Guardians take 2B Travis Bazzana with top pick in draft

 

[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.

"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.

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

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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