The Oregon State star and arguably the most skilled hitter in this year’s draft class, Travis Bazzana, became the first second baseman ever to be selected first overall by the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday.
Bazzana, 21, a left-handed hitter, hit.407,.568,.911 and hit 28 home runs in 60 games this season, the most by a Pac-12 player in a quarter of a century. Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations for the Guardians, stated that while Bazzana currently plays second base, he believes he has the athleticism to play other positions, possibly the outfield, which may become necessary in the future given the presence of Andres Gimenez in the major leagues. Antonetti stated, “We view him to be a dynamic player.” “He’s a guy who can really affect the baseball, controls the strike zone well, makes excellent swing decisions, and rarely swings and misses.” We believe he has the potential to have a wide range of effects on the game. The Wake Forest right-hander who has been compared to Paul Skenes, Chase Burns, went second to the Cincinnati Reds, while the hard-throwing Arkansas lefty, Hagen Smith, went No. 1 to the Chicago White Sox. 5. Charlie Condon, a Georgia third baseman who went to the Colorado Rockies at number three and was announced as an outfielder, and Nick Kurtz, a Wake Forest first baseman who went to the Oakland Athletics at number one, were selected between the draft’s top two pitchers. 5. Florida two-way player Jac Caglianone, who is broadly expected to adhere to hitting in the stars, went 6th to the Kansas City Royals. Players who attended the draft at Cowtown Coliseum, a popular rodeo venue in the Fort Worth Stockyards, were selected as the next two picks: West Virginia shortstop JJ Wetherholt and the St. Christian Moore, a second baseman from Tennessee, joins the Los Angeles Angels from the St. Louis Cardinals. “A five-tool player who can do it all — hits, runs well, steals, and play anywhere defensively,” Wetherholt said. Only a man who will triumph.” The Angels have developed a reputation for being unusually aggressive with prospects under fourth-year general manager Perry Minasian, who promoted first baseman Nolan Schanuel after just 22 minor league games and shortstop Zach Neto after just 48. Moore’s Tennessee teammate Ben Joyce was also promoted within a year of being selected. Moore said, “Being here is crazy.” “I have always watched it on TV, but I never imagined being in this situation.” The main secondary school player, shortstop Konnor Griffin out of Jackson Prep in Mississippi, didn’t go until No. 9 to the Pittsburgh Privateers, the most recent the main secondary school player has at any point been taken. He was trailed by another shortstop, Seaver Ruler out of Wake Woodland, at No. 10 to the Washington Nationals. King’s rise to the top 10, despite the fact that he is an impressive athlete who may need to adjust his swing, came as a surprise. Condon, in the mean time, was positioned first on ESPN’s rundown of the best 250 draft prospects and was anticipated to go second in ESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel’s most recent fake draft. The 2024 Brilliant Spikes champ fell one spot lower to the Rockies, putting the 6-foot-6 power hitter with an establishment that plays its home games 5,200 feet above ocean level. Bazzana became only the eighth second baseman to be selected in the top 10 and beat out Rickie Weeks, who the Milwaukee Brewers selected with the second overall pick in 2003, for the first pick at his position. It was almost miraculous that the Guardians were able to select him at all. They went into the second draft lottery of Major League Baseball with only a 2% chance of picking first, but they ended up picking first for the first time in their franchise’s history. Their $18.3 million draft pool, which groups spread through the initial 10 rounds, is the biggest since the reward pool period started in 2012. The Guardians and Bazzana’s representatives have already reached an agreement on the terms of his signing bonus, according to Antonetti, but specifics still need to be finalized. The top pick is worth $10.57 million. Bazzana stated, “I never really knew if [No. 1] was possible, and at least a couple years ago I didn’t really think that that was going to be in the picture.” “I never really knew if [No. 1] was possible.” “It probably only became apparent during the Cape Cod [League] the previous year. I just tried to get out there and have a wonderful year. It had a side effect like this. Right now, I’m just ecstatic.” The 2024 draft denoted whenever the initial two determinations first were brought into the world external the US. Bazzana hails from Australia, having played in the Australian Baseball Association at only 15 years of age, and is the primary Australian player taken No. 1, while Consumes was brought into the world in Italy. Only three players born outside the United States had ever reached the top two spots prior to this year’s draft: Les Rohr, who went to the New York Mets in 1965, Pedro Alvarez, who went to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2008, and Carlos Correa, who went to the Houston Astros in 2012. Burns was the ACC Pitcher of the Year and a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award after going 10-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 191 strikeouts in 100 innings as a junior this season. Despite having little use for his third and fourth pitches, Burns has a powerful fastball and breaking ball. Burns commented, “I was pretty surprised” about finishing second overall. I really didn’t know what to think. I somewhat got a fast call. Simply put, I’m very excited.” Texas A&M outfielder Braden Montgomery went to the Boston Red Sox, Florida State outfielder James Tibbs III went to the San Francisco Giants, Florida State third baseman Cam Smith went to the Chicago Cubs, Mississippi State switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje went to the Seattle Mariners, and high school shortstop Bryce Rainer went to the Detroit Tigers. The Mariners’ director of amateur scouting, Scott Hunter, stated that the team would let Cijntje decide whether or not he wants to continue pitching with both arms, despite the fact that Cijntje is thought to be a better pitcher from the right side and mostly gave up throwing left-handed in the second half of the previous season. The Atlanta Braves selected left-handed pitcher Cam Caminiti at number 24 as the first high school pitcher in draft history. This makes Cam Caminiti the latest high school pitcher to be selected. Caminiti is the cousin of Ken Caminiti, the 1996 MVP winner and longtime third baseman. The initial two rounds were held on Sunday, and the remaining 18 rounds were scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. The Minnesota Twins’ selection of Kansas State shortstop Kaelen Culpepper at No. 1 was one of the draft’s highlights. 21. Culpepper, who is tied with Jordan Wicks for the highest pick in Kansas State history, wept as he stood on stage with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and received thunderous applause from the fans present. “At the point when you glance back at the excursion that I’ve experienced, that multitude of difficult situations, all the affliction I’ve had to deal with – – it simply implies so a lot,” Culpepper told the group minutes after the fact. “This is what it produced right here.”
