Analysis of 8 Sacramento-area players selected in the 2024 MLB Draft. Why no local JuCo picks?

The Major League Baseball amateur draft began in 1965 with the final draft beginning on July 14 and ending on Tuesday. It lasted 20 rounds with 615 selections.

The Sacramento region produced eight picks, all straight out of college, including a first-round pick in Malcolm Moore, the pride of McClatchy High School and Stanford.

The MLB draft used to have more than 70 rounds, including a record-high 101 round in 1990 that produced 1,487 selections. That surpassed the record of 88 rounds set in 1989. The draft was further reduced to 40 rounds in 2019. In 2020, it dropped to a record low of five rounds due to COVID, when high school and college seasons were wiped out due to the pandemic.

The draft has lasted 20 rounds since 2021.

Only one junior college player from talent-rich California was taken this week, with right-handed power pitcher Will Gagnon from Reedley College in Fresno County going in the 14th round to the Los Angeles Dodgers. This wasn’t so much a reflection of California suddenly having a talent slump at the JC level, but rather a continuing trend for MLB teams to target four-year players.

A closer look at local yield in 2024:

Malcolm Moore

Round: 1st

Position: Catcher

Team: Texas Rangers

General choice: 30

Local roots: McClatchy High School/Stanford

Remark: The 23rd first-round MLB pick out of the Sacramento region showed strength at the plate and leadership behind it. The 2022 Sacramento Bee Player of the Year hit 16 homers for Stanford in 2024 and competes with relentless positivity.

Ryan Stafford

Round: 5th

Position: Catcher

Team: Baltimore Orioles

General choice: 160

Local roots: Folsom HS/Cal Poly

Remark: Stafford was a three-year starter for Cal Poly and won the Big West Defensive Player of the Year award in 2024. He is Cal Poly’s all-time leading doubles player and was named a Bee All-Metro player. His defense impressed MLB scouts.

Ryan Gallagher

Round: 6th

Position: Pitcher

Team: Chicago Cubs

General choice: 182

Local roots: Granite Bay HS/UC Santa Barbara

Remark: Gallagher looms large at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds. He earned All-American honors in 2024 by going 10-1 with a 2.22 ERA with 96 strikeouts and just 25 walks. He didn’t play in 2023 and went 8-0 in 2022.

Anthony Susac

Round: 8th

Position: Pitcher

Team: Texas Rangers

General choice: 255

Local roots: Jesuits HS/Arizona

Remark: Going by the nickname “Tonko,” at 6-3 and 220 pounds, Susac was a tank as a starter or out of the bullpen as a three-year cog for the Wildcats, while also earning Pac-12 academic honors. He made an early impression as a Jesuit freshman. His cousin, Daniel Susac, was a 2022 first-round pick by the A’s.

Steven Brooks

Round: 11th

Position: Pitcher

Team: Boston Red Sox

General choice: 327

Local roots: Cosumnes Oak HS/Cal Poly

Remark: Brooks, a late bloomer as a pitcher after showing promise as a hitter in high school, has blossomed with the potential to grow to 6-6 and 210 pounds. He started 31 games and made 43 appearances in three seasons at Cal Poly, going 9-1 with 154 strikeouts in 178.2 innings and just 54 walks.

JR Bachelor

Round: 14th

Position: Infielder

Team: Toronto Blue Jays

General choice: 427

Local roots: Granite Bay HS/Nevada

Remark: Freethy, a two-year starter in college, hit 10 home runs, drove in 37, had 18 doubles and led the team with 45 runs in 2024 while excelling on defense. He led the Sierra Foothill League in batting and hits as a high school senior in 2019.

Andrés Galan

Round: 17th

Position: Pitcher

Team: Rays from Tampa Bay

General choice: 516

Local roots: Franklin HS/Cal

Remark: Galan was a two-year starter for Cal and looked like a promising prospect at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds. He was 5-2 in 2024 and 3-2 in 2023. The Bee’s 2021 large-school player of the year had a .385 batting average as a senior at Franklin and went 7-3.

Cam Walty

Round: 20th

Position: Pitcher

Team: Cleveland Guardians

General choice: 595

Local roots: Cosumnes Oaks HS/Arizona

Remark: Earned third-team All-American honors as an Arizona senior, a Pac-12-best 8-2 in 14 starts with just 13 walks in 90.1 innings. He went 5-1 in 2023 after winning nine games in two seasons at Nevada. He was the first Division I baseball signee in Cosumnes Oaks High School history.