randall, who is originally from San Juan Capistrano, California, played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Arizona before transferring to San Diego. In 2022, Randall had 14 relief appearances, where he went 1-0 with 15 strikeouts and held batters to a .231 batting average against. He only appeared in one game in 2023 with the Wildcats before getting hurt and then transferring.
- Randall was drafted by the Detroit Tigers with the 85th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft
- Ryland Zaborowski, 1st baseman/3rd baseman, Miami (OH)
- Zaborowski is originally from Orange County, California, but played three years of high school baseball at Basha High School in Chandler. He was First-Team All-State, All-District and All-Region as a senior with the Bears before beginning his collegiate career at GCU. Zaborowski hit .226 in 32 games with the 'Lopes in 2021 before transferring to Yavapai College in Prescott, where he played the 2022 season and hit .379 with three home runs and eight RBI. He transferred to Miami (OH) from Yavapai College. In 2023, Zaborowski played in 52 games with the Redhawks and led the MAC with 20 home runs, which was just one off the school record. He also led the Redhawks in hits, RBI, runs, slugging percentage and OPS in 2023. In 50 games this past season, Zaborowski hit .305 with 10 home runs and 45 RBI.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
12Sports on YouTube
Get the latest news and stories from 12Sports on the 12News YouTube channel. And don't forget to subscribe!
