2024 MLB Draft: Four potential picks who should rise up board after standout seasons, including LSU lefty

The Major League Baseball amateur draft is just a few weeks away: the Cleveland Guardians, for the first time in franchise history, will make the No. 1 selection on Sunday, July 14. most recently in 1992, when they selected Paul Shuey, a right-hander from the University of North Carolina.

As part of the lead-up to the draft, CBS Sports has spent the last few weeks analyzing the draft class from every angle. This is included ranking the top 30 players in the classand, more recently, analyzing who has the best chance of reaching first place. Every summer, we make a point of highlighting a few players whose stock appears to be rising, although not enough to crack the top 30.

Predictably, given the headline above, this is what you’ll find in this article: Four players we’re in a higher position with now than we were at the start of the season.

With all that fine print out of the way, let’s get down to business. (Note that players are presented in alphabetical order.)

1. Gage Jump, LHP, LSU

Jump’s name should be familiar to dedicated readers; we’ve covered him since 2021, when he was an up-and-coming prep from California with a commitment to UCLA. Unfortunately, it’s been difficult to define his actions due to how little he’s released in recent years. He made seven starts in 2022, then underwent Tommy John surgery that ended his 2023 campaign. Jump returned to the mound this spring, appearing 17 times (15 starts) and compiling a 3.47 ERA and a scratched to walk 4.59. He punctuated his season in the SEC tournament by giving up seven one-run innings against Georgia. The jumper is shorter (he’s listed at 6 feet), but he has a quality arsenal and it’s possible he could fall off the board at some point in the first 50 picks.

2. Kash Mayfield, LHP, Elk HS (OK)

Mayfield has a good chance of being selected in the first round. He’s a physical lefty (listed at 6-foot-4) capable of playing into the high 90s despite a delivery that looks like he’s playing ball. He also demonstrated sensitivity to spin, giving teams plenty of right-tail results to dream about. It’s his left-tail results — those more commonly associated with hard-throwing prep pitchers — that have kept him outside the top 30. However, we doubt he’ll make it to Oklahoma State.

3. Wyatt Sanford, SS, Independence HS (TX)

Sanford is a left-handed hitter with the glove to remain at shortstop for a long time. Scouts are split on their evaluations of his bat, and a team at the upper end of the projections could take him in the first round or supplemental round. Sanford’s father, Chance, was a 27th round pick and played in 19 big league games in the late 90s. We’ll see if Wyatt can match or surpass that big league service time, but we’re confident he’s doing great, much higher in the draft.

4. Ryan Sloan, RHP, York HS (IL)

As with Mayfield, it’s easy to imagine Sloan going somewhere in the first round. He’s a physical right-hander who already looks like a big-league pitcher. He has a promising arsenal, starting with a hard fastball, and has shown enough promise with his secondary pitches to project him as a potential mid-rotation starter. The usual caveats apply to prep right-handers, but there’s almost no chance he’ll find himself on Wake Forest’s campus in the fall.