Travis Bazzana goes No. 1 in 2024 MLB Draft: Why Guardians selected Oregon State infielder

The Cleveland Guardians selected Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft on Sunday night. Bazzana is the first second baseman ever chosen atop the draft, and also the first Australian-born player ever selected in the first round.

Bazzana had been Cleveland’s rumored favorite dating back to the spring. Clearly he remained on top into the summer. CBS Sports recently ranked Bazzana as the No. 2 prospect in the draft class. Here’s what we wrote at the time:

Coming into the spring, other front offices believed the Guardians were enamored with Bazzana to an extent that’s seldom heard at that phase of the draft cycle. Assuming there was truth to that perception, Bazzana provided the Guardians no reason to alter their stance. He had a phenomenal year, batting .416/.475/.937 with 28 home runs and 16 stolen bases and 40 more walks than strikeouts. Bazzana has above-average strength and speed (though a substandard arm limits him to second base), an excellent command of the strike zone, and as good of a feel for barreling balls as any player in this class. His makeup gets fawned over at every turn, even if he’s often docked for being maxed-out physically. (One has to wonder what’s more important for a player’s long-term success: physical projection, or the metaphysical capacities for growth?) In recent weeks, the industry is again buzzing that Bazzana is the favorite to go No. 1. Of course, the Tao Te Ching states: “Those who know do not talk, and talkers do not know.” These decisions do often come down to the final hours, when bluffs go out the window and it’s time to do business. Should Bazzana be the pick, he would become the first second baseman to go No. 1.

Bazzana, 21, slashed .407/.568/.911 with 28 home runs and more than twice as many walks (78) as strikeouts (37) in 60 games this spring. Cleveland is of course pretty well set at second base with Andrés Giménez, but how all the pieces fit is something to worry about another day. With the No. 1 pick, take the best player, and sort it out later.

The Guardians were selecting first overall for the first time in franchise history. Cleveland had picked second on five occasions, most recently in 1992, when they drafted right-hander Paul Shuey from UNC. The Guardians have also made five other top-five selections. You can read all about those drafts by clicking here. 

Bazzana is the first Beaver drafted in the first round since lefty Cooper Hjerpe in 2021. Additionally, he’s the third top-five pick in program history, joining Adley Rutschman (No. 1, 2019) and Nick Madrigal (No. 4, 2018), as well as the first Australian-born player selected in the first round.