FSU baseball: Cam Smith and James Tibbs project as top 16 picks in 2024 MLB Draft

Neither player had the postseason everyone hoped for when FSU baseball made it to Omaha for the Men's College World Series. However, the body of work in the 2024 season overall for Cam Smith and James Tibbs is enough to put them among the first players to hear their names called in the 2024 MLB Draft in a week. The 2024 MLB Draft will begin on Sunday, July 14th at 5 p.m. ET in Forth Worth, Texas, and go through July 16th. Nothing is written in stone, but the latest mock draft has James Tibbs going No. 9 to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cam Smith going No. 16 to the Miami Marlins. The slotted bonus for the No. 9 spot was 5.7 million and 4.3 million for the No. 16 spot. The mock draft isn't an exact science and the guys could move up or down based on what teams decide to do. However, both likely go in the first round and become millionaires overnight.

They were called professional hitters frequently throughout the season, especially Tibbs. His power-to-strikeout ratio was off the charts as he only struck out 37 times with 28 home runs and a .488 on-base percentage. Smith traded some power for batting average, leading the team in the latter and hits. Smith led college baseball in hits late into the postseason with 104. His on-base percentage was also .488. Tibbs isn't spectacular on defense in the outfield but improved tremendously over the past two years. Smith was solid at third base defensively, with only seven errors, and made difficult players look easy most of the time. It's difficult to ascend to the majors, even as high draft picks, but these two players have the goods offensively to make it happen, especially since they have advanced approaches at the plate. FSU will have a hard time replacing their offensive production, but there's a reason why they'll get selected in the first round.