The Guardians have agreed to phrases with No. 1 general draft choose Travis Bazzana, reviews Jim Callis of MLB.com. The Oregon State second baseman will obtain an $8.95MM bonus that checks in $1.62MM shy of the No. 1 choose’s $10.57MM slot worth.
It’s the fifth-highest bonus in draft historical past however solely the third-highest amongst this 12 months’s draftees; Reds righty Chase Burns, chosen with the No. 2 general choose, obtained the most important bonus in draft historical past at $9.25MM when he agreed to his cope with Cincinnati earlier this week. Georgia slugger Charlie Condon (the #3 choice) matched Burns’ cash on his cope with the Rockies. Pirates ace Paul Skenes ($9.2MM) and Nationals prime prospect Dylan Crews ($9MM) maintain the third- and fourth-largest bonuses in draft historical past.
The Aussie-born Bazzana posted a historic season for the Beavers in 2024. In 60 video games and 296 plate appearances, he compiled a preposterous .407/.568/.911 batting line with a school-record 28 dwelling runs and greater than twice as many walks (76) as strikeouts (37). The lefty-swinging infielder added 16 doubles, 4 triples and 16 steals (in 21 makes an attempt). Bazzana’s .407 common ranked eighth amongst all D-I gamers. He was second to Georgia catcher Corey Collins in on-base share and trailed solely Georgia slugger Charlie Condon (the No. 3 general choose) in slugging share. Bazzana’s 28 round-trippers tied him for seventh amongst D-I hitters.
There was no actual shock when Cleveland tabbed Bazzana with the highest choose. The 6’0″, 199-pound 21-year-old ranked because the No. 1 or No. 2 prospect on pre-draft rankings from MLB.com, Baseball America, FanGraphs, ESPN and The Athletic. Mock drafts from all of these shops both had Bazzana because the Guardians’ choose or no less than famous that he was among the many choose few gamers Cleveland was contemplating, due partly to the truth that he was believed to be signable at a quantity decrease than Skenes’ now-toppled file — thus permitting the Guards to be extra aggressive additional down their draft board.
Bazzana attracts common reward for his elite bat-to-ball abilities, his potential to maximise the above-average uncooked energy he possesses, and his plus operating velocity. The Athletic’s Keith Regulation wrote in his scouting report that Bazzana might need the very best ground of any hitter on this 12 months’s draft class, calling him a possible All-Star on the power of his bat alone. There’s much less optimism about Bazzana’s defensive outlook. It’s uncommon for a pure second baseman to be regarded this extremely — a testomony to the standard of Bazzana’s bat — and Baseball America notes of their report that he “ceaselessly throws from an odd sidearm slot that some scouts query.” That mentioned, BA additionally suggests Bazzana has the velocity and athleticism to maybe play middle area.
Defensive questions however, Bazzana is a hitting machine, and “elite bat-to-ball abilities” has turn into the hallmark of a Guardians group that tends to prioritize contact hitters and frequently registers the bottom strikeout fee of any large league membership. If the plan is for Bazzana to play second base in Cleveland, he may push Andres Gimenez — who’s signed to a seven-year contract — over to his pure place of shortstop. Bazzana would give the Guards one other top- or middle-of-the-order hitter to pair with Gimenez, face of the franchise Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor (assuming Bazzana is a reasonably fast mover and ascends to the majors earlier than Naylor reaches free company following the 2025 marketing campaign, that’s).
Bazzana ought to instantly slide in because the Guardians’ No. 1 or No. 2 prospect (relying on how one feels about touted younger outfielder Chase DeLauter). By touchdown him at a bonus that was decrease than slot and decrease than the earlier file, Cleveland additionally saved some money that ought to show useful in attempting to signal high-profile highschool picks that the Guards chosen within the later rounds. Left-hander Joey Oakie was extensively thought of a top-50 prospect and Day 1 expertise however landed with Cleveland on the No. 84 choose on Day 2. Seventh-round right-hander Cameron Sullivan and tenth-round righty Chase Mobley have been typically ranked within the Prime 125 prospects on this 12 months’s class. Bazzana’s price ticket and the cash saved may permit the Guardians to return away with a formidable assortment of names if all of these lauded prep gamers ultimately signal.
