Mock Draft Roundup: College hitting still likely for the Athletics

Travis Bazzana, Braden Montgomery, and Nick Kurtz are the three names linked to Oakland

We are a day away from the 2024 MLB Draft, and finally getting to see who the Athletics will add to their organization with the fourth overall pick. The mock drafts have been flying out over the past couple of days, and this will be where we compile what has already been posted along with all of the day of draft mock drafts we will see tomorrow. I will update this article as any further news comes out, but for right now there seems to be a split on outcomes for Oakland.

Camp 1: Travis Bazzana

The general shape of this draft at the top seems to deal with exactly what the Guardians do with the first pick. If the asking price for Travis Bazzana is too high it seems Cleveland may go with West Virginia shortstop JJ Wetherholt. This then slides Charlie Condon to two with Colorado basically universally seen as the landing spot for Wake Forest righty Chase Burns, and Travis Bazzana finds his way into the eager arms of the Oakland Athletics.

Kiley McDaniel posted this as a possibly outcome in his mock draft for ESPN on Friday, and the Athletics would be expected to give Bazzana their full slot with the pick. McDaniels has an overall different top three though, with it being Jac Caglianone at two and Charlie Condon at three with Chase Burns then being an option for Oakland. I could see Burns being intriguing given Oakland’s lack of pitching, but McDaniel notes there is little buzz for him here and it would be overthinking things to consider Burns over Bazzana. Maybe you have the conversation of the option is Caglianone, but Bazzana is seen as the clearly superior talent and would be an immediate impact bat that could get to the big leagues next season.

Carlos Collazo and Baseball America have also consistently seen JJ Wetherholt as the pick at number one of late, with Wetherholt being the pick based on the strategy Cleveland could employ to save their huge bonus pool and really pull in more premium talent with late picks. Collazo also mentions Montgomery and Kurtz as options for Oakland if Bazzana isn’t around, but I agree with the assessment that an underslot deal wouldn’t make much sense if they can get a player like Bazzana.

Camp 2: Not Travis Bazzana

It seems almost like it’s 50/50 at this point that the Athletics get Bazzana. I guess you would have to say 40%, since three of the projections have Cleveland taking Bazzana, and only McDaniel had any mention of Oakland and Caglianone.

Eric Longenhagen is more limited on posting mock drafts, so this is the first we’ve gotten from him. Longenhagen has Oakland going with Braden Montgomery, and even though on my personal top 10 I have Kurtz rated higher I think Montgomery makes more sense for Oakland. There is more defensive versatility with regards to Montgomery, and while it is also a riskier pick it comes with the potential to grab an underslot option with a similar ceiling to the top four in the draft.

The final two projections both had Nick Kurtz to Oakland, with this (and Montgomery) likely being a pretty significant underslot deal to facilitate flexibility in later rounds. Jim Callis at MLB Pipeline mentions that Oakland would “snap up Bazzana if the Guardians go in a different direction” and that the A’s have leverage with both Kurtz and Montgomery as both are seen as falling in the draft — Montgomery due to his broken ankle. I find it odd that in no draft is there even mention that Wetherholt, who would likely be cheaper than Bazzana and the best available player, is a likely option at fourth, though Longenhagen says Oakland would prefer Bazzana to Wetherholt.

Finally the Athletic and Keith Law, who also has Oakland with Kurtz. Both McDaniel and Collazo mentioned that the connection between the A’s and Kurtz is weakening (Collazo says it is picking up steam again, however), but there still remain some who believe he is a legitimate option here mostly due to the savings they could get picking him. Law firmly believes Caglianone is not being considered, and mentions that the A’s could “surprise with Wetherholt” which is basically the closest we have of any confirmation that Oakland is even considering him.