Goalies make Bazzana first 2B taken No. 1

FORT WORTH, Texas — Travis Bazzana, the Oregon State star who was arguably the brightest hitter in this year’s draft class, made history Sunday, becoming the first second baseman to go No. 1 overall after being selected by the Cleveland Guardians.

Bazzana, 21, a left-handed hitter, has 28 homers in 60 games this season, the most by a Pac-12 player in a quarter-century, while batting .407/.568/.911. Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said he sees Bazzana as a second baseman for now but believes he has the athleticism to play other positions, perhaps the outfield, which could eventually be necessary with Andres Gimenez in the major leagues.

“We see him as a dynamic player,” Antonetti said. “He’s a guy who makes really good decisions, controls the strike zone really well, rarely misses and can really impact the game. We think he has a chance to impact the game in a number of ways.”

Chase Burns, the right-hander from Wake Forest who has been compared to Paul Skenes, went second to the Cincinnati Reds, and Hagen Smith, the power left-hander from Arkansas, went to the Chicago White Sox at No. 5. The top two pitchers selected in the draft were Charlie Condon, the third baseman from Georgia who went to the Colorado Rockies at No. 3 and was billed as an outfielder, and Nick Kurtz, the first baseman from Wake Forest who went to the Oakland Athletics at No. 5.

Florida’s Jac Caglianone, who is expected to continue hitting in the pros, was selected sixth overall by the Kansas City Royals. The next two picks were players who had been drafted at Cowtown Coliseum, a popular rodeo venue in the Fort Worth Stockyards: West Virginia shortstop JJ Wetherholt was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals and Tennessee second baseman Christian Moore was selected by the Los Angeles Angels.

Wetherholt describes himself as “a five-tool player who can do it all: hit, run, steal, play anywhere defensively. Just a guy who’s going to win.”

Under fourth-year general manager Perry Minasian, the Angels have developed a reputation for being particularly aggressive with prospects, promoting first baseman Nolan Schanuel after 22 minor league games and shortstop Zach Neto after just 48 games. Moore’s Tennessee teammate Ben Joyce was also promoted within a year of his selection.

“It’s crazy to be here,” Moore said. “I never thought I’d be in this situation, but I’ve always watched it on TV.”

The first high school player, shortstop Konnor Griffin of Jackson Prep in Mississippi, was drafted ninth overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, the last high school player ever drafted. He was followed by another shortstop, Seaver King of Wake Forest, who was drafted 10th overall by the Washington Nationals.

King, an impressive athlete who could use some adjustments with his swing, was a surprise top-10 pick. Condon, meanwhile, was ranked No. 1 on ESPN’s list of the top 250 draft prospects and was projected to be No. 2 in ESPN MLB insider Kiley McDaniel’s latest mock draft. The 2024 Golden Spikes winner fell one spot behind the Rockies, putting the 6-foot-6 power hitter with a franchise that plays its home games at 5,200 feet above sea level.

Bazzana became the eighth second baseman to go in the top 10 and beat out Rickie Weeks — the Milwaukee Brewers’ second overall pick in 2003 — for the earliest selection at his position. That the Guardians were able to select him was almost a miracle. They entered the Major League Baseball second-round draft lottery with just a 2 percent chance of getting the top pick and ended up selecting first for the first time in franchise history. Their $18.3 million prize pool, which teams spread out over the first 10 rounds, is the largest since the bonus pool era began in 2012.

The first-round pick is valued at $10.57 million; Antonetti said the Guardians and Bazzana’s representatives have already agreed to terms of his signing bonus, but they still have details to finalize.

“I never really knew if (being No. 1) was possible, and at least two years ago, I didn’t really think it was going to be possible,” Bazzana said. “It probably didn’t happen until the Cape Cod (League) last year. I just tried to go out and have a good year. This is the result of that. I’m just excited right now.”

The 2024 draft marks the first time that the first two players selected were born outside the United States. Bazzana is from Australia, having played in the Australian Baseball League at just 15 years old, and is the first Australian player to be selected first overall, while Burns was born in Italy. Prior to this year’s draft, only three players born outside the 50 states had ever reached the top two spots: Les Rohr to the New York Mets in 1965, Pedro Alvarez to the Pirates in 2008 and Carlos Correa to the Houston Astros in 2012.

Burns, who has a powerful fastball and breaking ball but little-used third and fourth pitches, 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.

“I was pretty surprised,” Burns said of his second-place finish. “I didn’t really know what to think. I got a quick call. I’m really excited.”

The Nos. 11 through 15 picks were, respectively: high school shortstop Bryce Rainer to the Detroit Tigers, Texas A&M outfielder Braden Montgomery to the Boston Red Sox, Florida State outfielder James Tibbs III to the San Francisco Giants, Florida State third baseman Cam Smith to the Chicago Cubs and Mississippi State right-handed pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje to the Seattle Mariners.

Cijntje is considered a better right-handed pitcher and mostly put left-handed pitches aside during the second half of last season, but Mariners director of amateur scouting Scott Hunter said the organization will let Cijntje decide whether he wants to continue throwing with both arms.

The first high school pitcher selected was left-hander Cam Caminiti, taken 24th overall by the Atlanta Braves. It was the last pick in draft history to have the first high school pitcher go off the board. Caminiti is the cousin of longtime third baseman Ken Caminiti, who won the MVP award in 1996.

The first two rounds took place on Sunday, the other 18 rounds will take place on Monday and Tuesday.

One of the highlights of the draft came when the Minnesota Twins selected Kansas State shortstop Kaelen Culpepper with the 21st overall pick. Culpepper, tied with Jordan Wicks for the highest pick in Kansas State history, was moved to tears as he stood on stage with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, prompting a roaring applause from the fans in attendance.

“When you look back on how far I’ve come, all the tough times, all the adversity I’ve been through, it means so much,” Culpepper told the crowd moments later. “This is the result right here.”