Guardians take 2B Travis Bazzana
with top pick in draft
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[July 15, 2024]
When the Cleveland Guardians took Travis Bazzana as the No. 1
pick in Sunday night's MLB Draft, the Oregon State star had trouble
finding the words to express what it meant to him.
"Just one of those moments that you can't put into words," he said.
"Unbelievable."
Kind of like his 2024 stats. The Pac-12 Player of the Year, Bazzana
batted .407 with 28 homers and 66 RBIs for the Beavers, who advanced
to a super regional as the No. 15 national seed before losing a
three-game series at second-seeded Kentucky.
Bazzana is the first second baseman to ever be selected with the No.
1 overall pick. He set an Oregon State single-season record by
scoring 84 runs and slugging .911. Bazzana also stole 16 bases and
boasted a .568 on-base percentage, earning consensus first-team
All-America status.
It was the first time that Cleveland had the top overall selection.
It earned it after winning the draft lottery despite not having the
worst regular-season record last year.
The Cincinnati Reds followed by drafting Wake Forest right-hander
Chase Burns, who led Division I this season with 191 strikeouts in
100 innings, often by hurling fastballs over 100 miles per hour.
The Colorado Rockies tabbed Georgia outfielder Charlie Condon, who
cracked a Division I-high 37 homers and hit .433 in 2024.
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"It's been a lot of hard work and I learned from everybody to trust
the process," Condon said of his development.
The Oakland Athletics selected Wake Forest first baseman Nick Kurtz
fourth overall, while the Chicago White Sox picked Arkansas pitcher
Hagen Smith at No. 5.
Florida's Jac Caglianone went sixth to the Kansas City Royals and
did so as a two-way player. Caglianone led the Gators to the College
World Series as a position player and pitcher.
The St. Louis Cardinals tabbed West Virginia middle infielder JJ
Wetherholt with the seventh pick, while the Los Angeles Angels
selected second baseman Christian Moore from College World Series
champion Tennessee with pick No. 8.
The leader of the Volunteers' power-hitting lineup, Moore could rise
through the Los Angeles system quickly with his mix of power and
speed.
"I'm a winner and I'm a competitor," Moore said when asked to
describe himself as a player. "I'll get it right for sure; it's in
my blood."
The Pittsburgh Pirates became the first team to take a high school
player when they grabbed Konnor Griffin from Jackson Prep School in
Mississippi with the ninth pick. The Washington Nationals selected
Wake Forest shortstop Seaver King at 10.
The Detroit Tigers tabbed shortstop Bryce Rainer of Harvard-Westlake
(CA) High School with pick No. 11, while the Boston Red Sox picked
Texas A&M outfielder Braden Montgomery 12th.
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Jul 14, 2024; Ft. Worth, TX, USA; The Cleveland Guardians select
Travis Bazzana with the first pick during the first round of the MLB
Draft at Cowtown Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY
Sports
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The San Francisco Giants followed by taking Florida
State outfielder James Tibbs III, and the Chicago Cubs grabbed Tibbs'
Seminoles teammate, third baseman Cam Smith.
The Seattle Mariners took one of the draft's most interesting
stories in Mississippi State's Jurrangelo Cijntje, a switch-pitcher
who can throw better than 90 mph with each hand.
Summerville (SC) High School outfielder PJ Morlando went to the
Miami Marlins at pick No. 16, while the Milwaukee Brewers took
Elkins (TX) High School outfielder Braylon Payne 17th.
The Tampa Bay Rays selected Westlake (TX) High School product Theo
Gillen as an outfielder, and the New York Mets followed by choosing
Oklahoma State outfielder Carson Benge.
The Toronto Blue Jays nabbed East Carolina right-hander Trey
Yesavage at 20, and the Minnesota Twins got Kansas State shortstop
Kaelen Culpepper.
North Carolina outfielder Vance Honeycutt went 22nd overall to the
Baltimore Orioles, while the Los Angeles Dodgers took Hardee (FL)
High School shortstop Kellon Lindsey with the next pick.
Cam Caminiti surprisingly fell to No. 24, where the Saguaro (AZ)
High School left-hander was picked by the Atlanta Braves.
As they have for the last nine years, the San Diego Padres went with
a high school player, this time left-hander Kash Mayfield of Elk
City, Okla.
Right-hander Ben Hess of Alabama went to the New York Yankees at 26,
followed by Northville (MI) outfielder Dante Nori to the
Philadelphia Phillies.
The Houston Astros used the 28th pick on Walker Janek, considered
the best college catcher by most pundits, of Sam Houston State.
Rounding out the first-round picks were last year's World Series
squads.
The Arizona Diamondbacks took outfielder Slade Caldwell of Valley
View (AR) High School, and the defending champion Texas Rangers
grabbed Stanford catcher Malcolm Moore.
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