2024 College World Series: MLB draft prospects to watch including Jac Caglianone, Ryan Waldschmidt and more

The 2024 NCAA Men’s College World Series will begin this afternoon. Eight teams, including the Tennessee Volunteers, will compete in Omaha, Nebraska, after advancing beyond Regionals and Super Regionals. The last surviving team becomes this year’s national champion. (You can find the full schedule and tournament results by clicking here.)

While the Men’s College World Series is an attractive event in its own right, Major League Baseball fans have an added incentive to check out the tournament. That’s because Omaha often serves as an introduction for players who will soon turn pro – and by soon we mean that the 2024 MLB The draft is literally a month away, with the Cleveland Guardians scheduled to make the No. 1 pick for the first time in franchise history on Sunday, July 14th.

Chief among those pro prospects is University of Florida two-way star Jac Caglianone. You may have heard of him – he’s been nationally relevant since last season, when he stole the headlines from first-round picks Wyatt Langford and Hurston Waldrep.

As the College World Series begins, we decided to highlight at least one player per team who, like Caglione, has a chance to become an early selection in next month’s draft.

1. Jac Caglianone, Florida

If you’ve somehow avoided the Caglianone hype, know that he’s an excellent left-handed hitter and pitcher. He has scored more than 60 times over the past two seasons, while also showing the ability to throw his fastball into the low 90s. We here at CBS Sports consider him one of the top prospects in this year’s class, albeit exclusively as a hitter and not without reservations about how his game will transfer due to zone management issues. As strong and skilled as Caglianone is at putting bat to ball (he has struck out in 8% of his plate appearances), he has a nasty tendency to strike out everything. Will he be able to be as successful at the next level as he was in college?

2. James Tibbs III, Florida State

The Seminoles got to see two of their hitters go in the first round. Outfielder James Tibbs III has improved in consecutive seasons and has been identified by scouts as someone who could go above and beyond for a team looking to make a deal — perhaps even a top-10 pick. Tibbs offers a good foundation of strength and discipline, making him an interesting prospect in the outfield regardless of the financial implications. Meanwhile, third baseman Cameron Smith showed that last summer’s breakout in the Cape Cod League was legitimate. He has great power and a strong arm, although not everyone is convinced he will remain at third base for long.

3. Ryan Waldschmidt, Kentucky

Outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt is the name to know here. He entered the spring as an analytical favorite thanks to his quality batted ball and zone management skills. Since then, scouts have warmed to him as they’ve come to better appreciate his sneaky athleticism — he’s stolen more than 20 bases this season and stands out as a solid to good defender at a corner position. Waldschmidt is entering the final stretch with helium, and it is possible that he will go into the top half of the first round.

4. Vance Honeycutt, North Carolina

The Tar Heels’ roster includes one of the draft’s biggest wildcards. Center fielder Vance Honeycutt has at times looked like a potential top-10 pick thanks to his excellent glove in center field and his above-average pop. Unfortunately, Honeycutt’s swing-and-miss tendencies have resulted in a 28% strikeout rate this season, which has teams concerned about his projected hitting tool. A club convinced they can help Honeycutt find his star could beat him in the first round.

5. Jacob Cozart, North Carolina State

The top pro prospect on this Wolfpack team is catcher Jacob Cozart. He is a promising outfielder who has hit .300/.430/.604 with 19 home runs this season. It’s notable that Cozart saw his production decline drastically during conference play (he posted a .774 OPS against ACC foes). Teams give additional weight to conference play, at least for players stationed in power conferences, as a sort of proxy for the player’s performance against top competition. As such, Cozart will likely be penalized for this withdrawal and could end up being the fourth or fifth college backup called up.

6.Christian Moore, Tennessee

As with Florida State, the Volunteers have two potential first-round picks on their roster. Second baseman Christian Moore is considered the better of the two. He’s coming off a 29-homer campaign that has scouts overlooking some deficiencies in his game, including his keystone defense. Third baseman Billy Amick would also make it to the first round, depending on how good teams are and his chances of remaining at the hot corner. Amick hit .310/.394/.667 with 21 home runs, but in addition to the positional issues mentioned above, he also posted a rough strikeout-to-walk ratio during SEC play that could see him slip into the supplemental round.

7. Braden Montgomery, Texas A&M

Outfielder Braden Montgomery was a potential top-five pick in this year’s draft thanks to his well-above-average power. Unfortunately, he suffered an ankle injury during the Super Regionals game when he awkwardly slid into home plate, which will prevent him from playing in the Men’s College World Series. Anyone watching an Aggies game hoping to see one of the top picks in action might want to take a look at fellow outfielder Jace Laviolette — he should enter next spring’s contention for a top-five selection after a 28-homer campaign run.

8. Griff O’Ferrall, Virginia

The Cavaliers’ top pro prospect is shortstop Griff O’Ferrall. He’s a contact hitter who has struck out just eight times in his college career and doesn’t have noisy tools. Hitting catcher Ethan Anderson, who previously had to play first base in deference to Kyle Teel (a first-round pick last summer), also deserves mention. To Anderson’s credit, he hit .333/.438/.517 with eight home runs and nine more RBIs than strikeouts this season. To his disadvantage, he performed abysmally in last summer’s Cape Cod League, batting just .195/.253/.293 in 22 games. It seems highly unlikely that he will go in the first round.