Australian second baseman Travis Bazzana taken by Cleveland Guardians with top MLB draft pick

AP Baseball Writer

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Travis Bazzana feels like he represents an entire country, not just a college.

Cleveland selected the Australian second baseman on Sunday night with the No. 1 pick in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft, and three players from Wake Forest were picked in the top 10.

A former cricket, rugby and soccer player who came to the United States to play baseball for Oregon State, the 21-year-old hit .407 with 28 homers and 66 RBIs this season. He became the first Australian and first second baseman taken No. 1.

“An opportunity to make an impact on a lot of baseball players and a lot of people back home in Australia, and hopefully change the narrative for baseball there,” Bazzana said.

Bazzana hit .360 over three seasons at Oregon State with 45 homers, 165 RBIs, 180 walks and 66 steals.

Cleveland president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said the team made its decision Sunday.

“He recognizes pitches exceedingly well,” Antonetti said. “He knows the strike zone, makes good swing decisions, when he does choose to swing makes elite-level contact. And I think what’s really grown in Travis’ game over the past year or so is the ability to add impact and drive the ball.”

Bazzana watched the draft from Oregon State in the rooms where he had been recruited, joined by his parents, brothers and aunts along with coaches and mentors.

“There’s people that have flown all the way from Australia, which is not cheap, nor is it an easy flight,” he said.

He was inspired by Ryan Rowland-Smith and Trent Oeltjen, Australians who had reached MLB.

“They really helped me believe and see this path and get an opportunity at Oregon State, and kind of helped me set no limits on myself,” he said.

Once in college, there wasn’t any pressure to produce.

“No one really expected anything from the Australian kid,” he said.

Baseball’s No. 1 selection this year has a slot value of $10,570,600 under the bonus pools system that began in 2012. Cleveland had the top pick for the first time since the draft began in 1965.

Just 10 high school players were among the 30 first-round picks.

Wake Forest right-hander Chase Burns went second to Cincinnati, while Demon Deacons first baseman Nick Kurtz was the fourth pick for Oakland and third baseman/outfielder Seaver King 10th for Washington. They became the eighth trio of teammates selected in the first round, the first among the top 10 since Rice right-handers Philip Humber, Jeff Niemann and Wade Townsend in 2004.

Burns, 21, was 10-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 191 strikeouts and 30 walks over 100 innings in 16 starts. The Reds took Demon Deacons right-hander Rhett Lowder with the seventh overall selection last year.

Kurtz hit .306 with 22 homers, 57 RBIs and 78 walks, and King batted .308 with 16 homers and 64 RBIs.

Colorado used the third pick on Georgia third baseman Charlie Condon, who started college as a walk-on. Projected first by some, the 6-foot-6 Condon led the NCAA this year with a .433 average and 37 homers. The 21-year-old homered in eight straight games from April 26 to May 9, one shy of the NCAA record, and won the Golden Spikes Award as the top amateur baseball player.

Arkansas left-hander Hagen Smith, who had Tommy John surgery as a 16-year-old in 2019, was picked fifth by the Chicago White Sox. He went 9-2 with a 2.04 ERA in 16 starts, striking out 161 in 84 innings.

Kansas City went next and took Jac Caglianone, a two-way player from Florida. A first baseman and left-handed pitcher, he hit .419 with 35 homers and 72 RBIs for the Gators this year while going 5-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 16 starts, striking out 83 and walking 50 in 73 2/3 innings.

West Virginia infielder JJ Wetherholt went seventh to St. Louis. The 21-year-old hit .331 with eight homers and 30 RBIs in 36 games, missing 24 games between Feb. 19 and April 5 because of a hamstring injury. He won the Division I batting title as a sophomore in 2023, hitting .449 with 16 homers and 60 RBIs and 36 stolen bases.

Wetherholt attended the draft wearing a black cowboy hat and bolo tie. He quickly put on a Cardinals jersey and cap. Tennessee second baseman Christian Moore, also on site, was taken eighth by the Los Angeles Angels.

Konnor Griffin was the first high school player picked, taken ninth by Pittsburgh. The 18-year-old is a shortstop and outfielder from Jackson Prep in Mississippi.

Florida State outfielder James Tibbs III was taken 13th by San Francisco and Seminoles teammate Cam Smith, a third baseman, went next to the Chicago Cubs.

Mississippi State switch pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje was selected 15th by Seattle. Cijntje was born in the Netherlands, grew up in Curaçao and played in the 2016 Little League World Series. He was drafted in the 18th round by Milwaukee two years ago but went to college.

Cam Caminiti, a cousin of 1996 NL MVP Ken Caminiti, was picked 24th by Atlanta. The 17-year-old left-hander is from Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Teams made the first 74 picks, with the remainder of the 20 rounds on Monday and Tuesday. Cleveland also picked 36th and 48th.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred was booed by the roughly 2,000 fans at Cowtown Coliseum when he emerged on stage through the set’s saloon doors and each time he returned to announce a selection. Spectators booed especially loudly for the selections of the Houston Astros and New York Yankees.

Using the prospect promotion picks they earned when Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson won Rookie of the Year awards, Arizona selected outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt 31st and Baltimore followed by choosing Virginia shortstop Griff O’Ferrall.

Wyatt Sanford, a son of former Pittsburgh and Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Chance Sanford, was taken 47th overall by the Pirates.

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This story has been corrected to show that Ken Caminiti was the NL MVP in 1996, not 1986.

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AP Sports Writers Schuyler Dixon and Stephen Hawkins contributed to this report.

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