The Colorado Rockies are set to make their first-round selection in the 2024 MLB Draft with the 3rd overall pick.
Exploring Potential Fits for the Colorado Rockies in the 1st Round of the 2024 MLB Draft
The Colorado Rockies will pick third overall in next month’s MLB Draft, and has the Rox going with Wake Forest right-hander Chase Burns in the first round in their latest mock draft, which dropped on Monday.
“Last year’s first-round pick, Chase Dollander, has pitched well so far in 2024 at High-A and is looking like a savvy pick. Burns’ arm talent is simply more difficult for a team like the Rockies to acquire outside of the draft”
Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter has Colorado going in a different direction with Florida’s Jac Caglianone at No. 3 in his most recent mock draft. However, Reuter does write that grabbing a college arm makes more sense for the Rockies, but … well, :
“The logical move would be to grab whichever top college arm they prefer between Chase Burns and Hagen Smith in an effort to find a homegrown rotation piece, but this is an organization that rarely uses logic.”
Jonathan Mayo’s most recent mock draft at MLB.com, released late last week, has Burns going second overall to the Cincinnati Reds. That would leave Charlie Condon on the board for Colorado, with Travis Bazzana going to Cleveland with the first overall selection. If Colorado was to miss out on Burns because the Reds decided they preferred a college arm to the power threat of Condon, the Rockies would have a no-brainer decision on their hands at No. 3.
If they still preferred a college arm, they would have to consider Arkansas southpaw Hagen Smith, but I think it would be too hard to pass on Condon if he fell into their lꦿaps at No. 3.
Mayo’s prospecting partner at MLB.com, Jim Callis, has Bazzana and Condon going 1-2 to the Ohio teams and the Rockies taking Chase Burns at No. 3.
“The Rockies appear to favor pitchers over hitters and seem to prefer Burns to Smith after both broke the D-I record for strikeout rate in a season (Smith at 17.3 per nine innings, Burns at 17.2). Neither pitched well while their teams got eliminated in NCAA regional play last weekend, but that doesn’t affect their Draft status. It’s unclear whether Colorado would take an arm over Condon or Bazzana.”
Mike Axisa has the Rockie🥂s going with Burns at 🦄No. 3 as well in his latest mock draft over at CBS Sports.
Axisa writes, “My guess is the Rockies would not pass on Bazzana or Condon if either is still on the board here. They’re not in our mock draft, so we’ll give Colorado the best pitcher in the draft class in Burns. He’s not Paul Skenes, but Burns is dynamic and would be the top pitcher in the draft most years. Colorado used top-10 picks on pitchers in 2022 (Gabriel Hughes at No. 10) and 2023 (Chase Dollander at No. 9), so they’ll willing to roll the dice on arms up high. They’re hoarding high-end arm talent as they try to solve the pitching dilemma at Coors Field.”
Unless the Rockies have the chance to land Bazzana or Condon, it seems like a college arm is the likeliest route for them, and Chase Burns seems like the consensus pick to land in Colorado. It’s not a bad pick for the Rockies, who could always use more homegrown pitching playing 81 games a season at Coors Field. Or, you know, to trade in four to five years.
