Cleveland Guardians Front Office Reveals Mindset For MLB Draft
The Cleveland Guardians organization will do something its never done before on the evening of July 14: select the No. 1 pick in the MLB First Year Player Draft.
That event is less than two weeks away and President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti detailed the front office’s mindset heading into the draft, including the opportunity to take the first pick.
“We look at this is an extraordinary and exciting opportunity for us,” said Antonetti.
“I mean, oftentimes, when you’re thinking about your first pick you’re trying to guess who’s going to be off the board before you get an opportunity to select. This year we don’t have to guess, you know, we have control over that. Now, there are a lot of dynamics at play, a lot of things that will go into consideration for the first pick, but we know we don’t have to rely on other teams.”
Everyone wants to know who the Guardians will select with the No. 1 overall pick. At this point, those conversations are still ongoing and that dialogue will continue leading up to the draft.
What Antonetti did reveal is that the organization is excited about just how deep this year’s draft class is.
“It’s really hard to say. I think one of the things we’re really excited about with this draft class is there’s a number of good, high-quality players available to us with the first pick. And we think that will be the case actually with subsequent picks we have after the first pick. So, that’s probably the best direction I can give you is that a group that we would be excited about bringing into the organization with the first pick.”
We’ve already seen this depth in different mock drafts. Some analysts think the Guardians will take Oregon State 2B Travis Bazzana, while others believe it will be Georgia OF Charlie Condon. West Virginia INF JJ Wetherholt could certainly be in the mix, too.
There are multiple factors that go into deciding who will be the No. 1 overall pick while also managing the other 19 rounds of the draft. Antonetti revealed a few of those aspects with reporters on Wednesday.
“First and foremost, I think what we are trying to solve for organizationally is use the resources and draft capital we have available to us to bring in the most talented group possible, and that’s really what we’re solving for. We think when we look up at the end of the draft, we will feel good about the group of players we bring into the organization.”
Of course, finances and slot value are key factors in the MLB Draft, and Antontti explained how the Guardians plan to approach this crucial detail while also having the first overall.
“That’s why people ask, ‘Who are you taking with the first pick?’ It’s a combination of factors for us because what we’re seeking to do is optimize that total pool. Some of that is based upon the ability in our assessment of the player, but also how much it would take to sign that player as we think about the totality of the group and might be able to use those resources.”
This isn’t to say that money will be the only motivating factor in their decision on who to take first overall. Antonetti made sure to emphasize they’ve offered higher or lower than the slot value with different picks in the past drafts, and that could always be the case here.
We’ll have to wait and see who Cleveland selects on July 14. Either way, it’s an exciting time to be a Guardians fan, given how well the major league team is playing and the bright future that lies ahead for the organization.
TOMMY WILD