Guardians' Joey Oakie: Cleveland bound at pick No. 84

The Guardians selected Oakie with the 84th overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft.

A prep right-hander out of Iowa, Oakie didn't face high-level competition even by the standard of high-school pitchers, but he impressed the Guardians enough with his makeup and his mid-80s slider -- which already grades out as a plus pitch -- to come off the board in the third round. In addition to the slider, Oakie mixes in a fastball that sits around 92-to-94 miles per hour, but his arsenal is shallow beyond those two offerings. Though he has a slender build at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Oakie has a quick, low-effort delivery that could allow him to stay on a starter's development track during his professional career.