2024 Bonus Pool Talk + Walking Through Our First Staff Draft

Baseball America

Carlos and Peter hop on the pod to talk draft.

The two discuss the recently announced slot values and bonus pools for the 2024 draft. How does having more than $18 million dollars in pool money impact a team like the Guardians picking 1-1? Other teams like the D-backs have a relatively large amount of money to work with considering their first pick, while the Cardinals are on the other end of the spectrum with relatively little inside the top 10.

After that the two talk through a staff draft that they did with JJ Cooper, Geoff Pontes and Ben Badler. Which picks were surprises? What was our thought process for each of our individual picks? And how does the class seem to be shaping up now?

Finally Peter gives a preview of the 2026 college class after dropping his first ranking of that group on the site this week.

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Time Stamps

4:00 Bonus Pool overview

7:20 Why the D-backs are a team to watch at the back of the draft

11:15 How Cleveland and Cincinnati have operated differently with pool money

16:47 Staff draft conversation begins

18:00 Peter’s 1-1 rationale

19:24 Carlos’s 1-5 dilemma

24:40 The first high school player off the board at 10

33:10 Peter pops the first high school pitcher

46:20 Staff draft wrap and overall thoughts

48:20 Peter’s 2026 college class overview

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