JJ Wetherholt Projected to be No. 1 Overall Pick

Is the West Virginia shortstop the best player in the 2024 MLB Draft?

Christopher Hall

The 2024 MLB First-Year Player Draft is a little under a month away and West Virginia's JJ Wetherholt appears to be in a great position to be one of the top five or so picks.

In Baseball America's latest mock draft, they have Wetherholt going to the Cleveland Guardians with the No. 1 overall pick. WVU has never produced a number one pick with the highest selection being Alek Manoah (11th overall) in 2019 by the Toronto Blue Jays.

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Many tabbed Wetherholt as the No. 1 pick this time a year ago after he led the nation in hitting with a .449 batting average. He was named a finalist for the Dick Howser trophy, a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, and a consensus All-American in addition to being the Big 12 Conference's player of the year.

Expectations for Wetherholt were sky high entering the 2024 season and rightfully so. Unfortunately, he suffered a hamstring injury in the opening month and missed 24 games. It took him a little bit of time to get back into his groove, but he still pieced together a strong junior campaign posting a .331 average to go with eight homers and 30 RBI.

The 2024 MLB Draft will begin on July 14th in Arlington, Texas.

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