Three Tigers Taken on Night One of the MLB Draft

Tommy Tanks and Gage Jump both get picked by Oakland, Luke Holman is off to Cincinatti

Day one of the 2024 MLB Draft has come and gone and three former Tigers all heard their names called within the draft’s first 75 picks.

Tommy White was the first Tiger picked as White went 40th overall to the Oakland Athletics. Luke Holman went next as LSU’s ace went 71st overall to the Cincinatti Reds, and Gage Jump went two picks later as the A’s took their second Tiger of the night at pick number 73.

White went later than expected which is disappointing, especially since he was considered a top-20 prospect heading into the draft. LSU had produced a first round pick in each of the last two drafts but the streak will not continue. Regardless of how highly he got picked, White leaves Baton Rouge as one of the most feared sluggers in collegiate baseball history. His 75 career homers is good for eighth all time and he has the most of any player in the 21st century. If you want to relive all 48 of White’s homers as a Tiger, Evan painstakingly ranked them. Hopefully White will be able to serve up some Tommy Tanks in Oakland or Sacramento or Vegas or wherever the hell the A’s end up.

Holman and Jump also went a little later than projected. Holman was viewed as the No. 45 prospect, while Jump was ranked 62. Holman went 9-4 for LSU this season with a 2.75 ERA, while Jump was 6-2 with a 3.47 ERA.

LSU came into the draft with one of the most highly coveted recruiting classes so naturally there were going to be draft casualties and we saw that play out. LSU’s top two commits went in the first round: SS/OF Konnor Griffin was picked 9th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, while lefty pitcher Cam Caminti was picked 24th overall by the Atlanta Braves. Lefty pitcher Boston Bateman, the No. 6 prospect in LSU’s class, went in the second round at pick number 52 by the San Diego Padres.

But LSU might be able to hold on to more of its highly coveted class than previously expected. Last month Derek Curiel took his name out of the draft and that was a huge win for Jay Johnson as Curiel is the No. 10 overall high school prospect in the class of 2024. Curiel is an outfielder from California and projects to play centerfield.

Things got even better for LSU as righty pitcher William Schmidt announced a few hours before the draft started that he too would be withdrawing his name from the draft.

If getting Curiel is a steal, then getting Schmidt is a flat out coup by Jay Johnson. Schmidt, from right down the road at Catholic High, is the No. 5 overall prospect in the 2024 class by PerfectGame and he now holds the honor of the highest ranked prospect to ever make it to campus. Expect him to contend for a weekend rotation spot as soon as this upcoming season and he very easily could be your Friday night arm in 2026 and 2027.

Tomorrow begins rounds 3-10 of the MLB Draft and the draft will recommence at 1:00. Griffin Herring and Jared Jones could hear their names called tomorrow and if either player does, that means they’ve agreed to terms with that team and will sign. So if you’re hoping one or both comes back to LSU next spring keep your fingers crossed.