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

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Travis Bazzana seems like he represents a whole nation, not only a faculty.

Cleveland chosen the Australian second baseman on Sunday evening with the No. 1 choose in Main League Baseball’s novice draft, and three gamers from Wake Forest had been picked within the prime 10.

A former cricket, rugby and soccer participant who got here to the US to play baseball for Oregon State, the 21-year-old hit .407 with 28 homers and 66 RBIs this season. He turned the primary Australian and first second baseman taken No. 1.

“A possibility to make an influence on quite a lot of baseball gamers and lots of people again dwelling in Australia, and hopefully change the narrative for baseball there,” Bazzana mentioned.

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 mentioned the workforce made its choice Sunday.

“He acknowledges pitches exceedingly properly,” Antonetti mentioned. “He is aware of the strike zone, makes good swing choices, when he does select to swing makes elite-level contact. And I feel what’s actually grown in Travis’ sport over the previous yr or so is the power so as to add influence and drive the ball.”

Bazzana watched the draft from Oregon State within the rooms the place he had been recruited, joined by his mother and father, brothers and aunts together with coaches and mentors.

“There’s folks that have flown all the way in which from Australia, which isn’t low-cost, neither is it a straightforward flight,” he mentioned.

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

“They actually helped me consider and see this path and get a chance at Oregon State, and sort of helped me set no limits on myself,” he mentioned.

As soon as in faculty, there wasn’t any stress to supply.

“Nobody actually anticipated something from the Australian child,” he mentioned.

Baseball’s No. 1 choice this yr has a slot worth of $10,570,600 underneath the bonus swimming pools system that started in 2012. Cleveland had the highest choose for the primary time because the draft started in 1965.

Simply 10 highschool gamers had been among the many 30 first-round picks.

Wake Forest right-hander Chase Burns went second to Cincinnati, whereas Demon Deacons first baseman Nick Kurtz was the fourth choose for Oakland and third baseman/outfielder Seaver King tenth for Washington. They turned the eighth trio of teammates chosen within the first spherical, the primary among the many prime 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 begins. The Reds took Demon Deacons right-hander Rhett Lowder with the seventh general choice final yr.

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 choose on Georgia third baseman Charlie Condon, who began faculty as a walk-on. Projected first by some, the 6-foot-6 Condon led the NCAA this yr with a .433 common and 37 homers. The 21-year-old homered in eight straight video games from April 26 to Could 9, one shy of the NCAA file, and gained the Golden Spikes Award as the highest novice baseball participant.

Arkansas left-hander Hagen Smith, who had Tommy John surgical procedure 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 begins, placing out 161 in 84 innings.

Kansas Metropolis went subsequent and took Jac Caglianone, a two-way participant from Florida. A primary baseman and left-handed pitcher, he hit .419 with 35 homers and 72 RBIs for the Gators this yr whereas going 5-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 16 begins, placing out 83 and strolling 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 video games, lacking 24 video games between Feb. 19 and April 5 due to a hamstring harm. He gained 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 carrying a black cowboy hat and bolo tie. He shortly placed on a Cardinals jersey and cap. Tennessee second baseman Christian Moore, additionally on web site, was taken eighth by the Los Angeles Angels.

Konnor Griffin was the primary highschool participant 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 thirteenth by San Francisco and Seminoles teammate Cam Smith, a 3rd baseman, went subsequent to the Chicago Cubs.

Mississippi State swap pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje was chosen fifteenth by Seattle. Cijntje was born within the Netherlands, grew up in Curaçao and performed within the 2016 Little League World Sequence. He was drafted within the 18th spherical by Milwaukee two years in the past however went to varsity.

Cam Caminiti, a cousin of 1986 NL MVP Ken Caminiti, was picked twenty fourth by Atlanta. The 17-year-old left-hander is from Saguaro Excessive College in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Groups made the primary 74 picks, with the rest of the 20 rounds on Monday and Tuesday. Cleveland additionally picked thirty sixth and forty eighth.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred was booed by the roughly 2,000 followers at Cowtown Coliseum when he emerged on stage by way of the set’s saloon doorways and every time he returned to announce a range. Spectators booed particularly loudly for the choices of the Houston Astros and New York Yankees.

Utilizing the prospect promotion picks they earned when Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson gained Rookie of the 12 months awards, Arizona chosen outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt thirty first and Baltimore adopted by selecting Virginia shortstop Griff O’Ferrall.

Wyatt Sanford, a son of former Pittsburgh and Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Likelihood Sanford, was taken forty seventh general by the Pirates.

___

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

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB