Cleveland Guardians Select Travis Bazzana No. 1 Overall in 2024 MLB Draft

Sunday evening was a monumental evening within the historical past of Cleveland baseball. Whereas holding the No. 1 total choose within the MLB Draft for the primary time ever, the Cleveland Guardians chosen Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana.

Bazzana was one of many high prospects within the 2024 Draft, with many MLB Draft analysts rating him the No. 1 total participant on this 12 months’s class. Regardless of rumors of the Guardians doubtlessly drafting Georgia’s Charlie Condon, normal supervisor Mike Chernoff in the end selected Bazzana.

The Australian-born prospect was extensively thought-about one among school baseball’s premier hitters final season after batting .407 with 28 residence runs and 66 RBIs. Throughout his three seasons with the Beavers, the second basemen broke the varsity’s residence run and stolen base document with 45 homers and 66 stolen bases.

Many scouts raved about Bazzana’s elite bat, because the 6-foot, 199-pound lefty has the flexibility to hit for common and energy from the leadoff spot. The highly-touted prospect completed with a 1.582 OPS and a .568 OBP in 2024, making him a risk in any state of affairs.

Bazzana performed within the Australian Baseball League when he was solely 15 years outdated, a league that’s recognized for internet hosting many MLB gamers through the winter. The expertise in a high-level league such because the ABL might contribute to a refined hitting skillset popping out of school. Bazzana displayed unimaginable plate self-discipline at Oregon State, drawing a career-high 76 walks in his junior season.

Assuming he indicators with the workforce, Bazzana will be a part of a loaded farm system that features six center infielders throughout the workforce’s high 30 prospects. Nonetheless, the Guardians appear to have a transparent imaginative and prescient for the 21-year-old.

Bazzana joins Baltimore Orioles star catcher Adley Rutschman as two former Oregon State Beavers to be chosen with the primary choose within the draft over a 5 12 months stretch.

Bazzana turns into the primary ever No. 1 total choice in Cleveland franchise historical past. After ending 76-86 in 2023, the Guardians had only a two % likelihood of touchdown the primary choose within the 2024 MLB Draft.