2024 CBA Mock Draft – Picks 1-10

R1P1 – Carolina Aces select Corey “Wrench” Youngblood, SP Grayson

The Aces grab an Ace. After having the worst season in CBA history, the former Silver League team gets the #1 overall pick, much to the chagrin of the bottom of the Bronze League table. Carolina barely had a starting pitcher with a sub-6.00 ERA last season, a big contributing factor to earning the title of worst team in the CBA. Grayson fixes that hole immediately.

Featuring three plus pitches, Grayson has been attacking hitters in the NJCAA his entire career. While his stuff won’t completely blow you away, his ability to locate his pitches is what will make him a successful pitcher in the Bronze League. Some scouts question his intelligence – he was unable to secure an NCAA scholarship due to his grades – but this is likely something Carolina can look past.

R1P2 – Bay Area Pandas select Nick Pankow, SS Oregon State

Bay Area plays in one of the most pitching friendly stadiums in the league, and it showed in 2023 with one of the worst offensive outputs in the CBA. The pitching wasn’t horrible, so the Pandas will likely be targeting an offensive weapon at #2.

Pankow is much more than just an offensive weapon: his Defense is DDD-award caliber today. Scouts say that his power output will likely be the only weakness in the shortstop’s game, and even that has the potential of being a plus tool for the young man. He’s the best pure hitter in the draft, and likely the best defender at shortstop as well. Panda’s knock this one out of the park at #2.

R1P3 – Austin Outlaws select Dan Emery, SP Laredo College

Almost the exact inverse of Bay Area’s situation, Austin has likely traded up in the draft to select a top arm. Just missing out on Youngblood, the Outlaws will be happy if Emery falls to them at #3.

Featuring six plus-plus pitches, it’s easy to see Emery’s Junior College success translating easily to the CBA. Each of his offerings is in the conversation for most funky pitches in college baseball. Due to his unorthodox delivery, Emery is able to get different looks on each of his pitches, effectively doubling his repertoire. Coaches love his team-first attitude, and scouts were impressed with his production in 2023. Austin gets their ace of the future.

 

R1P4 – DC Eagles select Aaron McMahon, SP San Diego 16U Rhinos

The Eagles have quietly been engineering one of the league’s best rebuilding efforts, and are in pure best player available territory with the fourth pick. The best player available also happens to fit a need for the youthful organization. With staff ace Aaron Hannah becoming more and more of an injury liability each season, the Eagles will want to try to shore up their pitching staff. Adding another Aaron to the ranks is exactly what this club needs. At only 17, it’s unlikely McMahon will contribute right away. But should everything with the DC rebuild go according to plan, he would be ready just as the Eagle’s Premier League window opens up.

McMahon is a smart pitcher, relying on his screwball and veteran-like craftiness to get hitters out at the high school level. There’s not much strike-throwing ability there just yet, but the arm angle and effectiveness of the screwball should be enough to get him by in the minors while he builds up his other skills. DC has to like this kid and the fact that he won’t be throwing his arm out any time soon.

R1P5 – Indianapolis Hawks select Jason Isley, LF San Jose 18U Falcons

Indianapolis lost a tough relegation series to fall into the Bronze League after a tough 2023 season. With three of their top pitchers loaned to Silver League powerhouse Cincinnati, it was always an uphill battle for the Hawks to maintain their spot in the Silver League. But they get their ace in Ron Pettit back for 2024, and you’ve got to think they’ll be one of the best Bronze League teams this season.

For that reason, this is a best player available pick for the Hawks. Isley is a young projectable power hitter with great strikezone discipline and a decent arm in the outfield. He likely translates into a DH in the CBA, but if he works on it enough, a team could conceivably turn him into a fringe average fielder. It’s the bat you’re really looking at here – Isley’s game is very well rounded. There have been murmurs of Isley’s dedication to baseball, as his amateur surfing career has taken off a bit more quickly than anyone anticipated it might. Still, Isley has to know the big bucks are in baseball, and I expect him to declare for the draft. If he does, he’s definitely worth a top 5 pick.

 

R1P6 – Salt Lake City selects John Davies, 1B Oklahoma State

After some initial success with an all switch-hitting lineup, the Snappers have found themselves in the middle of the CBA pack. They could go pitching here, and honestly I think that might be a smarter decision when it’s all said and done, but the switch hitting loving Patrick McGuffin falls into a trap in this mock draft.

John Davies is a very solid option at first base. While the Snappers already have a decent first baseman in Jeremy Costanzo, Davies is an immediate upgrade in the field, and would allow the aging Costanzo to be put out to the DH pasture. And he’s a switch hitter! I find it very hard to imagine McGuffin passing on a switch hitter of Davie’s quality, even if this is a bit of a reach. We’ve seen it before, so there’s no reason to expect we won’t see it again.

 

R1P7 – San Diego Skylarks select Bill Madson, RF Saint Paul 14U Penguins

The Skylarks play in the Biggest Lot (thanks to sponsor Big Lots) in the CBA, so we’ve got ourselves a typical good pitching, bad offensive team here. While San Diego could further boost their rotation with a solid pitcher, my money is on the home run swing here.

And what a home run swing this guy has. At 6’6”, Madson is an absolute monster among his peers. He was an All-American power forward at his High School as a freshman, and was recruited by the University of Wisconsin to play Quarterback after only playing a season of football his freshman year. The kid is uber-athletic, and has one of the most natural swings I’ve seen from a kid this young in a long time. Coaches also rave about his plate discipline, although some pitchers have figured out he’s likely to chase the high pitch. There’s some question on whether or not Madson will fully embrace his gift to play baseball, but if he does, the Skylarks will watch him hit home runs for years.

R1P8 – Houston Moondogs select Joe Marshall, C University of Arizona

Houston is a team who has both no glaring holes and no positions of strength. They can easily upgrade most positions on the field in this draft, and that’s exactly what they’ll attempt to do with their top 10 pick.

Jason Mannie is a fine Catcher, but it’s likely that Joe Marshall is an immediate upgrade. His coach at Arizona tabbed him as the smartest player he’s ever coached, and it shows both behind the plate and with a bat in his hand. His calling of games is second to none at the collegiate level, with his pitching staff raving at his ability to call the perfect pitch at the perfect time. And while none of his offensive tools will blow anyone away, his plate discipline exemplifies his baseball IQ. Marshall also has a set of wheels on him, something that has always made him stick out from his fellow catchers. He’s the type of kid and personality you can build a team around, which is exactly what the Moondogs should try to do.

R1P9 – Iowa Predators select Victor Companioni, SP Columbus 18U Walleye

Iowa is a team with a lot of potential in their lineup, and two studs in Ruben and Carlos Rodriguez in the bullpen. The addition of Heri Ortega in the offseason adds some talent to a fairly average rotation, which they’ll likely look to add to in the draft.

With the top level starting pitchers gone, Iowa will turn to the Big Curve. Companioni has one of the biggest curveballs in the draft, and he used it to devastate hitters in 2022. Unfortunately for him, bad luck struck in 2023 to the tune of a 7.81 ERA, a far cry from his 1.29 ERA the year before. Coaches and teammates are quick to point out the bad luck in 2023, a season in which opposing batters had a BABIP of over .400. Everything just seemed to fall or get past his leaky infield. It’s clear Companioni has the stuff to succeed at the next level, but he’ll need a little help from Lady Luck.

 

R1P10 – Austin Outlaws select Tyler Harper, 3B Vanderbilt

With their first top 10 pick, Austin went pitching. It’s only symmetrically acceptable if they go after a hitter at #10 OVR, and they’ve got a good target to go after in Harper.

With current 3B Jason Nesmith set to retire at any given moment, Harper provides the team a future at the hot corner, along with the ability to fill in elsewhere until that time comes. Harper will need those few seasons in order to get a little better on defense at third, but he projects to be a better defender with a little more work. What you’re getting with Harper is the hit tool. He had a career .400 OBP at Vanderbilt, and could probably slide into the top of most Silver League lineups on day one.